Night gradually crept across the sky, while the setting sun stained half the heavens a smoky yellow.
Bruce drove his carriage through the faintly chilly breeze and along the path winding through the sparse woods.
All he could think about was getting back to Wayne Manor, brewing the Potion, and becoming a Wizard as quickly as possible. Once he became a Wizard, he would be able to use those wondrous spells.
Although the spells in the Dark Bible were obscure and difficult to understand, and most carried a sinister air, each had its own marvelous qualities that left Bruce deeply tempted.
Sitting on the carriage, Bruce kept thinking.
He would officially become an Extraordinary and come into contact with those mysterious, unfathomable things. He had no idea what dangers those mysteries held, or whether he would be able to handle them.
Being an Extraordinary was dangerous, but so was being an ordinary person. Since either path carried risks, why not give himself some means of protection?
Many people did not want to become Extraordinaries because they were more likely to encounter evil and lose their lives. They simply forgot that ordinary people could encounter uncanny events too-and die even faster.
Of course, not everyone who wanted to become an Extraordinary could do so. The amount of spirituality they possessed was crucial. Without spirituality, becoming an Extraordinary was nothing but a dream.
Hmm, I should have enough spirituality, shouldn't I?
Bruce suddenly began worrying about this. To become an Extraordinary, he first needed sufficient spirituality. Taking a Potion without enough would turn him into one of the Fallen, and Bruce had no desire to go mad and fall.
Bruce had actually asked Fawcett about his spirituality before. Fawcett had said he should have enough, since he had broken its curse and touched the Dark Bible.
Most importantly, Fawcett had mentioned another reason that proved he possessed spirituality: the Night Watchers of the Goddess of the Night Church had once invited him to join their ranks.
Night Watchers were Extraordinaries too. If he had enough spirituality to become a Night Watcher, he had enough to become a Wizard.
Bruce watched the sky grow steadily darker. The wind swept past his ears, and for some reason, a faint sense of foreboding stirred in his heart. He suddenly felt as though someone was watching him.
Am I just worrying too much and imagining things?
Bruce tightened his grip on the reins. The feeling of being watched was too strong, and he immediately thought of the Swordsmanship Hall. He was certain it would not easily let the Wind-Cutting Swordsmanship Club off the hook. Without Andre, the Wind-Cutting Swordsmanship Club was like a roadside weed, easily uprooted. The only reason they could not act freely now was his presence.
So the Swordsmanship Hall probably would not target Lilith or Laura. Instead, it would find a way to deal with him.
But I belong to the same wealthy class as the people behind the Swordsmanship Hall. Would they really be reckless enough to try to kill me?
Bruce was briefly distracted, and in that fleeting moment, a flash of silver lit up the corner of his vision.
A blade appeared out of thin air beside him and slashed cleanly toward his throat.
"An assassin!"
Bruce had already noticed a figure in black appear at his side, holding the blade. The man had narrow eyes filled with icy coldness.
The Swordsmanship Hall hired an assassin!
A chill ran through Bruce's limbs. He had been completely unprepared for the Swordsmanship Hall to pull something like this. With the blade closing in, he could barely move.
But Bruce was not entirely helpless. He was no ordinary person; he still had his innate ability.
Bruce immediately activated his innate ability, Divine Might!
Whoever you are, living or dead, if you're anywhere near me, be overwhelmed!
At the same time, Bruce clumsily shifted his body and lunged at the assassin.
The instant Divine Might stunned him was the best chance to seize the dagger.
The assassin's body visibly stiffened for a moment.
Bruce's trembling hands closed around the dagger. He turned its point around and aimed it at the assassin's chest. His heart filled with delight and excitement. All he had to do was push hard, and he could finish this assassin.
Yet no matter how hard he pressed with both hands, he could not force the dagger down. Something was resisting him. Bruce raised his head and found the assassin staring straight at him.
He's already recovered!
Divine Might only stunned this man for a split second?
Can people with special training, like assassins, resist Divine Might's stunning effect?
Panic stirred in Bruce's heart, and his head began to hurt.
Damn it, I overdid it again.
Just then, a horse's neigh rang out, and the entire carriage shook violently. The horse pulling it had also been caught indiscriminately in Divine Might's effect and had collapsed to the ground.
Momentum threw Bruce and the assassin together and sent them tumbling out of the carriage. Both rolled across the ground.
Ignoring the pain in his head and body, Bruce hurriedly scrambled up. With his life at stake, he could not afford the slightest carelessness.
His hands felt sticky. Looking at his palms, he found them covered in blood. Yet aside from the pain from his fall, he felt nothing wrong with his body, and his hands had not been cut.
Where did the blood come from?
Only then did Bruce notice someone lying beneath him-a man with a dagger buried in his heart.
Bruce was utterly bewildered. What happened? Did I just kill the assassin who came to murder me?
Bruce immediately understood. Although the assassin had recovered at the last moment and fought back, he had not expected the horse to collapse and send them tumbling from the carriage. Thanks to momentum and gravity, Bruce had still managed to drive the dagger into the assassin's heart and end his life.
The assassin must have died feeling deeply wronged. He had clearly resisted the stunning effect and was about to kill Bruce, only to die himself through a freak turn of events.
"What a relief." Bruce let out a long breath.
Still uneasy, Bruce held his fingers beneath the assassin's nose and against his carotid artery. There was no breath or pulse. He should be thoroughly dead.
What an unlucky assassin.
"He should be dead, right? Should I stab him again, just in case?"
Bruce looked at the assassin's neck, considering whether to cut his throat as well. After wrestling with the thought for a moment, he finally abandoned that cruel decision. At this point, the assassin had no reason to fake his death to trick him.
He pulled off the assassin's face covering, revealing an unfamiliar man with a cold, sharply defined face. Bruce did not recognize him, but that did not matter. Anyone who appeared here at a time like this and tried to kill him could only have been sent by the Swordsmanship Hall.
The assassin must have been watching him for a long time. Otherwise, it could not have been such a coincidence that he appeared here just as Bruce was returning to Lane Village. This was the perfect place to kill someone and hide the body.
Bruce stood up and used the face covering to wipe all the blood from his hands. Then he dragged the assassin's corpse into the woods.
A short while later, Bruce emerged from the woods looking somewhat disheveled. His head still hurt a little, but he was calm enough.
The body could stay hidden for as long as possible. He had dumped it deep in the woods and covered it with leaves. Surely no one would be bored enough to go wandering in there.
Although this was Bruce's first time killing someone, it could not be considered an accidental killing, nor even excessive self-defense. The moment he used Divine Might to stun the assassin, Bruce had intended to kill him and drive that dagger into his heart rather than flee.
Even after killing someone, Bruce felt no nausea or revulsion. He was not even worried that Rhode Town's sheriff would discover the corpse here and trace the killing back to him.
So many people traveled this road that tracing it to him would not be easy. The killer's own background was hardly clean, either. Besides, the Rune Kingdom did not have such advanced investigative methods.
If every police officer in the Rune Kingdom were an expert at solving cases, what would they need so many private detectives for?