Surviving as the Emperor's Assassin

Chapter 17. Tested.

‘Less impressive than I thought.’

Is this also the influence of the body, of Luke?

Despite killing someone, all I felt was a slight guilt.

Rather, I was surprised at myself for not being particularly shocked.

“Pol.”

I called out to Pol softly.

“Yes! Brother!”

While I killed Joshua, Pol hadn't paid any attention at all.

Was killing people a familiar occurrence for this kid?

Well, he was partnered with that Luke Ivers, after all.

“Let’s spar.”

I flicked the blood off my sword.

Time to wrap things up for today.

“I’d love to! But, the swordsmanship……”

He seemed to properly remember my instruction not to use swordsmanship.

How commendable.

“We have to use it. To frame Joshua as the culprit.”

I answered with a smile.

So that evidence remains here.

Evidence that Joshua learned swordsmanship.

“Joshua, wanting to seize control of Dejong's underworld, finally obtained a secret swordsmanship manual through effort. If he mastered swordsmanship and obtained overwhelming force, he could easily achieve his goal.”

I recited the scenario to establish Joshua as the culprit.

It was partly to explain to Pol, but also to check for inconsistencies in the story.

“However, that's only if the swordsmanship is perfectly mastered. So, while practicing in secret even from his organization members, he made a mistake. He left traces on the wall.”

This part was the most crucial in this scenario.

After all, this whole foolish mess started because of the sword marks left on the wall.

“When the investigation began, Joshua felt threatened, and upon encountering us investigating the back alleys, he overreacted. However, excluding swordsmanship, Joshua's combat ability wasn't that great, so he was actually about to be subdued by us.”

I raised my sword and pointed at Joshua, sprawled miserably.

He wasn't bad for a back-alley gangster, but that was all.

However, if he were the culprit who left the sword marks, it's a different story.

It's far too unnatural for a rookie mercenary to defeat a strong opponent using swordsmanship.

If mishandled, the worst situation could arise where the embers of suspicion towards me rekindle.

Therefore, 'calibration' is needed.

“Becoming desperate, Joshua lured us to his hideout, away from prying eyes. Once out of sight, he revealed his true colors and used swordsmanship. We were pushed to the brink of defeat, but…… by exploiting an opening revealed when Joshua got carried away with his swordsmanship, we barely managed to grasp victory.”

Numerical superiority.

Joshua's carelessness.

Besides that, explanations like Joshua not having perfectly mastered the swordsmanship, or degradation occurring during the abnormal transmission process of the swordsmanship, needed to be added to make the story barely plausible.

“Aha!”

‘Aha’ my foot.

This kid probably didn't really understand what I was saying.

There was a high probability he was just nodding along blindly.

“Any questions?”

“None!”

Pol answered confidently.

“If our testimonies differ, the lie will be exposed immediately. You need to perfectly memorize what I said.”

“Uh……”

See.

Didn't understand at all.

* * *

Well, it wasn't entirely unexpected, so I decided to use plan B.

“I'll be the only one testifying.”

A simple story.

If there's only one source of information, cross-verification becomes impossible.

If I had insisted from the start that I defeated Joshua alone, I could have avoided this risk, but conversely, suspicion about how I could defeat Joshua would have grown.

Silencing Pol was the area I could control, so there was no other choice.

“I'll keep my mouth shut! Hup!”

“That's not enough.”

It wasn't just that I couldn't trust Pol not to make a slip-up, but the situation had escalated too much due to the possibility of the culprit being Luke.

They wouldn't simply accept a refusal to testify.

“You need to be in a state where you can't testify.”

“I see!”

Seeing Pol's bright face gave me a headache.

Seriously, he doesn't get it unless spelled out.

“Do you even know what 'unable to testify' means? It means you need to suffer a critical injury.”

Proceeding with the story while hiding the witness is impossible.

Unconsciousness.

Or a serious injury severe enough to prevent remembering the problematic situation.

‘If by any chance he expresses dissatisfaction, then it's time to cut him off.’

What I needed from Pol was swordsmanship.

However, I learned the swordsmanship was already engraved in my body.

Pol's usefulness had essentially ended.

If he were to realize I was a different entity from the real Luke Ivers, he would likely turn his blade against me.

Keeping such a Pol around was like keeping an unpredictable bomb nearby.

Perhaps it would be better to deal with it now, making it seem like he died at Joshua's hands.

‘I want to avoid killing if possible, but…… if necessary.’

In this barbaric world, especially in the body of the Emperor's assassin, living as an innocent and harmless human was impossible—I realized that early on.

I killed Joshua.

The fact that Joshua was an evil man deserving death was just an excuse to justify my actions; the fact that I committed murder to survive remained unchanged.

I didn't know how many more humans I would kill in the future.

Killing one more probably wouldn't make a difference.

I waited, gripping the sword hilt, ready to draw instantly.

“Yes! Understood!”

Pol accepted readily.

Seriously, this kid would probably even pretend to die if Luke Ivers told him to.

Thanks to that, the situation became relatively simple.

“Alright then, first we need to leave sword marks. Raise your sword.”

At my command, Pol raised his sword obliquely.

I kicked off the ground.

Clang-!!

Sword met sword, sparks flying with a sharp metallic sound.

Neither Pol nor I brought out swordsmanship from the start.

Just swinging the sword, searching for openings.

From top to bottom, left to right, diagonally, aiming for hands and shoulders, feet and legs, trying to plunge the blade into the torso.

‘As expected, he's a completely different person when holding a sword.’

The absent-minded slackness was gone from Pol.

Pol's fierce attacks, eyes gleaming like a wild beast's, rained down without pause.

However, I wasn't afraid.

Not only because there wasn't a shred of killing intent in the strikes, but also because they weren't at a level I couldn't handle.

“Faster!”

“Yes!”

Honestly, setting aside swordsmanship and whatnot, sparring itself was a first for me.

I hadn't even been to a Taekwondo dojang, which everyone seems to have attended at least once.

While I had been in real brawls, exchanging blows without hostility was unfamiliar.

From an outside perspective, sparring just looked like 'fighting moderately'.

‘Surprisingly…… this is fun.’

It was different from swinging a sword in the air, and different from desperately swinging a sword at an enemy.

The cool breeze touching my heated body felt refreshing.

The chilling instant when the sword tips aimed at each other brushed past immediately transformed into exhilaration.

Furthermore, I could recognize my own shortcomings.

Immediate correction.

I could feel the completeness of my swordsmanship improving moment by moment.

With the added sense of achievement, nothing could be more enjoyable.

Well, in reality, it was likely closer to regaining Luke's skills rather than my skills improving.

“Here I come-!”

It was Pol who brought out 'swordsmanship' first.

His momentum changed completely.

A stance lowered significantly.

Using Pol's movements as a clue, my consciousness extended.

'I', Luke Ivers, knew very well what that stance was.

From the realm of the unconscious, 'knowledge' I had never learned surfaced like bubbles.

‘This is-’

Low-lying clouds.

'Stratocumulus'.

What follows from here is misty rain - 'Mist'.

Faint mana blades, barely visible to the eye, scattered along the sword's path.

Countless attacks impossible to block completely through conventional means.

Like fine raindrops seeping in, they reliably cut my skin.

It was swordsmanship that gained guaranteed hits in exchange for sacrificing killing power.

Did he judge that slowly accumulating points was advantageous in a spar not aimed at killing each other?

‘Naive thought.’

Unless it hit the carotid artery, it wasn't fatal.

'Mist' was originally swordsmanship for subduing weaker opponents without killing them or reliably wearing down opponents of equal level to secure victory.

Meaning, it's not very helpful when the opponent is stronger.

“Hup-!”

Ignoring the minor cuts digging into my flesh, I took a stance.

Raising the sword high.

Like clouds piled high in the sky.

“Cumulonimbus……!”

Knowing the attack that followed, Pol gripped his sword tightly with a grim face.

‘Foolish.’

What follows Cumulonimbus is 'Shower'.

True to its meaning of a downpour, swordsmanship pouring all power into one strike.

Among the various techniques of 'Celestial Sword', it ranked top in terms of firepower.

Trying to face it head-on was an inefficient choice, even if not impossible.

“Hah-!!”

I swung the sword down.

Like a torrent of rain, straight down.

Swaaaaaa-!!

A waterfall of mana.

The Mist is swept up by the momentum of the Shower, adding to it.

One giant mass falls like a hammer.

Kaddeuk-!

Pol didn't just try to block it foolishly either.

He tilted his sword.

An attempt to twist the flow and create an opening.

Sword grinds against sword, sliding off each other.

‘If I strike the ground like this, the rebound will leave me defenseless!’

It was already too late to change direction.

Then there was only one way, kill the momentum now.

Being forcibly stopped and stopping oneself are completely different.

“……!!”

Gritting my teeth, I applied the brakes.

A fraction of a second split, and the trajectory of the sword's advance became vividly clear.

The sword stopped beside Pol's foot.

The ground, untouched by the sword, cracked.

‘Continuing-’

Hesitating now would negate the meaning of forcibly stopping the sword.

Change the sword's direction.

Towards Pol, who extended his sword aiming for the opening after the Shower.

Kaang-!

Pol's sword flew high into the air.

He didn't lose his grip, but his body was wide open.

However, having forcefully altered the sword's trajectory, I lacked the strength to swing again.

‘The sword isn't everything.’

Shift the center of gravity forward.

Stepping slightly faster than Pol, I extended my leg and kicked the defenseless Pol's shin.

“Kut!”

Pol groaned, staggered, and fell backward.

Once the stance collapsed, victory and defeat were decided.

But, if I wait for Pol to get up.

Perform other swordsmanship, exchange blows, more, enjoyably…….

“……”

Ah.

Right.

Amidst the excitement, I suddenly snapped back to reality.

The purpose of this spar wasn't enjoyment.

* * *

“Heok. Hek. As expected, I can't keep up with Brother.”

Apparently finding the spar quite enjoyable just like me, a clear smile hung on Pol's lips.

“At first, I thought I had grown a lot…… but you were matching my level, weren't you, Brother?”

Matching his level?

I was serious from beginning to end.

Through the spar, I clearly understood.

Whatever Luke Ivers's original strength, my current self was only slightly above Pol.

Even if I had tried to kill Pol, it wouldn't have been easy.

“Strive harder.”

But instead of telling the truth, I chose to bluff.

Because I needed to appear like the Luke he admired so much.

“Yes! Understood!”

Pol nodded happily.

“Alright, then……”

I scanned the surroundings.

Traces of swordsmanship remained everywhere.

On my and Pol's bodies and swords too.

Joshua's corpse was also ready.

Now only one task remained.

“Don't move. If I stab wrong, you could actually die.”

Just leaving a critical wound on Pol.