Henry approached the stash house, slipping from shadow to shadow with practiced ease. Two guards stood by the entrance, but their attention was elsewhere.
A loud boom echoed across the district.
They turned, pointing toward Tingen Street.
Henry followed their gaze. Smoke billowed from a familiar window, the unit where Amyr and Sage should have been.
"That's not right," he whispered.
Abandoning the original plan, Henry sprinted across rooftops, his body light and precise. As a Sequence 9 Assassin, movement came naturally. Every step was calculated, every landing silent. A gift from King Oyster.
He reached Tingen Street within minutes, but the fire made it impossible for him to enter the unit. His mind was already forming escape plans. He had known Amyr for six years, long before they started working for King Oyster. Amyr would never derail a plan without informing him first.
Flames licked out from the unit's windows, but something felt off. The fire was controlled. Too contained. If the kerosene had ignited properly, the entire floor would have been swallowed in flames.
"Should've told Vira and Balen to fall back first…" he muttered.
"Yeah. You should have."
Henry froze.
A chill crept up his spine. That was impossible. No one should have been able to get behind him.
There was no chance of Sage sneaking up on him.
Which meant—
He had been waiting.
Henry turned.
Sage stood there.
Blood soaked his clothes. His posture sagged slightly, his breathing uneven, but his eyes were steady.
Sage dropped the heads of Vira and Balen, letting them roll toward Henry. The cuts were crude and uneven. His hands were filthy with blood and grime.
For a brief moment, Henry considered his options.
He was an Assassin. Stealth was his strength, not direct confrontation.
He moved instantly.
He pivoted and leapt toward the next rooftop, but sirens wailed from King Crab's territory. His path shifted mid-motion as he aimed for another escape.
A figure stepped into view.
A woman stood there, holding a lit molotov, her stance relaxed as if she had all the time in the world.
Henry's eyes flicked downward.
The alley below was lit with lanterns. Every shadow was gone.
There was nowhere to hide.
A quiet laugh escaped him as the realization settled in.
He had been led here.
Every route closed. Every option taken from him.
Sage had not weakened him.
He had stripped everything else away.
Henry exhaled slowly, steadying himself.
As an Assassin, he should avoid direct confrontation, but the situation denied him that. Sage had fought Amyr, a Sequence 9 Warrior. There was no way he was uninjured.
Yes.
Sage was injured. His breathing was ragged, his body trembling.
There was still a chance.
Henry moved.
A blur of motion. He stepped in, cut, and retreated before Sage could react.
Again.
Another shallow cut.
And another.
Precise. Controlled. Bleed him out.
That was the plan.
Sage staggered. His reactions slowed, his vision blurred, his body heavy.
Too fast.
But Henry underestimated him.
He underestimated how far Sage was willing to go to win.
Henry lunged again and Sage stepped into the blade.
The dagger sank deeper than expected.
Henry hesitated.
Just for a moment. That was enough.
Sage grabbed him.
Then threw himself off the rooftop.
They fell together, crashing through iron railings and shattering stone ledges. The impact tore the air from Sage's lungs. Pain exploded through his ribs as something gave way inside him.
But he did not let go.
Henry forced himself upright, his body screaming in protest. He could still move.
Sage lay on the ground, coughing blood, his body trembling violently.
He had taken the worst of the fall.
If Sage had not held onto him, Henry would have landed cleanly.
Pouring his remaining strength into his dagger, Henry positioned himself over Sage, readying the Mighty Blow, a skill that allowed him to release all his strength in a single strike.
"This is for Amyr."
To Sage, that was the cue.
Sage twisted his body and spat the blood in his mouth straight into Henry's eyes.
The Mighty Blow struck the pavement instead of flesh.
Sage rolled away and surged forward, his teeth sinking into Henry's throat. A wet tearing sound followed.
Henry gasped as blood flooded his lungs through his exposed windpipe. He collapsed, his hands clawing weakly at Sage.
Glass shattered.
Fire roared to life around him.
Sage pushed the burning body away.
"Well, it would be a shame to waste it," the woman said.
Sage looked up as Miranda stepped over the flames with casual ease, her eyes assessing his injuries.
"Dead in a gutter, I'm telling you. You look terrible," she sighed, already tearing fabric to bandage him.
Sage let out a weak laugh.
"You just had to steal my kill."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------King Oyster sighed as he sat in his chair. If everything went right to plan, he would be basking in an orange hue in the comforts of his office. Maybe call in his assistant to help him celebrate his victory.
Instead he had to face a demon, smiling with his bloodstained teeth.
"How the fuck are you alive?"
Sage shrugged. "I am a very hard man to kill."
The plan was flawless. Burn the stash house to cripple the two kings. The fire would also get the attention of the churches making it harder to move Bliss. After that, he would step in to help start a relief to get those affected to work under him. He was going to be a benevolent King. Where did Sage fit in all this?
The cover-up. Sage was supposed to die in that fire, to be framed as the arsonist. Being the younger brother of the Silver Saint, the Church of Eternal Darkness would either cover up the arson or launch a full scale investigation. A gamble that King Oyster was willing to take.
But instead he faced Sage who pointed his revolver at him.
"I can offer you anything you want. You can live like a King!"
"Really?" Sage asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Yes! But tell me, how did you kill Amyr and Henry?"
Sage pulled the trigger. The shots echoed through the office, King Oyster clutching his stomach. He emptied the six bullets into the fat man's belly and kicked him off the chair. Letting him die a slow death.
"Ask them yourself."
Sage took a deep breath, taking a seat where King Oyster sat. He looked around the office, his office.
While King Oyster did set up the board, Sage used it against him. After killing Amyr, he had seeked out Miranda to make sure the apartment exploded at 5pm sharp. Of course, within those two hours, Sage had also tracked down Vira and Balen to silence them. It took an hour and half to cut their heads off sinew by sinew, all that's left was the final opponent, Henry.
As for the lanterns in the alley? He had to ask Miranda how she did it but he decided against it. A woman got to have her secrets, it adds to the charm.
Admiring his new office, Sage looked out the window towards Bayam. Internal strife between the remaining three kings would soon start, allowing Sage to focus on the next target.
He cannot stop the bloodshed that will sweep across the Rorsted Archipelago.
So he will see it through.