When they reached the crest of the hill, Hide stopped.
The grand, fortress-like estate of the legendary assassin clan had fallen, just like the rest of the city. The ancient black-stone walls were breached, chunks of masonry blown outward into the road. Inside the courtyard, all the intricate mana-traps and subterranean tripwires had already been detonated, leaving the manicured gardens churned into mud and scorched slag.
Corpses littered the stone paths.
Dozens of elite Sihue guards lay rotting in their dark tactical uniforms. In the center of the shattered courtyard, a feral, hyena-like Calamity beast was crouched over a mutilated body, tearing ravenously at exposed ribs. The corpse was stripped of skin and identity, unrecognizable.
Hide didn't even slow down. With a lazy flick of his index finger, a needle of compressed dark mana pierced the beast's skull, dropping it dead in the dirt. That made Kiko shudder as she remembered once again how dangerous Hide actually was.
