The shockwave didn't just shatter the wood, it tore the world apart in a split second. The blast occurred precisely as the carriage crossed the stone bridge leading over the chasm toward the Northern District.
In that fraction of a second, my reflexes overrode my Zenni persona. I couldn't afford to be vaporized. I bit my tongue hard, drawing a massive surge of copper-scented mana, and threw my hands outward.
With the use of my fifth evolution blood manipulation, I wrapped myself into a thick layer of bubble made of blood, A thick, pressurized bubble of dense blood erupted from my skin, wrapping around me like a protective womb just as the fiery inferno tore through the cabin.
Through the swirling red layer of my shield, I saw the horrific reality. The explosion hadn't come from an outside spell, it was a high-grade chemical bomb planted directly inside the undercarriage. The sloppy, arrogant bandits back at the Spire hadn't even bothered to search the vehicle before we left.
Dorin didn't even have time to scream. The sheer force of the blast tore him and the other cartel enforcers into bloody pieces instantly, their remains scattered over the stone bridge alongside the wreckage of the carriage.
BOOM!
The secondary explosion of the alchemical reagents echoed violently across the entire city, rattling the windows of the nearby Northern District and sending a pillar of thick, black smoke billowing into the twilight sky. Alarms instantly began to blare in the distance from the academy perimeter.
As the roaring fire began to die down into flickering embers, the sphere of blood around me dissolved, flowing seamlessly back into my palms to hide any trace of my high-level magic.
I stepped out from the burning, jagged skeleton of the carriage. My ivory and gold academy uniform was singed, covered in soot, and torn, but my underlying durability had kept me completely unscathed from the blast. Around me, the bridge was a disaster zone of burning wood, twisted metal, and thick, suffocating smoke.
Coughing to maintain my act, I staggered out of the haze, my one visible eye scanning the dark edges of the bridge. This wasn't an accident. Someone had just tried to assassinate Oksana's newest apprentice before I could even spend my first night in the dorms.
"Are you okay, Eirene?" Plasma shouted.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Out of the thick, billowing black smoke, the sharp clinking of metal armor echoed across the stone bridge. Five figures emerged from the shadows, blocking the path to the Northern District. They wore dark, lightweight leather armor designed for stealth, and their hands gripped curved, silver daggers that gleamed dangerously in the firelight of the burning carriage.
I took a step back into the embers, clutching my arm and coughing roughly to keep up my defenseless freshman act. I demanded, letting my voice shake with Zenni's signature slum-born panic.
"W-who are you people?!"
The man standing in the center, clearly the leader of the squad stepped forward, his eyes cold and unblinking beneath his hood.
"We are the Eastern District Clan, and the Archivist wants your head, little narcotic."
My heart did a violent flip inside my chest, but not out of fear. The Eastern District Clan… A sudden, jarring wave of realization hit me. These men weren't my enemies. They were my allies. The Eastern District Clan was a powerful underground faction that had secretly signed a blood contract with the High Council, the exact same council that employed me. Their sole, desperate mission was to completely eradicate the Sisiphon Alchemist Guild and tear down Oksana's drug empire from the outside.
The problem was, they had absolutely no idea that the pathetic slum boy standing in front of them was actually Eirene, the legendary bounty hunter sent by the council to aid them. All they saw through the smoke was Zenni Roy, the newly appointed, fiercely loyal apprentice to the Lotus Dust Queen. To them, I was a dangerous loose end that needed to be severed immediately.
"Dammit" I thought, my mind racing as my fingers twitched toward my blood core.
I was caught in a horrifying paradox. To fulfill my true mission and claim Oksana's massive bounty, I had to maintain my cover as Zenni. I had to gain her ultimate trust from the inside to lower her defenses and bypass those four terrifying S-rank bodyguards. But right now, my own secret allies were trying to assassinate me. If I used my true power to slaughter them, I would be murdering the very people fighting for the same cause. But if I held back too much, this squad would cut Zenni's throat right here on the bridge.
The leader raised his curved blade, the lightweight armor whistling as he shifted into a lethal combat stance.
"No hard feelings, kid. You chose the wrong side to play prodigy for."
The five assassins lunged forward simultaneously, their blades tearing through the smoke straight for my vitals.
The curved blades sliced through the smoke, closing in on my neck with lethal speed. I had less than a second to decide. If I let them capture or kill me, the infiltration was over. If I held back, Zenni's cover would blow. To destroy Oksana's empire from the roots, I had to become the very monster my allies were trying to kill.
I bit my lip hard, drawing a massive surge of blood into my palm. My eyes went cold.
"Forgive me," I thought.
With a sickening, high-velocity hiss, the crimson fluid erupted from my hand and solidified into a razor-sharp, high-density Blood Sword. I lunged forward, unleashing a fraction of my true speed. To the assassins, I became a blur of ivory, gold, and crimson.
SLASH!
Before the leader could even register my movement, my blood blade cleaved clean through his chest armor. I spun on my heel, parrying a strike from the second man and driving the crimson edge straight through his throat. The remaining three tried to retreat, their eyes widening in sheer terror as they realized this was no ordinary first-year student, but I was already behind them.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
As the final assassin collapsed onto the stone bridge, his life pooling into the cracks of the cobblestones, I knelt beside him. The crimson blade dissolved back into my skin. I leaned down close to his ear, my voice dropping its timid slum accent, replaced by the heavy, grief-stricken tone of my true identity.
"I'm sorry, I am Eirene Rynd. I'm taking her down from the inside. Your deaths won't be in vain."
I whispered softly into the dying man's ear, ensuring my voice was the last thing he ever heard. The assassin's eyes flared with a brief, tragic spark of realization before going completely glassy.
"Hey! You there! Drop your weapons and hold your ground!"
A sharp, booming voice shattered the quiet of the carnage. I snapped my head up. The loud explosion had finally drawn the authorities. A squad of heavily armored knights from the nearby district was sprinting onto the far end of the bridge, their silver armor reflecting the flames of the burning carriage, their swords drawn. Because of the thick, billowing smoke and the darkness of twilight, they couldn't clearly see my face or identify me as Zenni.
If they caught me standing over a pile of dead Eastern District Clan members while wearing an academy uniform, my double life would collapse before nightfall.
"Plasma, what should I do! What should I do." I thought
"Jump onto the bridge, Eirene. Don't let the guards see your face."
Without hesitating, I sprinted to the edge of the stone bridge, vaulted over the heavy railing, and plunged straight down into the roaring, pitch-black chasm below, escaping into the shadows before the knights could even reach the wreckage.