The freezing river water shocked my system as I plunged beneath the surface, but I didn't let the momentum slow me down. Staying deep in the murky depths, I began to swim aggressively upstream, fighting the heavy current with the raw, rhythmic power of my true biology.
Suddenly, the water around me turned blindingly bright.
Up on the stone bridge, a high-tier mage among the knights had cast a powerful Light Magic spell. A massive, concentrated beam of pure radiance pierced the surface, slicing through the dark river like a colossal military flashlight. It swept back and forth across the current, missing my submerged silhouette by mere inches.
Because the water acted as a natural acoustic chamber, the booming voices of the knights echoed clearly down into the riverbed.
"We need to report this to the Council immediately! The boy completely annihilated the entire Eastern District squad in seconds. It was a total slaughter!"
"That brat was wearing an ivory and gold uniform, he's probably a student from the magic academy. A rogue prodigy." a second commander responded, his armor clinking loudly as he leaned over the railing.
"Instruct the lower-tier guards to lock down and search the waterways down river! Check every gate!"
They thought I would float downstream with the current. Idiots.
I kept swimming upstream, my lungs burning slightly from the exertion until I was well past the light beam's radius. I navigated the dark, subterranean tunnels of the aqueduct until I finally broke the surface, gasping for air as I dragged myself out of the freezing water. I had emerged along the muddy banks of the Western District, the impoverished, industrial heart of Sisiphon City.
I scrambled up the slick river bank and ran toward the shadows of the nearby crowded houses, my boots squelching in the dirt. I ducked into a narrow, dark alleyway between two dilapidated brick buildings and pressed my back against the wall, panting heavily.
I looked down at myself and cursed under my breath. The river water had washed away the loose dirt and soot, but it had done absolutely nothing for the deep, dark crimson stains baked into the magic fibers of my ivory and gold uniform. The blood of the Eastern Clan assassins was permanently bonded to the fabric. If I walked back into the academy dorms or encountered a single guard looking like this, my identity as the student assassin would be sealed.
My face was still partially scorched from the explosion, my hair was soaking wet, and my uniform was an absolute, bloodstained mess.
"I need to change. Right now," I thought,
My eyes scanning the dark alleyway for a clothing line, an open window, or a backdoor to an apparel shop. If I couldn't find a disguise in the next few minutes, the entire city lockdown would catch up to me.
"Huh, no people."
The Western District at midnight was a graveyard of shadows, illuminated only by the flickering, amber glow of a few iron wall torches. The streets were entirely deserted, the destitute laborers of the district having long locked themselves behind thick wooden doors.
But the silence was an illusion. In the distance, the sharp clanking of armor echoed through the cobblestones. The knights were systematically scanning every perimeter, closing their dragnet around the district to flush me out. If they caught a glimpse of my blood-soaked ivory uniform, the game would be over.
I slipped out of the alleyway and ducked into the shadows of a recessed storefront. I looked up at the wooden sign swaying creakingly in the night wind and a cold, sharp smirk cut across my face.
It was the very same high-end tailor shop from earlier today. The arrogant, self-righteous owner had taken one look at my haggard appearance as Eirene and kicked me out onto the street, mistaking me for a filthy Lotus Dust addict.
"Perfect timing for a little payback," I thought.
I scooped up a heavy, jagged pebble from the dirt road, channeled a micro-burst of my strength into my fingers, and hurled it straight at the shop's glass display window.
"CRASH!"
The glass shattered inward with a satisfying explosion of shards. I moved like a ghost, vaulting through the broken frame and landing silently on the plush carpet inside. I scanned the darkness, my blood blade primed, but the shop was completely empty. The rude tailor was nowhere in sight, likely sleeping soundly upstairs or back in his estate. I was going to have to steal.
Suddenly, the heavy, rhythmic thud of steel-toed boots echoed from just outside the storefront. A knight was patroling the exact street I had just left, the bright beam of his light magic casting long, shifting shadows through the broken window. He had definitely heard the glass break.
"Damn, I have to act now!" I thought
If I stayed in Zenni's body, even in a clean uniform, the sheer risk of being associated with the blood manipulation massacre on the bridge was too high. The knights were looking for a male student. I needed to discard Zenni's identity entirely for the night.
Reaching deep into my biological archive, I pulled out a strand of DNA I had carefully harvested back at the manor, Miera, the beautiful maid.
[Analyzing genetic data... 100% match found in blood reservoir. Commencing Morphological Shift.]
My bones cracked and shifted silently, my muscles restructuring as my height shrunk, my jawline softened, and my short dark hair elongated into a cascade of brilliant, silky silver strands. Within seconds, Zenni Roy was gone. In his place stood a stunning, flawless maid girl.
[Visual confirmation: 100% accuracy. Heart rate, scent, and vocal cords successfully calibrated. Successfully shapeshifted into Miera Amber]
I scrambled through the dark racks of the tailor shop until my hands brushed against the smooth fabric of a brand-new, tailored female ivory and gold academy uniform. I ripped my bloodstained clothes off, tossed them into the dark corners of the shop, and quickly slipped into the fresh skirt, blouse, and gold-trimmed blazer.
The heavy footsteps stopped right outside the shattered window. The knight's flashlight beam swept into the room, illuminating the glass shards on the floor.
I zipped up the boots, adjusted the silver hair over my shoulders, and stepped out from behind the clothing rack just as the knight peered through the broken glass, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
The beam of the knight's light magic flashed directly into my eyes, illuminating the silver hair cascading over my shoulders and the crisp, clean female academy uniform I had just slipped into.
He didn't see a blood-soaked male prodigy. He saw a beautiful, young girl standing amidst a pile of shattered glass. He lowered his sword slightly, though his posture remained incredibly tense.
"Young lady, what are you doing here in the Western District at midnight? This shop has been vandalized."
I quickly forced my expression into a look of sheer, innocent terror, letting my voice pitch into Miera's soft, melodic tone.
"S-Sir, please! I was being chased by some sketchy men from the alleys. I threw a rock through the window just to find a place to hide! I'm a student at the academy, I swear!"
The knight stared at me, his eyes narrowing beneath his iron visor. He stepped closer, stepping over the glass shards, and took a deep, sharp breath.
His face instantly contorted into total disgust.
"Save your breath, girl," he sneered, his tone turning cold and aggressive.
My heart sank. The scent. Even though I had changed into a completely fresh uniform, the thick, heavy haze of the Lotus Dust from Oksana's private office at the Emerald Spire had clung directly to my skin and hair. To a trained knight on high alert, I smelled like a walking drug manufacturing plant.
"An addict, huh? A pretty little noble girl sniffing her family's fortune away in the slums. Breaking into a tailor shop to steal or look for a fix? Maybe you should go to the dungeon where you belong!"
The knight barked, his demeanor instantly shifting from cautious to brutally hostile. Before I could even attempt to weave another lie, his heavy, gauntleted hand shot forward. His fingers wrapped around my wrist like an iron vise, grabbing me so tightly the armor plates bit into my skin.
"Hey! Over here! There's an addict inside the tailor shop! She's the one who broke the glass!"
He roared out the broken window, signaling to his companions patroling the adjacent blocks. He looked back at me, a cruel smirk visible beneath his helm as he dragged me toward the exit.
"You're under arrest, lass. The Council is cleaning up this city tonight, and we're starting with junkies like you."