Timeless Assassin

(Inside the apartment, Leo's POV)

From behind the thick concrete pillar at the end of the staircase, Leo remained crouched in absolute stillness, his body still cloaked in invisibility thanks to [Vanish].

Just twenty feet ahead, the two Grandmaster Guards stood completely alert, as they protected the corridor with unwavering focus.

'Should I just try to knock them out cold?' Leo wondered at first, his mind coming up with strategies to get past them without killing them, but knocking them out did not seem to be the solution either.

Knocking them out would leave blunt force trauma microfractures or faint bruising on the neck—small enough to go unnoticed by the average soldier, but not by the seasoned investigators. Which could be a problem for him down the line if discovered.

'Should I put my trust in [Vanish] and try sneaking past them soundlessly?'

He wondered next, but soon dismissed it as well.

[Vanish] was potent, but not infallible.

If either guard had even a semi-decent perception technique under their belt, his location could be exposed and the entire mission could spiral into chaos.

'I need to distract them without making my presence obvious…' Leo concluded finally, his eyes narrowing as he slowly turned his head, scanning the area behind him for something, anything, he could use.

That's when he spotted it.

A mana lamp mounted on the far end of the hallway wall, glowing steadily as it pulled regulated power from the switchboard built into the base of the staircase where Leo was hiding.

'This will work.'

He thought, as he silently reached for the switchboard, placing his palm gently over the surface as a small pulse of mana surged from his core into the circuit, unbalancing the flow just enough to disrupt the appliance.

*Whirrr*

*Whirrr*

The lamp flickered, dimmed, and brightened again in a stuttering loop, accompanied by a low mechanical hum that gradually began to draw attention.

After nearly a minute of persistent flickering, the guards finally reacted.

"What's up with that lamp?" the first one muttered, brow furrowed as he leaned forward slightly.

The second sighed, clearly annoyed. "These luxury products, man… I'm telling you, they never last. They break down at least twice a year…"

He stepped away from his post and began walking over.

'That's it. That's my chance to slip past!' Leo thought, as the second the guard reached the edge of the staircase, Leo activated [StormFlash Traverse], compressing mana into his limbs as his body vanished in a high-speed blur.

*Blitz*

He darted between the two men in a clean arc, brushing past in complete silence as one guard glanced at the other, both oblivious to the streak of motion that had just passed between them.

*Stop*

Now at the far end of the corridor, Leo didn't move. He pressed his back against the entry door to Larry's bedroom and waited.

*Switch off*

*Switch on*

The lamp returned to its steady glow.

"Just needed a restart, yo," the second guard called out, tapping the switchboard lightly.

"Guess it hasn't stopped working just yet." his partner replied, as it was during that brief, careless moment, when both guards were talking and slightly turned toward each other, that Leo made his final move.

With a single breath, he boldly used the (Master Key) that the Cult had provided him to open any lock, and used it to slip into Lieutenant Larry's room without making a sound, as the two guards missed the faint opening and closing of the door.

—------------

*Thump*

*Thump*

Leo's heart beat out of his chest as he scanned Larry's room upon entry.

The first and most obvious thing that worried him, was whether or not Larry would wake up by the subtle disturbance of his bedroom door opening and closing, however, the man did not seem to have such refined instincts.

Larry kept napping while being completely oblivious to the killer present in his room, as Leo next scanned the surroundings for any unexpected threats.

The room itself was dimly lit by a soft amber glow emanating from a mana lamp placed near the far end desk, while the curtains remained drawn and the windows sealed, as a faint haze of stale cigar smoke hung in the air, mixing with the scent of alcohol and old leather, creating the kind of atmosphere only a high-ranking soldier living alone could tolerate.

Stacks of neatly organized files lined the shelf, a pair of combat boots lay beside the bed with one sock still stuck halfway inside, while a regulation-issued uniform was draped carelessly across the armrest of the single chair near the recliner, but none of it mattered to Leo right now, as his focus narrowed solely onto the bed in front of him and the man sleeping atop it.

Lieutenant Larry lay on his side, one arm folded under his pillow while the other rested over his torso, his face completely relaxed and his breathing even, as Leo crouched low near the foot of the bed and observed every rise and fall of the man's chest, trying to determine whether he was really in such a deep sleep or just pretending to be in one?

'He's asleep… and judging by the lack of subtle tension in his muscles, probably for a while now,' Leo calculated, as he slowly reached into his belt and retrieved a curved dagger that provided a better lethality than its straighter peer.

*Clutch*

His fingers wrapped around the hilt with steady control, as he stepped in closer while maintaining his balance and brought himself into optimal striking range.

He waited, not because he was hesitant, but because he was meticulous, allowing himself three more seconds to confirm that the breathing pattern hadn't changed, the mana field in the room remained steady, and no reactive enchantments had been triggered by his presence.

Then, without warning, he struck.

*SLASH*

One smooth, practiced motion guided his blade along a diagonal arc from beneath the ear to the opposite collarbone, slicing clean through flesh and artery alike, as Leo covered the man's mouth with his left palm at the same time to suppress any final reflexive gasp, while his right hand pulled the dagger free just as swiftly and withdrew before a single drop of blood could splash outward.

Larry's eyes twitched open in confusion for the briefest moment, not terror, not pain, just confusion, as his body jerked once under the blanket before going still forever, with not so much as a gurgle escaping his lips.

Leo held his breath as he counted to five in silence, ensuring the body didn't suddenly react with a delayed jolt, and only once he was satisfied, did he lower the pillow over the man's face to soak the remaining blood.

'Alright, now to get rid of the corpse and the bloody evidence–' Leo thought, as he wiped the dagger clean using Larry's nightgown, before sheathing it back, as he wrapped Larry in his own bedsheet before carrying him into the bathroom.

His plan to dispose of the body was to slowly dissolve it using corrosive acid of the ancient swamp frog, which he had accumulated in copious quantities from Dumpy.

And hence, once he killed Larry, he spent the next two hours meticulously getting rid of any evidence that suggested he had died, before stealing a few sets of his clothes and boots, and escaping out of the ground floor window, with his assassination mission now complete.