Chapter 70: Nightfang?

Lathel flinched when he saw the two figures. Both were dressed in black, and on their chests was an insignia of two long, razor-sharp fangs like twin daggers piercing into an eye. "You... who are you?" Lathel shouted in feigned fear, his face etched with apparent anxiety. "Hahaha... I’m sure the Prince already knows who we are, right?" The man in black sneered as he spoke, his index finger pointing toward the embroidered emblem on his chest. "You... you’re from the Nightfang assassin organization?" Lathel asked, his voice trembling. "Hahaha... that’s right." The male assassin grinned. Lathel tried to stand, but collapsed back onto the seat, his expression twisted in pain, one hand clutching the wound on his chest. "Well! Well! Well!" the assassin said with utter disdain. "Prince, you’re seriously injured—don’t move too much, hahaha..." "You..." Lathel gritted his teeth, his gaze turning bloodshot in rage. "I have no grudge with you whatsoever. Why are you here for me?" "Ah! How foolish... but also pitiful." The male assassin smirked. "Indeed, you and I have no quarrel. In fact, I only learned of your existence yesterday." Lathel’s eyes widened as if he’d realized something, his teeth clenched. "You... who hired you to kill me?" "Of course, it was—" "You don’t need to know." Before the male assassin could finish, the female assassin cut in. "We take the job, we get it done. Who the client is doesn’t matter." Lathel bit down hard, his eyes blazing with near-mad fury. "You... this is a magic academy. You dare kill me? Aren’t you afraid that once the Professors find out, they’ll kill you?" "Hahaha..." The male assassin laughed with open mockery. "If we were afraid, we wouldn’t be doing this. But rest assured... we can kill you and leave without anyone ever knowing." "Ah!" Lathel recoiled in apparent shock, his expression slowly shifting into one of fear. "You... you’ve colluded with the academy’s staff, haven’t you?" "You don’t need to know." The female assassin’s tone was cold. "Enough. Kill him, Black Wolf. No need to waste words on him." "I know, Black Rabbit." Black Wolf grinned as he drew a black dagger. Lathel’s voice came out weary and hopeless. "Even if I’m gravely injured... don’t think you can defeat me so easily." "Do you even know what my level is?" "Hahahaha... hahahaha..." Black Wolf’s laughter dripped with derision. "How laughable... Prince Lathel, do you know what my level is? What Black Rabbit’s level is?" "We’re both Level 3 – Mid Stage. According to reports, at best, you’re Level 2 – Early Stage. Do you really think... you can take on the two of us alone?" "All right..." the male assassin sighed. "Don’t worry. I’ll make it quick—you won’t feel a thing..." Lathel sat trembling in his chair, as if paralyzed by sheer terror, his already pale face now ghostly white like a man drained of all blood. His pupils quivered, his lips stammering. "No... I... I won’t die here... I..." "Farewell, Prince Lathel!" The male assassin sneered, the dagger in his hand gleaming with a dangerous black light. Strange symbols slithered across the blade like tiny serpents. Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, the male assassin vanished, crossing nearly ten meters in a single instant to appear right in front of Lathel. The dagger in his hand thrust straight toward Lathel’s forehead. "Huk?!" Suddenly, his body halted abruptly, the tip of the dagger stopping less than a centimeter from Lathel’s brow. "What the hell?!" the male assassin muttered, his eyes darting around in confusion, straining to move—yet he couldn’t. The space around him felt frozen solid. No matter how violently he struggled, it was useless; he couldn’t move even a millimeter. "Black Wolf!" Black Rabbit’s eyes widened at the bizarre scene. "Could it be... Professor Lyra has returned?" That was her first thought. She immediately drew a slender sword, scanning their surroundings with heightened vigilance. "No!" Black Rabbit’s brows furrowed. "Professor Lyra specializes in elemental wind magic—this isn’t hers." "What did you do?" She shifted her attention to Lathel. Her body blurred into a streak of black light as she lunged at him, her willow blade stabbing straight for his heart. "Huk! What the hell?!" Black Rabbit’s voice cracked in disbelief as she realized... she was caught in the same predicament as Black Wolf. Both assassins froze mid-strike before Lathel, locked in place by some eerie force. Even they had no idea what was happening. Lathel let out a slow sigh, the worry, fear, and despair from moments ago vanishing without a trace—replaced by a suffocating killing intent. ’So this... is killing intent... it’s terrifying.’ Both Black Wolf and Black Rabbit felt a chill crawl down their spines. It was as if the killing intent had taken form, becoming a black mist that shrouded the entire space around them, dragging the temperature down until it felt like they were standing inside an ice cellar. "How laughable..." Lathel’s lips curled into a cold, malevolent smile that made even the assassins shudder. ’Impossible! For killing intent this overwhelming... has he killed more people than I have?’ Black Wolf’s mind reeled in disbelief. ’But... according to the intel, he’s nothing more than a useless prince hiding behind a façade of kindness.’ ’How could someone like that possess killing intent like this? No! It must be...’ "You’re not Lathel!" Black Wolf barked. "The real Lathel wouldn’t be this strong, nor would he have such terrifying killing intent. Who are you?" Lathel smirked. "Ah... you have no right to know who I am." "You..." Black Wolf ground his teeth, realizing full well he couldn’t defeat the man before him. He immediately changed tactics. "I don’t know you. Our mission was only to kill Lathel. If you release us now, I’ll pretend none of this happened." "Oh? And if I don’t?" Lathel leaned back in his seat, leisurely pouring himself a cup of tea. "Huh!" Black Wolf scoffed. "You may be strong, but you can’t stand against the Nightfang assassin organization. If you dare kill me, Nightfang will never let you go." "You should know... Nightfang is an assassin guild—" BAM! Before Black Wolf could even finish his sentence, his body exploded like an overripe watermelon, spraying blood and flesh in all directions. However, strangely enough, it was as if his remains were trapped inside an invisible glass sphere. The blood and chunks of flesh formed a perfect orb suspended in the air, and then... Crack! Crack! Crack! The sphere began to shrink, the sound of bones and flesh being crushed echoing sharply in the air. Black Rabbit’s eyes widened in disbelief. ’What kind of magic is this?’ ’How could he kill Black Wolf so effortlessly?’ She knew Black Wolf’s strength well—he was already at Level 3 – Mid Stage, just a few steps away from Late Stage. Even against a Level 4 Awakened, he could still escape with ease. But now... what the hell was happening? Black Wolf had been killed without even the slightest chance to fight back. Crack! Crack! The invisible sphere shrank further, the sickening crunch of pulverized bone and flesh filling the air. Moments later, it was no larger than a marble, just the size of a thumb. Yet Black Rabbit, who had witnessed the entire process, knew very well... that tiny sphere contained Black Wolf’s remains. Her fear began to grow. If this were a brutal, drawn-out battle, she wouldn’t be afraid—failure was one thing. But this... wasn’t even a fight. She and Black Wolf hadn’t so much as touched Lathel, and he was already dead. Black Rabbit trembled, her eyes fixed on Lathel. But he simply sat there, calmly savoring his tea as though nothing had happened. Lathel took a slow sip, his face full of quiet enjoyment, before speaking. "Tell me about your organization." Hearing his calm, indifferent voice made her shiver. She wanted to threaten him, to warn him how fearsome Nightfang was—but she realized... Black Wolf had died for daring to threaten the young man in front of her. Drawing a deep breath, she forced herself to sound defiant. "I will not betray the organization." Crack! "AGH!!!" Suddenly, her index finger bent in a grotesque zigzag, bone snapping through skin, piercing outward, blood gushing like a spring. Black Rabbit screamed in agony, yet she clenched her teeth, trying to endure it. Crack! "AGH!!!" Crack! "Stop, stop!!" she finally broke when three fingers had been shattered. "I’ll talk... but... but... I don’t know much. Please, I—" Crack! "AGH!! Please! Stop..." Crack! Crack! The horrific scene unfolded in an otherwise serene setting. Lathel leisurely enjoyed his tea, while in front of him, Black Rabbit hung suspended in the air, her fingers breaking one after another. Blood poured freely, accompanied by her endless screams of pain and despair. No one could hear her cries—Lathel had sealed the space around them, ensuring not a single sound could escape. Only when all ten of her fingers had been broken did he finally stop. Black Rabbit panted heavily, her face pale as death, sweat soaking her black clothes through. "Please... stop... I... I’ll tell you everything... please..." she begged. Lathel ignored her pleas, his fingers moving with a subtle motion. Smash! In that instant, her clothes suddenly burst apart, leaving her completely exposed—her strong yet alluring body laid bare without a single shred of fabric to cover her. "Not exactly breathtaking, but... acceptable," Lathel remarked casually, setting his teacup down on the table. Black Rabbit didn’t get angry—in fact, she felt a spark of relief. If Lathel had an interest in her body, then maybe... just maybe, she had a chance to survive. "Don’t think I don’t know," Lathel said, his voice still calm, tinged with faint disdain. "If the secrets of a massive assassin organization like Nightfang could be leaked so easily, it wouldn’t have lasted this long." Despair welled up inside Black Rabbit. She quickly blurted out, "Please... I... I can do anything you want. Just let me live, I... I..." Lathel slowly stood, clasping his hands behind his back as he began to walk toward her. Black Rabbit shivered at the sound of his footsteps—they were like nails being driven into the heart already drowning in fear. "I’ll say something... if it’s correct, you only have to answer ’wrong.’ If it’s incorrect, you answer ’not accurate.’ Understood?" Though confused by his words, she was in no position to think deeply right now. She nodded quickly. "I... I understand." "Good." Lathel smiled—but in Black Rabbit’s eyes, that smile was nothing but cold and malicious. "First question—Nightfang’s leader is a woman, correct?" "Yes... ah! No, it’s... it’s ’wrong’." she hastily corrected herself. Lathel’s lips curved slightly. This was a simple interrogation trick—one that could confuse the target’s thought process and force reflexive answers based on whatever information they already held. And more importantly... it could bypass certain magical oaths of secrecy. Lathel knew some magic could kill a person the moment they revealed a guarded secret. He was certain an organization like Nightfang would employ such measures. ’Didn’t expect it to work this well.’ he thought. Not that the outcome mattered much to him. If it failed, the only one dying would be an insignificant ant—it had nothing to do with him. If it succeeded, he had just found a loophole to exploit against anti-disclosure magic. Rubbing his chin, Lathel grinned like someone contemplating something truly wicked. Black Rabbit found it strange. He wasn’t asking for their base’s location, their member count, or even Nightfang’s strength—only some bizarre question. "Second question..." Lathel continued. "Is she beautiful?" "I don’t know... that... ’wrong’... ’not accurate’... no, I... I truly don’t know." Lathel seemed satisfied with that answer. He smiled faintly. "Do you know there are a lot of Goblins in the Black Skull Forest?" Black Rabbit’s eyes widened in terror. She frantically pleaded, "No! Please... I’ll do anything you say, just... don’t take me there..." Tears streamed down her face, soaking her cheeks—pitiful and desperate. Ignoring her pleas, Lathel replied indifferently, "I think the Goblins there would be very pleased with this gift." "No! No!!!"