xymnovel Chapter 10 Assassins
Chapter 10 Assassins
The icy seawater stung Lyon like needles, instantly soaking him through.
The immense impact suffocated him; his purple robe, after absorbing water, became as heavy as lead, dragging him down into the dark seabed.
Just as his consciousness was about to be swallowed by darkness, Accord's strong hand grabbed him.
Accord struggled to cut the tangled robe sash, grabbed Lyon's chest, and pulled him out of the water, onto a desolate rocky shore not far away.
The two collapsed onto the pebbles, coughing and gasping for breath violently.
The white-robed assassin stood silently to one side, as if he were a ghost, his entire body, even his hood, was soaked through.
His cold gaze lingered for a moment on the purple robe Lyon was wearing, which was soaked but still conspicuous.
"A purple robe," his voice, like his eyes, was devoid of any emotion, "a prince stranded on the beach. Tell me your story."
Accor struggled to kneel down next to Leon, patting his back to help him drain water, while using his body to slightly shield Leon from the assassin.
He forced himself to remain calm and tried to reason with her: "Honorable...warrior. Thank you for saving my life. We are just unfortunate travelers, and this robe...we found it to keep warm."
He tried to change the subject, looking at the assassin with an inquisitive gaze: "On the contrary, it is you who possess such... extraordinary skills. I have read in my Lord's scriptures about a legendary organization in the mountains of the East, founded by a wise old man named Hassan al-Sabah. They believed in the truth and acted decisively. Have you heard of them?"
As soon as Yage finished speaking, the assassin's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, and the cold aura around him suddenly intensified.
At this moment, Leon, who had just caught his breath and was still somewhat dazed, heard the descriptions of "Hassan" and Accord, and his memories of the game from his previous life instantly overlapped with the reality before him.
Driven by an instinctive desire for verification, he murmured, in a weak but clear voice, the name etched into his DNA in the game:
"Alamut...?"
The oppressive atmosphere that had just been building up due to Accord's speculation suddenly exploded, followed by Assassin's shocked and ruthless eyes and the hidden blade on his wrist guard that carried a murderous aura.
Leon was instantly jolted awake.
Oh no! What inappropriate things did I say?! Is that something I should have said?!
Never mind, when in doubt, it's just a dream!
"It's a dream! I've dreamt of that place!" The gleaming blade in his sleeve, hovering at his throat, made Leon almost scream. "Not a complete scene... it's... fragments! Every dream is different! Soaring eagles... endless deserts... precipitous peaks... and... and one phrase that keeps repeating itself—"
"Nothing is true, everything is permitted!"
Assassin's breath hitched, and he abruptly knelt down, their faces almost touching.
He stared intently into Leon's eyes, as if trying to pierce his skull and read his thoughts.
"You..." Compared to his previous coldness, his words carried a hint of disbelief. "Look me in the eyes and say it again—where did you hear that?"
"A dream... is something that happens in a dream."
Assassin bowed his head, as still as a statue, seemingly contemplating either the "dream" Lyon spoke of or the manner of their deaths.
This silence lasted less than a snap of the fingers, and almost without warning, he moved close to Leon like a ghost.
A hand wearing a leather half-finger glove firmly gripped the back of Leon's neck as he tried to pull back, the force so great that Leon couldn't even gasp in surprise.
With his other hand, as if by magic, he swept from his waist, and a round, dark wax ball with a faint bitter almond scent appeared between his fingers.
As Accord shouted "Stop!", Assassin's fingers pressed precisely under Leon's chin, forcing his lips to open slightly, and the black pill was flicked into his throat.
Immediately afterwards, the assassin's thumb gently pushed down Leon's throat, and the pill slid down his throat and into his stomach in an instant.
Accord's teeth chattered as he looked at Leon clutching his neck, a pang of heartache gripping him. He then screamed at Assassin, "What did you feed him?! What did you feed him?!"
"What's your hurry? You're in too." Assassin flicked his finger, and another wax pellet was sent straight into the wide-open mouth of the Accord as it roared.
Accord felt a faint bitterness explode on his tongue, then turn into an icy line that slid down his esophagus.
Assassin had already retreated, as if he had never been near. His fingers lightly brushed the folds of his white robe, and his voice remained calm and undisturbed: "This is Assassin's unique slow-acting poison, which takes effect once a month. Without my antidote, the blood will freeze like ice, and ants will crawl on the bones."
His gaze swept over the pale-faced Lyon and the trembling Accord, who was filled with shock and anger: "From now on, stick close to me. I will guarantee your safety, and you'd better not try to experience the pain of the poison firsthand."
Wait, buddy?!
I thought this was a parallel universe of the Assassin Brotherhood, but it turns out it's still the infamous Assassin!
Leon trembled as he raised a finger and desperately tried to vomit it down his throat, but all he could get out was seawater mixed with stomach acid and saliva.
Accord took a deep breath, a breath that seemed to carry the saltiness of the sea and the bitterness of fate.
He didn't look at the assassin, but turned around and wrapped his large, warm hands tightly around Lyon's small body.
“Listen to Lyon,” Jacob tried to calm his trembling voice, “don’t try to resist, don’t try to reason with him. Zahir is a scumbag, but a good one—and the likes of him are just cold-blooded animals that are only human. Just… just go with him for now, there’ll be a way.”
Accord's hand was warm and strong, enveloping his icy fear. At this moment, he felt only deep regret.
He lowered his head, not daring to look into Accord's seemingly relaxed eyes.
All the sense of superiority of time travelers and the wisdom of prophets who know history turned into the most vicious irony the moment the word "Alamut" was uttered.
He thought he was riding the waves, but he was just gesturing wildly on the deck. In the end, he plunged into the sea, causing his only fellow sailor to drown as well.
Knowledge... The tiny bit of knowledge I treasured, which was almost entirely acquired from games, turned out to be poison disguised as honey.
I was like a child who stumbled into a battlefield of giants, waving my self-righteous "truth," only to be crushed into dust by the overwhelming giants' feet.
Game? Save file? No, there's no save/load trick here. The Accord, the pills in his stomach, and the toxins seeping into his blood can't just disappear by reloading a save file.
Lyon took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then gripped Accord's hand tightly.
"Thank you, Father. This voyage has truly been...very rewarding..."
Lyon was helped up by Accord, and his purple robe was removed.
Accord grabbed the casually folded purple robe and held it close to Lyon's hand, following closely behind Assassin.
The Assassin leading the way was now focused entirely outward, scanning for any movement in the wind, as if there was no one behind him.
Behind him, Accord was supporting Lyon closely. The two of them walked unsteadily, but with an almost pious precision, they maintained a distance of ten steps.