"Come."
Seojin taunted.
But the assassin, Lythian, did not move. Instead, he took a deep breath and hardened his resolve.
'Fuck.'
Lythian cursed inwardly.
If only he had courage to kill his target, Seven Hart, without any hesitation just like how it was written in the novel.
'This is a chance given to me.'
'I am the main character.'
'Move, Lythian. Don't be scared.'
Lythian's head was bombarded by his own thoughts, thinking that he transmigrated into the novel that he had occasionally read.
Just like Seojin, Lythian was well-familiar with this trope.
The thing is, he believed that he was the only person who was given the chance.
But no one could blame him, given that his gift was not a system that allowed him to view other character's status to determine who was the reader and not.
Then, Lythian smiled as if he had just thought of a very interesting idea.
Lythian dropped into a stance that was not really a stance.
His knees bent too much with one foot planted awkwardly ahead of the other. His arms also jerked into position with one dagger held too high near his shoulder and the other hovering uncertainly by his waist.
His fingers flexed and re-gripped the hilts like he could not decide whether to throw, slash, or lunge.
'Fuck. This gift better be useful.'
Lythian thought.
Seojin, on the other hand, frowned.
From what he could see, the assassin no longer hesitated. And then, he saw the dagger hurled towards him. When he looked at Lythian, he was no longer there.
Seven focused with his left eye despite the strain in which he saw the trajectory it would take where it would hit his left eye in a second.
Swoosh.
But seeing it, he tilted his head enough to dodge it, but one second was not enough so it grazed his left cheek instead.
The dagger sliced through the air.
Yet right after, another dagger that trailed right behind the first one was closing in.
A double throw.
It was now inches away from his neck.
There was no time to dodge, and thus he deflected it by the dagger he held.
Clang!
"Urgh-kkkh."
But the force rattled his bones, in which pain flared through his palm and his fingers involuntarily loosened. His grip faltered, and the dagger he held slipped from his grasp.
His breath hitched.
That was a mistake.
His body ached from the impact. He steadied his footing, but before he could fully recover, something shifted in the air.
Step. Step.
The rhythm of footsteps echoed through the trees, though it was barely audible over the sound of falling rain.
"Be scared. Struggle."
Lythian's voice echoed from nowhere. He was still invisible.
But to Seojin, he could see him dashing swiftly by judging how the water puddle reacted.
Lythian was just moving at a high speed where the assassins are known, and the one-second future vision of Præscientia showed a sight of Lythian stabbing his heart.
Those two daggers were mere distractions for this.
But instead of panic, he stomped on the hilt of the fallen dagger on the ground, sending it flying back up.
And just as the vision displayed, Lythian re-appeared with his dagger aimed mere inches from his chest.
"Fucker. Die!"
Lythian's grin was audible in his voice, but Seojin was not fazed.
Lub-Dub. Lub…
His heart pounded, but his mind was clear.
With a sudden motion, he twisted his body in a 360 degree spin, narrowly avoiding the blade's deadly stab. His arm shot up, catching the flying dagger from the ground and stabbed Lythian's chest instead.
Stab.
A perfect and stylish counter.
With a mocking grin, he pulled the dagger and stabbed Lythian again, and again, and again.
Blood smeared across Seojin's knuckles, warm and slick, where it dripped between his fingers. The air was thick with the metallic scent, and it was sharp enough to taste.
But he still was not done.
He twisted the dagger in his grip and drove it in without hesitation.
Stab.
He stabbed the Carotid Artery, in which it ruptured and blood sprayed against his wrist.
Seojin pulled the blade free just to stab again.
Stab.
He stabbed it.
Again.
And again.
And… again.
Lythian's legs wobbled as he staggered back with a breath that came in ragged gasps.
Under any circumstances, he should have already been dead.
But given that he possessed a body of an assassin which may have trained to withstand vital attacks, he was still standing though just maintaining it used all of his remaining strength.
Seojin adjusted his stance.
He drove his boot forward and launched a brutal kick against Lythian's knee.
Lythian buckled and collapsed onto one leg.
Hah…
Seojin exhaled and shifted his grip on the dagger.
'...Last one.'
Stab.
He stabbed the popliteal area which was the soft tissue at the back of Lythian's knee. After all, assassins were known for their speed and agility, thus this would of course hinder their movement.
Thud.
Lythian's other leg collapsed beneath him and his body crashed onto the ground.
Step.
He stepped back and let the dagger fall from his grasp.
Hff…
With a deep breath he stared towards the setting sun in red hue, as if it mirrored the scene before him.
He laughed.
'Who knew Biology would help—'
Before he could finish his thought, he attempted to turn around urgently and move away.
After all, what the vision displayed was none other than him choking with blood as a dagger pierced his spinal cord.
"Urghh-khh…"
But before he could, it already pierced his chest and he coughed a mouthful of blood.
Slowly, he turned his head, only to see the assassin with already healed wounds.
Lythian threw his head back as laughter spilled out from his lips.
"Ahaha… Immortality…"
Lythian stared at his healed wounds and flexed his fingers as if expecting them to crumble. But they did not.
A slow grin stretched across his face followed by the gleam of his eyes with an almost manic exhilaration.
"This gift really is incredible!"
Seojin was slowly losing his consciousness from both his pierced spinal cord and the backlash of the artifact, and thus he barely registered the words Lythian said.
But before his vision faded, an unexpected scene happened.
Or more like, he was expecting this to happen from the start, given that Eden Hart, in the novel, arrived right after Seven Hart's death.
Swosh.
Lythian's neck was sliced off in a perfect cut.
A woman with platinum hair that reflected the faint light of the dying sun beyond the horizon stepped into view.
She held a sword with blood still dripping on it, and looked at Seojin who was about to fall.
Before his body hit the ground, she caught him with a gentle touch.
"...Sister?"