It had been over 9 hours since that time, and Noir remained in his position, sleeping.
It seemed even he had to take a small break.
Truthfully, the young bodyguard had not had any sleep since he met Ciara. As things stood, he needed to regain some of his stamina. Thus, after seeing Ciara had finally fallen asleep, he followed suit.
Before either one of the two knew it, night fell.
And then—
"Haa…"
—Noir's eyes suddenly popped wide open.
He instantly sprang from his seat, and with a quick glance, looked over the room. Upon finding Ciara still fast asleep, he sighed in relief.
Despite that, though, the air of unease had not left the room.
"Four… Maybe five?" Noir murmured to himself, counting the number of presences he was sensing.
Thanks to his heightened abilities, not even the stealth of the intruders could avail them. Once the young man was done calculating how many foes he was up against, he came to a conclusion.
"It seems… we're not alone." Taking action instantly, his body faded into the darkness.
>SHWWUUUUUUU<
Noir quickly left the room through the window, carefully ensuring he didn't make any sound that would awaken Ciara.
As he stepped out, a shadowy figure immediately appeared in front of him. Wielding a glowing dagger, the Mana within it sent the air undulating.
The weapon's green glow showed the level of Magic Power it had—a Tier 4 Enchantment.
>VWUUUSSHHH!!!<
Noir easily dodged the blade, simultaneously grabbing the hand of his would-be assassin. However, another concealed dagger suddenly appeared behind him.
"Hmmph!" The mysterious person twisted, causing two more flying blades to appear—in opposite directions—beside him.
Noir was cornered… or so it would seem.
In a blur, he vanished from his position—causing all the projectiles to miss. This also meant the assassin was free from his grasp, letting him take action instantly.
The strange figure leaped into Ciara's room, since the window was no longer guarded, intending to finish his job—killing the girl once and for all.
"Nice tricks," Noir whispered in his ears as he appeared right behind him.
The assassin widened his eyes in surprise, sharply twisting his body to attack the source of danger with his dagger.
Unfortunately for him, Noir had vanished to his front.
"You're skilled… and smart. But, you're too slow." With a quiet voice and disconcerting eyes, the chilly young man stared at the opponent.
The assassin quickly looked around him in a panic—or could it be an attempt to find the best solution to his predicament?
'He is trapped…' Noir's thoughts trailed.
The man could not win the fight. Noir could kill him at any time, yet he was restraining himself. There was but one reason for that.
—Information!
"I won't kill you. I'm sure you know that much already. You should have also realized what I want. There's no way you're getting out of here alive too…" Noir's pitch-black eyes narrowed on his target.
"So, your only option is to—"
Noir was still speaking when the assassin took his blade and wanted to stab himself. Surprisingly, the blade disappeared—appearing on Noir's hand.
"Tch!" The Assassin quickly started chanting, and suddenly a red magic circle appeared on the ground where he stood.
The Assassin finished the incantation quickly, and the red circle glowed. He seemed pleased by what he had done too.
However…
>BZZZTZZZZ<
The Magic Circle buzzed and shattered apart like glass.
"W-wha—?!" The mystery man was shocked, unable to speak.
His eyes bulged instead—both in surprise… and fear!
"A Tier 5 Self-Destruct Spell. You intended to take me out by sacrificing yourself… how typical.
"H-how…" The Assassin stuttered, now in even more shock—if that was even possible.
"While [Crimson Self Destruction] is a Tier 5 Spell, it is easier to use than others of the same Tier since it burns out the user's life and uses it to create a massive explosion.
All assassins of your caliber should at least have such a Spell. It is in the nature of your business to avoid any leak of information." Noir calmly analyzed.
>WHISSHHH!!!<
The Assassin tried throwing a few more daggers at Noir, but they were easily evaded.
Finally, he fell to his knees—plopping helplessly to the ground. The powerless man no longer had any strength in his legs since he had sacrificed most of his Mana to use the Self-Destruct Spell.
"If you're curious as to how I was able to disarm you, I'm willing to trade that secret with you For information, of course," Noir said, moving closer to the assassin.
The Assassin's body kept shaking as he struggled to stand. He could not fail this mission, no matter the cost. If he did—
"P-please spare me!" The Assassin quickly yelled before Noir got too close.
"I have a wife and a daughter at home. I-if I fail… they'll kill them! P-please!"
The desperation of the Assassin caused Noir to stop moving.
"Haa…" He sighed and shook his head, turning to Ciara's bed and noticing she was still fast asleep.
Relief spread over his face.
The Assassin jumped quickly and lunged at Noir, making his last-ditch attempt at his life.
Noir looked sadly at the assassin. The man knew what would come next, so why did he even try at all? The Dark Knight knew the answer quite well.
"I can understand. After all, I was once like you…" A cold and empty smile leaked from his face as the empty echoes of his voice sounded.
>WHOOOSHH!<
The Assassin's head rolled on the ground, and his body fell with a thud. Noir looked at the mess created on the floor and looked slightly displeased.
"Looks like I'll have to take care of this mess as soon I'm done with the intruders; at least before the youn—I mean, Ciara wakes up," Noir mumbled, quickly correcting himself.
He looked outside the window and sensed a few more presences lurking around the premises.
"I had better take care of things soon… I don't want the commotion to escalate and allow them to disturb her sleep."
After whispering this, Noir faded again, using his silent speed to race outside the room.
*
*
*
Noir took care of a few more Assassins, but he felt something was off.
He looked around and noticed that, while there was no longer anyone outside the premises, his unease was yet to be quelled.
Suddenly—
'Don't tell me…!'
—His eyes immediately widened from a sudden realization.
He was not wrong!
Suddenly, a giant orange magic circle sprung up around the house where Ciara, as well as Galand and Lorna, resided.
"That's—!" Noir recognized the Spell well.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ It was a Tier 6 wide-range Magic Spell that required four skilled Mages to perform at four cardinal angles—with the fifth mage within the Circle.
"[Grand Teleportation]?!" Noir's thoughts rang.
The orange light shone brighter, meaning the Spell was activated.
"So this was their plan all along…" Noir's eyes narrowed as he felt the condensed flow of Mana.
'Luring me outside with those small fries while these guys teleport the entire building away from here… how smart. They must have intentionally refused to approach Ciara's room, knowing I would have immediately sensed their plan."
Noir stood still, watching as the building became engulfed in the orange light.
"I'm quite a distance away from the house so I can't use [Null]." He whispered.
The house was already vanishing, turning transparent in nature. All this occurred within Noir's perception of time, which meant everything was moving very slowly for him.
Even then, he would not be able to reach the house in time. That was how fast the [Grand Teleportation] was, once it had been activated. The enemies had planned this quite thoroughly.
HOWEVER—!
"Guess I have no choice now…" Noir raised his left-hand index finger.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply, a darker gleam of power shooting from his deeply warped eyes. Everything seemed to come to a complete halt as his lips cracked open.
"… [Magic Territory]."
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[A/N]
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