Assassination

After having dinner I headed to my room. Today should have been an exhausting day. 

First I told Ryan about the core healing technique and planned out a scheme to get our hands on it. Then I went to the church and became Helena's vessel. Helena almost assaulted Ryan for fun. Explaining that to him was also burdensome. 

I just wanted to get on my bed and take a long nap. Unfortunately, being a divine vessel meant that I was constantly being funneled with divine energy. 

This makes me unable to really rest unless I completely exhaust myself. Not only does my body stay refreshed but so does my mind. 

Ah, I really want to sleep right now. 

Well, I can at least meditate all night. I am so close to reaching the 4th tier mage. I should be able to break through before morning. 

With this thought, I open the door to my room and enter. I close the door behind me and head towards the cushion next to my bed.

My cushion is like a large fluffy pillow. It is white and so comfortable to sit on. Only an idiot would sit on the floor when meditating. No one wants to hurt their butt while sitting on the floor for hours. 

Hmmm...

Before I could take another step, my senses tingled as a shiver went down my spine. The intuition that I spent decades building on the battlefield was screaming. 

My intuition was telling me that death was insanely near and I had to move at that moment. 

I instinctively dodged to the left and put my nack to the wall. 

Shwing!

A knife cut through the air with a piercing noise. It stabbed into the floor, right where I was standing a moment ago. 

My eyes darted around the room but I could see anyone else. 

"illusion magic..." I muttered, realizing what was going on. 

Shwing! Shwing! Shwing!

Three more knives headed towards me. one from the front, one from the left, and one from the right. 

I quickly activate my mana and chant. "Permis Armor!" 

Crrrk!

In the blink of an eye, an armor of blue ice coated me from head to toe. 

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

The knives bounced off as they barely made a chip in the ice. Inside the ice, I was accumulating as much manna as I could. 

My core was constantly spinning while ejecting as much fo my reserves as it could. 

The attackers should be around 5 the tier with how the knives easily cut through the floor. The material to use in my room isn't normal so only strength of such caliber should be able to damage.

I was only able to react to the knives' speed because of my honed senses. Any normal 3rd tier manager would have already been dead. 

"It seems that they couldn't wait any longer. Hmph." I scoffed at how daring my relatives had become. I was expecting an attack like this only a couple of months from now. 

That's when they had done it in the last timeline. My actions had brought the attack forward. 

"Cold wave!" A burst of cold air was released. Frost started to grow on the walls, floor, and ceiling. The temperature dropped rapidly. 

"Use the scrolls." A voice reverberated in the room. I could not tell the direction where it came from. It sounded like the voice was coming from several directions. 

Fwoosh! 

I blast of warm air circled the and started to melt the frost. It seems like they were already informed about my trump card. My secret spell is not a secret to the family. 

Swhing!

This time, it was a sword they threw at my ice statue. 

Dunk!

It hit near my abdomen and shaved off a significant layer of ice. The shattered and sprawled out in front if me. I had already reinforced the ice armor with multiple layers. 

I was seeing my man and casting multiple spells. 

"Permis Armor! Ice Wave! Ice Wave! Permis Amror! Permis Armor! Permis Armor!" I readily cooled the room and added more layers of protection. 

Fwoosh!

They were also using more scrolls and keeping the room at only a slight chill. 

They proceeded to throw more swords at me. The swords would hit me, shave off ice, and then land on the ground. The swords would then be covered by shadows and disappear. 

I was sure the same swords were being thrown over and over again. The fact they were using weapons means they were thoroughly prepared. 

If they didn't use their bare hands meant that they also knew about the side effects of my permis armor. If they were to make physical contact with it, they would turn into ice. 

"Fuck!" I cursed. I was too weak at them moment. I hadn't even been able to use the advantages I had just gotten from the goddess. 

I was continuously using mana and they were destroying my protection without even showing themselves. 

I couldn't even cool the room down enough to use my special spell that would take them out in one go. 

It is called FROST DOMAIN. It needs specific temperatures to be cast. 

[Do you need a little help?]

The goddess's voice sounded in my head. 

"Ugh! No. I can at least do this on my own. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be able to stay by his side. He took care of enemies multiple levels above his all the time." I respond. 

It was fine. I had to take some risks but I could beat those who had come to take me down. My decades of experience would have been meaningless if I couldn't even do this. 

I let this back and forth between us go for a couple of rounds and waited for my chance.

As soon as 5 swords had gathered in front of me I knew it was time. They only had 5 words. I was paying attention to the nicks and dents the swords received every time they hit me. 

As soon as the shadow swallowed them, ready to repeat another round, I canceled my armor. 

I raised my arms and aimed my palms outward. 

"Tears of Amrisia!" Hundreds of water droplets appeared around me. They stretched and froze into ice needles. They were the size of toothpicks. 

Zwoo! Zwoo! Zwoo!

The hundreds of sharp needles flew across the room and covered every inch of the place. Some are lodged in the walls or floors. Others had smashed the window of my room. Others stabbed into my furniture and decorations. The entire place was a mess but its purpose was complete. 

Dud! Dud! Dud! 

Bodies dropped to the ground 5 muscular men wearing all black with cloth covering their faces. There were eye holes in the clot to allow them to see. 

"Gahh!' they screamed. They were bleeding from different parts of their body. There were tens of tiny little holes in their body. 

They all reacted quickly and dragged themselves back up. All except for one. I guess it pierced him in his heart. 

"You bitch!" one of the assassins screamed as he grabbed his sword and rushed at me. The other 3 did the same. 

I was running low on mana at this point. I had to conserve it for the finishing blows. I guess it was time I showed some new tricks. 

I used a small amount of mana and formed a shard of ice near the dead man's sword. 

I hit it, flinging it toward my hand. It landed perfectly as calculations like this were something I was long used to making. 

"Hah!" The assassin swung his blade down at me just as I had gotten my hands on it. 

Dang! The two metals collided as we pushed off each other. 

I held the sword with both hands and tightened my stance. 

The 4 swordsmen attacked one by one or 2 at the same time. They were constantly pushing me back as I tried to black them and deflect their attacks. I was successful each time until they started getting into rhythm. 

They were pushing me back into a corner. Their attack was synced, making it nearly impossible to black everything. 

"Tch." I clicked my tongue as I received a couple of cuts on my arm, forearm, and thighs. 

The cuts were fairly deep with those specific places starting pain. In the future, I had learned the sword from Risa. She was supposed to learn the sword a couple of years later and become a genius who was wanted by countless sects and schools. 

Whenever she was home, she would teach me the sword as mages are usually useless when running out of their mana. She thought it would be good for me to know at least something to keep me safe. Thankfully, decades of this training made me quite good at it. 

Not nearly as good as Ryan or Risa but I'm good enough to handle a couple of assassins. 

Still, I was outnumbered and the space I could work with was small. My mana is also low so the amount of cuts on my body was becoming numerous.

"Ouch!" I cried as one of them nicked a part of my left cheek. It stings way more than I could agree with. regardless, I had to ignore the pain and not let it affect my stance. 

It didn't take long until my back had hit the wall again. It was time now to end this, for both sides.

"Now!' yelled one of the assassins as they poured all their mana into their arms for one last attack. All 4 of them swung and stabbed at the same time. One at my head, one at my neck. The other two went for my hurt and lungs. 

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I scream as the pain that assaults my body and mind is unbearable. I was able to block the attacks targeted at my neck with the sword. 

The one aimed at my head was stopped in place by a thick slab of ice I had conjured with the remaining bits of my mana. 

"Coof..." I vomited blood as I could stop not the stabs to my hurt and lungs. They had pierced all the way through and come out the other side. 

The two who succeeded took their swords out and stepped back. All 4 of them slowly moved away from my body and kneeled on the ground. I had become limp as 2 vital organs were incapacitated. 

I stared up at the assassins who probably thought I was done for. No one could survive with their heart and lungs pierced. Added to my already injured body, I would die in seconds from the blood loss. 

"Let's get out. Our seniors can't hold on anymore." said one of the assains as I closed my eyes. They were talking about how others had occupied the guards, my parents, and elders who resided in the mansion. 

That was the only way they would be able to kill the heir of the family while making such a ruckus. You would have expected someone to intervene by now but they came prepared. All of the people who could have helped were busy at the moment. 

Obviously, they could not stall any longer. they had to get out. This rush is what I was counting on. I had already seen the look in their eyes when we were fighting. 

Their attacks were coordinated but at the same time, hurried. they had speed but also a sense of urgency in their strikes. Feeling out an opponent's emotions through a battle was something I had learned very well. 

"Go!" They shouted and turned their back to me, sure that I was a goner. 

This was the plan from the beginning. 

"Grace of the goddess..." I muttered as golden light enveloped me. Just cause I wasn't going to let the goddess take over doesn't mean I won't use what I've been given by her. 

The bleeding around my body stops in an instant. The wound close up and my skin turns as food as new. My heart starts breathing again. 

"Haaa..." I take a deep breath as my lungs fill with air. 

The assains stop in their tracks and turn towards me. I had no mana left in me but neither did they. 

"Divine Reflection!" I chanted. 

"KHUUHK!!" All four of the men spurted blood as they collapsed on their knees. A long, deep gash appeared across their chest and heart. 

It was in the same place where they had struck me. 

"Hmph. It's time I take off those rats." I said with a smirk on my bloodied face. I am sure I look crazed as that damn Celes.