The Forbidden Element

Smoke billowed from the city as fire erupted in the distance.

"They planned this," Surya muttered, his fists clenching. "The Executioner was just a distraction!"

Before anyone could react, a dark shadow whipped through the air toward them.

SHING!

Surya barely had time to deflect the incoming dagger, the force sending him skidding back. His gaze snapped up—

Perched on a broken archway above them was a new enemy.

A lean figure, clad in a long black coat with red stitching, a mask covering the lower half of his face. His piercing violet eyes glowed in the moonlight.

He twirled another dagger between his fingers.

"Tch. And here I thought you'd be too exhausted to block that."

Surya narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

The figure smirked. "Let's just say... I'm cleaning up the Executioner's mess."

Then—he vanished.

CLANG!

Surya barely blocked as the masked man appeared behind him, his dagger clashing against Surya's blade. The speed was unreal—faster than the Executioner, faster than any enemy he had faced before.

A blur of motion—

Another strike!

Surya dodged by inches, feeling the air shift as the dagger passed by his throat.

The assassin clicked his tongue. "Not bad."

Then, in the blink of an eye—he was gone again.

Rudra slammed his fists together, his fire aura flaring. "Damn it, he's fast! Where is he?!"

"Tsk." Saria's gaze darted around, her bow drawn. "I can't track him. He's blending into the shadows."

Surya exhaled sharply. "Then I'll drag him out."

Golden energy flared around him.

He closed his eyes.

Listened.

Felt the air shift.

A flicker—there!

Surya swung his sword in a flash—

CLANG!

A dagger clashed against his blade, but this time, Surya wasn't knocked back. He held his ground, forcing the assassin to stop moving.

The masked man's violet eyes widened. "What the—"

Surya smirked. "Got you."

BOOM!

With a burst of energy, Surya shattered the ground beneath them, throwing the assassin off balance.

He lunged forward—striking faster than ever.

SLASH!

A clean cut tore through the assassin's coat. He barely dodged in time, flipping backward and landing gracefully on a fallen pillar.

For the first time, the smirk on his face faded.

"...Impressive." He touched his torn coat, his expression unreadable.

Then, his eyes flicked toward the burning city.

"But I wasn't sent here to kill you."

He gave Surya one last look—then vanished into the darkness.

Surya cursed under his breath.

They had wasted time.

The real battle was in the capital.

To Be Continued...