147 Assassination (II)

Cain focused on the gates that led into Rouk City, and his eyes glowed with red light before concentrating his Astral Wave into his eyes. The next second, his sight became stronger than most military binoculars, and he made a mental map of the terrain, paying special attention to all the guards and surveillance devices.

“Apex, are you ready?”

“Yes. I will alter the cameras’ image and generate a counterforce field to trick the scanners around the gates. It will only last for a few minutes. Any longer, and the city’s network could detect my presence.”

Cain nodded and took a deep breath as he used Void Breath to hide his presence to the point that most people would not notice him even if they were standing right next to him.

He advanced to the gate, quietly mixing with the people making their way into the city. No one recognized Cain, and even those who looked in his direction could barely notice him.

There were two guards at the gate, making sure everybody presented proper identification before going in. Due to the reconstruction effort, the ins and outs of the city were not so strict, but people still needed to notify their entrance.

“Next.” A guard just let a person pass before calling the next one to come closer when he felt a strange presence to his left, but when he looked in that direction, there was nothing.

“Watchtower. Did you notice any unusual activity around the gates?”

Despite not finding anything, the guard was diligent and used his A.I. Chip to contact the people in charge of digital surveillance.

.....

“Negative. Our cameras and the force field pick nothing strange.”

The guard nodded after hearing that and carried on with his work.

Cain’s face was pale as he continued advancing with Void Breath, and he made his way into the city’s core, passing through dark spots where there was no digital surveillance.

Apex had stopped his interference with the cameras but still marked the spots through which Cain could move without leaving a digital trail.

This chapter's initial release occurred on the N0v3l-B1n site.

Usually, that would be extremely hard since all the empire’s cities were under constant surveillance. Still, the attack of the Dark Races had left Rouk City in ruins, and it would be a long time before everything was in order again.

Cain would hide in dark alleys from time to time, so he could rest for a moment before activating Void Breath again and continuing his way.

His eyes narrowed as he reached the city’s center due to the stark contrast with the rest of the place. The buildings here were already as good as new.

That sight did not surprise Cain since the city’s mayor is usually in charge of logistic endeavors like reconstructions. Clacius would definitely prioritize the comfort of the people with influence over the masses.

Cain did not care about this type of inequity since the world was unequal, and even he would treat his friends better than he would a stranger.

Of course, Clacius was Rouk City’s Mayor, and it was his job to focus on the well-being of the entire population, not just a few. But, since Cain was ready to end the man’s life, why would he bother with something so trivial?

—

Clacius’ days had returned to normal now that the reconstruction of the city’s core was over, and he was no longer bothered by individuals with real influence. While there were people in the rest of the city who were angry due to the state of their houses and business, he could afford to ignore them.

He spent the entire day in the City Hall, dealing with some government matters, before finally returning to his residence, a large mansion at the very heart of the city.

During the entire day, the Level 4 Astral Wave Warrior that worked as his bodyguard never left Clacius’ side and only separated once they entered the mansion.

Clacius took a long shower before going to a hidden room of his mansion with a special device similar to a computer from the Old World.

The communications sent through the A.I. Chips implanted in the brains of every child in the Godslayer Humankind Empire were encrypted. Still, there were people with enough power to access them.

Of course, those powerhouses would not bother with someone so insignificant as a mayor of a small city, but Clacius was careful. That is why he used a special device when communicating with his contacts in the underworld.

Clacius had just typed his passwords and searched through his files when it happened.

“So this is how you manage to keep all those nefarious businesses in the dark. Interesting.”

Clacius’ entire body began to tremble when he heard that. This room was a place only he was supposed to get access to. Not even his bodyguard could do it, yet a voice had just emerged from behind him.

The first thing Clacius attempted to do was use his A.I. Chip to ask for help, but there was a jamming signal blocking every form of communication. Before he could even think of rising from his seat, powerful willpower clashed with his mind.

“Do not move nor speak.”

Those words reached the core of Clacius’ mind, stopping him from doing anything, and things only worsened.

“Shut down your sense of touch, hearing, and sight.”

A second after hearing those words, an expression of utter terror emerged on Clacius’ face since he found himself in complete darkness. He could not move, hear, or see, and the lack of touch meant that even if someone cut his body apart, he would not realize it.

The greater the terror, the more terrifying the fantasies became in Clacius’ mind.

Cain was in the room wearing his Red Hood. While he made sure to hide his presence and hack the mansion’s digital surveillance, it was better to be safe than sorry.

His eyes only grew colder as he saw the terror on Clacius’ face. What this one felt could not compare with the fear those children experienced at the hand of the thieves inside that cave.

“Apex, can you hack into this device and access all its information and contacts?”

“It is very hard to intercept any message coming in and out of this type of device from outside, but it will be easy to do it now since we have direct access to it.”

Cain felt an electromagnetic force field emerge from his body and reach the device before the screen showed weird signs.

“Done.”

Apex took less than a minute to analyze every file and save every piece of information in it.

Cain nodded before focusing again on Clacius, and his eyes glowed with red light as he cut off the command that stopped this one’s sense of hearing.

“Is there any other portal or device where you store any more of your illicit activities or contacts?”

Clacius could not resist the power of Cain’s voice and answered immediately.

“No, everything is in the device in front of me.”

Cain continued asking questions to Clacius, and some of the answers made his eyes burst with killing intent. Sometimes he wanted to rip the man to pieces but maintained control.

“Do you have any other crew working for you like the one destroyed half a year ago?”

“Yes, I have assembled a new group. They have been stealing some of the materials used in the reconstruction effort and storing them in the forest.”

Cain was not surprised and made Clacius give him the exact coordinates before taking a capsule with a blue liquid.

“Drink it.”

Clacius showed no hesitation as he took the capsule and engulfed its content.

Cain returned the capsule to his space ring once Clacius had drunk until the last drop before speaking to the System Spirit.

“Apex?”

“The [Basic Scan Force Field] shows that the Wave Virus has reached his bloodstream. It will remain dormant for four days before inducing a cardiac arrest, corresponding to complications of the wounds he endured during the attack of the Dark Races’ powerhouses.”

Cain could have easily shattered Clacius’ head with a single strike or even made the man commit suicide, but both would generate a thorough investigation. However, a medical complication in a man of Clacius’ age and health was not that odd.

People might suspect, but unless they brought a Grand Genetic Coder to examine the body, no one would find anything.

After everything was over, Cain took a deep breath as he pushed his Ego Wave and hypnosis abilities to their peak.

“You will wake up in ten minutes and forget everything that happened here. You will carry on with your life as usual.”

Cain saw that Clacius’ eyes lost focus as he ingrained that command into this one’s mind. He was just an Elementary Hypnosis Master, and his orders would not remain long in people’s minds.

Clacius would forget this interaction, but he would begin to remember it in a few days. However, by then, he would have already died.

Cain made sure to leave no trace of his presence in the room before leaving the mansion and, not long after, also leaving Rouk City.

After taking care of Clacius, Cain had planned to return to the Imperial Lightning Fort, but he focused on the forest, and killing intent emerged in them.

‘I am a hero. If I know evil is near, how could I not destroy it?’

Cain flashed into the forest, and once he was out of sight, he triggered his Wave Cloak and Lightning Armament.