Chapter 144: Assassination [2]
The air grew thick with smoke. The shrieks of panicked citizens clashed with the thunder of collapsing stone as fire clawed its way up the buildings flanking the street.
"Run!" Caleb barked, grabbing Livia’s wrist as another explosion rocked the ground beneath them.
The bench they’d just been sitting on toppled sideways with the force, scattering splinters across the grass.
Alaric was already moving, his body angled low. Eyes, cold and calculating, flicked from alley to alley, gauging the safest path as the world around them crumbled.
"W–what the heck is going on in the capital!?"
Elina’s voice cut through the roar, high with panic. She clutched her skirts in both hands as she tried to keep pace,m.
"How would I know?" Alaric muttered, his tone was flat, but his gaze never stopped moving.
Every corner, every rooftop, every shifting shadow, he scanned it all. Smoke veiled half the street, but his sharp eyes tracked the currents of fleeing bodies, searching for the gaps they could slip through.
Livia stumbled on the uneven cobblestones, nearly dragging Caleb down with her.
"Careful," he snapped, pulling her upright with more force than gentleness. His head whipped around, fire essence sparking faintly across his palm, ready to ignite at the slightest threat.
The ground shook again. A section of a nearby building sheared away with a sickening crack, scattering burning debris into the street.
People screamed, scattering like ants from a kicked nest.
"There!" Alaric’s hand shot out, pointing toward a side alley partially shielded from the worst of the chaos.
"Move!"
He shoved past a stumbling merchant, guiding Elina forward with one firm push at her back. Caleb came right after, half-dragging Livia as she coughed against the smoke.
The four of them spilled into the narrower lane, the roar of fire and screaming muffled slightly by the high stone walls hemming them in.
Just as they were about to exit the square, a shimmer rippled across the air, like heatwaves bending the light. Alaric stopped short, his hand colliding with it.
A hollow thrum echoed, followed by a faint hum that crawled across the invisible wall.
"What the!" Elina’s eyes widened. She slammed her palm against it, but it didn’t budge. "Don’t tell me this is—"
"A fucking barrier?!" Alaric snapped, voice sharp as he drew back his fist and punched.
The impact sent a ripple through the translucent surface, but it held firm, mocking his strength.
"Dammit!" He clenched his fist, jaw tight. "Someone’s locked this whole place down."
Behind them, the chaos only grew worse. More explosions erupted, smoke and fire curling into the sky.
People were banging against the barrier with their bare hands, some screaming, some sobbing, their voices blending into a desperate chorus.
Livia’s face had gone pale, her hands clutching her book tightly against her chest.
"We... we’re trapped inside?" Her voice trembled, almost swallowed by the panic around them.
Caleb stepped forward, flames sparking faintly across his clenched fists as if instinctively preparing for a fight. His teeth ground together.
Elina whipped around, her braid snapping behind her as she grabbed Livia’s wrist. "We can’t stay in the open! If the explosions keep spreading..."
Alaric’s eyes flicked left, then right, scanning the burning wreckage, the stampeding crowd, the twisting alleys that branched off from the square.
"Fuck this..."
He cursed under his breath and gestured for them to follow as they changed direction, pressing along the curve of the barrier.
The air buzzed faintly where their shoulders brushed close, that shimmering wall humming like a living thing.
They had only taken a handful of steps when the barrier shuddered.
The translucent shimmer suddenly thickened, hardening into a solid veil of distorted light.
The outside world blurred as though seen through water, becoming little more than vague shadows.
Elina slowed. "What’s happening now—"
But she didn’t finished as multiple figures materialized out of the haze. One after another, cloaked silhouettes stepped forward from the barrier itself, their outlines sharpening until cruel steel gleamed in their hands. Swords, spears, jagged axes, all pointed at the huddled, panicked civilians.
"Do not move," one of them barked, voice rough and cold. "Anyone who tries will die where they stand."
A ripple of terror swept through the trapped crowd.
Mothers clutched children closer, men raised trembling arms in surrender. The square, once filled with chaos, went disturbingly still under the promise of violence.
Alaric stiffened immediately, pulling Elina behind him on instinct. His gaze darted from one figure to the next, eyes sharp and calculating despite the weight of the situation.
Caleb’s fists twitched, but the nearest soldier snapped his spear toward a cowering child. "Try it, and they’re the first to burn."
Livia froze, her knuckles white as she clutched her sketchbook, her lips pressed thin in silent panic.
The soldiers closed in swiftly. Rough hands shoved them apart, forcing them all down to their knees. Cold steel pressed at their necks as another figure stepped forward, producing lengths of coarse rope.
Alaric tensed, his teeth grinding, but before he could act, his arms were yanked backward. The rope bit into his wrists, tightening with cruel efficiency. One by one, Elina, Livia, and even Caleb were bound the same way, their hands wrenched behind their backs.
The square was no longer a place of chaos.
It had become a cage.
The figure who bound Alaric leaned in close, the faint clink of chainmail sounding beneath his cloak.
His face was hidden under a dark hood, but when he shifted, a jagged scar that ran from the corner of his jaw up to his temple caught the light.
Tugging the rope tight until it cut into Alaric’s skin, the scarred man straightened and swept his gaze across the others.
"Clear?" he asked flatly.
The rest of the cloaked figures gave curt nods. "Clear."
"Good. Move them."
The soldiers shoved the captives forward. People stumbled, children cried out, and no one dared resist.
Herded like cattle, the mass of terrified civilians was driven toward a looming stone building at the edge of the square, its shadow stretching wide like the maw of some great beast.
Livia flinched at every shove, her breaths sharp and shallow. Her free hand twitched toward Elina’s as she tried to give comfort, but before she could lean close, a rough yank on her rope pulled her back.
"Don’t fall behind," the scarred figure growled.
Elina hissed, twisting slightly against her restraints. "She’s not doing anything. I’m just giving my friend some company, that’s all."
One of the others barked a laugh, low and cruel. "Company? Don’t worry..." His voice turned mockingly soft, almost sing-song.
"She’ll have more company than she can handle inside. She won’t need yours."
The words dripped like poison, leaving a chill in the air heavier than the ropes cutting into their wrists.
Elina gritted her teeth but said nothing, her eyes narrowed, every muscle in her jaw tight with restraint.
The line of captives shuffled forward under the watchful eyes of their armed escorts.
Meanwhile, Alaric let his pace lag, each step dragging more than the last.
The scarred man at the front cast him a glance but didn’t intervene.
Instead, one of the younger figures broke formation and moved up to yank at his bound arms.
"Keep moving," the youth hissed, giving him a hard shove.
Alaric winced, doubling slightly, his expression twisting with discomfort. "My stomach..." he muttered, voice hoarse. "It’s aching... can’t walk too fast."
His face tightened with a pained grimace, the act convincing enough to draw a scoff.
The younger figure clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Pathetic. Fine, just keep up" He turned away, dismissing him with a sneer.
They pressed on, and when the path narrowed, the procession squeezed past a dark alley.
In that moment, Alaric staggered deliberately, veering just enough for the young captor to move close again.
Without warning, Alaric twisted, his movements sharp and predatory. He slammed his shoulder into the youth’s chest, spinning him into the shadows of the alley. In the same motion, he drove his bound hands upward, the chain between his wrists ramming into the boy’s throat with brutal precision.
A strangled gasp tore from the youth as Alaric’s strike crushed against his vocal cords.
He seized the advantage, looping the chain around the boy’s neck and yanking it tight. The figure’s heels scraped against the stone as he flailed, dragged deeper into the alley, away from the eyes of the others.
The muffled sound of choking echoed in the narrow dark, swallowed quickly by the roar of chaos still raging outside the barrier.
The figure clawed weakly at the chain, boots scraping against the cobblestones. His muffled attempts to scream came out broken, caught in his crushed throat.
Alaric’s eyes stayed cold, his grip unrelenting. The struggling grew weaker, the kicks less frantic, until finally the boy’s body sagged, limp and breathless.
With a quiet exhale, Alaric eased the corpse down and propped it against the wall. He worked quickly, stripping the dark cloak from the body and tugging off the gloves.
Draping the cloak over himself, Alaric pulled the hood low, tucking the gloves onto his hands.
Then, without a sound, he slipped from the alley back into the open streets.