Chapter 574: Assassination Is Just Suicide with a Fancy Name

"Yay. Congratulations," Benjamin rolled his eyes, his expression one of exasperated disbelief, already pushing himself back to his feet with a grunt of effort.

He started walking again, one hand reaching behind him to give his own back a few slow, ineffective pats in a pitiful attempt at a massage, his fingers pressing against his tired muscles. "And toss that dangerous crap before it kills someone."

"Understood!"

Heka's voice rang out with cheerful acknowledgment, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as she processed Benjamin's command.

She glanced toward the distant mountains that rose behind the city of Thaad, their dark silhouettes barely visible against the night sky, jagged peaks cutting into the darkness like the teeth of some ancient beast.

Without hesitation she drew her arm back and threw the poisoned arrow with full force, her muscles coiling and releasing in a smooth, powerful motion.

The stick left her hand in a clean, lethal arc, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle like a blade drawn against the wind, the sound echoing across the quiet streets.

It flew true across the long distance, arcing high over the city and forestation—buildings, trees, and everything—until it struck solid rock far up the slope and buried itself nearly to the fletching, the impact sending a small spray of stone chips into the darkness, fragments of rock scattering in all directions.

The moment the arrow left her fingers, Heka turned and ran after Benjamin, who had already started walking ahead, her feet pounding against the cobblestones with renewed energy.

The massive dose of poison still sang through her veins in a strange, euphoric high, the toxins coursing through her bloodstream with an almost pleasant warmth.

Her steps were light, almost bouncing, her face flushed with residual excitement, a giddy smile spreading across her features.

She remained completely unaware of the deep, lingering terror the casual throw had just created: a message of lethal precision sent into the night.

***

Many hours earlier—before Heka had even finished the process of becoming a registered adventurer in Thaad—she had unintentionally destroyed a man's reputation in front of a crowd of witnesses, an act of casual cruelty that would have lasting consequences.

The man was Octavius, a flower-class adventurer with ambitions that far exceeded his abilities.

The public humiliation had been so complete that his body had betrayed him; he had sullied himself where he stood, the final, irreversible layer of shame that no amount of boasting could ever wash away.

After that event, he could no longer remain in Thaad.

"Eve, Janin, we're leaving by dawn tomorrow!" Octavius said to the only two party members who had stayed with him, his voice cracking with desperation, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush.

He still wiped tears from his eyes with the back of one trembling hand, his cheeks wet and blotchy, his composure completely shattered.

The rest of his former colleagues had abandoned him, and reasonably so, fleeing from the stench of disgrace and failure that clung to him.

Only these two childhood friends remained, loyal to a fault and bound by years of shared history.

They had brought him to their inn room so he could change out of the ruined clothes and try to collect what was left of his dignity, to salvage something from the wreckage of his reputation.

Janin was a handsome man with short brown hair, a neatly trimmed small beard that framed his jaw, and sharp brown eyes that missed nothing.

He dressed like any ordinary mid-rank adventurer—practical leather and cloth, nothing flashy that would draw attention.

Eve was slender, almost completely covered by a dark cloak, neck down, that hid most of her figure and parts of her dark hair.

She sat on the edge of the bed beside Octavius, one hand resting on his shoulder in concern while he continued to weep, her touch gentle and reassuring.

"As you will, Tavi, we will follow your lead," she said softly. "Do not be so hard on yourself. What's done is done, and we cannot change the past. I will prepare my things as well, then gather what I need for the journey."

Janin let out a long, frustrated sigh and scratched the back of his head, his fingers running through his short brown hair with agitated energy.

"Ugh… Just when I was going somewhere meaningful with that cute salesgirl across the street… Well… we will follow you anywhere, to the end of the world if we have to, through any danger or hardship. I'll break up with her and get prepared."

Octavius looked up at the two of them, eyes still red and misty, his face a mask of shame and gratitude.

"I'm truly sorry, pals, for dragging you into this mess. You don't have to listen to me, or sacrifice your lives for my sake. If you have important things here, things that matter to you, you should stay."

"Stop that! And don't you dare push us away," Eve's voice sharpened, her tone cutting through his self-pity.

She folded her arms across her chest and frowned down at him, her expression one of firm resolve. "We already said we would go with you, and we meant it."

Janin gave a firm nod of agreement, his jaw set with determination. The decision seemed settled, the course of their future determined.

But Octavius was not finished, not ready to accept his fate quietly.

His expression changed, the raw bitterness that had been simmering beneath the tears rising to the surface like bile.

He clenched both fists until his knuckles turned white and the tendons in his forearms stood out, his entire body trembling with barely contained rage.

He laid out a plan so dark and direct that both of his friends froze, their faces draining of color as the words sank in.

"What?! Wh-What are you even saying, Tavi?!" Eve shot to her feet, eyes wide with pure shock, her body rigid with disbelief.

"Octavius, have you truly gone mad?" Janin's voice was quiet with bewilderment as he stared at the man he had known since childhood, his eyes searching for some sign of the friend he remembered.

"I mean it…! I am serious, more serious than I have ever been!" Octavius's voice shook with the force of his hatred, his words dripping with venom. "I must repay this disgrace before I leave Thaad, before I can move on with my life. I was just trying to win the cute lady over to our party, to recruit her and improve our standing... but Heka escalated it until my entire career was destroyed... And... And I became a laughingstock. I will never forgive her."

Eve and Janin exchanged a long, wordless look, their eyes meeting in silent communication. Neither could find an immediate reply, the weight of his words pressing down on them.

Finally Eve spoke again, her voice lower and tighter, with a sign of true fear.

"But it's Heka. Someone who ranked tree-class in her first screening as if it was nothing. An assassination might be just suicide with a fancy name, a death wish wrapped in revenge. She'll kill and slaughter us without breaking a sweat."