Chapter 250: Extra Weight

With another step, Moon mirrored her, lowering his stance. His knife stabbed at the back of her head while her dagger chased after Moon’s.

At the same exact moment—

Tap~

Both raised their left forearms, blocking the stabbing right.

They locked gazes up close; Moon could see the glow of his own eyes reflected in her own. The same glow he had once seen on his first day in the Normalization Facility, the day he had met a life-threatening cat for the first time.

As for her eyes, they stayed without the slightest luster.

"Identify yourself!" she ordered in an authoritative tone.

Moon didn’t answer; he couldn’t answer. He didn’t know what he should be doing now. He felt his heart tighten.

Through their contact, Moon could tell that her stats were by no means lower than his; if anything, her agility might be even higher.

She yanked the dagger, and the two of them bounced away from one another again.

She glanced at his knife. "You’re not using our Art." Her tone was turning gradually into a threat. "A runaway, or a thief?"

She left a question lingering along with the growing tension between them.

It was clear that Moon wasn’t using the methods she was using.

Only the movements were replicated to perfection, as if he had been trained thoroughly for years. Yet, the counterpart of these movements was missing.

His eyes were different from hers, the sound he produced was louder, and the knife he held didn’t have any Echo.

Yet, none of these questions was bothering Moon in the slightest. If anything, he probably would have killed her by now.

If only she would answer one question of his, a question he didn’t even know how to address. Moon didn’t know what to ask, or how he should arrange the words of his.

She was completely different from the day he had run into her in the eatery, knocking her down. She felt weak back then, but that was far from the reality.

"What’s your name?" Moon asked instead; after running in mental circles, this was the only question he could voice.

The girl’s gaze sharpened, taking her stance again. It didn’t seem like she was going to answer.

Moon this time raised his knife, but not to take a stance or defend.

He slid it into his coat once again, sheathing his knife while recalling a distant memory.

She paused her attack and watched. "So, you’ve forfeited your life," the girl said lightly before proceeding with her attack.

Moon stood still, watching the attack approach him again, for his heart and neck.

Only when it was at his throat, once it was an inch from his heart—

He ducked, only for an instant—

His legs sprang back up again, hands stretched upward, forcing the girl’s stabbing arms apart before—

Smack~

His rising head smashed into her chin perfectly.

In that instant, Moon was only beginning. His hands clenched into a fist, but instead of a punch, it landed, hammering on her face one time after another, bringing her down. Moon’s knees secured her arms underneath as he violently landed as many hits on her face as he could.

Thud~

Thud~

Thud~

.....

Huff~

Huff~

Huff~

Moon got off her, breathing heavily thanks to the excessive violence and long night labor he had gone through.

He looked at her, who didn’t once express any sign of pain from start to end, until she completely passed out.

Her face was bloody, and her nose was probably broken as well, but that wasn’t problematic. Letting her go or killing her would be far worse.

Moon took her daggers and stuffed them into the pockets of his coat before moving to the shovel and pickaxe lying further away.

’Since the owners got paid for them, I don’t need to return them,’ he thought, before carrying the two on one shoulder.

He crouched next to the girl and carried her on the other.

Moon knocked her out for that very reason...

He needed answers.

Running at full speed all the way back with extra heavy weights, Moon finally entered his room through the window.

Once he was at the window—

"Ugh!"

He tripped, dropping the shovel, pickaxe, and the girl still unconscious on the ground... Startling Mishu awake in the process.

Huff~

Huff~

Moon’s lungs burned; he felt the world blurring before his eyes.

His hands went for the water bottle on the drawer; he took a small sip before placing it back.

Looking at the girl, he gritted his teeth and forced his body to stand up; he wasn’t done.

He was far from done.

Hours passed, and Moon finally caught his breath enough to not pant like he was taking his last.

He was supposed to rest well tonight, not worry about the next, but thanks to a certain assassin, he had to go through so much extra effort.

On his bed, Moon sat with the hood, the daggers, two rings and some other items she had hidden in her hood and belt.

A hairpin that was too sharp, a needle that looked like a chopstick at first glance.

As well as a blade smaller than her daggers.

Moon wasn’t interested in any of her items; he loved weapons the most, real weapons, not some threatening accessories.

Now that all of these items were stripped off her, she was laid down on the floor with her bloodied face.

Underneath the hood, she wore a leather set of armor, black and lusterless. No emblems were seen anywhere hinting at her affiliation or belonging.

The only thing that could count was her own Proof of Authority, a black ring with one vertical line cutting it in half, though it was perfectly intact as one ring.

It was just how it looked, with a clean, thin white line running in the middle all the way through.

Moon tied her up with the sturdy blue strings he had been knotting for a while; he had cut these off Colten’s helmet.

Mishu also got curious about her after a while; getting off the bed, he bounced to the floor and examined her with a sniff and a walk around.

Apparently, he didn’t find her interesting, so after a couple of seconds he jumped back on the bed, sitting while looking down on her.

Waiting for his body to feel better, Moon decided to go get something to eat while she woke up. After a night so draining, if he didn’t eat, it was no different from starving himself and losing the progress he had suffered to achieve in the facility.

He left everything on the bed and stepped out.

Walking around the sleeping palace, Moon couldn’t find a single awake ascender. He met a few watchmen who saluted as he passed by.

He was already a celebrity in Deshter, not just authoritative, but also popular.

Finding the kitchen, he filled a tray with food, extra meat for Mishu now that he was awake, and turned back to the room.

It didn’t take more than ten minutes from the moment he opened the door of his room to the moment he opened it from the other side.

As soon as he did—

Something sharp flew into his face.