Following what sounded like an incredibly powerful impact, Zelda's body was sent flying several meters away from her original location. Her slender figure slammed into the ground a few meters away from Tyler in an impact that sounded more like an explosion and resounded in this quiet part of the city.
While the residents that lived in this part of the city generally could not afford to keep their lights on past a certain time and due to the cost of owning and maintaining a magic lamp, they generally went to bed early. Tyler was a little worried about attracting outside attention due to the house.
Although public locations like plazas and main streets had the city provide the cost of their power supply. There were no such locations around here and this was not even a residential area, which meant there were very few residents around which made the area abnormally quiet at night.
And while the guards around such a deserted location would not be the cream of the crop, the combined sounds of the last dark spell combined with this would probably attract their attention and that would be bad for his future in this city.
At this moment, there were just about seven men still left alive after Zelda's onslaught. They all had wet patches on their pants and an expression that showed they could not fully comprehend what was happening. Being unable to keep up with the rogue they had lost most of their comrades and even the one that had tried to flee wasn't spared from her blade.
And yet—
Someone had been able to land such a devastating attack on the person they had all been unable to even lay a finger on. With heavy breaths that made it seem like they had just used up all their energy, they tried to identify the newcomer, hoping he was on their side.
Tyler's gaze also traced the source of the attack that had sent Zelda flying and found a tall masked figure standing at the end of the alleyway as he slowly and casually walked out into the clearing. The figure held a sickle-like weapon that was attached by a long chain to what seemed like an adamantine cone-weighted ball.
The figure wore a long black coat with its collar straighten as though it had been reinforced by metal plating. The coat looked like it was of a pretty high quality and was probably a magic item. It had jet black two-layer leather pauldron on its shoulders and wore black pants and a pair of jet black leather boots. He wore a black top hat and a white metallic mask covered the entirety of his face as he walked out of one of the alleys.
.
"Mr. 99, you... why are you here?"
A voice that sounded like the cross between someone on the verge of tears and constipation resounded in the quiet alley. Naturally, Tyler's gaze shifted to the one that spoke. It was the skinny blonde man with a long dagger who the others had looked to for some leadership after the death of the Platinum ranked Hunter.
He hadn't moved from his spot since the moment Zelda began her assault as he stood in a place frozen in fear with clattering knees. The figure approached the scene unhurriedly and spoke with a slightly hoarse and metallic voice that made Tyler believe he was using magic to hide his voice for some reason.
"I had some time and only came here out of a nagging curiosity but it seems I missed out on quite the fun huh... That's quite a shame. I guess I should've accepted that lad's request to begin with but oh well... Who do I kill first."
His eyes were visible through the mask so Tyler could clearly see his fierce gaze pointed in his direction. He had bright yellowish-green pupils with a vertical slit and they seemed to glow in the dark. He walked casually into the clearing, blatantly disregarding the figure of the shadow rogue who had survived his strike and was slowly trying to stand back up.
He walked at a steady pace as he spun the chain around with the heavyweight like it weighed nothing. He soon came to a stop a few meters away from Carn and spoke to him in the same tone of voice, all the while keeping his gaze fix on Tyler.
"Where is that lad?"
"Lad... err, if you mean the boss... He's... umm, he's dead." Carn spoke with an incredibly awkward tone as he struggled to maintain his composure by twisting his head in the direction the body of his boss was.
"Dead uh..." The man followed his gaze and saw a body whose head had been crushed by the side. "I didn't think he was that weak. He really was just all talk huh... Congratulations looks like you're the new leader here, for now anyway..."
With what Carn thought was a playful but confident tone, he continued. "So which one of these two killed him?"
Carn had wanted to raise his fingers to point at the hooded man but soon froze as soon as his gaze was met by him.
No. 99 noticed the direction he had wanted to face and chuckled slightly with the same metallic voice he continued: "I see, I see... So that one huh? This should be fun."
Saying those words he left Carn's side as he strolled forth, his gaze fixed on one. The man before him was quite young. He had slightly short black hair that was cut in an unfamiliar style with facial features that did not resemble those born in this part of the continent.
He wore a black coat that had been tattered by something powerful fairly recently. His skin also seemed slightly pale and judging by the damage to the surrounding, he must've engaged in a bitter right against Corno who was a Platinum ranked Hunter and was at the intermediate tier 3 level.
He shifted his gaze towards the shadow rogue that had just managed to stand even with her right arm and left leg broken from the last impact. He chuckled softly as he understood the situation and spoke:
"Well hello there, please forgive my earlier rudeness and allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr 99 of Numbers. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
He spoke in a magnanimous manner as he made an elegant bow after coming to a stop a few meters away from Tyler. He didn't seem to feel bothered by being outnumbered by the haggard rogue and the young man who may have been in a better state than the girl but must've still taken damage from whatever trump card Corno had used.
He hadn't witnessed the full fight so he was unsure of the exact strength of the man but he knew he couldn't be that much stronger than Corno. The girl was a little stronger so he had immediately taken care of her and with those wounds, she would not make any impact in the battle to come.
Raising his head back up in a fluid motion after not getting a reaction from the young man, he spoke again: "I would ask for your name but there's no point as you'll be dead soon. Do forgive my bluntness, by the way, this place has now been compromised so unfortunately, I don't have the time to play with you."
The man held the sickle-like weapon in one hand and spun the chain that had the weighted ball attached to it on the other. His movements were also not as straightforward as Tyler had expected as he was probably using a movement Technique.
His steps were nimble and light like those of an assassin and he made quick cuts as his figure suddenly split into three.
Tyler was surprised as he couldn't tell which of the three was the real one even though he had his magic sense at full throttle. It was similar to how the man had appeared without him noticing. Somehow the masked man was able to evade his magic sense.
Perhaps it was his ability or maybe a skill. The possibility of it being a magic item was also quite high as everything the man wore was of very high quality.
Tyler didn't have the time to cast any spells as the man was now too close. He thought about evading the attack then countering with his fist but he didn't know how many secret techniques the man knew and how they would affect him.
With that said, he had no choice but to meet the attack head-on. Tyler reached into space to retrieve his magic weapon 'Narsil,' so he could meet the masked man's strike only to stop halfway through his motion as a sudden jolt of numbness assaulted his body.
That moment of hesitation was enough of an opportunity in a fight as No. 99 immediately let go of his sickle and held the chain to extend his reach the moment he noticed Tyler freeze up. He was experienced enough to take advantage of such a golden opportunity.
"Die!"
With a metallic growl, he viciously swung his weapon and it moved like a whip as it swiftly sliced through the air at the immobile Tyler.
Boom!
A loud sound echoed in the clearing and contrary to expectations, No. 99 frowned. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the figure in front of him that had managed to interfere with what would've been a fatal strike.
Tyler's eyes narrowed as well as he also stared at the mangled Zelda who had used shadow movement to appear in front of him and had tried to block the attack. However, the blade was like a sickle, a kusarigama of sorts, which meant the blade was curved downwards.
With the combination of her damaged leg and her broken arm, she was unable to completely block the attack and the blade had pierced clean through her shoulder. Her body bled a reddish-black liquid as she struggled to stay on her feet.
Carn and the other men still left alive had slacked jaws at the current state of the person that had caused them so much devastation and despair. However, No. 99 seem to be annoyed by this
He couldn't believe it. He had used one of his strongest skills and techniques in his first attack against this girl and there was no way she should be able to move even with the aid of a low-grade healing potion or a recovery skill and spell.
Yet, here she was standing on a broken leg and glaring at him even though he had his weapon in her shoulder blades. He quickly pulled out his weapon and jumped back. Even pulling his weapon out of her hadn't garnered the right reaction from her.
"What is this!"
Tyler stared at Zelda in surprise as well. It was true the undead felt no pain, no fear, and no fatigue but he hadn't expected her to move with such determination. Her leg and arm were broken and all she could do was stand but she still rushed to try and save him even without his orders.
Before Tyler could even think of why his body had failed him. Zelda bent her one good leg and like a specialized pogo stick, she lunged forward. Her speed was barely half of what it was but she moved without hesitation.
Number 99 was startled but he quickly recovered and prepared to meet her blade. He moved swiftly, easily avoiding her swings and with his adamantine weighted ball. He sent a strike that sent her tumbling back on the ground.
However, she immediately tried to stand back up like she hadn't felt any pain. This made, No. 99 frowned as he felt unsettled by her strange movements and decided to use a skill that would completely annihilate everything in front of him.
Quickly getting her footing, Zelda was about to lung forward again when she suddenly felt a grip drag her back. Feeling puzzled, she turned around to see her master who immediately stretched out an arm and flicked her on her forehead.
Although Tyler hadn't put any strength into it, there was still enough force to jerk her head back. And although she felt no pain, the sudden strike had damaged her confidence and caused her to look at Tyler with tear-filled eyes, and a confused expression was plastered on her face.
"That's enough, I'll handle the rest."
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