A Reincarnator's Tale In A New World: Volume 3 (Part IV)

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Chapter 7


Tiana and the remaining assassin stopped on their tracks as they awaited the result of the clash. Although assassins don't usually show emotions, that doesn't mean that they could not.

It's just that they're a lot better at keeping their emotions in check compared to most people. But no matter how much they keep to themselves, they would still show emotions from time to time, especially if they're experiencing much stimulation. A good example of this stimulation would be the clash between Raine and one of the assassins.

Even though they're fighting a child, the two assassins have smirks on their faces. It could even be said that the two assassins are gloating at the misfortune that would befall Raine not long from now.

And who could blame them?

If a child fought an adult, common sense would dictate that 99.9% of the time, the said child would lose. The physical difference alone between an adult and a child would make it extremely difficult for a child to grasp victory. After all, one has a fully developed body of an adult while the other has the immature and undeveloped body of a child--not to mention the difference in experience.

As such, in the two assassins' eyes; the child Raine, clashing head on against an adult and experienced assassin is the height of foolishness--maybe even bordering to lunacy.

The assassin fighting Raine had a terrible glint on his eyes. He could already imagine the outcome of their clash.

The annoying boy that claimed to have destroyed the formation would, without a doubt suffer a painful death in his hands. But before that though, he would torture him by breaking all of the bones in his body--starting with that right leg that dared to clash with his!

The assassin's smile grew wider but then the gloating expression froze, and not long after was quickly followed by a terrible crunching sound and then an agonized shriek!

Crack

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

After the clash, the assassin's right leg broke with a painful-sounding crunch, at the same time, he was blown away by the excessive force behind Raine's kick!

He lost!

The assassin actually lost the head-on clash with a child. Not only did he lose--he lost miserably!

His right leg was broken and he was sent flying several feet away from his opponent!

Impossible!

The remaining assassin's bulged and almost fall out of its sockets after witnessing such incredible and logic-defying scene.

How could his partner lost? His opponent is but a mere child!

"T-this... This doesn't make any sense!"

The remaining assassin put his hands on his head and screamed in disbelief at what just happened.

An adult lost to a child?

Just how!

Tiana stared at the shocked assassin standing not very far away from her for a few moment and then took a glance at the other assassin squirming on the floor in pain.

There's nothing but mockery without a trace of mercy painted on her beautiful face.

Facing an awakened Raine with nothing but his physical body? The assassin is seeking death!

Even the mysterious masked man dare not take Raine's attacks head on! And yet, an assassin that was a little weaker than that annoying masked bastard, actually dared to clash with Raine with nothing but his fleshly body!

"All I could say is; serve him right!"

Mocking the foolish assassin inside her heart, Tiana glared at the remaining assassin. And with a poof!, disappeared from her original position!

Shadow Burst!

Taking advantage of her stunned opponent, Tiana once again unsealed one of her strongest skill!

Feeling an intense sense of danger, the remaining assassin recovered from her stunned state. Unfortunately, he recovered too late as the scythe of the grim reaper is already on his neck.

Cross Slash

The assassin's eyes bulged in disbelief. Never in wildest dream did he think that he would die just like that. Certainly, he had prepared himself for death once he became one of the Dark Church's assassins. He knew that death is always staring at them; ready to harvest their soul.

He does not fear death but to die like a hapless dog... He couldn't accept a death like that...

Thud

Regret filled the fallen assassin's eyes as he falls to the ground helplessly. If he could rewind time, he would not have let his guard down.

Tiana stared at the fallen assassin without much emotion. In her line of job, one must not hesitate to take another person's life. This is because hesitation could put one's own or that of his or her comrades' lives in jeopardy.

As such, Tiana felt a little to no guilt when ending her opponents' lives. After all, this is her duty and she's doing this to ensure the peace of the kingdom and its citizens.

After making sure that her opponent is really dead, Tiana walks towards Raine and the other assassin who is still lying on the ground but is no longer writhing in pain.

Raine also looked at the approaching Tiana and then to the dead assassins but didn't say anything.

"The space created by the formation is almost destroyed; people from my unit should be charging in soon." said Tiana.

"I see." Raine answered curtly.

Tiana looked at the remaining assassin, and frown, "should I kill him?" She asked.

"I think we should let at least one of them alive. We need to gather some information after all."

Raine shook his head and explained to the still murderous dark elf that they need one alive to gather information from.

"Heh! You could forget getting any information from me! Do you really believed that I would talk?"

Hearing Raine's words; the assassin could not help but sneer at the boy for being naive. Although, he is now powerless to resist after sustaining an injury that could kill a lesser man, assassin doesn't believe that there's anyone in the kingdom that could force any information from him?

Torture? Death?

The assassins from the Dark Church don’t fear any of that!

"Is that so? We'll see about that, shall we?"

Raine doesn't care what the assassin thought of the matter. For someone like him who came from a world of science and technology; making an uncooperative assassin to talk would be very easy. After all, Raine possessed knowledge that this world does not.

The assassin was startled by Raine's confidence but before he could even asked what he meant by those words, he was knocked unconscious by the dark elf Tiana.

"You seemed really pissed... Did the constant attempt on your life finally made you snapped?" Tiana inquired while smirking.

"What do you expect? Anyone, no matter how good natured would eventually run out of patience if their life was constantly threatened. Even a saint would get angry eventually. What more if it's a kid (?) like me?"

Raine crossed his arms as he explained while looking all stern and serious. Seeing his expression, Tiana's lips twitched as if trying to stop herself from laughing. Despite looking very serious and mature, the boy's cute features made him look like a child trying to act like an adult. In other words, he looked very adorable. Of course, she wouldn’t be saying that if she knew Raine’s greatest secret…

"I see. But how are you going to make him speak? I'm pretty sure that the church had trained him to withstand most torture." Tiana inquired

"I don't do I like nor do I believe in the effectiveness of torture. In my eyes, only barbarians would torture their captives. As a civilized person, we should seek a way to get information from our prisoners without causing them physical harm." Raine answered seriously.

Tiana's lips twitched some more after hearing Raine's view of point. What do you mean by barbarians? Are you implying that the age-old method of torturing information from one's enemies is barbaric? Well... He does have a point... Torture is indeed very barbaric. But doesn't that mean that every nation in the world are uncivilized barbarians? After all, torture has always been the go to method of extracting valuable information from defeated enemies.

"From your words, you sounded like you know a method of extracting information from someone without causing them physical harm. Are you perhaps referring to hypnotism or mind control?" Tiana inquired further.

But without waiting for Raine to respond she continued. "It is indeed a feasible method but only a select few could use such a method effectively. My unit has such a person but it is not as effective as torture as it only works on mentally weak and easy to manipulate target. What's more, mind control and charm has always been considered as banned and forbidden magic due to the inherent danger they possessed to society. As such users of said magic were heavily monitored and controlled. Not that there were that many users of said magic in the first place. Of course organizations like the Dark Church simply didn't care about the ban and would recruit, and even abduct people capable of using said magic."

Raine nodded at Tiana's explanation and spoke. "Don't worry, I'm not referring nor even thinking of using such a dangerous magic. Instead, I'm thinking of using some sort of medicine or potion to make them talk."

Startled at what she hears, Tiana looked at the boy in front of her with shock.

"Are you saying that you have a potion that could make a person talk?" She hurriedly asked.

"...No, I don't have such a potion but I know the formula. As long as I have the necessary materials and equipment, I could brew the potion at any given time." Raine answered truthfully.

Tiana stared at her charge in shock. "I know that you're a very capable person but this is beyond my expectation..." She said looking very perplexed.

"Why are you so surprised? Have you forgotten my mother's occupation?" Raine asked.

Raine's questions made Tiana remembered that the boy's mother is indeed a very capable apothecary. So capable in fact that no one on the nameless frontier village could even come close to her expertise.

"Indeed! So you learned it from your mother!" Tiana exclaimed loudly as if enlightened.

"I know what you are thinking without needing to read your mind, but your conjunction is dead wrong. My mother doesn't know the formula for the potion." Raine said as he rained on the dark elf's parade.

"Eh? What did you say?"

The 'enlightened' dark elf look at the boy with a blank look on her face after hearing what he'd said.

"W-what do you mean? If not your mother, where are you going to get the formula for the potion you mentioned?" Tiana asked with an incredulous look on her face.

"What do you mean where? Didn't you hear what I've said earlier? I said, I know the formula... So why are you still asking where I'll be getting the formula from?" Raine answered looking slightly annoyed.

"..."

Seeing Raine's annoyed look, Tiana was left speechless. She wanted to rebut but alas, could not think of a witty comeback.

"You're so annoying!"

Since she could not give a witty rebuttal, Tiana decided to use her secret weapon--pouting.

Seeing his bodyguard acting like a little girl, Raine could only roll his eyes. He's already used to how this deadly dark elf acts in private. It's not like it's my fault you could not give a witty return, okay?

Shatter

While the two children (?) are arguing, the space created by the formation finally shattered like glass. After shattering, several figures wearing the city guards uniform rushed towards the two.

Seeing the men wearing guard uniforms, Tiana gave a knowing look and remarked, "so it's you guys, huh?"

"Yeah..." The men in guard uniforms looked at each other and smiled bitterly. They could tell that Tiana is in a rather foul mood. Not that they could blame her after what happened. Just one look at Raine's pitiful and bloodied appearance, and they could tell that the boy experienced something harrowing.

These men are actually part of Tiana's unit. And just like her, they too, are assigned by the crown prince to ensures Raine's safety. But unlike Tiana; these men worked in the shadow.

Raine was made aware of this a long time ago. At first, he found such a setup annoying, but knowing that they're just doing their job, the boy could only bear with it.

Usually, these men would disguise themselves as civilians or guards. When Raine's inside the boy's dormitory or at school, they would stay at the nearby buildings to observe anyone suspicious. But when Raine is outside; these men would secretly follow him around. As such, it came to no surprise that they were the ones who come to their rescue.

"I see that the area had been cordoned. That's good. We don't want the civilians to see such a scene."

Tiana noticed that there were no civilians around the area and nodded with satisfaction. She then pointed at the dead assassins on the ground with her chin.

The disguised agents, seeing the bloody scene could not help but grew solemn. The presence of the assassins meant that Raine and Tiana had experienced great danger not too long ago. As agents and guards, this was unacceptable mistake.

"Understood. You can leave the clean up here to us. Please make your way to his Highness place. He should have been anxiously waiting for you two." One of the disguised agents said.

"Alright. I'll leave this place to you guys," Tiana replied. "Raine, let's go. We need to make a report to the prince," she added.

Raine didn't say anything and simply nodded. He knew, that with his current appearance, going to the blacksmith guild would be no different from asking for trouble.

"Oh right, that guy over there is still alive. Make sure to throw him someplace where he could not escape nor commit suicide. We'll be questioning him at a later date." Tiana said before leaving.

"Understood!"

The men began to clean up the mess left behind by the battle while Tiana and Raine, rode a carriage that was prepared for them beforehand.


Chapter 8

Inside the royal castle’s grand hall.

Tap Tap Tap

A tall, young man with long silver hair, long, pointed horn on his forehead and wearing all blacks is walking briskly inside the grand hall of the royal castle. On his way guards and servants on the sides respectfully bow and greeted him.

"Good afternoon, your highness."

An elderly man, wearing complicated official garb greeted as the silver-haired man from the sides as he stopped in front of the door.

"Yes, a good afternoon to you to, Culgen. I need to see his majesty." The silver-haired young man, Prince Silvio, greeted the elderly man named Culgen back and announced the reason for his visit.

"Yes, his majesty has been expecting you since a while ago. Please enter your highness." Culgen opened the door and respectfully gesture the crown prince to enter.

"Very good." Prince Silvio did not stand on ceremony and entered the king's study.

Inside the study sat a young-looking man with silver hair. In front of him is a desk filled with mountains of documents. Silvio's lips twitched after seeing this scene. Although he had seen such a scene countless times already, prince Silvio could still not get used to it.

After all, the young-looking man drowning in mountains of documents is none other than the famed daemon king, whose name commands fear and respect to whomever hears it, Sirius Noreen!

"Greetings, your majesty!" Silvio respectfully greeted.

The fearsome daemon king, who is currently embroiled in a fierce battle against several mountains of documents finally stopped what he's doing and look at waiting crown prince.

"You're finally here, Silvio. I've been expecting you. Why don't you take a seat? Would you like something to drink? Water? Tea?"

Looking at the dignified-looking crown prince who shared most of his physical features; the daemon king smiled approvingly, and then proceeds to offer him something to drink.

Prince Silvio could only inwardly sigh at his father's undignified and not so kingly behavior. Despite being the feared daemon king, Sirius rarely shows his dignified and kingly side to his children. Isn’t what’s happening right now is a good example of this?

"There's no need for that, your majesty. I only came to report the conclusion of the event that happened this morning." Silvio replied seriously.

"Now, now. No need to be so serious. When it's just the two of us, you could just call me father. We haven't seen each other for a few days now. I think this is a good time to catch up a little. Oh right! Your mother has been asking for you. Why don't you stay here for the night and join us for dinner?"

The daemon king ignored his son's polite and serious tone, and told the prince to just call him father since there's just two of them inside the study. He also went on and invited the prince to join him for dinner; stating that his mother, the queen Laniela, misses him after not seeing him for a few days.

Silvio really want to cover his face in frustration but manages to stopped himself from doing so. In all honesty, Silvio has the urged to yell at his father; to tell him to act more dignified even in front of his children. But knowing his father's personality, Silvio knew that his advice would just be ignored.

The daemon king Sirius is a very powerful and capable king. To the eyes of his citizens, he is a hero and capable king who gave them peace and prosperity. To his enemies, he is someone they dreaded facing in the battlefield. Just his mere presence alone could greatly lower the opposing sides' morale.

And yet, in front of his wife and children, the daemon king's imposing aura seemed to not exist...

"...Understood. I'll stay for the night." Silvio conceded. "But before that, I would like to make my report." He added.

Since he has no reason to reject, Silvio finally accepted his father's dinner invitation.

"Hmm... Very well. But I'll hear your report while having tea."

King Sirius nodded his head in agreement but insisted of hearing the report while drinking tea. Prince Silvio did not say anything and took a seat opposite of his father.

The daemon king did not call a servant and instead prepared the tea himself. After giving his son a cup, the daemon king took a sip.

"So, what happened?" The daemon king started after putting down his cup.

Prince Silvio looked at the daemon king seriously and then narrates what happened. "Tiana and the boy came to my office earlier and told me what had transpired inside the formation..."

He told the king the duo's trip to the blacksmith guild; how Raine and Tiana got trapped inside the formation; the battle between Tiana and the assassins sent by the Dark Church; Raine putting himself in danger to find the formation core; the encounter with the formation guardian; his escape and the destruction of the formation core; and lastly, the Raine's battle with one of the assassins. He also added the report from his agents along with the results of their investigation.

Daemon king Sirius listened to the narration with great attention and from time to time, let out an amazed sound.

"That should be everything." After speaking for almost an hour, prince Silvio's narration finally ended. Feeling his throat dry, he took a sip from his cup and exhale gently. "I've only included the result of the initial investigation, as for the final report, it haven't arrived yet. I'll make sure to fill you up on the details once the final report arrives." He added.

"Hmm... Very well!" The daemon king said with understanding. "Still, that boy's really impressive. I never expected that not only did he find the formation core; fight off and escape the guardian; he was even able to destroy the core on his own. Should I say, as expected of someone who grew up in that village?" He praised.

Prince Silvio did not comment on his father's words. Like the king, he too, find the boy most impressive. From the very first time he saw him fighting for his life during that fateful night, the prince believed that the boy will achieve something great in the future. And Raine's actions during the events this past one year just strengthened this belief.

"I agree that the boy is indeed impressive but I think we should focus on the real problem at hand." Silvio said solemnly.

"Indeed. Those bastards from the church sure seemed to have gotten ahead of themselves. Setting up a grand formation on my city? They sure have guts!" The daemon king said with a smile.

Hearing the daemon king's nonchalant but powerful words; Silvio grew more solemn. Despite smiling and not using his powers; the king is leaking out an overpowering aura that made the Silvio feel suffocated.

The daemon king's prestige!

Due to his father's personality; the king rarely showed his prestige as the daemon king. But when he does, very few are capable of standing up to him.

"Silvio!" Hear my orders! Uproot all hidden agents and bases that the Dark Church builds during the past one year. Make sure to not miss even a single one!" The daemon king ordered in a dignified voice.

"By your will, my liege!"

Prince Silvio stood up and received the king's order solemnly. After bowing to the king, Silvio said his goodbye and prepare to leave but before he could even take a single step he was suddenly stopped by the flustered king.

"Wait, wait! Where are you going? Did you not just promise to join me and your mother for dinner? You can't just suddenly go back on your words, you know!?"

After being reminded by his father, Silvio remembered his promise not too long ago and grew embarrassed.

So embarrassing! To think that he actually forgot a promise he made just a while ago!

"I-indeed! Please forgive me, your majesty. It was just a sudden lapse in judgment on my part..." Silvio explained while looking awkward.

"No worries, no worries!" The king assured with a smile. If not for the suffocating pressure that leaked out earlier, no one would even think that this man is the feared and respected daemon king. "Let's go see your mother right away!"

With urging from the king, Silvio was saved from his awkward situation. Following his father, he exits the daemon king's study.

While the meeting between the daemon king and the prince is happening; another meeting was also being held by the members of the church in a secret location.

Inside a common-looking warehouse on the pier, several people garbed in black cloaks are currently discussing something.

"The grand formation had been unexpectedly destroyed. And with our presence in the city made known, our current location is most likely compromised. Since we dare to set up such large scale formation; the king of the daemons should be seething in anger right now." A mysterious figure garbed in black cloak said in a neutral voice that made it difficult to tell the person's gender.

The other cloaked figures looked at one another as after hearing the words of the first person who spoke.

"Bishop, are you implying that we should abandon our bases inside the city." One of the cloaked figure asked.

The cloak figure, a bishop of the Dark Church, nodded his/her head in response to the other cloaked figure's question.

Bang!

Everyone was startled when a massive man, cloaked in all black bang his fist on the table. Although many frown at the massive man with displeasure because of his action, no one dared to say anything.

Well, no one, except the bishop who remained calmed all this time.

"Are you displeased with the higher-ups' decision?" The bishop asked in a gender neutral voice.

"Do you even have to ask? Why wouldn't I be displeased when all the hard work we put on the mission this past year goes to naught?" The massive man answered in a booming voice.

"I understand your feeling but this was a decision made by those above after some deliberation." The bishop explained. "This is to avoid more loss of our members' lives. Now that the king of daemons was made aware of our presence, he'll surely act. Don't forget the purge more than a year ago. Decades of hard work and sacrificed were loss just like that." He/she added.

"Of course I know that! But that doesn't change the fact that I am dissatisfied!" The massive man barks.

"Very well. Let me tell you all something else. Although the grand formation was destroyed, our true goal was still achieved." The bishop declared.

"Our true goal?"

The cloaked figures stared at the bishop with disbelieving and questioning eyes. How could there true goal be achieved if the grand formation was destroyed?

"I understand why everyone is skeptical. But the order to set up a grand formation inside the city was but a ploy; a disguise." The bishop explained.

“This... Are you trying to tell us that the grand formation that consumed a lot of our resources, time, and lives, was nothing but a disguise for the organization’s true goal?”

Similar question was running on everyone's mind. They have a hard time accepting the fact that the mission they put a lot of effort on was nothing but a disguise for the church's true goal.

"Do you really think that the church would put that much effort just to assassinate a mere boy? The plan that the pope started decades ago wouldn't be so simple that an immature boy's meddling would affect it!"

"Granted that the boy in question is a talent and had indeed given us a lot of surprise. But in the grand scheme of things, even a rare talent is just a pawn. What's more, the boy is someone who hasn't even mature yet? So what if he is a talent? So what if he was one of the main reasons that our plan to sow chaos in the kingdom failed? At the end of the day, he is not someone that would become a threat to us." The bishop explained in an impassioned voice.

Everyone, including the massive man finally calmed down. Although some of them still find what had transpired unacceptable, they could at least accept the fact that the organization's true goal was achieved -- albeit with lots of sacrifice on their part...

"The organization's true goal... What is the church trying to achieve in the kingdom of Noreen?" The massive man asked curiously after several seconds of silence.

"Now's not the right time. You will know when the time arrives. Although, I could at least tell you this much: If the plan succeeds, it would shock the entire continent to the core!"

To be continued...

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