Chapter 8 – Blood and Ashes
Aayu barely had time to process the danger before instinct took over. The door had exploded inward, splinters still mid-air, when his body vanished into the shadows. Shadow Veil wrapped around him like a second skin, pulling him into the corners of the room where the candlelight didn't reach. His breathing slowed. His heartbeat became the only thing he could hear.
The armored man stood in the doorway, unmoving. His presence filled the room like a storm. Not just because of the black armor, matte and functional, but because of the way he stood—casual, sure, like a predator that already knew the prey had no escape.
"I know you're in here," the man said, voice rough like gravel dragged across metal. "Don't make me burn the place down."
Aayu remained still. He was pressed between the wall and the old wardrobe, the edges of his cloak brushing stone. His mind raced—not with fear, but with calculation. The man hadn't entered yet. That meant he wasn't sure of Aayu's exact location. Shadow Veil was holding. But the man was patient. And that was the greater threat.
Aayu opened his status window silently.
> [Level: 4]
[SP: 2]
[Skills: Shadow Veil (Lv.1), Echo Sense (Lv.1), Battle Reflexes (Lv.1)]
[Trait: Keen Intellect (Lv.1)]
Not enough points to buy a new skill. Not enough strength to face someone who had broken down a reinforced door with one strike.
He peeked at the enemy's window again. It had appeared just briefly as the man stepped into the room, and even now it hovered, faint and distorted, as if something in the man's presence interfered with his ability.
> [Name: ???]
[Level: 6]
[Affiliation: Unknown]
[Ability: Unknown]
That "Unknown" was more terrifying than anything else. Even Demon cultists had readable affiliations. This one had secrets wrapped around his soul like armor.
The man stepped forward finally. Two strides. A deliberate pace, scanning the room. Then, without warning, he turned and slammed his fist into the wall—exactly where Aayu had been a moment ago.
Aayu had already moved.
Battle Reflexes ignited like fire in his nerves, letting him roll across the room, using a broken chair for cover. The man turned, eyes locking onto him even before he finished moving.
"Fast," the man grunted. "Good. You're the one I'm looking for."
"I get that a lot," Aayu muttered, rising to his feet with a dagger drawn. He didn't recognize the man's voice, but something in it rang with conviction. Not zealotry. Not greed. Something colder. Professional.
"Who are you?" Aayu asked, keeping his voice light.
"I'm the one hired to test if the rumors are true," the man said. "And if they are, I've been ordered to drag you in alive."
A mercenary. Or worse—an agent from one of the great factions. The Church? No, too subtle. The Tower? Possible. The Adventurer Association? They had ears everywhere. Maybe Mara had slipped up. Or maybe this was the cost of getting noticed.
Aayu's grip on the dagger tightened. He didn't stand a chance in a straight fight. But if he could just reach the back wall—he had a tunnel exit hidden beneath the floorboards. The old escape route from when he'd lived here like a rat.
The man lunged.
Faster than Aayu expected. His punch cracked through a table like it was rotted paper. Aayu ducked, rolled again, sliced with the dagger, but the blade skittered off armor. Sparks flared.
"I don't want to kill you," the man said as he turned, another swing narrowly missing Aayu's side. "That would be a waste."
"Let's test that theory," Aayu snarled, retreating step by step until his heel touched the board he needed.
He dropped low and struck it with the pommel of his blade.
The wooden panel flipped with a practiced motion, revealing a dark chute into the sewer line. Before the man could react, Aayu was gone, diving headfirst into the tunnel, sliding into wet, choking darkness.
He didn't look back.
Not until he was three streets away, gasping in the alley behind a butcher's shop, did he stop. His clothes stank. His hands shook. But he was alive.
The man hadn't followed. Maybe he didn't know the tunnels. Or maybe he didn't need to chase. Maybe this was a message. A test, just like he said.
Aayu clenched his jaw.
Someone was watching. Someone had finally connected the dots.
He needed to move.
By nightfall, he was back in the hideout Mara had shown him two nights ago. The chamber beneath the city buzzed with faint magical energy—runic protections long since faded, but enough to keep prying eyes away.
Mara was waiting, already armed.
"You look like you swam through rot," she said.
"I had a visitor," Aayu said.
Mara's expression darkened. "Who?"
"Don't know. Level 6. Armor. Eyes like ice. He said he was sent to test if I was real."
"Then the secret's out."
"Or at least the rumor is," Aayu muttered. "We don't know how much they know. But this proves we're being tracked."
"We need to move faster."
She pulled out a new map, this one marked with fresh pins. "There's a site outside the city—old ruins. Cult activity spiked there three days ago. My contacts say something's brewing. A summoning, maybe."
Aayu stared at the map.
"Think it's worth the risk?"
"I think," Mara said grimly, "it's worth the points."
That was enough.
They traveled light. Mara with her twin blades, Aayu with his cloak and hidden tools. Two shadows cutting through the night, guided by instinct and desperation. The ruins were a jagged scar of broken stone and twisted trees, cloaked in unnatural fog.
As they approached, Aayu activated Echo Sense.
Whispers.
Voices in a language not meant for mortal tongues.
Three cultists stood around a burning circle. The flames were violet, and something slithered just beneath them, trying to push through. The ritual was active.
Aayu gritted his teeth. Time was short.
He moved first, stepping from shadow to shadow, silencing one with a precise throw of a dagger to the neck. Mara dropped from a branch above, cutting through another before the scream could leave his throat.
The third turned, chanting louder.
Aayu rushed him.
But too late.
The ritual flared.
The ground cracked, and a claw—massive, scaled, burning with red-hot runes—ripped through the summoning circle. A lesser demon, half-formed but furious, pulled itself into the world.
Its eyes found Aayu.
> [Demon Spawn - Rank C] [Level: 5] [State: Enraged]
He'd never fought anything above Level 3 before.
It roared.
Aayu activated Battle Reflexes and dove aside just as a beam of sickly green fire slammed into the spot he'd just occupied. The ground exploded in molten shards.
Mara circled left, blades flashing. She moved like a phantom, aiming for its eyes.
Aayu darted forward, cutting behind its legs, slashing tendons.
It turned and lashed out—caught Mara mid-spin and threw her against a wall.
Aayu didn't scream. He couldn't afford to.
He triggered Shadow Veil and moved again, each breath precise. The demon lashed blindly. He climbed its back, drove a blade into the back of its neck, then another.
The creature roared, twisted, and fell—collapsing into flame and ash.
Silence returned.
He dropped to the ground, panting.
Mara groaned. Alive.
> [SP Gained: +12]
His hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From the knowledge that he was growing stronger.
He pulled up the shop interface.
So many options.
He spent 10 points without hesitation.
> [Skill Acquired: Arcane Threading (Lv.1)]
Allows limited control over latent magical energy in the environment. Enables low-tier spellbinding, trap activation, and rune tracing.
> [SP Remaining: 4]
He was changing. Evolving.
The others with systems might have strange gifts. But only he could mold his path so precisely.
They walked back to the city in silence.
Neither needed to speak of what had changed.
By morning, the city buzzed with new rumors.
A summoning gone wrong. A demon slain. Cultists killed.
And somewhere, someone else would be watching.
The hunter from the other night.
Who now knew that the shopbearer was not only real—but dangerous.