NOVPUBLudger had been waiting for this exact situation from the start.
He had already grasped that the assassins were hiding among the crowd, waiting for him to wear out.
But Ludger had no intention of dancing to their tune.
If I make it look like I’m fleeing through the loosened perimeter, they’ll have no choice but to act.
Assassins—once a situation is set—are terrifyingly methodical in execution.
They act in silence, from the shadows.
Which also means—if that situation is broken, they’re forced to reveal themselves.
When the board is flipped, assassins are left with only two choices:
Retreat and wait for another chance...
Or emerge to complete the mission at all costs.
These ones belonged to the latter.
Ludger kept an eye on the ones chasing them as he ascended to the rooftop.
As expected, the assassins revealed themselves quickly, unwilling to lose him and Violetta. They moved to pursue.
Three of them—just as he had predicted.
The one scaling the external stairs was the fastest. Ludger waited for his timing, then drove his swordstick cleanly into him.
“One down.”
“You...”
Violetta looked at Ludger in disbelief.
“How did you know they would act like that?”
“Southern assassins usually do.”
Ludger’s certainty came from knowing their origin—assassins from the southern continent.
More specifically, they were from the <Kalsapa Assassins>, under the rule of the Fatima Dynasty.
The most infamous assassination guild on the continent—feared as much as they were known.
Ordinary assassins might retreat in this situation. But not the southerners.
You could say they were zealous, or you could say they were fanatics.
Which is why they rarely pulled back.
It couldn’t be helped—they were raised and trained in such an environment.
Once given a mission, they would complete it no matter what.
Their teachings—almost like indoctrination—were entwined with the tenets of their religion. That strict doctrine made the Kalsapa Assassins both famous and terrifying.
It was precisely that discipline that made them stronger—and more dangerous.
But that same doctrine—that they must complete the mission no matter what—can become a shackle.
Still, it wouldn’t be fair to call them foolish for it.
These assassins simply had the misfortune of targeting the wrong opponent.
Who could’ve expected their target to be a mage skilled in close combat—armed with strange gear, no less?
“I merely exploited their blind spot.”
“...You’re incredibly knowledgeable about southern assassins.”
“I’ve dealt with them before.”
“What?”
Violetta repeated the word, as if she couldn’t believe it.
Ludger momentarily recalled the distant past.
Back when he was still a green rookie—he had once been marked by the Kalsapa Assassins.
He genuinely thought he’d die.
If not for my mentor, I wouldn’t be here.
That experience was why he could handle this now with such ease.
Compared to the ones who came after him back then, these current assassins were little more than amateurs.
If they’d ended up in Rederbelk, it meant either they’d failed their mission and been chased out—or had come here to sharpen their skills.
Whatever the reason, objectively speaking, they were still professionals.
But compared to the real assassins of the South—they fell far short.
“They’re coming again.”
Ludger, standing by the edge of the rooftop, looked down at the alley.
In the darkness below, two assassins were flitting about.
Moments later, they vanished into the shadows—out of sight.
“So they’re still Kalsapa assassins, after all. Even after their comrade died, they don’t panic.”
“What now?”
“Hmm. Good question.”
As Ludger paused to think, the assassins hidden in the shadows /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ made their move.
They emerged suddenly between the buildings and flung poisoned daggers at him.
“Hmph.”
But Violetta wasn’t idle.
She snapped open her black parasol and used it as a shield.
As expected of its special material—the sharp blades didn’t pierce through. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
However, it only lasted once.
Shhhh—
“Ah, damn.”
“Looks like your parasol doesn’t have resistance to poison.”
The poison on the dagger’s tip was now corroding the fabric of her parasol.
The assassins vanished again.
“H-How do we deal with this?”
“A special toxin used by Kalsapa Assassins. Just skin contact is enough to poison someone. It even breaks down most armor.”
“They throw that stuff with daggers?!”
“Those are custom daggers. Coated with a rare southern metal called Kelbantium. Fatima’s top export—called ‘The God’s Metal’. Highly resistant to corrosion.”
“Well, excuse me for not knowing.”
As more technical information flowed effortlessly from Ludger’s mouth, Violetta gave up trying to keep up.
She accepted that nothing this man said was ever ordinary.
“So what’s the countermeasure?”
“Hold out until they run out of daggers.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Your parasol’s gone. I can’t use magic either, at the moment.”
Which meant—if they failed to dodge the next attack, they were dead.
“Then we have to move first.”
“To where?”
“Back down.”
Standing still on an exposed rooftop made them easy targets.
Ludger silently offered his hand to Violetta.
She hesitated—then took it.
“Hold on tight.”
“...”
With one arm, Ludger scooped her up and jumped down into the alley.
“Huh?”
Crack!
One of the Red Society grunts—who had scattered to chase them—took a direct hit to the head from Ludger’s shoe and crumpled.
Using him as a cushion, Ludger landed cleanly in the alley, then immediately broke into a run without pausing to scout the area.
What, is he trying to hide now?
The assassins couldn’t understand Ludger’s movements.
He had just climbed to the rooftop—and now he was suddenly back down?
He’s unpredictable. Better be careful.
They had already lost one of their own. They couldn’t afford another failure.
The two remaining assassins exchanged glances in the dark. That alone was enough.
One would pursue directly. The other would move from above to cut them off.
We’ll get him before he exits the alley.
One of the assassins silently tracked Ludger and Violetta—only to stop in his tracks when he saw a lone silhouette ahead.
The target had been spotted.
But something was off.
The woman... alone? Where’s the man?
Had he really abandoned her? From earlier, it had seemed like she was more of a burden to him.
“H-Hey! How could you just leave me like this?!”
She stomped her feet in place, frustrated.
Had she really been left behind?
The assassin had to decide.
No way he’d actually leave her. It’s a trap. They’re baiting me.
Their rooftop escape earlier had been a feint too.
No idiot would fall for the same trick twice.
James Moriarty had to be hiding somewhere nearby.
Still—he crept forward with a poisoned dagger in hand, slowly approaching Violetta.
His eyes were on her, but his ears were straining for any sound.
Rustle.
A small noise—off to the right.
There!
Convinced that was Ludger’s hiding spot, the assassin hurled his dagger in that direction.
But—there was nothing there.
What?! That sound—
He had been trained for this. He knew what he heard.
He couldn’t have been mistaken.
“Unfortunate.”
The voice came from behind him.
With no sound. No warning. As if it had emerged from the air itself.
Ludger was standing right behind him.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
How? Since when had he been there?
Rather than waste time on those questions, the assassin moved his body instinctively—relying on the training drilled into him over the years.
He gripped his dagger and slashed behind him—
Shluk!
But Ludger’s swordstick pierced through his back before the assassin could even react.
“Guh! H-how...?”
The sound had come from the right. And yet—he’d appeared from the opposite side?
There was no footstep. No sound. No warning.
“That’s because it was that kind of magic.”
Ludger calmly withdrew the swordstick as he spoke.
Even though traces of the diffusion incense still lingered in the air, Ludger had turned it to his advantage.
Sound magic.
By channeling a faint vocal cue into a coordinate-designated spell, he could disperse it through the incense—making the sound erupt from a completely different location.
In other words, it became impossible to track the source of the sound.
Even with extreme training, at best, the assassin could guess a rough direction—but even that was a decoy.
A clean, untraceable ambush.
“Did you get him?”
“Yeah.”
Violetta turned back.
She remembered how stunned she’d been when he suddenly told her to act like she’d been abandoned. She did as he asked, but never expected it would actually work to lure out the assassin.
Of course, it wasn’t just that simple.
The assassin had known it was a trap. But what he hadn’t expected was that it was layered.
A spell that rerouted sound to another direction... yeah, even I’d be shaken by that.
But in a fight where your life is on the line, there’s no need to sympathize with your enemy.
If they die not knowing what killed them—well, that’s just how it is.
Only one left.
Just then, a cool breeze drifted through the alleyway.
The incense is being swept away.
Diffusion incense didn’t last forever.
Its effects only persisted while lingering in the air, and while the alley had helped trap it, a simple wind was enough to blow it away.
Now, time had shifted in Ludger’s favor.
Just as that realization settled, a black shadow dropped from above.
“Above you!”
Violetta called out in alarm, but it was already too late.
The final assassin had leapt from the rooftop—and hurled something at Ludger.
“Hm.”
Ludger raised his swordstick as if he’d been expecting it.
But the assassin hadn’t thrown a poisoned dagger.
It was a chained hook.
The hook latched onto the middle of the swordstick and yanked it hard.
Clack!
The swordstick slipped cleanly from Ludger’s grip.
The assassin, now on the ground, tossed the chained weapon aside and charged forward, dagger drawn.
“Watch out!”
Violetta shouted. The assassin was certain of his victory.
No time to cast magic. No swordstick to defend with.
Ludger was unarmed. Defenseless.
Two comrades had died—but the mission would be completed.
Or so the assassin believed.
That was when he saw it.
Ludger, staring calmly at him—utterly unfazed, not even flinching at the approach of death.
What...? Why does he look like that?
Was he frozen? In shock? That didn’t make sense. This man wasn’t slow to react.
But the assassin never got to finish the thought.
Because in that fleeting moment—Ludger moved faster than lightning.
Shk—shk!
“Wha—?”
Before the assassin could even slash, Ludger's arms flashed forward, and twin blades cut through the air.
A pair of karambit knives—small, curved, moon-shaped blades—were already in his hands.
The assassin’s neck was slashed cleanly.
His strength left him instantly, and he collapsed in a heap.
“You let your guard down at the most crucial moment.”
Ludger wiped the blood from his blades.
The assassin had been so sure he would land the kill—so sure of his victory—that he’d created a fatal opening.
In battle, especially when dealing death, you never assume anything.
“That single moment of complacency is what killed you.”
Ludger retrieved his swordstick from the ground.
He inspected the blade for damage. Still intact.
He slid it smoothly back into the cane’s shaft with a satisfying click.
Adjusting the collar of his coat, he turned to Violetta.
“...Did you just take down a southern assassin in close combat?”
“What is it now? Curious again?”
“No. I’ve decided I’m not asking anymore.”
Violetta had lost count of how many times she’d been stunned today.
She had always prided herself on controlling others—but when faced with the real thing, it seemed she still had a long way to go.
Then—distant voices echoed from the alley.
“He’s here! That’s where the sound came from!”
“Catch him! If he escapes, we’re all screwed!”
Violetta looked at Ludger.
“What now?”
“What do you mean, ‘what now’?”
Ludger shrugged casually.
“The incense is gone.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yep. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Well, I suppose I have no choice.”
From behind the black veil, Violetta gave a seductive smile.
With the incense cleared, magic could be used again. Which meant it was her turn to shine.
She raised the tattered remnants of her parasol.
Though it had served as her self-defense weapon, it also doubled as a conduit for magic—a type of focus staff.
“I’ll take care of the rest.”
Footsteps echoed, drawing nearer.
The remnants of the Red Society appeared at the far end of the alley, shouting.
“There they are! They’re right th—!”
And what greeted them...
Was a blade of wind—sharp and precise—cutting through the darkness.
