The dark of the night was serenading alone with no stars to accompany the choir of lights. It was tranquil until the sound of the metal clashing together could be heard in a distant.

Dust was flying around in the air along with the stench of blood making one's stomach tighten. In the dark street, only a spark could be seen as a katana had clashed with a dagger. Two pairs of bloodthirsty eyes stared each other down with a vicious look. But none of them backed away from the fight.

The raven eyed girl's face was hidden behind a black mask but her eyes gave away the effort she was putting into pushing that katana towards the other party's throat. However, the other party's green eyes seemed indifferent and quite bored as she held her in place with a small dagger.

Getting bored of this unpleasant fight, the green eyes flashed with a cold light and used her one hand to slam into the ribs of the raven eyed girl. Blood spurted out of her mouth as she fell on her knees and held her body up with her hands. The pain had rippled through her entire chest making her feel suffocated.

With her sheer willpower, the raven eyed girl tried to lift her katana again but a foot was placed on her hand crushing it but she didn't dare to let her cries of pain escape. She only glared at that green-eyed person who looked like the Grim Reaper at this point with the verdict of her death.

The cold green eyes looked back at her with intrigue as she crouched down beside her and held her chin to lift her face.

"Aye, it's such a pity that I have to kill you. I personally love people who know how to let their pain destroy themselves rather than giving satisfaction to the inflictor of that pain." That deep voice sounded calm and quite aggrieved as if it was really a pity.

But in the next second, a punch had landed straight on the temple of the girl on her all fours. Blood trickled out of her ears, nose, and mouth while her body fell like a lifeless doll on the ground that was painted with blood.

Ru was still crouching beside that body with her eyes on the katana that was lying beside her foot. Her hand trembled but she clenched it tightly to stop the urge from taking over her rationality. She didn't want to. No, she couldn't let that part of her take over again.

But seeing that silver sleek blade dripping in blood, her whole body was shaking with need.

"Master!" The echo from behind her made the look in her eyes to shift and she bit the inside of her mouth until she could taste the metallic taste of blood.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, she stood up and turned to face the member of Black Mist standing in an orderly manner.

Ru cleaned her dagger languidly while her eyes roamed around to see the wandering eyes of her subordinates. Their curiosity wasn't far-fetched, after all, yet again there were bodies lying listlessly under their master's feet.

They all had no visible reaction at seeing such a blood bath in the streets but they still felt a chill in the air. They could tell that the chill wasn't because of the souls that departed, it was rather because of the sour mood of their master who might be hoping to have their heads on a platter tonight as well for being incompetent.

"This is the eighth assassination attempt in the last ten days. Do you all have something to say about that?" As Ru's voice rang in the eerie dark night, all of them clenched their fists behind their back to hide their scared souls.

It was a wonder for them to see Ru still acting calm. Since the first attack in the tea house, where ever she went, she had been encountering life threats. From mercenaries to assassins to bounty hunters and even street ruffians. It was like she was a light attracting those moths to herself.

"I asked a question..." Ru spoke again slowly as if taking her time or perhaps giving them time to sort out their time in this world instead. "If I didn't hear an explanation tonight. I'll send each of you back to the training camp."

Her threat worked as a shaking hand was raised slowly. "Speak up, Edmund!"

"Master, I-I think I know why these attacks are happening." The fourth member of the Black Mist attempted to talk.

"Go on..."

"Master, your name is on the Blood Pool."