The Divine Elements

The sound of light footsteps echoed as a lithe figure approached Calron. His body was completely paralyzed from neck down, so he could not tilt his head to see who the assassin was.

Fortunately, he did not have to wait for long seeing that the assassin arrived in front of him herself.

With a soft oval face, brown hair and black eyes, the assassin looked more like a common woman in her twenties rathen than a highly-skilled murderer. Contrary to her pleasant face, it was her harsh and violent eyes that gave people the chill and sense the darkness hidden inside her.

This is embarrassing… getting caught by a low ranked Saint stage cultivator.

Calron began channelling his source energy, allowing the Blood Legacy to consume his poisoned blood while simultaneously regenerating the lost blood. Since he was not using legacy arts like the Titan’s Fury, he did not have to worry about the ability consuming more blood than it was regenerating.

I need more time.

It was impossible to remove the entire poison from his bloodstream in such little time, hence Calron needed a few minutes to stall the assassin from making a move.

“I\'m sorry.”

The assassin abruptly whispered to Calron as she knelt down on the ground to face him.

“Eh?”

Calron was taken aback by the sudden apology, momentarily forgetting his plan of stalling for more time. What surprised him, even more, was that the woman was sincerely apologizing to him. He could feel the honesty through the Divine Perception.

“Is there any last wish you might have?”

The woman asked while gazing into Calron’s eyes.

“Why did you apologize to me? I’m guessing you don’t do that for every target you kill.”

Calron asked, continuing to circulate the source energy within his body.

“No, I don’t. However, you are the man who freed all the slaves so I cannot help but feel regret in killing you. If I had a choice, I would not take your life. Please tell me if you have a last wish before I complete my task.”

The woman stated calmly, but a hint of sadness lingered in her voice.

“You always have a choice… you just chose wrong.”

Calron responded while glaring at the woman.

“That choice doesn’t exist for a slave.”

The woman smiled as she unsheathed a dagger from her side.

“You’re a slave!? But they\'re not supposed to be any more slaves in the city!”

Calron finally understood why the woman behaved so strangely with him and the reason for her apology. However, he could not fathom how someone was still bound to slavery as the King had all records of slaves found and immediately released everyone.

“Those are only the slaves officially registered in the city. Some nobles like to get battle slaves illegally and hide them from the records so they can mold them into assassins and get their dirty work done through them. I am one of those victims, and it’s also why I feel such regret in being forced to kill you.”

The woman looked down, unable to face Calron.

“Those noble bastards… ”

Calron cursed, his hatred for them increasing by the second. The poison was now wholly forced out of his body, but Calron remained still and listened to the woman.

“Thank you for saving the rest and for preventing more victims like me in future. I did as much as I can to buy you time by fighting against the soul command by my master, but I am nearing my limit. I cannot delay any longer. Please tell me your last wish.”

The assassin shook her head and placed the tip of the dagger against Calron’s chest.

“My wish…”

Calron’s eyes flashed with an azure light as he sent a bolt of lightning from his chest and through the dagger to the woman, instantly paralyzing her body.

“…is to spare you.”

Calron finished, kicking the dagger out from her hand and restraining her.

“H-how did you do that!? The poison should have been strong enough to incapacitate even a Saint stage expert!”

The woman exclaimed, her eyes widened in shock. However, there was a trace of happiness etched on her face now that she was unable to kill Calron.

“Who is your master, and why does he want to kill me?”

Calron sat down in front of the woman. The paralyzing effect will remain for a few minutes, so he had ample time to ask his questions.

“I\'m forbidden through the soul imprint to ever reveal my Master’s name, but I can tell you why he wants you dead. It’s because of the speech that is supposed to take place before the ex-slaves. My master wants you dead so he and his allies can split the slaves amongst themselves instead of sending the slaves to the Raizel clan.”

The woman explained with a smile on her face. Finally, the burden was off her shoulders.

That doesn’t make any sense. All the nobles know that I am capable of defeating Saint stage experts so why did they send a low ranked Saint stage assassin to kill me? Were they counting on her poison?

Calron was baffled by the woman’s words. It was clear she was not lying, but the situation still did not make any sense to Calron. He felt there was something hidden in his enemies’ actions.

“Now that I’ve told you, please kill me. I rather die by your hand than by my master’s filthy ones.”

The woman said calmly, unfazed by the thought of death.

“I don’t plan on killing you.”

Calron responded evenly.

“If you don’t kill me, then I will be forced to return to my master and he’ll kill me for not fulfilling my task. Either way, I will die.”

The woman answered, self-mocking herself for being in such a pitiful position.

“Tell me, do you have a dream?”

Calron was reminded of the time when he first met Avor, and posed his question to the woman before him.

“You are a strange man, Calron. My dream is obviously to be free… but…”

The assassin gave Calron a weird look but answered him anyway after a brief pause of hesitation

“But?”

“… but I’ve always dreamt of being a fisherwoman.”

Calron stifled his laughter, stunned by the sudden revelation of the woman. It was such a stark difference to the cold-looking assassin in front of him that he could not imagine her being a fisherwoman and trying to catch fish in the ocean.

Seeing Calron’s reaction, the woman blushed furiously while glaring at him.

“Before the slavers attacked my village, my father was a fisherman and he used to take me out on his boat once every week to catch fish for the family. I used to always wonder every night before sleeping, what my life would have been like if I was not a slave.”

The woman recounted her story as she turned her head to look at the drifting clouds above.

“Haha, if it’s a fisherwoman that you want to become, then that’s what you’ll be.”

Calron laughed. It was kind of warming to see that an assassin like her had managed to keep holding onto a bright dream within the dark life she led.

“Yes…”

The woman smiled as well, thinking Calron was merely trying to comfort her with false words. She had already decided that she would die today, either by Calron’s hands or her master’s.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Calron stopped to ask, realizing that he did not even know her name. While doing so, he also placed his hand on top of her head to isolate the soul imprint and remove its power.

“Yelin.”

The woman replied while closing her eyes. She thought Calron was going to kill her when he placed his hand on her.

“Yelin… nice name! Now, let’s head back to the city as I have to deliver some important stuff to the Elders. After that, we’ll go and save any other hidden slaves like you.”

Calron patted Yelin’s head after he was done neutralizing the soul imprint, and turned around to depart the area.

“…”

Yelin stared at Calron’s back with wide eyes, feeling the previous impulsion to follow her master’s command suddenly fading away. It signified the effects of the soul imprint leaving her mind.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

Calron grinned, turning back to glance at her.

“Y-yes!”

Yelin shook herself out of numerous thoughts racing across her mind and shouted with excitement as she rushed towards Calron with tears pouring down her cheeks. For years, she\'d been imprisoned within her own mind, deprived of free will and a happy life.

However, she was finally free.

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