An assassin didn’t show his weapons to others.
Anyone could be convinced of that.
Among the mages of the Dark Guild—the world called them assassins—there were some who learned so-called forbidden techniques, arts that were kept secret from the public. These were higher-order magic techniques devised from many years of study and persistence from black mages who had lost their status due to skills. They were the weapons of the Dark Guild. With these forbidden techniques, the Dark Guild had managed to survive in the shadows in a world of skill supremacy.
There were countless forbidden techniques out there, from the dangerous to the trivial. Only the guildmaster of the Dark Guild knew them all.
And the Dark Guild had just one simple and ultimate pact—do not bring forbidden techniques to the outside. When someone who had learned forbidden techniques wanted out, the Dark Guild would erase their memories of the techniques with one such secret spell—Memory Erasure. They were just that thorough.
Those who broke this pact were referred to as pact-breakers.
Flama…is one of the forbidden techniques…!
It wasn’t something you’d be allowed to flaunt in front of a large audience. Gald had clearly violated the pact.
Lowe raced down the stairs of the stands, heading for the arena below. Though he knew somewhere in his head that it was too late, his body kept moving of its own accord.
Going down the stairs, he came to the entrance to the arena, but nobody was there, of course. He immediately headed for the lobby. While running along the covered hallway, he desperately looked, but that lackluster adventurer could no longer be seen in the crowds. Of course. It was an assassin’s job to vanish into the darkness, so he wouldn’t be able to chase him down so easily. Lowe came to a stop in the lobby and wiped off his sweat.
Gald, what the hell are you thinking…?!
Gald was no fool.
He was aware that pact-breakers would most certainly be dealt with; Gald should have known best of all that there was no benefit at all to making an enemy of the Dark Guild. The man had deliberately showed Lowe his face, making a sort of declaration of war before vanishing. It was clear that he had not come to enjoy the fighting tournament.
“Lowe!” someone called from behind him, and he turned around to see Lululee chasing after him. Panting hard, she tilted her head in concern. “Lowe, what’s with you all of a sudden? What do you mean, you can’t be in the next match?”
“…Ah, I mean…” Unable to adequately reply, Lowe faltered and fell silent.
He had no way to explain to Lululee that Gald, a member of the Dark Guild, had brought forbidden techniques outside the guild and become a pact-breaker, and that he was trying to do something here at the fighting tournament. The situation was relatively straightforward, yes, but telling Lululee would be the same as digging his own grave.
He was scared to be asked about why he knew so much about the Dark Guild.
“Ah, there you are. Hey, guys.”
As Lowe was unable to reply, a voice came from the distance. Jade was running up to them.
“The next match is about to start, so let’s head to the arena…huh?” Jade said as he suddenly came to a stop, furrowing his brow quizzically as he noticed the two of them were covered in sweat.
“…Did something happen?”
“Nah, nothing,” Lowe answered without missing a beat. Lululee looked up at him with unease, but Lowe shrugged lightly, like always.
“A guy I thought I knew showed up in a match. I chased after him, but I lost sight of him.”