Hero of Darkness

Another two days had passed since Azrael had put another noble clan heir on display in the same square. His actions not only had questioned the strength of these once powerful and untouchables noble clans, but had also raised many questions on the capabilities of the city security who failed to catch him both times when he hung their bodies there.

At this exact moment, Kahn was looking through the intel he had bought and gathered from various places regarding the Odelschwanck clan.

It was completely comprised of Tigerkin. And as per his information, there were a total of 15 thousand clan members. A total of 4 thousand were trained soldiers who would be ready to fight at any moment's notice. Far more powerful than the Elven clan and it was currently the 2nd most strongest clan in the city. 

But amongst all the powerful clans, this one didn't restrict their members to just study one form of profession or forced them to learn on melee or magical classes. Their motto was straight and simple.

'The Clan comes first, everything else later.'

And with their advantage in population & the variations of classes in their ranks, this was a force to be reckoned with. They had everyone, from healers to long-range archers, from melee class fighters to long-range attacking mages.

And their headquarters was something that could stand against a siege for weeks without falling. Even the Mana Bombs he had left would not help him easily breach their walls and infiltrate their fortress-like mansion.

"Bayek, stop slacking! Don't you know we have to leave in the evening? The clan elders and the head have tasked us with protecting master Reiner." a black tigerkin with blue stripes yelled at the white tigerkin with orange stripes. 

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm coming. I just don't understand why are we even running in secret. That Azrael wouldn't dare to infiltrate our headquarters anyway." replied this 4 meter tall tigerkin who put some documents in a leather pouch he had on him. 

"Since when you have been getting curious about our orders? You always follow them without asking questions." asked the other tigerkin. 

"It's just that I don't see a point in taking master Reiner away for a safehouse. This is just unnecessary." spoke Bayek. 

"Don't tell anyone yet, but I heard one of the elders say that they're planning on letting Azrael right into a trap using master Reiner as a bait. Not only they won't fight him, but they'll also let him enter close to master Reiner's house which will have entrapment magic barriers & formations. I hear the plan is pitch-perfect. The reason we're hiding master Reiner is that the clan head doesn't want to take any chances as those puny Elves did." replied the black tigerkin. 

"Better be safe than sorry." he said again and started packing his weapons and necessary items. 

The Odelschwanck clan had already orchestrated a plan to trap Azrael. 

Soon, a small and hardly polished carriage was brought in and 4 fighters including Bayek and the black tigerkin were standing next to it. 

A red tigerkin dressed in high-grade and dashing martial artist-style clothes walked towards them. All the assigned guards bowed in front of this new addition.

"Master Reiner, it's about time we leave." spoke one of the guards.

"What's with this carriage?" asked Reiner.

"Clan Adviser ordered us to keep it low-key and not raise any suspicions. Even Azrael won't expect our esteemed master Reiner to travel inside a cheap-looking carriage. He won't even know when we left the property and will walk inside the trap as planned by the elders & the clan head." replied the guard.

"I see. Let's quickly leave then. I want to reach the safehouse before nightfall." said Reiner and sat inside the carriage as they departed out of the headquarters.

Yesterday, he had proposed about relocating himself and biding time. But then, the clan head and the elders decided to use it to lure Azrael while he'd be hidden away in a safehouse. That way, his life won't be put in jeopardy.

As the dark sky engulfed the city and the sun had departed, the small group had finally stopped in front of a small bungalow which would be Reiner's temporary residence until Azrael was dealt with.

When everyone had finally settled in, the four guards along with the 20 guards who had already reached this safehouse a day before and we're now guarding it, took their respective entrances & patrol routes for lookout. 

A dark blur suddenly passed by one of the guards. This guard was none other than the black tigerkin.

Stab!

A sharp dagger had stabbed the vigilant black tigerkin in his back who was actually an assassin. But even with his skills & senses, he had completely failed to feel the presence of this figure that suddenly appeared behind him.

"Ack!" he clutched his hand on his chest where the dagger had exited out from as his body fell on the ground with a look of bewilderment. He turned around and finally saw the assailant..

"You.. Why?.." he said but before he could continue, his head was stabbed by another dagger and the black tigerkin lost his life on the spot.

At this moment, all the other guards were already dead and lied on the cold ground just like this black tigerkin.

Inside the mansion, Reiner was sleeping peacefully after having a hearty meal.

Crink..

The door of his room was suddenly opened and it woke the Reiner.

But the next second.. His eyes widened with disbelief as he saw a familiar figure standing in front of him.

But unlike his previous encounters, this figure's hands were bloodied and in both of them held two red epic rank daggers. Both of them were dripping fresh blood on the floor carpet.

Reiner who was completely baffled asked the figure that stood in front of him.

"W.. What's the meaning of this.. Bayek?!"

The figure who stood in front of Reiner was none other than the white tigerkin who was tasked to protect the clan heir.

"Oh.. Bayek isn't here.. He never came here in the first place. He's been dead for 3 days already." replied Bayek.. not Bayek.

While the clan head & their top members were expecting Azrael to attack their headquarters.. Little did they knew that Kahn had already infiltrated their ranks on the very same day when he put Levi's body in the central square.

He observed three of their members who were one of the top guards and were part of the inner circle of the clan. Kahn ambushed them and absorbed their bloodlines. He then took the getup of this tigerkin and had been impersonating him for the past two days.

Although he did need some time to perfectly fit inside the persona of this tigerkin named Bayek, given how quick he was adapting to situations and extracting information about Bayek by leading the conversations; he adjusted himself and got mixed in the group who was supposed to protect the noble heir. 

Kahn had no problem taking out all guards on duty with this help of his grappling extensions and his speed which was tripled at nighttime. 

Kahn's eyes flickered yellow and paralyzed Reiner on the spot with his Executioner's Gaze skill. He walked closer to the red tigerkin and asked. 

"Tell me, Reiner.. How do you want to be tortured?"