The Crown's Assassins
723 Words
The armored truck smashed through the barricade.
BOOM!
Concrete shattered.
Police vehicles were thrown aside like toys.
People screamed and ran for cover.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The hidden world had finally stepped into the open.
---
Marcus moved first.
"Protect the Young Master!"
Obsidian operatives rushed forward.
Weapons drawn.
Defensive positions established.
The truck skidded to a halt less than twenty meters away.
Its reinforced doors burst open.
CLANG!
One figure stepped out.
Then another.
Then another.
Five in total.
All dressed in black combat armor.
All wearing silver crown insignias.
The Architect's personal assassins.
---
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Even Elias frowned.
"Not good."
Marcus looked shocked.
"You know them?"
Elias nodded.
"The Crown's Assassins."
His voice lowered.
"The Architect only sends them when failure isn't an option."
The five figures stood silently.
Motionless.
Like statues.
Then the one in the center removed his mask.
A young man.
Short silver hair.
Cold blue eyes.
Expressionless.
He looked no older than thirty.
Yet everyone felt the danger surrounding him.
---
The silver-haired assassin smiled.
"Interesting."
His gaze moved between Kairo and Elias.
"The dead man survived."
Elias' eyes hardened.
"Still talking too much, Cain."
The assassin's smile widened.
"So you remember me."
Marcus immediately recognized the name.
Cain Draven.
One of the most feared killers in the hidden world.
A man rumored to have executed entire organizations alone.
---
Cain slowly drew a black blade.
The weapon seemed to absorb light itself.
Dark.
Unnatural.
Deadly.
Behind him, the other assassins followed suit.
Five killers.
Five blades.
One target.
Kairo.
---
Cain pointed his sword toward him.
"The Architect sends his regards."
Kairo remained calm.
"Tell him to come himself."
The smile disappeared from Cain's face.
The killing intent around him exploded.
The air itself seemed heavier.
Marcus instinctively stepped back.
Even veteran operatives looked nervous.
Yet Kairo stood completely still.
---
Then—
Cain attacked.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
He vanished.
Too fast.
Far faster than Rex.
Far faster than any opponent Kairo had faced since returning.
In an instant—
he appeared directly before Kairo.
His black blade slashed downward.
A killing strike.
Kairo raised one hand.
CLANG!
The sword stopped inches from his face.
Shock flashed across Cain's eyes.
Impossible.
He had never seen anyone stop that weapon barehanded.
---
Kairo looked at him calmly.
"Too slow."
The next moment—
Kairo struck.
A single punch.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing dramatic.
Just pure precision.
BOOM!
Cain flew backward.
His body smashed through the side of the armored truck.
Metal twisted inward.
Glass shattered.
The street shook.
Silence followed.
Everyone stared.
Even the remaining assassins.
Even Marcus.
Even Elias.
Because Kairo had just launched one of the Crown's strongest assassins across an entire street.
With one punch.
---
Dust filled the air.
Then—
laughter emerged from the wreckage.
Cain slowly climbed out.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Yet he was smiling.
Smiling wider than before.
"Good."
His blue eyes glowed with excitement.
"Very good."
For the first time in years—
he looked genuinely alive.
---
Elias stepped beside Kairo.
"He's stronger than before."
Kairo glanced at him.
"You've fought him?"
Elias nodded.
"Fifteen years ago."
A pause.
"He nearly killed me."
Cain laughed.
"And this time I plan to finish the job."
---
The remaining assassins suddenly moved.
Four shadows rushing forward simultaneously.
One targeted Marcus.
One targeted Elias.
Two targeted Kairo.
The battlefield exploded into chaos.
Steel clashed.
Bullets flew.
Explosions echoed.
The war had officially begun.
---
As Kairo prepared to move—
his phone vibrated.
A single notification appeared.
Unknown sender.
The Architect.
> Welcome to Phase Two.
Kairo's eyes narrowed.
Then another message appeared.
This one contained a photograph.
The moment he saw it—
his expression changed.
For the first time.
Shock.
The image showed an old woman sitting in a chair.
Bound.
Blindfolded.
Alive.
Kairo knew her.
Very well.
She had cared for him as a child.
One of the few survivors of the old Throne.
And beneath the image were six words.
> Come alone if you want answers.
---
The battle around him suddenly felt distant.
Because Kairo realized something terrifying.
Everything so far—
the explosions.
The assassins.
The messages.
The attacks.
Had merely been a distraction.
The Architect's true target...
was him.
- Writer
