The horses moved with frantic panic, their hooves dashing against the sandy ground below.
The coachman did his best to calm the steeds at least enough to escape their current predicament.
The assassins though did not give him the luxury of time.
They moved in unison, appearing from every single corner of the area, their blades outstretched ready to draw blood, however before they could touch the carriage, a flaming wall of fire with a mysterious blend of purple, blue and red engulfed the carriage, sending the assassins flying with its force alone.
"~My my, what a mess."
They heard a voice, a tone laced with mild amusement, soft and unhurried yet it carried a strange allure, a faint musical lilt you could say.
The assassins shivered against their will, not because the voice was calm and eerie but because the intent behind his tone was filled with raw unfiltered murderous rage.
Their eyes traced the sound where the voice was coming from, till it landed on 'him' at the roof of the carriage.
There he was, a figure of strange aesthetics.
He was exactly what one would describe as an unholy mix between a jester and an aristocrat.
He stood above the carriage with casual ease, his black leather boots clicking softly with each movement the carriage made.
A black tailed coat clung tightly to his frame, its fit was perfect, much so that it looked like a second layer of skin on him.
A luxurious pocket chain gleamed against the dark fabric, hooked neatly over the coat whilst its end disappeared into the button of his inner tunic.
From the shadows of his hat, his eyes slanted with a predatory grace, narrow and deadly.
The kind of eyes which reeked of danger and betrayal.
His face was painted white, while black lines extended over his eyes, deepening the cunning appearance of his narrowed eyes.
His lips were painted crimson where the tip of his nose was a darker shade of red.
Without restraint, he smiled.
A rather creepy smile which exaggerated the corners of his lips.
"Hello mates, wanna see a magic trick?"
A deck of tarot cards appeared within his palm causing him to gasp.
"Tarots? Heh… hehehe, hohoho, this will be quick then."
The assassins stood, dazed as they watched the strange jester in stunned silence.
Si-eun on the other hand tossed the deck of tarot into the air, then with a snap of his fingers the cards burst into mystic flames, leaving only one untouched card.
The card drifted slowly before landing in front of the assassin closest to the carriage.
He paled, taking a few steps away from the card as it revealed its content.
The death card(XIII)
Si-eun suddenly started laughing.
It started low at first, still on the borders of creepy but normal, until it wasn't.
His sinister laughter sounded so broken, even Leona got goosebumps.
"Ahahah… it seems the universe wants your death, then I shall deliver."
A flicker of mystic flame bloomed over his palm, their colours varying from deep purple to azure blue and scarlet.
He gestured with his palm, placing one over the other then suddenly spread them apart, allowing the flame to stretch out and take form.
"This reminds me of this one anime I watched, who'd have thought I'd get to replicate that badass move hmm, I guess you really can't predict life."
He drew one hand back while the other was stretched forward, his stance was like that of a marksman drawing his bow.
His lips parted, revealing pearly white teeth beneath red lipstick.
"Flaming Storm…"
The fire arrow flew but by then the stun effects caused by his first attack had worn off.
The assassins scattered but Si-eun didn't fret, instead he opened one of his narrowed eyes, then spoke.
"Rampage."
The fire arrow is divided into several clones, each one flying in random directions and exploding upon contact.
Si-eun didn't exercise restraint, instead he welcomed the chaos.
Even his companions in the carriage weren't spared from his random fires.
Leona prevented any attack from directly touching her or the carriage but the same thing couldn't be said about the coachman
The poor worker looked like he was going to submit his resignation to Duke Astavore the moment they left and got to the academy safely, if he himself could even survive the ordeal.
Some assassins were injured in the process, while some managed to escape the chaos.
Using the nearby trees as covers an assassin let out a shaky breath, his hands trembling as the image of the devil jester refused to leave his mind.
"Damned mission." He cursed." no one told me the Astavore's had a monster like that. T-That thing wasn't human, that was a devil."
"I know right?" A voice sounded from his side.
The assassin quickly turned his head, arms outstretched to draw blood and if possible, claim a life. But what he saw froze him solid like a statue.
Of course he was, besides him was the demonic jester who he'd been trying to run away from.
"Found you!" Si-eun exclaimed with dark glee, waving his hands for a more dramatic effect.
"Y-You st…stay away."
Si-eun's grin deepened.
"Oh I will stay away, definitely. After all, I wouldn't want my own flames to ruin my attire, so I'll give you all the space you need, run away and if you're fast enough then I might spare you."
The assassin wasted no time, his body moved faster than Si-eun could finish his words… well at least he tried to.
Because at that moment he noticed that his torso had been separated from his legs and the worst part? He didn't even register the pain, yet.
'Wh…When did he?...'
Flames licked the form of the jester as he slowly appeared before the assassin who was unfortunate enough to try ambushing an Astavore.
His steps were unhurried, careful even as he walked over to the assassin who was now screaming in pain, clawing at the soil beneath as though he was hoping for some miracle.
The assassin glared at Si-eun with panic and desperation evident on his face
"You said… you'd spare me."
Si-eun looked at the assassin with confusion then he smiled.
"I lied."