Chapter 155 — Vultures Under the Sun
The atmosphere shifted.
The tension that had filled the battlefield like drawn wire suddenly changed direction.
Selene’s golden eyes were no longer sharp with combat intent.
They were cold.
She dragged the man across the stone floor, his collar clenched in her grip, boots scraping uselessly as he tried to resist.
The disgraced investigator.
She threw him forward.
He tumbled and landed before the four figures of Grim Vulture.
“This man terminated your contract ten minutes ago.”
The Vulture leader narrowed his eyes.
“On what grounds?”
“By confessing to attempted murder under false pretense.” Selene’s voice was calm. “Forgery of authority. Abuse of guild procedure. Manipulation of a killing contract.”
A pause.
“And the rest of his assets will be confiscated. He can no longer uphold your payment.”
Silence deepened.
The wind passed between them.
The assassin leader studied the trembling man.
Selene’s whip tightened slightly around the investigator’s throat.
“The guild will reimburse half of your payment. Is that acceptable?”
Dagger user fingers tapped lightly against her dagger hilt.
Crossbowman adjusted his mechanical crossbow with a faint metallic click.
Illusion magician mana shimmered faintly around her like mist deciding whether to fade.
Then, the leader exhaled slowly.
“…Understood.”
He turned toward Aldric and inclined his head.
“Our apologies.”
Aldric returned a single nod.
Professional to the end.
No resentment.
No wounded pride.
Just business concluded.
From the Perspective of the Vulture Leader
Kael was an assassin.
He killed to survive.
He robbed because the world was cruel.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The strong devour the weak.
That was the law he was raised with.
If he did not kill—
He would be killed.
And somewhere along that merciless road, he found his kin.
Mira.
His lover.
Her daggers were coated with poison brewed by her own careful hands.
One shallow cut was enough.
A breath.
A blink.
Collapse.
Roderic.
His sworn brother.
Not built for close combat, so he forged his own advantage.
A modified crossbow capable of rapid succession.
A grappling system that turned rooftops into highways.
Always watching the perimeter.
Always the unseen guardian.
Lyra.
His sworn sister.
Honey-skinned, soft-spoken.
A master of illusion.
Once hunted for exploitation.
They found her.
Or perhaps she found them.
And they became four instead of one.
They registered with the Assassin Guild for contracts.
The Informant Guild for knowledge.
The Thieves Guild to sharpen technique.
They became efficient.
They killed when ordered.
No questions.
No hesitation.
Then they faced annihilation.
Gruthak.
A name whispered in taverns and shouted in war.
A bounty had been placed on his head.
Grim Vulture accepted.
It was the worst mistake of their lives.
Gruthak advanced like a storm.
Dual blades carve his skin and could not stopped him.
Poison ignored, non-effective.
Bolts shattered mid-air like a child play.
Illusions torn apart as if they were smoke before a gale.
He broke through everything.
They prepared for death.
Kael stood in front of the others, bloodied, breathing hard.
Gruthak stopped.
And laughed.
“HUMANS! GOOD EYES! VERY GOOD!”
Kael said nothing.
Glaring back.
“DESTROYING YOU WOULD BE WASTE!”
The orc rubbed his chin, inspecting them like weapons at market.
“COME WITH ME. LIVE. GROW. CHALLENGE ME AGAIN WHEN STRONGER!”
“…What?”
The next thing Kael remembered—
Was a green fist.
Darkness.
When he woke, they were lying before the Adventurer Guild.
Spared.
The receptionist had smiled awkwardly.
“Gruthak vouched for you.”
Seems like they were carried on his shoulder like a hay sack and threw there.
like a dropping luggage.
And a message was left:
“Walk in the light. Embrace the dark.
When you are certain, I will be waiting.
Revenge or rematch, doesn't matter.”
From that day forward, Grim Vulture was reborn.
Not cold-blooded killers.
But disciplined ones.
They respected contracts.
They respected their targets.
And they respected life.
Gruthak had shown them something terrifying—
That even those born in darkness could choose where they stood.
That debt could not be ignored.
So when they learned a child acknowledged by Gruthak was targeted—
They accepted the contract.
Not to kill.
But to protect.
Return to Present
Ivaline’s paralysis began to fade.
Her fingers twitched.
Breath returned.
Selene approached her but kept her gaze on Kael.
“You planned to fake her death.”
Not a question.
Kael smirked faintly.
“We needed witnesses. A public scene ensures credibility.”
Mira stepped forward lightly.
“All weapons were coated with metabolic-slowing toxin. She’d appear clinically dead. No pulse detectable to common healers.”
Roderic added casually, “We carry the counter-serum. We’d administer it once we were clear.”
Lyra folded her hands.
“I would craft a convincing death illusion. Blood. Final breath. Enough grief to satisfy suspicion.”
Kael finished:
“The client believes she’s dead. We collect payment. We disappear.”
“And if she wakes and kills the client?” Selene asked.
Kael shrugged.
“None of our concern. Contract would already be fulfilled.”
A quiet beat.
“You’re troublesome,” Selene muttered.
Then she turned to Ivaline.
“Well?”
Ivaline slowly pushed herself upright.
She looked at the disgraced investigator.
At the Four Bastion.
At Grim Vulture.
She inhaled.
“…Thank you.”
Everyone blinked.
“For showing me angles I couldn’t see before.”
She bowed her head slightly.
“I learned a great deal.”
No hatred.
No lingering resentment.
Only growth.
The air felt lighter.
Even Kael chuckled under his breath.
“…You’re a strange one.”
Mira smirked.
Roderic looked amused.
Lyra’s illusion faded completely.
Kael understood then.
That strange resilience.
That unsettling calm in the face of death.
Maybe that was why Gruthak liked her.
They were alike.
Both walked between light and dark.
And neither feared either.
