The Legendary Mage (Alavin)

These killers, carefully selected, possessed strange and powerful magic. Their deep and profound skills allowed them to swiftly disperse and secretly search. Before the Cobalt Strike Commander and Lord Viperbane could cross swords, they had already combed through the nooks and crannies of the fortress, searching for any sign of Alavin. Yet, there was no sign of Alavin, not even a shadow. Could it be that Alavin wasn't within the city walls? Or had he been hidden in some other locale?

The assassins, like shadows themselves, gathered in the darkest recesses to conspire. Their gazes locked firmly upon the gathered members of the Mallister family.

"Take them alive!" they whispered among themselves. "Force them to reveal Alavin's whereabouts. At the very least, we must discover his location."

The killers exchanged knowing looks, marking Oda, Celesse, Mariela, and Helna as their prime targets.

Decisive and unified in their intent, the assassins set off, swift as arrows shot from the shadows, hurtling toward the Mallister kin.

"Danger!" Lucan and Grima awoke to the threat, and as they turned, the cloaked assassins had already breached ten meters, fast as streaks of light. "Take them alive!" the killers hissed in unison. Their movements were serpent-quick, their strikes like lightning, and their intent cold as the grave.

"Ahh!" Oda screamed as the looming shadow of an assassin rapidly grew in her sight. A clawed hand reached straight for her throat.

Celesse, Mariela, Helna, and the others were struck with terror. It had happened too suddenly. Who were these cloaked figures? When had they infiltrated?

The assassins rose up as one, like a net cast swiftly into the sea, ensnaring Celesse and the rest within their deadly grasp. Oda screamed and stumbled backward, but it was too late. The shadowy figure closed in on her, his grip aimed at her throat.

Time seemed to freeze. The howling wind and the chilling aura of death rushed forward.

Celesse and Mariela had no time to react, facing capture themselves. They could feel the icy touch of death, their pupils dilating in fear.

However...

Just as the assassin's hand was about to clamp around Oda's neck, a shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere, flickering with phantom afterimages, suddenly behind the attacker. With a wet thrust, a clawed hand plunged into the assassin's back, piercing flesh and gripping his spine fiercely.

"Ahh!" The assassin's scream was piercing as the hand that was about to seize Oda retracted violently. His face twisted in agony, and his body contorted in a struggle. But the shadow was as swift as thunder, and its speed was so extreme that before the assassin could react, it coiled mid-air and stomped fiercely on his back. A sharp and massive force plunged into him, followed by a vicious tearing at his spine. In a flash of brutality, the assassin's scream was cut short as his body was torn asunder. His spine wrenched from his flesh, and his form was sent crashing to the ground with a heavy thud. Blood sprayed, the earth trembled, and the killer fell heavily at Oda's feet.

The shadow landed gracefully, flicked its wrist, and the blood-soaked spine whipped out like a lash to the left and right with two crisp cracks. The assassins who had grasped Celesse and Mariela by the throat had their heads burst by the bone of their comrade. Their brains shattered, blood and flesh scattered before the widened eyes of Celesse and Mariela.

The carnage didn't cease there. The shadow moved like lightning on the loose, casting over a dozen afterimages as if existing in multiple places at once. With electric speed and cruel precision, a series of muffled thuds rang out almost simultaneously. One was struck in the chest, and his heart was shattered. Another was struck in the face, and his skull split open; yet another faced the shadow's fist head-on, and the terrifying force obliterated his hand, arm, and crushed through to the shoulder, sending the man spinning through the air as if struck by lightning.

It was a counterattack amidst the ambush, a cruel and blood-soaked feast, a heart-stopping... instant kill!

Time seemed to stand still. The scene was frozen.

Celesse and the others could barely comprehend what had happened. The assassins that had pounced towards them broke, died, and flew in bizarre manners, followed by blood spraying and a chorus of screams and the sound of bones crushing echoing in their ears.