Chapter 195: The Chosen of the God of Assassination

It had been a few days since Samael left, leaving only Luke, Artemis, and Charlie behind in the cavern. In that time, Luke hadn’t focused much on his profession. His attention was consumed by the capital and the hunt for the third mechanism.

“So… you’re looking for me,” he muttered, eyes scanning from the shadows.

He was tucked inside a ruined building, half-collapsed and smothered in dust. Most wouldn’t have been able to squeeze through the crack in the wall, barely wide enough for a finger. But with Wraith Form, Luke had slipped in easily.

He was alone. Charlie had stayed behind in the cavern. He didn’t like keeping her sealed inside his soul; it felt like stripping away her freedom. At least there, with Artemis around, she had company. She wouldn’t be completely alone.

From his hiding spot, he peered through a jagged gap in the stone, eyes fixed on a street in the capital. In these last few days of scouting, he’d learned what happened at the stroke of midnight when the bells rang.

[Midnight Watcher – Lvl 45]

Great. Dropped right in front of me.

One of them stood motionless in the street, then darted toward the others in a blur of unnatural grace. These things patrolled the capital at night. All of them feminine, tall, easily two meters, and slate gray, moving in synchronized clusters. Far smarter than a typical Midnight Warden. They weren’t just monsters. They were sentries.

Statues. Angelic in shape, but without wings. No expressions. Just smooth, cold faces that looked almost peaceful until they moved. The statues had gathered at a crossroad, as if exchanging intel. No words. The capital was filled with threats. Wandering undead at level 30 roamed the streets, and they never traveled alone. Always in hordes. Exploring buildings without caution was a death sentence—some of them hid inside like dormant landmines. Out in the Wild Zone, this kind of density was rare. Here, it was the norm.

And while there were beasts in the capital too, most stuck to the forests, the biggest daytime threat was still the statues. Like the Wardens, they had rest points. But unlike the others, these didn’t retreat to caves or dark corners. No. They stayed out in the open, on rooftops, fountains, balconies. By day, they looked like ordinary statues, perfectly camouflaged into the architecture. But they weren’t inactive. They watched.

They always watched. That’s why they were called Midnight Watchers. They were security cameras with teeth, surveillance and execution in one. Luke exhaled quietly and shifted. His body dissolved into a veil of black mist as he slipped back out through the gap. Wraith Form was the perfect exit strategy. And with Advanced Stealth active, he didn’t need to worry about noise. He could move freely, undetected.

He scaled to the rooftop of a nearby building, crouching low. Two statues moved toward the forest in synchronized steps. At six a.m., any statue that didn’t make it back to its post would freeze in place, locked in whatever pose it last held. Luke had been wondering what would happen if he killed one in that state.

He trailed them from a distance, keeping to the tree line. Over the past few nights, he’d been luring a few of them farther and farther from the city center. Purposely making noise near their routes. Drawing them out, like a trap slowly snapping shut.

The pair of Watchers stopped near the trees, scanning the area. Their weapons looked like longbows, elegant and curved, almost like some twisted version of Cupid’s arrows. They chose a direction and resumed their patrol. Luke remained crouched in the underbrush, quiet as shadow, then moved in. Silent steps. One breath. He slipped behind the last one in line and yanked it backward, driving his kukri deep into the base of its skull.

[You have slain a Midnight Watcher – Lvl 45]

The statue collapsed in Luke’s arms, lifeless. He eased it down to the ground, careful not to make noise. The second one kept walking, unaware. Without hesitation, he gripped his kukri, channeled stamina into it, and hurled the blade. It spun through the air and slammed into the side of the statue’s head.

[You have slain a Midnight Watcher – Lvl 45]

*Your class [Demonic Assassin] has reached Level 32! (Class Bonus Points Acquired: +5 Per, +4 Str, +4 Agi, +3 Vit, +2 Int, +3 Free Points)

The statue dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, the head shattered. Then, movement. A sound from the brush behind him. Luke bolted in the opposite direction and dove into the undergrowth, keeping low. He stayed still, watching. A third statue emerged. Alone. Bold.

He activated his skill [Assassin’s Mark]. A faint red outline shimmered around the statue’s form, now visible even through trees and shadows. It turned away, scanning the area. Luke pulled his bow from his inventory, crouched low, and moved silently through the underbrush until he found a solid tree with a thick branch. He climbed up, nocked an arrow, and waited.

The statue found the first body. It stood over the corpse, examining the scene, then moved toward the second fallen Watcher. Luke focused. He activated [Force Infusion], channeling stamina into the arrowhead. The arrow pulsed faintly, then he loosed it. The shot landed square in the statue’s back. It staggered, then spun around instantly.

“Shit.” He ducked behind the tree, but he could still see its glowing outline sprinting, straight toward the city.

It’s running. It’s gonna alert the others.

Luke fired again. Missed. Fired again. Missed again. “Dammit.”

He tossed the bow aside and took off, sprinting full speed. Kukris in hand. The moment he had a clean angle, he launched the first kukri. It slammed into the Watcher’s leg, sending it tumbling into a brutal roll. But even while falling, the thing reached for its bow and fired.

Luke dove sideways, slamming into the bark of a nearby tree just in time. The statue didn’t stop. It kept running, firing as it moved, circling to flank him. He recalled the kukri. It snapped back to his hand like a boomerang.

What is this thing, the goddamn Robin Hood?

He had to leap from tree to tree, using the trunks for cover. The Watcher kept running and firing, relentless. And part of him, despite the danger, felt a flicker of admiration. He was trash with a bow. He could barely hit a stationary target, and only if he stood still like a statue himself. Trying to shoot while moving? His aim went straight to hell. He hurled the kukri again—miss. The statue dodged and kept firing.

“You sure you don’t wanna give me a few lessons?” Luke called out. “Maybe become my second servant?”

A stone arrow whizzed past his face. “Guess that’s a no. In that case…”

He reached out. The kukri lying behind the Watcher shot back through the air and slammed into its back. It stumbled, and Luke stepped out, launching his second kukri straight into its arm. The stone limb shattered, sending the bow clattering across the ground. He grabbed his own bow, drew quickly, and loosed a final arrow right between the statue’s eyes.

[You have slain a Midnight Watcher – Lvl 45]

The creature fell, motionless. Silence returned to the forest.

“I might suck at aiming with a bow, but at least I know my limits,” he muttered, silently grateful for Assassin’s Mark. The skill gave him a perfect outline of the target—without it, hitting anything would be a miracle.

Still, I can only land a shot if I’m standing still… and the target is basically posing for a portrait.

With a sigh, he kept moving through the ruins. Killing things with the bow didn’t give him any class experience, but it still counted toward race XP. And more importantly, it was practice.

An assassin, a botanist, and now an archer? Man, I’m turning into a full-on survival bundle.

***

Artemis rested lightly around Charlie’s neck while the skeletal woman stirred something that might eventually resemble food. She was trying, really trying, to make something for Luke.

“You should take your armor off more often, Charlie,” Artemis said casually.

Charlie wore only her armored pants and one of Luke’s shirts, which hung awkwardly on her frame. She paused at the comment, then shook her head. Talking to her was like playing twenty questions with a ghost. Luke could understand Charlie’s thoughts through their bond, but for Artemis, it was all about trial and error.

“You don’t like being out of your armor around Luke?” she pressed.

Charlie gave a silent nod, focusing on the bubbling soup.

“Why, because he’s a guy? Come on, there’s not exactly much for him to see. Just bones.”

Another shake of the head. That wasn’t it. Charlie lifted her hand and touched the ring on her finger with quiet pride. But then her shoulders slumped. She pointed to herself, then her arm, then her face, then looked away, visibly deflated.

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Artemis squinted, piecing it together like a puzzle. She was starting to get the hang of it.

“It’s your appearance?” she asked gently.

Charlie nodded.

“Oh… you don’t like him seeing you like this because underneath it all, you’re a skeleton.”

Another slow, sad nod.

“Aw, girl… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to poke at that. I get it, confidence is everything, especially for a woman.” Artemis’s tone softened. “But hey, Luke doesn’t care that you’re a skeleton.”

Charlie stopped stirring. Her shoulders sagged even more, eyes cast downward.

Artemis blinked, then caught on. “Wait… you want him to care. To actually notice you, your appearance..”

Charlie nodded again.

“Oof. That’s rough,” Artemis muttered. “So basically, you’ve got feelings, but you can’t really act on them…”

Charlie went back to stirring the soup, maybe just to have something to do with her hands. The goddess sighed and cleared her throat, trying to lighten the mood.

“If you had a real body, what would you want to do?” she asked, more gently this time.

Charlie perked up. Even for a skeleton, her body language lit up. She pointed to her hand, then to where her nose used to be.