The moment Merlin Kivan discovered him, and noticed that he was seriously attempting to replicate the One-Armed Saber technique, Zayn knew that hell was going to descend at any moment.
That couldn't be further from the truth as Merlin's stance changed in an instant. Without a trace of hesitation in his movements that were eerily smooth, Merlin shot at Zayn. Zayn couldn't even follow the one-armed man's movements properly. The only thing he was capable of was roughly gauging what was about to happen, and Zayn didn't really like what he was imagining.
His eyes widened as he noticed a saber thrust that seemed to come out of nowhere. One moment Merlin was still ten meters away from him, the other moment, Merlin had already appeared in front of him, the target of his saber thrust being Zayn's throat.
Goosebumps spread all across Zayn's body, his eyes widened and he could only instinctively hold his saber in front of him.
He didn't even imagine to attempt diverting the trajectory of Merlin's attack because he could clearly tell that the result would be deadly. His blood would splatter through the dojo entrance and his body would collapse lifelessly on the ground.
Thus, Zayn attempted to block the attack and prepared to sacrifice his weapon as he lifted the saber in front of his body. He angled the saber so as to make sure that Merlin's attack would impact on his blade, not slice through his throat, killing him.
The flat side of the saber was much wider than the thin frontal side that could hardly be used to block a thrust. Unfortunately, the saber was not made to block attacks with the blade's side. However, that was not something Zayn could pay any heed to right now. He felt the impact of the saber's tip spreading through his entire blade just a moment later.
The force behind the thrust was enough to shock Zayn to the core. His eyes widened even further and it was only a matter of time before the blade began to vibrate violently as the impact traveled through its length, reaching Zayn's hand that began to ache painfully.
However, none of that was something Zayn could pay any attention to. He could clearly see the cobweb-like cracks that spread through the entire blade of the saber while the crackling sound rang through his ears.
It was just a moment after realization dawned upon him that he was flung through the room. He smashed against the wall and slumped to the ground while the scraps of his saber fell down as well. The saber was destroyed and Zayn was having a hard time getting up from the ground as well. The impact against the wall had already rattled his spine, but his abdomen was doing much worse.
'What just happened?'
Zayn had no idea what had just happened. The saber thrust shouldn't have been able to hurl him several meters through the room, let alone cause the pain in his abdomen.
"How can someone as weak as you become their assassin? Did they start hiring amateurish mercenaries now?" A loud and charming voice that was accompanied by emotions such as anger and disgust reached Zayn. He looked up and saw Merlin halting his advances when the distance between the two of them was less than two meters.
"What…are you talking about?" Zayn responded weakly while actually trying to sound strong and confident. That failed miserably as the voice of the youngster sounded distraught and pained at this moment.
Hearing Zayn's voice, Merlin's expression changed a little. He stared at Zayn who continued to get up from the ground. Seeing the face of the evidently young teenager, Merlin began to frown.
"Who are you?" He asked, feeling suspicious and confused.
"Definitely not an assassin, nor a mercenary…" Zayn retorted holding his stomach while grimacing. "I'm sorry for entering the Dojo and watching you without your permission, but you didn't answer the letters sent by the Adventurer Hall, so I thought that I should pay you a visit."
He was trying his best to regain his composure but the pain in his stomach made his eyes water. Zayn hadn't seen what Merlin did to him, but he was pretty sure that the one-armed man had kicked him with terrific speed and power.
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ "What letters?" Merlin squinted his eyes, apparently still suspicious of him., until Zayn introduced himself in a way similar to what Silas had described him in the latest letter.
"I'm Zayn, a Normie, and 13 years old, apparently. I have one Soulring, and I'm searching for an instructor…you didn't get the letters?"
For a moment, Merlin Kivan seemed to lower his guard against Zayn until he recalled something, or so it seemed.
"That's you? It sounded too good to be true, so I thought that you are one of their assassins, who was trying to stab me in the back once I lowered my guard," He said, "But from the looks of it, it might be correct…except that you killed the Mutant Gluttony Termite Queen. That, I do not believe."
Merlin still had his guard up, which caused Zayn a headache. It was especially bothersome because a razor-sharp weapon was pointed at him while he didn't have anything to defend himself. Reaching out for his expanding pouch and retrieving the silver iron shortsword would not only take too long but it was likely to shatter after a blow or two of Merlin's sword, just like the saber.
"There were no Gluttony Termites, but I still managed to kill the Mutant Gluttony Termite Queen. You can ask for the official report in the Adventurer Hall if you don't believe me!" Zayn said, trying to make himself appear more trustworthy. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be easy.
Merlin Kivan seemed to have trust issues, which were apparently related to assassins. Zayn had yet to figure out what was going on, but time would tell him. That was if he could gain a little bit of trust from Merlin, enough to receive some tutelage.
"You blocked my first attack, so I shall believe your words. The Mutant Gluttony Termite Queen all by herself shouldn't have been too much of a hassle to terminate," Merlin quipped while sheathing the saber back into its black leather scabbard.
Zayn took a deep breath before he sighed in relief as he saw Merlin tuck his sword away.
'Thank God…I'm still alive!'
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