SSS-Ranked Evolution: Worlds Unbound-Chapter 111: don’t buy

d. The sound of the raindrops on the rooftops was rhythmic and hollow, like a mourning song. Ren’s eyes lingered on the abandoned carts and scattered tools left in the open, as if the town’s people had dropped everything in a desperate rush. Somewhere, a lone wooden sign creaked in the wind, its faded letters unreadable now.

A broken statue stood at the town square, half-buried in sters had claimed what humanity had left behind, but the real monster, he thought bitterly, was the empire’s indifference.

Abruptly, Luna stopped, her nose twitching in the air. She turned around, sniffing more, before she began barking. Loudly. As if trying to scare someone to come out. Ren halted, and wondered what she had seen. But as he crossed the distance between them, the whistle of the wind shot through his ears.

Ducking almost immediately into a roll, he evaded a shuriken that was strong enough to slice the remnants of the broken statue into two. Such a clean cut. Ren’s eyes widened, if he hadn’t moved fast enough, the ninja star would have taken his head right off his body. His eyes scanned everywhere, looking for who had thrown the weapon at him. His instincts kicked in again, dodging swiftly to evade another shuriken.

"Show yourself!" he screamed to the air, only the raindrops were audible, his eyes darting from left to right. Then. The whistle. With a take-off, he dodged multiple shurikens of smaller size thrown at him, his form bolted, using an old carriage as a springboard to avoid being killed. His eyes caught a shadow on top of an abandoned building, "Luna, strike!" he gave the command and with the flick of her tails, she threw lightning bolts at the intruder, causing the building to crumble completely.

"This place is not meant for people like you." a snarl came from all around, and soon enough, the intruder revealed himself. He was in black ninja attire and a sturdy mask covered his face. Ren’s brows furrowed, was he another one sent by the empire to hunt him?

"You have no say in my business." Ren took a battle stance, with Luna beside him. The assassin cocked his brows, wondering who he was but not wanting to waste any more time, he drew a battle stance.

"The dead have no business in the land of the living."

The rain fell harder now, drumming against the ruins of Karnak as Ren faced the assassin. The man was shrouded in a dark hood, his face masked, and his movements unnervingly swift. The assassin’s hand flicked, and a shuriken glinted in the dull light before slicing through the air toward Ren. He barely raised his short sword in time, the blade deflecting the attack with a sharp clang.

Before Ren could counter, the assassin darted forward, spinning low and slashing with another knife-like shuriken. Ren sidestepped, his boots slipping slightly in the mud, and swung his sword, but the assassin was too fast. A hard kick to Ren’s gut sent him staggering back, his breath knocked out in a sharp gasp.

The assassin leapt onto a crumbling building with inhuman agility, perching like a bird of prey. From above, a rain of shurikens came down, each one deadly and precise.

Ren gritted his teeth, flipping backward as a blade narrowly missed his face. He twisted and rolled, his movements sharp but growing desperate as more blades tore into the air around him. He felt the sting of one nicking his arm, a shallow cut, but it burned like fire.

"Luna!" he shouted, dodging another strike as he tucked into a roll behind a toppled cart. "Strike!"

From the shadows, Luna emerged, her white fur gleaming faintly even in the gloom. Lightning sparked along her body, and with a growl, she released a crackling bolt of energy toward the assassin. The lightning struck the building where the assassin crouched, exploding part of the structure into rubble.

The assassin vaulted off the collapsing building, diving straight for Ren with a blade aimed for his throat. They crashed into the ground, muddy water splashing around them. Ren’s back slammed against the wet earth, knocking the wind out of him.

The assassin’s shuriken pressed closer to Ren’s neck, the cold steel biting into his skin. "Because of you, this place rots," the assassin hissed, his voice sharp and venomous.

Ren’s eyes widened in confusion before anger flowed through his veins. "What are you talking about?!"

He clenched his jaw, summoning his strength, and with a powerful kick, he sent the assassin flying backward. Gasping, Ren scrambled to his feet, his sword glinting as rain streamed down its edge.

The assassin recovered quickly, his feet barely touching the ground before he lunged again. Ren met him head-on this time. Their blades clashed, sending sparks flying into the air. Ren ducked under a high slash and drove his blade into the assassin’s midsection, but it wasn’t deep enough to end the fight.

The assassin grunted in pain but retaliated with a wild slash, tearing through Ren’s tunic and slicing his arm. Blood mixed with the rain, running down Ren’s arm in warm rivulets. He hissed but didn’t back down.

Their fight moved faster, their strikes blurring as they attacked and countered, each one determined to break the other. Ren landed a kick to the assassin’s face, snapping his head to the side, but the man was relentless. A punch to Ren’s jaw made his head spin, and the assassin used the moment to leap onto another building. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Not again." Ren growled, clutching his side where blood seeped through his tunic.

The assassin’s second barrage of shurikens came harder and faster. Ren ducked and weaved, his body moving instinctively as he flipped off walls, twisted mid-air, and rolled through the mud. But these blades were different—they curved mid-flight, following him like hunting wolves. One slashed across his thigh, another embedded itself shallowly in his shoulder.

"Luna, strike!" Ren shouted through gritted teeth, his vision blurring as pain threatened to overwhelm him.

Luna leapt into action, unleashing another bolt of lightning. This time, it hit the assassin squarely. He cried out, his body jerking as the electricity coursed through him. When he tried to jump to safety, his movements were sluggish, and he crashed into the ground below.

Ren didn’t wait. Ignoring the pain in his side, he sprinted toward the assassin, his boots splashing through puddles. The assassin staggered to his feet, his mask cracked, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"You won’t make it to them," the assassin snarled, his voice trembling with both pain and rage, "Even if it kills me, I’ll end you here."

Ren’s anger boiled over. "People live in Karnak?! Who are they?!" he roared, slamming his head into the assassin’s, the impact splitting the skin on his brow. The assassin stumbled back, blood mixing with the rain as it dripped from his mouth. Both of them crash into an abandoned shop.

Ren threw him out of the crumbling shop they’d crashed into, his strength fuelled by desperation. The assassin barely recovered before Ren’s sword came for him again. Their blades clashed violently, the sound ringing through the empty streets like a death knell.

The fight reached a fever pitch. Their strikes were faster, more savage, each one aiming to end the other. Ren saw an opening and kicked, but the assassin dodged and drove a blade into Ren’s side. The pain was excruciating, white-hot, but Ren didn’t stop.

The assassin jumped back onto a building and unleashed a final barrage of homing shurikens. Ren gritted his teeth, blood pouring from his wounds as he sprinted across the walls of the ruined town, evading the deadly blades by a hair’s breadth.

But he couldn’t keep this up. His vision blurred, his body weakening. "Luna... Strike now!" he gasped in desperation.

The wolf growled, electricity sparking across her fur. She released a bolt that struck the assassin mid-air, throwing him off balance. The man fell, his body slamming into the ground hard.

Ren didn’t hesitate. He moved faster than his body should’ve allowed, his desperation giving him one last burst of strength. The assassin tried to rise, but Ren’s roundhouse kick sent him sprawling back into the mud.

Ren planted his boot on the assassin’s chest and held his short sword to the man’s throat. Both of them were breathing hard, their faces pale, bloodied, and soaked in rain.

"It’s over, move another inch and I will sever your head from your body." Ren warned, his voice low and cold.

The assassin glared up at him, hatred burning in his eyes. He struggled to move, the more his life force left him, the weaker he felt, "who..." he coughed out blood, his mask laying feet away from him, broken and his face visible to Ren, "are...you?"

"A Beast tamer."

"You are from the empire, you will not find him here." blood splattered from his mouth with a hard cough. The lightning attack had done more damage than he had expected, but his words only made Ren’s eyes twist in confusion.