Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 215: Alright then

It happened that night.

"These guards are so used to fighting monsters that they don’t know how to spot an assassin," Apki thought as he put his back against the wall of the passageway and began to slide against it like a slug.

But then, maybe it was that Apki was simply that good of an assassin. He smiled at that because he knew he was not that good. His skills lay more in stealing than killing.

He had a sub-essence in the Dark Knight Order that made it possible for eyes to look past him without registering him. Once he hid himself well, the brains of others would simply tell them that he wasn’t there because they did not expect an assassin to be there.

The problem was that if he met a paranoid guard who usually expected assassins in every shadow, then he would be detected. But this was the borderland. They fought monsters more than they thought about what an assassin does.

Apki smiled as he got closer to the room where his target was staying. "I wouldn’t be taking this work if not for the artifact and the benefits," he thought.

He was on the ship when Vale attacked it, and even though they were both Errant Knights, he saw the difference between them, and it left him with a chill.

But Orin gave him an artifact that would level the gap, so Apki took the job. Kill Vale Athrimir. They even told him that the Master Knights wouldn’t interfere.

"This will set my name in stone, my prestige will grow, and I’ll get more commissions."

He crept towards the room, and once he reached the door, he placed his palm on it, and immediately, darkness burst outward. Rippling tentacles of darkness latched onto the door and spewed outward, swallowing the section whole.

The spell was of a higher level than his sub-essence. Anyone who looked toward the room would only see what they expected themselves to see and hear.

Apki straightened. "Now then, we will have no distractions when we talk."

His hand went to his pocket, and he brought out a small knife that glowed faintly with glossy light. With a flicker of his hand, the door opened, and he walked inside.

The room was big and richly furnished, but Apki’s eyes were only for the bed at the center and the one sleeping on it. He smiled. "Time to die."

This time, he said it out loud. With quick steps, he got close to the bed and leaned over, his knife poised atop the sleeping Vale’s head, and without hesitation, he stabbed down.

The blade sliced easily through the air, but at the last minute, the blanket ruffled, and Apki yanked his hand, lurching himself away. "What the...?"

On the bed, Vale’s eyes were open, his green eyes cold even with the blazing heat trapped within. He watched the assassin flatly as he sat up. He was still wearing the clothes he had worn during the day, as if he had been silently waiting there for the assassin to come.

And that was the truth. Vale knew assassins would be sent to test him. He just didn’t expect it to be that quickly and for them to send such an incompetent one. He had felt him the moment he entered the building.

Or maybe Vale’s essence sensing was just that strong, stronger still now that he had gained a new rank. He tilted his head as he watched the assassin, who looked as if he’d been caught with his hand half-dipped into a pot.

The man was unremarkable, apart from the artifact that he was holding.

"You have sealed up this place somehow," Vale said.

Apki took a step back, eyes narrowed. "You should be asleep."

"So should you. Seriously, how have you survived so far with your assassin career? You are not the sharpest blade on the rack, are you?" Vale still hadn’t stood up from his place, but his hand went under his pillow, and he brought out his technique book. He opened it and flipped through it with a small frown.

Apki took another step back as he struggled. "I’m good at running."

"But you’re not running now," Vale pointed out.

Apki smiled and raised the knife. "It’s because of this."

Then he spat out some words. The blade shuddered to life. It lengthened, rippling with ghostly white light that flickered like fire.

He raised it and brought it down, stabbing the floor.

The room exploded into life. Shadows gained ghostly white light and rippled outward, tentacles that lashed and cracked in the air like whips.

The ground cracked as more tentacles burst outward, shattering stone into splinters. Then they surged forward toward Vale.

He didn’t say anything and simply watched with displeasure. The space in front of him ignited. Red fire roared to life and washed forward, covering the room in blazing brightness that burned with intensity.

The tentacles withered and died as the fire slammed into them. But before the fire could touch the assassin, a wall of darkness erupted outward, shielding him away.

Vale frowned as he cut off his power. "That was disappointing."

Everything in the room except for the bed he was sitting on and the shield-covered assassin was now ash. He narrowed his eyes. "Don’t tell me that’s what you and the artifact can do?"

The shield covering the assassin slid away like water on a smooth shell. Apki was hunched over, his shoulders twitching and shaking. At first, Vale thought he was terrified or hurt, but then he listened carefully and realized the man was laughing.

Apki straightened. His face was pale, his eyes a combination of white and black, his hair had grown grunt and long, a mixture of white and black.

And on his chest was the knife, stabbed right in the middle. Apki spoke, and his voice overlapped like two people speaking over each other. "How long has it been since anyone was desperate enough to use me?"

Vale sighed. "So the artifact is a possession type then, and a nasty one at that. No wonder they gave it to him. They expected him to die, at least.

"Alright then."