Journey to Become the Zenith-Chapter 85: The Man Who Sent the Assassins

The Man Who Sent the Assassins

"Who ordered you to kill me?"

A small tilt of Victor’s head came before his words left his mouth.

He spoke softly, a hint of warmth in his voice.

"I want to personally express my gratitude."

A quiet change came across his face, the edge of a grin pulling tighter. It wasn’t warm - more like a warning hidden in motion.

"For sending me some training dummies."

After a pause, his breath came out quiet, almost like a whisper.

"But I do have a complaint."

A slight shift brought Victor closer, humor glowing soft in his gold-flecked gaze.

"Those training dummies..."

"...weren’t even good enough to give me a warm-up."

To Victor, it was a simple statement.

To the one crouched low at his feet -

A hush curled through the air, sharp with hidden meaning.

His gaze locked on, breath unsteady, face pale under a flicker of shock.

Something about Victor’s ease sat poorly - his quiet grin, how loose he stood, even his voice drifting through the dead like weather talk. Wrongness curled under every word.

A single idea circled again inside the killer’s head.

A single finger from him might be enough to end my life.

His throat tightened.

Fingers trembled without warning.

Victor didn’t rush him.

He simply waited.

Patient.

Relaxed.

The long blade of grass still rested loosely between his fingers, stained faintly with blood.

Finally, the assassin spoke.

"I—I’ll tell you!"

His voice cracked with fear.

"It was a kid from the Saulon family... called Albion. He wanted to get back at you for shaming him in front of all the other young nobles."

Victor blinked once.

Then his smile turned faintly amused.

Ah.

So it’s that kid.

The image of the arrogant noble flashing back to him briefly.

Victor remembered the day clearly.

The boy’s pride.

His anger.

The way Victor had casually crushed that pride in front of everyone.

Victor sighed quietly.

So he couldn’t take me down himself...

And decided to send someone else.

How pathetic.

For a moment, Victor almost felt bored.

But then—

A thought crossed his mind.

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hey."

The assassin flinched at the sound of Victor’s voice again.

Victor spoke casually.

"Am I the only one that fool asked to be killed?"

The assassin quickly shook his head.

"No! No, you’re not!"

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

The man swallowed.

"He gave us two more targets."

Victor’s smile slowly disappeared.

The assassin continued nervously.

"A girl named Videl... and another girl named Lane."

For the first time—

The air around Victor changed.

It was subtle.

But terrifying.

The assassin suddenly felt the temperature drop.

Victor stood there silently for a moment.

His golden eyes darkened slightly.

Then he asked quietly,

"I see..."

His voice was still calm.

But something cold lurked underneath it. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"So tell me something."

Victor crouched slightly so their eyes met.

"Did you send men to attack them already?"

The assassin shook his head quickly.

"No!"

Victor’s gaze sharpened.

"Or..."

"...are the men you brought with you all the men you have?"

The assassin hurried to answer.

"No, there are others."

Victor’s expression remained unreadable.

"Others?"

The man nodded nervously.

"They’re waiting for their chance to strike."

Victor tapped the blade of grass lightly against his finger.

"I see."

Then he asked another question.

"Are the men going after my girls stronger than the ones you brought here?"

The assassin hesitated slightly.

But under Victor’s gaze—

He answered honestly.

"For the girl called Lane..."

"The ones attacking her are weaker."

Victor nodded slightly.

Then he asked,

"And Videl?"

The assassin swallowed.

"The ones going after the girl Videl are the elites of our group."

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"The elites?"

"Yes..."

The man continued nervously.

"Even the boss joined that group."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

The assassin explained quickly.

"He’s a Master Rank swordsman and also attends the knight academy in Fantom City."

"Because of that..."

"Our boss decided he was the hardest target."

"So he personally went to kill Videl."

Victor blinked slowly.

For a brief moment—

He actually looked slightly offended.

They thought Videl was stronger than me?

Victor almost laughed.

Then he thought about it more carefully.

Well...

I’m technically just a B-rank adventurer right now.

And I’ve never actually registered my real combat ability.

So maybe I shouldn’t feel insulted.

Victor shrugged slightly.

Then he asked another question.

"How strong is your boss?"

The assassin answered immediately.

"He’s an intermediate-level mage... and an advanced-rank swordsman."

Victor sighed softly.

A hint of disappointment crossed his face.

"What a shame."

The assassin looked confused.

Victor shook his head.

"If he came after me..."

"...I might’ve actually gotten a proper warm-up."

The man stared at him in disbelief.

Warm-up...?

That monster would have been a warm-up to him?

Victor straightened his back.

Then he smiled again.

"Well."

He nodded slightly.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

The assassin blinked.

Victor turned around casually.

His footsteps began moving down the road again.

The long grass blade twirled lazily between his fingers.

"I wasted too much time playing around with weaklings."

Victor muttered to himself.

"I still need to reach Mystery Woodland before sunset."

Behind him—

The assassin remained frozen.

For several seconds he couldn’t move.

Then slowly...

His shoulders relaxed.

His breathing eased.

Victor’s figure was already several steps away.

I’m alive...

The man felt relief flood his body.

He actually let me go.

His chest rose as he prepared to sigh.

But before the breath could leave his lips—

The world suddenly tilted.

The sky spun sideways.

The ground rose into view.

For a brief moment—

He saw something impossible.

His own body.

Still kneeling.

But—

Without a head.

The realization arrived too late.

Victor stood several steps away, the blade of grass between his fingers now stained red.

He flicked it lightly.

The blood slid off the thin green blade.

Without turning back, Victor spoke calmly.

"You really thought..."

"...I would let someone who tried to kill my women walk away?"

The assassin never heard the rest.

Darkness swallowed him completely.

Victor continued walking down the road.

The forest ahead slowly thickened.

In the distance—

The shadowy outline of Mystery Woodland waited.