"And what do you think these people valued?"
"Not facing their fears." Skymender said, understanding where he was going.
"So what if instead of making their worst fears come true, it took what they valued. For most, what they value is not having to face what they fear most. But for those like us, whose fear is just about non-existent, it truly takes what we value. You value your family and your feelings towards them. It took some of your emotions and made your heart colder. I value my intelligence most. Hence, the headache I got when holding it. The Emperor also does not fear anything, so what he was losing must be what he valued most." The Imperial Scholar said.
This logic applied to everyone that had been in the throne room, including Sword Master Shang, who most likely had less fear than anybody else in that room.
If his poison color was blood red, then what he valued most was most likely the lives of his people, and the blood represented the end of their lives.
He could also apply this logic to the prisoner from before, the one in a coma. Most likely, what he had valued was his freedom, and as a result, he was trapped inside of his own body.
Naturally, calling it a fear poison was no longer accurate. Instead, Skymender gave it a new game.
"Deprivation poison." He said to the Imperial Scholar, who nodded. It deprived the poisoned of what they valued most.
Skymender had started out with three vials of the poison, but after so much testing, he was now left with two and a half.
The Imperial Scholar finally seemed satisfied, as he had found out what the poison did.
Of course, its effects were still horrific, but the fear of the unknown was worse than the fear of the known.
"As agreed, I'll send you compensation and another one of the antidote plants that you used. Although the Deprivation poison is incredible, if it can be resisted by the plant, then you should make it even stronger."
He began to leave.
However, moments before exiting, he stopped. "If you are going to be the Imperial Scholar, then you need a reputation in the Imperial Capital. You already have one, but it is far too low, and has been lowering every year you remain unseen. Only once you have respect will you be able to function as the Imperial Scholar in its most efficient capacity."
Skymender nodded. He had already begun to build something akin to a reputation in his past visits.
However, if he was going to be the Imperial Scholar, then it was not nearly enough. He needed to not only have some respect, but to command authority. Only then would he be worthy of the position.
Skymender left the Imperial Palace and looked around. Although he would eventually begin that process, he was still too young to be taken seriously. He would wait until he grew old enough to enter the Imperial School, which was only around two years in the future.
He began his journey back to the Sky Barony immediately. He couldn't leave for too long, lest someone notice the extended absence of the Skygod and put some pieces together.
Skymender's journey took another ten days, and besides having an absolute trump card on him, everything was as usual.
With his aging, he noticed signs of growth.
This not only included growth in his already unnatural strength, but also growth in his height and weight, as well as the muscle that showed on his body.
School started again, and as he continuously studied, he continued to grow at an incredible rate. At this point, he wasn't even sure what level his intelligence had reached. It was increasingly hard to find material that he did not already know, so he began to branch out a bit.
He looked deeply into topics he was not even that interested in, but seemed as if they could be somewhat useful in the future.
Time passed, and he soon turned thirteen years old. Although he aged a lot, he didn't feel all that different from when he was even younger. Only his body changed, not his mind.
The assassination business grew as much as the city did over time. Under the new Baron Sky's leadership, Sky city had already firmly become a city. It was multiple times the size it had been before.
The police force had also grown, but there was still no sort of retaliation against his assassination business. Hopefully, they understood that they simply did not have the ability to do anything. Otherwise, they were most likely plotting under the surface.
If that was the case, he would have to kill some more cops.
More time passed, and Skymender was relaxing when Violet entered his room. "Baron Sky has requested your presence.
Skymender nodded and stood up. He walked through the halls, Violet following behind.
He arrived at Baron Sky's door and knocked.
"Enter."
He opened the door and walked through, Violet staying outside.
Inside was Baron Sky, the Chief of Police, and an unfamiliar man.
"Hello, Sir Skymender." The unfamiliar man said.
Skymender nodded in greeting before turning to his brother. "What do you need from me?"
He spoke. "This here is a detective from the Imperial Capital, here to help find the Skygod. He has worked with the Imperial Scholar before, and upon learning that you attended the Imperial Scholar camp, wondered if you would be interested in helping."
Skymender was stunned, though outside he kept a neutral expression.
"Naturally, this is top secret." Baron Sky added.
They were unaware that Skymender himself was the one they were hunting down.
Of course, there had been the slightest suspicions before, but those had been washed away by time and confirmation of Skygod taking action while Skymender was far away.
Naturally, this was Skymender's doing.
The detective looked Skymender up and down observing him.
"Although I am often busy, I can definitely help if you need me to." Skymender said.
"Thank you." Baron Sky said.
Skymender turned to leave, when the detective spoke. "Just one more thing. If you wouldn't mind, could you take your glove off?"
Skymender stopped moving and turned around. "I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Why not?" The detective said.
Skymender did not answer him, instead opening the door and walking out.
The detective moved forward, blocking his way. "I must insist, Skymender. Please take the glove off."
Skymender looked at the detective for a moment, before slamming his backhand into his face.
The detective was knocked down to the ground, a huge red mark on his face.
"Who do you think you are, commoner? I could kill you without hearing so much as a breath about it. Don't forget, this is a noble household, and it will not be tolerated that you disrespect it. Disrespecting a noble is the same as disrespecting the Empire."
With this, Skymender walked out.
The detective watched him in shock, never expecting such a thing to happen.
Indeed, he had forgotten that this was a noble household. He truly did not have the authority to demand a single thing, as he was simply a commoner.
Even Skymender's brother and the Chief of Police were shocked.
Naturally, Baron Sky took Skymender's side. Not only were his words somewhat correct, but he was his older brother.
"Don't go too far detective. Not all nobles are as tolerant as me. Take my brother for example." Baron Sky said.
The detective nodded as he got up from the ground. Inside, he was angry, but on the outside, he kept his composure.
Skymender walked to his room without caring about what happened as he left. He had every right to do that, as he was a noble, and the man was a commoner. If he had killed him, it would be another thing, but just slapping him would get him in no trouble.
He returned to his room and continued to relax for around an hour, before beginning to study once again.
Violet, who had seen the whole thing, felt a bit of admiration for Skymender.
As expected, Skymender did not face any sort of trouble after slapping the detective. His life went on. Though he had indeed expressed his willingness to work alongside the detective, it was unlikely that it would happen now.
He went unbothered for a while. However, he began to watch out for the police as he assassinated, and warned his assassins to do so as well. They treaded cautiously. At this point, Third Moon and Western Guardian had become true assassins.
If Skymender were ever to get a new assassin, he could confidently leave any sort of training to them. Of course, there was still the occasional failure. It was only natural that it would not go perfectly. However, there was no harm done to his assassins.
It was sometime around February when he received a piece of news. The police had captured Western Guardian.
Skymender sighed. He first went to Western Guardian's house. His daughter had woken up, and was confused to see her father gone. Skymender knocked on the door, and she answered.
"Um… Sir?"
"I am your father's boss." Skymender said.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you know where my father is?" She asked.
"He's busy right now, but he'll be back soon. Are you good for now?" Skymender asked.
She nodded.
"Good. Go back inside, and don't answer the door unless it is your father."
She nodded and closed the door, locking it.
Skymender stood up.
The sun was high in the sky, but it didn't matter. Morning or night, the police would have to pay for their actions.
Skymender began to leap across roofs. Many people saw him, as it was a bustling time at noon.
They saw his mask, and his appearance.
Although nobody recognized him as Skygod, they could feel something was going on.
Skymender made his way directly towards the police department. This was the best time to attack, as they would never expect him to move in broad daylight.
He soon arrived. There were no buildings near it, so he had to walk on the ground. His conspicuous appearance brought attention to the cops nearby.
"You! Stop right there!" One of them barked at him.
Skymender raised his bow and shot.
An arrow pierced his head, stunning everybody nearby.
He rapidly fired more arrows, instantly killing a few, while the rest ran inside.
A few cops came out, hearing a commotion start, and spotted Skymender. He never stopped firing, but the police also had people with bows. They came out and shot at him, but Skymender was fast. His arrows would either instantly kill someone, or block another arrow as it flew towards him. The police officers occasionally missed, but Skymender was eventually forced to hide behind a tree as arrows stuck into it.
He reached into a bag at his side and took out the vials.
He tied them to three arrows using some tape and leaped out from behind the tree. In an instant, a mist took up the front of the police station.
A few died, while others retreated inside.
Not only the cops, but even the bystanders could tell who he was by now.
"Skygod."
Skymender walked out from behind a tree and traveled towards the entrance.
Every person nearby watched as he did so. He passed a statue outside, one which had stood for years and represented the police department.
He threw a vial of corrosion poison at it, tearing it down once and for all.
As he moved towards the police station, officers outside of the station made their way towards the police station.
A red smoke rose in the air, created from lighting a fire with a colored substance. Red meant that an attack was occuring.
They had been told to be on guard, but had never expected anything to happen so soon.
It would take them a while to arrive, and Skymender was already inside. He walked through the station, Sword in hand. Most of the police officers had moved towards a central point, but Skymender still killed a few. He eventually reached something akin to a cafeteria, where a hundred officers, including the Chief of Police, stood together.
Naturally, this should have made it even easier for Skymender to kill them, but in the center of them all was Western Guardian.
When he saw Skymender, his eyes finally showed hope. Looking at him, he had clearly endured torture. But even if he had wanted to say anything, there was not much he knew.
Even what he knew was not told as he held out, not daring to betray Skymender for the sake of his daughter.
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