When Zaydan entered King Necor's chamber, it was shrouded in darkness. The frantic commotion within the palace had caught his attention, but he had no time to dwell on it.
He drew his dagger, moved with swift precision, and plunged it into Necor's heart.
The King staggered suddenly, a strange sense of relief washing over his face.
"Thank you..." he uttered, as blood began to spread across his chest.
Zaydan stared at him in bewilderment.
"If you hadn't killed me... they would have killed me within a month anyway."
With that, he drew his final breath.
Before Zaydan could process the meaning behind those words, he heard the shouts of the guards. He had to escape.
He moved rapidly through the corridors, blending into the shadows, and managed to slip out of the palace.
He returned to the tavern and sat down across from the man.
"The job is done."
The man narrowed his eyes, raising his eyebrows in question.
"In a single night?"
Then, he let out a soft chuckle.
"Well done."
But Zaydan was uneasy. He couldn't suppress his thoughts and finally spoke:
"These last two men... they were very strange."
The man's face hardened for a moment.
Then, he nodded.
"Yes."
Zaydan gritted his teeth. He wanted an answer now.
"I killed Dante. And I gave the letter to the man named Nahid."
The man turned to Zaydan in a sudden flash of rage.
"How could you?! Are you insane?! Your job is to kill! Nothing else!"
The man tried to control his breathing, clenching his hands to calm himself down.
But Zaydan did not back down.
"Who was sealed?"
The man glared at him, then took a deep breath.
Without saying a word, he stood up.
"You've lost your job, Zaydan."
Zaydan stood up as well and grabbed the man by his collar.
"Give me an answer. Or I will kill you."
The man narrowed his eyes.
"No."
He turned quickly toward the door.
Zaydan lunged after him, beginning the pursuit.
A chase unfolded through the narrow streets. The man fled, and Zaydan followed hot on his heels.
Finally, he cut the man off, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him hard against a wall.
"Speak!"
Zaydan pressed his dagger against the man's throat.
"Talk."
The man gritted his teeth. "I won't talk."
Zaydan slammed him harder against the wall in anger.
"I'm losing my patience—talk. Or I'll kill you."
The man took a deep breath. "What do you want?"
Zaydan's voice was cold. "Answers."
The man surrendered and spoke calmly:
"It's true that Dante's sealing spell bound two powerful men. Nihad and Nicat... You must have heard their stories."
Zaydan nodded. "Yes. Go on."
The man sighed. "That's all I know."
Zaydan pressed the dagger even harder.
The man spoke in a panic:
"Fine, stop! I'll tell you!"
"These two men caught someone's attention. For some reason, they came to me. They told me to have Dante killed to break the seal.
And you killed him.
Then they came again.
This time, they ordered the death of the King.
And you went and killed the King.
I am just the middleman."
Zaydan looked into his terrified eyes.
"Who are they?"
The man trembled. "I don't know. If you want to meet those at the top, I don't even know their location."
Seeing him this terrified for the first time destroyed any shred of respect Zaydan had for him.
Zaydan whispered in a cold tone:
"I used to respect you..."
And with a single swift motion, he drove the dagger into the man's throat.
The man let out a gasping sound, his eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood.
Zaydan took one last look at the corpse.
"If they can't find me, they'll come looking for me."
And I will get the answers from them personally.