The underground facility wasn't designed to welcome outsiders. Yet, my father made an exception for Alisa.
The air carried a peculiar weight, as if steeped in something older than us. It wasn't superstition. It was history.
"Seik," my father said calmly, with no need to raise his voice. "Starting today, I will share with you the secrets of our medical knowledge and our assassination techniques. But this won't be a simple lecture—it will be training in motion."
Before I could process his words, the lights went out, one by one.
It wasn't a mistake.
No matter how much I had trained with him, his movements remained inhuman. A mere flicker of light, and he was no longer where he had been.
I glanced at Alisa. She had retreated into a corner, utterly silent. Her eyes showed neither fear nor pity—only an inscrutable interest.
"Seik..." My father's voice echoed from every direction.
I took a step back. Not out of hesitation, but because it was the only way to orient myself in the dark.
The facility was a windowless cube, with only two exits: the main door, guarded by an impenetrable security system, and a second, hidden one. Everything was designed so that moving inside required more than mere skill.
"I hear you, Father," I whispered, turning slowly.
No immediate answer came. Only silence.
My father wasn't just any assassin—he was the most powerful in The Fénix. But his skills weren't limited to the art of killing. He was also an exceptional physician, granting him a deep and terrifying knowledge of the human body. He knew how to heal it—and, more importantly, how to dismantle it.
"Do you know the body's weak points?" he asked.
His voice didn't come from a fixed location. It floated in the void.
The light flickered for an instant.
It was enough to see him moving through the air.
But...
A sharp pain shot through my body. Before I could even process what was happening, my knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor. Something had struck me with surgical precision.
The coldness of the floor was more intense than I'd expected.
I had to find an opening—a chance to land a decisive blow.
Alisa remained in her place, watching.
"Too slow," my father said.
I lifted my head. I knew he hadn't stayed still.
At that moment, he passed by my side, grazing me with a knife.
I tracked him with my gaze. A faint smile played on his lips. I spun around quickly, but he had already melted back into the darkness.
Is he trying to kill me? So that's what that woman meant... Next time, I'll take you seriously, Mother.
I sat up, analyzing my surroundings. I closed my eyes and let myself go. I know I have no magic power, but I know karate and the techniques of The Fénix. If that's not enough, then I'll die trying.
I moved in any direction. If I kept moving constantly, he'd attack eventually—but at least I'd buy myself time to find a weapon.
At first, we were eating; it would be strange to have a knife on us. That meant there must have been weapons in the facility.
I searched the walls, the floor... but there was nothing.
The wound on my cheek still burned—a reminder of just how fast he could move. He'd nearly taken my eye.
Then he brushed past me again, but this time, I couldn't even track him with my gaze. All I caught was a whisper in the air, a fleeting glint.
He'd gotten even faster.
I exhaled. Breathe deep, Seik. Everything is calm. Use the silence to your advantage. Listen to the environment, the sound of his movements. Find something...
The air was still. Too still. Only the faint whistle of the blade slicing through space betrayed his presence. I stood motionless, vulnerable to any attack from my father. Sooner or later, he'd strike.
Think. What isn't here? What don't you have? What do you have? Find it...
No weapons on the floor, none on the walls. Yet he still had that blade, cutting through the space between us.
My father passed by me again. This time, the sound was sharper—the edge spinning in his grip, the air splitting in two.
Now.
I leaned calmly to the right. He overshot, but immediately circled back. I jumped backward and, as I landed, used the momentum to lunge forward.
He flicked his wrist. The blade gleamed for an instant as he switched it to his left hand.
I tilted slightly to the right, and the moment I felt the steel cutting through the air to my left, I slid behind him like a shadow. In one fluid motion, I climbed onto his back and, summoning all my strength, leapt—suspended in midair.
"So you figured it out," my father murmured, turning toward me. His eyes held silent approval.
From above, I reached out and grazed the blade.
Just as I'd thought.
There was nothing on the floor, the walls, or the ceiling... because they were in the air, suspended by nearly invisible threads.
This felt less like a fight and more like a deadly dance.
If this isn't epic, then I don't know what is. This was a far cry from the monotony of my old life.
I hit the ground. My father didn't take his eyes off me, and I didn't take mine off him.
Even in the darkness, his silhouette stood out clearly. It seemed he was no longer on guard—his stance had shifted out of readiness.
"Seik, once again, I'm impressed by your boldness. Can you recite the family creed?" he said, his voice calm.
"The skills of The Fénix family are to be used solely to ensure the prosperity of the kingdom," I repeated, almost by reflex.
From here, I couldn't see Alisa, but I knew she was watching us. I could hear her heavy breathing even at this distance—my father probably could too.
"How does our medical technology benefit the country?" he asked.
"By saving the lives of its most important figures."
"Exactly right. Our family holds little political power—yet if we can save the lives of those above us, they might make this country a better place," he said, shifting his feet slowly to reposition himself. "Next question."
Then—he vanished.
What? Did he just teleport?
I angled the blade—and in its reflection, I saw my father's silhouette behind me.