Lotus among the Roses

🗡🩸Close Encounter🩸🗡

The air outside the library annex was still, the evening's warmth lingering as Vyom, Kumud, and Haran made their way through the narrow alley that led to the busy streets.

The weight of their discovery hung in the air, heavy with unspoken tension.

"Careful... I seem to hear some footsteps coming our way...... " Kumud muttered, her voice low, only reaching Vyom and Haran .

Kumud's sharp eyes scanned their surroundings, her instincts on high alert, as if sensing something amiss in the atmosphere.

Vyom walked ahead, his hand subtly resting on the dagger at the side of his robe, ready to spring into action if necessary. Haran, however, seemed oblivious to the danger lurking nearby, his mind still occupied with the information he had just shared. They were nearing the end of the alley when a soft, nearly imperceptible sound reached Kumud's ears.

A rustle.

"Clank! "

The scrape of metal against stone.  The sound intense and sharp.

Before she could speak, shadowy figures emerged from the darkness, their movements swift and calculated.

Assassins!

" Take cover !" Kumud shouted at Haran, who face paled in fear, as he stood rooted on the spot.

Without hesitation, Vyom and Kumud leapt into action, their bodies reacting as one.

Vyom kicked the first Assasin, while Kumnd, shot out her elbow, immidiately dislocating his Jaw, snapping his neck.

" Crack!" The air stilled, as thatman fell down, dead, not even able to groan out in pain.

All of them stopped for a moment, seemingly astonished at her frightening cruelty.

Haran clamped his hands over his mouth to prevent himself from screaming out in terror.

Even Vyom paused for a moment, looking her up and down, slowing muttering, " Yup!... Can't mess with this one... she will definately snap my neck in half... "

Kumud raised her eyebrows while spitting out, " What? Scared?"

Her contemptuous eyes seemed to agitate them once again, as their attacks began again.

"Ah!" Haran screamed, when they tried to shove a knife at him.

Vyom grabbed Haran, pulling him back just as a blade sliced through the air where the official had stood moments before. Kumud stepped forward, blocking the path of one of the assassins, using Vyom's knife to stab him, which she took from him in a swift move.

Her body moved fluidly as she dodged the incoming attacks.

The alley became a battlefield. With no weapons at hand, Vyom quickly surveyed his surroundings, grabbing a thick bamboo staff discarded by a street vendor. Soon, that staff turned into a killer weapon in his hand as he smashed the heads of the oncoming attackers, killing them in one blow.

Kumud, with equal precision, spotted a length of heavy chain left from a merchant's cart, and in one swift motion, she wrapped it around her arm, swinging it toward the nearest assailant.

The assassins were strong—far stronger than they appeared—and their attacks were relentless. Kumud swung the chain, wrapping it around the wrist of one attacker and yanking him forward, using his momentum to slam him into the alley's stone wall.

Vyom, meanwhile, moved with deadly grace, the bamboo staff twirling in his hands as he deflected strikes aimed at Haran, shielding the official from every direction.