"I am called Pangu!"
The assassin looked bewildered for a moment, then, with an unimpressed glance, asked, "Who the hell is Pangu?"
The annoyance from my mixed voice was as clear as pure crystals, "Ignorant fool, I am the creator of this universe! I split the seed of Yggdrasil with my own axe! I expect you to kneel and worship me!"
That was definitely Pangu, the sword, speaking. The arrogance is affecting our fused form, which is not something that I would approve of. She raised an eyebrow upon hearing my overbearing words and said, "I am sorry, truly, but I won't be worshipping you, Pangu. My purpose stands unchanged. I am going to kill you."
She raised her staff and cast another curse. This time, however, I didn't even bother dodging. I didn't faint like I did minutes ago. What I felt was merely a tickling sensation. I smirked, "Is that all?"
Her face a mixture of confusion, fury, embarrassment, and anger, the assassin launched a variety of spells and curses with each swing and stomp of her long staff. I suppose she hoped that this would harm me, even if it was a slight injury.
I will give her credit. She managed to do that with a single curse when I was just Orion. But now, in this form, none of it is doing anything. The only thing my former teacher could do was give up, or so I thought after she stopped momentarily. Apparently, she was regaining her composure and prepared to start her array of spells once again.
However, I became quite bored with this pathetic show. An ice spear formed in my hand. I gripped it and shot it at the arm that was holding the staff, immediately severing it and pinning it to the ground. I smirked once again and mocked her, "Sorry, I thought you wouldn't stop. I admit that I find your perseverance admirable, but seeing that you weren't able to affect me in the slightest, it makes you pathetic."
"Pathetic?" she managed to say through the pain caused by the loss of her arm. "I have a mission, and I will complete it even if I die!"
I frowned, "Why must you?"
"Duty."
"Ha!" It started as a sneer, and then became a laugh. "Duty? How many years have you been waiting to finish this duty?"
"Before you even became a cultivator," she replied, this time calm and composed, with even a hint of mockery when she looked at me.
Her response was a bit of a startle; I do not deny that. Looking deep into her eyes, I saw no lie, just the truth. "What do you mean by that? Why would you kill me when I was no one?"
The assassin remained silent, which infuriated me. Suddenly, I flexed my right arm and opened it again. My sword, which is stored in my body during this fused state, appeared in my hand. I approached her and raised the sword to her neck, "No more games, woman! Who are you? Who sent you? Answer this, and your life will be spared."
Her gaze unwavering in front of my threat, she replied, "I told you before, my identity does not matter. As for who sent me, who do you think?"
I frowned, trying to think about someone who wanted to kill me even when I was as powerless as a lamb taken for slaughter. Yet I could find no one. Even after beginning my journey to get the sword shards, I haven't made enemies that would want to kill me so badly. Seeing my frown, my former physics teacher suddenly started laughing. I couldn't make out why she was doing so, so I asked, "Do you find this funny?"
Her laughter gradually died down. Then, she mocked, "All this arrogance and you don't even know about his existence! You called me pathetic before, but now it is my turn to call you that."
"Whose existence?"
"Your own master doesn't trust you with that information, so why would I reveal it to you now? Where is the fun in that?"
The tip of my sword was now touching her neck. Blood seeped from the place of contact. My tone sharp, I threatened, "This is your last chance. Reveal what you know, or I can slightly apply some force to my sword, and you will drop dead."
"Then kill me, I have made peace with death." With a slight emphasis on the word 'death', she closed her eyes. She made her choice, and now it is time for her to face its consequences. I pushed my arm slightly forward, and the blade went through her throat.
Blood came out of her mouth, and when I pulled back my sword, the wound gushed out he blood so quickly that she dropped on the ground after a few mere seconds. Suddenly, black wisps of fog appeared above her dead body. Remnants of her soul. But before she could do anything, a red bolt of lightning struck it and obliterated her from existence.
It was over. I was silent for a moment before asking, "Is that you, Richard?"
Just as I was using the world to speak, Richard did the same, "Yes."
"What are you not telling me?"
"A lot of things, but it is not your concern for the time being."
"It is my concern when someone sends an assassin after me!"
"Not now, Orion."
Before I could argue back, I heard a trembling person ask while stuttering, "O-O-Orion... What just happened?"
My friends. I completely forgot about them. I was too absorbed in the arrogance of this form that disdained the idea of protecting them when it should have been my first priority.
In my sea of consciousness, I looked at Pangu, who was hovering in front of me, and asked, "Shouldn't we return to normal now?" Pangu nodded, and I could feel the separation between the two of us. I was myself again. The otherworldly aura around me disappeared and was replaced with my own.
I looked at my friends, who were trembling in fear. A fight between two cultivators, who they supposedly know, was not an everyday occurrence. They didn't even know that magic existed, let alone witness something like this. I sighed, "I am sorry, guys, but you have seen too much. Don't worry, in a second, you won't remember any of this."
Before I could cast the spell to alter their memories, Richard's voice could be heard again, "Do not change their memories. Cultivators have hidden for long enough. It is time for the mortals to know about the existence of magic!"
"Are you sure about this?" I asked him.
No answer came. None was needed.
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Updated on 23/8/2025