by Venus watched old Ms. Cooper from the shelter of a shaded vending cart, as the lady went about her business of gardening. Ignorance was bliss as far as the senior citizen was concerned, for who knew what thoughts would be crossing through the old woman’s mind, who knew what actions she would be driven to take if she was aware of the fact that a bounty had been placed on her head? This was why Venus despised morally bankrupt people. Their only concern was gaining their desires, whether money, power or whatever else, with no care as to how their actions affected their fellow humans. It was sickening, to say the least.
To think that the whole issue was based on the fact that a simple flower competition had been lost by some grumpy old witch, who had decided not to take matters lying down, but instead sought to “improve” her own chances of winning next year by outing the present most challenging competition. Well, Venus couldn’t say she was complaining. She’d heard other D-rank missions involving rather inane things like doing dishes or gardening. A mage, gardening? What was the world coming to? At least, Vee expected that there would be a bit of action, even if it wouldn’t be so frightening, being a D-rank mission. Yet, one could not be too careless, which was why she had rented an old vending cart and disguised herself as a juice seller. To a very astute person, she would seem to be someone with not a lot of business sense, as the cool weather of the day made it unlikely that anyone would be in dear need of a refreshing fruit drink. Still, Vee had to be doing something which didn’t seem out of place while she watched her unaware ward.
A new smell in the general area informed the slayer that she wasn’t the only person observing Ms. Cooper. Looking in the direction of where the smell came from, she noticed a shadowy figure in a dark cape, hidden in the bushes. The assassin, no doubt. Since Ms. Cooper wasn’t expected to know her life was in danger, Vee had to get her out of the picture temporarily. This would be easy, seeing that the old lady seemed to have no security-consciousness. Her window was open, and Venus could smell something cooking. Since no one was around except the three members of this lovely drama, Venus left her cart, and crept undetected into Ms. Cooper’s open kitchen window. Increasing the flame of the burner under the stew to the maximum, the platinum blonde returned to her former position, with none the wiser for it. Now all she had to do was wait.
The hooded figure pulled out a blowgun from a hidden bag, and was in the process of aiming it at Ms. Cooper, when the old lady exclaimed, having smelt her burning stew, and rushed into the house. Almost immediately, Venus summoned a ball of light in her palm, and flung it at the bushes in which the assassin was concealed. Without waiting for it to detonate, she was already running to follow up an attack, in case her initial spell was not enough. The Amatsuma no Tama spell exploded, destroying the plant cover and disgorging the assassin, who was stunned by the sudden light flare, which meant the assassin was in no position to defend against the flying double-knee attack to the head, executed by the Ascendant Demon Slayer.
The assassin reeled, apparently unwilling to go down just yet, putting up balled fists in a combat stance. Venus didn’t even wait to see what her groggy opponent would do next before performing a feinting spin kick which connected with the side of the hooded figure’s head, quickly following up with an arm restraining technique which saw her seated on the back of the would-be assassin, holding the miscreant’s arm in an uncomfortable position. Venus looked up to see a few onlookers, watching in surprise.
”Vandal,” the Sabertooth mage called out. ”Someone call the authorities.” Moments later, the would-be killer was in the literal clutches of the law, Venus just had a few lies to tell Ms. Cooper about the vandal who had targeted her shrubbery, and the old woman was none the wiser about any attempts made on her life. It was a job well-done, if Venus could say so herself. Her next jobs didn’t necessarily need to be easier; she just hoped that they would be just as successful, if not more so.
To think that the whole issue was based on the fact that a simple flower competition had been lost by some grumpy old witch, who had decided not to take matters lying down, but instead sought to “improve” her own chances of winning next year by outing the present most challenging competition. Well, Venus couldn’t say she was complaining. She’d heard other D-rank missions involving rather inane things like doing dishes or gardening. A mage, gardening? What was the world coming to? At least, Vee expected that there would be a bit of action, even if it wouldn’t be so frightening, being a D-rank mission. Yet, one could not be too careless, which was why she had rented an old vending cart and disguised herself as a juice seller. To a very astute person, she would seem to be someone with not a lot of business sense, as the cool weather of the day made it unlikely that anyone would be in dear need of a refreshing fruit drink. Still, Vee had to be doing something which didn’t seem out of place while she watched her unaware ward.
A new smell in the general area informed the slayer that she wasn’t the only person observing Ms. Cooper. Looking in the direction of where the smell came from, she noticed a shadowy figure in a dark cape, hidden in the bushes. The assassin, no doubt. Since Ms. Cooper wasn’t expected to know her life was in danger, Vee had to get her out of the picture temporarily. This would be easy, seeing that the old lady seemed to have no security-consciousness. Her window was open, and Venus could smell something cooking. Since no one was around except the three members of this lovely drama, Venus left her cart, and crept undetected into Ms. Cooper’s open kitchen window. Increasing the flame of the burner under the stew to the maximum, the platinum blonde returned to her former position, with none the wiser for it. Now all she had to do was wait.
The hooded figure pulled out a blowgun from a hidden bag, and was in the process of aiming it at Ms. Cooper, when the old lady exclaimed, having smelt her burning stew, and rushed into the house. Almost immediately, Venus summoned a ball of light in her palm, and flung it at the bushes in which the assassin was concealed. Without waiting for it to detonate, she was already running to follow up an attack, in case her initial spell was not enough. The Amatsuma no Tama spell exploded, destroying the plant cover and disgorging the assassin, who was stunned by the sudden light flare, which meant the assassin was in no position to defend against the flying double-knee attack to the head, executed by the Ascendant Demon Slayer.
The assassin reeled, apparently unwilling to go down just yet, putting up balled fists in a combat stance. Venus didn’t even wait to see what her groggy opponent would do next before performing a feinting spin kick which connected with the side of the hooded figure’s head, quickly following up with an arm restraining technique which saw her seated on the back of the would-be assassin, holding the miscreant’s arm in an uncomfortable position. Venus looked up to see a few onlookers, watching in surprise.
”Vandal,” the Sabertooth mage called out. ”Someone call the authorities.” Moments later, the would-be killer was in the literal clutches of the law, Venus just had a few lies to tell Ms. Cooper about the vandal who had targeted her shrubbery, and the old woman was none the wiser about any attempts made on her life. It was a job well-done, if Venus could say so herself. Her next jobs didn’t necessarily need to be easier; she just hoped that they would be just as successful, if not more so.
FINISHED
