Chapter 335: You killed my men!

Achilles decided to remain at his office in Greenwich sorting out the accounting books. He had decided to take on Arrow as a bodyguard temporarily, but he was already deeply regretting the life choice because the man talked way too much.

Right now, Arrow was dramatically re-enacting a pit fight that had just ended an hour ago. "So, the big guy swings his broadsword, right? Terrible form. Absolute trash. If I were in the ring, I wouldn’t even use a blade. I’d just duck, slide under his armpits, and snip both his ears off. Clean. Like cutting spring onions for noodle soup!"

Achilles slammed a thick file on top of a towering pile of paperwork, the sound echoing through the room like a thunderclap.

"Leave," Achilles said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Before I pay someone to cut your ears off like spring onions."

Before Arrow could even dramatically gasp, the door burst open with a loud bang.

Achilles didn’t bother lifting his eyes from his desk. The guards he kept stationed around the pit had already sent a quick message ten minutes ago that Elliot Kaelion was on his way up.

"Hello, cousin," Achilles said calmly, dipping his quill into fresh ink. He had pens and paper, but he preferred doing some things in the outdated fashion. "Took you long enough. I was expecting you many hours ago. Don’t you have a match tomorrow? I would think you would be preparing the poison you are going to use to cheat your way to the finals."

"Achilles!" Elliot sneered. His face was burning red, looking like a stuffed tomato about to explode. He marched straight to the desk and pointed an accusing finger. "You dirty bastard! You fucking moron! How dare you slaughter my men and leave their heads on my bed!"

Achilles looked up with a face full of innocent shock and then burst out laughing. "Someone slaughtered your men and left their heads on your bed? Wow! So dramatic. But you have the wrong suspect cousin. Unless, you have actual evidence that points to me, show yourself out. I do hope you are not just here to ruin my peaceful night with your high-pitched screeching because you think it’s fun."

Elliot cursed, his voice cracking slightly. "Evidence? I don’t need any. Do you have any idea how much it costs to buy just one decent assassin?! It costs a small fortune! And you killed three of them!" His hand trembled with rage as he clenched a white-knuckled fist. "Three whole assassins! Gone! My best man is in critical condition!"

From the dark corner behind the bookshelf, a shadowy figure suddenly glided out into the light without making a single sound.

"Wait, just three?" Arrow asked, popping out like a spooky ghost.

Elliot jumped a full foot into the air, clutching his chest with a sharp gasp. "Fuck! Where did you come from asshole?!"

Arrow completely ignored Elliot’s near-heart attack and scratched his chin, looking genuinely disappointed. "Ah, so that means Alvin is still alive. Tsk, what a shame. I tossed a throwing dagger straight into his upper back, you know. I was aiming to shatter his spine and cripple the guy for life! But he was running so ridiculously fast like a scared rabbit, that I missed the main nerve by an inch."

Elliot scoffed, taking a quick step sideways to put some distance between himself and the weird creeping shadow-man. He squinted at him. "You_ you must be Arrow." Alvin had said his name when he made a call urging him to call back the rest of the team following Achilles.

Arrow offered a wide, terrifyingly cheerful smile and slowly licked the side of a small, razor-sharp knife.

Elliot looked thoroughly revolted. His stomach did a tiny flip. Alvin had told him the horror stories about this absolute psycho_ a retired top-tier assassin who was trained at the Sanctum. The guy was basically a walking hazard with a blade fetish.

Elliot swallowed hard, took another discreet step back toward the door, and cleared his throat. "I_ I am not here to look for trouble with random mercenaries." He quickly turned his attention back to Achilles, trying to regain his angry momentum. "I’m here about Hunter! You lied straight to my face! You said you had no idea where Hunter was hiding!"

Achilles chuckled in total disbelief, leaning back in his padded chair. "Elliot, use the tiny brain inside your head for once. Why on earth would I tell you where Hunter is, when I know you want to murder him?" Achilles’ gaze narrowed, his calm demeanor sharpening into something cold and dangerous. "And honestly... why are you so obsessed with murdering your brother anyway? What did he ever do to you? Is it a thing you and your mother do for fun--killing their siblings?"

Elliot scoffed. "Don’t act smart. He got me injured beyond the veil and left me there!" Elliot blurted out, his face twisting with old resentment. "Because of his stupid stunt back then, I almost lost my....my..." He paused; he couldn’t say that he was only half a man_ not anymore. His wife was pregnant, so he was a full man.

Achilles winced, looking at Elliot like he was looking at an idiot holding a live grenade. "Did your actual memory return, or are you just repeating the creative fairytale your mother told you to make you feel better?"

Before Elliot could reply, Achilles leaned all the way back in his chair and laughed out loud, a rich, mocking sound. "Elliot, let’s be real for a second. Even if Hunter dropped dead right now, you would still never be a quarter of the man he is. You’re just a pampered rich fool chasing his shadow."

Elliot heaved for breath, those words stabbing straight into his pride like poison needles. His teeth ground together so hard they nearly squeaked. Defeated on that front, he turned his angry eyes back toward the creeping bodyguard. "Hey! You! Killer guy!" Elliot snapped at Arrow. "How much is Achilles paying you? Whatever absurd number it is, I will triple it! Right now! Drop your knives and become my man instead."

Arrow didn’t even blink. He just raised his left arm, tapped the link band resting on his wrist, and let out a cackle. "Triple it? Can you supply me supplies like these?"

Elliot pinched his lips together tightly. His eyes flicked from the high-end band on Arrow’s wrist to Achilles’ smug face.

"_So, you are the supplier. I was right and Hunter has to be in on it. You guys are working together." Elliot muttered, realization hitting him like a cold bucket of water.

Achilles stretched his hands out casually, resting them behind his head, and gave a slow, nonchalant nod. "I don’t know what you are talking about. I got my supplies on the black market like everyone else and now I am selling them legally. We both know I run the Thorn Guild; we deal in trade, so why is it surprising to you that we have such things?"

Elliot stood there in silence for three long seconds. His pride was in shatters. "When I find the seller, you will not own it for long."

Achilles chuckled, "Unlike Hunter who cared about blood bonds, I am not afraid to end you and make it look like a cat did it."

They both knew he was telling the truth. Achilles seemed silly, but he was the most decisive when it came to killing. Letting out a heavy sigh, Elliot turned on his heel and marched right out the door, his shoulders held high in a challenging manner.