His thick veins were heavily imprinted on his skin, and each step he took ended in a limp, with his feet slightly bent at an odd angle. Vacuse grimaced. "The coward you are looking for is right here!"
The three assassins flinched, and Vacuse took small joy in that to alienate the pain he was feeling. "So what are you going to do? Try to kill me? Something that hasn't worked well for you, if I may say!"
Even though their faces were hidden behind their thick clothes, Vacuse could see the flash of anger in their dull eyes. Just looking at them gave him the impression that he was looking at controlled puppets. They moved like one, and maybe that's what they were.
But puppets or not, Vacuse had underestimated them, and he nearly paid the price. His recent victories against third-stage Magus had made him almost overconfident, and he looked down on them because they were second circle.
That first attack nearly ended him!
