A little under three days passed.

Rui spent most of the time in the Republic of Menrea, fleshing out his contingencies as he spent his time observing the target Herguson Meine from a good distance away with the help of his two sensory techniques. He had identified the man’s tics and other movements that could be used to predict his movements ahead of time.

All the preparations had been completed.

It was time.

There were only a few hours to go before the estimated time of assassination provided by Fauche.

“That’ll do.” Rui quickly locked the door to the roof of the house he had chosen to reside on.

He lay flat on the ground as he observed the Senate Hearing commencing.

The security measures were quite accurate to the information provided by the Martial union and by Fauche. Rui had committed all of them to memory.

The outer layer patrolled the Capitol block, scanning the area with their senses. The senses of a Martial Squire were sharp even if one did not learn sensory techniques. They could all be used to ensure that there were no unauthorized intruders within the Capitol block.

Rui could sense that, as informed, there were multiple security check-ins and verifications at multiple levels before access to the Senate Hall.

There were even Martial Squires sky-walking in the air to get a bird-eyed view of the area surrounding the Senate Hall.

(‘The measures are definitely strict,’) Rui mused.

Unfortunately for them, none of those measures were going to be effective.

(‘Oh, it’s starting.’) Rui peered with interest as all the senators and other dignitaries had taken their place and the chairperson had opened the hearing.

Unfortunately for him, the hearing was being conducted in the national language of the nation. Rui didn’t really have any clue about what was going on. It was a shame because the commission had given him some interest in the contents of the hearing, to gain a deeper understanding of why Fauche chose to commission him.

Still, it was probably better that there was an avenue for him to grow distracted. He hadn’t developed the assassination mindset that centered around absolute mental perseverance in the field, nor did he intend to.

Still, he managed to stay focused. Focused on the target, while conscious of the comms device that Fauche had given him.

Hours passed, and soon the fated time approached.

Rui’s demeanor grew more severe and solemn as the estimated time for the assassination was nearly there. If not for the Mind Mask straining to control his mighty aura, the surrounding humans in the area would have long collapsed unconscious. Civilians, who didn’t receive training to resist mental pressure, did not have any way of not succumbing to it.

(‘Ok, he’s getting up and walking to the speaker’s platform.’) Rui’s eyes sharpened.

That was the cue for Rui to be ready to fire at any time. The assassination would occur during the address and opening statement of the target to the Senate. The whole point of the operation was to kill him at a time in his speech that would inevitably throw suspicion on the president. Rui had already informed Fauche that the shot would land only after nearly three seconds after the message was sent.

After all, sound could travel nine hundred meters in less than three seconds, but Rui also had to account for the execution of the ODA system and the time taken to physically launch the attack.

Of course, Rui had long finished the first phase of the ODA system for the speaker’s podium, because he knew that that would be where the target for his platform would be standing. Thus, all of the calculations of the distance between them, the equations of propagation of the wave trajectory, and the launch conditions had long been well figured out.

The only part left was the second phase of the ODA system that tackled atmospheric conditions. He could not complete that part until after he got the signal. He had already begun paying deep attention to all the atmospheric conditions ready to input them into the protocols of the second phase of the ODA system any second.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

The comms device that Fauche had given him began beeping in his pocket.

The moment had arrived.

Rui’s pupils dilated as time slowed down to nearly a halt, it was as though his consciousness had ascended to a higher dimension of time. His mind fired through the Mind Palace as remarkable amounts of information flushed through the calculations entailed by the ODA system.

An image formed in his mind.

This was the necessary trajectory that he needed to launch the Sonic Bullet. Rui’s mouth widened as he shifted himself in order to fulfill the launch conditions needed for the fated trajectory.

THWOOM

A sonic boom rippled into the air as the sound bullet sprung forth as it shot forward at a remarkable speed. Even Rui could not really sense it once it left his vicinity. Only Primordial Instinct made him feel danger, albeit nothing specific.

His perception of time returned to normal, by Martial Squire standards, as the Sonic Bullet crossed the great distance between Rui and his target

BANG!

By the time the Martial Squires could overcome their shock at the sight of the wall breaking open to apparently nothing. The speedy projectile had already moved on.

SPLAT

The head of Herguson Meine blasted as a wave of blood, cerebral fluid, and human tissue splattered across the entire room, dousing everyone in gore.

The heightened shock in the room was almost physically tangible. The civilians in the room were frozen in horror in the moments after the hit. The Martial Squires, however, dashed in as their training kicked in. Both layers of security shielded the various dignitaries in the Senate Hall as they were swiftly evacuated.

The entire town erupted in chaos as the town was put in lockdown as the mayor of the town took the most extreme option to catch the culprit that dared to assassinate a dignitary in the Senate Hall!