Hans, the high-tier assassin, ground his teeth as he took in the situation unfolding before him.
Never in his entire career as an assassin had he experienced such humiliation.
How dare they lay traps like this…!
Hans clenched his jaw, scanning the wires strung around him.
The steel-forged silver wires gleamed with a deadly sharpness, sealing off the movements of the mid-tier assassins.
And it wasn’t just that they’d been set up—every time someone tried to dodge, more silver wires would whip out from somewhere, slicing through the assassins’ bodies.
Shhk!
“AAAAARGH!” An assassin whose arm had just been severed clutched the bleeding stump and screamed.
Hans gripped his dagger tightly, watching his men’s suffering.
Just then, a dagger came flying straight at his face.
“Damn…!” Hans hurriedly raised his dagger to block it.
Clang!
The two daggers collided with a sharp, ringing sound.
Sweat beaded on Hans’s brow as he stared at the boy who had swung the dagger at him.
A boy with white hair.
Hans forced a crooked smile as he looked at Kai. “Little brat like you playing with knives? You’ll end up wetting the bed at night, you know.”
“Hmm… I don’t like the sound of that.”
“So, how about you step aside… maybe?”
“I can’t do that. Young Master ordered me to kill you.”
“Blast it…! Killing kids isn’t really my thing!”
Clang!
Hans put more force into his dagger and shoved Kai back.
By a simple difference in brute strength, Kai was pushed backward, his body lifting off the ground for a moment.
Hans didn’t miss the opening and poured Aura into his dagger.
<Poison Creep>
Hans’s Aura writhed over his dagger like a swarm of venomous insects.
“You made your choice, so don’t blame me for what happens!”
Hans thrust his dagger at Kai.
Kai twisted in midair, dodging the strike.
Hans slashed at him again, and Kai dodged, swinging his own dagger at the assassin.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rapid exchange of blows erupted in an instant.
Hans stepped back heavily, shocked. “Where did a monster like you come from?”
“Um… I forgot what Young Master told me to say at times like this.” Kai lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment, then his face lit up.
“Oh, right. I’m supposed to say, ‘From your mother’s womb.’”
“…You’ve got quite the mouth on you as well.” Hans gripped his dagger tighter and dropped back into a fighting stance.
His eyes flashed as if he was about to attack right away, but then he hesitated, pausing for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
“…Boy, have you ever thought about joining us? With your skills, you could easily make it to Vice-Guildmaster.”
“Would I get paid a lot if I did?”
“We’d pay you a ridiculous amount. And you think that’s all? With your talent, you could make our guild the second greatest after Death Veil.”
Hans kept his guard up as he continued. “So, what do you say? Want to come with us?”
“Hmm…” Kai tilted his head, pretending to think it over.
But then, with a sparkle to his eyes, he answered, “I really can’t do that after all. I think following Young Master is better for my siblings.”
“…That’s too bad.” Hans smacked his lips, sounding genuinely disappointed.
A kid like him could definitely become a better assassin. He had the talent, and the right environment.
But no matter how gifted he was, there was no way a talent that hadn’t even blossomed yet could defeat Hans.
And besides, there was no reason to let someone live who might one day surpass and kill him.
In other words, Hans had to kill this kid here and now.
Hans let out a sigh and spoke softly. “In honor of your talent, I’ll kill you with my best technique.”
He poured Aura into his dagger once more. A violet energy shimmered and flowed from the blade.
I’ll end this in one strike.
Hans charged at Kai.
<Venomlord Stinger>
SHRAAAAAK!
This was the technique that had elevated someone like him, born in the back alleys, all the way to high-tier assassin.
His Aura-infused blade twisted like a centipede as it lashed toward Kai’s throat.
Kai’s brow twitched. For a moment, it was as if a venomous insect was really lunging straight for his life.
This is the end…! Just as Hans’s eyes flashed, wanting to capture the moment of Kai’s death—
“Oh, that’s what it is.” Kai muttered to himself, and his body blurred, leaving behind only an afterimage.
Whoosh!
The dagger passed cleanly through where Kai’s body had been.
“…What?” Hans turned his head, dazed.
There was nothing where the boy had stood.
Only a lingering trace, like mist, remained.
* * *
Earlier on, Kai had sensed death approaching as the assassin’s dagger flew closer.
Am I going to die like this?
The boy wasn’t afraid of death. He’d been living with it since the day he was born—how could he fear it?
Be it hunger or thirst, all of it were just extensions of death. And for those born in the slums, death was simply another form of blessing.
However…
I haven’t even seen my siblings get married yet.
Kai still had a reason to live.
He wanted to see his siblings’ weddings, and their school graduations.
At the very least, he wanted to see them live a life outside the slums.
That was why he couldn’t die just yet.
In that instant, Kai’s senses began to change.
Time seemed to freeze; his opponent’s movements slowed, and he could understand how the assassin’s Aura was layered onto the dagger.
“Oh, that’s what it is.”
In that slowed moment, Kai dodged the dagger and slipped into Hans’s blind spot.
Time snapped back to normal. Hans thrust his dagger into the empty space where Kai had just stood, his expression blank.
“…What?”
Hans looked around, but he found nothing.
No—his opponent was definitely there, and yet, not.
Hans closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Kai appeared right in front of him.
“What did you just do?!” Hans shouted.
Kai didn’t say a word. He simply stared in silence.
Maybe it was that look in the boy’s eyes that sent a chill down Hans’s spine.
Hans ground his teeth and charged at Kai.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His dagger sliced through the air, cutting nothing but empty space.
Each time the blade swept past, Kai’s form scattered like mist, fading away like an afterimage.
Hans kept swinging his weapon over and over, his impatience growing more obvious.
“Die! Just die already!” Hans screamed, his voice cracking with hysteria.
There was no way he could lose to some snot-nosed brat like this. Absolutely not!
Hans slashed wildly with his dagger.
Then suddenly, a memory from long ago flashed through his mind—something the senior assassins had warned him about.
Someone who exists, yet doesn’t.
The one who created Death Veil and disappeared, later known as the Thief Master.
The First Veilmaster, Max Andre.
The senior assassins had warned him never to face that man. They said you could see his movements, yet you couldn’t. That he existed, and yet he didn’t.
“So if you ever see him, don’t fight. Just run. Or better yet... pray.”
“SSSHUT UUP! I’M A HIGH-TIER ASSASSIN! AS IF I’D LOSE TO SOME BRAT LIKE THIS!”
Haunted by the ghosts of the past, Hans brandished his dagger at random.
And then—
Stab!
An afterimage he’d cut down raised its dagger and plunged it into his throat.
“Gaaah…!” Hans clutched his neck as death closed in. Blood gushed between his fingers.
“Hrrgh—.” He let out a wheezing gasp, flailing his hands.
As his vision blurred, he caught sight of something that made his pupils shrink in shock—a dark crimson Aura flickering over Kai’s hand.
That was the last thing Hans saw before drawing his last breath.
He died with a frozen look of terror.
As if he had just seen a ghost.
* * *
“…I’m sorry, sir, but d’you mind if I swear for a bit?”
“You have my permission.”
“God-FUUUUCKING-dammit. What a shit hand life’s dealt me. Is THIS how the world’s BLOODY supposed to be, for fuck’s sake?!”
Lancelot unleashed a torrent of curses as he held a mid-tier assassin by the scruff of the neck.
Normally, I’d have scowled at his crude language, but just this once, I understood exactly how he felt.
What we just witnessed was truly a ridiculous level of talent.
I eyed Kai with astonishment.
In my previous life, I used to wonder where he’d learned his assassination skills, but now it seemed he’d taught himself.
And he’d managed to self-study his grandfather’s techniques, down to the last detail.
Could you even call that “talent” anymore?
It’s not as if I’m planning to live as an assassin… but I can’t help feeling a bit discouraged.
Of course, if other archers saw me, they’d probably feel the same way.
They’d see me as the guy who’s never even met the Divine Archer, yet uses the Divine Archer’s abilities with ease.
But in my case, it was only thanks to the unprecedented miracle of regression.
I was never in the same category as a monster like Kai, who was just born that way.
“Argh… Still, I’m glad I managed to get him on my side,” I remarked quietly.
Hearing my words, Lancelot started ranting and raving from the side.
“That’s all you’ve got to say? At this level, even His Imperial Majesty would acknowledge him if he founded his own House! I mean, some people spend years trying to form their Aura, and this guy just whips it up on his own! It’s enough to make me want to cry!”
Honestly, he never knows when to stop.
I took charge of the mood. “Quiet down. Did you bring back the one I told you to catch?”
“…I brought him!” Lancelot pouted as he shouted his reply.
“Well done. And don’t be so envious. From where I’m standing, your talent’s nothing to scoff at either.”
“…Hearing that after seeing something like THAT doesn’t exactly make me happy,” Lancelot muttered, his tone a little calmer.
The slight curl at the corner of his mouth told me he was actually in a good mood.
What a stupidly easy fellow to please.
I let out a snort and shook my head.
Moving on…
“This is the first time we’ve faced each other like this.” I looked at the captured mid-tier assassin and spoke in a low voice.
“So, what should I call you? Mr. Assassin? Buddy? I honestly have no idea what the proper etiquette is here, so why don’t you tell me yourself? What would you like me to call you?”
“…Just kill me.”
“Hm… Looks like you still don’t understand your situation. Well, I’ll just call you whatever I feel like for now.”
I pulled a cigarette from my coat, stuck it between my lips, and lit it.
Sssst—
A spark flared, and smoke curled from the end of the cigarette.
“You’re ugly, so I’ll just call you Lancelot.”
“Ugh! Cut the crap, will you?!”
After taking a puff of smoke and exhaling, I continued. “That’s just how I am. Imagine, a knight telling his master to cut the crap. How am I supposed to live with that kind of heartbreak?”
Clack. I grabbed a chair from the room, set it down in front of the assassin, and sat.
“Well, since my bodyguard hates it so much, I’ll just call you Lan. Still, a noble giving you a name—think of it as an honor for your family.”
“…Are you insane?”
“I do hear that from time to time. So you’d better answer carefully. A madman doesn’t have any lines he won’t cross,” I said softly.
The assassin let out a dry laugh. “…Heheh, you really think I’ll open my mouth because of some half-assed threat like that? Just kill me. Do it!”
“Hm… These days, I don’t know why everyone keeps begging me to kill them the moment they see me. All I want is a little conversation.”
Sssst—
I took a drag from my cigarette before grabbing a dagger lying around on the floor.
Without hesitation, I drove it into the assassin’s pinky finger.
Crunch!
“AAAAAAGH!” The assassin screamed.
Ignoring his reaction, I wiped the blood that had splattered on my face and resumed speaking. “Let me put it another way, Lan. Give me proper answers, and I promise to kill you. But feed me half-truths, and I won’t grant you that mercy.”
“Ggggghhh!”
“I really do hope you get to die. For your sake, I hope your night doesn’t drag on.”
I leaned in closer, dagger poised.
I needed information about the group behind him.