Glints of light. That's what Tatsumi sees in his perspective. These glints of light surrounds the persons he is trying to kill. Ogre.
The source for these glints of light were actually caused by the light from the moon reflecting off wires.
A single voice spoke out to me. I turned to the direction in which it came from, which was also the source of where all the wires came from. Resembling a giant spider with strings all around him, Hikari stood on the roofs.
"Hikari?" This was the words that came out of my mouth.
"You can thank me later. For now, check yourself for injuries."
I pushed myself off the ground and stood. There were no injury, other than a slight tear in the sleeves of my shirt. Picking up my sword, I slot it back into the sheath. Ogre was still struggling with the strings that was restricting him. He had not moved from his position and seem to be frozen in place. His body position seems like as if he was still trying to bring his sword down.
"Oh don't worry about him. He won't be able to move unless I make him."
"What?'
"Have you heard of Imperial Arms?"
"No, should I know about them?"
"Well, depends. Anyways, Imperial Arms are weapons which are ordered to be made by the First Emperor of this Empire, who was paranoid what the Empire would one day end. There were Imperial Arms built before the creation and after the creation of the Empire, but you don't need to know that much. Basically, Imperial Arms were built by the greatest craftsman of that era under the orders and invitation of the First Emperor using the body parts of Legend Class Danger Beasts. Every Imperial Arms have its unique set of power. It can range from enhanced weapons to allowing you to control the elements to simple tools which makes life easier for the user. Anyways, only 48 of these weapons were made and disclosed, but due to the Civil War about 500 years ago and other factors, the numbers were severely reduced. The remaining ones are scattered throughout the lands and some even fell to the hands of other kingdoms and nations. There were similar weapons like Imperial Arms created, however it can't compared in power to the Imperial Arms."
I listened intently. I was at a loss for words and became skeptical of what Hikari have just disclosed to me. However looking at things before me, it seems what he had just said wasn't a lie. If what he said was true, should I get my hands on one of these weapons, shouldn't I be undefeatable?
"So if I find one of this, I will be able to use it?" I asked.
"If it chooses you as its wielder, then yes. If you aren't compatible with it, the consequence is death."
A sound of a flesh being cut sounded in the air. I turned to look at Ogre, who now lay dead on the ground. A knife mark visible on his throat. It seems Ogre just killed himself.
"He killed himself?
"Were you listening to what I have been saying? I control his every move. Basically, I made him kill himself."
After being shown the power an Imperial Arms possess, I can't help but be in awe. Anyone who lay their hands on an Imperial Arm is pretty much omnipotent. I need to get my hands on one of these if possible if I were to survive in this cruel world.
"Well, stay safe."
And with that, he left.
...
I lay on my bed, lost deep within my thoughts.
Arriving in the Capital, with the intentions of making money in the Imperial Army, I was met with the death of my friends. I had promised to take care of them and I wasn't able to keep it. The only thing that's left for me to do would be to make money for the village. It is the only way to redeem myself. Hopefully, they won't find out what had happened.
I eventually fell asleep.
Plunged into a world filled with darkness and nothingness. Voices echoed everywhere inside of this place. One accuses me for being weak, another screaming at him for being unable to protect his friends. It kept going on and on ever since my friends had died. How weak I was. It kept repeating until he wakes up in the morning. I was unable to shut out the noise. At first I was annoyed but soon got used to it as I dismiss it as background noise and eventually ignoring it.
...
I stood on the rooftops. Tasked to kill another target, something that I do every night. This one was involved in bribes and framing innocents. His name is Ogre. Patiently waiting on the rooftop, I waited for the target to appear from the bar which he frequents. It was said that he always come to the bar after work every day. I waited for what seems like an eternity but the target never revealed himself.
Growing impatient, I started fidget at where I stood. I can't just jump down and walk in there. I am a wanted criminal of the Capital. My posters are everywhere. Being seen by anyone would spell trouble. I have no choice but to continue waiting.
"So have your target appeared yet?" someone said behind me.
Turning around, she was greeted by Leone.
"Not yet. He appears to be taking his time."
Leone transforms into her lioness mode.
"Let me check whether he is still around. Boss sent me to check since you are taking too long."
After listening for a while, she suddenly took off in a certain direction. I followed her. Leone kept jumping from one rooftop to another. Finally she stopped and looked down. I arrived at where she stood and looked at where she was looking at. On the ground, lay Ogre's dead body. He had a cut at the throat and a bloodied sword in his hand.
On first glance, one would think that he had committed suicide. But looking closely, you can see that he had some other injuries all over his body. There are puncture marks, like he had been stabbed by needles.
"There is someone's scent here. Although it is faint, I can tell. Someone killed him."
It happened again. Someone killed our targets before we got to them. They killed them for us. Although we should be thankful, we were suspicious. Many of our highly skilled targets were also taken away from us and the killer were still unknown. We don't know their motives and we don't whether they are friends or foes.
"The way Ogre died, was like how some of the other target we didn't kill died. They killed themselves, and had a few needle punctures on some parts of their bodies. Whoever did this, he is pretty good at it. If this keeps going on, we may be forced to take them out."