Once night had fallen and after her meal with Zoé, which was one of the best since she had arrived in this world.
Aaliyah got up from the table, put her plate in the sink and then got ready to go up to her room, where she could check the system and plan her next move. But Zoé stopped her with a curious look on her face.
"How did you buy all this Aaliyah?" she asked Aaliyah, pointing all the foods she had brought.
She had told her that she had found a good deal at the market, but Zoé was not convinced. She knew that Aaliyah had no money , and she had not seen her work or earn anything since then.
"Don't worry, I didn't do anything illegal," said Aaliyah, forcing a smile and hoping that Zoé would not press further.
She did not want to tell her the truth, that she had a system that gave her rewards, and that she had used them to buy whatever she wanted. She knew that Zoé would think that she was crazy or something like that.
"I'm going to go out for a walk to digest," said Aaliyah as she headed for her room, trying to change the subject.
She took a knife and hid it in her pocket along with a mask. She had another target in mind, someone who had wronged her and deserved to pay.
The baker who had humiliated her and kept some of her gold coins. She had not forgotten his face or his words, and she was determined to make him regret them.
Aaliyah went outside and closed the door, leaving Zoé behind with a puzzled expression. The air was fresh, today it was rather cold but Aaliyah wasn't cold, she was burning with impatience to take revenge on the baker.
She felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement as she activated the system, which remind her of her mission. She had one hour and thity minutes to kill the baker and get back her gold coins, but she only cared about the satisfaction of killing him.
The system also showed her a map with a red dot indicating the location of the baker. In the meantime, the red dot on the map had changed place. " He must have gone home," murmured Aaliyah before putting her mask over her face. The mask hid Aaliyah's face but not her eyes, which glowed blood red.
If this morning it had taken Aaliyah 35 minutes to get to the city, this time it had only taken her 10 minutes and it would only take her a few seconds to reach the baker's home.
She had been running non-stop since she left her house, eager to finish her mission and get her reward. She knew she had to be quick and stealthy, as the city was crawling with guards and bounty hunters at night.
Aaliyah crossed the town, taking great care not to run into the two guards from this morning. They had tried to arrest her when she was in the bakery , accusing her of stealing .
"If they weren't guards, I'd get rid of them too" said Aaliyah with a sigh.
Aaliyah jumped from rooftop to rooftop, amazed at her physical ability and especially her ability to move so quickly and her almost inhuman leaps.
"It's an advantage to be half demon," said Aaliyah as she arrived just in front of the baker's bedroom window.
Aaliyah had been hiding and watching the baker, the baker was alone in his room and then outside it was so dark that nothing could be seen, the only thing that could be seen was the faint light emanating from the baker's room.
The baker was proudly counting the coins he had stolen from her this morning.
"I don't know who that girl was this morning, but earning money so simply feels really good," said the baker, laughing.
" What an asshole." thougt Aaliyah.
Aaliyah watched him before throwing her knife at the lamp that lit the room.
"What's going on?" said the baker's voice, trembling with fear. He had heard the sound of glass breaking and felt a gust of wind as the lamp went out. He was plunged into darkness, unable to see anything.
He reached for his sword, which he kept under his pillow, but he was too late. In a fragment of a second Aaliyah reached the baker's room through the window and picked up the knife she had thrown and put it to the baker's throat.
She moved like a shadow, silent and swift, catching him off guard and overpowering him.
It was dark in the room but Aaliyah's red eyes gave off a faint glow that was enough to frighten the baker. He saw a smirk on her lips.
He saw her eyes, red and fiery, with a hint of malice and madness. He saw her knife, sharp and bloody, with a glint of steel and a touch of death. He felt a chill run down his spine.
"What do you want from me", the baker tried to say, but Aaliyah pressed the knife to his throat.
"Well, I find you much more polite than this morning" said Aaliyah and the baker recognised Aaliyah's voice which made him panic even more. He remembered her voice, clear and calm, with a hint of anger and sarcasm.
" I…I- I didn't mean to do what I did this morning." said the baker, stammering. He tried to lie, to excuse, to justify. He tried to appeal to her reason, to her pity, to her humanity.
"But it happened, didn't it." Aaliyah added, pressing the knife even harder against the baker's throat, causing him to bleed.
She didn't believe him, she didn't care, she didn't listen. She only wanted to make him pay, to make him suffer, to make him regret. She only wanted to get her revenge.
A scream came from the baker's mouth. He felt the pain, the fear, the horror. He felt the blood, the heat, the cold. He felt the knife, the cut, the wound.
"Please spare me and I'll give you back all your money" he said, the baker's breathing not slowing down. He made a last attempt, a desperate offer, a pathetic plea. He thought he could buy his way out, that he could bribe her, that he could bargain with her.
"Why should I be so nice to someone like you?" whispered Aaliyah into the baker's ear. She rejected his attempt, his offer, his plea. She knew he was lying, that he was cheating, that he was tricking.
But Aaliyah stressed a little, killing a man wasn't like killing a wolf. She had killed many animals before, for food, for fur, for fun but no human.
She wondered if what she was doing was right, if what she was doing was worth it, if what she was doing was necessary. She wondered, but she didn't stop.
"You have 2 minutes to kill him or you will receive a punishment" said the icon before disappearing.
All doubt vanished from Aaliyah's mind and a few seconds later Aaliyah slit the baker's throat. She killed him, without mercy, without hesitation, without regret.
The baker didn't even have time to scream, he died instantly. It was dark and Aaliyah couldn't see the baker's body. She didn't need to, she knew he was dead. She felt his pulse stop, his blood spill, his life end.
"I've killed someone," murmured Aaliyah. She said it out loud, as if to confirm it, as if to accept it, as if to celebrate it. She had killed someone, and she felt good about it. She had killed someone, and she felt proud of it. She had killed someone, and she felt free of it.
"Congratulations on completing the mission," the icon appeared.
Reward: Fire magic level 2.