Reborn in the capital city of Amerith, Windsor, you get used to the constant military presence. Walking through the streets, going shopping, or even going to a park, the military is always watching. They quickly travel all military equipment through something known as a highway. It didn't exist when I was born, but a few years later, President Marcus Hayes created the highway system. As of now, it covers more than thirty thousand miles, which is greatly due to the fact that mages helped with it.
The equipment they transported were things such as guns, uniforms, artillery, vehicles, and training equipment for system users. While it is true that most people in the world are system users, there's still well over three billion non-system users. And most of them are used as meat shields in battle.
Sitting atop a tree near my target's HQ, I looked below me, a young kid getting stopped and questioned by a man in full military uniform, his gun in hand. "It's late out, what are you doing out here, kiddo? Show me your stat screen."
"Of course, here you go." The kid swiped at nothingness, then a blue panel appeared before the military man. "O-Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you."
"No worries, you're just doing your job. What's your name, mister?"
"I am Private First Class Baek of the Windsor Brigade." The man nervously spoke out, standing like a statue. "I'm not your superior, Sir…?"
"Beom-Baek."
"Hmm, not too sure I can pronounce that very well. How long are you stationed here for?"
"I am to watch over your father for the next five days until Monday morning."
"Then I shall try to master your name before you leave!" The kid took off his hoodie, chuckled and went past the gates into the building.
The façade of the structure boasted a regal presence, constructed entirely from pristine marble. Towering glass panes decorated the front, and a bold neon sign, radiating in red, proudly displayed the name 'Alder.'
The building was also in the outskirts of the city, a couple miles into the woods, a trail leading the way to it.
"Time to get to work."
Mirage's Mask materialized with its original heavenly shimmer as my palm lingered above my face. However, the present limitations on Aeonis and the mask rendered the latter a mere adornment, concealing its true potential.
"Inventory." I said, scrolling to my best weapon.
[Item Name: Moonshadow dirks]
[Item Class: B]
[Type: Dagger(s)]
[Attack: +15,000]
[Description: A pair of daggers forged from a small comet that fell into the Verdun Ocean.]
[Effect 'Abyss of Despair: Upon striking two critical hits the opponent will have an increase in fear, imagining whatever they fear most.]
Beom began whistling a tune, tapping his foot as he got in the mood. "Haaa, maybe this post really won't be so-"
"Don't move, or I'll slice your neck open." I held the pitch-black dagger to his throat, "this forest could use some color anyway, don't you think?"
Beom immediately threw his hands up in defeat, his heart hammering in his chest, each beat echoing the imminent threat. "W-WH-"
"Shut it," my blade kissed his neck, crimson slowly seeping out, "I need know only one thing. The guards in there," I twisted his body to face the building, our feet grinding against the dirt. "How many?"
"U-Uh I'm not sure! No more than forty I think!?"
I whacked him across the head, "loud." I muttered. Camouflaging my body, I searched his pockets and found a small steel controller. Three indicators, which were red, yellow, and green from top to bottom.
My body wanted to pick the red button out of curiosity, but I clicked the green one instead, the gates opening.
In a blink, I surged forward, silent as a shadow, making a beeline for the side of the colossal Alder building. My hand darted to my utility belt, fingers dancing over the familiar contours of a sleek grappling gun. The night air crackled with potential as I unleashed the tool, its mechanical components humming to life. With a deft flick, the gun shot a retractable line towards the building's facade. Swift as a predator closing in on its prey, I seized the line, initiating a seamless ascent, and landed on the roof.
On the top, there were two skylights. I made my way over to it, and looked through, two guards from the military guarding two large doors, each standing on another side. "Sounds like the man's getting some action," one of them said, "wanna head out?"
"Psh, why're we even here, man. I'm hungry anyways."
The two walked down a pair of stairs and left the womanizing man by himself. Holding a pretend gun, I aimed directly at the outside of the doors, launching my hand upwards. In a flash, I found myself right where I pointed, and rhythmically knocked.
"Huh? Who's at the door? One of you get that." I heard Alder speak, forcing one of the women to come open the door.
A woman with ivory skin opened the door. Her attire, scant and woven from the fabric of the night, embraced the delicate dance between shadow and skin. Cascading black curls framed her face, an untamed cascade that echoed the midnight sky. Her eyes, deep pools of warm brown, held the secrets of ages.
"Oh," She said innocently, "nobody's here Mister Alder."
Taking a few glances left and right, she closed the door, and went back into the dark room. "Ah, come on Asha love, won't you let me even once?" Alder pleaded, multiple women on his middle-aged body. "No…" The two kept talking, 'The fuck have I just witnessed?' I judged them as I creeped in the top corner of the doors.
Not being able to take it anymore, no pun intended with the current atmosphere, I undid my camouflage, "Matteo Alder!" I declared, pointing one of my daggers at him.
"KYAAA!" All the women screamed, except Asha. "Epoch!" He cursed, "how dare you break in, filthy burglar! Guards! Guards!"
Walking through the room, I knocked some things off their counters as he lay scared in the bed. The naked women crouched behind him in fear. But again, one woman did not cower.
"You girls are innocent." I gestured to the door, "you're free to leave."
Instantly, all the women jumped, grabbed what they could, and dashed out the room. "Are you not afraid?" I asked the woman known as Asha.
"Why should I be? You're a boy." She quickly changed that innocent look of hers, boring her eyes into mine. "Yet you didn't notice me?"
"Of course I did," She pinched her finger together, a spider-like thread glistening in the moonlight. "No need to fret, dagger-wielding boy. There's a whole parade of surprises lined up, not just this one."
"Is that so? Then how abo-"
"Noooo, please no!" I turned my head, Alder pleading to me. "I wasn't talk-"
"I-Im sorry! My wife sent you here, didn't she? Just please, I will repent, truly!"
"..."
Initiating a swift assault, the threads whizzed in the air, prompting me to duck just in the nick of time. Employing my left dagger, I attempted to sever the resilient strand, but its durability proved formidable.
I hopped off the ground, another thread cutting my shirt in half.
And in that moon lit room, where shadows danced along the edges of ancient mysteries, there lay a canvas of inked tales upon my stomach. The sun at its heart blazed with life, while celestial bodies and divine symbols graced its circumference. The moon, stars, and mythical creatures danced along the tattoo's lines, creating a cosmic harmony that seemed to shimmer when touched by light.
Surprised by the tattoo, Asha momentarily stopped her attacks, trying to decipher what was on me. "You'll never figure it out," I assured her, sticking my tongue out flat against my lips before speaking again, "but I don't mind showing you a little."
Upon my right hand, ink awakened, meticulously crafting a visual narrative. Unfurling gradually, it commenced with a defined peak, transforming into the delicate image of a sun, decked with eight arrows radiating in every central direction, their significance carefully highlighted.
And on my left hand, the same process, yet subsequent to the sun's revelation, the moon emerged gracefully, its essence captured in the simplicity of a crescent form.
Swift as a cheetah, I made contact with the floor, propelling myself into the air with a powerful launch, executing a spinning hook kick. Asha effortlessly dodged, quickly intertwining threads between each finger. Just before another thread could strike, I pointed a finger gun at her, teleporting into a crouched position behind her and thrusting my dagger into her leg.
[Critical Hit!]
"Ack! Damn kid!" She dug her heel into my chest, yet I still managed to pull my dagger out of her, the sound of her flesh tearing as I did so. Throwing her hands to the side, it looked as if she placed the threads into still positions, grabbing a dagger of her own from her inventory.
Waiting for her next move, I lost track of her, feeling a warm pain enter the side of my stomach. Tumbling into Alder and over his bed, I rose as quickly as I could before once more getting sent across the room.
'Raph always says not to underestimate humans.' I sneered, rubbing the blood off my nose. My stomach bleeding, I took off my torn shirt and wrapped it around my waist, grunting as I did so.
"Asha, kill the man already, would you!"
'That's right,' I thought, a revelation hitting me. 'This lady is not my concern. My body might be exposed, but my face is concealed. I'll kill Matteo Alder and do what assassins do best…escape.'
'I'll end it with one attack. But not with Aeonis. I just need to wait for the right timing.'
"Stop thinking so much!"
"!" Asha appeared in front of me, grabbing me by the eye holes in my mask, and slammed my head into the ground. "Khoof!" I let out. Although I couldn't see, I still attempted a kick from the ground. Focusing too much on it, Asha went to dodge, but I grabbed her by the ankle and forced her to fall.
As she fell, I positioned my dagger to stab her, but before I even realized, I had gotten struck in the head. Rolling away from her, I held my head in pain, 'To succeed in kicking me from mid-air…' I huffed, spitting my blood onto Alder, "Hey!" He pouted.
Going to grab his shoulder, Asha swung her daggers at me, striking me in my arm as I tried to block. Dropping an arm as fast as I could, I curled one of my fists, and sent an uppercut directly into her stomach, then as she tried to back up, I did a simple high kick, which stunned her vision.
Regaining her footing, I tossed a dagger at her. Not acting fast enough, she parried the dagger. "You might wanna watch where you're steppin', kid." She said, pointing to my foot.
A thread was going through my foot.
[Warning detected! Multiple armed men entering the building.]
"Better hurry." Asha teased, waving her own dagger at me.
'One opportunity…'
Merely thinking of it, I sent one of my daggers back to my inventory, blue particles following in its wake.
'I may not have gotten Moonshadow's effect to activate yet, but a weapon is a weapon nonetheless,' I charged Asha, throwing a fist with my empty hand, landing just above her head. Hardening my stomach, she sent multiple slashes across my chest.
'Now!'
I summoned my dagger back, throwing both of them at the pissed-pants Alder. Trying to deflect one of them, Asha protected Alder. However, I purposely threw one lower than the other, a dagger in the same leg I stabbed before.
[Critical Hit!]
[The effect, 'Abyss of Despair' will now begin.]
Asha struggled to stay standing, the blood loss in her leg increasing with every moment.
"Now then," I held out my right hand, "I wonder what you will see!"
A bright light emanated from my hand, the room getting hotter as shelves and alike began to melt, a piercing noise entering the air, a chant filling the air.
"A soul is one's calling. To create is to shackle, my blood is to be gifted. An existence flourished, yet unbeknownst. While I abstain," the light brightened, and shelves fully melted. "My soul dawns."
As I closed my hand into a fist, an expansive light plummeted from the heavens. The resonating sound echoed through the city, rousing all its denizens, while the luminous devastation eradicated everything in its trajectory. The forest, once vibrant, now stood as a solemn graveyard of trees, and life within the buildings extinguished.