The scene unfolded in the main house of Ashcroft, where one could glimpse the room where Rey lay sleeping, or more accurately, unconscious.
To an onlooker, it might appear that Rey was in the throes of a nightmare, his body trembling and drenched in sweat. Yet, he remained asleep, eventually settling back into a normal state without awakening.
Rey, still in the grip of sleep, experienced the sensation of waking up in the same position. Clutching his head, his nails digging into his skin, he managed to soothe himself and rise from his bed.
On his 23rd attempt, he failed yet again to save his family. In his final effort, he managed to eliminate each one efficiently, but still, one of them triggered the bomb. The bag worn by one of them exploded, and the entire house collapsed.
This time, he was fully prepared. As he stood beside the mirror, he noticed his reflection and saw his body reverting to the form he had acquired after the cleansing.
"That's why I could dodge and evade their attacks so easily," he realized, recalling how in his recent attempts, his offensive and defensive abilities had surpassed those of his previous lives.
He was glad about it and confident that in this life, he would be able to save them and break the vicious cycle.
'Let's move before he kills her again,' he thought, dashing out of his room.
Once again, he caught a glimpse of the assassin's shadow. Without a moment's hesitation, he began to follow him cautiously, having a plan far superior to merely killing him with the knife.
He observed that Agent 7, who had arrived first, used a special tool to open his mother's door and was about to enter. But suddenly, two hands emerged from behind him; one covered his mouth, and the other locked his neck in a tight grip.
He struggled to break free but realized he couldn't even move slightly, and his body was weakening by the second as the assailant's grip was too strong for him to handle.
Just as he decided to pull out the dagger to attack and free himself, he heard a sound. It was not the sound of a human, but that of a hunter.
"No, you don't, and goodbye, Agent 7," he said in a low tone. With the hand that was covering his mouth, he twisted his head, claiming his first kill in this lifetime.
He heard a voice as he saw his mother waking up from the sound caused by the dumb idiot before dying.
He quickly hid the body before his mother came out of the room.
"Huh, son what are you doing here this late night." Jasmine asked as she exited her room and saw her son standing in the hallway.
"Oh, Mom, I was about to get a glass of water when I suddenly heard a noise and found a mouse trying to get into the house, so I killed it and threw it outside," he said, maintaining a straight face.
"Oh, but son, you shouldn't have killed the mouse like that; they are living beings too. And weren't you scared of mice before?" she inquired, scanning the area for any signs of blood but found none, assuming he had already cleaned it up.
"It's a thing of the past, Mom. I'm big and strong now, see my muscles? And don't worry, I didn't kill it without reason; it was trying to harm me—and my family," he said, flexing his muscles and swallowing the last few words he had hesitated to say.
"Okay, just go to sleep because I have to wake up early for the office, and don't you have school tomorrow? Rey, you do realize there are only three days left before your high school ends, and in May, you'll take the exams, right?" Jasmine was about to continue when she was interrupted by him.
"Mom, we'll talk about this tomorrow evening, so go to sleep," he said as he ushered her into her room and locked it from the outside.
"Why did you lock the door, son? Open it," she demanded, pounding on the door.
"Mom, you go to sleep then I will open it." He said as he backed away with light step and run toward his sister room as he remembered that while in 16-17 life, they used her as shield to kill him and eventually killing his family.
He locked the door from the outside and even broke the knob to prevent it from being opened, as he had mentally promised his sister that he would return to open it for her.
He approached the assassin's body and removed the daggers he always carried, as well as the Bluetooth earpiece that was still ringing incessantly.
He answered the call. Silence enveloped both the receiver and the caller.
"Where is 7?" The caller's single sentence broke the silence, and he immediately recognized the voice.
"The individual you're attempting to reach is currently en route to the underworld. Please try your call again later, or alternatively, remain patient for my arrival—I am your demise, and I shall escort you and your party of six to join him," he articulated with the polished tone of a customer service representative.
"I will kill you if anything happens to him," Agent 1 declared as the Bluetooth call ended abruptly with a loud noise.
"What's wrong, big brother, and where is the 7th?" A woman named 3 inquired, moving closer to gauge his expression in the dimly lit alley that narrowed their field of vision.
"It seems someone has killed the 7th brother. They're threatening to kill us all and send us to the underworld," he replied, seething with anger.
As Agent 1 simmered with rage, Rey, who had already crushed the Bluetooth device in fury, lamented that despite his efforts to explain that the 7th was dead, Agent 1 refused to believe him and threatened him with death should anything happen.
"The old never change, but this time the roles have reversed; the hunter and the prey are now different," he mused, leaping from the building to approach the hideout.
Having pinpointed their location in several past lives only to be thwarted by explosive injuries, Rey was determined that this time, they would surely perish.
He sprinted towards the location and upon arrival, he discovered they were preparing to leave for his house.
They were stunned that their hideout had been uncovered.
"Who are you?" they demanded, shining a light towards his face, causing Rey to squint slightly before his eyes adjusted.
"Confused, aren't you? I'm the one you were hired to kill, along with my family," Rey stated, bewildered.
"You're Rey Shadowthrone? But the photo we received shows..." one of them remarked, pulling out an image of Rey's former appearance.
"It doesn't matter if you're the real Rey or not; we have orders to eliminate anyone claiming to be Rey," another declared, lunging at him with lethal intent.
"Wait, no..." Agent 1, a seasoned assassin, sensed something amiss and wanted to intervene, but it was too late—the arrow had been released from the bow, unstoppable in its flight.
Everyone witnessed Agent 5, who was poised to behead the man, suddenly hit the ground, face in the dust.
They were all taken aback, unable to see what had happened; even Agent 5 was stunned, only feeling himself being thrust to the ground and the ensuing pain.
Before anyone could react, Rey, already in a crouched stance, drove the dagger into his heart, ending his life.
The transition from life 4 to life 23 was significant; he could now outpace them all in speed, leaving only Agent 1 slightly superior, as would soon become evident.
"You will all die here," he declared, charging at them.
The others were in a state of shock, witnessing their brother's death without being able to intervene, but they quickly recovered, bracing for the impending attack. However, before they could grasp the situation, the first body dropped, riddled with cuts, drawing its final breath.
Rey, shrouded in shadows, methodically eliminated them one by one, and they were powerless to stop him. Eventually, only Agent 1 remained.
All agent bodies were on ground lifeless, and Rey come out from the darkness like a magic and see the fear on Agent 1.
"What a great difference now. I was scared in past lives, but now the roles have changed," he mused, recalling the saying, 'The strong prey on the weak.' As he charged towards his adversary, the attack from Agent 1 was already upon him. However, his experience in combat made the fight seem effortless, and within minutes, the leader of the Assassins, Agent 1, lay on the ground, bloodied with wounds.
"You know, Agent 1, there was a time when I was in your position, and you left me to die in a bloodied state like this. But fear not, I will not repeat the same mistake," he declared as he advanced towards the woman known as Number 6, who was clutching the remote for their dimension.
"What... What..." he stammered, not understanding anything since it was his first encounter with this man.
"I always say that I will kill you all in every life cycle, but today I will fulfill it without dying," the man declared, which he didn't comprehend. He watched the man walk away, thinking he was safe, but then a beep sounded, and an explosion occurred in the alley, reducing everything to ashes.
He observed from a distance, pondering when he would be able to break the cycle. He waited, but even after five minutes, the expected event did not occur." Huh isn't the mission to survive with my family and kill the assassin so why I am not out of this hell." He said as he starts panicking.
Suddenly he got an idea that if he killed everyone in this imaginary world would he be able to get the exit pass.
He thought as make himself reassure that if anything goes wrong, he can kill himself and retry it from the start.
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