Assassination was common in Tenebreia City; many families often hired one to do their dirty jobs.
But there was one problem: the target was given, and sometimes it could even be a child.
I would not call myself a saint, but killing an innocent child was something that crossed the line even for me.
"Legge dell'Innocente is part of the omerta; one should not kill those who are innocent.
As long as my mission adheres to this, I am prepared to take a life, Alice."
"Ho… your eyes are filled with determination. I like that, Luca, but unfortunately, the world is not filled with sunshine and rainbows."
Her words made me glare at her.
I had already faced torture, had my face ripped from my own skull!
I knew how depraved and crazy the real world was.
"It seems you've got it wrong, Luca. What I mean is sometimes you are not innocent just because of your birth.
You should understand this the most.
You never chose to be born as the de Luca family heir, but with it comes your privilege and burden.
What you've faced… do you think it would have happened if not because of your background?"
Her words shut my mouth.
I knew it was correct…
But my heart still felt apprehension.
"Will you do it or not?
If you hesitate like this, I will rescind my support.
I am risking my life, Luca. The reward may be big, but I need to be sure I have the right odds to win."
I turned my gaze toward Matt, hoping for him to say something, to try to convince me or even force the decision…
But nothing. He did nothing.
He just looked at me with his normal gaze, letting me make my own decision.
I clenched my fist, thinking about it deeply.
The faces of my parents surfaced in my mind—their funeral, then the kidnapping, the torture, everything that happened.
My anger surged. I steeled my heart while trying to convince myself.
'Why do I even need to consider this? It's not like anyone related to this world is innocent.
Just like Alice said, they are guilty by relation.
Everything we enjoy is blood money.'
With this thought, I looked at Alice and then replied with a yes.
"Good, I hope you will keep it until we achieve our goal."
Ding!
The elevator arrived, showing a bright hallway.
At that time, little did I know this place would become my house for months.
Matt was not just doing some plastic surgery.
He cut off my infected flesh, gave out antibiotics, and sewed the wound.
When I asked Matt why there were so many treatments, I just saw anger in his eyes as he handed me a medical report.
The results were surprising.
It seemed that after getting tortured so much, my pain receptors had gone numb.
Many of my bones were broken.
I had infections in many places.
There were even traces of poison found in my blood.
If left untreated, it would give me huge problems.
Each detail became a fertilizer to my hatred.
It would be a lie if the thought never passed through my mind to just leave peacefully, away from this city and all its cruelty.
There were so many things I would need to endure and face to finally get my revenge.
But this…
It steeled my resolve even further.
Time passed, and spending every day inside the room made me lose my sense of time.
The only visitors I got were Matt and Alice.
Matt would come every day since he was also my doctor; as for Alice, she would occasionally interview me, reconfirming some information.
I looked toward the mirror in front of me, reflecting a face wrapped in bandages.
"How are you feeling?"
Matt asked from my side; his voice was cold.
But I could tell it was tinged with worry—that's just how he was now.
All this time, he kept everything professional while hiding his own emotions.
After that day, he never brought up the topic again.
There were no more fights or conflicts.
Honestly, I wanted to ask him, but I was afraid it would disturb this weird peace we had now.
"I am alright, just feel a bit lightheaded."
"That is the painkiller's side effect, but I think you don't need it anymore.
All your wounds have recovered.
You also haven't had another attack for a week, so it should be alright."
The attack he meant was not a physical one.
A few days after I got treated, I started having nightmares.
At night, I would often dream of being tortured.
The pain would feel so real that when I woke up, I could still feel it.
Matt said it was PTSD.
Very common in people with traumatic experiences.
Matt offered me therapy, but considering my options, the choices were limited.
After some thinking, I rejected the idea.
If I couldn't pass this with my own will, how could I survive what was waiting for me?
I tried many methods—meditating, listening to relaxing music—but none were useful.
In the end, he offered me a new type of painkiller.
He said it helped with the pain.
After using it, weirdly enough, the dreams started to disappear.
And a week ago, I didn't have any PTSD anymore.
I did feel curious about it, but I didn't feel the need to ask more.
After all, I didn't have any medical knowledge.
Matt then started taking off the bandages.
One by one, they unwrapped, revealing smooth, beautiful skin.
I touched my own cheek, then looked into the mirror.
The face was a stranger to me, but now I would need to live as her.
"Starting today, you are Erza Lucia Nightwalker."
I nodded; keeping the name "Lucia" was my request.
Matt and Alice wanted to remove it to completely erase any trace of my past, but I adamantly rejected it.
Lucia was the name given by my parents, and it's quite a common name.
There should be no problem keeping this.
"You will get another week to recover and get used to moving your body again.
After that, you will go directly into training with Alice."
"How about you, Matt?"