"No, what did I tell you about your footwork? You should always be on the move." Said Leo as he watched Naya practicing with her sword.

"Mister, are you sure this will help me fight the bears and monsters?" She asked with a little bit of doubt.

"What I'm teaching you is how to fight humans. They are the real monsters." He somberly replied.

"But why would I have to fight other humans?" She asked, once again puzzled.

"It's always best to avoid conflict when you can, but there will ultimately come some time where that is no longer possible, and for that, it's best for you to have some means to defend yourself." He replied to which Naya simply nodded, though the look on her face said that she didn't quite understand, yet she still followed Leo's instructions.

Looking at the little girl swinging her sword, Leo's feelings were once again in conflict. It would have been easier to just leave the child and head towards the northern caves by himself, it would have definitely been an easier journey, but did he really want to do that?

Throughout the entirety of his past life, Leo was always drawn into dangerous situations, killing was the norm for him, yet all that changed when he met Maria, she thought him what it truly meant to be human, what it truly meant to be alive. 

Looking at Naya diligently training in the small clearing, a small part nagged him to leave her behind and leave, why did he have to babysit a child? He was no saint, while he did have a somewhat messed up moral compass, he was no good man at the end of the day.

Thinking about such thoughts, Maria's smiling face briefly flashes in front of his eyes before disappearing causing him to sigh, when had he grown so soft? Perhaps that was the reason, she died...If only he hadn't blindly trusted the boss! If only...

Unbeknownst to Leo, his shadowy form was slowly turning into something akin to that of a storm as fog suddenly began to expand outside of his body. His mind was slowly becoming clouded with hate as memories of the past began to resurface.  

"If only he died, no! If only I killed him!" Rage began to consume him as his vision turned bloody. 

"Mister!"

"Mister!" 

"MISTER!" 

The abrupt cry brought him back to his senses as his eyes slowly blinked back into reality. The rage that threatened to consume him a second ago, now long gone leaving him with a sense of almost, emptiness?

Looking around, Leo's eyes opened wide in shock at the scene that greeted him. He had once again lost control. The immediate area surrounding him and Naya had all turned into a death zone with withered trees and vegetation. 

Naya had her eyes darting around everything before settling down on him with a worried gaze.

"Are you okay mister? Your eyes were scary just now." She said as a visible shudder ran through her small body. 

'Looks like she was unaffected. Maybe she truly is immune to my powers?' He thought to himself before, shaking his head. How could he be so careless? When was he ever so easily angered before? As an assassin, he was trained to always keep his emotions in check. The only time he failed to do so was when he saw her dead body. There was simply no point anymore. 

But now... now, he failed again and almost killed the little girl. Ever since coming here, Leo could feel himself changing, perhaps the most obvious change was his body, yet with this, he thought as he looked at the dead surroundings, it looks like the changes go much deeper than just his body.

"I'm sorry for scaring you little one." He said trying to make his voice as soft as he could, yet only managing to come off as intimidating.

"Are you okay?" She asked again, her voice shrouded with worry. 

"Yes, let's get out of here." He sighed as he saw their dead surroundings before grabbing their things and continuing towards their destination.

*****

It has been a month since the duo had left the village of hope, Naya diligently trained in the sword every morning before they started their walk, Leo would watch and correct her forms.

Once Naya had a small breakfast, the two of them would resume their walk. Along the way, Leo would continue with his teachings as he had Naya practice her footwork. 

Once upon a time, Leo was considered a genius assassin. Deadly and effective, he had honed his skills throughout the entirety of his past life, killed more people than he could count, yet looking at the little girl darting from one tree branch to another, Leo was conflicted.

To call her a genius would be an understatement. In the past month that they traveled together, Naya easily absorbed all the knowledge he imparted her with, her steps were slowly reaching the level of a trained professional killer. 

The scariest part was the fact that she was still too young! How terrifying would she be when she grows up? At first, he had merely intended to teach her a little bit for her to survive, yet the more he taught her, the more shocked he became. 

Naya was like a sponge, easily absorbing everything! Leo had never taken a disciple before, there was simply no point in him to do so, yet looking at the little girl laughing while she darted between the tall tree branches, Leo found himself growing excited, how much more could she grow? He wanted to see. 

"Alright, Naya get down. Time for the hunt!" He spoke, to which Naya skillfully made a front flip from a tree branch and landed gracefully in front of him. 

"Oh! A hunt! What are we getting this time? Am I finally going after a bear?!" She asked unable to hide her excitement.

"Hmph, don't get too cocky. You'll go after a rabbit." Replied Leo with a flick to her forehead.

"Ouch! But Rabbits are annoying to catch. I want to find a bear!" She sulked.

"And a bear would kill you with a paw. Now go, you'll find a few west from here. Remember the distance, don't go any further." He said sternly.

"Fine~" Answered Naya before darting west, leaving Leo behind.

Seeing her leave, his eyes gradually closed as his senses extended outside of his body. thousands of life flames suddenly appeared in his mind yet he ignored them as he followed after Naya. This was a new skill he had managed to learn in the past month spent on the road.

Naya's food provisions were not going to last them for long, yet all the game in the forest seemed to avoid them, the reason obviously being him, with the help of his new skill, he is able to monitor the situation while also keeping his distance and not scaring the animals, which served as training of sorts to Naya.

<Name: (Leo)Death  Race: ??? 

 Age: ~     

 Affinity: Chaotic Neutral

 Magic: Dark   

 Skills: -Life steal (S-Rank)

      -Death's kiss (S-Rank)

     -Divine sense (??-Rank)

 Titles: The End - Otherworlder - Death>