Rewinding time a little bit…

It was already dark out. The purple moons which hung in the sky were being covered by the clouds. The purple shine that came with them would peek through here and there, but tonight's forecast was mostly cloudy. It must have been that the storm in the Caera Kingdom was heading this way. The clouds were just the first wave.

Still, for tonight, the moons being hidden was just what the assassins needed. Darkness was an assassin’s best friend. Especially with a job like this.

It was rumored that this house was littered with a large number of strong people. If that was the case, they couldn’t make any mistakes. Even one could cause them all to die. In this world, quality was greater than quantity, but that didn’t mean quantity was useless. Numbers could easily be taken advantage of in a situation like this.

Still, if they were going to succeed, then regardless of number, they would need to be perfect. They couldn’t arouse even the slightest hint of suspicion.

It was unfortunate for them really. They weren’t even aware that mistakes were already made.

And the first one was walking into this town.

~~~

After Hombell took her leave, every team got together for their raid. There were several teams, each with 15. And they would all enter through various entrances. Mostly the hallway windows. Meanwhile, the leader’s team would enter through the back, Josephine’s team would take care of Hombell, and a team would enter through the front door.

It would be a large simultaneous and, if possible, silent attack.

The first team was standing outside the front door. None of the lights were on, so perhaps people were preparing for bed. According to the leader, everyone who was here was scattered individually across each floor. There were only a few spots where more than one person rested, but it didn’t seem like those areas would be much of a problem either.

“Alright. Squad 1, let’s go!” the captain called out quietly. His team, on his signal, immediately began to pour in through the entrance.

Ever so silent their footsteps were. Even as they stepped on the hard floor, not a peep came from their feet. This alone showed just how experienced these men were. This wasn’t their first job, and it certainly wouldn’t be their last.

With the Captain entering last, he shut the doors, not even allowing them to so much as creak. “Entrance cleared,” he muttered.

This was the entrance to the mansion. Simply put, it was too large. It could easily hold many times more than just these fifteen men if the owner wanted. Before them laid a large staircase leading to the second floor, and to their left and right were stairways leading to every floor. The entrances to the rest of the first floor were the two doorways that rest on the back wall, one on either side of the large staircase.

This team’s job was to maintain their position here. They were to prevent anyone from attempting to escape out the front door. Though the room left these men open in plain view, these men had equipment that would allow them to hide in their environment, and it even allowed them to climb and hang onto walls and ceilings. 

It was technology being developed by their guildmaster. A man that many could only assume of his identity. He didn’t show his face to just anyone. Any good assassin wouldn’t be stupid enough to let their identities slip, or else it would be their own faces on wanted posters, or their own heads on the chopping block. And the guildmaster was said to be the best.

Still, that didn’t matter at this moment. What mattered was their current contract. It was a contract that even the guildmaster supposedly didn’t know about. That’s what the leader said. If it was that top secret, then there was no way they could mess up. Else they might become the mark.

“Keep secure the peri-”

Fwip!

Suddenly, a strange sound could be heard from behind the Captain. Cautious, he pulled out his own weapon, a tanto, and turned around to face the noise. But what he turned to see only seemed to confuse him.

“Paper?”

On the front door, a single sheet of paper sat perfectly straight, as if holding the door shut.

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

“The hell?”

Though alarmed, the captain didn’t dare make a reckless movement as he watched a large amount of paper fly into the room and stick to the door, covering every crevice and locking the door shut.

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

And the front door wasn’t the only one. A massive swarm of papers flowed into the room before firmly planting themselves on every single door that they could see. Every door except one of the entryways atop the large staircase.

“Tch.” The captain immediately realized what was going on. They were trapped. All exits are sealed. Were they waiting for us this whole time?

Still, if that was the case, that would mean that someone somewhere messed up. Was it Josephine’s group? No, she’s one of the best in the business. It’s not likely she’d make a mistake.

Even with that being the case, it was too soon for them to have already messed up. This seemed like it was prepared well ahead of time. That would mean that the entire mansion knew about the assassins and merely waited for them to fall into a trap.

I knew they’d be good, but I didn’t think that they would keep us from escaping so early on.

Still, it was too late to turn back anyways. This just meant that they would have to face their targets head on. Of course, no matter how strong the person was, could one person take on so many people at once? Yeah, right, the Captain wanted to think. 

However, he knew better. A single glance at all this paper was enough to make him realize that this was all caused by one person. It wasn’t very common for multiple people to have something as unique as Paper Conjuring. It wasn’t unheard of, but the odds were unbelievably low. And with this quantity of paper, he knew that whoever they were up against was not someone to be trifled with.

So who is it…?

“What’s up with this paper?” one of the assassins asked, reaching out to touch it.

“Hold it!” the Captain cried (quietly). The sudden command caused the assassin to halt his action and retract his arm. “This paper is meant to hold us in. Don’t go touching it so freely. The spell itself is way too obvious. It reeks of a trap.”

“‘It reeks of a trap,’ said the captain.”

At the arrival of a new voice, the group tensed up, unsheathed their weapons, and turned to face the stairs. And yet, nobody appeared. Only the voice echoed through the room.

“The captain turned to face his enemy head on, wary of all of his opponent’s movements. The direction of their eyes, the step of their feet in the grass, the grip on his sword, and the sound of his breathing. One couldn’t be too careful. When it came to combat, anything was fair game. And traps…”

The owner of the voice revealed itself, descending from the one remaining open door at the top of the stairs.

“…were an inevitability.”

The voice belonged to a young man who proceeded to walk down the steps. The Captain observed him as astutely as the voice had said. The first thing he noticed was the book sitting in his hand, the man’s gaze focused on its words. It didn’t take much effort for one to realize that the words that were spoken before were from a passage in his book.

The young man was dressed like a butler with his tie untied, and the hair that framed his face was tied into a rat tail in the back. Although he didn’t know the man’s name, he knew right away that this was one of Riley Murus’s servants. The fact that the assassins barely seemed to register with him showed that he seemed to view them all as no more than insects buzzing. He clearly was confident, and his gaze never left the pages of his book as he descended the stairs.

“An excerpt from a very intriguing story labeled Legends of Abyssus.” His footsteps were loud, his presence made clear. And before long, he stood close to the bottom of the steps.

“So this was a trap for us?” one of the assassins asked.

“A trap? Perhaps.”

“Tch! Don’t play any word games, boy!” another chided.

“It’s not so simple to define. After all, the only thing I did was wait for you.”

The young man sat down, his back leaned against the railing of the stairs and his legs extended as if he were relaxing.

“Wait for us?” the Captain asked.

“We all did,” he said, turning the page. “It wasn’t very hard to notice you. Everybody in the town, in fact, was already aware of your presence.”

These words shocked the captain's eyes wide open. Even hidden under the mask, the gasp he made escaped his lips.

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that an entire town knew about them. Even with their number as large as it was, they were all masters of stealth. There was no way a city’s citizens would be fully aware of them.

“You lie,” he said, catching his breath. “People like you aside, there’s no way the common person would notice all of us.”

“Indeed. The common person wouldn’t. But this town is far from common. Weren’t you aware of how many former adventurers and warriors there were in town? The general populace is made up of, if I had to give a number, 60-70% fighters. You might be experienced, but you aren’t the only ones.” He flipped the page again.

The Captain was left speechless. Surely this couldn’t have been true. There was that many veterans living in the town? This had to be a jest, especially with how large the town was.

On top of that, it was very difficult to find stealth masters. It would take a sensor to find them normally. That, or there were real veterans who trusted their guts. Instinct was a common trait amongst the experienced. It was something that even assassins and thieves found vital to their causes and actions.

It was because of this gut feeling that even the Captain had that he stayed his voice any further. He couldn’t completely toss aside that remark because his gut was screaming at him. It was like it was telling him not to let common sense bind him.

“Are you serious?”

“There’s no way!”

“Obviously a lie!”

“Next time, you should think of a better punch line, because that wasn’t funny.”

A nervous sweat broke out on the captain's  forehead, but he couldn’t wipe it off. Instead, he merely raised his weapons.

“It seems words are of no more relevance here. This is fine. I’m not much of a talker myself. But I am here to entertain our guests,” the young man said, taking the bookmark he had in his pocket and placing it in his book. Then, he slammed it shut and closed his eyes.

“This is the only warning you’ll get from me. It was decided this evening that we would take as many of you alive as we could. The leaders would especially be kept alive. However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to kill any of you.”

The man refused to face the group, keeping his head held low and his eyes firmly closed. To him, there was no threat to be had here. Nobody here was truly worth his time.

His words and attitude seemed to rile the assassins, now completely forgoing silence. It was already too late now. If everyone knew, then that meant they trusted this man to take care of things here by himself. Stealth was out of the window. It was time for a fight.

Incited by his words, three of the assassins stepped forward and raised their hands.

“What good are you without any weapon at all?”

“Do you think that book is going to save you?!”

“Don’t look down on us!”

“““Burning Tracer!”””

From all of their hands, a mass of flames formed and took on the shape of three large harpoons, shooting forward at incredible speeds. And as they reached their targets, each one exploded, shaking the room.

The three that attacked were the group’s mages, and each of them had an affinity for flames. Those with an affinity had a stronger impact when compared to others who can cast it without an affinity. As such, the confidence that these three had that their spells would end their target was high.

However, as the dust and smoke settled, the three were greeted with a nasty surprise. The young man was very much alive, and he hadn’t moved a single muscle. Instead, a few pieces of red paper were floating in the air. Seeing this caused the assassins to jump back.

“Impossible!”

“He managed to stop them?”

“But that’s paper! It should be weak to fire!”

The Captain watched and observed everyone’s reactions from a distance. He didn’t need to be the one sacrificing himself to win. He needed to sit and watch his target’s movements. He had to find the best possible solution to win.

And that was why what had transpired hadn’t gone unnoticed by him. His book changed. As soon as the flames were cast, the young man’s book, which until that point had a plain brown cover, changed into a royal blue one with an intricate pattern on it. And then, several red pages burst out from the book and blocked the flames completely, completely suppressing them. There was no damage to anything.

Was that… really a Conjuring? Paper? No, Book Conjuring maybe? No, I don’t think so. I’ve heard of Book Conjuring existing, but it supposedly controls several books at once from a nearby collection. It’s a worthless affinity. Still, what is this?

There had never once been a single recollection anywhere of a person able to weaponize a book in this manner. It was completely unheard of.

Can’t be a curse. His eyes aren’t abnormal. Which leaves… a Blessing?

Both curses and blessings come in all varieties. However, curses have a focus on the more punishing aspect of the deal, and they have a physical sign in the eyes. Blessings were what people were born with, and they could literally be anything. If there was any physical evidence of it, it would be specific to certain blessings, and even then, only if it was passive.

This clearly wasn’t passive. He didn’t know exactly what was done, but the captain knew the man had taken some sort of action on his part.

“You should have studied us more so you would realize how to fight us. As you can see, conjuring will have a hard time reaching me.” The young man proceeded to stand up and pulled out his bookmark. “Ordinarily, I’d be upset that I lost my place. However, this book is unique in that it has no words. Only colored pages,” he said, lifting his book so that everyone could see it.

His attitude still managed to rub the assassins the wrong way, causing them to charge him with their weapons.

“If all you have is that book, then that means close range attacks are effective!”

“You shouldn’t show off so readily!”

Everyone swung their weapons at the young man, attacking from every angle they could so as not to bump into each other.

Fwip!

Their efforts were for naught, however, as a single sheet of paper interrupted every attack. Not a single blade could cut the gray sheets.

“On the contrary, it is because of my book that I have no cause to fear close range combat.” 

With his bookmark in his opposite hand, he swung it down to his side, transforming it into a long blade. The sight of this blade shocked everybody. Even the Captain didn’t know what to say. However, he knew there was something familiar about the man who stood before him. He knew of rumors of Book Conjuring, but where did they come from? For whatever reason, he couldn’t help but think the rumors started with this man.

Still, the rumors claimed it was to manipulate books in a nearby area. Perhaps that was just a speculation from people who’d never seen it before. If that was the case, then it was safe to say that those rumors didn’t do this justice.

Still, why does this even sound familiar? Hold on, wasn’t there also an adventurer in the past who was never seen with a weapon? He only ever looked to be carrying a book. Is this that same person? I believe he was one in a pretty famous trio… His name… What was it?

 

Once in the past, there was a trio of adventurers whose names had become famous. The party didn’t have a name, but the three who it was composed of were said to be extremely deadly.

In the Adventurer’s Society, ranks went from One Star at the lowest and Ten Star at the highest. And this trio managed to attain the rank of Six Star. They were veterans, and it wasn’t uncommon for adventurers to find themselves at roadblocks here. To go any higher requires certain specifications to attain. Yet this party was rumored to be ready to rank up to Seven Star.

One day, this trio suddenly vanished. Something had happened to them that left them pondering their future. The last time they were seen was two years ago.

 

The Captain remembered this while observing his opponent. There were a few things that stood out about this trio that he remembered.

The first is that each one was rumored to be beautiful in some form or another. But their beauty was not what defined them. Each of them had enough strength to rival an army on their own.

Of them, one was a talker, one wasn’t very talkative, and one didn’t speak at all. The talker was said to be a disaster who caused people to tremble with his every step. Barely anybody was able to see the one who didn’t talk fight. After all, she almost never left survivors.

Finally, the third one. His only true stand out quality was that he was seen constantly with some kind of book. He never had a weapon. He wasn’t afraid of anything, and nobody wanted to get close to him. With partners as monstrous as his, what possibly could he do? Nobody wanted to find out.

There was one more thing that made these three stand out. Their names. Their names were rather similar. The Captain tried to recall the name. He still had his doubts, but he couldn’t push these thoughts out of his head.

And yet, he couldn’t remember his name. Then, what were the nicknames they were given? These three ended up being given nicknames by the rest of the adventurers. Two of them weren’t quite so fearsome, but one of them was terrifying to behold. Still, it wasn’t the men of the party who held this name. What were the other two? They were based on the physical traits of the men.

Finally, the captain remembered it. With his voice barely audible, he said, “The Bookworm.”

Hearing his old epithet, the young man scrunched his face slightly. “Do people still remember that name?”

As he asked his question, the papers that defended him pushed his attackers away. They didn’t attack, and neither did he. He merely sighed and rested his bookmark blade on his shoulder, his book being held open by his thumb to his side.

“So you admit it?” The Captain asked.

“…Yes, that’s me.”

“Tch.” The Captain took several steps back and raised his voice so his voice could reach the others. His fear had been realized. “Men, watch yourself! This is a former high ranking adventurer! He could take an army on by himself! Don’t underestimate him!”

“What?”

“What do you mean high ranking?!”

“It was rumored that he and his partners before they disappeared were eligible for Seven Star!”

“Seven?!”

“That high?!”

“They disappeared a couple years ago, but it’s likely safe to say that he and his partners are all here!”

The assassins all jumped backwards and readied their arms once again. The mages among them began preparing chants as well.

“Haah…” Simon sighed. “I’m not a very big fan of that epithet. It might be accurate, but it reminds me of my last days as an adventurer. If you’re going to call me anything, then I may as well introduce myself properly.”

The young man lowered his sword from his shoulder and held it to his side. At the same time, he took his hand away from his book, allowing it to float in the air in front of him. “I am one of Master Riley’s servants and former Six Star Adventurer. Once known as the Bookworm, my name is Simon Gagnon.”

Simon Gagnon… Wait, Gagnon?!

Hearing the name Simon had finally rung in his mind. That was the name he’d given as an adventurer. However, he, like his partners, did not give his surname. It wasn’t uncommon for some commoners not to have surnames. Once upon a time, most commoners didn’t have them. Of course, the tradition that only nobles could have surnames was dying out, and it was becoming more and more common seeing commoners with family names.

This case, however, was different. These three didn’t give them out, exploiting the Society’s ethics of privacy. As such, Simon was only known as Simon “the Bookworm.” The name Gagnon was unknown to the general populace.

However, in the Assassins’ Guild, information was often needed for the trade. In this case, information pertaining to their targets was much harder to come by. The people of the town merely offered respect and did not try to get into Riley’s or his servants’ private lives.

Now that he thought about it, the captain didn’t recall anyone giving names at all, Hombell being the lone exception. At the very least, their names should have been known to the public, so why was he unable to get even that much from the public? He’d only heard that they were strong and those too stupid enough to understand found out very quickly. Was that perhaps a warning? If the people in town truly were adventurers, then did that mean all of them were warning the assassins not to try what they were about to do?

Still, it was too late to think about that. Now, the truly concerning thing to worry about was Simon’s name, Gagnon. I heard that that old family died out years ago, but they were terrifyingly strong! Then, if this guy is a member of that family, why did he choose to serve someone like this Murus guy? He could have anything he wants! The Gagnon family is still feared, even after they died out, almost like phantoms!

“Honestly,” Simon continued, “you’re all quite fortunate that I’m the one you’re facing.”

“Why is that?” the Captain asked nervously.

“Because out of everyone who serves Master Riley, the ones facing me are the most likely to survive. I don’t kill unnecessarily. I avoid bloodshed where I can. It’s an aspect that even Master Riley praised me for.”

Hearing his words seemed to calm the Captain down somewhat. He began to fear that everyone here was going to die.

However, the next words that Simon would speak would shatter his hopes. “I can’t say the same for the others. My brother, Silas, and my sister, Sierra, are much more brutal than I am. Zara is ruthless, Zaria is wild, and Hombell…” Simon turned his head away, appearing somewhat nervous just thinking about what Hombell might do. “Well they are probably alive, but they’ll likely be wishing for death by the time she’s done with them…”

The captain’s arms went limp and fell to his side. His brother… and sister… Those were his partners? Three Gagnons… and people of similar strength and ruthlessness all work for this man?! Nations could fall at the hands of this town…

Just thinking about what all laid ahead of his comrades shattered his mind. He thought he knew what he’d signed up for when he came here. But just a few words broke those expectations.

“Fortunately for you, Celeste and Alexandria are gone. Alexandria is too loyal in my opinion, and she easily surpasses all of us when it comes to her coldness in battle. She wouldn’t let even the captains survive like we intended. And Celeste’s crazy rivals Hombell’s. Horus and Lupus are about as tame as I am at least, but they aren’t here right now. And there is one other…

“Let’s see. I think among our guests are several Summons, so they’ll be quite tough. There’s also the Royal guards accompanying the Caeran royalty, and I’ve heard that Miss Beauclair is a capable fighter.” He’d heard from Riley back when he introduced everyone that a decent portion of the people he’d brought back were quite strong. He especially praised Maria Beauclair. Simon was suspicious of her for reasons relating to his past regarding the royalty of Caera, yet he respected her as Riley’s friend. Except he couldn’t form any good opinions since she had locked herself in her room.

The Captain had dropped his weapon at this point. So many names all underneath one person, and they were all here. Not to mention royalty from the Caera Kingdom and their personal guards? The head of the Beauclair Merchants Association? Summons?! 

He heard in the town that Riley had done the craziest thing and teleported an entire city’s worth of people into his own home. Even as a witness to it, he couldn’t help but think that this must have been a city from nearby, because even someone powerful couldn’t teleport people from too far of a distance. And yet… Caera Kingdom royalty… who resided in Crestfall?! What the hell kind of monster… is this man…

Thinking of everyone he brought back, Simon’s mind settled on one more, causing him to slightly shudder. “I could only imagine what Master Riley’s sister could do. If the only one who can rival her here is my master himself, then I think it’s safe to say that she is a real monster.”

Thud…

The Captain fell to his knees upon hearing this last straw. His… sister… This house was filled with nothing but monsters. The Captain realized he had no chance, and he couldn’t even raise his arms, much less his legs. His head hung in despair, knowing he picked a fight with monsters like this. There’s no way we can win…

Despite his thoughts, the others were raising their arms. They couldn’t let Simon’s words get to them. They wouldn’t believe him. There’s no way that so much potential war power lived in one house.

“So what, some punk like you thinks that your master is an unstoppable force?!”

“No, he’d be the immovable object,” Simon stated matter-of-factly.

“So what?! You’re saying his sister is oh so powerful, and you think that your master is the strongest, right?!”

Simon’s eyes started to twitch. The sound of this assassin’s voice was beginning to grate on his ears. He didn’t know what he was getting at, but knew he wouldn’t like what he would hear. “If he went all out, there’s probably nobody who could defeat him.”

“Ha! Such confidence in a freak of nature! You think that such a person is worth serving?! Sounds to me like you’re afraid of him! What, did that piece of trash threaten you to work fo-”

Slash!

It didn’t even take a second for Simon’s blade arm to fully swing. The long katana-like sword in his hand took no effort to pierce the flesh of its target and cut him from shoulder to waist.

“Wh-What…” Before he even knew what happened, the upper portion of the assassin’s body slid down his other half and hit the floor, his blood slowly beginning to flow out of both parts.

Swinging his blade, he flicked the blood right off of it. “Watch your mouth.” The pressure of his Ether began to pour out of his body, crushing the others under its weight. Having seen the events before him, the Captain had no will to resist. “I am the calmest among Master Riley’s servants. Be glad your death was so swift. If it was anyone else, you wouldn’t be so lucky.”

“A-Ah…”

“What just happened?!”

“He’s dead!”

“Damn you! Lightning Casting: Thunder Wake!”

“Flame Casting: Flame Dancer!”

“Chain Casting: Disaster Chains!”

The mages fired off a wave of lightning, flames, and chains, but it didn’t take long for each to be promptly stopped with a yellow, red, and gray sheet of paper each.

“This is the Grimoire of Shielding, one of the many books in my possession which is in charge of defense. In giving away my true offensive power, I gain an almost impenetrable defense which rivals even my master’s.”

The mages were stopped in their tracks. None of them knew how to overcome this barrier before them. They unleashed some of their strongest spells, but they were stopped completely. Even the melee fighters didn’t know what to do.

“Take heed. So long as you do not bad-mouth Master Riley, I will take you alive. You can’t escape, but I’m not ruthless enough to simply kill you all without reason. Just don’t make the same mistake this guy did,” he said as he kicked the dead assassin’s body, “and I’ll accept your surrender.”

The Captain raised his head, reacting as though he was on a god’s mind. He was truly blessed if he had a chance of survival. If all it took was surrender…

“All of you, lay down your arms. We stand no chance here. It looks like… we’re lucky…”

The captain’s voice was low and fearful. He may have been an assassin, but he did care for his comrades’ lives. If he could keep them alive, he’d even give up his own life.

Although they were all hesitant, they inevitably laid down their arms. They didn’t stand a chance. This fight was pointless. This was a job that they shouldn’t have taken. After all, even when everyone attacked Simon, not once did anybody get close.

“Wise choice. I take it that you’re the captain of this group then.”

“…Yes.”

“You’re a good man. I’ll be sure that Hombell doesn’t lay a hand on you.”

And with that chapter closed, Simon turned his sword back into a bookmark, placed it in his book which now sat in his hand, and he slammed it shut.

~~~

 

As the raid began, the leader led his group towards the back door. They were still outside, their backs facing the nearby lake. The leader couldn’t stand his target. Although he’d never met the man, he always hated him. He became the immediate favorite of the guildmaster, and he was one of the few people who personally knew the guildmaster, which not many people got to see.

Even the leader had only gotten to see the guildmaster once before, and it was perhaps the most terrified he’d ever been. Yet, he was also in awe and splendor at the sight of his magnificent leader.

So when he learned that his target was Riley Murus, the Nonexistent, he was ecstatic. His envy boiled up inside for so long, and now was his chance to kill him. It might have gone against the guild’s policy of killing for a good cause, but he wasn’t the only assassin who wanted the man dead. When he brought it up before to a few comrades, he learned that they were of the same mind. So he had many people who jumped at the chance to kill his target and everyone who lived in his house.

Now that they were here, it was time to put the plan into action. “Alright, men. Let’s go…” At the leader’s orders, the group began moving swiftly underneath the shadows of the clouds, moving closer and closer to the mansion.

Yet the clouds couldn’t fully cover the moonlight. As the group ran forward, the leader caught a glimpse of a new figure, standing in their way. The moonlight didn’t fully uncover what they looked like, only shining on certain areas like the arms or legs.

Who is that?

The leader raised his hand, signaling the rest to halt their advance. The figure before them was clearly aware of who they were. They were facing them in the shade.

“Who are you?” the leader asked.

The figure stepped forward. It was slow, and it was agonizing to wait. The figure merely walked forward in silence, giving the assassins a sense of unease.

I’ve never felt so unnerved before. Is this… one of his servants?

The figure maintained their advance. There was quite a bit of distance, so at the pace they were going, the figure wouldn’t reach the group for a good thirty seconds, or maybe a little longer.

“I’m asking who you are?! State your name!” the leader demanded, his agitation getting to him.

Finally, the figure stopped. The assassins began to raise their weapons. This had to be one of their targets. It was far too soon, but this was a group of elites. If it meant a fight, they’d fight as hard as they could, no holding back.

The figure stood silently, not moving an inch, not raising a voice. Even the sound of their breathing couldn’t be heard. There was no wind. No rain. No thunder. It was a dead calm. A lull. This was the most eerie silence the leader had ever felt. Even as an assassin, he’d never experienced this himself. He’d never been on the wrong end of someone’s blade. He never once felt like his life was in danger. Like the deafening silence meant for others was now consuming him.

Is this what my victims feel like…?

He didn’t dare give voice to his question. If he began questioning now, he might never be able to return to his job.

That said, the silence was beginning to nag at him. Agitation turned to frustration, and the sword he once carried on his back was now held pointed towards the figure.

“Damn it, state your name!”

The figure still didn’t move. However, the clouds did. Now, with fewer obstacles in the way, the purple light fell down on the figure before them.

A girl?

This young woman stood silently, her lips planted firmly shut. Her curly, ashen colored hair fell on her shoulders, and the beautiful blue accessory stood out beautifully amongst it. Her sharp eyes glew Ruby red, piercing into one’s very soul.

Wait, this was the girl walking in town today…

The leader recognized her. While observing in Atheden, he noticed a small group of four young ladies walking, all eyes on them. There was the girl with the ponytail, shorts, and jacket, but this wasn’t her. There was also the dark skinned girl with black and white hair, and there was the short haired girl in the uniform.

But this wasn’t any of them. This was the fourth girl. Earlier, she was dressed in a beautiful blue dress. It was one that befit a noble with an open back and shoulders, and it was accentuated by her high heels.

But now, her entire outfit and demeanor was different. In the day, her appearance could be called nothing short of elegance and beauty, even with her height. And yet now? She wore clothes that fit her whole body. A dark sleeveless shirt tucked into her belt, which held her dark pants tightly to her waist. She had on heavy boots as well. Her hands were covered in fingerless gloves and had a bracer on each wrist. Finally, to top it off, she wore a blue hood over her head, its cape draping down to hide her bare shoulders and reaching down to her ankles.

In a word, she was prepared.

Is this the same person from earlier? She gives off a completely different air.

Finally, she moved, causing the leader to twitch. The girl raised her hand in front of her and opened it, letting letters spill out from it.

This is property of Master Riley, and you are trespassing.

Letters? Wait, no. This is more than that. This is conjuring of some kind… but I never heard an incantation, nor did I hear the spell’s name. She’s skilled…

Know that if you intend to continue your trek forward, your lives are forfeit.

The girl erased the letter and turned around, letting her cape flutter for a moment.

That line before you signifies the minimum allowable distance you can be to this mansion. If you cross it, you shall be dealt with accordingly.

Line?

The leader looked at the ground, only to find a large split among the earth. A long gash that looked like it scarred the earth.

When the hell did she do this?!

The leader looked up only to see this target walking away. She had warned him, and now she had no business with him. Her actions would rely on his actions, and she made that clear.

Her words came across arrogantly, but the leader knew this was no idle threat. This line was proof. Still, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being belittled. After all, it was too late. His companions were already inside. They’d be able to get someone, surely.

Letting his frustration go to his head, the leader suddenly called out to the girl, “You’re an arrogant little wench! You think a measly little line can stop us?!”

He knew his words were meaningless, but when one’s frustration grew, it also affected their judgment, and it directly affected their actions.

Still, his words didn’t seem to mean a thing to the girl. She continued to walk away, the cape hanging behind her as she walked. The leader watched and watched as she continued forward, never once turning back to look at them.

As he watched, the light from the moon suddenly disappeared, the shadow of the clouds covering the land in darkness and obscuring their vision of the girl. This darkness only lasted for a moment, however. When the light appeared again before them…

…the girl was gone.

“…What was that…?” one of the assassins asked.

The leader didn’t have an answer for him. He had nothing but questions. Just who was that girl… and what did she do? Letters? Vanishing? A blue hood?

Something was nagging at him. He couldn’t place it, but something was familiar about this. Perhaps it was a past rumor he’d stumbled upon while working. It wasn’t uncommon for adventurers to be targets. After all, the arrogant ones who were damaging society were all over the place, and they’d do nasty things like spread rumors to destroy a person’s image, or even attack and harass them themselves. Perhaps he’d heard a rumor from one of those targets regarding something similar.

Still, there was something else gnawing at his mind. The leader looked down at the gash in the ground. In the entire time that that girl was standing before the group, not once did he see the girl move in a way that could have made this gash.

Wait. Did she do this while the clouds covered her? Though they could see her silhouette and patches of her with the spots of moonlight, they couldn’t see much more of her body movements aside from her slow walking. If they were too focused on the person before them, then maybe she took advantage of that?

I’m thinking too much into this. This line means nothing. It’s time to get started.

Throwing his thoughts to the wind, the leader stepped over the line. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps. Five…

Even though he’d passed the line, nothing was happening. He was hesitating, but that was a momentary fear. Seeing that nothing was happening, he regained his confidence.

“Ha. So it was just a bluff. Alright, men. It’s safe to say that we’re exposed thanks to that. However, that girl was attempting to scare us away by making us think that she was powerful. This is proof that there is nothing to fear!”

““““Yeah!””””

With that cry, the leader took his followers and began running forward. There was still quite a bit of distance from where they were to the mansion, but it wouldn’t take long to reach. If they continued at the pace they were going, they’d reach the door in thirty seconds.

It ran through his mind that the people inside hadn’t done anything despite knowing assassins were coming. If they’d sent that girl to hold them back with temporary fear, then that meant they were trying to buy time to escape. This was an incredibly large mansion, so there may have been some kind of safe room or escape tunnel built into it. 

If that was the case, then it looked like they might have to completely tear through the house. By sunup, there would be zero survivors. The Nonexistent would return to see everyone he cherished dead. Their bodies would lie mangled, bloody, torn apart piece by piece. When he returned to see this, the leader would watch as he cried in despair before taking his life next.

Thinking about this brought an almost evil grin to the leader’s face. Yet, his thoughts were interrupted by a most disturbing sound.

“Keh!” Thud! Thud!

All of the assassins stopped their sprint and turned around. But what they found was the headless body of one of their comrades laying down, bleeding from the stump that was once his neck. And a short distance from it was its head, still covered by the mask.

“What the hell?”

“What just happened?!”

“How did he die?!”

“No way…” the leader muttered. The only thing there was the dead body and its severed head. There was no sign of his killer, nor the object that took his life.

Stunned, he took a step towards his fallen comrade. What was this? The leader crouched onto his knee to take a closer look at the body. This wound is clean. Though considering that his blood flowed out immediately, that means the slash wasn’t too fast.

The sharper the blade, the less pain a person feels when they’re cut by it. It also helped determine how fast the blood would flow out. 

Similarly, depending on the speed at which a person is cut, the blood will take its time before it finally spills out. This applied not just to something as minor as accidentally cutting your finger on a knife, but it also applied for wounds as grievous as a beheading. Eventually it would flow out, but the speed made all the difference at how fast it would happen.

The leader knew this, and he found it odd that the blood came out so fast from the body. This meant one of two things. The first was that even though the weapon was sharp enough to leave a rather clean wound, it was still somewhat dull. Well, rather than dull, it was more like the blade of whatever was used hadn’t seen action in a long time, or it was one that had seen excessive amounts of action. Either way, it would have been wielded by someone experienced.

The second option was that the attack was slow. Relatively slow anyways. Basically, as slow as just a casual swing of the blade. But the leader couldn’t help but think that in itself was off. If it was that slow, then that would mean that the attack could have been easily avoided. Especially by those who had experienced combat. Still, if the attack was slow, then that meant whoever it was who killed this man would have to be practically in front of him, or even running behind him.

No matter the case, if it was that the weapon was worn out, or if the attack was that slow, whoever did it definitely had experience in the art of murder.

Wait… Wait!!! Was this…?!

If this was indeed that girl who did this, then how could she have killed this man? Last time he saw her, she was not only walking away from them, but she had walked in the direction of the mansion. How could she have gotten close to them without them noticing? How was she outperforming assassins at their own jobs?

“Not good, that girl warned us. It was that girl’s doing!”

“Gah!”

“Kuh!”

At the sound of two more grunts, the leader and the assassins turned towards the source of the sound. What they saw were two of their comrades, standing there. Blankly.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“They’re probably in shock… like us,” one of the assassins said, his voice trembling.

One of the other assassins walked up to the two just standing there and spacing out. “Don’t let this bother you! We still have our jobs to do!” the man cried fearfully, gripping onto the man’s shoulder.

But no sooner than he did…

Thud!

…did the man’s body collapse onto the ground.

“Aaahhhh!”

“A-Another one?!”

Thud!

It didn’t take much for the other body to collapse either. The bodies laid side by side, neither of them so much as budging.

Stupefied, the leader stared at the corpses of his men. Again! What the hell was this? How did they die? Their heads were still attached. So were their arms and legs. So then what killed them?

The leader began running toward the bodies, but as soon as he did…

“Kah!”

…someone behind him suddenly grunted. It took the leader no time to turn around this time, reacting much quicker than before. His senses were now beyond alert and were panicked.

And the sight behind him sent chills down his spine. “Is that… a blade?” The man was standing with a slightly rounded blade running through his chest, straight through his heart.

“What the hell?!”

The leader charged towards the man, his sword out and ready to swing at their assailant. You won’t get away from me! It wouldn’t take any time at all for him to reach the dead man. Yet, halfway to him, the blade yanked out of the man’s chest, allowing him to fall to the ground. And behind him was… nothing.

Nobody’s there?!

He was too late to save the man, but this entire thing became extremely frustrating. The leader was also becoming terrified. What was he supposed to do? His assailant kept vanishing before he could see them.

Vanishing?

Then he remembered. The shadow of the clouds covered it, but when she walked away, that girl did indeed vanish. Just disappeared. What if… just what if…

She’s teleporting.

If she was teleporting, it would explain the vanishing. She was choosing her target, appearing behind them, and stabbing them in the heart. 

But what about the first guy? Well if she teleported in front of him while he was running, and yet her swing was already in motion mid-teleport, then it would explain why such an attack wasn’t completely dodged. There would be almost no way to dodge it at all.

This was an extremely dangerous opponent, and she had already claimed four lives. The leader had never gone up against anybody like this before. He had at first had an idea that the people who lived in the mansion weren’t ordinary, but this was beyond expectations.

And yet, it still somehow seemed familiar. Was it that rumor? It had to have been. Trying to recall why it sounded so familiar, he went through his memories, like flipping through papers in a folder.

Blue hood, vanishing, letters, a young girl, an adventurer. Then it came to him. He recalled how as he was observing a target, one of the nearby locals mentioned a trio of deadly adventurers who had caught their eyes. The leader had no interest in them, but he did find it interesting to hear that almost nobody had ever seen them truly fight.

At the time, he cast it off due to having his job to handle. However, his ears were still picking up the information. The man continued to say that there was one person who was lucky… or unlucky enough to see the girl of the group fight. It was this man who came up with a nickname for the girl, and it was a name that stuck with her.

But what was it? And why did it stick? What impression did she make? Why did that man fear her?

His thoughts were racing, but in those few seconds, his thoughts, and the discord of the assassins was interrupted as the fifth man collapsed to the ground, with barely a sound.

And once again, there was nobody there behind him. Still, in spite of having to lose another man, he realized something. She’s picking us off one by one, starting with those at the rear of the pack!

Anyone foolish enough to trail behind or step too far had so far met their ends. The ground was covered in their blood. This girl was smart and observant. It was always said that it wasn’t the Lion to watch out for but the lioness. After all, it was the women who hunted the prey.

Gnashing his teeth together, the leader cried out to his men. “Everyone, backs against each other! Weapons at the ready! She’s picking off those furthest from the group!”

It was difficult to push past his rising fear and get these words out, but he managed to do it. He wasn’t the leader for nothing.

His men were all in fear, questioning what to do, whether they’d make it out alive. And yet, when he made this order, they all obeyed. They huddled together, their backs facing each other, and they all pointed their weapons outward. This time, there was no blind spot to attack from. She would have to face them directly.

The leader felt his sweat trickle from his forehead, while he attempted to suppress his emotions. He couldn’t fail his men. He couldn’t allow them to sacrifice themselves anymore.

“Heh,” the leader nervously chuckled. He laughed at himself. Even though it was his own decision to come here, he couldn’t help but think to himself, We should have heeded her warning.

Their lives were forfeit, and they were being dealt with accordingly. Crossing that line? It was too foolish an action to take. He realized that now. If they could deal with this threat, it would be time to order a full retreat.

But wait. If we’re out here dealing with just this one person, then does that mean that the others are facing similar foes?

Audibly gulping, he couldn’t get this thought of his head. If that was the case, then there was a good chance that the others wouldn’t make it. Damn!

With the audible silence, the assassins waited for their opponent. The girl would surely arrive to handle them, as she said she would.

And that was when they saw it. With the shadow of the clouds moving away, the moonlight once again illuminated the ground. And on the ground, the girl was walking slowly towards them, her footsteps being suppressed by the soft ground and the grass.

Still, as soon as the leader saw this sight. His memory finally came back. He couldn’t remember what the girl was called, but seeing her walking toward them, one Kama in each hand held inward, only one thing was running through his mind.

The Harvester…

The Harvester. A girl who wielded twin Kamas, short weaponized scythes, and used them to harvest the souls of those she killed. Her presence was that of death. She had no need for words. And her long blue hood and cape when under the cover of darkness only made her one with the shadows. She would disappear before your eyes. But if she returned, your soul would already be within the palm of her hand. She was the true definition of the grim reaper. She was the true definition of death.

Slowly creeping up on you, and yet almost never seen coming.

Your lives are forfeit. But I will admit that you have impressed me. Not many have seen my tactics before. They simply died before they knew what hit them.

The words floated over her head, coming from her hands. The leader, his mind in a panicked frenzy, could do nothing but stare at her, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape.

He has the Harvester working for him?! But why would she ever subordinate herself to him?!

As a reward for your intelligence, I will offer unto you my name. May it be the last thing you see before you perish.

She slightly raised her arms, her weapons flipping to face outward. She was ready to truly begin.

One of Master Riley’s servants. Formerly known as The Harvester, my name is Sierra Gagnon. And these blades are the tools that will reap from you your life.

With these final words of intimidation, Sierra’s body glowed blue, before suddenly vanishing into nothingness, leaving behind only small blue particles of light that danced in the air before them, before fading away.

“What do we do?!”

“Do we stand a chance?!”

“We need to kill her!!!”

“She won’t kill us like this!”

The leader held his sword out in front of him, held in both hands, trembling. A nervous bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Gritting his teeth, he looked around. There was nothing to hide behind. The grass only raised a few inches in every direction. There was a small gravestone a distance nearby, but it was too small to hide behind. That left only the lake behind them and the mansion before them.

She wasn’t wet when she appeared, so if she’s hiding anywhere, it’s inside the mansion, looking from one of the windows.

The leader was fearful, but if he was this girl’s prey, then he wouldn’t give his life without a fight. Perhaps if he was lucky, he might buy enough time for some of his men to run away. With his conclusion drawn in his head, the leader stared at the mansion in front of them.

Which window is she watching from?

His hypothesis was that she was watching them from inside, and she was picking the weakest link to attack first. If he could determine which window she was watching from, he could at least determine when she would attack. And if he could do that, he could order evasive maneuvers for his men with precise timing.

Where is she…?

“Gah!”

“Heh!”

“Ugh!”

“Yah!”

Hearing four blood curdling yells from behind him, the leader turned to face them.

And there she was…

Holding her weapons out, dripping the blood from the four necks of her targets. The unfortunate victims had lost their heads.

How’d she catch us by surprise?!

The group was supposed to be all against each other's backs and looking in every direction. And yet, it didn’t matter. Even with this advantage against her, not a single person saw her coming. She had merely appeared and severed her targets’ heads.

“You bitch!”

Two of the men went in for the attack, their weapons going in for a stab. It took no time, however, for their blades to be split in half. Their blades were sent flying high into the air.

Sierra went for her next move. In a swift motion, she kicked one of her attackers in the jaw, knocking him back, and then she roundhouse kicked the other attacker.

With both of the men flat on their backs, Sierra teleported again. This time, however, she appeared behind one of the other assassins and attempted to bring down her weapon on his neck.

“Behind you!” the leader called out.

Having barely understood him, the assassin turned around and held up his blade, catching her Kama on his dagger. “What… i-incredible force!!!” he struggled. The force of the swing was, in a word, heavy. A word that didn’t fit with her dainty body.

Still, his efforts to hold back her blade mattered not. Fwish! The blade in her other hand caught momentum and slashed at the man’s neck. He attempted to jump backwards by freeing his blade from hers. And he nearly succeeded. But her blade still caught his flesh and slit his throat.

“A-Augh!!!” The assassin groaned as he dropped his blade and held his throat, failing to stop the blood from flowing out. His hands stained crimson as he choked, and that crimson fell to stain the grass below him.

Unable to afford to watch him, the two that Sierra hadn’t touched raged forward, their own weapons ready.

“Slay her!”

“Fucking die! Gah!”

Both of them swung fast and hard, hoping to bring her down as quickly as she could.

Yet their swings only managed to push the air back. One of them even lost balance and fell forward from his own momentum. Once again, Sierra was gone.

“What are you?!” the leader screamed.

How?! Why?! Why can’t we stop her?!

The leader was no longer hiding his emotions. Fear, anger, frustration. They poured out of him like the blood that poured out of his fallen comrade’s throat.

“You couldn’t have caught us by surprise again!!!”

As he screamed unto the heavens, the clouds cleared once more. 

“W-What?!”

Her back bathed in the purple moonlight, the leader saw a dark figure standing in the sky. Her face was covered in darkness, and her shadow towered over them. Her kamas were held to either side, dripping with blood.

It was the shadowy figure of death that looked over them. And it was upon seeing her standing in the sky, the moons behind her back, that the leader finally fell to his knees, his blade having fallen to his side.

The Harvester of Souls has come to take away such loathsome sinners…

The others around him, similarly draped in fear, dropped their weapons and could not help but stare at the shadowy figure.

Are we… going to hell…?

In the next moments, simply gazing, tears falling down the leader’s face, she vanished, leaving behind her particles of blue light. His mind had no need to comprehend where she went or what she would do next. There was no way that he could stop death. It had finally caught up to him, and it had taken the form of a young girl.

His senses temporarily failed him… because as he sat on his knees, the two blades of Sierra’s kamas were pressed against his neck, just barely. The cold steel licked his flesh ever so gently. The cold gripped his skin tightly, and it would not let go.

Were his other men dead? Had she already dealt punishment unto them? Had it been swift? The silence surrounding him left him with no answers. All he knew was that he was next.

So this… is death’s embrace…

 

Next chapter, December 23rd. Hope you enjoyed Sierra and Simon!