Since it’s the end of the year, I decided to change the date of the next chapter release. Final chapter before it turns 2024. Hope you’ve been enjoying the story so far. Can’t wait to hear about your favorite characters, scenes, and fights.

“Jeez, this is actually more boring than I expected…” she said.

In a room on the top floor sat three people. One was an energetic young woman with red hair, sprawled out on a couch with a hammer leaned against the wall nearby. 

Another was a beautiful girl with porcelain skin and golden hair dressed in a blue maid’s outfit. Though she gave off the vibe of someone energetic by nature, the expression on her face and the silence she exuded showed just how depressed she really was.

“…”

And the third was a young woman with short hair who slept soundly on the bed. Her breathing was bare, and her condition was unique. If it had been daytime, her eyes would have been opened, and they would have shined emerald green.

“…”

The red haired girl was feeling impatient. She wanted to go to sleep tonight and leave everyone else to deal with the uninvited guests, but as luck would have it, she was given a request from her brother’s servants.

“Lady Edna, may we ask you to protect the young princess upstairs? It is probably the most vital duty we have, but we will be too busy handling our guests tonight to be of much assistance.”

This request came to her by a young man named Simon. He wasn’t the talkative type as far as she had seen, but she could see the loyalty in his eyes to her brother. It was probably for this reason that she considered his request, despite the fact that she thought they could handle this themselves.

Ever since she had arrived here, she had seen the servants several times. Yet every time she saw them, she grew rather nervous. Having grown up with her brother, she knew his past better than anyone. Seeing all these people around him, swearing their loyalty to her brother had at first made her happy. But when she recalled something from long ago, she couldn’t help but grimace. She was too afraid that he might end up being hurt again by those closest to him. He may have been a wall of a man, but he was still human, and he still had the same human weaknesses as anyone else.

She couldn’t help but feel nervous over everything. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to push them away from her brother. It wasn’t her place. She could interact with them all she wanted, but she dared not do anything that could change or damage the relationship they had toward her brother.

It was for these reasons that she struggled to answer his request. The loyal eyes she saw affected her, but what really drew her answer out was the young princess. She had never met her before, but she knew that her brother enjoyed his trips to the castle when he last stayed in that kingdom.

Even though he had his own conflicts to deal with in that country, he still found himself conflicted that he wouldn’t be able to see her and her family again. He’d said as much some time after he was driven from the kingdom. He’d visited a couple years ago when he mentioned it.

She still felt conflicted in all this, certainly. But then she remembered the day that her brother entered the Society, visiting again after another two years. He came in with a guest. Even though she had never met her, the young woman, Edna, immediately recognized the young princess, Rosa. She had been the most publicly seen, after all.

The smile she saw on her brother’s face both then and a week later when they started to leave the kingdom showed how much he favored Rosa. Edna was still afraid that he might be hurt by her, but that smile she saw - she would not allow anyone to take it from him.

Rosa might have been cursed shortly before they arrived here, but she knew her brother would not simply let her stay this way. He would break the curse. With that in mind, Edna came to a conclusion. She would be responsible for keeping Rosa alive. It was her duty as his older sister.

Now, it was the middle of the night. Even though this was her conclusion, and this was something she felt responsible for, she just couldn’t help but yawn as she sat there bored. It was perhaps for the best that nothing happened, though. If anyone was stupid enough to break into his house, they would need to be able to bear the consequences. And if their target was to destroy those close to him…

I’ll slaughter them myself.

“Umm, Miss Edna…” a voice stammered out. Edna looked over and faced the young maid girl. This was Marietta, Rosa’s direct subject.

“Just call me Edna. That formality crap isn’t my style,” she said flippantly.

“Then Edna, I want to ask.”

“Ask?”

“Why?”

Edna was visibly confused by the vague question. “What do you mean why?”

“I mean why did things end up this way?”

“…Who knows? Because people are assholes?”

Marietta grimaced at her indifferent response. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. People are assholes.” Edna stretched her arms before pulling herself into a sitting position on the couch. “Lying. Stealing. Betraying. Killing. Corrupting. Enslaving. Torturing. Destroying. Cursing. Anything you can think of, if you are human, then you are capable of any of these things. It’s unbelievably stupid exactly how many people do this on a daily basis.”

Becoming frustrated with her words, Marietta jumped up off the bed and glared at Edna. “That’s not what I asked! I don’t care how people are! I want to know why! I want to know for what reason they caused us to suffer! We had family and friends in Crestfall! Princess Rosa is my best friend, and look what they did to her!”

Tears were falling down her cheeks as she yelled at Edna, but Edna merely looked at her indifferently. She had already answered her question, and she saw no reason to repeat it.

“Yeah, well, that’s just how life is. I’ve told you what you wanted to know.”

“You didn’t tell me anything!”

“Why would I know the motives of a nation? I can barely understand the motives people have for the things they do day by day. Even family, or people who are supposed to be your family.”

Edna leaned back into the couch and heaved a sigh. She was much calmer now than she usually would have been. Ordinarily when someone yelled at her, her first response was to yell back. But when she was contemplating on something she deemed important, she somehow managed to think clearly. Mostly anyways.

“Even though you’re a noble like your grandfather, you can’t even make a guess?”

“I’m noble in name only, just like Riley is. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never been interested in politics. I’m a fighter, not a thinker. I don’t fit in with the pencil pushers. You’ll see me out there slaughtering monsters first and foremost. That or attending the bar.”

“Then-”

“And besides, aren’t you a noble? You, the pipsqueak, and the other guy? If so, then why would you ask a bartending warrior when you should have an idea of your own?”

“…”

There was no response to that question. Emotional, she hadn’t been thinking things through. All she could see was a city falling, the queen dying, and a cursed princess. Someone had to know why this had happened. 

“The only people who might have a clue are your prince, princesses, or maybe Riley. He’s a helluva lot smarter than me, so he’s probably come to some kinda conclusion.”

“…”

Marietta could only sit in silence. She was confused, conflicted. The prince and princess were above her, so there was no way she could ask them. Meanwhile, Riley was a complete enigma to her. She had never heard his name before the other day, and Rosa never mentioned anyone like him when she began serving her three and a half years ago. As far as she was concerned, he was a stranger. A powerful one, certainly, but a stranger nonetheless.

The fact that he was on friendly terms with the entire royal family made his station higher than hers as well. Even if that wasn’t the case though, she wouldn’t dare approach him when she knew nothing about him. Even if he was their savior.

Shttttrrrr!

Edna jumped up immediately and grabbed her hammer at the sound of the window shattering nearby. Startled by this, though, Marietta shrunk back.

“Looks like they’re coming!” Edna said, a frown settled on her face. She stared at the broken window until several people burst into it.

“Three targets!” the first man called out. The group was a bunch of people dressed in black and with masks on. Most of them had light weapons like daggers, but two of them were wielding a hammer and a longsword. Odd weapons to wield for assassins.

Either way, that didn’t matter to Edna. These were enemies. They came into this house to kill its residents. The servants, the guests, and even Riley himself. That left no room for hesitation in her mind. Instead, it was replaced with rage. “What the fuck are you doing in MY BROTHER’S HOUSE?!?!”

Before they could even react, Edna was already swinging her hammer with tremendous force. The first swing slammed straight into the man in front, his ribs audibly shattering from the force, and his body being flung into the others behind him. “Gah!”

About half of them were knocked back, two of them having been knocked out from the impact.

“What the fuck just happened?”

“Who is this?”

“YOU’RE DEAD!!!”

Edna went in for another swing…

Thoooommmmm!

…only for her hammer to be blocked by the hammer wielding assassin. “Gh!” Still, the force behind it was so incredible that the assassin instantly dropped to his knee and was still barely able to keep it in place.

“DO YOU THINK THAT’S GONNA STOP ME?!”

Her words were followed by a heavy stomp into the man’s face, knocking him out cleanly as his head slammed into the ground.

“Gah! Her eyes are glowing red!”

Indeed, the sclera of Edna’s eyes were blood red while the Iris was yellow and narrow. The pupils were basically nonexistent. This was also a trait of Edna’s blessing, Dragon Organs. When enraged and yet unable to use its conjuring or breath, all of its Ether is focused solely into its body’s performance, including the enhancement of the senses. As a sign of that, their eyes shine brightly. Edna’s eyes were merely replicating that as her own strength was continuing to enhance.

“What is this chick’s problem!”

“Wait, isn’t that the Flame Empress?!”

“What?! The Flame Empress?! Why’s she here?!”

“WHO CARES?! YOU’RE INVADING MY BROTHER’S HOME!!! YOU’LL DIE TONIGHT!!!”

No matter what questions they had, they had no way of getting any answers out of Edna in this state. It was always a bad habit of hers to let her rage go to her head, but it often let her fight more clearly.

“Brother?”

“Wait, you’re this guy’s sister?!”

“Then that means that he’s…”

The man wanted to say that her brother was as strong as the Flame Empress, but even he couldn’t place her strength let alone the strength of someone nicknamed Indestructible or Nonexistent. But no matter the case, if he was connected to someone like this, then there was no way that they could escape.

“SHUT UP! DIE!”

Edna flew forth, attempting to bring down the hammer on her targets’ heads. Wisely, though, they all dodged, pulling their unconscious allies out of the way. And when her hammer landed, the floor beneath splintered and cracked, sending tremors down the spines of the assassins.

“She’s still just one person! Surround her!” the guy with the sword said. Despite their fear, they all responded quickly. Leaving their sleepers behind, everyone held their weapons in their hands.

“WEAKLINGS!” Edna did not let this faze her and continued her assault, slamming her hammer into the person nearest to her.

“Aah!” Her hammer shattered his daggers and crushed the man’s arm and ribs. Those nearby weren’t unaffected either, a few of them being flung backwards from their flying comrade.

“Attack!” He assassins behind her charged at her, their weapons in hand.

“Tch!” Edna jumped high to dodge them and looked down on everyone as she fell to the floor. Not using my flames is going to make this tough.

Edna was trying to use as little force as she could so she didn’t destroy Riley’s house. As such, she couldn’t use her fire, lest she burn down the house. The last thing she wanted Riley to see when he came back was a pile of ashes.

Still, even without her flames, Edna was not weak. If anything, her physical might was just as terrifying as her fire. In fact, the title Bludgeoner was earned because of her might. She had a strength so strong that there weren’t many people who could stop her charge. Many of her opponents would only end up as bloody piles of meat by the time she was done with them.

But that won’t stop me!!!

As soon as Edna’s feet touched the ground, she sprinted forward, her hammer gathering force as she swung it towards her opponents. And from that point, it was a bloodbath.

The men screamed as the hammer shattered bones, bludgeoned limbs, and split skulls. Some of them were lucky: they would die as soon as the hammer slammed into their heads. They didn’t even have time to register the pain. Their blood merely splattered onto the floor and walls.

Marietta watched from her seat on the bed as Edna’s carnage unfolded. Her eyes screamed in terror as she watched the rampage. She had never seen someone so brutal, so ruthless in her life. Anyone who stood up to fight was knocked down in an instant. Despite her thinking this would be tough, Edna was not really finding difficulty in slaughtering these men. 

Just… what is this…

Marietta had heard stories of the Flame Empress before. Some said that she was a beast in human form. Others would say that castle towns were felled by her hands. Fortresses meant nothing to this fireball. Once she appeared, everything would be turned to cinders and ashes. Any survivors would be left with trauma and horror. 

Marietta thought these stories couldn’t possibly be true. Sure, Edna had a temper. She could see that since the day they’d met (well, not met, but became aware of each other). But she seemed otherwise friendly and laid back. Even tonight, she was yawning away, even though she was told that there were intruders.

But those notions she had that those rumors might have been false were quickly subsided. Before her stood a berserker. She was ruthless. Life meant nothing to a warrior like this. Only blood would satisfy her wrath. Tonight, she was getting that. Anyone foolish enough to keep fighting was quickly being pounded into the ground. It was like she was a monster, and everyone around her were ants. Bugs to be stepped on. It was almost like she was a dragon.

“Come on! You break into someone’s home, but you can’t even put up a proper fight? What a bunch of wimps.”

Her hammer rested on her shoulder as she faced the last three men standing. One of them was the guy with the sword. None of them, though, looked like they could last much longer. One of them had their arm twisted unnaturally, and half of his mask was broken, revealing a bloody cheek. Another had their shin broken, and he was in agonizing pain, holding onto it while holding his dagger to protect himself from anymore attacks.

As for the last guy, his sword was snapped in half. His clothes were torn, and his left arm hung limply, his shoulder shattered. He was clearly breathing heavily behind his mask, and every now and then, he coughed. A nasty splat sound followed it, as if he was spitting up blood.

“Damn this. I’ll hold her down! Get the other two!” The guy with the broken leg shot forward with his healthy leg, the other two charging simultaneously. He held out his dagger in an attempt to stab Edna while the other two circled around to attack Marietta and Rosa.

“No, no, please!” Marietta cried.

“Ha! AS IF!!!”

All their efforts were naught. The man with the broken leg met a grim demise as Edna’s foot rammed his dagger into his own jaw. With minimal effort, she swiped her hammer in a circular motion, catching the guy with the sword by the jaw and the other guy from the top of his skull. Naturally, with a nasty sounding squish and the sounds of something hard splintering, both of their heads were crushed into paste, their blood slamming into the roof and floor, and some even spilling onto Edna’s own face.

“Arrogant sons of bitches! That’s what happens when you mess with my family!” Edna yelled out, resting her bloodied hammer onto the floor.

Marietta could only shake in terror as she looked at Edna from behind. The sight of those glowing eyes and her face covered in blood would be cemented in her mind for a long time.

~~~

On the second floor, another set of assassins was searching the rooms. The mansion was so massive, it could pass for a castle, so there were times where the group members would end up separated from each other and out of sight. This was normal, of course. 

But now, there was a single assassin walking carefully through the halls. And in the last few minutes, he hadn’t seen a single one of his allies.

The quiet was eerie. This was a natural thing for an assassin, of course. Silence was one of many things assassins were able to handle best. It and darkness were practically an assassin’s best friend.

But tonight was different. That same darkness, that same silence… It wasn’t right. Rather that is to say that it was wrong. It was far too quiet. Even as skilled as assassins were, they couldn’t completely hide away their footsteps. They could nearly silence them, but they would never fully disappear. And with this many people, that made it even more strange.

The darkness didn’t help. Ordinarily, an assassin would be able to adjust to the dark rather quickly. Yet this time, it was like the darkness swallowed up everyone nearby.

The assassin felt a cold sweat run down his spine as he quietly walked through the halls, searching for his targets.

And then…

This is the last door in this corridor…

This was a room settled in one of the corners of the second floor. From this room, one would be able to look over the lake.

Weird…

The only problem was that the door to this room was cracked open. Had someone already checked this room? Or perhaps, was there someone waiting in there? No matter what it was, though, he had to check and make sure. If only he had someone nearby to ask…

Alright then…

The assassin reached out and slowly pushed the door open. He didn’t enter, but he did look around a little bit.

It’s pretty messy in here. Wait, WHAT IS THAT?!

At first the man’s eyes were taken to the shredded walls, floor, and ceiling which looked as though a bear had torn through it. But then he noticed something else.

It was, of course, a pile of dismembered bodies and limbs. They’d looked like they were ripped apart, piece by piece. What possibly could have done something like that?

Wait, is this why…?

It didn’t take the man long to realize that the parts that were laying there mangled were, in fact, the members of his group.

…No.

The man took a step back, fear filling his face and a swelling urge to vomit welling inside his stomach.

Creak.

He’d accidentally pushed the door aside.

“…Leave me alone…” someone muttered.

The man trembled as he heard that voice. Was this the person who killed his comrades?

From the shadows near the bed, a silhouette stood up. He couldn’t see her clearly, but he could still see the blood covering her hands and long, blade-like nails.

“What are you?!” the assassin cried.

“RAAAAAGGGHHH!!!”

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

The last thing he saw before those deadly claws tore through his flesh and bone was the glow of amethyst colored eyes.

~~~

Elsewhere on the second floor, another group was wandering around silently. Unlike the previous group, they stuck together as they searched, keeping to the walls as they checked every room.

Of all of the group with the exception of the front and back door teams, this was the most elite. It wasn’t because it had the most power, however. In fact, a few of them had never won a fight in their life by themselves.

What they lack in power, however, they make up for in experience on the job, stealth, and teamwork. More than any other team, this one was comprised of some of the more senior members of the group. These members knew each other quite well, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to work together in the past.

If that wasn’t all, at least three of their members knew how to use conjuring, and fast. Though not strong, since they could cast their spells without the incantation, this could give them plenty of room for distractions or escapes if it becomes necessary. After all, it wasn’t in their contract to fight. Only to kill.

Still, considering that they only take contracts that are meant to help better the world according to their beliefs, this particular group found problems with their current contract.

“I’m still uncertain, sir.”

“You mean about this contract?”

“I feel the same way. Didn’t we only come here to make sure the youngsters didn’t do anything reckless?”

“Yeah, and then we were paired off not to get in the way of the rest.”

“Honestly, they’re doing this out of jealousy. But I can’t say that this man doesn’t pose a threat.”

“I mean, I agree, but he hasn’t exactly done anything wrong.”

“From what I’ve seen, he’s done more right than anything. Is this job even right?”

“This town seems to be made up of the families of the people he’s saved. At least a lot of the people here are like that. I haven’t heard a single complaint about him or his people either.”

“Maybe we should reconsider this job and just leave…”

They all essentially had the same opinions. This mission was not right. Not in their eyes. While Riley’s strength may have seemed threatening, that didn’t mean the man was inherently evil. These men didn’t even care that he was the favorite of the guildmaster.

Clap, clap, clap, clap…

As they contemplated this, they heard a single set of hands clapping, walking their direction.

Ready to defend themselves, all of the assassins readied their weapons.

“Looks like I got saddled with the smartest group. I like you guys! You guys get my master!”

The voice came from a young man walking down the hallway. He was wearing rather casual clothing with a gray jacket hanging from his shoulders, and he sported a mullet. And with the candy he was chewing in his mouth, he was about the furthest thing from intimidating.

However, there were two things that did not match. One of these things was the long glaive that sat over his shoulder. The long, beautifully ornate handle that reached from the floor to his shoulder had red tassels that were wrapped around it in various places. On top of that, there were blades on both ends. The end closer to the floor was rather short and somewhat curved, whereas the blade sitting over his shoulder was long and silver with a beautiful design along its side. And considering the direction both edges were facing, it was likely meant for spinning.

The second thing that didn’t match was the weapon that was sticking out from behind his opposite shoulder. The entire weapon couldn’t be seen, but what was visible was the long handle with a round piece like a ring at the end.

“See, I don’t know why all of you are targeting him, but it looks to me like you guys were basically dragged here. Sometimes, your jobs just suck, right? I get it! I mean, this job is actually pretty damn good. My master is one hell of a guy. But life as an adventurer was a pain in the ass. Sure, we had freedom, but we would often be dragged into fights we didn’t want to be in. It really sucked!” the man complained.

The assassins looked at him warily, but one of them, perhaps the leader of this group, stepped forward. “So you were sent to confront us?”

“Yeah, that’s right. We’re spread out throughout the house. By now, a lot of your guys are probably dead, but they only have themselves to blame for carelessly walking into this house. I mean, I’ve never seen such a gathering of ridiculous people before. This is probably one of the most well protected places in the world. Even more than the castle of a buncha nations. It’s certainly-”

“I hate to cut off your bragging, sir, but since you’ve been sent here to confront us, does that mean you’re here to kill us?” the man asked, a bite to his tone.

“Hmm? To kill you?” He put his hand to his chin as if to think. “Not necessarily. I was asked to take as many as I could alive.”

“You sound as though you’re saying you could defeat all of us without much effort.”

“Oh yeah. I could beat you guys in a flash if I wanted to.”

“Even if it’s 15 vs 1?”

“Eh, I’ve killed more than that before. Fifteen is really pretty small. Honestly, I was coming here intending to kill all of you except the leader. But-”

“Is that so?” the man yelled as he charged at the young man. He swung his sword with all of his strength, but it was easily knocked aside by the bottom of the glaive.

“Smoke Casting: Yānwù Dàn!” From the assassin’s hand came a large puff of smoke that was far thicker than any flame could produce.

“Hold up! You didn’t let me finish!” the man cried.

His cries were in vain, however, when several more assassins held out their blades and attacked him. Three from the front, three from the back.

“Jeez, no need to gang up on me!”

The man simply ducked to avoid the attack and scurried away. He shouldn’t have been surrounded now, but the smoke was still heavy. He couldn’t see.

“Ice Casting: Freeze Spear!”

“Earth Casting: Solid Burst!”

“Cut me some slack!” he yelled as he dodged a spear of ice and several pellets of stone.

Both of the attacks came from behind him, so he must have been turned around when he was trying to escape the bunch. With his sense of direction confused by the smoke, the young man could only stand where he was and wait for the next attack.

At least, that’s what the assassins were thinking.

“Damn, guys! I was saying to stop! You never let me finish what I was saying! Saboteur Hexing: Debilitating Silence!”

With what felt like a slight wave of force coming from the palm of his hand, the smoke began to thin out and dissipate.

“What?”

The assassin was left stunned as his smoke was dispersed. This had never happened before. Even wind users struggled to blow the smoke away.

“And now, I can see!”

The young man, his vision returned to him, saw that his attackers were already enclosing him. Twelve of them this time. So he spared no time to immediately duck down and swing his glaive at their feet.

Nine of them tripped and fell on their asses, but three of them managed to jump over it in time and proceeded with their attack.

The first guy who was attacking from the man's left side was smacked in the head with the back of the long blade’s back end.

The second guy, standing directly in front of him, was kicked in the abdomen, bringing him to his knees.

Finally, the last guy, who was standing behind him, was grabbed by the head with the man’s free hand and promptly slammed into the floor, knocking him out.

The leader of the group was surprised by the young man’s swift motion. It was fortunate that he didn’t kill any of them, but his response was still much faster than anyone would have expected.

“Damn! Ice Casting: Over Freeze!”

The only men still standing were the ones who could use Conjuring, and one of them attempted to use an ice spell intended to trap an opponent in a block of ice. The spell itself wasn’t too strong, but it was good for delaying people for a time.

And yet…

“Why isn’t it coming out?”

None of the spells would even form.

“Come on! ~~~~, Ice Casting: Over Freeze!”

Even with a full chant, the spell wouldn’t come out.

“Man, I’m glad I noticed! The smoke you made wasn’t simply a casting. It was a continuous cast!”

Continuous casting were spells like Body Enhancement: when they were activated, they could be maintained with Ether and focus. Naturally, Ether would be continuously drained so it could only be maintained for so long, but it was quite effective in various situations.

“What did you do?”

“Oh, nothing special. I simply inflicted ya with a status ailment that prevents you from using conjuring. It’s one of my go to spells. The only thing is that it can’t erase any spells that have already been cast unless they’re a continuous cast. When continuous spells are cut off from their source, they can’t be kept up, so it often throws people into confusion. Honestly, it’s fun messing with people that way, haha.” The young man laughed lightly at his own statement.

“It might cut us off from conjuring, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fight at all!”

Even though the leader had his blade readied in front of him, the only thing on his mind was finding a way for his men to escape. He was aware that this guy was stronger than he let on. He seemed like he acted a fool, but that’s all the more reason why he shouldn’t be fought. After all, people like this can often be the most unpredictable.

“Yeah, about that, there’s no reason for you to keep fighting.”

“Oh yeah? We’ll see!”

The leader charged forward again.

“Saboteur Hexing: Under Pressure.”

Suddenly, a small wave of force washed over the people around him. The people who were preparing to stand up, the mages in the back, and the charging man were all beginning to feel what felt like the weight of the world on them.

“D-Damn!”

“G-Gravity?!”

“What… i-is this!”

The leader fell to his knees as well, dropping his blade to the floor. Isn’t this gravity conjuring? But how?

“The conjuring hindering you is an ailment called Calmness. The ailment you feel now is called Encumbered. None of you are under the effects of gravity. I’ve simply given each of you the sensation that everything is heavy. It’s surprisingly effective against hordes.”

Encumbered? the leader thought questioningly. He had heard of status ailments before, but because people never liked to use them, people often tended to focus on heavy attack power rather than finding a way to hinder their opponent. It was like some kind of warrior’s pride that often got in the way.

Encumbered was an ailment he had also heard of before, but he never thought it would have felt so bad. It was comparable to if he was wearing armor too heavy for him, as well as several heavy weights on top of that.

“Now, I’m going to finish what I was saying earlier.”

“Everyone prepare to run! I’ll give my life here!” one of the assassins yelled, ready to push past his ailment.

“Shut up, please. I’d like to explain myself. To make sure you don’t do anything foolish, Saboteur Hexing: Under the Weather.”

The man who tried to stand suddenly pulled one of his hands to his mouth, but he was unable to contain himself, and he vomited on the floor, tears forming in his eyes.

“I’ve inflicted you with an ailment called Nauseated. Try to move again, you’ll feel worse.”

That seemed to be enough to convince everyone else not to do anything, so they let themselves feel crushed under the weight of Encumbered.

“Now, as I was saying before. Ordinarily, I would have come down here and slaughtered all of you except for your leader. I was asked to bring as many of you as I could alive, but thanks to the lot of you, I had to cancel some plans I had tonight. Not to mention, you’re intruding on my master’s property to try and kill him - it’s impossible by the way - which in itself is cause for self-defense.

“But since you all weren’t brought here of your own accord, and you seem to be aware of the good my master has been doing, you all are on my good side. I’ll still have to take you guys in, but I can at least keep that brat from touching you. Honestly, even I feel sorry for the people who have to deal with her,” he said with a shiver.

The men were surprised by his words. Brat? Does he mean that little girl, Hombell? This was the only name that any of their men could learn, but they didn’t seem to think of her as anything too special. If anything, he thought she may have been unfortunate that so many people went after her.

“W-Who are you?” the leader asked, looking up at the young man.

“Hmm? Oh right, I haven’t even introduced myself yet, have I?”

The young man straightened himself up slightly and put his free hand in the pocket of his pants. “I’m Silas Gagnon. I serve Master Riley now, but I used to be an adventurer called Sweet Tooth Silas.”

The men twitched slightly at his introduction. The name Sweet Tooth Silas was among the most dangerous names the Adventurer’s Society ever had. A Six-Star adventurer with a promotion to Seven-Star well underway. Often paired with the Bookworm and the Harvester, he was well known for his habit of chewing on candy and his brutality in battle.

Still, while that name alone was a shock, they were also caught unawares by his surname Gagnon.

“S-Sweet Tooth… a-and Gagnon?”

Suddenly, he felt a weight even heavier than Encumbered. There should have been no way another Gagnon was alive.

“Just so you know, you all jumping on me like that was pretty annoying. I only just healed myself earlier today. Thanks to Sierra wailing on me like she did, I’ve been sore all day,” he complained, grabbing onto his jaw as if he was adjusting it.

“Well, I guess I at least got a workout. Though I’d prefer a different kinda workout. Oh well, guess I’ll just have to reschedule.”

Silas adjusted his grip on his glaive. “I’m gonna go ahead and release you from your ailments so you can walk on your own. But don’t think about running or I’ll smack ya around with more ailments.”

Silas raised his free hand and released a calming white light. Feeling the warmth of the light, the assassins suddenly found themselves no longer under the effects of Silas’s conjuring.

Wait, healing on top of debilitating? The assassin looked down at his body to find he could move easier. He could even feel his Ether flowing better, and his stamina seemed to be back to maximum.

“Now, let’s go ahead and take you downstairs,” Silas said with a smirk.

~~~

As for the last group, they were on the first floor. While Simon was handling the front entrance and while Sierra was handling the backyard, another group infiltrated the first floor, dividing in half and invading from each side of the mansion.

The infiltration, at the very least, was successful. The bottom floor was primarily just a large kitchen, living room, and dining room. Each room was unbelievably huge. But that was what made exploring it that much simpler.

Though the rooms were significantly larger, they were also significantly fewer. That would leave less time searching for any targets and more time performing the job. It was fast.

The rooms were large indeed. What divided them was the main entranceway. However, there was another space that connected these rooms together, and that was a hallway that could be entered from either room, the backyard, or the two doors from the entrance that laid underneath the stairs.

The half that went into the kitchen, having realized that there was nobody inside, decided to send the leader and two others to travel through the hallway to the other rooms. That way, if anyone managed to get into the kitchen, they’d be able to take care of them swiftly. They also made sure to send some of the group into the nearby dining room to check it out as well.

Still, the initial infiltration was simple. That’s what the assassins were thinking. So far, they hadn’t run into anyone yet, but if getting in was this easy, then they’d be done swiftly.

At least, that’s how it should have been.

“Once we rendezvous with the other half of our squad, we three will guard this hallway, just in case. Understood?”

“…”

“Answer me.”

The Captain of this group had already taken two of his men through the hallway, heading towards the living room. 

Disturbed by the silence of his men, the captain stopped and turned around to face them. Yet, they were standing still, not so much as budging.

“What are you two standing around for? Answer me!”

Becoming frustrated, the Captain moved to his men and placed his hand on one of their shoulders.

“Damn it, answer!”

The guy proceeded to remove the man’s mask, only to find that his face was completely frozen, slightly trembling for no reason.

“What’s wrong with you? Snap out of it!”

The Captain shook the man with both hands, but he didn’t move. But then, what happened next…

“Ah!”

The Captain jumped back in terror. The man he was beginning to violently shake suddenly had electricity bursting out of his body. His eyes, nose, ears, and mouth were spewing out large streams of electricity.

After the electricity finally died down, the man fell to his knees before collapsing on the ground, his respective appendages either black or seared out completely.

Behind him, the other guy was experiencing the same thing, and the electricity even burst out of his mask, setting it on fire as he died.

“What the hell is this!”

“Neuro Overload,” a voice from behind suddenly said.

The Captain jumped in the opposite direction and yanked his weapon out of its sheath. Before him stood a man with golden brown skin, a white outfit with a dragon’s design, a black scarf, and windswept, black-tipped white hair. On his back was a large blade that definitely seemed unwieldy.

“When I place my hand on the heads of my target, I can force all of the electricity in one’s body to return to the brain. Then, I cut off the paths from the brain to the body, trapping all the electricity in the brain for good. This effectively paralyzes every part of the target’s body. They can’t move, let alone speak or cry out. The brain will continue to produce electricity, but with nowhere to go, the brain will begin to overload slowly. By adding in electricity of my own, I can speed up the process until finally the brain cannot contain it. Eventually, the electricity will try to escape the brain, frying it and whatever exit it can in the process. It’s a silent assassination in every possible manner. The brain may not feel any pain, but it will be agonizing when the electricity bursts through those exits. They will be unable cry out. They can only suffer as they perish,” the young man explained.

The Captain was looking at him in fear, sweat pouring down his head as he listened to the man explain what happened to his comrades. It was cruel. Was it what awaited him?

“I’ve already used this to kill the other fourteen men who have infiltrated this floor.”

“What?!” the Captain cried. All of them are dead?!

“But have no fear. I will not use this technique on you.”

“Y-You won’t?” he asked, his voice trembling.

“No. Since you seem to be this squad’s commander, I intend to take you alive. Though, since I’m handing you off to Hombell, I guess you’ll actually wish that I’d killed you instead.”

“H-Hombell?”

That was the name of the kid who went outside. The Captain knew that. They’d sent a surprisingly larger force to take care of her than for each squad. There was no way that she would survive.

“Heh, I hate to break it to you, but we’ve already got her taken care of!” the man yelled, running with his weapon up.

But it was meaningless. Instead of stepping back to dodge or block, the young man zipped forward, leaving a trail of black electricity trailing behind him. Then, he placed his hand on the assassin’s stomach and released a wave of electricity throughout his body.

“Stunning Amp.”

The man fell to the ground, dropping his weapon nearby.

“You’re paralyzed and won’t be able to move. I imagine your muscles are in screaming pain. Understandably since there’s electricity currently coursing throughout your entire muscular system. Until your paralysis wears off, the pain won’t cease.”

The assassin could do no more than glare up at the young man. It even hurt just to move his eyes like this. His muscles were slightly twitchy as well, causing him greater pain. With tears forming in his eyes, the man was forced to resign himself to this pain as he couldn’t fight back.

The young man reached down and grabbed the man by the collar and began dragging him down the hall.

“The people you’ve sent after Hombell are already her toys. Before long, you’ll be joining them.”

The assassin didn’t know why, but a chill went down his spine as he heard those words. Oh no, what are they going to do?

“Guess I may as well wait for the others in the foyer then…”

With the limp body in tow, the young man walked down the hall, not paying any attention to the bodies he was leaving behind.

Hope you all have a fantastic new year. Next chapter will be January 13th, 2024.