The cold breeze of the night settled through the commercial district. In its busy streets, people went about their day, making use of their free time.
Yet, behind all the glamour and happy faces among the streetlights, one man was busy running for his life in the alleyways, his rough breaths echoing among its silent walls.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he cursed with haggard breaths, glancing back to see if his pursuers were still after him.
‘Shit!’
Not seeing any sign of the two assassins made him worry even more.
‘I should’ve stayed at the dorms…!’
Regret blurred his face as he lifted the broken glasses on his nose. Cold sweat trickled down his spine as he tried his best to survive and dodge the invisible attacks that came his way. His face was bruised, his body bloodied, and his limbs filled with scars, yet he ignored all the pain. The adrenaline rushing to his brain drove him with only one desire: to survive.
The shadows seemed to stretch and twist around him, the darkness playing tricks on his mind as he navigated through the maze of alleyways.
Each step felt heavier, each breath more labored. The occasional sound of footsteps or the distant chatter of oblivious passersby served as a cruel reminder of the normalcy just beyond his reach.
He could almost hear the assassins’ silent, predatory movements, their presence felt more than seen.
Panic clawed at his throat, making it difficult to think clearly. He knew he couldn’t keep this up for long; his body was already reaching its limits.
‘Damn it!’ he thought, the pain in his limbs intensifying with each step. ‘I can’t let them catch me. I have to find a way out.’
He took a sharp turn, hoping to throw off his pursuers, only to stumble and nearly fall.
Catching himself against the wall, he took a moment to steady his breathing, trying to formulate a plan.
He scanned his surroundings, desperately searching for any potential escape route or hiding spot.
Yet none seemed to be applicable for escape. ‘I have to keep running,’ he thought desperately. Swoosh…!
Like a thin blade cutting through grass, he instinctively ducked to the side as a sudden cut was made on his cheek.
“Tsk! I was aiming for the eye,” he heard the subtle voice of his pursuer as he ran along again. ‘They’re just playing with me,’ he thought, frustration bubbling up inside him.
The two assassins weren’t just hunting him down; they were toying with him. is right arm was already rendered useless because of the paralysis poison coated on their blades.
His spearmanship was useless in this kind of ordeal.
Taking care of a crippled man like him should have been easy for two professional assassins, yet they never once tried to attack any of his vitals.
“Fuck! If you’re going to do it, what’s taking you so long?” he screamed into the empty air, looking around his surroundings, waiting for at least one of the assassins to show.
The silence was deafening, broken only by his ragged breaths and the occasional distant chatter of the oblivious crowd on the visible streets nearby.
Although he wanted to run there, he knew he couldn’t because the moment he even thought of going there would be the moment he died.
If he failed, the plan their organization had meticulously crafted would crumble into ruins, and the academy would immediately find out about it.
‘I can’t let it happen,’ he resolved.
In his hands was a bag full of subjugation stones.
If he could just land a direct hit with one of these stones on one of his assailants, it would surely be enough to slow them down.
Baiting them to come closer, he purposely let down his guard, waiting for the next attack. SHIIISSS!!!
Hearing the subtle sound in the air, he turned around and grabbed one of the stones. Using his momentum, he intended to throw a punch at his assailant with the stone in hand.
But as he turned-
POOF!
He only punched empty air.
“What?” he gasped, eyes widening in disbelief. But his surprise only lasted a few seconds as the stone in his hand cracked and exploded like a small dynamite.
Boom!
The explosion pushed him against a wall. He tried to maintain his blurry consciousness as he looked forward, clutching the bag tightly to his side.
He struggled to catch his breath with all the red shards of the stones flickering around his face.
His right arm was numb, and the searing pain from the explosion coursed through his body, making it hard to think clearly.
Tick… Tack…
Quiet footsteps echoed in his sensitive ears. His heart raced as he saw two blurry figures, encased in a mist of red fog, walking closer toward him.
“Wow- he blew himself up, sis!” one of the voices chimed, sounding almost playful.
“Lillian, how many times have I told you to always remain quiet on a hunt?” the other voice responded, more composed yet filled with irritation.
“Ah, sorry~ I forgot, hehehe… ah, wait, you just called me by my real name, sis!”
“Oh… well, he’s about to die now anyway” the second voice replied nonchalantly.
As his vision cleared, his eyes widened in disbelief.
The assassins were two beautiful, red-headed girls, their cute and lovely faces a stark contrast to the deadly aura they exuded.
They twirled twin daggers, their expressions casual as they regarded him with disdain.
Shame built up in his gut. To be bested by such cute-looking girls was a blow to his pride. Mustering up his remaining strength, he tried to get up, but before he could, a dagger pierced his foot, pinning him to the ground.
“Agghh!” he screamed, desperately trying to suppress it.
“Hmm~ even after all this, you’re still wary of the academy guards?” the second girl mocked, her eyes glinting with amusement.
The pain was excruciating, but he forced himself to focus. He couldn’t afford to lose hope now. “Why… why are you doing this?” he managed to gasp out, his voice strained.
The girl named Lily giggled, twirling her dagger playfully. “Orders, of course. You’re quite the troublemaker, aren’t you? Our client wants you out of the picture.”
“Client?” he repeated, his mind racing. “Who… who sent you?”
The older sister stepped closer, her dagger glinting ominously in the dim light.
“That’s none of your concern. Just know that you’ve crossed the wrong people.”
Grabbing onto the bag in his arm, the seemingly older one of the twin assassins counted the subjugation stones inside and nodded.
“Is it the right amount, Sis?” Lillian asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.
“Yes,” the older sister confirmed, her expression cold and calculating. “What should we do with it?” Lily continued, twirling her dagger absentmindedly.
“Well, Preside—I mean, our client didn’t tell us what to do with our prey’s package…” Although subjugation stones were illegal in the market, they could fetch hundreds, if not millions, of gold coins in the black market. With a huge pile like this, they could easily sell it for tens of millions. But even then…
“Let’s just destroy it. Getting the academy’s attention like this stupid person here isn’t worth the trouble,” the older sister decided.
“Eh? What a waste… but if you say so, Sis,” Lillian pouted, but quickly relented.
Having made their decision, the two turned their attention back to the young man, who lay helpless on the ground. The older sister stepped onto his chest with a cold, deliberate motion.
“Ugh!” he grunted, trying to resist, but his body was completely paralyzed.
The dagger piercing his foot continued to dose him with enough paralysis poison to stop a
normal person’s heart. If he hadn’t been an aura user, he would have died instantly.
The older sister leaned down, her face inches from his, her eyes glinting with sadistic amusement. “You’ve caused quite a bit of trouble, haven’t you?”
He tried to respond, but his mouth wouldn’t obey.
His eyes darted between the two girls, desperate for some way out, but there was none.
Lillian crouched beside him, her expression almost sympathetic. “It’s a shame, really. You had such potential~ we were even pondering if we should attack you in your sleep, but I guess that wasn’t necessary?” She gently traced the outline of his jaw with her dagger, the cold metal sending shivers down his spine.
The older sister straightened up, her gaze shifting to the bag of subjugation stones.
With a swift motion, the older sister flung the bag against the wall of the alley, the stones scattering and clattering onto the ground.
They exploded into reddish dust, causing a slight burst of energy that lit up the walls in a
crimson hue.
If Lillian’s shadow technique hadn’t masked the sound, the busy street’s attention would have surely been drawn to them.
“Knight Department, 3rd year, Henry Austin, spear user and piercing aura specialist,” the
older sister recited, her voice cold and detached. “Where did you get this many subjugation
stones?”
“Do you think I’ll tell you if you just asked?” Henry spat back, his voice filled with defiance despite his dire situation.
“No, not really,” the girl shrugged, her smile turning menacing. “But I was hoping you’d at
least understand your situation.”
Henry tried to muster a response, but before he could, Lily leaned in close, her voice almost tender. “Goodnight, sweet prince,” she whispered.
Henry didn’t have time to think about what to say next.
His field of view distorted, turning upside down as his head detached from his body before he
even had time to process anything.
Slowly, as his consciousness faded, the banter of his twin assassins became his last memory.
“Shouldn’t we have tortured him for answers, sis?” Lillian asked, wiping her blade clean. “Nah, it’s not worth it,” the older sister replied nonchalantly. “Besides, we’re being paid to kill, not to find out information. The less we know about these things, the better.” “Well, if you say so,” Lillian agreed, though she sounded a bit disappointed.
The older sister turned her gaze back to Henry’s lifeless body, then to the scattered remains of
the subjugation stones. “Let’s clean this up and get out of here. We’ve lingered long enough.”
Lily nodded, using her shadow technique to mask their presence once more. The two moved quickly and efficiently, their actions almost choreographed in their precision.
Within moments, the alley was as it had been before their arrival, the only evidence of their deadly encounter being the faint scent of blood in the air.
As they disappeared into the night, only the red fuzzy mist of there technique remained in the
dark alley’s pf the ever-busy commercial district….
—–
That talk with Rose took longer than expected. Glancing at the time, I realized I had spent far
more with her than I had anticipated.
Maybe it was because Rose was quite pushy, always trying to stall the conversation, or
perhaps it was just me being too indecisive about it.
Whatever the case, I was just glad I had managed to get away from her for now.
Judging from the last look she gave me; I knew she was serious about her intention of making
me teach her about love.
Not to mention the system notice regarding my one useless special ability.
Handling a literal draconic atom bomb on my back was already hard and heavy enough; now I
had to handle a potential world-dismantling nuke as well?
Haha… fuck me.
Sighing deeply, I wondered how I was supposed to navigate this situation now.
Liyana, Snow, and now Rose… not just the last boss but two of the main heroines as well.
‘At this rate, I might as well take over your role, Lucas!’
Tsk…
I tried to shake off the tiresome thoughts and focused on the task at hand.
Now wasn’t the time to ponder all of this as I still had a mission to complete for tonight.
The cold breeze of the night settled through the commercial district, and despite the bustling streets.
The cold breeze of the night settled through the commercial district, and despite the bustling streets, I found myself slipping into the crowd of people.
My eyes locked onto my two main targets for the night, having completely missed them back
at the café.
Sitting at the water fountain in the commercial district’s city square, two adorable twins were sipping their glowing beverages as they stared at the stars in the night sky above. They occasionally glanced over at the band playing joyfully to the right of them, their expressions a mix of innocence and mischief.
Lillian and Lily… it’s now time to upgrade your specs, oh cute and deadly assassins.