In a world where even assassins pay taxes, there are far too many people who act with reckless abandon.
Assassination is a very common tactic in the business world.
This is something all prominent business figures understand well, which is why they place extreme emphasis on security.
Ellie's estate is vast, with three layers of defenses… inner, middle, and outer, securing the mountain path, the forest road, and finally the main road leading to the manor.
The estate is staffed with highly trained professional bodyguards, as well as a private force personally drilled by Kenda, whose primary duty is to guard the area closest to Ellie.
Such arrangements could be described as an iron fortress.
But there are too many individuals with strange and extraordinary abilities, and even the hardest iron fortress can be breached.
Moreover, in the eyes of truly formidable figures, such defenses might not even be worth a glance.
In reality, assassins visit every month, but those who infiltrate the estate directly are usually the exceptionally skilled and daring types… the kind that are nearly impossible to guard against.
Tonight, the sky is cloudless, and the moonlight casts a radiant glow, providing excellent visibility, making the job of the security personnel much easier.
Yet, even with every post fully staffed, there are still flies that slip through the cracks.
A man clad in black silently weaves through the layers of security, infiltrating the estate and heading straight for Ellie's location.
The precision of his movements suggests he possesses detailed intelligence.
The black-clad man wears a cap, his face obscured in shadow, indistinct.
His approach prioritizes stealth, adhering to the principles of an assassination operation.
Soon, step by step, he evades all eyes and ears, arriving outside Ellie's room, hiding in the low bushes.
'This is the place.'
The black-clad man looks up at the light emanating from the third-floor room.
First, he confirms his surroundings, and once certain, he leaps lightly, pressing one hand against the wall beside the window, using a suction cup-like tool to anchor himself to the wall.
Peering slightly, he sees Ellie behind the desk through the window and immediately confirms his target.
'No bodyguards in the room.'
Seeing Ellie alone, buried in a pile of documents, a cold glint of satisfaction flashes in the black-clad man's eyes. To him, this exorbitantly lucrative job is as good as done.
Slowly, he extends his hand toward the oblivious Ellie through the window, Aura seeping from his palm.
Compared to the silenced pistol in his holster, the black-clad man trusts his Emission-type Nen ability far more for such a high-stakes contract.
Aura condenses in his palm, compressing into a bead-sized orb brimming with cold killing intent.
The orb doesn't need to be large, but the timing and speed of its release must be precise… ensuring it pierces through without shattering the glass and keeping the sound to a minimum.
'Looks like I can handle this alone.'
The black-clad man's eyes lit up, but just as the condensed Nen Sphere was about to be shot out, a golden-haired doll, half a person's height, suddenly appears in front of the window, shrouded in a thin layer of Aura.
"Click, click."
The doll's pitch-black, abyss-like eyes fixate on the black-clad man, its lips moving up and down, emitting faint clicking sounds.
The black-clad man's pupils constrict sharply, and the condensed Nen Sphere shoots from his palm, blasting toward the doll right in front of him.
Yet the doll simply opens its mouth and swallows the Nen Sphere whole, completely unharmed, continuing its clicking sounds… which, to the black-clad man, sound eerily like mocking laughter.
'What the hell is this thing?'
The black-clad man is startled, his gaze darting toward the desk in the room… only to find his target for the night gone. His eyes snap to the side, where the blonde woman now stands beside the red wooden door.
"Kenda, another fly has gotten in."
Ellie leans against the wall by the door, pushing up her glasses with a slender, pale finger. Her calm, unreadable eyes lock onto the black-clad man clinging to the window.
The once slightly capricious little girl from years ago has now fully transformed.
The door bursts open as Kenda rushes into the room, immediately spotting the black-clad man outside the window. His expression darkens with barely suppressed fury.
That fury is directed at the estate's security team, as they once again allowed an assassin to slip through and reach Ellie's room undetected.
Ellie only needs one glance at Kenda's face to know he's angry.
Objectively speaking, the assassin's successful breach exposes the security team's incompetence yet again… but it also speaks to the assassin's skill.
"Let's get rid of this fly first." Ellie said lightly.
"Got it."
Kenta nodded, pressing the device in his ear. A monocle was conjured over his right eye as he drew his pistol and fired directly at the black-clad man outside the window.
The moment Kenda pulled his gun, the black-clad man decisively released the suction cup and dropped down.
The gunshot shattered the night's silence, and the window exploded into fragments, raining down toward the black-clad man below.
'Damn it, the intel never mentioned the target was a Nen User too.'
The black-clad man cursed under his breath, swiftly stepping back to avoid the falling glass shards. He then muttered into his comms, quickly briefing the situation.
Meanwhile, Kenta reached the window. With the aid of his [One-Shot, One-Kill] monocle, he predicted the black-clad man's evasion path and emptied the last three rounds from his magazine.
The black-clad man was an expert marksman himself… he could gauge the precise trajectory of a bullet just by the angle of the gun barrel. At this distance, dodging should've been effortless.
But the moment he executed his usual evasive maneuver, something felt wrong.
His sharp survival instincts barely saved him.
All three bullets struck him.
One to the ribs, one to the left elbow, and one straight for the heart.
Each bullet inflicted varying degrees of damage. The ones that hit his ribs and heart only left deep bruises, but the last one tore through his arm.
This was the result of his Aura Defense.
Wounded, the black-clad man's eyes flashed red, but he didn't linger in battle. Instead, he swiftly retreated, keeping an eye on the people closing in from all directions.
Back in the room, Ellie came to Kenda's side and said calmly: " Leave the rest to security. I have work to finish."
Hearing this, Kenda hesitated and said, " been an uneasy night. Maybe you should rest early?"
"No, there are still many things to deal with." Ellie said firmly.
Kenda sighed inwardly.
…
Far away on a mountain, two figures lay prone on an overhanging rock. One of them held a uniquely designed long rifle… clearly a sniper rifle.
Through the red-dot scope, the sniper's view was fixed on Kenda and Ellie standing by the window.
"Load the bullet." The sniper commanded coldly.
Upon hearing this, the person beside him placed a hand on the rifle, channeling Aura into the magazine.
A moment later, the sniper smirked and pulled the trigger.
…
At the same time, Ellie was about to turn back toward her desk when the wall beside the window suddenly exploded into a massive crater. The force of the blast even damaged the interior walls.
Both Kenta and Allie froze for a split second before Kenta lunged at Ellie, tackling her to the ground and dragging her out of sight.
"It's sniper."
Kenda muttered grimly.
Just a second ago, death had been mere steps away, yet Ellie remained calm and said, "The potential sniper threats should've already been cleared."
The nearest viable sniper vantage point was well beyond the effective range of even the longest-range rifles.
Kenda didn't respond. At that moment, he could only feel immense relief that the sniper's aim had been so poor, missing by a wide margin.
But was the sniper really that inaccurate?
On the overhanging rock, Law sat atop the sniper's back, leisurely lighting a cigarette.
"If you have the ability to commit suicide, then do it quickly."
Law said, patting the man beneath him… whose limbs had all been severed.