In a mansion at night, the full moon could be seen through the window. A woman walked down the hallway; her blue eyes reflected the moonlight. She looked ahead, but saw no one in the empty corridor. A black carpet stretched across the floor, and several portraits decorated the walls.
A smile appeared on her face as she took light steps. With each movement, a sour scent filled her nose.
"Found it," she whispered.
She approached a door and opened it very carefully. Upon entering the room, she was met with several naked women and a thin man lying in bed with one of them. Bottles of alcohol were scattered in every corner of the room.
The woman walked over to the man lying on the bed. Gently, she ran her hand through his red hair.
'This is going to be easy,' she thought, looking at the woman lying beside the man.
The mysterious woman picked up a golden knife and, without hesitation, plunged it into the man's throat. Blood began to pour from his neck. She then did the same to the woman, letting the same crimson liquid flow. Afterward, she placed the knife in the hand of the now-dead woman.
'The plan was to make it look like a suicide, but this is better,' she thought as she left the room, disappearing into that beautiful, calm night.
Sunlight lit up a room where a woman was sleeping. Slowly, she opened her beautiful blue eyes and stretched. Then, she pushed the sheets off her naked body and looked around, spotting a mirror in the room.
Rising from the bed, she walked to the mirror and smiled.
"I look great," she said.
At that moment, her clothes appeared, dressing her in shorts and a red shirt. Calmly, she tied back her long red hair.
She walked to the door and, upon opening it, saw a girl a little shorter and younger than her. Her dark brown eyes and short hair of the same color were familiar. The girl's face was serious and nearly expressionless.
"Sienna, you're already awake. I thought I should wake you up too," said the girl, looking at Sienna. Her eyes seemed empty, lifeless, as if she were just an empty shell.
Sienna felt a sense of discomfort seeing her, but she didn't know why. Still, she just nodded her head.
"Well, Lyra, I'm not like Zephyr. You don't always have to wake me up," said Sienna with a gentle smile.
'She reminds me of my old self… Could that be what bothers me?' she thought, watching Lyra walk away.
Lyra arrived at a room where several people were training with swords. As soon as she entered, their gazes turned toward her, expressions of contempt clear on their faces.
"Yesterday was her first mission, and she failed. Wouldn't it be better to just let her die?" someone said.
Lyra refused to look at the face of the person speaking. Instead, she kept her eyes fixed on the floor. She couldn't complain—everything they said was true.
She was a failure.
"You're all a bunch of assholes, so shut the fuck up, or I'll rip your tongues out," said a man.
His voice made Lyra lift her head. His golden eyes stared back at her, and on his face was a confident smile.
"They're just a bunch of pricks. You don't have to worry about them," he said, grabbing a sword and tossing it to Lyra, who caught it in mid-air.
"Let's show them who you really are… a survivor."
His expression turned serious, and his eyes radiated wildness. He looked like a beast ready to attack.
The man standing in front of Lyra was bigger than her, more experienced, and much stronger, but she couldn't give up. She tightened her grip on her sword, and her eyes grew sharper.
"Come on, Adrian."
Upon hearing those words, a broad grin spread across his face. He began to run, his sword aimed straight for Lyra's face—she managed to block it.
Damn, this blow is too heavy, and worst of all, I could barely see his movement. After the thought, Lyra took a kick to the abdomen that sent her crashing to the floor.
But she quickly got up and counterattacked, yet Adrian dodged every single one of her strikes. To him, her movements were slow and predictable. He backed off a bit and smiled, which for some reason irked Lyra.
Adrian stepped forward and slammed the pommel of his sword into Lyra's stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. Immediately after, a kick landed on her face, sending her crashing to the floor, coughing.
She got up and charged toward Adrian, raising her sword against him. He managed to block it, but to his surprise, Lyra didn't stop—she swiftly followed up with a kick to his gut.
In an agile movement, Lyra jumped, spun, and landed a kick on Adrian's hand, knocking his sword to the floor. He looked at her face, which now seemed calmer and more confident.
Good, he thought, feeling a surge of excitement.
Raising his fists toward Lyra, who watched with hesitation, the two rushed at each other. Lyra swung her sword toward Adrian, who dodged and landed a punch squarely on her chin.
She saw blood spill from her mouth and felt Adrian's foot strike her belly, throwing her backward. She hit the ground, coughing, and saw her comrade approach her.
"I think I went too hard, sorry," he said, extending a hand to help her up. "It's fine, I'm okay—just my chin hurts, but I'll recover. I can also ask Hikari to heal me," she replied, wearing a weary expression.
Adrian saw the door opening and a person approaching: a man slightly younger than him, but someone Adrian would never want as an enemy. His red eyes made him stand out, but that wasn't all. The color of his hair was also unusual—people with white hair weren't exactly common.
But there was something else that caught Adrian's attention. Looks like something happened, he thought, concerned.
"What is it, Zephyr? Did something happen?" asked Adrian, immediately noticing that Lyra was glaring at Zephyr with a scowl.
"What's wrong, are you annoyed?" Adrian asked. Lyra looked back at him with an unpleasant expression.
"It's just that I had to wake him up again today, and because of that, I didn't get to eat anything," she replied, seeming a bit stressed.
So that's what it is… wait, this is still happening? He remembered that his friend had always been hard to wake up. Zephyr now stood in front of the two of them.
"Both of you are being summoned by the leader," Zephyr said, leading them to an office. There, they found Sienna sitting on a sofa.
In the office, there was a desk where a man was seated. He was stout, with black hair and gray eyes. Lyra noticed two sofas, facing each other, and beside them was their leader, the man who had saved her. Zephyr sat beside Sienna, and Lyra sat next to Adrian.
All four looked at their leader.
"I have a mission for the four of you," he said with a serious, piercing gaze.
"And what would that mission be?" asked Sienna.
"You will have to kill a noble. He will be attending a party, so I want the four of you to infiltrate it, kill him, and get out," said the leader, handing each of them a notebook.
Inside the notebooks were the noble's crimes and information about the party. The noble's crimes were numerous, including rape and theft, and he was involved with a secret organization.
"A secret organization? What kind of organization is it?" asked Zephyr.
"That's what I want you to find out," replied the leader.
"May I know why I have to go?" asked Lyra, who didn't understand why she was being called for this mission.
"You have a very useful ability for this mission," answered the leader.
Lyra nodded and accepted. A few hours later, she was in a room with Hikari, a woman with short blonde hair and healing powers. Shortly after touching Lyra's chin, she was healed.
"Thank you," said Lyra, who no longer felt any pain. She saw Hikari sit across from her and hand her an ointment.
"Use this to heal yourself," Hikari said.
Lyra was looking at a strange plant on Hikari's table.
"What is that?" she asked.
"It's nothing," replied Hikari, trying to brush Lyra off, which Lyra didn't appreciate, so she pressed further.
"But where did you get that plant?" asked Lyra.
Hikari smiled.
"It's none of your business," she replied dismissively, making Lyra stand up and leave Hikari's room.
On the way, she met up with Sienna, Zephyr, and Adrian.
"Feeling better?" asked Zephyr, and Lyra nodded.
"Then let's get started," said Adrian with an excited smile, while Sienna sighed.
The three held onto Sienna's arms and disappeared.
At a massive mansion, four people approached: two women in dresses, one in red and the other in black. They were accompanied by two men.
Zephyr wore a gray suit with a tie, beneath a black overcoat with red accents.
And Adrian was simply in a standard suit.
"This is so tight," said Adrian, adjusting his tie.
"Wow, I didn't think you knew how to comb your hair," teased Sienna.
"Shut up," replied Adrian, slightly irritated.
"Do you all remember what the noble we're supposed to kill looks like?" asked Zephyr, glancing at the other two.
"Of course I remember. His name is Astolfo. He's a short, irritable noble. I wonder if he's a dwarf?" said Adrian, pondering an extinct race.
"Dwarves are extinct, so that's impossible," replied Lyra after hearing Adrian's comment.
The four entered the ballroom, and Adrian whistled softly as he took in the surroundings. His gaze landed on three women chatting nearby. As he was about to take his first step toward them, he felt someone grip his arm firmly.
Looking back, he saw Sienna staring at him. He smirked and asked sarcastically, "What's wrong? Tired of Zephyr already?"
In response, Sienna pinched him.
"What the hell was that? Do you think I'm a child?" Adrian asked, rubbing the spot where he'd been pinched.
"We're here to complete a mission, not to satisfy your urge to mess around," Sienna replied, her piercing gaze silencing him.
Zephyr, who had been ignoring their argument until now, smiled. He had spotted their target.
"I found him."
Hearing this, they all turned their attention to the target. Adrian, however, burst out laughing.
"I told you he was a dwarf! There's no way someone can be that short!"
Sienna, hearing his remark, let out a low chuckle, trying to hide it.
"What do we do now?" asked Lyra, looking at Zephyr.
He shifted his gaze to her, thinking. She's pretty important for this mission, from what the leader said.
Then his eyes turned to Sienna.
"Sienna, once our target moves, you and Lyra follow him. Adrian and I will head to the room he's staying in," said Zephyr.
Sienna nodded in understanding.
The four separated, blending into the party. Zephyr was conversing with two nobles who couldn't stop boasting about their wealth and their mistresses. While listening with disinterest, he noticed Adrian approaching him.
"It's impressive how we managed to get in here," Adrian said with a sarcastic smile.
"Our leader has a partnership with the king of this realm, so that helped a lot. Besides, he was the one who brought our target here," replied Zephyr, watching as Sienna and Lyra spoke with Astolfo and discreetly led him toward a more secluded area, away from the others.
Adrian looked at Zephyr with a weary expression.
"You're not the jealous type, are you?"
His words caught Zephyr off guard, making his eyes widen.
"Isn't there something less random you could ask me?" Zephyr stared at Adrian for a moment before continuing: "Let's just get to his room."
The two began walking, moving away from the crowd until they left the hall and entered a long corridor.
"No, but seriously," Adrian continued. "I wanted to know if you don't feel even a hint of jealousy. You know, it's very likely she's already slept with several targets to kill them. Doesn't that bother you at all, man?"
Zephyr stopped walking abruptly and looked at Adrian with cold eyes, sending a chill down his spine.
"Do you really think she needs to do that?" asked Zephyr.
Adrian blinked a few times before answering, "Now that I think about it… no, it's not necessary for her."
"Then keep quiet," said Zephyr, continuing to walk.
Adrian followed him but soon stopped, looking back with a smile.
"Hurry up, this isn't something we should be worrying about," said Zephyr, stopping in front of the target's door.
Zephyr placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door. As soon as they entered, Adrian rushed to the drawers, quickly opening them. Inside, he found various jewels and a pouch full of money.
He glanced at Zephyr, who now had electricity crackling across his body.
Suddenly, Zephyr began moving at such a high speed that even Adrian couldn't keep up.
How can Sienna even see him at this speed? he thought, impressed.
After a few seconds, Zephyr appeared in front of Adrian with a brown pouch in his hands. The strange design on it caught his attention.
"This was the only thing I found," said Zephyr, still examining the pouch.
He looked over at Adrian, who was wearing a strange smile on his face.
"Fine, finish him quickly," ordered Zephyr.
Adrian started stretching, then turned around with an excited grin.
"Come on in, I'll kill you real quick."
As soon as he finished speaking, a hooded figure entered the room. Their clothing was completely black, and even their mask followed the same tone. To Adrian, it looked a bit ridiculous.
Zephyr sat on the bed and opened the pouch, examining several papers.
I was right, it was this all along, but this is outrageous! This is no joke! he thought, clutching the papers.
He didn't know how to feel after reading all that absurdity.
"So, what are you, an idiot? That outfit went out of style ages ago," taunted Adrian, as his opponent drew two large knives. "I need to take that pouch and kill both of you," said the hooded figure.
Adrian looked at him with disdain.
"So, rookie, you've never fought an executioner before, have you? Come at me, and I'll show you you're nothing but a delusional fool who thinks he can kill me," said Adrian. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the hooded figure charging toward him.
The hooded figure raised the arm holding one of the knives and swung it down toward Adrian, who caught his arm, immobilized it, and threw him to the ground, breaking his arm. Then, Adrian grabbed the knife and plunged it into the hooded man's throat.
He glanced at Zephyr.
"I told you this wasn't something we should be worried about, didn't I?" said Zephyr, as he crouched down and removed the hooded man's mask. The face of a bald man appeared, but he had a strange mark on his forehead—the same design as on the pouch, something like a four-pointed star.
But what does this mean? he wondered, staring at it with curious eyes. Zephyr turned and saw Sienna, Lyra, and their target appear behind them.
Astolfo was conscious but collapsed on the floor, unable to move. Adrian approached him with a sadistic smile.
"Wow, you really are a dwarf. I never thought I'd meet one. Can I keep him?" said Adrian, looking at Sienna and Zephyr.
"I am not a dwarf, have you never seen a short man before?" replied Astolfo, still lying on the floor.
"You broke his arms and legs, but why didn't you just knock him out or kill him?" asked Adrian, looking at Sienna.
"After Lyra used her power, he said he would tell us everything we wanted to know," Sienna replied, glancing at Lyra, who was silent and seemed somewhat troubled.
"I only need to know one thing: is this real?" asked Zephyr, holding the papers from the pouch. Astolfo's gaze froze. He tried to move but found only a body on the floor.
He began to feel more afraid. He knew he was going to die, and the only person who could have saved him was already dead. What should he do? How should he answer?
"Yes, it's all real," he replied, but was that the right answer?
Before he could finish his thought, his head was easily severed by Adrian.
"Sienna, get rid of the body and then take us back to the hideout. If this really happens, our world will be finished," said Zephyr with a worried expression.