by Sakon Kaidou
Another clone picked up from there. “If you ask me, the biggest difference is their bonus to stats... and growth in general.”
The third clone said, “The Embryo bonuses are what make Masters level up quickly and give us better stats. We’re also immortal, so we can safely push limits tians can’t. That creates a world of difference between the efficiencies of our growths.”
A fourth one added, “That difference is great enough to have my three years here surpass your whole decades.”
Three years? She acquired these monstrous abilities in a mere three years? I thought in disbelief.
“That’s like a sick joke,” I said. “If that’s true, then to you Masters, all our training is nothing but fool’s masonry!”
“Fool’s masonry... that’s an Altarian proverb, isn’t it?” one of the clones responded. “It’s based on the story of a man who tried to build a sky-reaching tower by hand, and it ends with it collapsing on him.”
“But there are people who can build towers by hand, right?” another added. “Just like there are tians who have Superior Jobs.”
“However, following that example, we Masters are building towers with heavy machinery,” a third clone said.
They had basically said that there was a world of difference between us.
Many people equated Embryos with “talent” and “possibility,” and the unfairness of it all made me grit my teeth in frustration. I just couldn’t accept it. Ever since I was young, I’d been training with the organization to hone myself as an assassin, and it had taken me decades to become a Dead Hand. Due to that, I simply couldn’t accept just how unreasonable Masters were.
A world where that woman was above me was a mistake.
I reached into my inventory and took out my secret weapon: a “Gem — Crimson Sphere.” Just as it said in the name, it was a Gem which held the high-rank job of Pyromancer’s ultimate spell, Crimson Sphere.
Its range wasn’t particularly great, but its power was immense.
As things were, I would have no trouble having it hit that woman.
After all, my subordinates — the fools who had been able to do nothing against the clones even while in pairs — had been able to somehow able to keep them in place.
“Die,” I said as I threw the Gem. It exploded right in the middle of the battle between the clones and my subordinates, covering it all in crimson.
There was no sound or explosion. There was only a crimson light and a heat that burned them all to nothing.
The woman, her clones, the subordinates fighting them, and the ones who were no longer capable of fighting all got engulfed in the light. A moment after I saw the shock in those guys’ expressions, the skin on their faces became blackened ash, and their bones were soon to follow.
“Look at that... You useless shits were able to be useful, after all,” I muttered. The crimson light also took out the woman and her four clones.
“Hmph,” I scoffed. “So, just like Masters, clones become light when they die.” With that, it was clear what had happened when we’d decapitated her the first time.
I stood around and watched them completely disappear. All that was left was to leave, find the second princess, and eliminate her.
“That woman sure was a pain,” I muttered. “Covering the unexpected losses here will cost me a lot. I guess I shouldn’t expect less from a Ninja — the eastern mystery high-rank job. Not like it matters now. She’s the princess killer and she’s going straight to the gaol. Hahahahah.”
Entirely pleased with myself, I had my first laugh in a while as I played with the recording crystal containing the “proof.”
A second later, I felt something cold sink into my back.
“Ah, wha—?” I voiced my confusion as the crystal fell out of my hands, shattered, and rang out with a high pitch. Looking down, I saw the blade of a dagger piercing out of my chest.
“Caught you off-guard, didn’t I?”
I shifted my gaze forward, where I saw the very same five women that had vanished just a moment ago.
“You seem to have been misinformed about Ninjas. Allow me to correct you on two things,” said one of them.
“One — Ninja is a low-rank job,” a second one said. “The high-rank job would be Greater Ninja.”
“First supplemental point: though ‘shinobi’ covers it all, there are different job groupings for different styles. Specifically, the ninja and onmitsu groupings.”
“Second supplemental point: the ninja grouping’s Ninja and Greater Ninja are for those who use the flashy ninja arts, like the ones that foreigners imagine them using.”
“Third supplemental point: my job is one that grew from the onmitsu grouping, which gets the job done through hiding, sneaking, and confusion.”
“And two — I’m not using a high-rank job.”
Those last words were whispered to me by a sixth clone.
“Huh...? Gh...?” Bloody bubbles escaped my mouth as I turned around. There, I saw a mist-shrouded woman wearing sunglasses and a fox mask.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m the real one. After making the smokescreen, I used Hidden Technique alongside Shadow Clone Technique to nullify my presence. Oh, and though you destroyed all my clones, I can easily make more by using the skill again, as you can clearly see.”
She removed the dagger, causing me to fall to the ground. As I was lying there, the five clones and the woman all looked down at me.
There was a very clear difference between the woman and her clones. I couldn’t feel her presence. Though she was right there before me, my five senses were denying her existence.
She had created several clones that had a physical presence while simultaneously nullifying her own presence.
How is that even possible...? I thought in disbelief.
“I hold the onmitsu grouping’s Superior Job, ‘Death Shadow,’” she said. “But you can call me the Superior Killer. I’m not revealing this as a parting gift, but that’s what I am.”
“A Superior Job... the Superior Killer...?!”
Superior Jobs were the ones above high-rank — the greatest of jobs. And “Superior Killer” was the nickname of the contract killer who, despite not having a Superior Embryo himself, had killed the Superior infamous for being “the greatest tian murderer of all time.” It was the alias of the person who could kill Superiors — the ultimate hitman.
“O-Ooaagh...” I groaned, and not because of the pain. This girl, while being far younger than me, had surpassed me and all my years of assassin training, going far ahead into a realm meant for only a select few.
In terms of jobs and as a professional killer, she stood at a summit I couldn’t hope to reach. That realization filled me with shock and emotion far greater than before.
“How... How can reality be so cruel...?” I muttered as the tears I’d thought had run dry began flowing out of my eyes.
“‘Cruel,’ you say?” she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “You’re a Dead Hand, right? That’s a job you can only take after killing a certain number of people, isn’t it? You tried to murder Ellie, and even sacrificed your subordinates as if it was nothing. You’ve turned so many people into lifeless corpses, and yet you’re here crying after running into a little wall. That’s really low, if you ask me.” As she looked down at me, I looked up into her eyes. All I saw there was contempt. She wasn’t just looking down on me; she seemed to feel the same scorn she would when looking at the usual problematic city-dweller.
I found that both humiliating and hard to stomach.
But if she just kills me, those feelings will go away, and...
“Anyway, I have to go pick up Ellie,” she said while turning around, showing no intention to finish me off. “I put her to sleep and hid her, after all. Can’t keep her like that.”
“Ki—”
“No, I won’t kill you. It would be a silly waste of effort.” She made the clones vanish and began walking away.
At first, I didn’t understan
d what she said.
A few moments had to pass until I completely processed her words, and their meaning made me burn with more rage than at any other moment in this encounter.
I won’t let her get away.
Carefully, to make sure she didn’t notice, I reached into my inventory and took out an item. It was a Gem — Crimson Sphere, just like the one I’d used before.
I bet you weren’t expecting me to have two of these, I thought.
I quickly activated the Gem and got ready to throw it, fully intent on reducing her to ash. Then I would search for the second princess and kill her, too, making sure to make her death was as gruesome as possible. That would take care of the request, but I could no longer care about that.
The woman, so far above me, had looked at me with those contemptuous eyes. That made me want to reduce whatever she so wanted to protect to scrap.
I can’t wait to see her face when she revives and realizes that the princess is dead, I thought, picturing the most amusing future as I threw the gem, and...
I threw it, and...
“...!”
Shock overcame me as I realized that I couldn’t move.
“...?! ...” I tried to talk, but not even my tongue functioned.
How? I wasn’t shot like the new guy, I thought.
“Oh, I forgot to say,” the woman said calmly without turning around. “Like you saw before, one of the bullet types for my Arc-en-Ciel are paralyzing bullets, but I can actually do a similar thing with this.”
Still facing away, she pulled out a dagger and held it so I could see it. That was the very same item that’d pierced me.
“A skill on this dagger allows me to cover the blade with slow-acting paralysis poison,” she explained. “This thing is called ‘Palsy Stingblade, Belspan.’ That skill you’ve been hit with is actually from an Epic special reward, so — even though you’re a high-rank job — its effects might be hard for you to resist.”
Wh... What?
“I did say that killing you would be a waste of effort, but that didn’t mean that I could let you act as you pleased. If you hadn’t done anything stupid, you would’ve just stayed there for a day or two until the authorities found and took you away.” She suddenly changed her tone. “I repeat — if you hadn’t done anything stupid.”
In my hand, I held an already-activated Gem.
“H-hhhhh...!” I tried to scream, but only a whisper leaked from my mouth.
As I watched the woman casually wave goodbye to me — not even bothering to turn around — I was engulfed by my point-blank Crimson Sphere.
◇◇◇
Second princess of the Kingdom of Altar, Elizabeth S. Altar
When I came to, Marie was giving me a piggyback ride. A moment ago, it had been evening, but now, the sun had completely sunk.
“Oh, are you awake?” asked Marie.
“Yes,” I nodded. “Why am I being carried like this?”
“You got tired and fell asleep. It was a hectic day, after all.”
She was probably right. This was the first time I’d ever played this much.
“We’re almost at Count Gideon’s residence,” she said.
“Let me walk on my own feet, then,” I said. “Piggyback rides don’t befit a princess.”
“Very well.”
Though I’d enjoyed the ride, I didn’t hesitate to get off her back and stand by myself. Count Gideon’s residence was already in sight.
“This is far enough,” I told her. “I can walk the rest of the way by myself.”
“That’s good,” Marie smiled. “The guards would probably interrogate me if I got any closer.”
“Marie,” I said while gathering my resolve. “Thank you.”
My memory told me that this was the first time I’d ever used those words. During my life, I had never been given a chance to express such simple gratitude to anyone.
“You’re welcome.” Marie gave me a smile as she took off the fox mask — that she was wearing herself, for reasons unknown — and put it on me. “This day will be one of my good memories in this world. Let’s meet again someday, shall we?”
“Certainly! We... We shall meet again someday!”
And so, my day off in Gideon — a day I will never forget — finally reached its end.
Once I returned to the Count’s residence, I got yelled at by a very, very angry Liliana. However, when I saw the tears in her eyes, the person I was now could easily tell that she was very worried about me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, which made her look strangely surprised.
If today had made me different, that was surely thanks to Marie. I now had a very clear goal — to walk the streets of Gideon alongside my sisters Altimia and Theresia.
To achieve that, I first had to take care of the mountains of duties I’d neglected.
◇◇◇
Kingdom of Altar’s Count, Alzar Brittis
In the dead of night, I was doing work in the royal palace’s archives.
I’ve been doing nothing but putting documents and numbers in order ever since I’d relinquished my territory after the war half a year ago. That was my job these days.
Compared to running a territory, the tasks I’d been given were by no means difficult, so despite not having any experience, I had little trouble doing them. However, this day in particular, I seemed to have overworked myself.
The light helping me work so late was made by a magic item that didn’t use any fuel, but even if it wasn’t a waste to keep it on, it was a good time to end it for the day.
As that thought went through my mind...
“Count Alzar Brittis.”
...someone addressed me.
I looked to where the voice came from and saw a woman. She was wearing a black suit and — despite us being indoors — had sunglasses on her face, making her look questionable. Most would’ve assumed her to be an assassin sent to kill me, but I didn’t believe that to be the case.
“I want to talk about Ellie... Her Highness Elizabeth... and what happened in duel city Gideon,” she said.
“I’m listening, dear guest,” I replied.
Thus, she began telling me about the day’s events.
The second princess had run away from where she was staying. She’d encountered street ruffians and then met the woman before me. Together, they’d walked around enjoying whatever Gideon had to offer. And finally, the woman had fought assassins that had been hired by another noble, one who’d probably wanted the rights to Gideon and the surrounding lands.
“So that’s what happened...” I said.
What a curious turn of events, I thought.
“At first, I thought that you were the one behind it all,” said the woman. “Everything from her escape to the assassins.”
“Why did you come to such a conclusion?” I asked.
“You were the ruler of the Brittis County, and it’s well-known that you had a bad relationship with the previous Count Gideon — whose territory is right next to Brittis.” she explained. “Also... in the war half a year ago, you lost your heir — your one and only son.” Correct. All of that was nothing but the truth.
“Your son was fifteen years old at the time. Being of age, he was sent to the war as one of the kingdom’s nobles,” she went on.
Indeed. My son had participated in the war and lost his life.
“What went through your mind back then?” she asked. Though she was wearing sunglasses, I could feel her staring directly at me. “Unlike your son, the son of the current Count Gideon didn’t participate in the war because he wasn’t of age. As a result, the one that died was just the military officer that represented him. And thus, while Count Brittis lost both his heir and territory, Count Gideon continued into the next generation, ruling the most prosperous region in the kingdom. What did you make of this situation?”
She stopped for a moment, then took a breath before continuing.
“‘Count Gideon is blessed with a prosperous territory and has a
son he can bequeath its future to. I also gave my all for the sake of the kingdom. Why, then? Why am I the only one who lost everything?!’”
As if standing before a theater audience, she spoke those highly familiar words that I had said many times.
“Not many people could blame you for thinking that,” she added.
“You talk as though you’ve seen me say that,” I said. “We haven’t even met before.”
“That phrase is merely the result of the personality picture I’ve formed based on the information at my disposal.”
I see. That’s some impressive imagination, I thought.
The words she had spoken were more or less the same as mine. Indeed, there was a time when I’d thought those things and lamented in a similar manner while closed in my personal quarters.
It all made sense. That line of thought was more than enough to conclude that I had been the one behind the plot.
“That’s correct,” I admitted. “I was angry with everyone. The royal family, especially that foolish king, started the war that took away my dear son. The Royal Guard, despite being right next to him, failed to protect anything. And even though I went through such loss, Gideon still had everything... That made them all targets of my rage.”
That was why I had begun plotting revenge, which consisted of...
“However,” said the woman, “you were aware that those feelings of yours were unreasonable. A part of you thought that it was a mistake to direct your grudge at them.”
Oh, so you can see that much? I thought.
“Am I wrong?” she asked in confirmation.
Out of all the ways I could’ve responded, I chose to be direct about how I felt.
“I was considering revenge against the royal family, the Royal Guard, and Count Gideon,” I admitted. “However, just as you say, I knew that my grudge was misplaced.”
Still, I had felt that I had to do something. My chagrin was far too great to let me stop.
“Thus, I chose to leave it all to the hand of fate,” I continued.
