In a moment of Nea's mind, the peaceful moments of the day came back!

* My name is Nea. N-E-A.

* N... E... A...

* That's right.

Little Hung continued to spell out Nea's name. The boy was about to turn seven this year but was very mature. He helped his mother with one task and then helped others with another. Little Hung taught Nea how to fold paper cranes so Nea could join in helping everyone.

* Alright, you two. Focus on folding paper cranes; by the end of today, we have to fold 1,000 of them.

That housekeeper is named Lan; she's a widow in her twenties, and her husband just sacrificed himself in the recent invasion on the border by the Hoa army. Lan was born into an average farming family, so she's highly resourceful; she can do anything, probably because she taught her since childhood. Little Hung is no different; he's like a copy of her. In no time, she rose to the position of housekeeper in the mansion of a general. Everyone respects her; she's talented, graceful, and gentle.

* Go on, Hung bit him goodnight?

Lan gently reminds her child.

* Goodnight, big bro Nea. Tomorrow, we'll continue folding more paper cranes.

* Little Hung said to Nea with excitement and a pure smile. The housekeeper also wore a gentle smile and said:

* Thank you for helping us today. Do you feel better now? Rest early, as we might need your help again tomorrow.

Each memory flooded Nea's mind, yet it felt so real because it was the truth. Nea might be a dreamy person, but at this moment, it felt more natural to him than ever.

His throat choked up; Nea opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. Little Hung, who was laughing and cheerful moments ago, now lay lifeless with an expressionless face. Nea could clearly see every expression on little Hung's face at this moment. His eyes were still wide open, staring into nothingness, his mouth slightly agape with two streams of tears still on his cheeks as if he had witnessed something horrific before his death. And the same goes for Lan.

Or perhaps it wasn't the case. Their faces seemed horribly disfigured as if they had been tortured, beaten to a pulp before the cold, sharp blade sliced into their throats.

Or perhaps not...

Nea's mind seemed to be in turmoil for a moment. He was experiencing what's called "denial." An experience he had as a child. He had concocted all sorts of reasons and images about his father, from bad to good to extraordinary. Because he couldn't accept the truth because he was still too young. However, as Nea grew older, had more experiences, and understood more, he gradually accepted the reality that his father was simply missing. And this was the first time he witnessed it firsthand. Perhaps Nea had considered death on screen or in comic books to be quite normal because it wasn't real. Nea had even imagined the scene of a stranger suddenly dying in front of him, whether by accident or for any reason and wondered what he would feel. Now, with Lan and little Hung, they might still be strangers to Nea, but he knew them. He had lived, talked, and laughed with them, even for a day. In Nea's heart, he had considered them acquaintances. And tomorrow, Nea still wanted to meet them, eat, talk, laugh, and fold paper cranes together.

"No!"

Nea denied vehemently.

"This can't be true!"

He continued to deny it.

"Tomorrow... Red eyes... Origami..."

The turmoil in his mind escalated.

"Why?"

* Murder!

Finally, two words escaped Nea's lips. His whole body trembled as he faced the cold-blooded murderer. He not only observed the two victims but also paid attention to every gesture of the killer. His eyes were icy, his clothes drenched in fresh blood stains, and he licked his dagger as if there was something delicious on it. Just that was enough to send shivers down Nea's spine.

The gusts of wind swept through the courtyard again, carrying the strong scent of blood. Just a whiff was enough to make him feel uncomfortable, which meant it was strong enough to pull Nea's soul back into his body.

In a moment when Nea's mind just returned to reality, the murderer on the roof had vanished.

"Where did he...??"

Nea hadn't even finished his thought when...

*Slash*

Blood splattered across one side of Nea's face. He didn't know when the killer had appeared right beside where Nea was sitting on the wall, nor did he know when he had rolled down onto the grass below. Nea was still in shock when he heard the killer speak, tasting Nea's blood and saying:

* Hey, hey, don't move. Just sit still, you little punk. A head has to remain intact for it to be valid. I don't want it all chopped up.

The steel-like voice and icy glare. Nea could sense it; no, he could clearly see death once again finding him. Just one more second of hesitation and that axe would sever his neck. Nea started crawling back, then turned and ran, not knowing where he would go, but that wasn't the issue anymore. He had to run; if he didn't run right now, he'd be holding death in his hands.

Nea plunged into a frantic run around the estate, desperately searching for an exit gate, but found none. All he could see now were lifeless bodies strewn about, with heads severed. No matter where he ran, he encountered corpses in various positions—some appeared to have been fighting back, others seemed to have been fleeing. Whatever the case, they were all dead.

"They... they're all dead, everyone... Why? Why didn't I hear any noise??" Nea questioned himself as he ran, his mind racing with disbelief and confusion.

Finally, Nea froze in his tracks, coming to a halt in the main hall where, just a few hours ago, everyone was bustling about preparing for the upcoming wedding. What made Nea stop was the scene unfolding before his eyes, rendering him motionless. His emotions were in turmoil, but the most prominent ones were confusion and fear. Confusion because of the serial killer raining down from above, the pile of corpses scattered everywhere, and the overpowering stench of blood assaulting his senses, threatening to make him sick to his stomach. Yet, despite the chaos, the sight before him sent a chill through Nea's body, freezing his physical form and soul. Though the two bodies were headless, Nea could tell they were Lan, the housekeeper, and Hưng, the boy. Lan's body maintained its upright posture as if she had not fallen, and her fragile hands still held tightly onto little Hưng as though she were still protecting her only child.

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Nea didn't run anymore, just stood frozen in place. The cold, metallic edge of the murderer's blade gradually pressed against his neck. Nea might not have known the killer was right behind him if it weren't for the blade against his neck. This person was likely a professional assassin, moving without making a sound. That's why Nea hadn't heard any noise; everyone had died as soon as they realized his presence. Or at least, that's what Nea could come up with. The killer spoke:

* Do you know? That woman froze just like this when she saw me slicing off that brat's head over there. I might have to thank her. Thanks to her, I'm about to have another intact head..."

As the assassin spoke, he swung his blade with momentum to strike Nea's neck, aiming for a swift kill. However, before he could finish the swing, he suddenly couldn't see anything. Nea had managed to gather a bit of the blood running down his face onto his hand, and then he flung it straight into the eyes of the assassin.

Taken aback, the assassin recoiled, his hand instinctively reaching to rub his eyes. But before he could do anything, Nea kicked him powerfully in the solar plexus, followed by an uppercut straight to the chin, causing him to kneel from the shock.

"What the fuck?" The assassin thinks.

* You... What the fuck are you??

Nea yelling in rage.

The assassin squinted, seeing Nea about to deliver another blow. Thinking fast, he raised the heads of the unfortunate victims to the front of him. Nea, already in the motion of his kick, couldn't stop midway, but he adjusted the angle of his kick higher, passing over the heads of the two victims. Seizing the opportunity, the assassin was about to try to swing his blade wildly to push Nea back, but unfortunately for him, Nea's adjustment was just a setup for his next move. Nea kicked precisely into the top of the assassin's head, driving him down onto the wooden floor and knocking out some of his teeth in the process. Then, he stomped hard on the hand holding the deadly weapon, forcing him to release it. Finally, Nea pressed his knee against the assassin's neck, effectively disabling him in less than five fleeting seconds. The assassin was stunned, writhing in pain, but because Nea had him securely locked down, he couldn't do anything.

Nea cast a glance at the assassin beneath his feet, then back at the blade that had taken so many lives. Suddenly, something flashed through his mind: images of a not-so-distant past.

****

"Are you sure about this, Nea?"

The technician asked Nea again for reassurance, and Nea nodded. He began to explain:

"Although this is just a test, we've almost completed it. The suit you're wearing has been enhanced with the latest technologies to make the gaming experience as real as possible. You can feel every strike you deliver and every blow you receive. It hasn't been approved yet because it could be dangerous to the player. So, are you ready?"

Nea nodded, and the technician understood, leaving the testing area, leaving Nea behind.

In the observation room, people were both amazed and excited as they watched Nea maneuver through the specially designed virtual reality gaming room:

* Wow, he's outstanding, taking on all those monsters by himself.

* Finding someone with physical ability and skills like him for testing is quite a catch.

* If he joins the military, he'll have a bright future ahead.

Those were the conversations buzzing around.

****

Those images flashed through Nea's mind, reminding him of the countless hours of training in the virtual world, as unreal as it was real enough to him. He also remembered his combativeness at that time; even though it was just two years ago, he still vividly recalled his image back then.

"Exactly! Ugh... Finally, it's all coming back to me. That look in that guy's eyes was like mine back then and even now. I hate it!"

Suddenly, a mocking laugh echoed from the murderer lying beneath Nea's feet, and he whispered,

* Your eyes were good just now, kid. Maybe someday you'll become a professional assassin, too.

Nea tightened his grip around the murderer's neck even more fiercely, shouting,

* Shut up; I'm not like you, a crazed murderer. Why... why did you kill them?

At that moment, the murderer responded to Nea with a cold, mocking, and disdainful look, saying:

* Because I like it!

Nea, unsure of how to react, was suddenly confronted with a strange circular object flying up in front of him. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a shrunken human head, desiccated but still discernible, with its eyes, nose, and mouth intact. However, the eyes and mouth of the head suddenly opened, emitting a strange purple mist into the air. Taken by surprise, Nea inadvertently inhaled some of it; he immediately tried to move away as far as possible, but the mist affected him, causing his vision to blur.

The murderer stood up straight, inhaling deeply the eerie mist pouring from the head, shivering in delight. Taking advantage of Nea's daze, he rushed forward and delivered a powerful blow, sending Nea flying onto the roof. The impact created a large hole in the roof, revealing the bright full moon in the night sky. Though Nea managed to raise his hand to shield himself, he still felt the force of the blow, coupled with the strange mist, leaving him incapacitated on the rooftop.

The murderer leaped up through the hole he had created, seeing Nea lying motionless. He gleefully pounced on Nea, pressing his knees firmly against Nea's hands on the roof tiles. With both hands firmly gripping the sabre, he pointed it at Nea's neck, and then he uttered a sentence:

* Your head will be an excellent addition to my collection, kid!

He said before exerting all his strength to thrust the sabre forcefully into Nea's neck.

*Thunk*

The sabre plunged... through the roof tiles.

"What the hell??"

The assassin is surprised, and Nea is too. He should have been dead; Nea was immobilized, stunned, unable to do anything but wait for the cold blade to plunge into his neck. But no.

"Did he miss the stab? At this range? Perhaps he's still dazed from my previous attacks. Anyway..."

Nea struggles, but to no avail; the assassin quickly pulls the sword up again, this time changing tactics, no longer thrusting but slashing instead. He uses one hand to press firmly on Nea's chest to stop his struggle, then swings the sword. But the assassin is completely unaware; it's another mistake from him. His arm used to pin Nea down freezes; the assassin then howls in pain. He can't comprehend what's happening anymore; all he feels now is pain and anger. It seems like never in his life killing a paralyzed person has been this difficult. The madness seems to overpower the pain now; he rolls his eyes and slashes randomly at Nea, no longer caring about any specific target. Nea, at this moment, can't do anything but close his eyes and wait for death.

*Clang*

Nea opens his eyes, seeing the assassin's blade stopped by a katana. Then, a kick to the chest sends the assassin flying. Nea turns to see who just saved him from certain death. Even though he's only seen from behind, Nea can recognize this one. This person was wearing a black hoodie, with a black cap and wielding a katana - the person he had encountered before they entered the gate- a member of Squad 4, his father's teammate.