Living in a luxury penthouse at the highest of skyscrapers was only something a few could dream of. Living in grandiose with a marbled entryway decorated with gold, maids at your every service, and the most prestigious wine in a virtually infinite supply. This was the life of Vas Sabry.

His penthouse was decorated with gold and marble. With fine arts lining the walls, each painting was valued at six star coins, and he had dozens in his entryway. The entry stopped with a massive arch of marble, greeting everyone into the living space.

Vas was on a leather couch, swirling wine in a clear glass. He looks over to the window, a single, massive window the size of a wall. The warm rays of sunshine illuminating his face, shining onto the couch. He takes a small sigh while taking in the majestic view.

Buildings skyrise in a city surrounded by the harsh desert. It was an oasis in the cruel climate. That was Volara, the harshest country, surrounded by desert yet had carved out its own paradise.

Valonia, the capital, was a major supply hub for the entirety of the planet, being the biggest city on the ‘chokepoint.’ The crossing between the eastern and western sides of the continent.

The chokepoint was the small stretch that connected the two sides of the continent. It was a choke point in both geometry and culture. Volara sat right in the middle. The eastern side was modernised and had declining rates of technique casters, whilst the western side was more traditional with a strong basis in techniques. Volara, being in the middle, had a mixing bowl of culture, with the capital being on the eastern side.

Valonia was named after an old neighbouring country; at first, there was ‘The Kingdom of Volara’ and ‘The Draconic-Valonian Empire.’ Then, following a union between the King and the Emperor, they formed the ‘Kingdom of Volara-Valonia." Centuries had passed with dwindling power from Valonia, and eventually, the country was reformed to ‘The Grand Republic of Volara’ after The Grand Winter.

There was a small chuckle that left Vas’ mouth as he slammed his wine glass onto a table; it rang as it was hit against the table. His forehead twitched as a visible line appeared, as if it were an anger line in a cartoon.

“Serpent. Serpent. Serpent. Serpent! Goddamn you! I can’t believe it. You sneaky little, little b-... Where the hell are you?!” Vas screamed out towards the window. His expression shifted from a refined, prestigious man to frantic and downright obsessed.

He jumps out of his leather chair and frantically paces around the room, like a complete lunatic. His footsteps thud on the marbled ground. Truth be told, it was a horrible choice to have a marbled floor, the prime suspect of accidents.

“It’s been years, my serpent. Years since I’ve seen you! That damn smirk you gave me. You always thought you were better than me, and I never got the chance to prove you wrong; I wanted to wipe that smirk off your stupid face so damn badly.” Vas shouts into his window.

Vas turns around, taking in the view of the warm sunset shining the calming, orange light onto the inside. He let out a small “Ahh” of relief; two people walked in as he sighed, the sight of them boosting Vas’ mood considerably.

His eyes set onto two maids, wearing the classical black and white maid outfits you would see in the old times; they even had the frilly collar. With jet black, short hair. They were twins; the only discernible feature (apart from personality) is one had a red streak of hair and the other had a blue streak.

“Ahh, Illusion. I suppose by the fact you’re here that everything is ready?” Vas asked the red-streaked person.

“Yes. Everything is ready for Sir Vas.” Illusion spoke in a monotone voice. Her voice was cold, cold to the point that Vas wondered if she could even feel anything. Illusion just did her job.

“Ahem.” Vas coughs into his hand, correcting his voice. “Brief me on all the details. I can’t be making a fool of myself.” Vas asked. “Sir Vas. That doesn’t make any sense. How do you brief someone with details? That’s not a briefing…” Illusion responded, criticising Vas. “Huh? I’m sure you can— Vas trailed off as he noticed Illusion’s fierce glare.

While Vas was a man of power, he wouldn’t dare cross Illusion. Next to Serpent, Illusion was someone who Vas didn’t want to see at their true power.

“Master. Our agents found several Rotbound cultists around the world. One of their harbingers even came out, which is worrying. Along with your friend. However, we’ve lost track of your friend and the cultists. The situation escalated with reports that the Chthonia palace was besieged.” The blue streaked briefed Vas.

“The palace? That hasn’t been attacked in a century! Combined with the Ruin of Lemora five years ago and the insurgency in Sora… Gotta say, this world is heading to a dark place. This could be even worse than the Grand Winter.“ Vas sighed, wondering why the world has reached its boiling point.

His eyes drop down onto the floor, fiddling with a pen in his hand. There was an aura of uncertainty before a small smirk crept up his face. “I see. I see,” he muttered. “Nothing we can’t handle, right?” Vas confidently concluded.

“Sir Vas. Aren’t you forgetting about the Ruin of Lemora and how Foundation had to solve it because of our… issues? Illusion coldly brought the harsh truth. “Gah! Well… Wait! That was out of our jurisdiction. Isn’t the eastern continent the Federation’s jurisdiction?” Vas replies.

“We have a headquarters in Edessa.” Illusion brought the final blow to Vas, who could only mutter out. “Ah… I forgot about that.” He slumped down, defeated.

Warm rays of the sunset had begun to fade as the sun went below a skyscraper, clouding the penthouse in darkness. “That’s the Imperia Shard... Built a few months ago, and it blocks my goddamn view!” Vas shouts out. “Though, I guess it’s a nice reminder that there’s still higher to climb.” Vas sighed.

“Delusion. Summon the others.” Vas asked as Delusion sprinted out of the room. He stared profoundly as she quickly exited the room. He heard a faint “As you wish” echo throughout the living space.

2.

It was now a few hours later; the sun had completely set, leaving Volara in complete darkness. The intense heat of the desert had now flipped to a frigid breeze. Vas and his accomplices were in a different room, the meeting room, after they assembled all their agents.

The meeting room was much the same as the penthouse, with marble and gold decorating every surface. On the wall behind Vas was a logo; the logo was a sword and a gun in a silver pattern. Below the logo was writing that said “Silver Bullet.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

In the centre of the room was a massive table, with a slightly higher chair reserved for Vas. Every seat was filled but one. On the table was a map of the world, along with dozens of chess pieces, scattered and fallen.

This was Silver Bullet’s headquarters, located not that far away from Vas’ penthouse. Silver Bullet, the rival to Foundation. They were an assassin company, taking the jobs for the western side of the continent under the ‘VISC Agreement of Grey Companies’ to prevent warfare between companies.

Silver Bullet’s headquarters was in fact very silver. With trophies of the same metal lining the walkway. Their meeting table had a thin line of silver run across the wood, making it feel even more prestigious. That was until Vas decided to help himself by propping his feet onto the table.

Illusion gave him the deepest glare ever, as if she were staring into the very contents of his soul; judging by her face, Vas knew that whatever she was thinking, it was not a nice thought about him.

He jumped and quickly shoved his foot back onto the ground; he thought that might’ve got Illusion off his back, but she was still staring, wide-eyed, at him. “You’re making the table dirty,” she sternly stated. “Sorry…” Vas could only mutter out.

Vas stacked some papers onto the table and attempted to talk. His voice was scratchy and not menacing in the slightest. After a series of coughs, he let out. “Ahem… My throat is a little dry; can I get some water?” Vas asked one of his maids, who swiftly brought out a jug of juice.

After a brief moment of drinking and incessantly organising his papers, he begins the meeting.

“Greetings, Silver Bullet agents! It's been a wild … No, crazy two weeks! Let’s start with the report.” Vas declared.

Massive piles of paper were plopped down onto the desk. There must’ve been a hundred at the minimum. Vas sighed, knowing it's going to be a long, long meeting.

“First. Let’s talk about the biggest issue, the Rotbound group taking the Chthonia palace. This means that currently, the cultists control the entirety of the city-state. Taking last week’s report with the cultists gathering in Rhoholm into consideration…It’s clear they’re making their move.” stated Vas.

“Secondly, by the empty chair I think you can think of what I'm gonna say. Foundation killed Siren. She left us with a single message…Illusion, play the message.” Vas broke the news. On the opposite side to Vas was a small voice recording inside a crystal ball. “The Silent Assailant is back.” The voice recording ended just like that, with the crystal ball shattering after she finished speaking. Illusion slammed her hands onto the table. “No… No way! He’s been missing for years… How is that wretched being back!” She shouted erratically.

“That’s not like you, Illusion,” Vas thought, looking at her expression. It was unlike anything he had seen before; she was infuriated. They all could hear scraping as Illusion grinded her teeth together. She realised they noticed, and with a single cough, she returned to her usual self.

“And it sounds like he’s still loyal to the Foundation.” Vas replied.

“Who is the Silent Assailant?” Delusion asked. Vas’ mouth quivered; he didn’t expect someone not to know who he was; after all, he was the most wanted agent. His mouth quivered as memories of him flooded his memory.

“He was the highest regarded agent. His name, “Silent Assailant,” wasn’t a title given out for free. He was silent, undetectable... Invisible for fuck's sake! No one could stop him, and no one could predict him. He was feared by most and revered by all agents, but then... . the fucker disappeared, ironically without a trace. That is the Silent Assailant. Some say that he was just a myth, but I’ve met the guy…” Vas revealed.

Vas leaned towards the table, gazing at the chessboard in the centre. He took one of the queens and slammed it down with a rook. “And I’ll crush him.” Vas asserted while knocking the rook down.

There was a stern expression painted on Vas’ face as he was in deep thought. He leaned back into his chair, only two chair legs on the ground, teetering on the edge of falling off his chair. “Let’s continue.” He said as he touched the ground with all four chair legs.

“It’s been a while. Very, very long time, but we’ve got a report that Serpent is back,” Vas told the group. “Sir. You talk about this ‘Serpent’ incessantly, but you’ve never explained to us who they are.” Illusion questions him.

“She was someone I looked up to fondly. Jet black hair, wearing a black haori, and her left arm that was armoured with metal. She was a divine knight. We met and fought alongside each other during the war. I’m pretty sure she was insane; that creepy smile still gives me goosebumps.” Vas explained.

“If I may, the same report that confirmed the Rotbound in Chthonia has also confirmed the Serpent’s presence. She was in Chthonia during the siege.” Delusion added, she brought a map to the table. Her finger trailed around the map before landing on Chthonia.

“We do not know Serpent’s and the Silent Assassin’s whereabouts. All the information we’ve gathered only points us towards the palace. It could be possible that both of them are working for Rotbound— Delusion continues before being interrupted.

Vas whiles his hand while giving a slight cough. “They wouldn’t. Silent is too loyal to Foundation, and Serpent would never join a cult. It’s more realistic to say that she’s working alone.” Vas refuted.

“Well, suppose the reports are over. Any thoughts or questions?” He asked, stretching his arms on the table.

One of the agents on the far left took off a gas mask. They had long, flowing hair that nearly reached the ground. Their eyes were kind, and they carried themselves as a courteous man. They had a small black heart underneath their left eye and birthmarks all over their arms.

“Ahh~ Dear Vas, do you actually believe we can beat the Assailant? You do know how bloody that encounter was, hm?” The man interrogated.

“Hysunsoo, times have changed. Back then, we were a small company barely scraping by. I was drowning in debt. But now, we’re a massive company. By beating him directly, or in a war of attrition, we won’t lose to him again.”

This man was Hyunsoo, one of the long-standing agents of Silver Bullet. He typically used poisons and chemical weapons. He often forgets to take the gas mask off.

“Hmm, we still have the VISC agreement. Prohibiting company wars makes our work much harder. Legally, we all aren’t allowed to work in the same countries as—”“I see. You intend to lure the assailant to a neutral country? What a crafty loophole.” Hyunsoo continues; he moves towards the map, pointing at the central sanctuary. “Legally speaking, neither us nor Foundation operate in the sanctuary. Meaning that in the eye of the VISC, we are perfectly allowed to fight Assailant. A perfectly calculated plan, dear Vas.” Hyunsoo proposed.

“I feel like you made that plan.” Vas quietly trailed.

Vas jolted out of his chair, opting to use the remaining time of the meeting to stand. “He worked for Foundation back then. Still seems that way. We should be cautious moving forward. The Silent Assailant isn't someone we want to mess with in the meantime. We’ll prepare for him, and when he’s in the sanctuary, we’ll strike.” Vas declares.

Delusion walks over to Vas with a silver tray; on the tray was another bottle of wine along with a glass. Vas pops the cork off and pours himself a glass; he swirls it around before sipping it.

“What’s even weirder… Serpent and Silent both coming back at the same time too. They’ve even been spotted not far from each other.” Vas mumbles, just barely being heard by Illusion.

“Are you suggesting that they are working together?” Illusion asked.

“Correct. 100 points. I can’t believe Serpent would work with our rival. She could’ve worked for me, damn it!” Vas strops. His face truly looked defeated.

“You don’t actually hate Serpent, do you, Vas?” Delusion questioned.

“Tch, not the point. We have a long score to settle from the war.” Vas stated.

The meeting concluded with that. The new plan is to settle two scores, a company one with defeating Assailant and a personal one with Serpent. Slowly, the meeting room emptied, leaving a small eerie breeze in its place. Eventually, Vas was the only one left in the room with his own thoughts.

“We can assume from this report that they were specifically targeting the palace. This coincides with an earlier report… about three months ago when N’saka was hit by them. The question now stands: What was Serpent doing there? He thinks to himself.

His eyes trail down, but something clicked inside his head. “Man, all this thinking… I’m made for the battlefield. For the fight and the command. Not for sitting in a cosy room drinking wine and giving out orders from comfort! Huh, life really has become much more boring… Just wait until I find you, Serpent. Then the real fun can begin!” Vas declares.

Vas decided to carry on, to find Serpent, and spill out his true feelings. The journey for Silver Bullet will be rocky, but like the other years, they shall prevail.