-Assassination-
[The act of killing someone on someone’s behalf, usually for money.
Often times Tsumi Clan Hunters are commissioned to
kill people for various reasons, often political or corporate rivals.]
Kuro and Oroske had planned to take a couple days off from Hunts after returning from their most recent expedition; taking care of some particularly tough Sigils in the outskirts of Market City. A few months had passed since the Peace Party, and they had been working nearly non-stop, taking on Hunt after Hunt. Kuro stretched his arms above his head as they walked from the roundabout their chauffeur dropped them off at, enjoying the sight of the setting sun. “They paid really well considering how quickly we finished,” Kuro commented as his arms fell down to his sides.
“That they did,” Oroske agreed as he sifted through the bag, dividing the Venn evenly between the two Hunters. Now that Kuro was starting to really carry his own weight during their Hunts, Oroske started giving him his own cut of the pay. Not that he planned on buying anything specific, only really spending it on food on the odd moment the restaurant doesn’t give it to them for free. He’d gotten quite a bit saved up by now through this method. Maybe I’ll buy a new weapon or something, the thought had crossed his mind more than a few times recently. He’d become very comfortable using his sword and his scythe, and was itching to try something new. With how often they’ve been coming back and going back out shortly after, however, he hadn’t had the chance to really shop for one.
Before anything else, they had to stop at HQ to turn in their report. Upon walking in, Venn looked up from the reception desk and gave her usual greeting. “You two finished quickly,” she said with a kind smile, “You’re not pushing yourselves too hard, are you?” True, they’d just barely accepted this Hunt that same morning.
“Nah, we’re alright. It was a pretty straightforward job, and between the two of us those Sigils didn’t stand a chance.” Oroske said with a small laugh as he checked over the paperwork. That was also true. In fact, they would have been back a couple hours earlier, had their employers not insisted on them staying for an early dinner.
“That’s good then.” She accepted the paper and checked over the report herself. “By the way,” she spoke again as she signed the paper, “Danfis wanted to see the two of you. Should I let him know you’re here?”
“Oh does he?” Oroske said flatly, “You good to meet with him now or do we wanna come back later?” He asked Kuro.
“Since we’re here, may as well. I wouldn’t want to go home then come all the way back,” Kuro reasoned.
Oroske agreed, and Venn contacted Danfis. After the two men were informed it would be a couple minutes before he came down, they sat down in the waiting area. “What do you think he wants us for?” Kuro asked, worried it would entail more work taking over their days off.
“Hard to say.” Oroske crossed his arms and leaned back on the plush chair. “If I had to guess, I’d say he either wants to check in on your progress, or he has a special job for us.”
“Would he really give me a special mission since I’m still just a navy cloak?”
“It’s more likely than you think. It’s not necessarily common, but it does happen.”
Kuro leaned back, and closed his eyes. May as well rest while I can then, he thought. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, Venn called the duo up to her desk and informed them that he’s ready for them to come up.
“Thank you, Venn,” Oroske said as he led the way to Danfis’s office. As they approached, they saw three red cloaks, Rel and two others Kuro hadn’t met, walking out of the office, chatting quietly. Rel gave the white and navy cloak a friendly wave as they walked down the hall in the opposite direction.
The lights in the office were very dim, as they usually were. Four of the chairs around the conference table had been disturbed from their usual position, with two facing each other directly. Danfis sat at his desk in front of the curtained window, talking with the red cloaked Hunter standing next to him. Kuro didn’t recognize her, she had short, straight blonde hair, her matching golden eyes peeking out from long bangs. Her cloak reminded him of the Incol officer’s coats, a trench coat with a high collar that disappeared under her hair, devoid of any special designs save for black stitches and a pin on her collar that marked her as a Hunter. She cast a quick glance as the two entered the room, before returning her gaze to her leader.
They finished their quiet chatter as Kuro and Oroske stood at the other end of the desk. As the red cloak stepped back to leave, Danfis spoke, “You can stay, Lorn. Their task also has to do with our friends, the Demon Lords.”
“Understood,” she said with a small bow. Up close Kuro was able to see better how young she looked, and her voice only lent to the image of her being quite young.
Danfis turned to the two hunters, “I know you were planning on taking some time off, but we received a job request,” he made eye contact with Oroske, “They asked for you by name, Oroske.” He slid an envelope to the white cloak.
Oroske picked it up and inspected the emblem on the front. “Ensaru, huh.” He mumbled as he opened the envelope and took out the letter contained within. It read: “My dear friend Oroske, I’m writing to you in hopes of hiring on your services as a Hunter. As I’m sure you remember from our time together all those years ago, there is a bit of a feud between my company and another major company here in Quarry; the Grand Stone Guild. This feud is reaching a boiling point, and I intend to put an end to it. I would greatly like and appreciate your help in this endeavor. Should you agree, I will send my assistants to pick you up and bring you here to the J’alyr the moment I receive correspondence from you. Sincerely, your friend, Director Ensaru of the J’alyr ke Ensaru.”
Oroske let out a heavy sigh upon finishing it. “Well, I can’t really say no. I owe him too much.” He looked up at Danfis, glancing at Lorn, “I take it there’s more to this than just this job request.”
“Correct,” Danfis nodded. “We’ve received word from the Guardians regarding the investigation of the Demon Lords, and more specifically, their Human counterparts.” This piqued Kuro’s interest, and he started paying attention more keenly. “We have Hunters in various cities investigating their own leads, and now we have leads in Quarry. Specifically, there is some suspicion the two companies mentioned in your letter are involved with them. There’s strong evidence that they’re getting themselves involved with the city’s government and potentially more than one company. We’ve been asked by the Guardians to send a few Hunters to investigate these leads and see what information we can find.”
Oroske sighed and scratched the back of his head, “Well, I can’t turn down a request from Ensaru, and turning down a request from the Guardians is just asking for trouble…” He looked to Kuro, seeking his input. He’d been slowly giving Kuro a lot more freedom to do what he wants; letting him make calls during Hunts, picking what Hunts the two took on, who went with them if they needed additional hands. Pretty soon Kuro would be ready to move on and get his black cloak.
“I’m alright with taking our break a few days later than originally planned,” Kuro said, picking up on the hint from Oroske, “Besides, one of our recent clients talked a lot about Quarry, I’m interested to see it for myself.” Ever since his time with the Peace Party, Kuro had been more proactive in seeking out new experiences. He’d now been to almost every major city in the Human Realm, Quarry being one of three he hadn’t been to.
“Well, as long as you’re okay with it,” Oroske said, “After this though, we definitely should take a break. We shouldn’t overwork ourselves.” The mentor was impressed with how much stamina his apprentice had. He turned to Danfis, “We’ll take the job. I imagine the acceptance letter will arrive sometime tomorrow?”
“If you’d like I can reach out today,” Danfis responded, barely moving a muscle, “Which reminds me, I have some new tools for you to bring with you on this job.” He opened a drawer on the far side of his desk and pulled out a pendant in the shape of the Clan’s emblem. He held it in his palm, with the chain dangling between his fingers. “Recent advances in Gate and similar magic have allowed us to make these communicators more easily. I can have a custom one made for Kuro before you leave.”
“These were exclusive to Red Cloaks before, weren’t they?” Oroske asked, taking the pendant from Danfis, inspecting it closely.
“Correct. The Red Cloaks were given them first as an identifier, and as a communicator second. Due to the secretive nature of their work, our Reds are usually working in plain clothes. These pendants work as proof of their status as Hunters.”
“So why give us each one? Even if they are cheaper and easier to make now.”
“The investigation into the Demon Lords and their counterparts is one we’re doing publicly, and with how long our Hunters are out in the field, we decided it would be beneficial to have an easier method of contact than sending letters that can be delayed by up to a day, or worse, lost. As such, all personnel assigned to this investigation are given one.
“However for you two, there is a second part to it. We’ve received a second job offer from one Yenva Muwal, current head of the Grand Stone Guild. Her request was a lot more straight-forward; the assassination of your client, Director Ensaru. With every angle considered, I want to send the two of you to operate undercover. You’ll want to make sure you’re wearing plainclothes by the time you arrive in Quarry, if not before leaving Tsumi’din.”
“A navy cloak going on an undercover mission, how times have changed,” Oroske chuckled. “So who’s taking the other job?”
“It’s already been accepted, and the two that took it asked to remain anonymous for the time being. They’ll likely also be operating undercover, though I imagine you’ll be able to spot just about any of our Hunters regardless.” Danfis explained.
“I see. And you’re probably right about that.” Though on the other hand, almost any Hunter worth their salt would recognize Oroske, as well.
After discussing the Hunting duo’s plan, they were dismissed. They decided to leave the next day, early in the afternoon. This gave them some time to wind down and do some shopping.
Both apprentice and mentor owned a fair amount of casual wear that had long gone unused, but Oroske still insisted on getting at least some new clothes for Kuro. “The clothes you have are fine, but perhaps a little too casual, you know?” He explained his reasoning, “And you’ll look like you have no sense of style.”
I mean, I don’t. But I guess that’s not the point, Kuro thought. “So when are we going to do our shopping?”
“Tomorrow morning, I’m going to see about enlisting the help of someone,” Oroske said. After a silent moment, he spoke again, “Come to think of it, you wanted to purchase a new weapon, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask you for recommendations on the weapon type and where I should buy it. I was thinking about maybe a spear, or something like that.”
“A spear, huh? A unique weapon type as far as Hunters are concerned.” Oroske took a moment, examining Kuro while thinking. “I think it would suit you nicely. I wonder if we could convince our chauffeur to make a stop in Market City. It’s a pretty significant detour, but that’s where my go-to shop for weapons is. Worst case, we can buy one for you to use for the time being here.”
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At this point in the conversation, the two had arrived back at their home. Kuro assisted Oroske with preparing their evening meal. After eating, the two split up. After their trip with the Human-Demon Peace Party, and at his request, Danfis supplied Kuro with various study materials. The subjects varied from history, for both realms as well as the three Half-Demon Clans, to Aetherology and advanced magic concepts.
So while Oroske went out to “recruit help for tomorrow,” as he said, Kuro elected to study. He was keenly interested in all of the subjects he had requested books on, but he’d been rather focused on the advanced magic concepts he received from Nadred.
Lately he’d only been able to do any studying late at night, cooped up in his room. Tonight, however, he was able to do some studying outside, and therefore was able to put what he’d been learning into practice. He opened his recent focus, flipping quickly between the various bookmarks he’d placed, looking for a specific page. Finally, he found one with the title “Gravia - Intermediate Applications of Force-aspected Magic.” Gravia, commonly thought to be “gravity” magic, was in and of itself a relatively advanced subject, and is one of only three subjects that start with “beginner” concepts within the book - the rest start at advanced.
Kuro had spent a fair amount of time in the nights prior going through the beginner concepts, and bookmarked the intermediate applications for a night just like this one. I suppose I should start off with trying it out in its basic form, he thought to himself. He looked out to the dirt portion of the yard, scanning for a suitable test subject. Finally, he found a fairly sized stone. He moved it into the middle of the dirt, and took a few steps back. He raised his arm, palm facing the stone, and began focusing aether into his hand.
Kuro had always been talented with magic, less so than martial arts and energy manipulation, but talented enough that he was able to control aether and cast simple spells without too much thought. In the textbook he’d been studying, there was a thick chapter about general advice. He hadn’t read through all of it, but one of the pieces of advice was, when learning and practicing, to take your time and carefully visualize what you want your magic to do.
Best to keep it simple for now, he thought. He imagined the rock being picked up, and hovering in the air. Keeping that image in mind, he recalled some of the basic concepts of gravia. One key concept was the idea of “anchor points,” an idea that works with most elements. He visualized the rock being pushed up from a spot directly under it, that spot acting as the “starting” anchor point, and the rock being the “target” point.
His thoughts sorted and visualized, Kuro commanded, “Gravia!” A deep purple flashed underneath the stone, and it suddenly went flying into the air, much higher than he meant to send it. The increased height broke the caster’s focus, and he strained to see the rock as it flew through the dusk sky. Yeesh, that’s a lot higher than I meant to send it. Once the stone fell back into the yard, Kuro braced himself for the impact to send up a lot of dirt and produce a loud thud.
To his surprise however, it suddenly stopped just short of hitting the ground, for just a second before slumping onto the dirt. “Huh?” Kuro was audibly and visibly confused, and approached the stone to inspect, “My focus broke earlier, and I didn’t cast it again, so it couldn’t have been me.”
“Correct,” a voice affirmed from the back door. Kuro looked back, and to his surprise saw Nadred and Jarou standing there.
“You’re back! I wasn’t expecting you two to get back so soon.”
The other mentor-apprentice duo had taken on a joint investigation between the three Clans at the Port of Fyr’ra. A recent string of crimes broke out there, which was suspected to be connected to the Demon Lords. Because of that suspicion they had members from all 3 Half-Demon Clans participate in the investigation.
“How did the investigation go?” Kuro was eager to hear if there had been any developments in the search for the Lords.
Nadred sat down on the edge of the porch, “Overall, pretty well. The Incols got there early and had already put together an impressive portfolio of evidence by the time we had arrived. Unfortunately it ended up being a small gang of young adults trying to bring back their grandparent’s old crime syndicate, and they had no information about the Demon Lords. It seems their instigators were a band of trenui merchants, who the Ishen are now looking into more deeply. From what Gai told us they believe it may be the same one they’ve been tracking lately. No solid evidence of them acting illegally, but maybe they’ll find something soon.”
“I wonder what the odds are that that’s the band your Second Soul is in,” Jarou said.
“Probably not very likely,” Nadred said as he leaned back, propping himself up on his arms, “From what Kuro’s told us it seems like a small group that’s already on the run. If not from the law, then something else.”
The thought of his Second Soul still excited Kuro. He hoped he’d get to meet her sooner than later. But the reality was that he had no solid leads. It’d been several weeks since he last dreamed of her.
“I’m impressed you’re trying to learn to use Gravia so early, Kuro,” Nadred changed the subject. “Though it seems to me your aether pass-throughs may not be well suited to it. At least, for the application you were attempting.”
“What do you mean?” Kuro asked. He’d read about pass-throughs in one of the textbooks he was borrowing, but it only really covered how to keep them healthy and use them properly.
“Generally speaking there are two kinds of pass-throughs, called ‘narrow’ and ‘wide.’ You and Oroske both have ‘wide’ pass-throughs. You’re capable of outputting large amounts of aether very quickly, and therefore have very strong magic output. I, on the other hand, have ‘narrow’ pass-throughs. The level of power I can output all at once is smaller, but I’m able to maintain a more steady flow. Then you have people like Jarou and Kared, who have very flexible pass-throughs. These aren’t necessarily rare, but they aren’t nearly as common as the other two types. They are capable of both high-quantity bursts, and low-quantity streams, however they aren’t particularly proficient in either.
“All of that said, it is possible for people with narrow pass-throughs to do high-quantity bursts, and essentially gain flexibility with them. It’s similarly possible for people with wide pass-throughs to learn to be flexible with theirs as well, much like you’re trying to do. While there is a physical aspect to it, in the end pass-through ‘width’ is also determined by your natural disposition. If I were to focus and put forth the effort, I could manage a high-quantity burst close in size to what you manage, but the mental and physical strain to do so is very draining.”
“So how would I manage to make my output smaller and more steady?”
“Different techniques work for different people. A common method is to start from the very beginning of the magic casting process, and visualize every step of the process vividly. From your pass-throughs opening, the aether flowing through it, and finally exiting with the effects of your command. I’m sure you’ve read about visualization in the same text book you’ve been learning about Gravia, yes?” Kuro nodded. “Vividly visualizing the effects of your magic is a very good starting point for visualization, but when it comes to going against your physical and mental disposition, it’s a good idea to start even earlier in the process.”
Kuro absorbed his words and advice and considered them seriously. It seemed like a bit of an abstract concept to visualize, but he figured he could give it a try. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot next time.” He was silently grateful Nadred was around to help him with magic. Oroske was a great teacher when it came to swordplay and combat, since those were things you learn best by watching and doing. Any magic concept more complex than the basic commands were difficult for him to teach, though he had no problem putting them into practice himself. Or at least, that’s how it seemed to Kuro.
“Good, good,” Nadred said, before changing the subject once again. “Is Oroske not around? I wanted to chat with him for a bit.”
Kuro shook his head, “No, not sure where he is. He said he was going to enlist some help for our shopping trip tomorrow.”
“I see, I may have an idea where he is then.” Nadred sat down on the porch, “Mind if we hang out for a bit while waiting for him to get back?”
“Not at all.”
Kuro decided to take a break from his training and visit with his friends. The three discussed their recent jobs, and the job he and Oroske were going on tomorrow.
“Ensaru, huh? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while,” Nadred commented.
“You know him?” Kuro asked.
“Oh, yeah. I’m not as close with him as Oroske, nor do I feel like I have any sort of debt with him. I am grateful to him for taking care of Oroske back then, though.”
“What do you mean, ‘taking care of Oroske?’”
Nadred exhaled heavily, “Well, it’s not really a story for me to tell. The basic gist of it is that a long time ago, Oroske left the Clan. During that time, he met Ensaru, who took care of him for the time he was away. He also taught Oroske a lot, basically acting as a second mentor for him. If you want to know more I’d suggest asking Oroske, though I think you may have better chances asking Ensaru himself. Oroske isn’t known for talking about himself.”
The trio chatted idly for a time, waiting for Oroske to get back. Once he returned, he and Nadred went inside to talk, leaving the two apprentices to their own devices outside.
“Wanna spar?” Jarou broke the silence after a few minutes, “It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity.”
“Sure, you’re on.” Kuro was sure Jarou had the same thought, I wonder who’s stronger now? Their last battle was a few weeks ago, which Jarou won after a very long stalemate, winning only after Kuro had exhausted his pass-throughs and whiffed his decisive attack.
Lately, however, Kuro had been focusing more on a physical-heavy fighting style, relying more on energy manipulation and Acceleration to boost his abilities rather than magic.
The two stepped into the yard, and selected their weapons from their Demon Sheathes. Jarou chose a sword with a long, thick blade. Kuro brought out his recent go-to; a similarly long weapon, but with a thin, slightly curved blade. He thought briefly about using a scythe, which he enjoyed using for the simple fact that a lot of people don’t know how to defend against it effectively. But he ultimately decided against it as that advantage was non-existent against his current opponent.
After indicating with a nod that both were ready, both immediately went into an accelerated state. Jarou launched himself at Kuro, who defaulted to focus on defense. Despite his weapon’s weight, Jarou swung his sword easily and quickly, his red hair a blur in Kuro’s vision. Kuro patiently defended, observing his opponent, carefully noting the way he moved and what applications of magic he was using. He was surprised that Jarou didn’t come out swinging with magic immediately. After the third or so blow he blocked, he felt the ground shift below him. There it is, he thought. This was a trick Jarou had only just begun experimenting with the last time they fought; using his affinity for the earthen element to subtly change the battleground and throw off his opponent’s balance.
Kuro faltered, as under one foot the ground was lowered, and raised under the other. Jarou’s sword was swiftly approaching him, at a very unfavorable angle for parrying. Not having much other choice, Kuro quickly blasted wind on his right side and a little in front, between him and Jarou’s weapon. This didn’t do much to slow Jarou’s attack, but it accelerated the speed at which Kuro fell. It also caused his body to spin slightly, moving him away from Jarou’s attack, and putting him in a better position to block. He was able to parry the attack, and carried his momentum, landing on his right hand and knee. He quickly rebounded, putting some distance between him and his opponent and getting back on his feet.
Jarou didn’t give him much time to recover, and was already launching himself at him again. After another exchange of several blows and blocks, and Kuro paying more attention to the shifting environment, he felt like he’d gotten a feel for where his opening to counterattack was. Jarou had been doing almost exclusively vertical strikes, more specifically top to bottom, occasionally shifting angle depending on Kuro’s position, but never more than 20 degrees in either direction. Kuro was going to use this to get an opening. He positioned himself to Jarou’s right, and feinted a strike. Jarou recognized that Kuro had found his opening, and swung his sword, using magic to cover it in stone and increase its weight. Kuro prepared to move, using wind in the same way he did before, in conjunction with manipulating energy towards his legs to get a boost in strength.
When the wind hit him however, his feet stayed in place, while his body was pushed closer to Jarou’s weapon. Jarou had encased his feet in stone, preventing his counter strike. His body in an awkward angle, and unable to defend with his weapon, Kuro decided it was game over, and used Anur to defend his expected point of impact. Jarou meant to control the weight and power of his swing, but failed. His stone-covered sword smashed right into Kuro’s side, and threw him to the great, breaking his feet out of their stone holds.
“Oh shit, you alright?” Jarou asked in a panic.
Kuro pushed himself off the ground with a groan, “Yeah, I’m alright,” he muttered as he stood up. “I was able to block the attack a little bit with anur. Those were some neat tricks. Small and simple, but certainly effective.”
“Thanks,” Jarou laughed, “You did well yourself, you would have won if I didn’t realize you were going for a feint.”
As Kuro brushed the dirt off his chest, Oroske and Nadred came back outside. “Oh, you two went at it?” Oroske asked as he stepped off the porch and into the yard.
Jarou nodded and recounted the fight for the two mentors.
“Well, I certainly would have enjoyed watching that fight. Shame we didn’t get the opportunity to,” Oroske laughed, patting Kuro on the back.
“What were you two talking about?” Kuro asked.
“Oh, I just wanted to know how Kared is doing. She’s currently doing something for the Crimson Twilight, so the only way for me to get updates on her is through Nadred here.” Oroske explained.
Kuro got the same feeling he always gets when Oroske talks to someone behind closed doors, There’s something he’s leaving out. I wonder what it is? He mentally shrugged it off and decided not to worry about it.
Nadred and Jarou said their goodbyes for the night and left for home shortly after. Kuro and Oroske decided to call it a night themselves, heading to bed earlier than they normally do to make sure they have energy for the coming day.