My mind went blank. No train of thought whatsoever left the station, as my head utterly froze and along with it my body. I stood still, unmoving and unthinking as I didn't know what to do or think.

I stared at the person in front of me. His pale blue eyes quietly gazed at me, the air seemingly freezing over. A smile hung in his expression yet the feeling it gave was empty. Only an expression with no other meaning behind it.

Several questions popped up in my head; why are you here? Where was Amy? And what happened to our barbecue? There was a lot I wanted to ask, but there was only one question that seemed to fit the whole situation.

“Why?”

“Why? Good Question.”

He raised a hand. The red glowing eyes from the dark vanished. Their presence seemed to have vanished yet I knew, they were still here, watching, surveying my every movement.

Mr. Samuel put his hands behind his back and started walking. I flinched but stood my ground. Currents of electrical energy ran through my legs, and I raised my weapon defensively for any sudden attacks. I knew.

A direct confrontation with Mr Samuel was not a smart idea, it was never a smart idea in my opinion. I was too weak. While he was absurdly strong, we once sparred and I didn't even get to touch his clothes. It was like catching my own shadow.

An amused smile was plastered on his expression, not even threatened by my lightning. It even seemed that there was a proud look on his face, I couldn't tell. On any other day, I could guess his mood but this time, I couldn't read him. It was like trying to understand a philosophical text and reading it in another language. It made no sense.

“Why is a very good question Cosmo, even though I wish to know everything about this. Yet it's not up to me, unfortunately. I want to answer you Cosmo, but I can't.”

“Cantor won't?”

“Hmm, another good question. Well, it's both.”

He had a cheeky smile, halting just a few meters in front of me. Confronting me, looking at me with those pale blue eyes that seemed to have seen through everything.

“If I tell you everything before it even started, where's the fun in that?”

He gave a light chuckle, as he slowly raised his hand ever so slightly. It was not a balled-up fist but a hand that seemed ready to snap his fingers.

“Remember this, my dear pupil, I am not your enemy. Good Luck.”

“Wait-”

Before I could question him further, he snapped his fingers. For a moment nothing happened except him disappearing from his spot, yet I knew, this was the calm before a massive storm. The air stilled, and only a proverbial silence pervaded the area.

In a nearby tree, I saw a single leaf falling from its branch, its slow yet methodical falling felt like an eternity.

It finally fell to the ground, and the moment it did the darkness squirmed as dozens of dark cloaked assassins popped out. Their eyes were blood red as their aura leaked out an ocean worth of bloodlust, all of it directed at me.

They leaped from their position and assaulted me from all possible angles. I did not want to be in a defensive position, so I started my own assault, lightning snaked through my feet and I darted towards them. Weapons drawn, our weapons clashed as an explosive amount of aura collided.

Damn it.

…

“He can die, you know.”

He spoke to a peculiar tree. It differed from others, while every other tree looked like a tree, this one was different. It had gold lines running down its body, giving light to the seemingly perpetual darkness. Its branches stretched out to seemingly unknown lengths.

There were no other trees around it. Standing alone in a lush, yet empty place. In the middle of its body, a laurel wreath was seemingly carved. Samuel stood in front of it, kneeling with one knee as his head was lowered. A torrent of emotions ran through his mind, not able to know what to exactly feel.

“There's no other way.”

“Really now? That's surprising coming from you. ”

The tree glowed lightly, yet it did not respond. Samuel saw it and sighed, not knowing what to say or do. He knew this person better than anyone, and because of this, he knew how unpredictable he can be.

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“At least say something, it's not polite to do otherwise.”

The carved laurel wreath shone, seemingly turning on and off as the golden light was pulsing. Samuel knew the reason why it was like this, and it was a stupid reason.

“It's because of that crackpot.”

Its voice was serious, yet had a tinge of annoyance in it. Samuel had a dawned look on his face as if he realized the meaning of this situation. He gritted his teeth as a murderous look flickered through his eyes.

“That crackpot, I definitely should have killed him when I had the chance.”

The tree only glowed in response. Samuel had his head lowered and was deep in thought. He stood up abruptly and headed back to the situation, wondering if Cosmo was still in one piece.

“I'll be heading out, see you later.”

The laurel wreath glowed one more time before it went out, the seemingly gold-colored tree went back to normal, its branches shortening as it returned to regular branches. The golden lines running down on it vanished, with several to a hundred trees springing from the ground. Erasing any traces that such a tree ever existed.

Its peculiarities were gone, as it adapted to the other trees in its surroundings.

“Show off.”

…

In a matter of a few seconds, my Scythe clashed with their weapons as our speed was moving faster than the naked eye. I ducked a slash as I kicked that Assassin far from me.

Another one raised its twin daggers, its blade glimmering in the dark as it was sent stabbing my eyes. I parried it by the handle of my Scythe, sending a slight electrocution as it snaked through my Scythe through his daggers. It made contact yet the assassin didn't even flinch, quite the opposite, it seemed that I only annoyed him further.

His assaults became more robust, yet I blocked and parried all of them with occasionally dodging thrown daggers and slashes from the others. Maybe good or not, I kind of knew this person.

“Um brother Malekai, can we not do this?”

I tried speaking with the person assaulting me with twin daggers. He didn't speak and continued attacking, his blades becoming in sync with the other person he was teaming up with. A shadow leaped from some corner and made a dash to me.

She tried making a swift incision in my neck, yet I reflected in time as I reacted appropriately. Unfortunately for me, she was one of the fastest in the group, while Malekai was the fierce one. In my opinion, she was the one who closely embodies the way of an assassin. Silent but deadly, and wow was she deadly.

Her name was Selene, but everyone in the group calls her Sister Selene. I call her Selene since I'm not officially part of the group, only when someone has been inducted into the group by Uncle Samuel, are they allowed to call one another either Brother or Sister.

Yet even because of that, even when I'm not officially part of them, they don't make it feel like so. They treat me like I was one of their own, and despite them being ordered to try slaying me ever so often, I knew that they were always looking out for me, as I would for them.

But this…

“Selene, please! can we talk, it doesn't have to be this way.”

She made no sound, only synchronizing her attacks with Malekai, their speed, and ferocity syncing together as it was increasing by the second. At first, I was able to keep up but if it persisted, I was not so sure anymore.

Selene hid in the shadows, looking for my weaknesses, while Malekai was out in the open fighting me. We exchanged moves, blade against blade, and I like to think, brother against brother. Maelakai was becoming more vicious, his assaults relentlessly targeting my weak points like a bear trying to dig out more honey from a bee's nest.

I parried an attack from Malekai, exposing a momentary weakness yet that was enough. I kicked him in the chest but made sure that I was holding back, he flew through the air as a tree caught his fall.

“Sorry, Malakai!”

Bloodlust was felt at the back of my head as I hurriedly dodged, I realized it was Selene, staring daggers at me and I had a guess it was because of what I did. I wearily smiled as I made a break for it.

Like hell, I was staying here. I'm a sitting duck if I get surrounded from all angles. It was best to play like an Assassin should hide in the shadows, and pick them off one by one. I unsummoned my scythe and drew my Chokuto.

Spaces were little, and my large scythe isn't going to cut it at narrow spaces. Diving into the forest, I activated {Lightning Movement} and made a dash toward a certain direction. I can feel it. Amy was there.

As long as I get to Amy, I feel that I might have a chance. There was no feeling she was in danger so it's best I teamed up with her to tag team these assassins.

Daggers were shot from several directions, all aiming at my vital points. I didn't stop running and instead used {Lightning Movement} again as I moved to another spot.

Might have been a mistake as the moment I appeared, an Assassin was hidden there, seemingly expecting my appearance. He shot toward me with egregious speed and I barely reacted. Our weapons collided, as I skidded a centimeter from my spot.

Oh no. This person. Deflecting his attack, I backed off and peered at him cautiously. The Assassin looked back with calm blue eyes, opposite of the others as there was no hint of bloodlust in his eyes. He slowly lifted off his mask, gradually revealing his face.

His barely shaven face was still the same, with a light smile on his face and ocean-blue eyes gazing back at me. He stood tall, weapons on both hands, a chokuto designed with lines resembling bolts of lightning. His dagger, its length almost the same length as a short sword yet just short enough to be considered a dagger.

Its blade shone with silver pristine in the almost lightless forest. We stood face to face, confronting each other, with neither expecting it to end this way. He still looked at me with those eyes and a smile, the same as any other day we saw each other.

But as I saw earlier, there was no hint of warmth in it. Only coldness, like a weapon, a blade whose only purpose is to kill. Reap lives. Indifferent to both life and death.

My mouth lightly shook, yet I still asked the question I previously asked.

“Why?”

I didn't expect a reply. He might have said he wasn't my enemy, but his actions were showing the complete opposite. It took a little while for me to realize that maybe all of it was a lie. A big lie. It was that thought I refused to accept because as I stood here face to face with the personification of death itself, I still had faith.

“A job Cosmo. There is no other reason. Just a Job.”

“I see…”

We no longer talked. There was no need to. And in my opinion, there was no point in it. It's pointless, everything was pointless. At that moment, I felt that something broke inside of me, shattered into pieces. Leaving a gaping hole, a hole that I did not know I could fill. Or ever fill.

We dashed forward one last time, and in a split second, our weapons clashed, sparks flew as we stared at each other in the eyes, and not once did we look away.