Chapter 147: An Underground Massacre

*** London – 11:32 P.M.

“What the hell is taking everyone so long?”

I waited near an alley; apparently, my handler had something important to discuss with me. If this turned out to be just another job, I was definitely going to be pissed.

Who calls someone in the middle of the night just to hand out another job? A phone call would’ve been far better…

“Christ…”

I lit a cigarette and watched the smoke curl upward as I fought off the boredom.

I was supposed to be free tonight, for fuck’s sake. This had better be important, or I’m definitely upping my rates next month.

“E-Excuse me? Are you N-1?”

A voice came from the mouth of the alley—soft, uncertain, and unfamiliar. A woman. Vulnerable and clearly inexperienced. I’d heard that tone countless times.

Don’t tell me they’ve saddled me with another partner.

How many times will they have to learn that anyone they pair with me just ends up dead?

No matter…

Guess this won’t be much of a—CRACK

*** Present

“Huh?”

I stumbled slightly, grabbing my aching forehead as I tripped over a corpse’s arm.

A corpse?

I looked around and saw the mangled, bloody remains of the assassins who had surrounded me just a moment ago. I didn’t even remember fighting them.

“What’s going on?”

I looked down at my arm, sensing the magic still leaking from my body. I had used magic recently.

But I didn’t remember casting a single spell.

More importantly… what was that just now?

A dream? A hallucination? Some kind of magical interference?

I don’t remember anything like that from my past life…

[Photographic Memo—ERROR

“Again… what the hell’s wrong with me?”

I shook my head. This wasn’t a priority. Fiona had been taken. If I moved quickly enough, she should still be alive—

BADUMP!

Alive?

That’s odd…

I swear I felt something just now…

Never mind. I need to move. Now.

It didn’t matter that I didn’t know where to go; all I knew was that I needed to move, or I’d regret it. I had no idea what was going on, but ignoring my body when it was reacting like this would’ve been a terrible idea.

BANG!

BOOM!

SLASH!

I cleaved my way through what felt like hundreds of enemies, my entire body drenched in blood as I pushed forward, dragged on by some unseen force.

“Stop him!”

A firing line formed in front of me.

[Profaned Serpent]

[Endless Fang]

SLASH!

They were all dead. I just had to keep running, keep sprinting, keep teleporting—using everything I had to find where she’d been taken.

“I’m stopping you here.”

A huge man waited at the end of the next corridor, dual axes in hand, both clearly coated in wind magic. A spellblade. Too bad that wouldn’t work.

[Profaned Prince]

“Kneel!”

The brute dropped, one knee slamming against the floor.

SLASH!

I didn’t even bother killing him cleanly; I just rammed through him until he was nothing but paste. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t explain why.

I just… needed to keep going!

[Soul Sight]

Even my detection spell wasn’t working. Whatever lined these walls was blocking my vision, and that alone made me worry.

FLASH!

“Thirty minutes…”

The thought came unbidden. Thirty minutes? What was that about? Why was it so specific?

“Damn it! I hate it when I have no idea what’s going on!”

[Profaned Abyssal March]

If I couldn’t pinpoint where I needed to go, then I’d just spread out in all directions through countless summons. A basic [Shadow Parade] wouldn’t be enough, but an [Abyssal March] should work.

[Profaned Prince]

“GO NOW!”

I yelled, my voice cracking as I gave the command. The summons ripped through the metal walls, carving their own path as they beelined toward the faintest signs of life.

But that wasn’t enough.

I needed more…

More power.

It didn’t matter if I destroyed the Shadow Society along with it.

This entire operation would be pointless if I didn’t find her.

[Profaned Abyssal March]

I sprinted through the compound, constantly calling forth more shadowy minions to tear through walls and everything in their way, blobs of darkness swarming every nook and cranny like mold spreading through bread.

Gunfire and magic rang out everywhere as the summons hunted down more assassins and members in their path.

At this rate… maybe I wouldn’t be too late!

…

Too late?

Late for what?

*** London – 3:12 A.M.

A simple rooftop on the tallest building in a small town—perfect for teaching someone how to fire a gun without a large enough police force to worry about.

“You’re holding the gun wrong.”

I reprimanded the woman in front of me. She’d introduced herself as T-452. The letter marked the first letter of our given name; the number marked our rank in the agency among other agents with the same letter.

It was an inefficient ranking system.

But that was the point.

Information leaks and assassinations of our top members were far harder when not even we knew who was truly the best.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… I’m new to this…”

She adjusted her posture, aiming at a bird I’d designated as her target.

“Why are you even in this business?” I asked, watching her waste bullet after bullet trying to shoot down a simple, stationary pigeon.

“…I had nowhere else to go.”

Her voice was tinged with sadness, but she kept firing. She was clearly trying her hardest—more effort than you usually saw from most newcomers to this line of work.

BANG!

“I-I did it!”

“Oh? Looks like you’ve got some talent. Most would empty two magazines.”

“Y-You mean that!?”

“You shouldn’t be too happy. I just gave you a compliment for killing something.”

But the smile on her lips didn’t fade. In fact, her eyes were far too innocent and bubbly for the line of work she’d just signed up for.

“Cut that smirk. Call me once you kill five more.”

I sighed, grabbing the Crown of Thorns from underneath my coat.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“None of your business.” I snickered, giving her a light kick in the leg to remind her to focus on her training.

CRACK!

*** Present

I opened my eyes again…

Huh?

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