《Post-Living》Chapter 22: Missing In Action
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Things don't go my way, I suppose.
My escape with those people I thought were my friends ended up destroying themselves. Particularly when I stumbled into that scene where even I couldn't react to. It was that immortal man, standing, blankly staring at me. I realized now that he wasn't staring at me, but the way out. He was my friend.
His scythe pierced on someone's chest, which I knew was his brother.
On the other hand, the one I wanted to bond with more, and the one I first took an interest in..
Let's just say they're the victims of that murder.
Years, specifically 2 years had passed in a blink of an eye.
I haven't heard of anything regarding him.
I sat down, and quietly watched the scenery around me. It seemed like I was in paradise. A paradise where there's peace and quiet, and I didn't think of anything else except one thing.
"I wish they were here with me.."
2 years later, I am still cope with the past. And that's not all.
I went back to the world of what I was used to. Killing. But now, I'm not doing it for anyone, I'm doing it for myself. I think of it as a way to release all my anger into hurting and killing someone. I was born with this.. ability that this is the most suited way for me to use it.
I think of those things whenever I'm here at this place. On top of a cliff, watching the sun go down. It just feels so peaceful that I always end up thinking. And when my thoughts go deeper and deeper, I always ask myself if I could change the outcome of.. that day. If I actually just kept an eye on Reus.. If I actually understood what happened at all, could I do it?
I took a deep breath that made me inhale a bit of dust, making me cough for a few times.
"Damn it.."- I thought, while looking at the sun.
"Well, It's time to get back to work."- I said, while turning back.
This work is tiring enough.. if I could call it work. If not for the money, and an entirely different purpose, I would've just became a treasure hunter. Although, treasures aren't usually found... so scrap that off.
"Wow... is this an actual mansion?!"- said the guy beside me. He was also an assassin, but not entirely better than me.
I didn't want to bring him along, because I usually have killing methods that I can only use, so he would pretty much be a nuisance at this point.
"I couldn't still get used to your Guise. It's so.. mysterious, y'know?"- He kept on blabbering. Everytime I go on a job, he kept saying that. What's so hard to understand that I can manipulate wood?
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"Shut up, Dan."- I quickly responded. He responded with his usual saying that starts with "I don't care", "You should learn from a professional like me..", and "I get half the job's reward anyway so I could go away now.. or I'll help you." He gets on my nerves, everytime.
His name is Dan Achtung, one of the "professionals" in the place I get contracts in. Let's call it an "Assassin's guild", or any name that is more common and can describe that better. The people I work with weren't exactly friendly, except this guy. That's to be expected, because I did kill a number of their men.
It all started when I was roaming around. A lot of people knew who I was, and a lot of people felt endangered by my presence. Whenever I try to visit shops, they always have this terrified look upon their faces. Or maybe it's because of this wood I surround my face with. Because of that, I kept getting targetted by various assassins which I ultimately killed at the end. I managed to capture one, and interrogated him. The assassins all came from that guild, and that purpose suddenly popped into my head.
"Maybe.. I can use that to locate him.."- I said, while looking at the sun at the same spot that I always go to.. well, except I kinda manipulated my element to trap the assassin on a tree below the cliff, and he won't stop screaming.
Irritated, I went down and asked him where they're located. He threatened me by saying "Ha! Do you think you can actually defeat us?! God, you're basically storming into a place of actual people who will bring death in an instant."
"I know. I experienced that once."- Said I, which made him stare at me.
"You? But you have the physique of a kid! How can anyone kill with that?! Oh, I know, you must have someone with you, right? The one that uses this freak of an ability.."- He responded, while laughing.
I needed to show off a bit. Wooden spikes surrounded the tree from above, and from the sides. The element Wood is my specialty, you see, and I have the perfect guise on how to properly use it. Easily enough, his eyes went blank and just started nodding off.
"Ok, OK! Just, don't.."- He pleaded.
"Can I be one of you now?"- I answered. The assassin kept nodding and nodding, until he dropped all his weapons and I set him free. I know he is an assassin, but he can't touch nor kill me. There's a huge spike looming above his head, just ready to impale him.
I asked him his name, and until now he still keeps following me. It's the guy beside me, the assassin that actually survived after a whole bunch came after me was him, and he never let me out of his sights ever again. I wonder if someone wants to put a bounty on him too, I'd be the first to take him dead.
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He showed me the guild. Luckily, no one was there except the old man, who was sitting in the bar. He was small, frail and old. You could tell by his face. It's like he already lived a millenia.
I just got the feeling that he was the boss somehow. I thought it was the wiser the better, or experience tops talent or something but no, I was wrong. He was apparently an assassin as well, because his face was on the board. The board displayed the number of contracts someone took, and as anyone can tell, he has the most contracts.
A thought popped up my head, and I said it outloud.
"Is.. Is this an ambush?! N-no one move! I have your colleague here!"- I desperately said, because the old man's face was slowly smiling.
"Oh, relax..~ I can't hurt a pretty young lady like you."- Said the old man. I felt really weird after he said that.
A woman suddenly kicked the door down, and held up a handgun.
"What the fuck is going on around here?!"- said the woman.
"N-nothing, boss! She.. she's here."- Dan responded.
"Why the fuck isn't she dead? She was your target, wasn't she?"- said the woman, again.
"Well.. she's standing right here next to me, so you could say I pretty much failed the mission."- Dan answered, with a half smile in his face.
The woman sighed, and put her handgun in her holster. The woman had black hair, and red eyes. You could see the anger she was about to unleash at Dan. She was also wearing a cape, a shirt underneath, and an eyepatch. She's like the definition of badass, in picture form.
"Hey, you. Why're you here anyway?"- She said, while pointing at me.
"This is an assassin's guild, right"- I answered.
"It's not technically a guild but yes, this is where assassins gather. And I'm the one who facilitates all of them."
"Well then.. can I join? I need a lot of Chri right now.."- I said.
"And on why should I do that?"- She replied back, while looking at me.
"I did kill several of your men."
"Oh.. right. I forgot about them. Alright, I guess you're in."- She answered, and went straight back to the door and slammed it shut.
Looking back at it now, my entrance wasn't really that good at all. I was expecting some fight and those assassins were hidden in the shadows but no, they just came out the front door, then they were surprised because I'm here, then Dan interrupts and tells them all about it, then repeat. It's amazing how they easily accepted that a target with a high bounty like me joined them, but then again they didn't really care. As I've said, they're not really friendly.
The only ones I could talk to is Dan, or that old man. His name is May, a name fitted for a girl but he was proudly declaring that. It was because that the month May is the best of them all, because he was born in that month. Talk about pride.
As I've said before, I needed money and I had a different purpose in mind.
Going back, Dan was checking out the surroundings. He calmly observed the escape path if things got ugly. He may not look like it, but he's a really good strategist. He helps me clear these contracts with the less time consumed possible, but you couldn't really figure that out based on his appearance. He has long hair, enough to hide his eyes, and he wears a shirt that was already ripped out. He said it was stylish, while I said it was ridiculous.
Contracts like these always end up in a flash, with me killing the target, and getting money. But there are still no clues on that different purpose I mentioned.
That purpose served to be my only motivation to actually keep working in this guild.
That purpose was to find him. To find.. Nyx.
2 years ago, after seeing that scene, I thought he was the one who killed them. He looked at me, and I thought I was next. I already know what he's capable of, and he could certainly murder me in a blink. So I ran, I ran from away from him. Looking back, he was just staring at the way out.. but I never went back.
I need to find him. I need to talk to him. I don't know what I'll gain from it, but I just wanted to talk to him about them, as he knows what I am feeling right now.
I went back, undetected, of course. The city is still fully functional, but without electricity, they weren't as popular as before. I looked at the tower, and they shut the doors closed. I didn't hope to see them again, alive and all, I just wanted to make sure that the truth is what I saw. And the only one that knows the whole truth is Nyx.
They're the ones who treated me badly, but at least they were aware that I'm there with them, and they tried to get close. They're what I consider friends, and in a blink of an eye, they're gone.
My name is Cylo, and this is just the start.
I guess things doesn't really go my way, does it?
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