I waited so very quietly, not moving the slightest nerve. Any out of place movement could get me in trouble. Stealth was vital for an assassin. I was in a warehouse, hiding behind a stash of wine barrels. Bandits had attacked a town and captured its storage complex. The town was willing to pay a high price to get the warehouse back under their control.

“Look at all this crap! There are food, clothes, and equipment everywhere! Those bastards back at the village sure are screwed!” I heard one of the bandits say.

“Will y’all shut the hell up and start packing? The town guards are probably headin this way! So get going you filthy pigs!” yelled another who I assumed was the bandit leader.

I smiled. They were expecting an attack from outside, not the inside. Every piece of the puzzle was falling into place. The only thing I had to do was to wait for the signal. Suddenly, a banging on the giant wooden doors of the warehouse echoed throughout the building. The noise startled the bandits.

“They’re already here men! Get ya shitty arses ready!” the leader yelled.

I took in a deep breath before I vaulted over the barrels of wine. My eyes counted five bandits, four underlings, and the leader. It was easy prey, easy pay. Two retractable hidden blades situated on top of the arms. A bit longer wider and longer than your traditional hidden blades but just as deadly if not more. They were the perfect defensive and offensive weapons.

By the time one of the bandits realized I was inside with them, it was too little too late. I plunged a blade into the neck of a bandit and the other in the cranium of another. They died without batting an eye. Their dead bodies collapsed onto the ground, alerting the remaining three, whom all turned to face me.

“Who da hell are you? Killin my men, you got balls for attacking by yourself. Get him!” the leader yelled at his remaining men.

His two men circled me, tightly gripping their weapons; a longsword and battle-ax, an interesting combination I thought. The axeman lunged at me, his weapon ready to strike my neck. His muscles made his attack far too easy to predict, it was cute. He swung in a horizontal arc; which I ducked to dodge. My arms jabbed at his chest. The blades ripped right through his soft skin, easily penetrating his lungs. I pulled back my arms and turned to face the swordsman. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the bandit lose his grip on the ax. He stumbled onto the floor, clutching his chest as blood filled his lungs.

The swordsman attempted a simple stab at my chest. I met his strike with my own. My arm seemed to snake around his blade and hit his hand. Howling in pain, the bandit let the longsword clatter on the ground. The bandit doubled over spewing profanity that would’ve made any sailor proud. His cursing was swiftly halted with a stab in between his eyes. I turned to the remaining bandit; the leader.

“Is that the best you’ve got bandit?” I jokingly taunted.

A flintlock pistol was leveled at my chest but he looked like a ghost. His face was so white, it looked almost transparent. He was clearly shaking uncontrollably. The pistol refused to be steady,

“What kinda monster yer you? My men couldn’t even touch ya!”

I raised my face to meet his gaze. If his face could get any paler, it just did. Even with both hands on his pistol to try and steady his aim, he was shaking like an earthquake.

“That mask! No, it can’t be! You’re him aren’t you?! That freak of nature! You’re a monster, a demon, the Blade!” he yelled.

He was quite rude and didn’t even let me answer. His finger tightened on the trigger, except the gun never fired. The only sound that was created was the sound of the pistol clattering against the ground. The leader looked at his gut in horror to find a blade nesting there. He looked back at me before falling dead, being replaced by another figure.

“Took you long enough Elrith,” I said.

She lowered her head. I gave her a shake of the shoulders as reassurance. She looked at me.

“But overall, your entrance and distraction were helpful.” I praised.

She beamed with pride. That’s to be expected when you’re the student of an infamous assassin. We made our way back to town to collect our reward. As we made our way to the mayor’s office, the townsfolk looked at me in fear. My reputation as a highly lethal assassin and unnerving looks didn’t convey peaceful to others. The iris of my right eye was blood red, while the entirety of the left side of my face was covered with a mask: half a face of a dragon. Smoky black hair to complete my “charming” looks made me look more like a delinquent than anything else. Clothing makes the man was the saying and a black, ripped cloak made me. My physique radiated fear, fear can be weaponized.

“You truly live up to your name assassin.” The mayor exclaimed once we had reached his office. “The good people of this town thank you. That warehouse is vital to our survival. Please take your reward of 1,000 T (Terres).”

We took the money and left. It was getting dark so we rented a room at an inn at the edge of town. It had only a single bed, which meant I was getting another sleepless night on a couch. Elrith was busy getting some food ready to eat. I had a rule of working alone in the paste, yet she became an exception, my only student. I remember the day I took her in.