Red’s father sat across from her, a large wooden desk separating the two of them. No one else was in the room, as this was his personal office. She sat in an overly large armchair, and her father in one that was slightly elevated so that he could look down on her. She remembered receiving many lectures and other punishments within this room. That’s all they were though. He was no longer in any position to punish her, though she could feel the lecture coming.

She glared at him, her red eyes meeting their reflection. Everyone in their family tended to develop red eyes. Her father was human and had long red and black hair which he kept swept back. His face was hard and chiseled, his expression forever set into a frown as if made of stone. Her mother was beautiful, although that was typical for high leveled elves. She was much kinder than her father too, but Red rarely got to see her mother. Her mother’s class had made her body weak, and she had to be isolated often. Red would make sure that she saw her before leaving.

Her father was writing something, an old-fashioned feather pan scraping against the paper on his desk. He wore a dark red suit that would look black from a distance. It was unwrinkled and unnaturally stiff. It was woven with a mix of blood, and he could manipulate it so that it looked perfect.

“Well, can we get on with this?”

Red spoke incredulously, not bothering with any honorifics. She had used more when speaking with the butler, and her father knew it. His face twitched, and she could tell that he was getting angry. Even if his expression didn’t really change, she could read his thoughts a little.

“Tell me what you’re here for.”

His voice was flat, not an ounce of his emotion bleeding into it. Although, she noticed the way his eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She returned the glare, unflinchingly staring into her father’s eyes.

“You know why I’m here. Do you have someone prepared?”

“It can be arranged. I want to know if you are prepared to do what needs to be done.”

Her father had obviously misjudged her separation from the family. He probably thought that she couldn’t handle their cruel tendencies. No, she could care less about that, and she had developed her fair share of callousness. She had left for a different reason, but she could never explain what it was to him. That would only end in disaster.

“I’m not so soft that I can’t execute someone.”

That did not seem to be what her father was concerned with, as he slid the paper on his desk over to her. She glanced at it as her father started to speak.

“As a family, we can give you your advancement, but we expect you to complete a job for us. I believe you should have some history with her.”

Red had already tuned out what her father was saying, looking over the document more carefully instead. It was Ellis, the beastman who had forced them into those worthless contracts. The paper was a simple request. Red would need to assassinate her, something she should be able to accomplish easily after her advancement. According to the paper, Ellis was considered a warlord, one who was leading a revolution in Krall. It was a mission supported by the kingdom directly, so she wouldn’t need to worry about being reprimanded.

She considered rejecting it since her friends probably wouldn’t like it, but ultimately decided to accept. Killing someone she that she wanted to, didn’t feel like something she needed to think about all that much. For most people, attempting to assassinate someone stronger than themselves would be suicide, but it was her family’s specialty. They were fundamentally a family of assassins and were trained for killing people levels above them, even those a full advancement ahead if needed. Assuming she received some support from her family, she shouldn’t have any real trouble killing her.

“Fine, but I still have the contract preventing me from going back to the city.”

“That ended when you died. They don’t persist after death, that requires a different skill set.”

Red froze, the words surprising her, She raised her eyes from the paper, looking at her father before speaking sheepishly.

“You know that I’m an undead?”

Her father’s fist slammed against the desk, his voice rising slightly as he spoke.

“Of course, I did. Do you really think a father wouldn’t know that her daughter had become a monster?”

His voice grew louder with each word, the final word causing the feather on his pen to shake. She wilted a little under her father’s anger. He rarely showed any emotion, and she had never become accustomed to dealing with it.

“Does mother know?”

Red’s question seemed to calm her father down a little, and he let out a held breath. It came out slowly as he responded.

“She is the one keeping such a close eye on you and your friends. She is very interested in those freaks. You need to realize that your growth has been unnatural, and we are not the only ones to take notice of it.”

Hearing her friends called freaks bothered her a little, but she didn’t disagree. Honestly, freaks were probably on the nicer end of what they would be called. The fact that they were getting special attention wasn’t surprising, but the bit about growth sounded wrong.

“It’s not just us who are growing quickly.”

Her father rolled her eyes, before leaning back in the seat. Some of the tension from his outburst had bled away as they talked.

“Yes, we are aware that it is easier for people to level for some reason, but even compared to them your growth has been quick.”

The response her father gave, told her that he didn’t know why it was happening. It sounded like he was truly clueless on the matter, and she realized that she actually had some information that he didn’t. It sounded like Mash had figured something out that even her family had missed. It proved just how crazy her past few months had been.

They talked a little more about the subject of her friends, but she didn’t give up any information to her father. He had asked plenty about all of them, paying particular attention to Luke. Bringing someone back from the dead, even in the short term was considered ludicrous. Not to mention, highly taboo. Honestly, he might have been executed for it in another kingdom. The king had probably on spared him because of his actions against the demons, and the exact nature of what he had done.

After getting lectured about the dangers of hanging around people like them, he finally released her. She hadn’t come for a lecture and wouldn’t listen to him either way. There was something else she needed to do. Opening the door to his office, a different servant was waiting for her. Red recognized Mariel, one of her mother’s personal maids. Also, she was the maid who had taken care of Red when she lived here. She had blond hair that was starting to turn grey, and she bowed deeply to Red. The maids wore thick, conservative dresses that were colored red like everything in the building. There wasn’t much conversation as Red was led to the prison.

Her family often took missions to hunt or kill high-leveled individuals. However, they would attempt to capture the person if it was possible. It was done for this exact reason. This method of advancement tended to give them classes that would advance their execution skills, making them even more effective. She didn’t want to miss the opportunity to receive something like that. Red grimaced as she descended a flight of stairs, entering the stone basement of their house. There were cells lining the walls though only four of them were filled. Capturing people over level 100 wasn’t easy and containing them required special systems. This jail was made by her grandfather and was designed to block the skills of those that didn’t share his bloodline. His descendants were literally the only ones that could utilize this place.

Mariel stopped in front of one of the cells and opened the gate for Red to enter. Red didn’t ask about the person, knowing that it would only make it harder to go through with it. She entered the cell the metal grates felt cold as her hand brushed against it. Inside, she saw a man chained to the other side of the room. She looked at the man, though he couldn’t see her. He wore a blindfold, and she had known idea how long the man had been chained here. The problem with being so high level was that it became harder to determine things like age. His clothes were slightly torn, and loose grey hair fell over his face. The man didn’t look very clean, though that wasn’t exactly surprising.

Red walked over to the man, the blood around her hand slowly morphing into a blade. She would make this quick and stopped beside the man. Looking down at the man, she whispered quietly while driving her blade down his neck.

“Thank you.”

It slid through easily, separating the man’s head cleanly. She didn’t linger in the room and dashed out of the cell. Passing her maid without saying anything. Mariel would clean the room, and Red left it to her. She needed to be alone. The nearest bathroom wasn’t very far, and she ran to it, slamming the door behind her. Practically stumbling, she fell beside the sink and vomited into it. Almost exclusively saliva came out, but she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t know why it had been so different. It wasn’t the first time she had killed someone, nor was it the first time she had done it like that. What she wasn’t prepared for was the rush of thoughts that came afterward. Images of how her friends would react if they ever heard about what she had done. The lies that she would need to tell to hide her actions.

Mash and Jill didn’t have particularly strong morals, but they wouldn’t ever do something like this. Luke would especially hate her for it, and her stomach turned at the realization. She had known it before coming home, and she thought it wouldn’t matter. Why did she suddenly start caring now, it was far too late for any of these thoughts? She didn’t care about the man or killing him, she only cared about how her friends would feel if they learned about it. She needed a distraction, or she would only make herself feel worse.

There was an obvious distraction, though she didn’t want to advance in the bathroom. It felt a little unceremonious. She turned to leave but couldn’t bring herself to enter the hallway. For the chance that she saw someone and would need to feel their gazes and judgment. Her family wouldn’t look at her with the disappointment she expected from her friends, but she didn’t want to receive their prideful looks either. Ultimately, she just sat down, her back against the bathroom door. The toilet was on the opposite side of the room. Ignoring it and everything else trying to wiggle its way into her thoughts, she focused inwards. Her consciousness carried inwards.

She saw three distinct pillars shining brightly. All of them were tinted red, one even looked like a river of blood. Another of the pillars seemed like a solid object, yet it radiated a power that she couldn’t understand looking at it. The final pillar looked to be made of light, though it was impure and looked like blood that had been poisoned. She could feel some thoughts chasing her, and reflexively reached toward one of the pillars. The information pushed away any lingering thoughts from her mind.