Barin sat alongside other branch leaders at a round, black table. All of them, including him, were master level fighters. Once, he saw them as powerful beings. But after encountering Hupo and experiencing firsthand what true power was, he couldn’t help but shake his head at how naive his past self had been. There were six seats at the table. One was reserved for the supreme leader. All the other seats, except one, were filled by branch leaders. The empty seat belonged to the leader of Ferdania's branch. She had been missing ever since the werewolves conquered Ferdania.

Chronos sat next to Barin. He was the Celestial Empire's branch leader. Gunther, Andor's branch leader, sat on Barin's other side. Sitting furthest away from Barin was Shazara, the Zodiac Kingdom's branch leader. Besides their names and which country they were stationed in, Barin knew little else about them. They shared intelligence with one another, but not information pertaining to themselves. In the world of assassins, no one could be trusted. An ally today could become an enemy tomorrow. Keeping one's abilities hidden prevented others from coming up with ways to counter them.

"Why the gloomy face, Barin? You look like you could use some shuteye."

Shazara was right. He hadn’t had a good night's sleep since he’d encountered Hupo a month ago. The vulnerability he felt when he closed his eyes was terrifying. When he did manage to fall asleep, he would wake up, after only a few hours, from a nightmare. The recurring nightmares were always related to his encounter with Hupo. They even bled into his daily life. Any loud noise made his heart pound and gave him a bad feeling in his stomach.

But he didn’t want to appear weak in front of his fellow branch leaders. "It's nothing."

"Considering what we do for a living, it's a miracle that any of us sleep well at night."

The others laughed at Chronos's remark.

Fools. They have no idea how ignorant they really are. If they knew there were monsters like Hupo walking about, then they wouldn't be able to sleep either.

Gunther slapped Barin's back. "Lay off him, won't you? He's probably having nightmares about the supreme leader."

Chronos and Shazara laughed.

The supreme leader was an enigma. Barin heard many outrageous rumors about him. Some said he’d been around since Algori's founding, but that would mean that he was hundreds of years old. Others said he wasn’t even human. However, one thing was certain - the supreme leader was strong. To keep all the branch leaders in line, he had to be. Some assassins, including former branch leaders, had tried to overthrow the supreme leader in the past. They’d all ended up dead.

When a cloaked man in an iron mask entered, the room became eerily silent. He approached the table and took the seat reserved for the supreme leader.

Chronos was the first to speak. "Since we’re in my branch and I arrived first, why don't I start the meeting?"

The man in the iron mask slammed the table. "Silence!"

Chronos gulped.

Barin began shivering. When he saw ice crystals forming on the inside of his water glass, he realized that he wasn’t imagining it - the room had indeed become colder

The man in the iron mask pointed at Barin. "You."

Barin thought his heart had stopped. "Supreme Leader, I don't understand -"

Before he could finish, he was yanked off his chair by an invisible force and pulled toward the supreme leader. He slid across the table, knocking over his glass of water and smacking into the supreme leader's hand. The hand wrapped around his head and lifted him up. His feet dangled in the air as he struggled to break free from the suffocating grip.

A cold voice boomed, "Repent!"

"Wha-what do you want?" Barin felt the hand tighten around his head.

"Repent!"

Barin desperately tried to figure out the meaning behind the supreme leader's words. It held the key to his survival.

He thought of the failed assassination attempt on Hupo's life. "I'm sorry for losing the assassins!"

The hand squeezed tighter. "Repent!"

Time was running out. The pressure on his head was becoming unbearable. His skull could be crushed at any moment. When he sensed increased bloodlust from the supreme leader, a flash of insight hit him.

Algori was comprised of people from all walks of life, including thieves, criminals, and knights. Some joined the organization to make a living with their unique set of skills. Others joined because they were disillusioned with their government and wanted to do some good. The overarching aim of Algori was to promote social justice. Branch leaders were expected to reject any assassination request that went against that goal. It put the organization at odds with tyrants and oppressors.

Barin had let his greed get the better of him when he’d accepted the prince's request. Although he knew that the prince had a reputation for kidnapping women, he had accepted the request anyway because the prince had offered an enormous amount of money. He thought he could twist the truth and make it look like he was protecting the royal family. But the supreme leader wasn’t naive.

Even though Barin was in charge of Algori's activities in the Dominion, all of the organization's members ultimately answered to the supreme leader. It was not surprising, but expected, that the supreme leader would have people within Algori's Dominion branch monitoring his activities.

"Wait! I'm sorry for choosing the wrong client!"

The hand released him. "There's hope for you yet."

Barin collapsed onto his hands and knees. "Pl-please, no more. I promise it won't happen again."

"Get back to your seat!"

Barin winced at the anger in the supreme leader's voice. He bowed before scurrying back to his seat at the table.

Once Barin was seated, the supreme leader continued speaking. "I've heard that the Dominion is in dire straits. Is it true that the Royal Palace was destroyed?"

Barin nodded. "That's correct."

"And the army defending the capital was obliterated?"

"Yes."

"By one man?"

"Correct."

"The man you tried to kill?"

Barin gulped. "Yes."

The supreme leader shook his head. "Foolish."

"I sure am."

"I do not wish for Algori to become enemies with this man. Find him and pay him double what the prince offered."

Barin's eyes widened. "Double?"

The supreme leader glared at him. "Is there a problem?"

Barin stiffened his back. "No, not at all!

"Good. Then let's hear the reports from the other branches."