Voltair County, near the kingdoms of Laffrith and Trinity.

Midnight had come. Light was scarce outside Regin Sighur's mansion. Silhouettes were hidden in the darkness and sounds were muffled by a pouring rain. Several lights emerged from the foliage of the forest behind the mansion. Wolf walked ahead, the other members observed the surroundings as they left their camouflage. The leader stopped next to a large rock and took out a pair of binoculars to get a better look at what was going on around the area. The others turned off their lamps so as not to give away their position.

"It looks like he hasn't come out onto the balcony yet. That means we still have a few minutes' head start. There are several guards patrolling the garden, plus some stationed on the other balconies. It's just as we predicted." Wolf put away the binoculars and tossed his travel bag behind a bush, but not before grabbing a few things. "Right. In theory Regin should go out on the balcony and smoke for about thirty minutes. He usually does it at midnight, but he's running late. Still, we should go ahead with the plan."

Everyone nodded. Wolf handed Cerberus a blowgun, plus some darts. "Isn't it a bit hasty to grab the blowguns without even having a target in sight?" asked the pyromancer.

"What are you talking about? Look down there." The leader of the group pointed at two guards stationed at the back gate. "Regin's children and several servants are inside the mansion. We can't risk a noisy entry, it would compromise the mission and the safety of innocent people. If we use darts we will be quieter and we can kill the guards without attracting attention. For now, if the situation allows, we will advance by land, a little slower but safer." Cerberus' face showed he didn't quite agree with the plan. "This mission is important, brother. We'll do it my way this time."

"We always do it head-on, but okay... Ready?" Both mercenaries lay down on the rain-soaked grass, which made their clothes get muddy very easily. The darts fell through the hole of the blowguns, then locked onto the two guards. Wolf and Cerberus exchanged glances, ready to fire.

"On my mark. Three, two, one..." The anaesthetic darts were fired almost simultaneously and travelled to the guards' necks without making a sound. The guards barely felt the force of the impact and collapsed one after the other before they even noticed. Wolf sighed in relief. "That went beautifully. Come on, let's get the bodies out of the way and open the gate!"

The assassins quickly descended the hill, careful not to make any loud sounds with their footsteps. When they reached the gate they split into two groups to hide on both sides of the entrance. Wolf took a look inside to check it was all clear. He then pointed to the bodies nearby, so that Jane and Noir could move them out of the way. Meanwhile, Cerberus used his pyromancy to melt the bars and open a hole to pass through.

Jane grabbed one of the guards by the armpits and dragged him out of sight. Noir, with a little more effort, did the same, and took the moment to ask his companion a question. "Wolf is behaving differently from how he usually does. He's more... Firm? Whenever I'm around he jokes and talks to us as equals. Is this his first kill too and that's why he's nervous?"

After stealing some trinkets from the guards' pockets, Jane let out a laugh and proceeded to pull out the darts. "We've all assassinated before, Noir. He's acting this way because of you. He's anxious to have you on the team and he's doing everything he can to make this go well. So try hard, okay?"

"I-I didn't know that... I didn't expect that from Wolf." Jane handed him the darts. "Huh? What am I supposed to do with these? Why get rid of these if we haven't killed them?"

Jane looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about? They're dead. Anaesthetic darts only work on animals. For a human being it means death. You have to save those darts until the mission is over. If by any chance we fail, it could be a clue that leads directly to our guild." Wolf called out to them waving his hand, so Jane and Noir hurried to continue with the mission.

"We'll go in one at a time. I'll go first and tell you when it's safe to move." Wolf entered through the molten hole, which was soon cooled by the heavy rain. Seeing that there were no guards nearby the others went in as well, but places to hide were scarce. The backyard was large, but also very open. There was barely an automatic fountain in the centre and a few decorative bushes. The assassins had to move quickly but cautiously, as the guards made a full patrol of every corner of the garden. "Things are getting complicated. They are moving faster and we have no covers. We must take every opportunity to move forward."

The assassins backed off a little due to the appearance of a trio of guards. The soldiers entered the mansion, so Wolf thought it would be a good opportunity to go behind them and hide under the balconies.

"Those are going to enter the mansion. We're going to run low to the wall once they're gone. That will help us avoid the guards above us."

They all followed Wolf in a single file, avoiding the light from the garden lamp posts and getting relatively fast to the target. The assassins had their backs pressed firmly against the wall, as they could feel the presence of more than a dozen guards just above their heads. Holding his nerve, Wolf spoke to the team:

"If we whisper the rain will hide our voices. Around the corner there should be four or five guards, one next to a pond. The first pair should be near here, but the other is on the other side of this wing. In any case, we'll finish off the guards as quickly as possible and without making too much of a fuss."

"I'll go first. Give me your crossbow." Cerberus said.

Wolf handed him the weapon and some bolts with which Cerberus loaded the crossbow. The pyromancer crawled through the mud until he crossed the corner, from where he searched for a target. A guard was looking out over the crystal clear water of the pond next to a giant bush, just as Wolf had predicted. The guard became aware of his presence, but Cerberus was able to get ahead of him and fired directly at his throat. The guard dropped his sword and tried to stop the blood gushing from his wound. Unable to cry out for help, he stumbled and fell into the pond, leaving a trail of blood on the leaves of the bush. The body plunged into the water and the blood stained the clarity of its surface.

"Good shot, Cerberus. Jane, with me."

Both of them took off immediately after with their combat knives in front of them, in search of the first pair of guards. Wolf spotted them about ten yards ahead, their backs turned and distracted. They advanced quickly through the bushes and the darkness of the night, when they finally had them at their mercy.

"One is smoking, so it won't be easy for him to raise the alarm. You go for the other and cover his mouth before attacking. It should be simple."

"Understood. I'll wait for your signal."

The pair of assassins advanced slower as they got closer. When they had their backs to their range, Wolf nodded and they both raised their knives to drop them on their victims. The seconds ticked by like minutes, the tension took a while to dissipate, but it did. Jane buried her knife into the throat of her guard, who died quickly and without raising his voice. Confident of Jane's success, Wolf lunged to finish his, but the shock of the first stab caused the guard to strike an accidental blow that left the leader disoriented.

"Abraham, look out!"

"Shut your mouth!" Wolf grabbed the guard by the sleeve and dragged him towards his forehead for a headbutt. The loss of blood had left him weak, so the mercenary had no trouble knocking him to the ground and incapacitating him. "He caught me off guard. This mistake could have cost us the mission..." Wolf turned away from the body looking down at his bloodstained hands. Jane was startled by such a quantity of blood and turned the corpse over. A rock had pierced his face. "I was reckless. This is sloppy... That much blood will attract a lot of attention."

"I'm going to drag him out of here. Leave it to me." Cerberus shouldered his crossbow and grabbed the body by the legs, but a gesture from Noir brought everyone to attention. "What is it, Noir?"

"The ones in front... The other pair are getting closer. They've called a few more. I think they know something's wrong." Noir stopped peering through the leaves and rejoined his companions. "With two fresh corpses they'll call in even more reinforcements. What are we going to do, Wolf?"

"Keep calm, of course. If we want to get rid of them we'll have to ambush them. We'll wait behind the bushes and kill them as soon as they get here. Let's go!" The four of them took cover behind the thick bushes, while the soldiers quickened their pace at the discovery of the corpse. Wolf turned to Noir and whispered something in his ear. "That power of yours would do us a lot of good right now. Why don't you use it?"

Nervous, Noir replied. "I can't control it... It only manifests when I'm stressed, I think. I'm sorry I can't help."

"Ah... It would have been so much easier."

Wolf quieted immediately as he heard footsteps a few feet away from them. Cerberus passed the crossbow to Jane, who did the same with her knife. The pyromancer stuck his back even closer to the bush and raised the knife to strike as soon as he had a soldier in front of him.

"We're right behind you, Cerberus."

"Just a little longer... They're nervous, but they don't want to rush too much. They suspect we're still here." Before Wolf could respond, Cerberus drove the knife into the chest of the first guard he saw and hurled him towards the pond. Jane dropped to the ground to shoot one of them in the eye. Wolf ran towards the last two, who tried to defend themselves by drawing their swords. Wolf's fine rapier, however, managed to pierce their hearts before there was any retaliation. He and Cerberus were both drenched in blood, and Jane was quick to finish off the last one alive.

Shocked by the carnage, Noir asked. "Are you... all right?"

Wolf spoke with his back to the others. "I can't remember the last time I saw a man die like that. I wished I never had to do it again. It was my mistake, but also another member's." Despite the mask, the fury in Wolf's eyes could be seen. "Don't ever say my name again when we're on a mission. One thing I value more than my guild is my anonymity. Is that clear to you?"

Jane nodded shyly. "Yes, Wolf. I promise it won't happen again."

Noir looked worried for his companion. Cerberus noticed, and tried to calm him with a pat on the back. "Don't be so tense, rookie. Actually, underneath that mask he is a kind and caring man. All this theatrics is to appear cool."

Wolf let out a brief laugh. "Am I that transparent?" Cerberus smiled at him, and the tension between them disappeared. As Wolf turned to continue the mission, he made direct eye contact with the one they were looking for. "Regin..."

All the mercenaries turned and matched gazes with him. The nobleman was horrified by everything he had witnessed. He was unable to scream, and his legs were shaking too much. It took him a long time to react, but eventually he did. Regin managed to gather his courage and ran into the mansion. The assassins looked at each other, and Wolf hurried to climb the wall to get to the balcony. Unluckily for him, the rain made his hands and feet slippery and his clothes heavier than usual.

"No, no, no! If he warns his soldiers we'll be dead. What do we do...?" The team looked at him putting all their trust in him. Wolf had to prove his place as leader. "Alright, I'll have to think of something... Got it!" The mercenary turned to Noir, the most scared of them all, and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Noir, you have to help us! If we don't kill Regin as soon as possible, we're dead men! Do you understand what I'm saying!? I need you to do something! There's no time! Come on, hurry up! Jane, Cerberus, tell him!"

The others were quick to understand his plan and played along. Noir was overwhelmed by all the responsibility that fell on him in an instant. The lives of his companions and his own hung in the balance, and the only solution seemed to be in his hands. His ears began to ring, sweat poured from his forehead and his heart pounded aggressively. He couldn't stand the pressure, and wrapped his arms around his head.

"Castiel would be ashamed of me... I've fought so hard to be here... And for what? So that I could do nothing? You were wrong, I'm not good for this!"

The boy screamed from so much stress. Wolf thought it wouldn't work, but he soon noticed the change and smiled in relief. A slimy black tissue emerged from the rookie's skin and clung to his body like a million needles. His eyes blackened and he vomited more of that viscous substance. His muscles stiffened, and his senses became much more precise. Finally, a explosion of dark magic engulfed him and the surroundings were covered in intense black flames.

"I'm no good... for this... Why am I...? What happened?"

Enormously astonished, Wolf answered him. "You've done it, my friend! You've awakened that awesome power of yours! Now, get us out of this mess!" His leader pointed to the balcony where Regin had been. Noir understood immediately, and leapt more than five metres up to reach the edge of the balcony.

"We trust you, Noir!" shouted Jane excitedly, but her excitement was short-lived as she realised the complicated situation they were in. Dozens of guards surrounded the area both from the balconies and on the ground. The three of them stuck their backs together and covered their faces to avoid being identified. "We are surrounded. Any ideas?"

"At this rate it will be impossible to escape anywhere. We must break through." Wolf handed Jane something behind their backs. "I've saved them for an emergency. Use them and get us out of this trouble."

The woman smiled at the sight of her smoke bombs. "The smoke won't last long with so much rain, so I'll have to use a lot of them. Let's go!" Along with the bomb expert's shout, a large smoke screen went up. The soldiers, confused, decided to retreat rather than face them blindly. Even so, some of them fell under the blade of the assassins, who made their way like predators until they broke down a door and entered the mansion. "They'll be looking for us out there for a while."

"Then I'll make sure they don't find anything." To everyone's surprise, Cerberus loaded the crossbow with a bolt. Wolf immediately lowered his weapon.

"What do you think you're doing? We didn't come here to slaughter guards. Our target is Regin Sighur, nothing more. Now we need to get back to Noir to check everything is okay. Jane, drop some more bombs to buy us some time." Jane complied, and soon they were hurrying up to where Noir was. When they reached the top floor, it wasn't long before they heard chaos.

"Regin Sighur, you bloody murderer! Stop!" Noir leapt from furniture to furniture in pursuit of his prey. The nobleman, his clothes torn from Noir's failed attacks, ran from room to room screaming for help. The boy got tired of it and increased the intensity of his chase. "It is useless! Accept your crimes and die for what you are, a filthy criminal!"

Regin managed to knock over a cabinet on top of Noir, gaining him a few seconds. "I don't know what you're talking about, you fucking monster! Don't you know who I am!? I've helped more than anyone else in this country! I am Regin Sighur, the golden hero of the holy war!"

"Lies..." Noir smashed through the wood of the cabinet with his bare hands and destroyed it with utmost ease. His anger, once motivated by justice, became harmful to his body. His teeth clamped together so tightly that traces of blood trickled down his lips. Even his eyes were injected with the dark substance, causing him even more pain. "I'm not going anywhere with this... Run as fast as you can, you scum! You'll fall sooner or later!"

Noir writhed as the flesh on his back was consumed by a black void that grew larger and larger. From said hole emerged several black limbs, resembling tentacles, but sharp as swords and swift as arrows. As soon as they appeared, those limbs pointed towards Regin Sighur, who was five rooms away.

"So much power is painful... My mind is shattering..." Noir tried to forget any sensation to concentrate on hunting his prey. To save time he decided to run through the walls of the rooms limbs first to cushion the impacts. It took him only a few seconds to reach Sighur, who was pierced in the shoulder and right leg by the limbs. "With those wounds you won't be able to escape. Now you can only choose which way you will die."

Sighur soon fell victim to his wounds. Noir walked towards him without concern, despite the immense pain he felt inside. "Why are you doing this? I've never seen you before in my life. Is this something personal?"

"It's nothing personal... But your countless victims don't think the same. You helped the demons during the holy war, and you have the nerve to call yourself a hero? No... You are worse than a demon. All your lies, all your crimes... they end here. It will be a pleasure to kill you like the scum you are!"

The first tentacle to strike ripped a hole in his stomach and damaged his intestines. The nobleman tried to hold them inside as the limb twisted to cause him more suffering. "This... This is not something a hero would do... A hero wouldn't kill no matter how much he wanted to..."

"You have no idea what it's like to be a hero, so be quiet!" Noir filled his surroundings with black flames again, and Regin finally understood who his tormentor was. The fear in his eyes became noticeable, and he tried to stop the tentacles that pierced both of his arms. The uncontrolled assassin almost reflected a smile of pleasure.

"Grey eyes... Why is there still someone like him? There aren't supposed to be any left with those abilities. But he's indisputably one of them. Could it be the work of...?" Regin thought. Using what little strength he had, he grabbed one of the tentacles and looked Noir straight in the eye. "I think I get it. You're coming because of Blazh, aren't you? Somehow he's made his hatred for me persist even after all these years. Go ahead, then!"

"As you wish." Another ten tentacles emerged from the darkness of his back. Regin stood up and looked his fate in the eye, only to be reduced to a pile of flesh and bones soon after. The tentacles, now covered in viscera, vanished and turned to ashes. Noir could finally relax to witness the atrocity he had committed. "What...? What did I just do...?"

The boy looked at his hands. There was too much blood. They were now the hands of a murderer.

"Did I do this? Why did I...?" Before he knew it, he found himself surrounded by guards. Noir spun around several times, he was disoriented and frightened by the presence of so many enemies. His bloodlust was completely gone, he felt only fear. "I didn't mean to do it... He was a criminal, but no one deserves this... I'm sorry!"

A smokescreen protected him from the enemies. Three silhouettes fell from the ceiling. The shadows of the guards, however, collapsed almost immediately after the arrival of his companions. When the smoke cleared and the noise ceased there was no one left but the four of them.

Wolf sheathed his rapier and looked closely at the remains of Sighur. "You've done it. That bastard is history now. That's fine, Noir. But you don't want to remember any of this. Your mental health would be at risk."

"What...?"

The last thing Noir felt was a heavy blow to the back of his head. From then on it was all darkness and silence. He was conscious somewhere, but unable to wake up. He knew he was alive, but he did not know where he was. Such was the darkness that he could not see his hands within an inch of his face.

"Where the hell am I...?"

"Just a little more. Dive a little more into despair so that I can..."

The space he was in brightened a little, but only in the distance. A familiar figure appeared far away, so Noir walked over to it. His feet sank into deep ground, the heat became unbearable and oxygen was scarce. He struggled to reach the glowing figure, which soon became corrupted by the darkness and transformed into the nightmares that haunted the boy every night. This time it took the form of a dark beast, much like Noir himself. Everything about the beast was submerged in perpetual darkness, except for its eyes. Its eyes, despite so much obscurity, glowed the purest white.

"No... It won't work this time."

Noir looked down and cried. "This nightmare is different from the others. But it is still painful. I feel something familiar in that monster. It's as if it knows me and blames me for something." He sighed. "I want to wake up now. Please."