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「Oi..! Kid..! Are you alive in there?!」

Opening my eyes, I could see naught but gloom. My peaceful slumber was cut short by the muffled voice of a man, and what I was subjected to was a hazy void blacker than night.

I tried moving, to no avail.

It felt as if my body had disappeared; I lacked a corporeal form. There was no physical way for me to breathe, flail my arms, or scream out in panic.

All I could do was unwillingly watch the events before me unfold like a grainy film.

「If you don't say something in the next five seconds, I'm leaving you for dead alright?!」

「I know you know I'm alive, Tyton. Just dig me out.」

「Agh, bugger. And here I thought I'd finally hear you begging me for help.」

Just then, a ray of reddish-yellow light pierced through the darkness. And following the low rumble of shifting rocks, appeared an opening to the outside world.

The rocks were effortlessly cleared away from the cave entrance, and the feather-draped assassin had come into view. His mastery of the arcane arts knew no limit.

Covered in grit and soot and lying on the ground was none other than the young masked arsonist. She'd propped up her flamethrower before the collapse to support the crumbling ceiling.

It was her quick thinking that saved her from getting crushed. Realizing she'd survived, I could only stare daggers at her.

「So, how'd your part of the contract go?」

She crawled out and away from the precarious position she'd eked out and swiftly grabbed her weapon, causing the ceiling behind her to come crashing down.

As the evening sky bathed her in a warm afterglow, she looked up at Tyton and promptly removed her beaked vizard.

Underneath, was a face I'd permanently etch in my brain.

Cough, cough!

「Terribly. I didn't account for a dust explosion amid the chaos. It completely slipped my mind.」

「Unusual for you to be so out of your depth...」

She possessed a half-scarred visage, partially concealed by long-worn bangs over the left side of her small face.

Her chin-length jet-black hair was darker than the sole visible slanted eye which finished her rather impassive demeanor.

Safe to say, her sharp and stony countenance suited the deadpan tone she used.

「Well? How severe was the loss?」

「Three escaped. Two children, one Sentinel.」

The disheveled Merulean rested his blunderbuss over his shoulder and let out an annoyed sigh.

「Damn... we really messed this one up eh? Since the children aren't high-priority I suppose we could let them go...」

「What about the remaining Sentinel?」

「That was Anash's responsibility. He's the one who'll tie up that loose end.」

「And where is Anash?」

Tyton dug into his cloak and pulled out a hand-sized stone inscribed with a strange symbol. The significance of it was lost on me until the young girl blurted out its name.

「He used up his Denslate?」

「That was how badly he was beaten.」

A Denslate?! Like the ones in Battleshift..?

In the game, Denslates were an item all players possessed. It allowed them to teleport to the last tavern they'd checked in at.

Thus the assumption was, the stones they held functioned similarly. Of course, there were some glaring differences, like its appearance and the fact that it could be "used up".

Denslates weren't a finite resource. But perhaps this version of Velatya changed the rules a bit.

「Discounting the main target, I never thought someone else that strong could exist in this part of the world.」

The young killer scanned the endless forest to her right.

To her, Jazga was a dysfunctional land that hosted all manner of scum and ne'er-do-wells. Rysef was the only exception to this preconceived notion she had.

She only hit the nail partly on the head though.

「Nah, Anash was just being a mindless pillock. No facial protection was his biggest mistake.」

「How would that have affected the result?」

「He tapped out because that sneaky Sentinel hardened the chalk dust in his airways. Had he come prepared as you did, he wouldn't have suffered such a humiliating defeat. He's no doubt sat at the base now—the old lad chewing him out.」

「Ah...」

It boiled my blood seeing them trivialize Lia's victory. And to say nothing of how disregarded the sacrifices of Asthos and the other Sentinels.

Even in my ethereal form, I could feel the rage in my heart grow with their every utterance.

「More importantly, how was your fight with the Ashen Thief?」

「Interested?」

「No, not really.」

「Hah! As cold as ever.」

The man shrugged and sauntered over to the waterfall beside them, sitting down cross-legged by the spring. Reluctantly, the young girl stood beside him, just barely overtaking him by height.

Tyton took a deep breath and peered into the crystal-clear cascade.

「It was euphoric.」

An elated smile lined his thin lips.

「It was everything I hoped it'd be! Equal footing, high stakes—there were moments I thought I was done for. It was what the fight was supposed to be: a struggle for survival!」

His smile widened to an excited grin, and he pumped out his gun.

The girl briefly glanced at him before directing her full attention to the waterfall. She seemed unsurprised by his response.

「But...」

Tyton's voice deepened, and the glint in his emerald eyes dulled.

「It ended the same again...」

「The same?」

She sounded somewhat intrigued by his change in mood.

「It was his last words. Once he loudly professed his dedication to his cause... something inside me clicked. I no longer felt pride in my victory. And the exhilaration in my soul died down.」

「So... this fight was a bust?」

「I wouldn't say that kid... it's just...」

The assassin directed his weapon towards the louring sky and aimed through the iron sight.

「When I realized the flame in his fighting spirit differed from mines...」

BAM!

And he shot a hole through the smoke clouds above.

「My own flame extinguished altogether.」

Unfazed by the sudden boom of his blunderbuss, the young girl set down her flamethrower and got on her knees. She washed her dirty face with the pristine spring water.

The girl then paused and gazed at her glistening reflection.

「I don't get it.」

She replied, indifferent to his explanation.

Tyton lightly chuckled and leaned back.

「Heh... you never change, Reiko...」

「I told you not to call me that.」

「What? It's a good name! Rolls off the tongue.」

「To the people of this world, I am to be referred to as Zerosama. There is no point in using that old name.」

Wait... Zerosama..?

The name echoed in the chambers of my consciousness. It bounced around my mind, as though it were searching for a memory to link up with.

I was hung up on this familiar name. It was a name I'd definitely heard of before.

「Tch. But it's a mouthful...」

Tyton clicked his tongue and averted his eyes.

The two contract killers stayed silent for a while, allowing the roaring waterfall to drown out their thoughts. It was a peaceful scene, ironically shared by a pair of murderers.

A peaceful scene, that brought me no peace at all.

「By the way... the two brats that got away...」

Tyton stroked his prickly chin and smirked.

「They were the Ashen Thief's apprentices right?」

「Oh. So you were aware.」

「I always am.」

Reiko wiped her face with her coat and rose to her feet.

「And on that topic—are you sure it's fine to let those two go? They may prove troublesome to the client in the future...」

「Leave them be. If the client deems them low-priority, we must treat them as such. Correcting oversights would be overstepping our boundaries as hitmen. The contract is law in our business.」

「Even if they come back to haunt you?」

The assassin stared at his young comrade for a while before bursting into laughter. He was tickled by the very prospect.

As his hearty guffawing subsided, what remained was a jubilant Tyton, who jumped up and waved his blunderbuss around.

「Hah! I invite them to try! In fact, I look forward to our fateful reunion! Will they grow up to be as strong as the Ashen Thief?! Will they provide a battle great enough to reawaken my memories?!」

And he swung around and pointed his weapon at Reiko, who didn't flinch one bit.

「Or will their deaths kill my thrill once more..?」

The young girl ignored the man and bent over to pick up her flamethrower.

「Come on Reiko... let me indulge in my delirium every once in a while.」

「I did. Also, stop calling me Reiko.」

With that, their brief and aimless exchange screeched to an abrupt halt. Reiko... or Zerosama's inability to hold a conversation became wholly apparent throughout.

Yet... I still dwelled on the vague nostalgia her name brought about. It didn't feel like the déjà vu I'd get from my prophetic dreams.

Moreover, this whole chat itself didn't feel like a prophetic dream. It was something else entirely.

A vision was a more apt description.

But why I'd obtained this window into the enemy's perspective was a mystery. Was this God's way of making it up to me? Was this another type of strange dream I'll be having regularly?

Again—so many questions, so few answers. The to-do list in my mind had unfortunately broadened.

But now, I have a lead to go on, and faces I can properly spite.

Reiko. Zerosama. It didn't matter if I recognized her name. She was the monster who ignited the village fire and slaughtered my friends.

And beside her—Tyton. The bastard behind the operation... and Rysef's killer.

Together they worked under the infamous banner of the Bloody Talons.

I watched as these two meandered on without a care in the world. The single most important day in my life, in slum dweller history, was but another paycheck to these assholes.

I prayed the dream would end, not so I could return to the present, but so I could contemplate the future. Revenge would be the new underlying goal of my existence here.

If Tyton wanted it, I'd give it to him.

Hate brewing in my shapeless vessel, I continued to observe the pair. They brought out their Denslates from the inside of their coats and gripped them tightly.

「Alright, that's enough dilly-dallying. We should be heading back to base now.」

「Mm.」

「Let's not keep the gits back home waiting—」

「Tyton.」

Suddenly, Reiko spoke up.

「Feeling talkative now?」

「No, it's just...」

She looked over her shoulder through half-closed eyes. Tyton craned his head to see what she was staring at.

It took a second before I registered what she'd set her sights on.

「Do you get the feeling... we're being watched?」

And her burning glare pierced directly through mine.

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