“Frie...de….” His hand reached out, in a vain attempt to save his precious friend.

A steel beam fell directly above her head without her knowing. From the speed it was falling, it was impossible for her to move out of the way.

A miracle happened. Like the ray of hope that is the sun, a man showed up and gave Rein a bit of hope. Out of nowhere he appeared next to Friede, but she was oblivious to his presence. He raised his arm and held the falling beam with one hand, saving Friede from her doom, and saving Rein from watching another one of his best friend died because of him.

His neck length black hair blown by the wind from catching the beam. On his forehead there was a mark of the sun. Like the mark on his head, he radiated a radiance similar that of the sun, clearly showing that he was not a normal human.

“Master! Master!” Elis was running to Rein. She noticed something was wrong with her master and ran to his side as fast as she could.

Strength return to Rein’s body. Blood spewed from his mouth as he coughed. He muster all of his renewed power to stand up and follow Friede. He kicked the ground as hard as he could until his feet felt it was going to be ripped apart.

In his mind at that time there was only Friede. He ignored Elis who came to help him, and ignored the one who had saved Friede, he just wanted to know where Friede was. The man from before still stood in the alley, slowly putting the steel the beam down, but Friede was nowhere to be seen. Rein ran past him, ignoring him while looking for any sign where Friede went.

“You should be careful kid if you want to protect her. That girl is a target of many participant right now..” The man spoke to Rein as he passed him.

Hearing what he said, Rein finally taken notice and asked him. “What do you mean?!”

“If you want to protect that girl, do it with everything you have.” He answered and walked away.

“Who are you?”

“An enemy, but i don’t like fighting unless my master ordered me to, and i don’t want unnecessary victim.”

“Master, what’s wrong?” Elis suddenly came from behind and the man suddenly gone.

He paused for a few second before answering her. “Elis, help me search for Friede. We must find her at once!”

“Yes master!”

‘Friede, where are you? GOD DAMN IT!’ He screamed inside.

They started looking around the block. There was no way she could have ran that far, but after searching for more than an hour, he began to lose hope again. They had split up to double their search, and Elis even used her magic to track her, but Friede was nowhere to be found.

The sun already set, and the thick cloud prevented any moonlight or star to illuminate the city. Making it much harder for them to search.

“I’m sorry master. I’m unable to find her.” Elis bowed her head as low as she could.

“Don’t worry Elis, it’s still not too late. We still could find her.” His face was the complete opposite of what he just said. He couldn’t hide his worry and fear.

Then he remembered something, something that would help in their search if he remembered it earlier. He held his head. ‘Why the fuck didn’t i do it before?’ He questioned himself.

He knew Rose number, he could ask her and Aldwin for help. He called and told her everything that happened since they left his house and he told her what he said before Friede ran away. Rose ordered him to stay in place.

Not long after his call, Rose and Aldwin showed up. Something was wrong with Rose, she bared her teeth and her stare at him sharp. Her foot shifted in quick pace. Her hand shot to his cheek, making it red and hot. “Huh?” He look puzzled.

“Whose fault do you think that she ran away?!” She asked. Her voice could be heard by Aldwin who stood some distance from her. “Apologize!”

“Wa-Wa-what did i do?”

“It’s your fault for not knowing your fault! Apologize!”

“What?”

“Apologize! Now!”

He wanted to talk back, but he remembered that he once had the same kind of conversation with Friede that went like this in the past. He knew that it was impossible to talk back when woman were like this. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Now please you tell me what i did wrong?”

“How long have you known Friede?” She questioned. Her stare could stab him.

“Why are you asking me this? We should go look for her!” He answered.

“You dumbass! We need to solve the root of the problem first! Now answer me!”

“16 or 17 years i think, we met each other when we were four.”

Rose buried her head on her palm. “Geez! She must be an actress or you must be a complete idiot!” She folded her arm. “Aldwin, start looking for her! I’m gonna talk some sense into his thick skull first.”

“At least his is not as thick as yours.” Aldwin smirked.

“Oh shut up! just do as i told you, i don’t have time for your joke.”

“Fine-fine.” Aldwin crouched down and placed his hand on the ground. From his sleeve, black smoke poured out and seeped into the ground.

“Now Rein, do you have any idea that Friede have an inferiority complex?” Rose asked.

“Inferiority complex? Friede?No! She’s always look confident and cheerful when i see her. What make you think like that?”

“Because she told me you numbskull!”She sighed and assumed a more relaxed standing position. ”Do you know that since she was a child her sister always outshined her in every possible way. At first she accepted it, she knew that her sister was a genius, but after some time, people around her began comparing her to her sister. And starting from there everything in her life went downhill. She was never appreciated no matter how good she done thing, everyone started ignoring her, even her father and mother. The worse part is, her sister does not even notice her condition. From that point she started to hate her family..”

“Sh-She never told me anything like that!” Disbelief surfaced in Rein face. If what she said is true, then why does Friede looked so friendly and in good term with Iris.

“Of course she doesn’t want you to pity her… after all, you’re the light of her life you know.” Rose turned her head somewhere else, breaking her fierce eye contact and softening her voices.” She told me that despite all of that, you’re the only one person who truly appreciate her, who doesn’t compare her to anyone, but then... you fell in love with her sister. After that you changed, every time you met her, all you asked about is her sister. Despite all of that, she still love you and decided to support you and her sister so that you could be happy.” She faced Rein again.”Now do you know what you did wrong?”

“Yes...” He answered slowly. Even as he said he still couldn’t wrap his head around the information she told him. The face of the crying girl he met 17 years ago in a park popped in his head. ‘Friede..is that.. Your true feeling?’ He questioned in his head.

“You should think of a way to apologize when we found her later. Aldwin, how is the search going?” Rose look over her shoulder.

Aldwin shook his head. “Nothing, she is nowhere to be found within a 1 KM radius, above or underground.”

“That mean she’s no longer in downtown area. Rein, have you checked her apartment?”

“No, not yet” He answered quick. In all of his panic he forgot to check the most obvious place to check.

“You and Elis check there! If she’s not there then check the surrounding area.” She walked away.

“Where are you going Rose?”

“Searching for her in my own way. If you’re not able to find her there just wait in front of her apartment, i’ll come there in two hours.” They walked separate ways, but she stopped for a second. “Rein, be careful! It’s already night, other participant will come to hunt you down.”

“Don’t worry, Elis is with me.” He answered. “And.. thank you for telling me all of that.”

“I’m not telling this for someone as stupid as you, i’m telling this so that you don’t hurt her anymore.” She replied with a cold remark.

“Any idea where to search her Rose?” Aldwin asked.

“I have an idea.” She answered.

----

Her feet didn’t stop for a second. Her brown hair jumped left and right as she ran. She doesn’t bother to look where she went, what turn she took, what alley she passed, what corridor she went through. Her muscle began to sore, but she didn’t want to stop, she wanted to run away. Run away from reality, run away from this cruel world, run away from him… he who betrayed her.

Her feet finally stopped moving. She realized her own thought. She crouched down and hit her head.

“STUPID! STUPID! STUPID FRIEDE!” She covered her face and cried waterfall. “Why..Why are you like this Friede? It… it’s not his fault.. It was my fault for not telling him.” She looked at her own hand. “I..I.. slapped him.” She regretted what she had done in her anger. She slapped and pushed away someone she loved, someone who truly care about her. “It was my fault! i.. i .. don’t deserve him.”

“Oh yes you do!”

The sudden voice startled her and brought her back to reality. She only realized it at that time, she doesn’t even know where she were, she doesn’t recognize the place. The place look to be an old subway station, it was dark, dirty, and humid.

From the darkness, a figure appeared. It was a man with a white hair. His eye colour was inverted, black sclera and white pupil. Behind, a woman with a ragged clothes that was covered with dirt. Surrounding her was a pack of strange looking dog, with stitches all over their body.

“Who are you?!” She shouted. Her whole body shivered when she saw the strange eyed man.

“Girl, do you want that boy? Come with me let me help you.” He asked. Without thinking, Friede ran away. She knew he was dangerous, and not to mention the strange dog that was trying to surround her. “Ck! Stupid girl.”

“You failed. MASTER.” The woman behind him spoke. She emphasize the master part and spoke with resentment in her voice. “Why are we wasting our time on her? We should look for that man from yesterday. Even mistress Lucia and mistress Analise ordered you to do the same.”

He turned to face her and grabbed her hair. “I AM your master. Not Lucia! not Analise! ME! Do you understand?” She nodded in pain. He let go of her hair. “I don’t give a shit about a demon who chose to side with hero faction. No matter who he is in his life, no matter how important Lucia and Analise think he is. Now catch that girl. Don’t hurt her too much, we need her to be the bait for other.”

The woman nodded and took a step back. “Catch her my children!” She extended her arm to where Friede was running.

----

The metal door opened. The number 15 appeared on the screen beside it.

Rein and Elis walked through the door and to a bright hallway. The floor was covered with fancy and comfortable carpet. Expensive painting and and decoration filled the wall. On that level, there were only four room.

They rang the bell of one of the room.

“Friede, you there?” There was no answer. “If you’re there i’m coming in.”

He took the key card out from his jacket pocket.. He had returned to his house before coming there to take the key card to Friede apartment room.

Friede gave the key card to him in the past so that he could visit anytime without having to ask her first.

Inside the room, all the light was turned off. The room itself wasn’t that dark. The huge window on the side of the room let the light from the city in, but there was no presence of human in there, at least, not that he and Elis aware of.

From the look of the light switch, there were no light that was turned on, not on the bathroom, or any room. “Friede! You here?!” He yelled. There was no answer.

He moved from the front door to the living room. There was something that caught his eyes in the darkness, a flickering light, moving near the TV.

“MASTER!” Elis hugged him from behind.

A huge purple magic circle appeared in the air in front of them, covering the entire room height and width. The light flickered in fast succession and the sound of muffled gunshot echoed throughout the room. The flickering light from the gun was enough to reveal a man dressed in black standing in front of the TV with a gun in his hand. Countless of bullet fell to the ground after being stopped by the magic circle.

“Stay still master!”

From around her, numerous black ball shot to her enemu. The black ball laid waste to any furniture caught in its path. The window shattered as the man sent his body off the building. His left hand threw a grappling hook to the top of the building, keeping him from falling off the fifteenth floor. His right hand threw a small black box into the room.

Elis lifted Rein. Rein almost protest being lifted, before his protest turned into a scream as Elis threw them both out of the window.

“AAAAAAAAA” He screamed, but his scream was drowned by a shock wave coming from behind them. A bright light filled the night. A great fire streaked across the dark sky, consuming not just Friede’s room, but the whole floor above and below it as well.

From Elis back sprouted a bat wing, slowing their fall into a glide.

“AAA!AAA!AA! Yo-Yo-You can fly Elis?” Rein voice stuttered because of his fear.

“Hang on tight Master! In normal situation i could fly, but right now i have to carry you and make a shield for us.” behind her, a magic barrier was still bombarded by bullet.

The man from before was hanging by a grappling hook on the side of building. The machine gun in his right hand still raining bullet on Elis and Rein.

After gliding in the air for a few second that felt like hours, they land on the roof of the building opposite to the apartment.

“Elis, can you shot him from here?”

“No, not without blowing blowing the whole floor he’s in. My spell aren’t that accurate in long distance.”

Rein felt something creeping in the back of his mind. A familiar cold feeling that he experienced a few times before, an unpleasant feeling that he wished he could forget, Death.

“ELIS!” He pushed Elis down. The coldness of steel grazed his back.

“Master!” There was another man behind them. He wore a white cloak that stood out in the night. In his right hand, a blood stained dagger, and in his left hand was another similar dagger.

He brought the left dager down. Elis raised her arm, creating an ice wall. The dagger penetrated the ice, but it was not long enough to touch them. Elis spun her hand, the ice wall moved according to her command. Ice spike formed on the surface of the wall.

The man jumped back, his left dagger still stuck on the ice.Elis clenched her fist and the ice wall shattered into countless ice spike that followed her enemy. Fireballs and magic bolt hovered and shot through the air. The man in white moved and jumped around acrobatically, dodging every attack Elis threw at him and deflecting with his dagger any that he couldn’t dodge.

“Assassin , that’s why i didn’t notice your presence.” She stood up.

“Assassin?” Rein asked. He took out the scanner. The assassin noticed and threw a throwing dagger at him, but Elis hair slithered and covered her master from the dagger.

Name:

Rashid Ad-din Sinan

Master:

?

Class:

Assassin

Subclass:

-

Original location:

Persia

Spirit Rank

A+

Parameter

Health(HP)

600

Mana(MP)

400

Strength

D-

Magical power

E

Agility

A-

Luck

C

Endurance

D-

Special Power

B

Physical Resistance

E+

Magical Resistance

E+

“Rashid Ad-Din sinan? Who’s that?” Rein asked himself. The scanner told him his name, but without the proper knowledge, that information meant nothing.

Elis hair moved like a steel whip. Crackling in the air like a thunder along with her numerous spell. Again, rashid dodged them without much effort, although he himself was only able to dodge and unable to launch a counterattack.

Suddenly, the magic shield behind Elis shattered like a glass, exposing Rein to the man on the apartment. She turned her head to look at the top of the apartment, there was now two person up there, a man and a woman. but that moment of her facing away from Rashid was a fatal error.

Rashid wouldn’t let that opportunity passed his hand. He dodged the incoming attack and dashed to Rein. He disappeared and in the next instant appeared beside to Rein with dagger in his hand. The dagger that reflected the little light the night had was directed to his eyes.

Before Elis could cast another spell to protect her master, a bullet pierced her body from her left side, going through her arm and her stomach before going out from the other side of her body.

----------

Rose walked on the road with Aldwin following her from behind. Her two hour times was almost up and she haven’t even reached the place she wanted to.

The streetlight was spaced far away from each other, and the cloud blocked the moon and the star, making the area darker than any other part of the city. On her left was a cliff overlooking the city and on her right was a dark dense forest.

The view was breathtaking. Even with the cloud blocking the sea of star in the sky, all the light sparkling from the city was another sea of sky when looked from her position. She wiped her crimson hair off her face and the breeze fluttered it.

Aldwin let out a long sigh. “How long are we gonna walk?” He asked with a slumped shoulder.

“Stop complaining! It’s fine once in a while to enjoy a walk like this.”

“Aren’t you the one who say that we have to hurry? It would be faster if i carry you like before.”

“Like hell anyone would want to be carried over the shoulder like that! It look as if you’re kidnapping me or something.” She folded her arm.

“What is up there anyway? We have walked up this road for almost half an hour now.”

“A playground, one that Friede have a lot of fond memories of. I think that park could be one of the place she would run away to.”

“A playground? This far from the city?”

“There was a village on top of this mountain, but after the city undergone a rapid development in the past twenty years, most of the inhabitant moved to the city. There are also an old church and temple around here.”

“How much more until the park you spoke of?”

“Another 200 meters or so.”

“Hang on tight Rose!” Aldwin ran to Rose, picked her up, and carried her over his shoulder. She was surprised by hs sudden action.

“Let me go!” She struggled and punched him from her awkward position.

“Just shut up! This is much faster.” After just a few second, they arrived at their destination and Aldwin let her down. “Look at how much faster we arrive if you just stay put.”

She punched him in the stomach to no effect. She realized something strange, even when she punched him when he was wearing his armour, her hand doesn’t hurt.

“You’re not wearing your breastplate?” She asked.

“Breastplate?... oh you mean this?” He slightly opened his buttonless white trench coat, revealing a black breastplate underneath. “It look like a breastplate, but it’s not. It was made with some kind of magical fabric. It does not offer much in physical protection, but it’s flexible.”

“Now that i think about it, what kind of warrior use a trench coat? I mean, what kind of ancient civilization produced something similar to trench coat. Don’t you have any other armor that give you more protection or something?”

“Roseee...”

“What?” She was confused, Aldwin gaze wasn’t aimed at her but something behind her.

Aldwin placed his hand on top of Rose head and turned it to face the park.

Broken streetlight turning on and off rapidly. The mountain Wind blew a wind chime hanging on the roof of an old shack next to the park, then it went through a broken hollowed pipe, creating an eerie humming sound.

The rusting metal creaked each time the chain of one of the swing moved. On one particular swing was a little girl wearing a gown with an expressionless face. A lollipop stuffed her mouth while her blank crimson eyes was staring at them, as if she could see right through their soul. Behind her was a man around Rose age, pushing the swing she was on. His black hair covered some of his face and glasses. The black shirt he wore was unbuttoned, revealing a black tank top underneath.

“Lizi, how long are we going to play here? It’s well past your bedtime.”

“Luci… don’t you see that we have a guest here?”

Aldwin stepped up in front of Rose with half of his body covering her view of the park. A twin dagger formed in Aldwin hands.

“Look Luci.. they’re enemy. You said that enemy have to be killed right?” The girl asked with a monotone voice.

“You must not say that! people will think that you’re a bad girl, buuuut if you promise to sleep early tomorrow..”

“I swear.” She raised her pinky finger. He replied and entwined his pinky finger with hers. The man made a pinky swear with her and patted her head.

“Just say the word.” Wide grin appeared on the man face. He removed his shirt and pulled the hair that covered his face backward.

“Eliminate them….. Lucifer.”