Chapter 10- Keith Unchained

Dust clouds formed with each hoof that met the ground, racing across the fields near Spiti. Yurgen whinnied as Keith urged him to move faster. The horse had been running at full speed the entire night, unwilling to rest, much like his rider.

Keith saw a couple of people running away from the town, being chased by two Assassins. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to calm down as he saw the town of Spiti burning while its inhabitants were being ruthlessly massacred by the numerous groups of Assassins.

I knew that it couldn't have been that simple. I hope she could find them in time.

A trio of Assassins spotted the horse galloping towards them. One broke off from the others to warn the rest of the Assassins of Keith's presence, while the other two stayed back to deal with Keith and buy some time.

Keith leapt off the horse as Yurgen charged into an Assassin, sending him flying into a nearby wagon and knocking him unconscious. Keith threw his briefcase while mid-air, embedding itself into the other Assassin's head.

Keith used his foot to pin the Assassin's head onto the ground, yanking the briefcase from the dead man's head.

With blood dripping from his briefcase, Keith walked over to the discombobulated Assassin near the wagon and slipped off the man's hood.

"Don't waste my time. Are you going to tell me about your objective? Yes or no?"

The man chuckled weakly, spitting out blood at Keith's foot. "Go to hel…"

Keith punched the man, breaking his jaw and cracking his neck. His fist trembled momentarily before he kept punching the Assassin, blood and a broken tooth dripping with his saliva as his head tilted sideways. The man was already dead.

Taking a deep breath, Keith wiped his hand on his jacket as he stood on the edge of Spiti, a lane of houses burning in front of him. A man on flames screamed in agony as he rolled on the ground desperately, trying to put out the fire.

His scream turned into a cracked groan of pain as his body stopped writhing and shaking. The stench of burning wood, flesh and smoke filled the air.

Keith walked on the pathway with burning houses and structures on either side of him. The edge of the town was a bright orange hue with dark black smoke rising above it. The fire crackled angrily around him as he saw a couple of charred corpses.

But the rest of the town was still under attack.

Keith unbuttoned his jacket as shadows began to swirl around him.

Yurgen whinnied lightly as he trotted next to Keith, who patted the horse to calm him down. Keith spotted a bunch of Assassins attacking the area of the town where the Moonlighter shop was.

Keith took a deep breath and steeled himself as he walked towards the town square, his briefcase feeling heavier than usual.

They might have taken everything from him before.

But never again.

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"Goldi, on your right!"

Felix grunted as he used a sledgehammer to fend off an Assassin with a knife. The blacksmith was attempting to clear the way out of town towards the farmlands near the volcano so that the townspeople could escape the Assassins onslaught.

A few adventurers were defending the remaining civilians who couldn't escape in time or people who had refused to listen to Yokubo's warning. Enteico fought alongside the civilians as they reached the bar to take shelter and hide.

Yokubo used her butterfly knives to stab and slice the attacker, the purple handles now coated with a dark crimson red, her hands bloody and bruised from fighting. Alongside her, Felix and the Omada Platoon fought an uphill battle, the skill and precision of the Assassins attack ruthlessly cutting through their defences.

She had managed to evacuate the majority of the townspeople before the attack but failed in reaching the edge of town before the Assassins began burning it.

She heard a voice in the distance, almost like a warcry. "GAYYYYYY!"

A briefcase flew over her head and hit an Assassin in the head with a resounding thunk, knocking the man out.

Yokubo turned around, wiping the blood from her lip and smiled.

"What took you so long?"

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Enteico and the adventurers led the small group of remaining civilians to the backdoor of the bar. Six Assassins managed to get past the outside defences after killing the two adventurers guarding the front entrance.

The sword in Enteico's hand turned into an axe as he prepared to defend himself while the Assassins got closer. With a brief glance, the merchant saw that the civilians had escaped, thankfully.

Why am I doing this?

Enteico shook the question from his head. Now wasn't the time for doubt or second thoughts. He clutched the axe's handle tighter and raised it above his head.

Suddenly, the door to the bar swung open with a thud.

The wind howled ominously as a figure walked casually into the bar, his footsteps emphasized by the silence and tension his entrance had caused.

Enteico watched as the figure covered in dark shadows that clung to him like smoke, the figure sat down pulling a bar stool out to order a drink.

Despite the nature of the situation they were in, the bartender poured the figure a glass of Moon Juice with some ice cubes. The figure nodded his thanks and set his briefcase down.

Enteico didn't even realize that he was holding his breath, or that the Assassins didn't move to attack. In fact, they almost seemed afraid of the figure as he tapped the glass with his finger to get their attention.

The figure leant back against the counter, taking a slow sip of his drink. He gave a satisfied sigh as the Moon Juice went down his throat smoothly.

"Tell me the name of the cunt who's running this gig."

The Assassins looked at each other, unsure of how to answer the white-haired man. They decided to draw their weapons instead.

"You're outnumbered. You might as well give up now." Keith mumbled.

Enteico wondered if Keith was a little delirious. It was entirely possible considering Keith began to down two entire bottles of Moon Juice.

The Assassins smirked. "I count six of us." Said one of them.

Keith held the two bottles in the air with a terrifyingly calm smile across his face.

"I count two bottles."

Keith warped behind an Assassin and smashed his head with the bottle, shattering the glass into pieces as the shards got stuck in the Assassin's head.

He drove the sharp-edged broken bottle into an Assassin's eye, causing the man to scream as he tried to wrench the glass out of his eyeball. Keith saw two Assassins approach him with daggers, about to attack from either side.

Keith used his foot to flip a barstool into his hands and bashed it quickly against one Assassin as the other one almost struck Keith's chest with his knife.

Rolling onto the ground, he split his legs open as the Assassin struck the ground below his jewels with a chair leg. Frantically pushing himself backwards out of the way with his hands, Keith narrowly missed the Assassin's repeated hits.

Not the balls! Not the balls! Not the balls!

Keith merged with his shadow and warped behind the Assassin, snapping his neck quickly. On the ground behind him, he saw the bottle he had dropped to use the chair.

Keith rolled and grabbed the bottle, about to attack when he realized something.

The bottle still had some Moon Juice left.

Keith dodged the other three Assassins attacks and rapidly chugged the remaining liquid, holding out his finger as a gesture for the Assassins to wait until he finished. Unsurprisingly, they weren't so generous and continued with their assault.

"What the…hey! I'm in the middle of finishing something important, you dumb whores!" Keith slurred, dodging an attack with unsteady footing as he used the bottle like a bat to knock the Assassin's lights out.

Keith sighed as he saw the Moon Juice drip onto the floor. The two remaining Assassins were terrified as they looked at each other. Then, they suddenly turned around and ran outside the bar, vanishing into their shadows.

That might be the first time I've seen an Assassin run from a fight.

Keith clicked his tongue as he saw the mess he had made. Thankfully, the bartender was willing to excuse it. Just this once.

Enteico smiled as Keith approached him with a look of mock disapproval on his face.

"Thanks for your help," Keith said, sarcasm highly evident in his tone.

"You're welcome. Emotional support, remember?" Enteico said, smirking.

"Alright. Now that the mushy greetings are out of the way, let's go through our emergency stash back at the shop." Keith said, heading out the door with Enteico.

"Yeah…about that."

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"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHYYYYYY?!?!?"

Keith wailed like a dying man begging for mercy. He was kneeling with his hands in the air, shaking them in anger and grief. They had reached the Moonlighter Shop, now burned down with a few support pillars charred from the flames of the explosion.

"All my doujinshi…my light novels…gone. I'll never be able to see what happens to Naofumi and Raphtalia…I'll never be able to feel happiness ever again." Keith sobbed.

Felix sighed as the blacksmith rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "That's what makes him snap? Some burned books?"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL MY TREASURE YOU BLONDE BITCH?!"

Enteico held back Keith from attacking Felix. After a few seconds, he calmed down.

"So, uhh…while you were at the Foundation…we kinda ran into your…I mean at least she says that she's your…" Enteico stammered, unsure of how to explain Yokubo's involvement.

Keith sighed. "Fiancé?"

"Yeah…that's not true, is it? It's just some weird inside joke that the two of you have?" Enteico asked. Everything he knew about Keith was going out the window.

Yokubo looked at Keith with an unreadable expression. Keith stared back at her, the staring contest between them having no romantic atmosphere whatsoever.

Yokubo shot her projectile at Keith, barely missing him as he ducked out of the way.

Enteico and Felix rushed at Yokubo, although Felix appeared less enthusiastic in stopping her attack. She threw Enteico over her shoulder and punched Felix in the chest, getting the wind knocked out of him as the blacksmith crumpled onto the ground.

With the two out of her way, she turned around to focus on Keith.

The projectile darted towards Keith and was about to hit him until he blocked it at the last second with his briefcase. He threw the briefcase at Yokubo, but she caught it before it could collide with her body.

Keith charged at her with his shoulder, knocking her against a wall. He pinned her with his arms onto the wall, their faces barely a few inches apart as they panted heavily, tired from their earlier encounter with the attacking Assassins.

"Your breath still smells like hot dogs," Keith said, smirking.

"Ok, you win again. But you know you're going to let your guard down eventually. And when that happens, you're going to have to get married to me." Yokubo stated confidently.

Keith's smile faded as he took the briefcase from her hands. "You're still on about that stupid tradition? I told you that it's never going to happen. Those stupid rules and regulations are bullshit."

"But Keith…" Yokubo began, only to be interrupted by Enteico.

"What tradition?" Enteico asked Keith.

"Assassins get engaged to each other by engaging each other in ritual combat. Or, in layman's terms, they beat up the person they want to get married to and if they win, the person has to get married to them." Keith explained.

Enteico and Felix stared at Keith.

"So, you're telling me that Assassins literally try to kill each other so they can get laid legally?" Enteico said, extremely baffled.

Keith sighed and nodded. "I know. Can you believe they gave me shit for dropkicking them?"

The group heard a house collapsing towards the opposite end of town. It seemed like the second wave of Assassins were attacking.

"Felix, let me get a vantage point. Make a lookout tower. I'm heading over there." Keith said, immediately.

"W…what? My powers aren't that strong! I can't…" Felix protested.

"Huh, I thought Enteico was the only one who was a whiny bitch baby on our team," Keith said, looking at his nails as Yokubo giggled.

"Hey!" Enteico exclaimed.

Felix raised a gigantic pillar of rock right under Keith's feet, sending the man flying while holding his jacket close to his chest so it wouldn't fly off. Keith landed back on the pillar, clutching his legs in agony.

"Arggh…my knees!"

"You're welcome!" Felix yelled back up at him.

Keith rolled his eyes as he surveilled the town below him, watching as a group of Assassins caused chaos and destruction around the town, fighting against a group of adventurers. Though he couldn't spot the Omada Platoon.

Psoli probably got a dent in his armor and they called it quits. Assholes.

Keith jumped off the tower, hurtling towards the rapidly approaching ground.

Instead of breaking his neck from the fall, Keith merged with his shadow and ejected from the top of a roof, still carrying his momentum from the fall.

Breathe in, breathe out. Make the shadow one with you, yet do not give in to the darkness.

Keith felt a momentary ache in his heart as he remembered the good old simple days and his training to become an Assassin.

How he wished he could change what had happened. All of it.

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This fight wasn't one he could win.

Yokubo slammed the staff onto the floor, narrowly missing Keith's leg by a few inches. The girl then swept his leg off, knocking him off balance and pointed the staff at his face.

The other students clapped and cheered as Yokubo was announced as the victor of the duel. She smiled and held out her hand to help Keith back up.

A boy with dark brown hair approached the two of them with a bottle of water. Keith nearly downed the whole bottle in one gulp, while Yokubo politely declined.

"That was awesome! You finally managed to beat Keith, Yokubo!" he said in awe of his two friends.

"Yeah, but I had my hands tied behind my back for the first two minutes," Keith said with a huff.

"That sounds like it's your problem," Yokubo said, smirking at Keith's slight annoyance. She watched as her two best friends went over how Keith could have won that fight, like crazy conspiracy theorists on a wild goose chase.

The door to the training arena flung open.

An old man stepped into the room as all students fell into line on either side of him, bowing in respect. The old man had an aura that demanded respect, with eyes that were old but still held the fiery steel of an experienced warrior.

He wore a black kimono with the cloudy white insignia of the Alysides clan.

"Sit down. Except for you three."

The man sat on the chair placed in front of the training arena where all the students could see him. They all murmured with hushed whispers as they waited to see what the man would do.

The clan called him Shujin, a title given to the leader of the Assassin clan. If anything, he certainly looked the part. His grey beard and long hair were neatly combed and trimmed while his eyes seemed to observe everyone's movements at the same time.

"Keith," Shujin said, his voice booming deep and steady.

Even one word from Shujin seemed to rumble through the very walls of the arena. It seemed like a low rumble of thunder emanating from his very body each time he spoke.

Keith cleared his throat as he tried to speak, slightly intimidated.

"Yes, Shujin?" He squeaked.

Shujin stared gravely at Keith as if he was about to exile him or announce his execution for losing the duel. The atmosphere was so quiet that someone coughed just to break the uncomfortable silence.

Shujin burst out laughing, slapping his knee.

"You lost to a girl!" The man wheezed.

The class erupted into laughter as well, partly due to relief and partly because Shujin didn't take very kindly to people who didn't laugh at his jokes.

Yokubo and the brown-haired boy giggled as well as Keith blushed furiously.

"He isn't wrong. Or did you lose on purpose so the two of you could go smooching around later?" The boy said, teasing Keith. Yokubo turned her face away, hiding her slightly red cheeks.

"Shut it, Francy-pants." Keith said, poking him in the stomach.

"It's FRANCY! I've told you not to call me that before…" The boy said, whining.

Shujin held out his hand to silence the class as he spoke once more.

"Now, as you all know, Keith is one of our most talented students. And no, despite what most of you think, it is not because he is my grandson. If anything, that only makes him more annoying." Shujin said, speaking loud and clear to everyone.

"Thanks, grampa…" Keith sighed.

"As such, today is a special day since it is his 12th birthday! To celebrate his outstanding resolve and occasionally getting his as…uhh butt…kicked by a girl, I have decided to host a surprise party!" Shujin said, not noticing the stares and shaking heads imploring him to stop speaking.

The entire class groaned, all their weeks of hard work to keep Keith clueless thrown out the window at the last second. Keith was still extremely confused.

"Shujin, I don't think that's how surprise parties work," Francy said.

Shujin stopped smiling. "What do you mean?"

As Francy explained that the surprise party was supposed to be announced only when the cake and party were ready to catch the person off guard, Yokubo came from behind a small room in the arena, holding a big box of chocolate cake and two big bottles of bubbling black Bepis soda.

"Not exactly what we were planning for, but happy birthday Keith!" Yokubo said as she opened the cake with a warm smile.

While Shujin and Francy were having a heated debate about how unsafe surprise parties were in theory, Keith shrugged and thanked everyone around him for the birthday wishes.

After a while, Shujin adjusted his kimono and spoke. "Now that we have the formalities out of the way, let us sing for the birthday boy! Begin the happy birthday song!"

The class shifted uncomfortably. No one liked singing the happy birthday song. Not even Keith wanted to hear it, even though it was his birthday.

"Shujin…we don't really have to, do we?" Francy asked the man.

Shujin turned to the classroom with a death stare that could make a grown man shit himself.

"Sing."

The entire class began singing immediately, with fear evident in their voices. Once the horrible chorus died down, Keith cut the cake and the students descended upon it like wolves.

As per Assassin tradition, you were allowed to have more than one piece if you could steal it without anyone else noticing.

So, quite naturally, Keith and his grandfather had the most cake from the rest.

Yokubo was keenly watching Keith eating his fourth piece. The velvet cake was so smooth, the icing tender but not overly thick with the actual cake itself melting in his mouth upon each bite. Keith had ascended into chocolate heaven.

"You like it?" Yokubo asked Keith, who stuffed his face with cake.

Keith nodded and mumbled something with his mouth full, bits of cake flying everywhere. Francy wiped his arm in disgust as a wet piece of cake landed on his arm.

"That's great! I made it for you…so I'm not really sure if you would like it. I…kinda remembered that you like chocolate the most so I just decided to…" Yokubo said, her voice shaky.

"It sucks. It's absolute garbage. The worst thing I've ever eaten." Keith said, cramming another piece into his mouth.

Yokubo paused for a second before laughing with Francy as Keith choked from trying to wolf down the cake too fast. She poured him a cup of Bepis soda for him to drink.

"Guess it takes garbage to know garbage," Yokubo said, chuckling.

The party continued for a while after that. Keith, Yokubo and Francy had the time of their lives as Shujin came up with games for them to play, stories for them to listen to and a terrible stand-up comedy routine for them to throw tomatoes at.

As the sun began to set, the students headed back to their homes, waving Keith and Francy goodbye as they stayed with Shujin.

"Keith, come with me to the rooftop. I have something to show you." Shujin said, merging with his shadow and disappearing.

Keith turned to Francy as the two boys looked at each other.

"You think he's going to make you the leader of the Assassins?" Francy asked Keith.

"I don't want him to. I'm not good at that stuff." Keith said, stretching his arms.

"But it would be an honor. You would have respect, lots of friends, a family…" Francy said, his voice fading as he went on.

Keith put his hand on Francy's shoulder. "I've told you about this a bunch of times already, Mr. Francy-pants. Doesn't matter where you came from or who you came from. To Shujin and me, you are family. Probably because we need a witness to make sure neither of us does anything extremely stupid."

Francy laughed weakly as he looked at the floor. "I'll try my best to keep you two in check. Thank you both for taking me in. It means a…yeah."

Keith patted him on the back, unsure of how to deal with emotionally heavy conversations. He figured he probably would learn as he got older. Probably.

Before Keith took the stairs to the rooftop entryway, he turned around to talk to Francy.

"You would probably be a better leader for the Assassins than me. You know?"

Francy looked at Keith, some unspoken thought occurring in their heads. Francy smiled.

"Thanks. But, even if I was stronger than you, I'm not from the Alysides bloodline. There's no chance for me."

Keith scratched his head. "Yeah, too bad there's no way out of that one. Anyway, I'm going up to see what gramps has in store for me. Goodnight, Francy-pants."

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Keith gritted his teeth as he kept fighting, his bones and joints aching as the Assassins just seemed to keep appearing out of nowhere.

The briefcase he had was now completely covered in blood and bits of flesh. Every Assassin that went up against Keith was no match for him.

Keith flinched as a dagger cut into the side of his arm. He quickly spun around and whacked the briefcase against the Assassin's ribs, making him spit blood.

Even though he had no problem taking each individual Assassin down in a few hits, Keith was slowly getting worn out. The Assassins had strength in numbers.

As he struggled with controlling his breathing to avoid him tiring himself out while he fought, Keith was all too aware of how easy things would be if he just opened the briefcase.

The item inside felt like it was calling to him, tempting Keith to use it. He had no logical reason not to…but how could he? After all that had happened?

With his mind set on never touching it again, he chose to keep using the briefcase as a weapon instead, the Assassins unaware of the terrible danger inside it.

Keith also noticed that the Assassins were not strategic or tactical in this attack on Spiti at all. They preferred stealth over combat usually, opting to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed.

So much for their precious rules and code.

But there was one thing Keith was certain about.

Whatever the Assassins' true intentions were behind the attack on Spiti, they had yet to reveal it.

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"Is that area clear? Yokubo called out to Enteico and Felix.

"All good! No civilians here!" Enteico confirmed.

Yokubo knelt down to bandage a wounded adventurer's arm. The Assassins near the Moonlighter shop had been defeated. There didn't seem to be any further waves coming in, just the one that Keith was dealing with. Most of the adventurers were either tired or critically wounded.

The group had gotten healing supplies from Forge's shop. Psoli's brother initially refused, despite the numerous amount of people that desperately needed supplies to heal in case the Assassins decided to attack again.

"Then who the hell is going to pay for all the potions and items?! They're not cheap, you know! Or do you want me to add that onto your debt as well, Enteico?!" Forge protested, shouting from behind the locked door of his shop.

Yokubo was ticked off.

With a Spartan kick, she broke down the door, sending the short blacksmith on the other side flying into the wall. Forge grabbed the counter to get back onto his feet.

Yokubo grabbed Forge by the neck of his shirt. "Listen close and listen carefully, you sorry excuse for a midget-sized dildo."

She pointed outside the broken door, where Enteico and Felix were watching her…negotiation tactics.

"Do you see those people out there? Those people need these supplies more than you need money. Put aside the fact that the Assassins will definitely attack your shop for supplies since they're getting desperate, these adventurers are the only thing between you and certain death." Yokubo said with a cold tone.

"Heh. I can take on a few pathetic Assassins on my own. I can always get my brother to bash some sense into those freaks as well. I don't need…" Forge boasted with confidence.

"I wasn't talking about the Assassins."

Forge looked at Yokubo, a wicked grin stretching across her face. "Unlike Bitch boy or Goldilocks here, I don't have any obligation to save anyone from this town. Especially you. All that matters is that Keith and I survive this attack so that I can beat him and get him to marry me."

Enteico looked at Felix. "That was…oddly romantic."

"Right now, those adventurers are good enough to wear out the Assassins. They're a lot more useful than your soot-covered ass and your platoon of boy-band rejects, who didn't do squat to help us fend off the Assassins." Yokubo said.

Forge appeared to be genuinely confused for a moment. "What are you talking about? The Omada Platoon can take on any foe and triumph. They left a few hours ago to take on a group of Assassins to the east of the town."

Yokubo heard the murmurs of the adventurers behind her, beginning to panic as they considered the possibility that Psoli had been killed.

"Like I just said, I don't care about what happens to you. The supplies. You can either give it to me…or I can take them myself. But you don't get to keep your life if I choose that route. You're a merchant. I think you'll see which one is more profitable." Yokubo threatened, holding her knife against Forge's throat.

"Yes, Ma'am. You can take anything you want. All on the house." Forge squeaked as his pants became wet.

The adventurers gathered a crate of healing potions and distributed it around to the people who needed it. Some had decided to retreat with the townspeople near the farmlands.

"You're really intense, you know that?" Enteico said as Yokubo left the shop.

"It takes a certain type of person to keep up with Keith's shenanigans," Yokubo said, smiling at Enteico and Felix.

Felix groaned. "Yeah. I have no idea how you guys managed to survive being friends with him for years. I couldn't even last two weeks with that guy." Felix said, lying on his back.

Enteico and Yokubo shrugged at each other with a smile on their face. Keith certainly did have his fair share of interesting companions.

With an earth-shattering smash, the building wall that held the business records for the townpeople was hit by something, causing the entire structure to collapse.

A golden mass of walking armor emerged from the rubble, bloody and beaten up with bruises on his obscenely chiseled face. Psoli crawled out from underneath a broken pillar while the Omada Platoon ran to him, attempting to heal the knight.

"What the hell was that?! What happened to Psoli?" Enteico asked, running to the Platoon.

"Death has come for him."

The rubble was forcibly moved out of the way, dust clouds rising as a figure emerged from behind Psoli, walking towards the group at a hauntingly slow pace.

A man wearing two claw blades on either hand with a white smooth porcelain mask on his face, with one eye cracked and smeared in blood appeared before them. He wore the traditional Assassin outfit, with a few personal modifications.

Sharpening his claws against each other, the man seemed to have a dangerous aura oozing from him. As tiny sparks jumped off the metal blades, the man stopped right in front of Enteico and the rest of the group.

"What a surprise. You still have some people alive. A pity that I will have to finish the job." The man said, scraping his claws on a piece of rubble nearby. The horrid screeching sound made Enteico grit his teeth.

Felix thumped his sledgehammer onto the ground. "You honestly think that one asshole can beat all of us up? We certainly held our own against your other Assassin friends." Felix asked confidently, stepping aside to show a few adventurers ready and raring to get back into battle.

"I am not just any Assassin."

The man's claws began to extend as the shadows around him swirled around his claws, making them longer and undoubtedly more vicious. He looked directly at Enteico, noticing the sword that he held in his hand with an interested look.

In the blink of an eye, the man merged with his shadow.

The next instant, five of the adventurers had lost their heads, dying without a sound.

A menacing laugh echoed through the town square as Yokubo clutched her daggers tightly. There were very few Assassins and threats that she took seriously. This man was definitely making his way onto the list.

"It would be nice to know your name before I kill you so that I could know what to put on your gravestone," Yokubo said, as Enteico and Felix took their stances, their weapons ready for a difficult fight ahead.

"Oh, poor Yokubo. Always chasing Keith. Always in his shadow. Not me. No longer. I will be his death. His doom. I…am…Drexler."