Chapter 9

Hands Of Blood

It had been a couple of months since Erin had accomplished her first assassination job under the tutelage of Ryan and Holly. Ever since then, she had continued her training under the two assassins while every now and then taking up other assassinations.

The young woman was now completely different from the way she had been when she arrived in this world. Her looks had changed drastically, as she had allowed her hair to grow much longer, with some of her bangs covering her now missing right eye. She was now wearing an outfit suited for assassinations, consisting of a tight black bodysuit, a light gray cloak that had a hood, white lightly armored boots, white fingerless gauntlets as well as a black and white cap on her head. She had also obtained better weaponry, consisting of two swords. One was a lot heavier and bulkier, meant to penetrate through armors. The other one was smaller and lighter, more like a really long dagger, which allowed her to perform quick attacks on enemies. To top this all off, she had a set of throwing knives and a silenced pistol also with her.

However, while Erin might have become a lot stronger physically, her mental health wasn’t doing so well anymore. The countless of lives she had taken as part of her job of being an assassin weighed heavily on her conscience, which didn’t help the guilt she was feeling over what she had caused to this world through betraying Devin back in her own world. Not only that, but she still kept having visions of the lives of her victims right before she killed them, which led to horrible nightmares haunting her in her sleep.

Because of the demons in her mind that she was now cursed with, Erin had become an alcoholic. She found it ironic how back in her younger days she had used to drink with her friends like there was no tomorrow for fun. Now she was doing it in order to silence the ghosts that kept haunting her mind at every second. Unfortunately, the taste of alcohol wasn’t much of a comfort, as the liquid tasted like mud on her tongue. The same happened with every food and other drink that she put in her mouth no matter what.

“What am I even doing anymore?” Erin mumbled to herself while pouring another shot of liquor into her glass. “I spend my time on work that kills me from the inside and then spend my time drinking something that tastes like crap. What kind of a life is this?”

“Well, you could switch the drink into something better for starters, but I doubt that will help much. This is some nasty crap they’re selling here.”

The redheaded assassin’s eye went wide and she spun on her seat to see who had just talked to her. Sitting by her right side was a young woman, a couple of years older than her, who was also enjoying her own drink.

The woman was very tall, a lot taller than Erin. She had short and messy blonde hair and golden yellow eyes. Her outfit consisted of what seemed like a light green sleeveless coat with a high collar that she kept open, allowing people to see the black tube top she was wearing underneath the coat. On her arms were black fingerless gloves that reached up to her elbows that had metal plates on the back of her hands. On her legs she had tight black pants and a pair of bright red boots. She also had a red scarf around her neck.

What had gotten Erin so alarmed was that this woman had apparently been able to sit right next to her without her noticing at all. Even if the redhead had been drinking, she always made sure that her awareness was in its maximum, as she never knew when someone would come after her life. Yet despite her honed senses, this woman had gotten so close and had only been noticed by Erin when the lady herself spoke up.

“Hey, what’s with that reaction?” the mysterious blonde asked with a raised eyebrow and a hint of annoyance in her voice. “That’s kind of rude, you know! It’s not like I’m some sort of a monster looking to eat you!”

“...Who are you and why did you come to me?” Erin asked, somehow being able to keep her voice calm, despite how she was panicking on the inside.

“Should you be looking the gift horse in the mouth like that? I mean, you looked like you could use someone to talk to and here I am offering myself for that! I think you should be a bit more grateful for me,” the blonde explained. “But I guess I should have introduced myself first. Name’s Ryle. Pleasure to meet you.”

Erin allowed herself to ease up a bit, since this person didn’t seem to be hostile towards her. She still kept her guard up, ready to pull out her weapons the moment Ryle made any moves towards her.

“Alright, so what brought you to talk with me of all people?” the redhead asked. “Is it normal for you to put your nose into the business of other people or something?”

“Sheesh! You’re not a fun person to be around, are you!?” Ryle said. “And no, I don’t make a habit of getting into the personal lives of strangers. Just those I find interesting one way or another.”

“And what is it that made me so interesting?”

“Your smell,” Ryle answered with a small grin.

The blonde woman’s answer surprised Erin, who immediately tried to smell herself, but was unable to pick up any kind of a stench. This did seem to amuse Ryle, who began to laugh.

“Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!” the blonde woman said as she laughed. “I was actually referring to your whole being in a way. I mean, why would a young and pretty girl like you be at a bar like this on her own, while carrying weapons? Not only that, but I heard you mumbling to yourself, which got me a bit curious.”

“What the-!? Then say that!” Erin yelled angrily at Ryle, who just laughed harder.

“Yeah, but seeing reactions like yours is just way too fun. It’s always funny to get people like you to act like complete goofballs!” Ryle explained while still laughing. “But still, you seemed to be really down for some reason and I couldn’t help but get curious. Now, are we going to actually talk with each other or are you going to keep glaring at me like that the whole time?”

Erin still wasn’t sure whether she should trust this strange woman, but she didn’t seem to be harboring any ill intentions. Ryle simply tapped the seat that the redhead had been sitting at just a second ago, inviting her to get back on her seat, which is what Erin ended up doing. She was still keeping her guard up, in case this was all just an elaborate plot to get her caught off-guard.

“So… Now that we have finally gotten past that unfortunate introduction, how about you tell me about what’s bothering you?” Ryle said as she took a mouthful of her drink, despite having talked bad about it not too long ago. “Let this big sister here offer her wisdom and shoulder to help you out a bit!”

“...How the hell are YOU suddenly my big sister?” Erin asked with a deadpan look on her face.

“Well, I’ve kind of been an older sibling to certain people, so the idea of me being one has kind of stuck to me. Not that I dislike it or anything like that,” the blonde said with a shrug. “But enough about me! Let’s get to you already!”

The redhead took a deep breath before she began to tell her story. However, she made sure to exclude certain details, as she didn’t want Ryle to catch onto her identity.

“Okay… You see, I’m in a pretty bad situation right now. I’m stuck doing a job that I absolutely hate with people that I don’t get along with. Every day I just get up, go do my awful job and then go back to bed hoping that it would all end,” Erin explained. “And the worst part is that I think I deserve this fate as punishment for the things I’ve done.”

“How come?” Ryle asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s because of something awful I did a long time ago that I’ve regretted ever since,” the redhead answered. “I used to have this group of friends that I hanged out with. At first, I didn’t think much of them, but once I got to know them I became great friends with them. But I threw it all away because of something incredibly stupid and I betrayed those friends in the worst way possible.”

“Well, how bad was this betrayal of yours?” Ryle asked. “I mean, I get it that stabbing your own buddies in the back is one of the worst things one can do, but can’t you just get together and talk it out?”

“You have no idea how much I would like to do just that. Hell, they wouldn’t even need to forgive me at all. I’d just want to get to talk to them once again, just so I could tell them just how sorry I am,” Erin said as a couple of tears fell from her lone eye. “I just don’t think that’s a possibility any longer. Not only are they all far beyond my reach, but they have changed for the worse over what I did to them. I suppose I can’t really blame them, as I destroyed their lives through my actions, leaving them with nothing.”

“Geeze, you did them that bad?” Ryle said with a wince, trying to imagine what had truly happened. “So what are you going to do now? You gonna try fixing things between you and your buddies?”

“Like I said, I don’t think that’s a possibility any longer. Had I not been such a coward back then, I could have possibly prevented them from going down the path they did. But now they have gone too far for me to do that anymore,” Erin answered. “I’ve been living in constant regret of my actions ever since. Through some… complicated circumstances I ended up here, where I met people that my old friends have no hurt, which made me feel even more guilty than before. Not only did I betray and hurt my friends, but now they have gone and hurt others because of what I’ve done. To top it all off, I ended up having to get a job that I absolutely hate just to get by. I don’t even know why I keep on living at this point…”

A moment of silence fell over the two women, as Ryle kept taking sips of her drink while Erin sat in silence next to the blonde woman. She was starting to worry over the chance that Ryle had figured out her identity.

“Sounds to me like you need a reason to keep on going,” Ryle suddenly said.

“W-What do you mean?” Erin asked, perplexed over the blonde’s words.

“It’s quite simple. You need something to motivate yourself to keep going through the days, no matter how tough they become,” Ryle began to explain. “It doesn’t have to be anything too deep or grand. Just something that you really like to do and what would make you happy, like a hobby or something.”

“…You mean to tell me that all I need to do in order to get through the day is a goddamn hobby?” Erin asked with an angry tone. “Do you have any idea how asinine that sounds!? I just told you about my greatest sins that weigh down on my very soul and you’re telling me to get a freaking hobby!? ARE YOU INSANE!?”

“Hey, no need to yell! I’m sitting right next to you, so I can hear you completely fine without you yelling at me like a lunatic!” Ryle said while rubbing her ears, trying to stop the ringing in them from being yelled at so close. “I get that it was a bad example, but I’m still standing by what I said. What you need is something to make you happy and get you through the bad days. It can be a hobby or something else, like a pet or whatever. You just need to figure out something you either really like or something that you want to pursue. When you have that and work towards it every day, your problems will become easier to deal with.”

“...Are you perhaps speaking from experience?” Erin asked, still unsure if what she was being told of could work so well.

“As a matter of fact, I am,” Ryle answered. “While my job isn’t exactly the most awful thing for me, I’d prefer making my money through other means. However, I have something far too important for me to do that. Just by thinking about it, I can go through pretty much anything.”

The redhead considered what the blonde woman had just told her. While she wasn’t completely sure if it would work for herself, she could still see the logic. Back in her own world, there were countless stories of people facing insane difficulties, yet they were able to get through them because they had something that kept them going. For some it was a dream or a vision, while others had something even more simple.

If it worked for so many other people, why wouldn’t it work for her? All she needed was something to motivate her to keep on moving forward.

“Judging by your silence, I’m guessing that you’re thinking about my suggestion, right?” Ryle asked with a small smirk. “Have you already figured out something to work towards?”

“I think I have,” Erin answered as a fire seemed to be burning in her eyes. One that hadn’t been there for years. “I am going to find my old friends no matter what. When I do so, I will beg for forgiveness over what I did and ask them to change their ways, so that we might be able to go back to those days when we used to be happy together.”

“Sounds like a good enough goal in life. You keep holding onto that and you’ll be fine,” Ryle said before she drank the rest of her drink and got up from her seat. “Now I’ve got some work that needs to be done, so I’ll be taking my leave. But before I do that, mind if I give you some good advice?”

“I don’t see why not. Go ahead,” Erin replied with a shrug.

“First of all, I don’t think you should go and fully blame yourself for what your friends have done. I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel bad over what you did to them, as you totally should. What I’m saying is that at the end of the day, we all make our own decisions. You can always debate circumstances and all that, but I think you need to take at least some responsibility over the things you do with your own two hands,” Ryle said. “The point I’m getting at is that while you may have done your buddies wrong, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everything that happened afterwards is your fault. Take blame for the stuff that happened because of YOU and not the stuff that happened because of THEM.”

“I’ll… think about that,” Erin said thoughtfully. “Was there something else you wanted to say?”

“Just one more thing before I go,” Ryle answered with a grin and leaned closer to the redhead in order to whisper in her ear. “You really should wash yourself better. That stench of blood on you is what truly caught my attention.”

Erin’s eye went wide and she quickly got up from her seat with her arm on her sword’s hilt. However, Ryle was nowhere to be seen anymore. The blonde woman had left as quickly and silently as she had appeared.

There were many questions going through Erin’s mind right now. Who was this person that had come to see her like this? Why had she approached her? What was her actual goal?

Even if Ryle was gone now, the redhead couldn’t help but feel like she would meet her again in the future.

With nothing else to do, Erin began to make her way back to the hideout she shared with Ryan and Holly. As she was walking down the busy streets of the town, she kept thinking about what she had just been told.

Could it be that she shouldn’t blame herself for everything bad that happened in this world? Was she blameless for all the suffering and pain that Devin and the others caused? While it was true that she herself hadn’t forced them to do any of these things, she was the one who caused their lives to be ruined and most likely forced them to escape to this world. Erin didn’t know how things turned out from there on, as their situation could have sent them down a dark path that eventually led to this point. She herself was a perfect example of how a bad situation could lead you to doing things you would normally never want to do. Back home the redhead had been a fast food employee, but now she was an assassin with numerous deaths on her hands.

Whatever the case was, Erin knew that she wanted to meet her old friends once again and at least try to make things better. She could only hope that some of that kindness that they had shown her back in the day was still in them.

Erin finally arrived at the hideout and walked inside. The place was located in the basement of an abandoned apartment building and it had been modified into a perfect hideout for Ryan and Holly. Even if the apartment building above the hideout was in a bad shape and on the verge of collapsing, it wasn’t a big issue as there were multiple tunnels that allowed you to enter and exit the place. If the building above were to collapse, they could just use the other tunnels to get in and out.

Once inside the hideout, Erin noticed Holly sitting on the couch, watching TV. There was a news coverage over some of the recent deaths, which were the assassinations performed by either the redhead herself or one of her two mentors.

“I honestly don’t understand why they bother showing this shit on the news,” Holly said. “I mean, I like the fact that my work is being recognized, but this is just pointless. People die in this town every day. Who cares if we add a couple of schmucks in the pile? Besides, everybody knows this place runs on blood.”

Erin frowned at the blonde woman’s words, not liking the tone of her voice. The fact that Holly was taking murder so lightly was something she couldn’t accept, especially after all the nightmares she herself had gone through. But while she wanted to yell at Holly for the way she spoke, Erin knew better than to do that. Nothing good would come out of her making enemies out of her mentors.

“By the way, Ryan wants to speak with you. Said it was important,” Holly said to the redhead without looking away from the TV screen. “He’s waiting in the training room.”

Erin didn’t say anything in response and simply headed to where Ryan was waiting. Upon reaching the training room, she saw the man standing there while staring at a picture. He seemed to be lost in thought as he hadn’t noticed the redhead’s arrival.

“Hey,” Erin called out to Ryan, who turned to look at her. “You wanted to talk to me?”

“I sure did,” Ryan replied as he put the picture he was holding in his pocket. “We just got ourselves a very big job that I think you’ll find very interesting.”

“Who’s the target this time? Another poor bastard that stole from the wrong people?”

“Not quite. This target is a rather large one. You’ll be going after the person in charge of this town, Gibbot Grandelsmith.”

Erin’s lone eye went wide as her body froze up for a moment from the sheer surprise. So far, none of the people she had killed were anywhere near to being influential people. Most of them were just unlucky individuals that made the mistake of angering people far more powerful than them, with the occasional slightly influential person here and there.

However, this was completely different. Gibbot wasn’t just any influential person in the town, he was the biggest person without a doubt. Whatever business was done in the town, the goblin had a hand in it. And those who had a problem with how he ran the town would soon disappear by the hands of people like Erin. To go after his life was equivalent to suicide, as you were attacking an official of the ruling government. Not only were you making enemies out of Gibbot and his cronies, but every law enforcement officer in the world would be going after you as well.

For Ryan to be even thinking about such a risky job was something Erin would have never imagined. Either the pay was incredibly good or he had some other reason for doing this.

“A-Are you serious?” Erin asked, not fully believing her own ears. “We are really going to go after the biggest man in town?”

“Indeed I am,” Ryan answered. “I do understand your surprise, though. I would normally never take up any assignments of this type, as the risk often outweighs the pay. However, the people that are hiring us are willing to pay more than enough for us to take this job, so we are going to make sure Gibbot ends in the grave soon.”

“I see,” Erin said, still a bit shaken from her earlier surprise. “Who exactly is the person that’s hiring us?”

“A person who is looking towards replacing Gibbot as soon as he ends up dead,” Ryan began to explain. “You see, a man in the type of position Gibbot is doesn’t just make friends, as he mostly makes enemies. These include those who have been wronged by his leadership and those who simply want to get rid of him and take over his position. Our client is from the latter category.”

“Do you think that things could get better for this town once they take over?” Erin asked hopefully. “As in they’ll start treating the people here a lot better?”

“While I can’t say for certain, I highly doubt it,” Ryan answered. “What we will most likely accomplish will only result in someone else taking over the work Gibbot has been doing so far. In other words, everything will continue to move the same except there will be a different face giving orders to everyone.”

“Oh… So we aren’t really accomplishing anything in the end?” Erin said, dejected by the fact that she wouldn’t be saving the town after all. “Why do we even bother?”

“I think you’ve mistaken us for something else. We are assassins, not a group of heroes, okay?” Ryan said with a bit of a stern tone in his voice. “I’ve lived in this dump long enough to realize that it’s beyond saving at this point. No matter how often you get rid of the filth running this place, more bastards will just take their place. Might as well just get used to it and make some money out of it.”

“So it’s all about the money then, huh?” Erin asked in a low tone that was barely audible. “I thought you were some sort of a rebel. That you were trying to fight against the people in charge over what they did to this world.”

“Haven’t you been paying attention to what I’ve had you doing?” Ryan asked. “So far, you haven’t been doing any sort of work to throw over the current government. All you’ve been doing is actually help out the ones running this place by fixing their problems.”

“I know, but I sort of thought that it might have been just so we could gather funds or something. When I thought about it that way, it at least made the whole thing a bit easier,” Erin explained. “I mean, didn’t you lose your daughter-”

“Don’t ever bring up my daughter, okay!? She is NOT something you should ever mention around me!” Ryan yelled angrily, cutting off the redhead, before turning his back to her. “But I do want revenge. It’s all I’ve ever wanted ever since my little girl was taken away from me. It’s also kind of the reason I recruited you in the first place.”

“What do you mean by that?” Erin asked.

“The reason I decided to pick you up from the street was because you were willing to fight back,” Ryan answered. “While almost all the people in this town cover in fear and bow down to Gibbot and his goons, you fought back. Not only that, but you took down a pretty big name in his forces as well. Someone like that sounded like a perfect candidate to have around, as they wouldn’t fear going against any big name in the government.”

“But… weren’t you just talking about how we are not heroes or anything like that?” Erin asked out of confusion. “Why would you want to recruit someone to fight the government, when you’re not actually planning to do that?”

“Despite everything I’ve said, I still want to fight back and avenge my daughter. I guess deep within me there is still a part that wants to rebel and hasn’t forgotten his life on the battlefield,” Ryan explained. “I… I still see her in my dreams. I can still hear her screams as she is thrown into the fire, begging me to save her, as the flames burn her flesh to ash. How can I ever simply put that behind me and go on without any hope for revenge?”

In a strange way, Erin understood what Ryan was saying. Back in her world, despite knowing it was virtually impossible, she always wanted to meet with Devin and the others in order to set things right with them. She also wanted to punish herself and the group of friends that had convinced her to betray Devin in the first place. Even if it was all for nothing, she always wanted to do these things in the hopes of at least allowing herself to sleep at night.

Because she understood that Ryan was essentially in a similar position as herself, she decided not to question his decision of taking such an assignment. It might ultimately not change anything at all, but it would be worth a shot. Perhaps this could be the start of a change for the better in the end?

“Alright, let’s do this then,” Erin said in a solemn tone. “What’s the plan?”

“You’ll be moving out tomorrow at midnight. I’m still working out some of the details of the plan, but it should be ready soon,” Ryan answered. “Go get some rest for now. I’ll call you when the time comes.”

Erin nodded in response and walked out of the room, leaving Ryan alone. The assassin pulled out the picture he had been looking at earlier. It was a picture of him with his daughter. His real daughter.

“I know you wouldn’t want me to do anything like this, honey, but I can’t help it,” Ryan said in a whisper as a lone tear fell from his eye. “The pain is too much to bear without me being able to lash out against somebody.”

The next midnight Erin was running on rooftops towards the location of her target. Ryan had told her that the plan was rather simple. Apparently, one of their client’s underlings had infiltrated Gibbot’s servants and would help her get inside. All she needed to do was make her way to the building that housed the servants, where her contact would be waiting.

Gibbot’s building was a large mansion located on top of a hill that was on the edge of a large and steep cliff, a natural fortress. There was only one way to get inside, which was the heavily guarded main entrance. Going this way would be a suicide for any would be infiltrator, as they would be reduced to shreds from merciless gunfire the moment anything suspicious was noticed about them. Thanks to the power Gibbot held over the town, he had allowed his guards to shoot anyone for pretty much any reason, as they wouldn’t face any consequences. Quite a few people had lost their lives already due to the guards shooting them for fun. Only important guests, such as high-ranking officials, could walk down this path without any worries.

On the other side of the mansion was the cliff, which would prove to be almost impossible to climb. Not only would a person climbing it have to fear falling to their death, but there would be armed guards waiting for them at the top. If they were spotted, they would get shot down immediately. And even if they managed to get to the top, they would have to somehow hide from the numerous guards that were patrolling the area, while struggling with the exhaustion from the climbing.

Gibbot had taken great care to ensure that his life would be guarded well, no matter the cost. Many attempts at taking his life had been made, but they had all ended in failure. It certainly looked like killing him would be impossible. However, the person that would be guiding Erin apparently knew of a secret entrance that she could use to get straight into Gibbot’s main office. It was originally built as an emergency escape route for him to get out of his mansion, in the case attackers somehow managed to get close to conquering his home.

There were several paths that all led to this escape route, as Gibbot had decided to prepare just in case he wouldn’t be able to escape through one of them. One entrance was located in his office, another one was in the main dining hall and the last one was in the backyard. In the end, all three led to the same exit that Erin would be using in order to get in.

The redheaded assassin had arrived at the edge of the town close to Gibbot’s mansion. She stopped at the top of one of the buildings and took out her binoculars. She first needed to make sure that her contact was waiting for her. If they weren’t there, then something would obviously be wrong and she would need to return home immediately.

Erin could see the building complex housing the servants. There didn’t seem to be any lights, meaning that all the occupants had most likely gone to sleep already. Suddenly, a light seemed to appear at the entrance of the building. Erin took out a pair of binoculars and looked at what it was. She saw a human woman standing there dressed as a maid while holding a lit candle. This was most likely their client’s underling that had infiltrated Gibbot’s servants. Just to make sure that this wasn’t any kind of a trap, Erin switched the settings on the binoculars, allowing her to see thermal vision with them and thus see if there were others hiding nearby. Seeing as the maid was on her own, the redhead decided to proceed.

It didn’t take long for Erin to reach the lone maid, who soon noticed the assassin approaching her. Now that she was a lot closer to the infiltrator, Erin was able to get a good look at what the maid looked like. She was a young woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her outfit was a typical maid outfit which consisted of a long black dress, a frilly white apron, a white hat on her head and brown boots. The woman didn’t seem to be even the least bit nervous over being in the presence of an assassin.

“I take it that you’re the assassin that was hired by my superiors?” the maid asked.

“That’s me,” Erin answered. “And I’m guessing that you’re the one who is going to help me get into Gibbot’s mansion, right?”

“That is me. My name is Colleen,” the maid replied. “We should hurry to the secret passage. Otherwise we might get seen by the other servants who could inform the guards.”

“Are they perhaps loyal to their master?” Erin asked as the two women began to move.

“No. In fact, at least most of them absolutely hate Gibbot,” Colleen answered. “However, they are aware that he rewards those who give him useful information. And what could be more useful than knowledge of assassins after your life?”

The redhead didn’t need to ask anything more, as she understood their situation completely. They weren’t in danger due to their enemy having an army of loyal troops at his command, but because he paid so much that he could turn even those who hated him into allies through the power of money alone. It was fitting, considering how money seemed to be the only thing running the town Gibbot was in charge of.

The two women continued in silence until the reached the side of the hill that Gibbot’s mansion was built on. Behind the dried up bushes and cacti was a metal hatch that Colleen opened with a key. Behind it was a deep and dark tunnel that had been dug into the earth.

“I’ll lead you down the path that takes you to Gibbot’s office. Follow me,” Colleen said as crouched down and crawled into the tunnel with Erin following right behind her. “This is going to be a bit tight, so I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”

“Just focus on getting to Gibbot. Don’t worry about me,” Erin said in response.

At first, the tunnel felt like it was level, until it slowly began to go up and turn more and more steep, until it felt like you were climbing up the hill itself. Eventually the tunnel led to a bit more open space that was connected to three other tunnels.

“Which one do we take from here then?” Erin asked.

“The one on the left leads to the main dining hall, while the one on the right leads to the backyard,” Colleen explained. “The middle one is the one you want to take. It should take you to Gibbot himself.”

“Hang on, aren’t you coming along?” the redhead asked, noticing how the maid said “you” instead of “we”.

“No. I can’t risk exposing myself to Gibbot or any of his goons,” Colleen answered. “In case you fail, I want to keep my real identity a secret, so that I won’t get executed in public.”

“Geeze, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Erin said sarcastically. “Don’t you think we would have a better chance at pulling this off if we worked together?”

“I am a freaking maid. What am I supposed to do? Attack the guards with cleaning supplies?” Colleen responded and rolled her eyes. “Look, I might be an infiltrator, but I’m not exactly suited for combat. The whole killing thing is something we got YOU here for. Otherwise we would have done it ourselves, wouldn’t we?”

Erin wanted to argue back, but decided against it. Colleen had a point and further arguing was only going to be a waste of time. The longer she stayed here, the less time she would have to take out Gibbot, since she would need the cover of darkness to make her escape.

“Fine. You stay here or go back to the servants’ quarters. Doesn’t really matter to me either way,” Erin said as she began to crawl into the tunnel that would lead to Gibbot’s office. “Just make sure you don’t get caught by the security on your way out or something like that.”

Once Erin had disappeared into the tunnel, Colleen began to make her way back. It took her some time, but she was able to get back to the end of the tunnel with no difficulty. The maid carefully opened the hatch and got out.

However, as soon as her head made its way out of the passageway, a bullet hit it from the side, killing her instantly.

Meanwhile, Erin had made her way to Gibbot’s office. She carefully opened the hidden door that led to the secret tunnel and took a couple of careful and silent steps. She surveyed the area around her and didn’t notice any other people around her. It seemed like she was in the clear at least for now.

The assassin looked around, taking in her surroundings. The office was very large and filled with furniture that looked very expensive, like one would expect the home of a wealthy noble looking on the inside. The walls were covered in all sorts of decorations, ranging from high-quality paintings to other fancy decorations, like pelts of wild animals and decorative weapons. There was a larger desk with papers neatly piled on it with a very big and comfortable chair sitting behind it. Behind the chair was a large screen on the wall, which was meant for communicating with people, but could most likely be used for other things as well.

After she was done looking around, Erin began to walk further into the office, making sure not to make any noise as she did so. If there was one thing Ryan and Holly had taught her, it was to move around unnoticed. The redheaded assassin had gone through many painful training sessions to learn to keep herself hidden. She had full faith in her abilities when it came to stealth.

Unfortunately for her, no level of stealth was going to help here.

Suddenly, the monitor behind the desk lit up, showing Gibbot’s face. The goblin had a smug look on his face, as he stared down at the shocked assassin.

“So, the little rat finally shows herself then?” Gibbot said as he chuckled to himself. “You sure took your time. I’ve had plenty of time to prepare for your arrival.”

“What the hell? How did you know I was coming!?” Erin asked with panic in her voice, worried over being discovered. “I made sure not to make any noise when I came in!”

“Oh please… You think that would have been enough to keep me in the dark? I have my ways of making sure no one gets the jump on me, no matter what,” the goblin explained. “Although, I do have to say that the little maid who helped you really didn’t leave me with any clues. Had I not been aware of an attempt on my life in advance, this could have been dangerous. Lucky for me that I just had to wait for you two to come to me and I’d get both of you in one go.”

“You knew about me? That I was coming?” the assassin asked. “How!? How could you have known!?”

“The answer to that is very simple. In the end, what is the most powerful thing a man can possess in the world?” Gibbot asked with a smirk. “There is only one thing. Money.”

“Someone sold me out!? WHO!? Who is the bastard that-!?”

“Hasn’t it been made obvious enough to you already or are you really that slow? Think about how many people even knew about this whole operation of yours! There are only a few people who had that knowledge!” the goblin explained. “Now, it wasn’t the maid that helped you, as I was just told that she received some extra ventilation to her cranium. It isn’t any of the rebels that hired you, as they are currently being mowed down by my men as we speak. Who does that leave you with?”

Erin thought about it and her eye went wide from shock, as she realized what Gibbot was saying.

“It can’t be… You don’t mean-”

“It seems you figured it out then,” Gibbot said with a grin. “Yes. It was none other than your fellow assassins that sold you out.”

“But why!? Why would they do that!?” Erin asked desperately. “They’re the one who took me in and trained me! How could they do this to me!?”

“Do you think I know or care? All I know is that one of them called me last night and told me about an attempt at my life. He even told me about the rebels behind it and where they were hiding! Talk about good news for me!” the goblin explained happily. “All he wanted was the bounty money placed on your head for his help. A small price to pay, considering how valuable you truly are.”

“What are you talking about?” the assassin asked, fearing the answer.

“I don’t know why, but some very big people want you alive. All I know is that I’m guaranteed to get a promotion, once I deliver you to them,” Gibbot explained. “It’s almost too good to be true that a prize like you were delivered to me like this. I guess God has decided to smile upon me!”

Erin was perfectly aware who the people that were looking for her were. She herself had already deduced who it was that placed such a high bounty on her. The current leaders of this world, Devin and his group.

“Anyways, I would really appreciate it, if you didn’t put up any pitiful resistance,” Gibbot said nonchalantly. “I just had my office cleaned and I would hate it if it got dirty again.”

“And just why shouldn’t I resist?” Erin asked with a growl. “I don’t see anyone here to take me in anyways.”

“Oh for the love of… Do you really think I’m the only one here aware of your intrusion?” the goblin asked with a frustrated sigh before pulling out a microphone. “Attention all guards. Go and take the assassin into custody.”

Before the redhead could say anything, the door to the room burst open and armed guards flooded in. She looked at the secret passage that she had used to get in, only to see guards enter the room through it as well. It didn’t take long until she was completely surrounded with guns pointing at her.

“Now, I need you alive, so my men only have non-lethal rounds in their weapons. However, getting shot from all sides with them is still going to hurt like hell, so I wouldn’t recommend struggling uselessly,” Gibbot explained with a wide grin. “But the choice is yours. Do you want to go quietly and get taken in? Or do you want to struggle hopelessly?”

For a moment, Erin was weighing her options. Neither of them seemed particularly good, as they basically were get taken prisoner or get taken prisoner after getting the beating of a lifetime. It took her just one look to tell her that all the guards around her were trained professionals, and judging by the looks on their faces they were looking forward to making her suffer. It seemed like the best option was to give up and hopefully find a way to escape later.

However, as she thought about it, Erin decided against simply giving up. This was because she still had things to do and getting arrested here could possibly prevent her from doing them. She still needed to meet Devin’s group and talk to them. She needed to apologize to them for what she had done. And she wanted to do it by walking up to them on her own and not by begging from behind the bars of a jail cell. That would just ruin what she would be trying to do.

With quick movements, the redhead pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it on the floor, covering herself and most of the room. Before any of the guards realized what had happened, Erin had taken out her sword and drew first blood by decapitating one of the guards. By the time the guards surrounding their fallen comrades began to point their guns at the assassin, they were all cut down by fast and precise strikes from blades.

Erin’s goal was to cut her way through the guards around the door and get out of the office. The tunnel that she had used to get in was not an option, as it could be simply brought down on her while she was still crawling inside it. Not to mention, the exit was certainly surrounded by armed guards that would shoot her down the second she poked her head out. The door was the only reliable way out of this mess.

The assassin kept cutting down her opposition with her mind getting bombarded by visions of their lives. Some of them were good people on the inside, while some were simply rotten to the core. However, Erin had no time to waste on thinking about them and pushed the visions to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on escaping and couldn’t spare a single second on anything else. She would have enough time to think about her actions once she had escaped.

Erin was getting closer to the door. Just a few more steps and she would be outside the office.

That’s when she was hit on the back with something that sent an electric shock throughout her body, before she fell down to the floor. The redhead silently cursed herself as she struggled to get up. In her focus of getting out, she had completely forgotten to take into her surroundings, which left her back completely exposed. This allowed one of the guards to hit her with a stun baton.

Before Erin could even get on her knees, the bottom of a boot connected to the side of her face, sending her back to the floor. The smoke was clearing out by now, allowing the rest of the guards to see where she was. The assassin knew that if she didn’t do something fast, she would get beaten until she was unconscious. Unfortunately, she had lost both of her swords when she was struck on her back, so she had to find another way to protect herself and fast.

With quick reflexes, Erin pulled out her pistol and pointed it at the guards, hoping it would force them to back down. This didn’t work as well as she had hoped, as the gun was kicked out of her hand, leaving her defenseless again.

The redhead was not allowed to find a way to fight back, as all the guards around her all piled onto her, beating her senseless. Punches, kicks and hits from batons and backs of firearms rained down upon her. Erin tried in vain to shield herself from the attacks, but it was of no use. It didn’t take long until she blacked out and fell unconscious.

Soon after the assassin was knocked out, Gibbot ordered his goons to stop, not wanting them to kill her. Erin was soon dragged to the dungeon, where she would be imprisoned.