Asleep in a chair with my head lying on the table, these eyes can't stop staring at every corner that is owned by this one simple wooden door.

As the clock is ticking...

“It's impossible for me to know which is the truth and which is a lie if I see the empty expression of the illusion that Edward used last night.”

All of his plans sounded logical enough for me to believe… But I also knew that he was just leading me into my own assassination plot in the end.

“For the sake of saving Ellie who was overworked by the elders, from behind the shadows, huh?” I whispered while watching an envelope being slipped by someone from the small gap in the door, as I can still hear the sound of that guy's footsteps slowly drifting away.

Walking slowly, I open the seal confidently.

“After all, I really can't choose any choice if I don't want Fanya and Deo to die right now. So I'm going to buy some time while I figure out how to kill Edward before he kills me.”

For some reason I started talking alone like this a lot…

~~~~~

Following so many security procedures at the airport during the day, this is where I finally ended up… On the plane, as I sat beside someone in a black suit who seemed to be my personal guide even though we haven't spoken well to each other until now.

Not just instinct, but in the letter that was attached to my plane ticket, Edward did say that the man who would sit right next to me is the one who would guide me to my destination.

Aren't we supposed to be talking about something? At least small talk?

“So… America? Washington DC... I didn't expect our sins taker elders to live in such a city. Isn't our Sins Taker headquarters in London?”

Well… I tried.

But I think he just wasn't ordered to reply to anything I said.

Then minutes before landing, he put his hand out to me, speaking for the first time, he said… “During this mission, you are not allowed to contact anyone. Anything to anticipate things we don't want. So give me your phone.”

I had previously planned to inform Fanya after landing if I were to disappear before the twelfth of this month...

Why so late? Why now? Because I'm a coward.

But it looks like things are going to be a little bit worse than I ever thought before…

He guides me into a taxi, while all my belongings are deposited in the trunk of a black super luxury car.

“Okay…” I talked to myself.

Getting off at this one intersection, walking down an alley until then we entered a giant empty warehouse without any items stored inside, I was met with several people who actually looked quite familiar…

Albert and his loyal personnel.

~~~~~

They seemed to be circling a table with a map and lots of paper containing the records of old-looking people on it.

Albert… All these killers looked at me with a slightly sinister look. The gazes of mortals who don't regard the death of anyone other than themselves as an event worthy of their remembrance.

Carriers who have completely lost their humanity... The power freaks who remained obedient to Edward, simply because he promised them even far more souls to harvest.

My guide seemed to be busy unpacking a box filled with lots of black plastic that used to wrap something… Some kind of special uniform?

My childish nature ordered me to open the black plastic wrap, which failed immediately because someone told me not to move for a while.

Then a gun is pointed at my chest...

“Huh? Six point three… But how?”

It’s him, Albert… Who looked confused after reading the numbers that were being displayed on a small screen, mounted on a gun… I mean a device that was similar to a body temperature measuring device…

Was this the thing that Edward said they had succeeded in developing?

A tool to measure the number of souls of a carrier?

Soulmeter?

Fuck... The name doesn't sound very good to my ears.

Understanding the amazement they showed on their faces, I nodded as I removed a small black chain bracelet that was on my left arm.

Their eyes all then turned back to the device which was still beeping several times, where now they also nodded along with me… Looks like the numbers have increased.

“But Edward said the number of your souls should be forty-eight.”

“That was before the elementary school child hostage rescue mission… Back there… London. There I killed four of your prey, remember?”

The Great carrier of the fire element then narrowed his eyes at me sarcastically after those words of mine.

What?! Is it because I'm Asian?!

“Sixty-three, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Do you need to know how many souls each one of us has?”

“No… Don’t bother…”

Refusing, I shook my head as I could indeed read the amount of a person's souls without needing the help of the device they had just used.

Albert currently has one hundred and fifty-one souls… While these five people around me besides him, the average is in the number fifty to sixty…

Wait…

There is one person here who only has the strength of five souls. Someone who looked really much older than the rest…

Our senior?

Maybe he's the mentor for this team...

“How old are you?”

Before the person who I think is a mentor spoke again about the mission plan they had arranged earlier, someone another who was right beside me asked with his arms folded in front of his own chest.

“Oh? I’m… This month I'll be eighteen.”

Legally, I'm still seventeen years old.

“Eighteen!? I thought you were still fourteen!”

These people stared at each other… Looks a little surprised or even nods in understanding.

“Yeah… Me too. But don’t you think that asian people sometimes really look a lot younger than they seem?” A few others began to express their own opinions about the old faces they themselves had.

But really though... All of them, when compared to me, they already look like they should have at least one child right now… I mean thirty years old if I really have to explain.

So then I asked… “Then how old are you all?”

“Seventeen.”

“What!? Seventeen!?”

“Members of this team strive to be as young as possible, you know?”

“Yes. But can we get on with our main topic?”

That mentor guy then tapped the surface of the table to retract our focus before starting the first assignment description for this upcoming midnight.

~~~~~

“This outfit…”

“This is the outfit often used by the nameless terrorist organization…”

“Nameless…”

I think I've heard the nickname of such an organization before. I mean I've heard of an unnamed organization that has taken over… A lot of… Country…

Wait…

“That nameless organization one!?”

“Yeah. The one that has destroyed almost every country in southwest Asia. In fact, they have widely spread all over the world. But, I think there is no need to worry though. I heard that…”

“Heard what?”

“Meh… Nothing.”

Well… I know why he doesn't want to continue what he's saying. Albert looked at this man that I was talking to with such a sharp gaze…

Either because he doesn't want anyone to get along with me, or that thingy previously was classified as confidential information… Or…

Is he jealous because I'm so much closer to Ellie?

Hehe…

But seriously though…

This unique outfit…

A loose garment in white and gray like the uniform of an army of ancient warriors who lived in the desert. An honesty that I can't deny, I actually really like the form of clothes they just gave me… Damn... I feel like a high level warrior right now.

Can I keep it after the mission?

“Daniel. You remember about everything I said last night, boy?”

“Eh? Oh… Yes sir.”

“Your face always looks like you don't take anyone seriously at all. So I just felt kinda doubtful about you that night.” An acknowledgment from the mentor.

As well as an insult…

“My face has been like this for a long time. But I heard... And I understand... Sir.”

“I see.”

His eyes slowly moved back to face forward. In the night on the high roof of an old building, as the only one who is standing while we all sit waiting for time to pass.

We will hold our positions on this high ground waiting for a line of government cars to pass at ten o'clock at night.

With just an ordinary white mask, we will pretend to play the role of terrorists in order to execute one of the many elders that Edward has targeted.

Why not just use a sniper? Because our main purpose is actually just to make a show in the middle of the city. Meaning that even though there are twenty people on the list that we have to kill one by one, once a night, maybe we won't get to the last person.

All of that later would just depend on how long the rest finally gave in and followed Edward's words as the one and only leader.

~~~~~

Now I'm even more curious about what Edward's illusion was saying back then in my room… Why was he so sure that he couldn't be brought down? He even said that he did not have the power to resign from his current position.

That's for sure, if the elders weren't chosen by Edward. All former commanders of the army of every country in the world who are high-ranking, elected to be the elders of Sins takers, which is a suggestion from all world leaders for the United Nations itself.

But if Edward even dared to go this far, it would mean that he knew that the elders were actually not brave enough to claim Edward as a tyrant for something that would seriously endanger their own lives…

Is Edward really that scary? Or…

Or he already has someone other than me... A substitute for me that he designated as a lethal weapon… No…

That’s not it…

Edward has no power to resign, to get away from the sins taker!

Means he has someone above himself and the elders also know about it!

Someone who…

“Daniel. It’s your time…”

Our mentor called me to my feet, noticing the large, black line of cars had come right in front of us. “Right in front of the car in the middle.” He added an explanation.

Hearing that, I walked forward all the way to the end of the roof of the building. Looking down, about fifty meters away...

Taking off the strength restraint bracelet, stepped and fell right on top of the car that had been targeted… A psychic pressure on my feet managed to create many cracks spread across the asphalt surface.

Everyone who was walking on the side of the road, ran while screaming in surprise, as the car right in front of me stopped because the road I was blocking.

Standing tall above the wreckage of this car, all my team personnel also jumped in and surrounded this one specific vehicle…

The first night of the hunt officially started…

~~~~~