Chapter Prologue

AS Prologue~The Assassin of Darkness~

On the slanted roof of a certain building, was a figure dressed in black from head to toe as if melting into the darkness .

A black cloth was wrapped around his neck, and his cloak was fluttering in the wind .

As if waiting for something, the figure’s gaze was fixated on the roof and stayed there without wavering .

To be able to discover the figure who had completely melted into the darkness to the point of not perceiving him even if you were aware of him, they could only be those of the same profession as the figure’s .

After a while, the all-black figure sighed and started to take action; he lowered his left leg, drew his dagger, and suddenly entered his fighting stance .

It didn’t seem like there was anything there, but at that moment, the air wavered and a single man appeared .

That man was dressed in the same all-black lightweight equipment as that figure .

The only differences was probably the weapon, the black cloth that was wrapped around the neck, as well as the jet-black cloak .

「…it’s someone of the same profession, huh . Hey, are you protecting this guy? Or is a big-shot like you here to kill a mere guild master?」

「I’m going to kill this guy, and anyone who gets in my way . 」

The figure curtly answered, the man in question .

He wasn’t even going to give him a serious answer in the first place .

He directed his killing intent towards the other party .

Feeling that thirst for blood, the man’s body trembled .

The man was someone whose name was well-known in the underworld .

He’d felt that sensation before .

If he seriously erased his presence, no one, no matter who they may be, would be able to discover him, he was someone who could soundlessly bury more than ten thousand monsters, humanity’s strongest assassin– .

「I see . Ah-ah . I heard that there was something like a request for the ‘assassin of darkness’ . 」

The man sighed as if it was truly regrettable .

His fighting stance had, more or less, turned into him getting ready to run away .

Even his cold sweat was spreading at the overwhelming thirst for blood that the small-statured colleague was emitting .

The figure did not pay any heed to the man, his eyes merely watching his prey, flash .

「…!?」

Without understanding what had happened, he dumbfoundedly watched his own blood spurt out as he fell to the ground .

The figure pulled at the right leg before him, and after wiping the clotted blood on his dagger with the man’s black cloth, he turned his gaze to his target .

「…」

The hand holding the dagger trembled slightly .

He used his other hand to stop the trembling .

And then, he silently erased his presence, slid into the target’s room, and thrusted his dagger at the nape of their neck .

If he carried this out, the figure would not be able to return to his peaceful days like before .

「Everyone, sorry . If I kill this guy, I’ll be taking one step ahead of you . If I kill this guy, I’ll save a lot of people . That person too…」

The figure–Oda Akira, a high school student that you could find anywhere, muttered this, and drew the blade with all his strength .

Deep within the forest .

Originally, it was an extremely dangerous place that no one should be in .

Within the forest, there was a young girl who was disheveling her white hair as she was escaping from her pursuer .

She stepped in a puddle and even when she was covered in mud, even when she tripped on the roots of the trees and fell down, she did not stop .

However, she was already at her limit, both physically and mentally .

Because of her tears, her vision was blurry, and her speed dropped considerably .

And yet, the reason why she had not been caught up to was simply because, her pursuer purposely reduced their speed to be the same as hers, tormenting her .

「Haa, …haa!?」

Furthermore, as if to add insult to injury, an arrow came flying from out of nowhere and pierced into her leg .

A person who could run and still accurately shoot an arrow at her leg with their field of vision being obstructed by the many trees, the young girl only knew of one such person .

「Uwah…w, why…」

As one would expect, there was no way that she could run with an arrow stuck in her leg, so she sat down while enduring the pain and looked at her pursuer .

The arrow was coated with paralysis poison, the numbness spread throughout her entire body, and before long, she could barely move .

「Why?」

Her pursuer, unseemingly distorting her face that was exactly the same as that young girl’s, repeated her words, and laughed .

「Rather, I’m the one who wants to ask you why . Why are you still alive?」

At those words that deeply pierced into her heart, the white-haired young girl slowly shook her head .

It was as if say that she did not want to hear such a thing .

However, because of the numbness throughout her body, she could not move her limbs, and she did not have any way to block off her pointed ears that were a characteristic of the elves . .

「You are an unwanted child . 」

「Uw, aaaaaaaaahh…」

The words that she did not want to hear the most was whispered into her ear, by the person who was important to her, and the young girl who became frantic disregarded the fact that her arms and legs were numb and tried to run away .

Not knowing that beyond that point was a cliff .

Her pursuer, a golden-haired young lady, had a ridiculing smile on her face .

In her eyes was a sliver of affection .

「Goodbye, oneesama . I hope we will not meet again . 」

When the white-haired young lady who tumbled down the cliff regain consciousness, she was in the middle of a forest that she has absolutely no recollection of .

。Because her body was wet, it wasn’t hard to come to the conclusion that she was washed up from the nearby ocean .

For a while, she looked around in a daze .

For a person to wake up in an unknown place, this would surely be their natural reaction, but unfortunately, the location was bad .

「…hii!?」

Before she knew it, a monster that looked like a black slime was there .

She became frightened and even if she wanted to retreat, she was not able to move because of her fatigue, even though the numbness had melted away .

Without any resistance, the young lady was gradually being swallowed, starting with her legs .

「No way…slimes shouldn’t be preying on people…」

She was completely swallowed up as she finished saying this .

The slime quivered a little, and probed around for other presences in the area .

As it did that, something was approaching from beyond the trees .

The slime hid in the shadow of the tree .

「There seems to have been sounds coming from around here just now…」

「…eh? However, there are a lot of monsters further ahead, so there shouldn’t be anyone here?」

When the monster that looked like a slime realized, that they were merely humans, it melted into the ground and disappeared like magic .

「…that’s true . Maybe I heard wrong . 」

「Let’s go back already . This place is gloomy and it gives me the creeps . 」

Within the forest that had no traces of neither humans, nor monsters, there were only trees overlooking everything .