1 Chapter 1

Drip!

Tiny drops of water came down from the leaky old pipes above the underground sewers. The entire place was dark.

Squeak. Squeak.

Several rats could be found amongst the pathway. They squeaked as they ran away from figure lying down on one of the pathways.

"Squeak! Squeak! Sque- "

Chunk!

A dagger dug down to considerably large but agile rat and became stuck to the wall. Red blood oozed from the large rodent. Several other rats immediately squeaked away.

" Huff.... Huff.... "

The figure groaned as he tried to stand up by relying on walls. It was a middle aged man with a fairly robust build.

His teeth clattered as he finally stood up. His breathe was shaking as he looked towards his abdomen. Blood could been seen to flow out and continue staining his inner shirt and vest.

He then began taking off his clothing starting with his black coat. The coat made a heavy sound as it dropped to the ground. It was evident that despite how it looked, it easily weighed 10 kg.

His hands was shaking as his vision was starting to get fuzzy.

" Haa... Is it... too late..? "

Even though the man said that out loud, he knew inside his head that it was already too late for him as he had already loss so much blood.

Despite that, he went through the pain and took off his remaining vest and inner shirt. Scars of all kind of shape and sizes could be seen on his remarkably strongly built muscles.

His deep and dark abysmal eyes irked at the large wound on his abdomen while he still had several wounds on other parts of his body.

Slices, scratches, gunshots, and even burns. Any normal person would be screaming in pain under these wounds but the man simply irked his eyes over them.

He ripped his shirt and used it to tie and cover his wound on his abdomen while trying to stop the blood flow with his muscles. He knew it was no use but he still did it anyway.

As he finished covering the wound, he sat back down and lied his back against the wall. His breaths started to calm down however they became considerably weaker.

He looked up the ceiling of the sewers. Old moldy and rusty pipes could be seen connecting throughout the entire place. Several faulty spots dropped water as it continued to flow within.

" Sigh... "

' Is this how it ends? '

The man knew this was it for him, he knew he only had about several minutes left before his body gives in.

He sighed as he closed his tired eyes.

' I suppose it would be better if it does end here... '

This middle aged man who was weakly holding unto his life was the one responsible for the deaths of multiple powerful figures around the world.

He was a hitman. Not only that, but he was the acknowledged as one of the greatest hitman in the current era.

He was nicknamed, "The Grim Reaper". Such a childish name if heard by normal citizens however, it would be different for people from the underworld then they would shiver in the mere thought of the name.

That nickname was given by the people of the underworld as he became acknowledge for his capabilities and prowess. People were terrified of him as he was known to be cruel and cold however, he would always get the job done.

He was also known as the " Harbinber of Justice ". He never took a job without reason. He only took job against powerful figures who had a record and evidence of corruption and injustice.

However, he was not a hero nor was he a saint. He knew his limits and knew that he could not purge every injustice in the world and so, he decided to take action only when he was paid.

It was first mistaken that he was a nice guy in the beginning of his debut as a hitman since he only accepted requests targeted towards corrupt officials. An " unknown " organization once tried to trick and hire him into eliminating an innocent influencer for snooping into their group.

They were repaid back by headless bodies of their hirers. It was the day that he established that he was no pushover and since that organization was considerably powerful, he made enemies that targeted him left and right.

However despite all this, not only was he able to escape his chasers. He was also able to successfully eliminate them and escape. In the end the organization had to let go for they already lost too much man power because of their chase and decided on putting a huge bounty on him.

However just as they posted the bounty, he came and attacked their headquarters by himself and killed everyone inside. The organization lost in the hands of a single man.

Not just an organization but a considerably powerful organization capable of moving quarter to half the military power of several countries.

" Heh.. heh.. heh... good times. "

A smile made it's way on the expressionless man's face as he chuckled beneath his breath thinking the times of his prime. Although time started to deteriorate his prowess, he was still able to commit a massacre without getting caught.

" G-gahk! Gahk! "

He coughed as blood made its way toward his throat. Blood splattered from his mouth as his breaths started to get weaker and weaker.

' How regretful.... '

An image of a certain child flashed in his mind along with the events of his entire life and finally- he drew his last breath.

-

This man was Cloud. He had no last name as he grew up in the slums and stole in order to live. He was quite an agile and crafty kid so he would often be able to mug without getting caught.

Despite his way of life, he had a good heart as he would always steal more and provide for the other homeless kids. One day, he targeted a man who seemed carefree.

As he mugged the carefree man, he suddenly felt something was off. His instinct was something that helped him greatly in life and realised that he had mugged the wrong person.

It was too late as he was immediately captured by the carefree man and was pinned to the ground very hard.

" Agk! w-who are you?! "

The man only smiled as he then replied,

" You're gonna work under me now, kid. "

And with that, he was taken in by what he thought was a brazen man but he would respectfully call his master in the future.

This man brought Clyde to his home which looked like the place for a military bunker, not only that but he also found numerous dangerous weapons that could be found everywhere inside the house.

The hair on his skin stood up as he felt the man become more and more scary and dangerous. After passing through several rooms he finally arrived at his supposed bedroom.

As he went in, he met another child his age. He was called Peck. He claims to be a boy but his distinctive features says otherwise.

The man introduced himself as " The General ". He didn't give them his name but instead told them to call him General.

He told both of them that the two of them would be brothers at arms as well rivals. Clyde was reluctant about this but after spending several weeks within, he accepted his situation.

The General taught them many things. From martial arts to self defense, from was strategizing to acting lessons, from assassinating methods to torture methods. He laid down all these knowledge and planted them inside the boys minds.

Years grew by and the boys now became men who are strong enough to protect themselves. They were each other's rival but had a very close bond that was thicker than any blood.

In the time of their growth, they were tasked with missions such as participating into wars and making illegal arms trade. Although the two were close, Clyde always showed remarkable achievements in everything, making Peck develop an inferiority.

Despite his acts, Clyde knew and so did the General but he still wanted to believe in Peck.

On the day of their final mission before the General lets them go, the General called for him.

" Yes General? "

" You... you are extremely perfect. The ideal power that every authoritative and influential organization needs. However... you have a good heart. "

" A good... heart? "

" Yes, a good heart. Although that may be a weakness, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Because of having a heart, you can live true to yourself. By your own identity and existence.

By having a good heart, you will move by your ideals. Ideals that give meaning to your life. You can't do everything and life doesn't always go as planned. I'm sure you learnt that the hard way.

Do what you feel is best but remember... "

The General's eyes sharpened as it exposed his deep and dark eyes. His aged face became stiff as it became expressionless.

" Your life always comes first. No matter what, it is the end if you are dead. Regrets and mistakes will coming knocking into the door of death and so this is my final advice to you."

Suddenly, the General's expression softened as he smiled towards Clyde.

" Live a happy life. "

Clyde learned to control his emotions as even though he showed a stoic expression, inside his mind was tears that showed gratitude towards this man.

He kowtowed before the General as he shouted with every ounce of his strength.

" THANK YOU GENERAL! "

" Hmph.. now get out of here.. "

Clyde stood back up before leaving the General's office without looking back.