26 Ghost

A/N: The character was inspired by Fiddlesticks, a League of Legends character that I really like.

https://discord.gg/H7urCqynMe

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The Roble Kingdom was a country completely focused on religion. They were the perfect example of a 'holy' country. It would certainly be a country clean of any form of corruption or any scheme that would bring shame to the name of their gods, right?

Wrong.

Where there's light, there's darkness, and the Roble Kingdom was no exception. Even though it was a religious country portrayed as a holy place for believers of the religion of the Four Gods, Roble Kingdom had the same - if not more problems of corruption and shady schemes that every country has.

Robberies, Blackmailing, Rapes, Abuses, Murders, and so on - none of this was unusual in the Roble Kingdom. Not only that but there were also several criminal organizations operating in the dark such as slave trafficking and illegal auctions that go unpunished due to agreements with many of the country's nobles.

Among all the shady organizations, all of them were abominable in the eyes of the church - except one.

The Assassins Guild.

It is not just any organization, but a gigantic organization with headquarters in most countries on the continent - in addition to being an organization that has existed for generations, and for one simple reason, its value. The Assassin's Guild is quite similar to the Adventurer's Guild, but instead of requests to hunt monsters or gather materials, the requests were mostly to assassinate.

Whether it's a king, a princess, a tramp, or a bakery owner, it doesn't matter who or where he is, as long as there's a good reward for the order, the Assassins will get the job done. As much as such an organization is a double-edged sword, its value is invaluable to those who live in the world of politics. And the Church, which is also a political power, knows how valuable that resource is.

Such a useful Guild, how could Kelart Custodio not abuse it? As the head of a political organization, Kelart was a regular customer and had already placed several requests. Accustomed to the use of the Guild, seeing an unknown and potentially dangerous variable like Eve, she didn't think twice about contacting them and and make a new request. Kelart wasn't worried about the background of the girl named Eve, because even if they found out that she was murdered, there would be no way to find out who the mastermind was since the Guild of Assassins takes credibility and the trust of customers seriously.

However, Kelart had no idea that such a decision would haunt her for the rest of her life, and that Eve was an existence beyond her comprehension.

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The branch of the Assassins Guild in the Roble Kingdom was a medium underground complex that was well-hidden under the mansion of a nobleman, who was also a priest. Of course, it was all a facade.

In that said complex, in a gloomy office, a man was sitting in a chair while reading some papers. The man was large, he wore black leather armor with animal hair, and his bearded and scarred face, along with his deadly gaze, gave him a frightening and dangerous atmosphere.

Such a man was Kurtz, the leader of the Assassins' Guild in the Roble Kingdom branch. Kurtz was always trained to become an assassin since he was a child, and because of his talent for killing, he quickly rose through the ranks. He was always different from others. Where others hesitated and were terrified of killing, he never felt anything when taking a life from the beginning - or rather, Kurtz almost never felt anything at all, there were only a few moments in his life when he felt something. In general, he was an empty man with the sole purpose of living, and nothing else.

He was currently reviewing the orders placed in the past few days - a request to assassinate a king of the neighboring country, another to kidnap a Duke's daughter, and so on. But one request caught his attention the most. It was a request made by the head of the church of the Four Gods, Kelart Custodio. Her request was simple, get rid of three targets, a possible princess from a distant country, a maid, and an adventurer.

The request was really easy. Maybe the adventurer would be a bit of work, but she didn't even have a rating according to the information he received, so it wouldn't be a problem. But it's been a week since the request was made, and none of the members who accepted the mission have returned.

'Hm. There's more to these girls than meets the eye. The information is unreliable. Kelart Custodio shall pay good compensation to us for this mistake.', Kurtz thought.

Grabbing a blank sheet of paper and an ink quill, Kurtz quickly writes a letter and seals it in an envelope. Beside him at his desk, he picks up a small bell and rings it.

He waits a few minutes, but there was no response.

A vein grew on his forehead. The slaves dared to ignore his call?! But after thinking about it for a second, that wasn't possible. Slaves have no control over what they want to do because of the magic seal. They should have appeared immediately on hearing the bell. If they didn't show up, something was wrong.

It was then that Kurtz noticed something odd.

'Why is everything so quiet?'

His impatience immediately turned to caution, and he slowly rose from his chair.

Normally, no one would make too much noise near his office, that is, if they don't want to die. But there were always slaves, servants, and guild members, who passed in front of his office with audible footsteps. Now, there was no sound.

Drawing his favorite dagger from his belt, Kurtz slowly made his way to the door and, as he approached, he quickly casted his martial arts skills.

"[Stride of Wind], [Greater Evasion], [Ability Boost], [Greater Ability Boost], [Presence Absence], [Greater Presence Absence], [Sharp Senses].", he muttered, activating one skill after another.

Kurtz slowly opened the door and got ready. He was not afraid, or rather, he never felt fear, to begin with. But for some reason, in his heart, there was a strange feeling of apprehension.

Opening the door, Kurtz sees a relatively long and familiar hallway that he always takes to get to his office. The strange thing is, normally there would be at least a dozen people that would pass through the hallway every minute or so, but there wasn't a living soul there.

The feeling of apprehension increased, and a bead of sweat broke out on his forehead. For some reason, he was feeling very nervous, as if his senses were screaming at him to get away.

Gripping his knife tighter, Kurtz begins to walk down the hallway with steps so light that there was no sound coming from his steps.

Walking slowly, he reached the end of the hall and arrived at the central part of the complex, where missions are issued. There was no one, it was empty. Something was going on there, that much is clear, but where did all the people go? They couldn't be gone without a trace, but It was like everyone evaporated into thin air. Perhaps none of this was real, and some sorcerer had somehow placed him under an illusion spell? Unlikely, as the facility had wards against magic, and they would have to go through the entire guild to get to him.

So what was happening?

Kurtz stopped for a moment and began trying to figure out what was going on. And that's when he heard it. A strange, decrepit sound of rusting metal echoed through the empty halls of the complex. The sound had a clock-like rhythm.

In the next moment, the lights in the compound began to flicker on and off, and then he heard, very near to his location a dry, grotesquely animalistic laugh. It sounded like a demon's laugh that came from the bottom of hell, making Kurtz shiver. He didn't know why, but that laugh, he knew it was directed at him and that it was making fun of him.

He didn't know what kind of creature could reproduce such an unholy laugh, but he did know one thing. Whatever it is, it's coming for him. Knowing his location was exposed, there was no longer any need to be stealthy, so Kurtz quickly broke into a run for the exit.

Quickly reaching the exit, which led straight to the back of the mansion, he smiled. He will manage to escape. But then...

"Daddy...Where are you?"

He froze - his hand an inch from the door. That voice...that childlike, sweet voice...he knew that voice very well.

"A-Angela...?"

It was his little daughter's voice.

'This... This is impossible! Angela...Angela died two years ago!', Kurtz thought, questioning his own sanity. His little daughter, Angela. His greatest treasure, the only person who could make him feel something; she was his light.

But one day, after getting drunk, he did something that could never be forgiven...being out of his mind because of the alcohol, he raped and killed her. When he came to, he remembered what he had done. In all his life, that was the only thing he regretted doing.

"Daddy, where are you? I am scared..."

Hearing his daughter's voice calling him again, he clenches his teeth. 'N-No! That... It can't be her! Impossible! Impossible!'

"Daddy...I forgive you. Please come get me, I don't want to be alone...*sniff*."

Kurtz's hand dropped. That sentence, that single sentence, was what he wanted to hear the most. Every day he prayed, not for any god, but for his daughter to forgive him. At that moment, for the first time in his life, his emotions took precedence over his reason.

Turning around abruptly, he ran towards his daughter's voice. "I'm coming, Angela! I'm coming to get you!"

Running as he followed his daughter's voice, Kurtz went deeper and deeper into the complex.

"Honey, where are you!"

"I'm here, Daddy!"

Hearing his daughter's voice just around the corner, he smiles happily. "I found you, Angela! I will never let you go again!"

However, betraying his expectations, when he turned the corner, there was nothing there.

"Angela...?"

The lights then started to flick violently, and Kurtz heard again the sound of rusting metal. Suddenly, he felt a dense presence behind, and then he heard a very rusty, animalistic voice close to his ear.

"YoU...FoUnD MeE...DaADdy..."

Hearing that horrifying voice, he didn't dare to move. His body began to shiver non-stop, and his feet and hands became cold. He, for the first time since he was a born, felt dread.

Slowly turning his face while trembling, he sees a strange humanoid creature. The creature was almost eight feet tall with really long thin arms and legs, and a slender body. His body seemed to be made of rusty gray metal, held together by threads and poorly patched. From his bandaged body, a strange black liquid oozed.

The creature had also a bandaged face, two small glowing red eyes, and a huge mouth with two huge rows of metal shark teeth.

Kurtz was afraid, no, terrified. Not just because of the horrifying appearance of the creature and its rusty voice that makes him shiver, but because somehow, he knew about Angela. He knew about his daughter that, besides him, no one else knew.

That thing couldn't know.

But that thing knew. It knew what he had done.

Faced with such a creature, Kurtz could only stutter a few words.

"H-How do you know?! W-What are y-you?!"

The creature then smiles, showing a huge grin full of long, sharp teeth as black goo flows from between its teeth.

"I aM yOuR pA-aSt. I aM YoUr S-ShAdOw. I aM Yo-Our FeArrr. I aM...GhOsT."

The moment the creature stopped talking, its mouth opened hugely, and from inside its mouth, a ball of black matter sticks out like a great tongue and then begins to take the shape of a child, a child he was very familiar with.

Silky black hair, round, droopy eyes that shine like two emeralds in the sun, and a cute, innocent smile.

"An...gela? H-How...?"

"Hihi-Hahaha! Come here, Daddy! It's so much fun inside here!"

The creature slowly began to approach Kurzt as if it was in no hurry, with its arms outstretched. Kurtz, however, did not move. On his face, a broken smile appeared as he looked at the figure of his daughter who called out to him.

Suddenly, like a snap, something broke in Kurtz's mind, and he began to laugh maniacally, "Haha...Hahaha...Hahahaha-HAHAHAHAHA!"

With his crooked smile and tears streaming from his eyes, he raised his arms and started walking slowly toward his daughter.

"Come on, Daddy! Hug me and let's play together!"

"HahAhaHAhaha!"

The creature slowly begins to close its arms, as if embracing him. As Kurtz was getting closer, like the end of a play, the lights around him slowly began to dim, and when he was close enough to touch his daughter, everything went black.