25 Strings of Fate

[Present Time]

[Somewhere in an unknown location]

[Bill Tuner's POV]

I was reminiscing about when I killed the Second Prince of the Kingdom. To be honest, it was the most straightforward fight of my life. I would have been in trouble if that guy wasn't so arrogant in front of me. That didn't mean I'd lose, though, just a more challenging fight.

The aftermath of the battle was covered up by the First Prince Edward. No one had a definite answer for the death of Igor. There were many speculations about it. Edward covered ours and his tracks so that no concrete proof could be found inside the investigation. All that was written in the report was that two people attacked, one was almost [Level 10] Ice User, and the other was around [Level 7 or 8] wind user.

I had broken through [Level 11] through constant missions and recourses provided by my organization. The organization, which had just started seeding in the Kingdom when I joined it, was now an unshakable tree with deep roots that no person or country could fully eradicate.

Even after fifteen years of loyalty, I don't know anything about the person above Xeon, to the point that I recently started doubting that he knows them too. I have been promoted to one of the four chief executives inside the Kingdom, just under Xeon.

My goal is still the same as it was years ago, to find a perfect opponent to battle. The battle which lets me die without regrets, and till now, over countless years and missions, I still haven't found it.

I believe that the organization I am part of, Silent Rouges, is the most powerful inside the world, controlling everything from the shadows. Darkness was so deep that no one found out its actual origin of it.

I refocus on the letter in my hand. It contains a new mission, written by the same person with whom my journey started fifteen years ago. Edward's message gave me a hint of nostalgia, as the letter contained something I had seen, heard, and done before.

'KILL THE THIRD PRINCE AS HE GOES INTO LILLIAN ROMERO'S CASTLE'

He is as crazy as ever. Though the world knows of him as the beacon of kindness. He is as dark as one gets from the inside. Over the years, completing many dirty tasks for the First Prince, I think none other than the Rouges knows of the real him.

I got up and went to choose my partner for the mission. As the job was to be done inside the capital, we couldn't make any noise. It had to be done discreetly. Something that I am not well versed in.

With the word discreet, only one person came to mind, Mare. She joined our group a few years ago and was assigned under my command. Hailing from a fallen noble household, she is one of the youngest [Level 9] I have ever seen, just at 25.

Her specialty is discreet killing. She muffles all the sound with her Air Magic and then strikes her opponent, not knowing where the attack came from. Although her one-on-one techniques are flawed and can't be practical in a real fight, her undetectable stealth makes her a perfect choice for a silent assassination.

I knocked on her door thrice and said, "Get ready, Mare, there's a job to do."

"Ok," came a voice from the inside. Although Mare's attitude is not the best, and she makes some stupid mistakes chasing her love for blood, she does her job seriously because Mare knows this is the only place where she will be accepted for how she is.

Sometimes I think I am the sanest person in this organization, and if I am not here, these monsters will destroy the world.

I sighed and waited for my subordinate to get ready for the mission.

— -

After the mission briefing, we got on the route to the capital, where we were about to execute our mission.

"The Third Prince is a lustful bastard. My intel says he is forcing the Count's Sister, Lillian Romero, to sleep with her. We will use the right opportunity to strike them and get away as soon as possible," I said to Mare, who had a frown on her face.

"Ahh, I hate these types of missions, old man. I want to bleed them slowly and see the signs of their lives escaping them." She said, thinking in heavy breaths and with hazy eyes.

"You will not get your fun here!" I retorted, to which she said, "Yeah, I get it, capital, lose your life blah bla~, you have repeated enough time already."

"Yes, you will go and kill the target. I will distract any other powerful person from approaching you; one is Lillian Romero. Although her magic is high-leveled, her skills are no better than a ten-year-old, but we can't take chances here."

She nodded at my words and started tending and checking up the weapons and daggers she usually uses. I also started meditating to clear up my mind. My instincts were telling me that I would find it, the thing I wanted the most, a fight I have longed for, for more than 200 years.

— -

We arrived at the capital in the dead of night and began moving stealthily. Roof to roof, we were approaching the intended mansion where Third Prince was staying for the night. The closer we got to the castle, the more my instincts told me that someone was there that I needed to meet. I couldn't shake it off.

We stood on the roof of the mansion. With my sense, I can detect the security is lackluster for a prince, mainly because no one cares about his fat ass anymore. He has just become a disappointment for the royal family.

"I will take care of the surroundings. You go and do your job." I say to Mare, who just nods and disappears. I like this about her; no matter how freaky she is, she does her job correctly. Loid was sleeping soundly inside the main bedroom, and a lady, I think Lillian walked out of it, practically fuming.

Through my magic, I could sense that she was currently walking into the office and sitting there. A few minutes later, a boy around 10 years old walked inside. The bo... I was wide-eyed when I sensed the boy, he had Ice and Darkness as his elements, and he was already at [Level 6], for such a young age, he was terrific. But that wasn't what gave a shiver down my spine. My instincts told me this boy was the one I had been finding all this time.

I needed to meet this boy. I gave a cue of mana to Lillian, who was drowning herself in pleasure, and with an inhumane speed, went to her office.

There I saw the boy I was looking for, skinny but perfectly built for a sword, his body weak but unyielding, and his eyes, which are not of a 10-year-old boy. They contained no emotions, just a fierce resolve. I was sure this was the person I was finding in my life. His body looked abused, and after seeing the recent drama this kid went through, I can understand his current situation.

Without any wasted moment, I knocked out the shocked Lillian and locked my eyes with the boy.

"What is your name?" I asked him to apply a bit of mental pressure, but not so much that the boy's mind would break

"Jake," he replied, his mental barrier not budging a bit, even when I increased my power.

Genuinely impressed by him, and though I was taking him anyway, I was not wholeheartedly excited. I'll not lose this boy. He will be my legacy and give me a fight I have yearned for many years.

"Come with me; I'll make you a monster."

"Will I be the strongest monster?" he surprised me.

"That will depend on you," I said to which he nodded. The main job was already done, I picked up the boy, and with a mental signal to Mare, I raced into the veil of the night.