Set Out

Yoritomo's eyes resonated with Ayla's; he grew shocked—her influence had worked on him, and he stopped meters before her.

Unlike Yoritomo, who stopped suddenly, Ayla moved quickly. Within a blink of an eye, she closed in on the small distance they had, stabbing her dagger into the chest of Yoritomo.

Unfortunately for him, Ayla went another step further in inflicting a fatal wound as an arc of black lightning flickered along the dagger's blade and into his heart, where it…

He coughed out a mouthful of blood, breaking him out of Ayla's influence; however, it was now too late; his heart had already been destroyed by her previous attack—disintegration.

"You! What did you do... to me?" He inquired, coughing up blood between his words—he attempted to seal the bleeding with his spiritual energy, but that could only do so much; he was inevitably going to run out of spiritual energy, and now he'll die from a lack of oxygenated blood to his brain.

Of course, he didn't know that, as this world was unlike Ayla's, a world that seemed to be frozen in the past of ancient Japan. A world without technology where warriors use supernatural skills and have millions of warriors fighting to reach the peak and ascend to godhood.

Even though he was unaware of his way of death, his keen senses told him he was nearing it. Naturally, he didn't want to go down without a fight, and if possible, he'd want to take Ayla down with him; however, the likelihood of achieving that was nigh-impossible.

"Since I can't take you down with me, I'll at least cripple you before my death!" He attacked with more vigor.

As his vigorous attack ensued, but before the attacks could hit, Ayla would nimbly evade or parry using her daggers—she would then follow up with a counterattack, aiming for a fatal area.

The confrontation lasted about ten minutes, and finally, Yoritomo appeared to be worn out—his breaths were long and ragged, and he seemed to be slowing down.

'If he were a human from Earth, he'd be dead 4 to 6 minutes ago.'

As he was on one knee in the middle of the ring, using his sword as support, he deathly glared at Ayla, blood trickling down from his lower lip.

"You're from the dark pantheon, aren't you? That would explain everything! The reason you're here to kill me! The otherworldly strength and abilities! The fact your sanity remained even though you cultivate eldritch energy!"

He bowed his head in his rugged breath as he tightly gripped his sword's handle. "You dark pantheons really need to learn that light will always outshine the darkness!"

He grinned manically, as his veins bulged through his skin and his skin turned white, following his eyes—he knew he couldn't kill her, but he would keep his promise of crippling her, and by burning his life force and leftover spiritual energy, he would commit suicide.

However, before he could complete burning his spiritual energy and life force, his head was cleaved cleanly off his shoulders, falling to the ground, where it rolled to a standstill—his body fell after, taking his sword with him.

Glancing down at Yoritomo's body, Ayla said, "If you weren't of the light pantheon, you'd still be alive. Don't blame me for your inevitable death."

~~~

A few hours earlier~

After Cynthia made the decision to tell Ayla the truth, she told her everything.

[Like Earth and this world, there are a multitude of other worlds, numbering in the millions or billions, maybe even higher; but unknown to most, the multiverse is governed by two of the strongest god pantheons, the dark and the light.]

'I'm assuming we belong to the dark pantheon?'

[Exactly!] Cynthia expressed. [However, light and dark don't mix together very well, as the two pantheons have always had conflicting morals that soon led to a war—a war to take over the worlds! This war is still going on to this day, with each side suffering massive casualties.]

Cynthia continued to add her experiences and the purpose of the dark pantheon's assassins, as well as her role as the highest-ranking assassin—this naturally surprised Ayla, as Cynthia didn't fit being an assassin.

'You said that light and darkness are enemies, then why were Kaila's parents together when one was light and the other was darkness?'

[…] She turned silent; her actions proved that it was a sensitive topic and Cynthia didn't want to talk about it—this also proved Cynthia hadn't divulged the truth to Kaila, the previous owner of Ayla's body.

'Is there anything else that I should know?'

[There's several…] Cynthia then went on to tell what she knew—the majority of what she said was insignificant, while the minority was notable; either way, she spilled it out.

With that, Cynthia finished revealing what she knew, and Ayla turned her focus to the current mission at hand.

~~~

Current time~

Ayla, who no longer lingered around Yoritomo's body, walked away, her dream world fading in sync with her steps, starting from the ring's center.

As the dream world faded past Yoritomo's body, it entered the real world, and everyone—the spectators, officials, and competitors—froze in shock.

"What?… Why is patriarch Yoritomo in the ring?"

They could see that he was dead at first glance, and seeing his head lying meters away from his body solidified this thought, although they couldn't figure out how he suddenly appeared there or who killed him.

The act of killing the patriarch of a clan was equivalent to waging war on them; they'd hunt the assailant like a dog until their revenge had been achieved—only if they knew who the assailant was, then they'd inevitably cease their hunt.

…

Ayla had already departed from the Genji Dojo, as she opted to leave for her last assassination, Okuda Katsuro, the lowest-level target on her list.

'Kiera, I'll be leaving for the third target! Can you remain here for a day so that the situation calms down before my sudden disappearance. After a day, return to my shadow.'

[I would rather not leave Mistress's side, but since this is an order from you, I'll gladly accept it.]

'Thanks…'

Ayla arrived before the Sakura inn and made her way inside; she stopped before her neighbor's sliding door, Masa, and knocked... Following her knock, Ayla heard footsteps coming from inside the room.

The sliding door was slid open, revealing a young black-haired woman with amber eyes, dressed in a sheer, red yakuta with beautiful white embroidery.

"You're back? I thought the tournament would last for another two days! Did you lose?" Masa inquired, flashing a delighted smile—she seemed happy to see Ayla.

Finding it easier to follow along with what Masa anticipated, Ayla responded, "Yeah! I lost to the genius, Minamoto no Tokiwa; his copying skill was unparalleled!"

Ayla didn't feel right, saying she had lost to Minamoto no Tokiwa, but it'd seemed to be the most believable as he was a renowned genius after all.

"You made it so far! I'm so happy for you! Only if that cruel Tokiwa didn't bully you, then you'd surely win first place! When I see him, I'll make sure to give him a good beating!" Masa raised her fist, clutching it, determination set in her eyes.

'That's knew! I didn't expect her to be so bold.' Ayla smiled. "Wouldn't you die before you could even land a punch?"

"Oh…" She averted her eyes and avoided making eye contact.

"I've finished my business here; we should get going. The last destination is the second branch of the Okuda Clan; I have some business with the second branch master."

"Let me get dressed first."

Masa slid the door closed, and in a few minutes she slid it open, walking out in a red kimono with beautiful white embroidery, resembling the Yakuta she wore earlier. They left the Sakura Inn and set off in Masa's carriage.

~~~

A day later~

Within a secluded room with the Okuda Clan crest engraved on the wall and blood spilt everywhere, Ayla stood, hovering over a bloodied body—the body of Okuda Katsuro, her third and last target for this world.

'I can finally leave this world…' Ayla flicked her dagger, casting off the lingering blood, onto the walls. The daggers then deconstructed themselves. 'Before I go, I should give my farewell to Masa—she did assist me after all.'

Ayla left the Okuda Dojo for the small town that surrounded the dojo; she met with Masa, who took her to the outskirts of the city, void of anyone.

"What do you want to tell me?" Masa directed her eyes at Ayla's, who stared off into the distance.

Facing Masa, she said, "This is my farewell; you will only remember meeting me and the time we spent together as a dream. As for you turning into a woman, it'd be retribution for disobeying the god you worship!"

"What? What are you... saying? I don't—"

The space before Ayla suddenly distorted as it began to warp into a circular black pulsing gate, gradually growing to the size where one could enter.

"You're not from this world, are you?" Her voice expressed sadness. "Will you ever return?"

"Fate will tell."

Facing the gate, Ayla took a step through, her figure fading into the gateway. Masa wanted to follow, but the gate quickly closed before she could reach it; her memories of this event faded away, as if it were just a dream.

"I've been cursed by god! I must live the rest of my life out, birthing and raising children as a mother!" Masa set out for a secluded region where she could safely raise her children.