Chapter 52: Shadows of Duty

A few weeks later, Master Sakai received a lucrative assassination request. The client? A group of politicians desperate to eliminate a rival—an influential, wealthy man whose power threatened their own. In exchange, our master was promised an unimaginable sum of gold and wealth.

And so, as his loyal hounds, we were dispatched to execute the task.

The mansion was a fortress, sprawling and heavily guarded. But our team was honed for this—silent shadows slipping through the cracks of the world. We infiltrated unnoticed, dispatching guards with precision. They didn’t have time to scream, let alone comprehend what had struck them.

As we approached the target's chambers, I allowed ethereal energy to flow through my body, heightening my senses, quickening my movements, and silencing my every step. The lessons drilled into me on Mount Koya came alive as I became the perfect predator.

Two of my comrades leaped ahead, eliminating the final guards stationed outside the politician’s bedroom. We moved as one, a seamless force, until the moment the door cracked open—not by our hands, but by a sleepy child’s.

The boy blinked at us, his small face caught between confusion and fear. Before he could scream, Number Twenty-One clamped a hand over his mouth. But the damage was done. From within the room, the sounds of stirring grew louder. A woman’s panicked voice pierced the silence:

"My baby!"

The politician’s wife sat up, her scream waking her husband. He jumped from the bed, his voice sharp and demanding. "Who are you? What are you doing in my home?!"

There was no time for negotiation. My body moved on instinct. My venomous green eyes flared as I dashed forward, cutting down the woman in a single stroke. Her blood sprayed across her husband’s face as he fell back, frozen in horror.

Number Twelve moved next, his near-invisible threads wrapping around the man’s limbs. With a flick of his fingers, both arms fell away in a grotesque spray of blood.

The man screamed, but Twelve’s voice was cold and unrelenting. "Quiet, filth. You’ll make this harder than it has to be."

The threads tightened around the target’s head as Twelve continued, his tone devoid of empathy. "Our orders were simple. Your head is the proof we need. I’ll make it quick."

Despite the man’s desperate pleas for his life, Twelve silenced him with a swift decapitation. The body slumped, lifeless, as the head rolled to the floor.

The child in Twenty-One’s grasp let out a muffled, heart-wrenching scream. His tears stained his cheeks as he trembled in terror, witnessing the brutal slaughter of his family.

For the first time in years, my hands trembled. A feeling unfamiliar and unwelcome rose within me—doubt. My colleague, Eighteen, noticed and whispered, "Big Sis, are you okay?"

I forced a smile. "I’m fine," I lied.

But as I glanced at the boy, red-eyed and shaking, something in me snapped. My heart felt heavy, my breaths uneven.

"We should leave the child," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The room froze.

Number Thirty-One spun to me, his voice sharp with disbelief. "What did you say, Sixteen?! Do you have any idea what Master Sakai will do if he finds out we left a witness alive?"

The others murmured in agreement, their eyes wide with incredulity. But I stood my ground, my voice steadier now.

"We’re burning the mansion to the ground to cover our tracks," I said. "The fire will take care of the evidence. There’s no need to kill him."

Number Forty-Two tilted his head, studying me with a cold, calculating gaze. "So, you’d rather let the boy burn alive than give him a merciful end?"

I had no response. My logic faltered under the weight of my own hypocrisy. But I couldn’t bring myself to order his death.

Forty-Two sighed and shrugged. "Fine. We’ll do it your way."

The others began to protest, but Forty-Two silenced them with a single glare. "But if this decision comes back to haunt us, Sixteen, the blame is yours. Remember that."

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I’ll take full responsibility."

We bound the boy and left him amidst the carnage of his parents. As flames engulfed the mansion, I told myself it was mercy. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t.

Later, back at the compound, Master Sakai was in high spirits. The assassination had secured the promised fortune, and he threw a lavish banquet in celebration. Plates of food we could only dream of filled the long tables, their decadent aromas filling the air.

As my comrades indulged, laughing and cheering, my appetite waned. The boy’s tear-streaked face lingered in my mind, a haunting reminder of what we had done.

Eighteen leaned toward me, her innocent smile breaking through the haze of my thoughts. "How’s the food, Big Sis?"

I forced another smile, though the taste of guilt overpowered the meal.

"It's incredible," I replied with a faint smile.

"Exactly!" Eighteen exclaimed, her enthusiasm infectious. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten!"

I giggled at her reaction, savoring the moment of joy amidst our otherwise grim lives.

Before I could respond, a soldier stationed near the head of the hall raised his voice. "Silence! Master has something to say."

The chatter ceased instantly. All eyes turned to Master Sakai as he stood, raising a glass of expensive wine. His presence was commanding, as always.

"I am here today to celebrate this divine opportunity granted to us by the heavens," he began, his tone warm and fatherly. "For the wealth we have acquired and the success of your hard work, I give my sincerest gratitude to each of you. Cheers, to your loyalty and dedication through the years."

His words struck a chord. Many of us teared up, myself included. Master Sakai was the man who had taken us in when no one else would, raising us from nothing and shaping us into the people we were today. Despite the harsh training, we were grateful.

The hall erupted into cheers. Plates of food were passed around, and the room buzzed with joy. It was a rare moment of camaraderie and celebration.

I was halfway through my third plate when a strange unease crept over me. My stomach churned, but I dismissed it as exhaustion. Then the first scream broke the merriment.

One by one, my siblings began to clutch their stomachs, coughing violently. Blood spilled from their mouths, staining the pristine white tablecloths.

"Eighteen!" I shouted, my voice filled with panic as I turned to her. She was pale, her hands trembling as blood trickled from her nose and mouth.

"Sixteen…" she whispered weakly before collapsing into my arms.

"What’s happening?!" I cried out, trying to steady her fragile frame.

Laughter echoed through the room, sharp and cruel. I looked up to see Master Sakai standing at the head of the table, his wine glass raised, his eyes alight with malice.

"Oh, Sixteen," he mocked, his voice dripping with amusement. "It seems your dear little sister isn’t feeling well."

My blood boiled as the truth hit me. "Poison," I spat, glaring at him. "You poisoned us, you bastard!"

He tilted his head, his smirk widening. "Poison? How perceptive of you." Taking a slow sip of his wine, he continued, "Did you honestly believe I cared for any of you? You were tools—useful for a time, but all tools wear out eventually."

I stared in disbelief, my body trembling with rage and helplessness.

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"You thought I was some benevolent father figure," he sneered. "But I am and always will be your master. And now, your time has come to an end."

He snapped his fingers, and armed men flooded the room, their weapons glinting in the flickering candlelight. "Kill them all," Sakai ordered, leaning back into his chair with a smug grin.

Chaos consumed the room as blades clashed and screams filled the air. My siblings, already weakened by the poison coursing through their veins, stood no chance. One after another, they fell, their desperate cries of pain silenced by the swift brutality of Master Sakai's men. Blood pooled across the floor, mingling with the remnants of our celebratory feast.

I stood frozen, clutching Eighteen’s frail body in my arms, my heart pounding with a mixture of helplessness and fury. Master Sakai’s laughter echoed through the carnage, cold and detached, as though he were merely an observer in some grotesque theater of death.

“I suspected the poison wouldn’t work on you, Sixteen,” he said, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather. His piercing gaze locked onto me, and I felt his words like venom sinking into my soul. “Your little poison powers make you immune, after all. But don’t let that give you any ideas.”

He stood from his seat, his presence commanding despite the blood-soaked chaos around him. “You’re still nothing more than a weak, pathetic dog. A failure of my design.”

His words burned, cutting deeper than any wound. My hands trembled, clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Tears blurred my vision as the weight of the slaughter around me pressed down, suffocating me.

He leaned back slightly, smirking as though reveling in my despair. “Look at you,” he sneered. “So much potential, wasted on sentimentality. You’re nothing without me, Sixteen. Just a broken tool waiting to be discarded.”

My teeth gritted as his mocking words replayed in my mind. The fire of my rage simmered, threatening to consume me, but I couldn’t act—not yet. Eighteen’s shallow breaths grounded me, her life hanging by a thread. I glanced around, the lifeless bodies of my brothers and sisters surrounding me, their deaths a cruel punctuation to his cruelty.

My heart screamed for vengeance, but my body refused to move. I couldn’t let him win—not like this.

I clung to Eighteen, shielding her frail body as soldiers closed in on us. A blade pierced my chest, sending searing pain through my body, but I didn’t let go of her. Blood seeped from the wound, staining her already pale skin.

"Stay with me, Eighteen," I whispered, my voice breaking.

Her breathing was shallow, her eyes dull. I knew I had to get her out of there. Summoning every ounce of strength, I dashed toward the door, ignoring the searing pain in my chest.

The forest surrounding Mount Koya was shrouded in darkness, the chill of the night biting at my skin. Behind me, I could hear the shouts of Sakai’s men giving chase.

I ran until my legs burned, Eighteen’s body growing colder with every passing moment. My mind raced as I approached a cliff's edge. Below, the waves crashed violently against jagged rocks.

"Where can I go?" I thought, despair clawing at my chest.

"Sixteen…" Eighteen’s voice was barely audible. I looked down at her, my heart breaking at her fragile state.

"Eighteen! Stay with me!" I begged, my voice cracking.

She smiled faintly, her lips trembling. "I’m… okay, Sis…"

Her words felt like a dagger to my heart. I hugged her tightly, feeling the life slipping from her small frame. Her skin was cold, her breaths shallow.

"Don’t leave me," I whispered, my tears falling freely.

Desperate, I tried to channel my poison-manipulating powers, willing the toxins from her body. But it was no use. My abilities, my training, all of it was worthless now.

I stared at the roaring sea below, clutching Eighteen to my chest. The shouts of the soldiers grew louder behind me. I was out of time.

"I’m sorry," I whispered to her, my voice breaking as despair consumed me.

As Master Sakai’s words echoed in my mind, his voice was drowned out by the sound of my own sobs. I clung to Eighteen, her small body growing colder with each passing second. Her breaths slowed, each one fainter than the last.

“Don’t... cry, Big... Sis,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her pale lips trembled as she forced out her final words. “I’ll... always... be with you. Live... a life... full of joy... and happiness... for me.”

Her fragile smile broke me. I held her closer, desperate to will her back to life, but her body went limp in my arms. Her heart had stopped.

“No... no, no, no,” I whispered, shaking her gently. “Eighteen... please... stay with me!”

Master Sakai’s laughter pierced my grief like a blade. “What a pathetic sight,” he sneered. “Did you really think you could protect her? That you could escape me? Everything that’s happened is your fault, Sixteen. The deaths of your siblings and your precious little sister—all of it! Your actions brought this upon them!”

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. My tears fell freely, my vision clouded by despair. I cradled Eighteen closer, her lifeless form the only anchor in the storm of anguish consuming me.

“Eighteen,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “Please... don’t leave me. Please!”

The world seemed to crumble around me. My sorrow twisted and churned, a storm brewing within my soul. My aura, uncontrollable and wild, burst forth like a floodgate breaking under pressure. The air thickened with venomous gases, so potent they melted the very ground beneath us.

Sakai’s men fell one by one, choking and clawing at their throats, their bodies succumbing to the toxic fumes. Master Sakai, however, stepped forward through the haze, his skin blistering and melting under the corrosive air. His twisted smile remained intact, a grotesque mask of triumph.

“Magnificent!” he declared, his voice giddy with delight. “This is the power I always knew you had. My hunting dog, finally unleashed!”

I didn’t hear him. I didn’t care. All I could feel was the suffocating weight of loss and rage. My aura expanded further, devouring everything in its path. The cliff beneath us crumbled, collapsing into the roaring sea below.

As Sakai’s body disintegrated under the onslaught of my venomous energy, his mocking laughter finally ceased. But the victory was hollow. My grip on Eighteen loosened as her lifeless form began to slip from my arms.

“No!” I screamed, reaching out for her as we both plummeted into the sea. “Eighteen! Please! Come back to me!”

The icy water engulfed me, pulling me into its depths. My body sank, the world fading into darkness. My mind, consumed by despair, clung to one thought: I’ve lost everything.

When I finally awoke, I found myself lying on the edge of a riverbank, far from the cliff where everything had ended. My body was battered, riddled with wounds, and my strength was nearly gone. I tried to stand, but my legs gave out beneath me.

I crawled, grabbing a sturdy branch to support myself as I staggered forward. My mind screamed at me to keep moving, to run as far as I could from the nightmare I’d escaped. For days, I stumbled through the wilderness, my body driven by fear and instinct alone.

I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t care. Every step was agony, but stopping meant facing the possibility that Master Sakai’s shadow would find me again.

Finally, my body gave out. I collapsed onto the cold earth, unable to go any further. As I lay there, my thoughts drifted to Eighteen and my fallen siblings. Memories of their laughter, their dreams, and their love haunted me, a cruel reminder of all I’d lost.

“I can’t do this anymore,” I whispered to no one, my voice cracking under the weight of my despair. “I just... I just want it all to stop...”

A voice called out in the distance, faint and desperate. “Help! Someone, please!”

I ignored it. I had nothing left to give. Humanity, compassion, hope—those parts of me had been stripped away, leaving only a hollow shell.

The voice called again, more urgent this time. But as I prepared to tune it out, an image of Eighteen surfaced in my mind.

Her soft, cheerful voice echoed in my memories: “Big Sis, have you ever wondered what it would be like to live a life where we help people instead of hurting them?”

I could still see her bright eyes, filled with a rare spark of hope. “I wish I could feel what they feel—love, joy, happiness. Maybe then I could stop being what I am. Maybe then, I could truly live.”

The words stirred something deep within me, a fragment of the humanity I thought I’d lost. Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up. My body screamed in protest, but I forced myself to move.

For her. For Eighteen.

I turned toward the voice.

The memory of her words echoed in my mind, fueling the tears that burned my eyes. It wasn't just pain—it was resolve. I pushed myself off the blood-soaked ground, swaying as exhaustion threatened to topple me again. My breath was ragged, my body heavy, but the faint, desperate cry for help pierced through the fog of pain.

I stumbled forward, one step at a time, following the voice. It led me to the edge of a clearing, where the clash of steel rang out in violent discord. Pressing myself against the rough bark of a tree, I peered past it.

From my hiding place, I saw them—a group of knights surrounded by bandits.

The knights were losing. Their formation had broken, and they were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. One knight, his face bloodied beneath his shattered helm, shouted toward the wreckage of an overturned carriage nearby, “Stay hidden, Your Highness! We’ll hold them off!”

My eyes darted to the carriage, its elegant frame now a splintered ruin. Inside, I caught a glimpse of movement—a young woman in a torn gown, struggling against the debris that pinned her. The princess.

Something twisted in my chest. The knights fought for her, their lives bleeding out into the dirt, and she was trapped—helpless, a prisoner of both circumstance and terror.

I could have turned away. It wasn’t my fight, and I owed nothing to these people. But the memory of another time, another failure, surged forward. The faces of those I couldn’t save haunted me. If I walked away now, I would never forgive myself.

My fingers closed around the hilt of my dagger, the worn leather familiar against my palm. I drew it, the blade trembling slightly in my grasp. Steeling myself, I stepped out from behind the tree and into the fray.

I moved toward the bandits, my steps deliberate and silent. The first didn’t see me until it was too late. My dagger slipped into his side, and I twisted, a spray of blood marking the air. His cry alerted the others.

Another bandit charged at me, his axe raised high. I sidestepped, letting his momentum carry him past me, before driving my blade into his back. The knights noticed my intervention, their gazes flickering with confusion and gratitude, but I didn’t have time to explain myself.

I was a blur of motion, ducking, slashing, dodging. Pain flared as a sword grazed my arm, but I ignored it, pushing forward. For every knight who fell, I took down two bandits, my anger and determination fueling my strikes.

And then, it was over.

The clearing was a battlefield of broken bodies, blood pooling beneath the fallen. My legs buckled, and I collapsed to my knees, the dagger slipping from my grasp. Around me, the surviving knights panted, their faces etched with exhaustion and disbelief.

The sky above was achingly blue, a stark contrast to the carnage below. My chest heaved as I stared upward, feeling the weight of it all—the lives I couldn’t save, the cost of my choice.

As my vision dimmed, a blinding light tore through the sky. It wasn’t the sun. No, this light was purer, divine. From the heavens, a swarm of white-armored knights on beautiful horses descended, their presence overwhelming.

At their center was a figure so radiant it hurt to look at him. His silver hair caught the light, and his royal attire shimmered with an unearthly glow. In his hand, he held a sword of pure light, its brilliance unlike anything I’d ever seen.

He knelt before me, his voice soft and commanding, “Are you alright, child?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the exhaustion pulled me under. Darkness claimed me, the divine figure’s concerned gaze the last thing I saw.