- A Certain Room, Xuan Family Manor -
"Have you killed him yet?" a male voice asked quietly.
The man who spoke these words was Xuan Yang, current patriarch of the Xuan family. He was a vile man, able to abandon his morality completely in order to achieve what he wants.
"No, not yet," a second voice responded with a carefree tone.
This person was a powerful mber of the Midnight Syndicate. His alias is Plague, but his true na remains unknown. He specializes in using poison to assassinate people, rather than cold steel. After forming a deal with Xuan Yang, he accepted the task to kill a certain 14-year-old boy.
"...Why haven't you? He's just a kid. Shouldn't be too hard for soone of your level, no?" Xuan Yang asked impatiently, evidently annoyed.
"That may be so, but he is far stronger than normal 'kids'," Plague replied. "I have encountered him once already, and he was able to escape. That is more than enough to prove his strength."
Of course, the truth was, Plague rely didn't want to chase the boy further. However, if he said so, his true intentions would be spilled, and that could pose a problem.
"Tch...you an you can't kill him? Don't give that crap," Xuan Yang muttered angrily.
"No, I just need so ti," Plague responded casually. "I will be sure to bring you his head, worry not."
"Hmph...you better hurry the hell up," Xuan Yang demanded, then turned on his heel. "Tomorrow night is the latest I will give you. Don't let down, Plague."
Plague bowed his head slightly. "...As you wish."
*****
(Xuan Kai's Perspective)
"i Gui, I need to talk to you," I said quietly.
We had just finished school, and were currently resting in our dorm room. However, it wasn't as relaxing as I hoped it to be. A certain sothing kept nagging at my mind, and I decided it was ti to settle it once and for all.
"What is it, Master?" i Gui asked, walking over and sitting down next to on the couch.
"...You rember what I said about getting revenge, correct?"
She nodded. "As clear as day, Master."
I smiled devilishly. "Well then...you see, it keeps bugging at the back of my head, and it's quite an uncomfortable feeling. That's why..."
"...You want to end things with them as soon as possible," i Gui finished.
"Precisely. I want to infiltrate the Xuan family manor this Saturday night. Since it's the weekend, security will be relatively more lax than usual."
"I agree, Master," i Gui replied. "Very well, we shall spend the ti from today up until Saturday for planning."
I bowed my head. "Thank you...and sorry."
"Master, I am doing this of my own free will," i Gui said in a comforting tone. "There is no need for you to apologize or express gratitude."
"Nah...if I don't say sothing in this situation, it just won't sit right with ," I chuckled.
"..." i Gui fell silent, and I sighed.
"Anyway...the first step, as always, is to gather information, yeah?"
"Information?" i Gui tilted her head.
I grinned. "What do you say we go on a reconnaissance mission?"
"R-Right now?"
Oh, that's the first, no, second ti I've heard her stutter. She's usually always so calm and composed...when was the first ti again? Ah, right, that ti she couldn't get the shower to work by herself. Man...that was pretty funny.
"Yeah, right now," I replied with a snicker. "C'mon, let's go."
I slipped on my cloak, put on my ring, and grabbed my mask to complete the set. I glanced back at i Gui, who had already finished changing into her new outfit we bought at the Coastal tropolis a few days ago. It was a black cloak similar to mine, and for so reason she also put on a mask.
"Heh. We look like so cult mbers," I said after pulling her into the bathroom and looking at our reflections in the mirror.
i Gui averted her gaze quickly, and didn't speak.
"What, feeling embarrassed?"
"N-No..."
Oh, third ti of stuttering. If you're going to be embarrassed about this, then don't put it on in the first place...
"Well, the first ti I put this on, I was kind of embarrassed as well," I comforted her. "You'll get used to it."
Just as I turned around and prepared to head out, however, I felt a tug on my sleeve. "i Gui?"
"D-Do I look good, Master...?" she murmured quietly, looking up at with big sad puppy dog eyes.
"O-Oh, yeah, you look great," I replied, a little caught off guard by her sudden cute act. Usually, she was all stoic and expressionless, but sotis, quite unexpectedly, she has these cute monts as well.
But still...that's four stutters now. Wait, why am I keeping track?
"Okay...let's go, Master," i Gui shook her head and return back to her normal, deadpan self.
"Yeah...let's go."
*****
- Around 20 Minutes Later, The Xuan Family Manor -
The two of us soon arrived at the Xuan family manor. It was just as how I rembered it to be - grand and beautiful. But the people living within it...were not. After making sure no one was looking, I climbed up on a nearby tree to get a better view of the entire area, and then pulled i Gui up as well.
Surprisingly enough, no magic barrier was in place. This was very strange to , since from what I rember, the manor was supposed to have a huge barrier surrounding it to protect it from outside invaders, thieves, etc. The protection didn't extend to where my parents and I were living in though, unfortunately. Hence why the assassins were able to get in...but to be honest, I found sothing about that fishy. This is just a baseless assumption, but I think Xuan Yang disabled the barrier on purpose during that tifra.
Which is why...could it be the sa this ti? Why is the barrier disabled? Don't tell ...that bastard Xuan Yang is up to sothing again?
I quickly ran a Detect Presence on the area, and frowned when it turned up empty. There should've been plenty of guards, and yet...my scan didn't pick up on any of them. However, I definitely could sense a certain soone...
"Master...sothing is off," i Gui said quietly.
"Yeah...I can feel it," I replied. "The manor...it seems...almost lifeless."
"Be careful, Master. I sense a powerful mage within the vicinity."
"So you detected it too, huh? He's currently not hiding his aura, so we're able to tell, but when he chooses to conceal himself, we won't have any way to find him. What a fearso opponent..." I muttered.
"Master...is he the one who attacked you that night?" i Gui asked with concern.
I nodded. "I managed to escape, but...I have a feeling he purposely let get away."
"Master, he's coming out," i Gui suddenly lowered her tone and said.
I glanced at where i Gui was looking. Indeed, a man clad in black robes had just erged from the main door of the manor, and was heading towards these gates. He looked slightly different from when I saw him that night since it would be troubleso for him if his Midnight Syndicate branding was seen in public, but his black plague mask was unmistakable. This was the sa man who had attacked a few days ago.
He strolled along gracefully without a care in the world, casually stopping by so flower bushes to inspect them. However, he then suddenly snapped the rose he had picked up within his hands, and slowly, like a old creaky robot, tilted his head...to look straight at where i Gui and I were crouching, atop a tree branch.
"Master, run!"
"Tch...!" I grabbed i Gui's hand and jumped down the tree, pulling her with . I then quickly cast Flight on my self as i Gui did the sa. Together, the two of us flew off hurriedly, too panicked to even look back to see if anyone was following us.
*****
- Back at the Dorms -
"Hah...hah...you...okay?" I panted, leaning against the wall. We had just gotten back to the dorms, and entered my room.
"I'm fine...Master..." i Gui replied, but she was similarly evidently exhausted from flying at maximum speed non-stop for god knows how long. We just kept flying and kept flying...even when we arrived at the dorms, we continued to run, up the stairs and towards my room. Who the hell would keep track of ti in that situation?
"Sorry...I panicked back there," I said guiltily after both of us had finally caught our breaths. We had taken off our cloaks and masks, and were currently resting on the couch.
"No, Master. You made the right choice," i Gui replied. "If we had stayed there any longer, there was a good chance we wouldn't have been able to escape at all."
"Yeah...but what bothers is how he was able to see us," I said, frustrated. "Both of us had cast Conceal Presence on ourselves, and yet..."
"We did indeed conceal our presences, but unfortunately that ager spell is not effective against masters at all."
"Even with the power of Chaos...?"
i Gui nodded. "Even with the amplification affects of the Primordial Chaos, the spell would still be ineffective against masters Golden Monarch and above."
"Golden Monarch...so I was right. He's at least on Ghosteye's level."
"Ghosteye...the other Midnight Syndicate mber Master defeated a while ago?" i Gui asked, resting her chin on her hand in a thinking gesture.
"Yeah...wait, how do you know about that?"
"I retain all of my mories from my stone form," i Gui explained. "Although they are a little bit hazy, I know everything you did before my true form was awoken by you, Master."
...Creepy. I know she doesn't have any bad intentions, but...being told by soone they know everything you've done, is...quite uncomfortable, to say to the least.
"Also...this is just re speculation, but I think what occured back at the manor wasn't as simple as you panicking, Master..."
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you an...?"
i Gui sighed. "Again, this is just my guess, but...I believe that man may have used a fear-inducing technique on the two of us."
"A fear-inducing technique..." I echoed pensively.
"Correct. However, I do not know what spell exactly he used, since there are many thods to induce fear into one's enemy," i Gui explained. "For example, directly 'injecting' fear into soone would fall under Curse Magic, but inadvertently causing fear such as creating a terrifying illusion or sothing that triggers one's phobia would fall under the Shadow Magic category."
"...I see," I said after a long while. "Either way, one thing is certain - that man is dangerous - and what is even more so, is the fact that we probably will have to face him in the near future."
i Gui nodded. "Master...I will always remain by your side."
I smiled and patted her head. "Thank you, i Gui...I'll need it."
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