Chapter 59- 8 Years Ago (Part 1)
8 years ago.
The time was night, the weather was cold and snowy as a storm took over the whole world, rendering it a deserted haven devoid of humans.
"Hah!! Hah!!" A man was running through the alleyways in a hurry. His face was pale and his breathing was erratic. A look of extreme horror was plastered on his face as he kept looking back at where he was coming from.
Although he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, that only made him feel even more scared. In fact, the more it was quiet, the more his heart beat faster and the more adrenaline was pumped into his body.
Taking a turn to the left, he continued running for his life, aiming for the main street. He had been in this state for a few minutes after leaving his company. Just from his attire, people could understand that he was extremely wealthy. His suit was custom-made and of the highest quality and his watch looked like it cost a few millions at least.
However, because he stumbled and fell down a few times, those clothes and that watch were ruined completely.
"Is he still behind me?!" He murmured as he stopped to take a breath. His fat body didn't help his case considering how low his stamina was.
Heaving up and down, he looked ahead of him.
"Hah, hah, hah, I need to, continue running. I should've lost him by now." After saying that, he started walking. Except, the next second, he halted again as a horrified expression appeared on his face.
*Step* *Step*
"Target: Luther Ivlove. Age: 52 years old. Reason for elimination: Corruption, money laundering, and having multiple affairs behind the partner's back." An extremely chilling voice spoke as the silhouette of a person appeared.
"Shit!" Looking at the small boy approaching him, Luther cursed and tried to run back from where he came from.
However, when he turned around, he found that boy right in front of him as if he was some kind of ghost.
"AAGHH!!" Screaming from sheer fear, he tried to retreat back but ended up sliding on the wet ground and falling on his ass with a loud thud.
"W-Wait! Please, young man! You don't have to do this!!"
"..."
"I-I can pay you! Whatever they had on my head, I will give you 3 times… No, 5 times that amount!!" He said as he tried to smile except he looked like a wet chicken trying to coax its predator to not kill it.
"..." The boy didn't reply nor could Luther see what his expression was behind the mask.
"No." Then, the boy's response came and it was akin to a guillotine that fell on Luther's head.
"No! Please, I beg you!! I have a daughter your age!! Please, I love her with all my heart!! I did all of this just so that she can live a fulfilled life!! I don't want to le-"
*BANG*
Before the man could finish, a bullet had already pierced his skill and exited from the other side, splattering blood everywhere.
The man's dead body slumped back as blood continued leaking out, mixing with the snow on the ground.
Looking at the man for a second, Kai's eyes were as cold as ever. They were completely lifeless, like two dull pearls that only shone with horrifying light.
Tucking his gun back, Kai turned around and spoke.
"Target eliminated." He said.
"Good job, Agent 0. Come back to the base for your reward." A monotonic, female voice replied.
"Roger."
Nodding his head, Kai's silhouette instantly vanished into the night, leaving behind a distant sound of police sirens approaching the sight of the murder.
A second after his disappearance, another silhouette could be seen hiding in the corner, as it took a peek.
"This is his 4th mission in a day and he succeeded in all of them without a fault. How could it be that easy?"
***
"Ugh, my neck hurts." A blonde woman stretched her limbs as she rested her back on the chair. After working for 9 hours straight, Talia was feeling extremely sore. However, she can't really leave her job yet, not before she deals with a certain person sitting quietly in front of her.
Giving him a glance, Talia said.
"You really have been making a name for yourself recently, 'Agent 0'. You haven't been here for a year and you are already on your way to reaching 200 successful missions. That's quite the record." She praised honestly as she glanced at the screen of the computer, showing the data she had of Kai. Although she didn't know who his real identity is, she still knew the face behind that mask and she must say that the boy was jaw-droppingly beautiful.
He was akin to a porcelain doll that would make you gaze at him all day long. However, his sharp cold eyes will nullify that effect instantly from how terrifying they were. If she had to describe him he looked like a broken porcelain doll. As they say, there's beauty in the broken and Kai was a great example of that.
'To have those eyes at the young age of 9. What did he go through before all of this to get them?'
The latter, who was idly sitting on a chair, reading the newspaper, didn't reply at all. Since the transaction of the money takes a few minutes, he had to wait there.
"As quiet as ever, huh? I still don't understand why you were given the alias Agent 0. I assumed the guild's highest rank is rank 1. Are you perhaps stronger than our rank 1. Or, the zero could simply be interpreted as 'nothing'. You have no rank." Talia said, trying to get a reaction from Kai, except the latter had no desire to engage in any form of conversation.
'Tsk, whatever.' Rolling her eyes, Talia looked at the computer again. Seeing that the transaction was completed, she said.
"We're done."
Nodding his head, Kai put down the newspaper and stood up.
"What's the highest rank I have access to?"
"You can easily choose from the 3-star missions. You can also get 4-star missions but not all of them. When you reach 200 successful missions, you will be able to access 4-star missions fully." Talia explained.
"What 4-star missions are available that I can take?"
"Now?" The woman's eyes widened slightly.
"Yes."
"Hey, you already finished 4 today. You will only exhau-"
"What 4-star missions are available that I can take?" Kai repeated as he cut her off coldly.
"... Sigh, you are really stubborn." Rubbing her forehead, Talia looked at Kai tiredly.
Although she usually doesn't care whether a hitman takes 1 mission or 10 billion missions a day. However, ever since she got to know Kai, she really felt pity for the kid. Although he wasn't the only kid hitman out there, he was certainly the weirdest one out there and that made Talia feel connected to him, in a sense.
So, from time to time, she would ask him about his health, how he is living, whether he needs help with something or not, and other such questions. It was simply her way of trying to ease her pity for him. Yes, in Talia's eyes, Kai was a pitiful, lonely soul that looked too broken to be fixed and too dark to be pushed back to light.
"Well, there is a good 4-star mission for you. We received an Elimination Request yesterday. The target is pharmaceutical tycoon Loris Berry. He had been under the radar for a while because of his shady dealings with the new and rising Divinity to supply them with Leviathium."
Kai nodded his head as Talia continued explaining the mission. When she finished, she sent him the rest of the information to his work phone. Then, the boy left the office.
The moment he stepped outside, he looked to the side, noticing someone resting on the wall next to the door.
She had beautiful black hair that fell down her shoulders like a waterfall and two piercing red eyes. Her immature face was extremely adorable and perfect.
Young Eva looked back at Kai and then stood up.
"Hey, let's team up." She said in a rather distant tone. Her request was more like an order rather than a request.
"No," Kai replied as he walked away. This wasn't the first time Eva had asked him this very same question. It was in fact the 5th time that week and Kai always replied with a No. For some reason, he didn't find her pestering that annoying.
Maybe it was because she didn't seem to carry any malice toward him or simply because she was so stubborn that it caught his attention. She had been the only person to ever approach him willingly inside the Guild, after all. Either way, Kai decided that it wasn't worth it for him to go out of his way and stop her. Eliminating her was even more so of a hassle.
"Why not? Am I not strong enough?" She asked as she walked after him. His cold reply didn't dishearten her.
"..."
"Even though we both joined the Guild at the same time, we are both extremely strong. If we work together, we can reach new heights that no one ever heard of. What do you think?" Eva reasoned with him coldly.
"'If you seek power, seek it alone and never rely on anyone or you will end up being stabbed in the back'," Kai said as if he was quoting the words of someone else. "Look for someone else to team up with. I work alone."