AN: There are descriptions of cruelty and people dying.
Those not good with these please skip it.
âAt least you must survive!!â
Saying so, Father pushed me into the cellar against my will.
Taking the opportunity, he also forced two katana onto me.
I realized they are Fatherâs precious katana that indicate the head of the family.
Surprised, I looked up at the Father while pressing down on the left eye that lost sight.
âSwear on the name of Hiyuma Clan that one day you will find a master only for you, okay!! Cain!!â
I cold only nod to Father who told me that with a ghastly expression.
To such me, Father happily smiled.
âIâm counting on you, you are the last hope of our clanâ
I was only 8 years old when I saw Father for the last time.
âââ
Passing through a dark alley, I stepped inside a ruined building.
For an instant I felt many killing intents, but when they understood it was me who entered, the killing intents dispersed.
I got used to the left-over killing intent long time ago.
âYoo. Cain. Have you finished alreadyâ
With vigorous sound of footsteps, a smirking man came out of the back of the room.
Redheaded Gill. I donât know his surname. A man with filthy snakelike look in his eyes.
Among the many Sahajaâs assassinâs guilds, heâs Redâs guild master.
I donât know what this man is thinking, but I find his smile detestable.
â⌠It was a boring jobâ
âAny job would be boring for you. Right? Red Shinigami-san? You even got a fine nickname, Iâm happyâ
I felt unpleasant having my shoulder hugged in a friendly manner.
I didnât particularly wish for that nickname. It just stuck to me before I realized.
âLet goâ
âOoh, scary, scaryâ
When I shook him off, Gill laughed but didnât approach anymore.
Heâs the man who picked me up for fun when I ran away from the north when I was 8.
âMy guild is Red. Isnât your red eye just perfect for it?â
Saying so, heâd brought me along, and this man whoâs the guild master trained me to be an assassin himself.
âNo, Iâm happy youâre talented, Cain. Itâs as if youâve always lived like that. Youâre a natural assassin⌠After all youâre the only one who can be my successorâ
With these words, killing intent from all around flew at me once.
I donât care about the surroundingâs irritation.
As I inherited the cursed red eye that my surrounding abhors, I could only think of this talk as absurd.
I donât want this. This isnât the place where I belong.
âAs if I care, I donât want thatâ
âDonât say that, a huge job is coming soon. If we succeed, weâll pass Black as the top guild for sure, see?â
âDo what you want. Itâs unrelated to meâ
âOi, Cainâ
I brushed off Gill who tried touching me again and left the spot.
I finished my work quota. Leave me alone.
I returned to my room in silence.
An uninteresting room with only a simple bed in it. I donât really think of it as my room.
But, I couldnât bring myself to part with the personal room I got from being Redâs number one.
Like hell Iâd want to use the same room as the other guys.
Coworkers of the detestable assassin profession.
They were also orphans who lost their parents and siblings.
Even though they should be the same as me, they looked at me with disgust.
It seems everything is due to the legend of the cursed clan.
At first when I heard it I couldnât believe my ears, but if they want to hate me, thatâs fine too.
I made such decision, but knowing I was being hated thereâs no way Iâd want to approach them myself.
They find me detestable, but so do I find them.
I held my knees in bed.
ââââ Itâs been 8 years.
Itâs been 8 years since Gill picked me up.
I should have already returned the favor of being picked up by doing the assassination work.
I donât think of him as my master.
Then, I have to go.
I have to fulfill Fatherâs last wish.
I donât use my clanâs skills for the work he brings.
I pressed down on my eye that lost sight.
My clanâs skills are only to be used for the sake of my master.
I regarded my situation with impatience.
I must hurry.
Heâs Redâs guild master employed by the king.
If so, the whole guild is the kingâs subordinates.
That alone is unacceptable.
I donât want to serve anybody other than the master I choose.
For that sake, being covered with blood is no big deal.
At any rate, these hands are already stained with plenty of blood.
I think nothing of increasing that by a few people this late.
I tightly clenched my hands.
âDad⌠I will certainly fulfill the vowâ
Feeling that time approach, I kept cowering in my room.
âââ
âThe next job was decided!! Itâs a request from the country!! If it goes well, weâll become the kingâs personal guild!!â
Flushed in excitement, Gill returned.
At these words, my coworkers raised shouts of joy.
But, on the contrary my heart became cold as ice.
ââââ So it has come.
I listened to Gillâs story with an innocent face.
I thought itâs necessary to know the story about what weâd have to do properly.
âThe job is assassinating royalty from another country. Even if itâs regrettable, the reward is becoming the guild employed by the country. With this, those Black guys wonât act arrogantlyâ
The coworkers gathered around Gill who spoke boastfully.
Everybody was listening to his story in excitement.
I absolutely didnât feel like joining in, so I alone turned back.
Such me was stopped by Gillâs voice.
âOi, wait, Cain. The talk hasnât ended?â
âIt doesnât concern me. I will work as usual. Thatâs fine, isnât itâ
I knit my brows saying so, but Gill shook his head with his usual grin.
âAh, thatâs no good. You have to think about this operation. As the next guild masterâ
âHa?â
The loud surprised voices of my coworkers drowned out my puzzled voice.
These complaining voices were directed at Gill.
âGill!! Are you serious!! Such guys being the next guild master!! Nobody will accept that!!â
âThatâs right!! We wonât follow somebody with such red eye!!â
In the clamor of voices, they said whatever they wanted.
Itâs also not what I want.
But Gill silenced them all with a single look.
â⌠Iâve already decided. Any complaints?â
âNoâŚâ
Although he hasnât worked recently, the impact of the person whoâd been at the top is considerable.
As soon as they fell silent, Gill persuaded my coworkers.
âIn the first place, who among you can win against Cain. Heâs Red Shinigami-san⌠Besides, donât tell anybody else, but Cain is the only one with the qualifications to take overâ
â!!â
Gill looked at me meaningfully.
With his words, everybody looked at me.
Almost everybodyâs gaze was hostile. I felt nauseous.
âAnd thatâs why itâs Cain. Read the materials and think about the plan by tomorrow. Hereâ
He threw a bundle of documents, which I hurriedly received.
They were imported documents with assassination target and sensitive information.
Without looking over them I crushed them.
âI didnât say Iâll do itâ
When I told Gill with a scowl, he smiled savagely.
âYouâre refusing? You were appointed by the king. Itâs not wise to make an enemy of the country, okay?â
ââŚâ
âThen. Tomorrow everybody gather first thing in the morning. Cain, think about the strategy until thenâ
Gill waved his hand at me who didnât answer and left.
I ground my teeth.
Becoming the guild master, that is the kingâs employee??
Whoâd want to fall that low.
Ignoring the piercing stares from my coworkers, I returned to my room.
I flung the documents onto the bed.
It came sooner than I thought.
Thereâs no time to lose anymore.
The time to carry out the plan Iâve been thinking about has come.
Iâve quietly strengthened my resolve.
ââââ Iâll carry it out tonight.
Iâll never become the kingâs subordinate.
Iâll be the one to decide who my master will be.
âââ
Itâs late at night.
The winter moon shines high in the sky.
On the desert where the temperature variation is extreme the nights are awfully cold.
After lying on the bed motionlessly in the freezing cold without getting a wink of sleep I silently stood up.
Strangely enough, my mind was calm. Calmer than during my usual work.
I was convinced it would go well.
I had no intention of turning back.
The goal is to exterminate every guild member.
I donât feel like taking over the guild.
But, Gill will never allow that.
His purpose has always been to make the Red guild be employed by the country.
You could say everything heâs done until now was for that reason.
But that chance wonât come if I escape.
I know if I frankly said I want to leave thereâs no way Iâd be allowed.
I thought about running away, but Iâm sure Iâd be pursued.
That man wonât let me go.
Although I owe him a favor for picking me up, 8 years of working without pay is more than enough.
Of course, if he blocks my way, Iâll resist.
I suppressed all my anxiety about the future.
The first one to move wins.
ââââ Today Iâll end everything.
Once again resolving myself I adjusted my breathing.
The clanâs katana wrapped in cloth hung at my waist.
Instead, I picked up a short sword used for work.
I pulled it out from the sheath.
I realized my attitude naturally shifted.
Itâs okay, I can do it.
With a nod I slipped out of the room that Iâd never return to.
âââ
âGya!! ⌠Guaaâ
âHiiiâ
Relying on the moonlight alone I dispassionately swung the sword.
In the room already bathed in blood I thrust my sword while listening to death throes. Blood gushed out from the wound.
I easily avoided it. Being covered with blood is what amateurs do.
I swung the sword to shake off blood, and silently headed towards the next target.
In the large room where my coworkers are, Iâd lit incense beforehand.
Itâs the kind that causes deep sleep that I often use for work.
They may be bastards, but they still work as assassins.
Usually they wouldnât be caught by such a thing, so I didnât expect this to work this well, but they must have become careless being on their territory.
Most of them fell fast asleep.
Using that sleep, I turned it into eternal slumber with no hesitation.
I didnât hesitate even for a single moment.
From the start, they were people I thought nothing of. Rather, I feel refreshed.
One by one I firmly finish them off.
Of course, some of them had high wariness and didnât sleep.
I attacked such guys head-on.
âRed Eye!! You!! You dared to betray us!!â
âDonât call me with a strange name. Iâm Cainâ
Another coworker returned to the terrible spectacle in the large room and looked at me with hatred in his eyes.
I turned around and smiled weakly.
âYou are nextâŚâ
âShuddup!! Die!!â
Immediately he threw many knives at me.
I calmly ascertained their course and repelled every single one with my sword.
âWhat was that!?â
âOioi, what are you doing not being able to do this muchâ
I told in astonishment to the man who looked surprised.
I havenât held the top position in Red for years for nothing.
Using the moment he stiffened after throwing knives, I slipped into his bosom and stabbed his heart.
With shocked expression stuck on his face, he collapsed on the floor.
âThatâs 20th⌠This sword is useless now, huhâ
The sword soaked in everybodyâs blood became heavy, its sharpness got worse.
I easily threw it away on the floor.
Clang, a dry sound resounded.
As a replacement, I picked up the sword at the waist of the man who fell just now.
While at it, I also collected the knives.
Fundamentally weâre provided identical weapons. Itâs a good choice that makes them easy to use.
Surveying the moonlit room there was a mountain of corpses inside.
I calmly counted them and compared to the number in my memory.
I thought about the number of people Iâd have to dispose of later.
There was a reason I chose this day.
Gill summoned everyone for the big job from the country.
There are few opportunities for everybody to gather.
Thereâs no other time to carry it out than tonight.
Letting anybody escape is not allowed.
⌠I must kill everybody without fail.
âWoah!! ⌠Guh!!â
Another person returned to the room.
The moment he raised his voice I threw a knife Iâd just picked at his throat.
With the sound of cut air the knife landed at the planned spot.
With a groan, another person fell.
â21âŚâ
The suffocating smell of blood filled the room.
A normal person would feel nauseated by the thick smell of death.
However, I got used to it. At this point I feel nothing.
Itâs more important to count the number of those I massacred.
I slashed people automatically and continued throwing knives.
Little by little, the signs of living people vanished.
In such a situation, I think I was probably smiling.
My mouth curved.
ââââ So thatâs a âshinigamiâ.
âââ
When I felt the signs of movement in the building disappear, I finally stopped moving.
Once again I counted the number of corpses and frowned.
Thatâs bad, itâs one person short.
Then, for the first time I realized the man with the detestable smile wasnât there.
The man who was the impetus for this in the first place.
Redâs guild master, Gill.
There was no meaning to it if I couldnât finish him off.
But, he has a house outside.
I guess since heâs not here he returned to his house.
Heâs unusually wary.
Not a single person was informed of its location.
I wonder if heâll come back.
In the worst case, itâll be in the morning.
If possible, I want to leave the country at night, but I canât leave Gill be.
Even if it becomes somewhat troublesome, heâs the only man I want to kill for sure.
If I leave him be, Iâll absolutely regret it in the future.
Itâs obvious itâll turn into bigger trouble than Iâm in now.
He wonât return quickly, huh⌠The moment I started getting irritated thinking so.
âAgaain, you did it flashilyâ
I heard that manâs voice from behind.
âGillâ
Looking back, I scowled at Gill.
âYo, Cain. You look livelyâ
Iâm not one to say it, but I felt disgusted by the man who was absolutely unshaken by the corpses of his coworkers.
⌠Heâs as disgusting as ever.
I donât feel like continuing the conversation with this man, so I silently readied my sword.
âOioi, donât do that. Letâs talk peacefully, okay?â
The nerve of this man is truly unbelievable.
âTalk? Looking at this terrible scene you still want to do that?â
Gill exaggeratedly nodded to me knitting my brows.
âNaturally? I will replace any number of members. Just not you. What? There are no contradictions in my actions, are there?â
âIâm also disposableâ
I implicitly said so stop with your fixation on me , but he shook his head.
When he looked at me with unusually serious face, I felt a tinge of anxiety.
âNo, you arenât. Youâre the last survivor of Hiyuma clan. Thatâs where your worth liesâ
âWha!?â
At Gillâs words my body stiffened.
Iâve never talked to this man about my identity.
The fact that red eyes belong to Hiyuma clan shouldnât be known.
So why is this man aware.
Seeing my complexion change color, Gill smiled meaningfully.
With a creepy sound he disgustingly smiled
âFind it strange? I bet. Itâs not the information I gathered. It comes from a person who thought of employing your clanâ
â⌠What did you say?â
I scowled at him in reaction to his unignorable words.
Gill kept grinning, not at all perturbed.
He was so calm I got furious.
He doesnât care about the corpses at his feet.
Itâs as if they didnât exist.
I shivered at such excessive indifference.
At the moment he doesnât appear to be holding a weapon.
But, I know approaching this man carelessly means death.
Seeing me reflexively take distance, Gill continued talking with amusement.
âThat person knows all about your clan and wants it by all means. Your combat ability is high, you wonât go against any order of your master. You are the best pieces. Your clan was threatened to serve if they didnât want to dieâ
With those words I remember that day.
The conversation between clan adults while we were surrounded by soldiers.
âHaving a master forced on us is absolutely unacceptableâ
âEmploying the whole Hiyuma clan? Thatâs enough jokes!â
Everybody lost their temper.
âIf you canât obtain what you want no matter what, isnât the only choice to crush it? If they wonât serve, annihilate them before they become a threat. Wasnât this course of events natural for a politician who thought so?â
âNo way, those who attacked us wereâŚâ
A conclusion Iâve never thought about until now came up.
As I took distance, he closed in just as much.
It feels like Iâm being cornered with completely natural movements.
âWhen the request came to Red to collect the escaped boy, I was surprised, you see? Furthermore, it said to educate him as an assassin, I donât know what the big-wigs thinks⌠Well, I would have never thought heâd have such creepy red eyes though?â
I was astounded by Gillâs words.
Being told everything was arranged plunged me into darkness.
â⌠Wasnât it a coincidence you picked me upâ
Gill sneered at me who said so with a gasp.
âThereâs no way. It was the kingâs order. The kingâs commands are absolute in this country. I will raise you, and heâll personally employ the Red guild in the future. That was the agreement from the startâ
When it got in the way, Gill kicked away a coworkerâs corpse.
âEven if youâd been a brat, you are still Hiyuma. It seems the king wanted your clan no matter what. Even more so when you became the only one left. I participated because of thatâ
ââŚâ
I simply stared at the man who in front of me easily talked about who the enemy of my clan was.
Hearing that I was trained by the enemy country to be the enemyâs hands and feet I felt nausea welling up.
âIf not for work, no way Iâd pick a creepy brat like you. This country is overflowing with countless orphansâ
I realized my heart froze from the truth revealed by Gill.
ââââ I see, thatâs right.
If I had thought about it a little, Iâd have understood why Gill regarded me as special despite everyoneâs disgust.
And yet, I wasted 8 years returning the favor.
ââââ Ah, how absurd.
I directly stared at the man who far from my benefactor, was an accomplice of my enemy.
I thought once again.
I absolutely wonât forgive this man. Of course, I also wonât forgive this countryâs king, but this guy comes first.
But the man declared while looking at me with a smile.
âI wonât let you go, Cain. Itâs the kingâs invitation. Wonât you take charge of Red?â
âI refuseâ
I clearly refused.
My enemy is Sahajaâs king.
Itâs impossible to serve the enemy.
But, Gill didnât accept my answer.
âI donât care about the members. Slaughter as many as you want. I will replace any number. But, I canât replace you. Why do you think I taught you for 8 years. Everything was for my guild to be employed by the countryâ
As he spoke, madness appeared in Gillâs expression.
His eyes blazed up, he continued talking as if in delirium.
âBeing employed by the country means having your strength recognized. If that happens there are various privileges, you know? Youâre even provided with a house. You can even receive a fixed salary. Even a proper status can be provided if you wish for it!
âThat doesnât matter to me. I have to find my master. Thatâs why Iâm goingâ
âI wonât let you goâ
For the first time, Gill took out his weapon.
Seeing that, I also readied my sword.
âDo you think you can win against me?â
He doesnât get it.
Actually, Gillâs is considerably skilled in combat.
It could be said heâs got fifty-fifty chance to win.
To be honest, I could defeat such a man easily if I used my clanâs techniques and magical arts.
But, that alone isnât allowed.
Even if I were to die, I have to fight Gill with only the skills I can use now.
âYou canât win against me. What, Iâll just lightly punish you. I wonât kill you. If I accidentally killed you, my plan would be ruinedâ
I ground my teeth at Gill who seemed to be saying I can deal with anything .
Vexing.
And, Gillâs body swayed.
I quickly readied my posture and leaped from the spot.
One of the pieces of clothing I was wearing was cut.
âAh, you reached the point where you can avoid that. I see, Iâll better get just a little bit seriousâ
Looking back, Gill moved to a different position from before.
I couldnât hide my surprise at his excessive speed.
Laughing kukuku , Gill once again prepared himself.
âOra, Iâm coming again?â
âKh!â
I reacted to his action that Iâd expected. I defended against his sword with my own.
Gill raised his eyebrows with hee .
âSo you also reached the point where you can stop thatâ
âShut up, die!â
Brushing his blade aside, I began a series of attacks.
Gill whoâs lightly dealing with every attack doesnât stop smiling.
But, somehow his stance broke for an instant.
Thinking back on it, he mustâve stepped in a pool of blood Iâd made, but at that time it was no more than a once in a lifetime chance.
Without thinking I took out a concealed knife and pierced Gillâs chest.
âKh!â
He coughed up blood and took distance from me.
He scowled at the knife, and a moment later at me.
At last the smile came off and his face dyed with anger.
âCain! How dare you have the nerve to return a favor with spite!â
I laughed scornfully at his absurd complaint.
What favor.
âAs you were the kingâs accomplice, thereâs no favor to returnâ
When told so, Gill propped himself up with both hands on the ground.
âGuh⌠Damn it, my plan is⌠Even though it finally came, such brat, such creepy brat hindered it!â
Gill sat down and looked at me with an expression filled with resentment.
Staring at such Gill I breathed heavily.
It was not thanks to my ability that I avoided Gillâs attacks. There was a great deal of luck.
Gill punched the floor over and over.
âI wonât forgive you, I absolutely wonât forgive you. If it came to this, Iâll take you with me. Itâs stupid to think you alone could survive, I absolutely wonât forgive you!â
While shouting words of resentment, Gill raised both hands and in the blink of an eye activated a magic formation.
Pitch-black magic formation. I was so surprised by the pattern of two snakes that emerged that I stood stock still.
âCurse of Sahaja!â
I was shocked since I understood what Gill attempted to do.
He activated hexcraft in exchange for his life.
Seeing my face, Gill smiled with satisfaction.
âThatâs right, in exchange for the userâs life itâs a deadly curse that will certainly eliminate the target. Suffer, Cain! And writhe in pain as the curse strangles you to death!â
In concert with Gillâs shout, the magic formation emitted black light.
And, the light painfully plunged into my heart.
âKh!â
I involuntarily fell on my knees and clutched my chest.
Gill looked at this with narrowed eyes.
âServes your right⌠Iâll be waiting⌠in hellâŚâ
Leaving those words behind, Gill stopped moving.
I understand his heart raptured as a compensation for using the hexcraft.
I confirmed that Gill died and breathed deeply.
I have to accurately grasp the situation. Thinking so, I uncovered my chest.
As I thought, a pitch-black magic formation floated branded over my heart.
It was absorbed inside my body in the twinkling of an eye.
âUgh⌠GuhâŚâ
Despite the anguish I stood up.
I cannot laze around.
Although I destroyed the guild, I canât say I wonât be pursued by the country.
Especially now that I understand the kingâs objective was me.
While pressing down on my heart, I desperately went outside.
If I donât hurry, the sun will rise.
I have to get away as far as possible and pass the national border.
Even if the deadly curse was put on me, I still havenât given up on leaving this country.
I want to kill the king whoâs my enemy. But, itâs hopeless right now.
âWhere⌠can I go?â
Having no destination, I hesitated for a moment.
I donât want to return north. I have nothing there.
That leaves the large country to the east and trade country to the south.
Which way should I go.
While I was thinking about it, I noticed the sky to the east begin faintly brightening.
The morning sun will rise.
Thinking normally itâs the usual thing. However.
At that time howver the brightness to the east felt mysterious.
Compelled by that feeling I spontaneously headed east.
âGuh⌠ha.. aâ
I know itâs pointless, but I went forward while holding back the curse with my magical power as much as possible.
Only the existence of the eastern country that I havenât yet seen kept me going.