First class mission

I admit that killing is wrong.

However, it’s essential to get rid of all the scum that stain our beautiful world.

Think of it as spring cleaning your attic!

       One second. Just a little second of inattention. That's all it takes for your whole universe to be torn apart, right there in front of your eyes. The helplessness and guilt you may feel at that moment… Definitely not the kind of truth you can get over. At least, not the one I’m going through right now. Truth is not only annoying, it tears you from the inside. It has no restraint and imposes itself in the worst possible way. Who would want such an awful truth?

Sweep me away as much as you want, not her! She doesn’t deserve it! Why do you have to be so cruel, Fate ? Didn’t we succeed our mission? So why?! Please, answer me: why losing something makes you understand its value?

How did this happened? There must have been a mistake at some point… It can’t be real, I couldn't have screwed it up this badly! My knees bend to the ground. My heart is petrified. It refuses to beat again, it refuses to let time go by again. My eyes are wide open but I can’t see anything. My mind seems miles away from present moment by now. It traces the past with such lucidity that I feel like I'm going through those events for the first time. Convinced that’s the only thing to do, I ding through memories looking for what had thrown fate out of whack.
Let's start again from the breaking point, if you don't mind.
That night of Cantakion would undoubtedly go down in history. No, wait, I take it back. Fuck the rest of the world and its history. This is about my story. The story of the worst mistake I made. A terrible loss that cannot be made up for. And that’s precisely Thursday 13 Cantakion of the year 671 Postea-Empire that everything went wrong, between Fate and I.

That day seems so long ago… So futile…

Since I was five, Fate has entrusted me with a mission of the utmost importance: to restore the natural order of things. He did well to choose me because I don't do the job by halves. And as proof, I intended to start my clean-up operation at the top of a gigantic pyramid of corruption.

Thursday morning 2:34 am – Royal Palace of Asyria.

I had never seen Justine that much stressed out before an operation. In my opinion, the leader took the stakes of this mission too much to heart. But for once, I understood her reaction. We were about to do millions of people a great favor while risking out asses to the worst possible sentence. That was no small thing.

“You’d better concentrate on what you’ll won with this mission, Justine. Thinking about failure, that’s failing.” I quote. “Well, on second thought, there is no way you can fail, because I am here.”

“There’ll be no mission at all until you lemme concentrate! Keep your intimidation act for the guards, wouldya ?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to let me into this upper-class shithole for ages! It's not too much to ask for a bit of distraction! What's more, I'm not even going to run into any guards..." I grumbled.

I swung my legs back and forth over the void in frustration. Sitting on the edge of the roof for several minutes, I was waiting for Justine to pick the lock on the skylight, so I could begin my infiltration. From this height, the night was quite brisky. Not an ounce of wind stirred the rows of tall cedars facing me like soldiers standing at attention. There was a quietness in the air that boded ill for the future. I enjoyed more than anything this subtle silence that preceded storms. Tonight, we were the storm, and this sweet lull was praising us. From the flat slope of the roof, I could see the most prestigious Noblessian garden that had ever been. The view gave me the very impression that the world was mine. That an entire army of supporters was facing me. That I was going to lead war to sweeping victory. I have to admit, it was splendid. Awesome. Perfect. The green battlefield extended along a wide gravel path and was gradually plunged into total darkness.

Blackness... Everything always ends up in this abyssal blackness...

The few lights we could see in distance were the small glow of the magic lightstones that accompanied the watchmen on their patrols. Tiny fireflies. I squished one with my fingertips. Without needing to turn around, I knew Justine had stopped what she was doing to stare at me.

“Good grief! How can you be so chill right now?! You're makin’ me feel like I'm the one who's off his rocker!”

“And that's the case. Why stress about it? Because there's a lot at stake? A bit of common sense: we don't give a shit, just like what madam the Queen buy during her shopping time! We're way above all these political shenanigans. We're just about to stir up the biggest mess of our lives, isn't that super exciting?

After all, the monarchy had sunk so low in depravity that nothing could make their situation worse. Yes, maybe we were about to change history, but it was still just another mission.

“Absolutely not. I don't find it amusing to know that my head could end up on a spike. You should use your free time to think about this mission and realize how real the consequences will be!”

“If you insist… I'll think about it: hmm… But what could make Justine so nervous?”

My provocation made the leader chuckle. She didn't even bother to answer me, fully dedicating herself to the triple lock on the window that was giving her a hard time. There were three reasons explaining Justine's nervousness:

First, the client was an influential group who had consulted us with two million on the table. I'm not talking about petty cash, but real solid gold. We had to send a very explicit message to the whole world. As for the rest, we had carte blanche.

Second, the target to make disappear was none other than the heir prince of the kingdom. This attack was actually a coup d'état. Knowing that the country was already facing multiple political tensions, eliminating the sole successor the year of his coronation was like throwing oil on the fire. I found their choice quite curious, but the reasons motivating our clients were none of my business. All that mattered was to enjoy the task.

Who can claim to do good work if they don't enjoy it?

For once, the challenge was attractive. The prince practiced combat sports, increasing the chances that he would resist an enemy. It was necessary to attack him while he slept, although facing him in combat wouldn't have displeased me… Even if I couldn't provoke the prince to a duel, a whole host of other complications guaranteed me a lively night. Between the guards and various magical protection spells, the royal path would be fraught with obstacles. The very idea of achieving the impossible was so exhilarating that I felt like I was growing wings. The terrain was impassable in such conditions, and yet, we were going to infiltrate the palace without leaving a single trace. It seemed like a miracle, but in our profession, there was no room for chance.

Third, we had to maintain a reputation worthy of the rumors: we were spoken of like an intangible breath, a bad omen. This reputation stemmed from our discretion and efficiency. Like everyone else, we needed money. And for mercenaries, reputation was everything, as it attracted wealthy clients. It turns out that the wealthier the client, the more complicated the request.

We were only two managing the elimination service agency: my mentor Justine, and myself, her adopted daughter. We had been working together for ten long years to eradicate corruption. At first glance, two wasn't enough to meet the clients' requests or to build a reputation. But let me tell you, if you associate the best players to form a team, it's possible to achieve much more than anyone would dare to imagine.

The chief took me in when I was five. Very quickly, she started training me. At twelve, I was off on missions by myself. Her work seemed so interesting to me… I devoted myself to it body and soul as if I was born for this sole purpose: to bring regret to people's hearts. And at seventeen, I will be recognize as the best mercenary for having assassinated Prince Gasencourt. That's how we became a legend in the Kingdom of Asyria. It's said that ‘the Killer Wind blew’ in the wake of our passage. I eventually grew to appreciate the subtlety of this charming nickname coined by journalists.

“And there you go! Your turn, you little impertinent, let's see if you won't take ages to do your part!”

“Pfff…”

I turned my gaze away from the starry sky overlooking the garden with a hint of disappointment. I wouldn't give up this view for anything in the world, let alone the unwelcoming dead-end corridor awaiting me. Hidden under her assassin's uniform, Justine helped me hoist myself through the elevated opening. I discreetly landed on a thick, bright red carpet passageway. It was the only access, among all the wings, within our reach.

I got up and confidently stepped forward. The wide corridor showed no signs of life. There were only eerie statues, empty chairs, and a few shelves adorned with lamps. The latter were unlikely to light up because my accomplice had taken care to sabotage the building's electrical network upon arrival. So, the alarm problem was solved, but their magical protection system still remained, which didn't rely on electricity…

According to our research, the palace relied on anti-magic seals to ensure its security, preventing the practice of magic within its walls. Other mercenaries might have been bothered by this peculiarity, but not us. Electronic technology: that was our specialty. Now that I think about it, that's probably the reason why our clients chose the Killer Wind… Only lunatics would accept such a request after all!

When I turned around, pushed by a bad feeling, I found Justine staring at me with a dark look. She was trying to pressure me to stop daydreaming while I was exposed in the middle of the passage. Didn't I have the right to observe these curious statues for a few more seconds? An insult slipped from me as I stepped onto the path, disappearing into the darkness.

I refrained from pointing out to her, ‘No need to rush!’ as I clenched my fists.

More disrespectful than ever, I rolled my eyes and stubbornly turned my back on my superior. Barely had I passed the only door in this corridor when I heard the telltale sign of a presence that put me on alert.

You can't avoid all obstacles so easily…

Two silhouettes, emerging around a corner, marched towards me with measured steps. There was no doubt, these guards were on their rounds. Clad in armor from head to toe and armed with halberds, they whispered in the darkness, particularly distracted. Regardless of their level of protection, I planned to knock them out without hesitation.

I immediately crouched behind the pedestal of a statue, at the intersection of the path leading to the stairs. This corridor displayed so many that I thought I was seeing white figures emerging from all directions. In addition to distracting me, these stupid decorations obstructed my field of vision… I waited to see if the guards would bother to advance to the end of the dead-end. There was no way they would discover my mentor stationed further away.

As soon as they began to dangerously approach, I rolled up the right sleeve of my cape coat and thus revealed a thick leather bracelet. It covered half of my forearm. Sliding my fingers on the metal surface in the center of the accessory, a small crossbow materialized silently, as if it had always been there. I had assembled this gadget to an enchanted bracelet that accompanied me during infiltration missions. However, mastering this jewel of innovation was no game.

My midnight blue uniform blended so well in the darkness that the guards didn't pay attention to me as they passed me by. With serenity, I aimed my weapon at their backs and fired a projectile, targeting the weak point of their armor. The dart lodged in the guard's neck, courtyard side, who continued walking in total indifference.

With a very short window of opportunity, I repeated my feat on his ponytailed mate. The tips of my darts were so fine that they left no sensation as they pierced the skin. After this step, a mixture of tranquilizers potent enough to put dragons to sleep spread through the bloodstream in record time. Even if the target managed to regain consciousness after a few hours, they wouldn't have a clear mind or the strength to get up.

Despite the discretion of this move, the man noticed the tiny object inserted into the neck of his colleague who had just passed him. But before he could grasp what was happening, their bodies collapsed successively onto the long carpet that had the merit of muffling sounds. I approached them, searching each one in turn, without giving them any more thought. I took care to crush their communicators underfoot, to cut off all interference as well as their tracking system. I then packed the metal debris into my satchel along with anything that would indicate an intrusion. The job was done by hiding the inert bodies in the nearest room.

The word ‘cabinet of curiosities’ made no sense to me until I entered the prince's private cabinet. Apparently, he stored all the extravagant gifts he received there, turning the place into a strange display without any coherence.

In better spirits, I wandered freely through this palace as if it belonged to me. I resumed my progress through the adjoining corridors with the certainty of not encountering anyone else. The hallway was striped with nocturnal rays emanating from the repetitive windows. This arrangement gave the illusion of sinking into an endless tunnel, that time stretched as distance diminished. I wasn't in a hurry after all. I had the whole night ahead of me to execute my target and leave as if I had never been there. So, I continued my leisurely journey, not considering one second that the night was going to be longer than expected.

According to the plans I had studied in every detail, I accessed the heir's quarters by crossing an oversized gallery. Their walls were covered with mirrors and trompe-l'oeil. My stroll came to an end when I faced a large double door adorned with gilded accents in each of its recesses. I unpacked my toolkit from my backpack and then picked the thick lock. After a few manipulations, a click was heard. I slowly opened one leaf, inspecting my surroundings one last time before entering unknown territory. We had bet everything on this mission. I owed it to punish the royalty as much as their faults warranted.

Dear Target, nice to meet you!