Daisuke’s gaze narrowed to dangerous slits as the woman who had introduced herself as Petu came to a halt in front of a bnd-looking antique shop.

  “This way,” she said meekly, pushing open the weathered door.

  Daisuke cast a wary g the imposing stru site door before following his suspicious guide into the unimpressive store. Inside, a man garbed in oriental attire was reed zily on his side, his head cradled in his hand. He wore a lethargic expression, and the poorly arraems surrounding him somehow exuded the same type of aura.

  “What I getcha?” he said by means of greeting.

  “…A world of wonders,” Petu replied cryptically, her words sounding almost scripted.

  Evidently satisfied with the respohe man’s attention shifted to Daisuke, almost meically. “And you? What I get you?”

  “…He’s with me,” said Petu, her attempt at sounding stern falling ft.

  “And his name?”

  “…Haxks,” Petu stated firmly.

  “Never heard of it,” the man scoffed, then turned his icy gaze toward Daisuke. “If you’re not buying, then do yourself a favor and scram.”

  A muscle twitched in Daisuke’s jaw, butterscotch eyes igniting.

  “Is that so?” Petu remarked, her grip firm as she steered him towards the exit. “Then you rey to Mr. Casimir that the messenger bearing time-sensitive information from the capital was denied entry.”

  At those words, the man’s stoic visage visibly thawed. Though he remained skeptical about the truthfulness of the girl’s cim, he had no iion of gambling with his life.

  “Wait!” he called out urgently as he stood to his feet, his body nguage expressing uainty. “I’ll let you in. Please, follow me.”

  Daisuke arailed behind the man as he led them through a back door into the dimly lit ste room of the store. With practiced ease, he pced his hand on a se of the wall, summoning a magic circle that shimmered beh his touch.

  A low rumble reverberated through the room, followed by a trapdiving way to reveal a dark staircase leading downward.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” the man apologized, even as a malicious glint flickered in his eyes. Should their story prove false, he was certain that they would iably be captured, imprisoned, or killed in due course. “Please,” he gestured courteously, “make your way inside, but tread carefully.”

  Petu and Daisuke paid little heed to the man’s sudden ge in attitude. With Petu fidently leading the way, they desded the winding staircase while Daisuke activated the Eye of Verity, ever vigint as they ventured deeper.

  A dark smile spread across the store owner’s face as he watched them vanish into the depths below.

  As the trapdrio a close behind them, cutting off the feeble light from above, Daisuke’s senses heightened, alert for any potential threats. The atmosphere felt remi of a dungeon, with mana crystal mps sparsely illuminating the stone-carved stairway in pce of torches, casting shifting shadows that danced along the walls as they desded further into the unknown.

  “…A world of wonders,” Daisuke projected his voice so that Petu could hear. “Was that some kind of secret code or something?”

  “T-That’s right,” she firmed, her heart beating a frantic tattoo as they he bottom of the stairway. “Each person is assigned a unique password to gairy into the—”

  Her words were abruptly silenced as Daisuke’s firm grip on her shoulder whirled her around to face him. A sense ency flickered in his eyes, causing a tremor of arm to course through her as she registered his cautious demeanor, his index finger pressed against his lips in a wordless and for silence.

  Petu nodded, her lips pursed in uanding. Mimig Daisuke’s stealthy movements, she followed his lead down the remaining steps, tiptoeing quietly until they reached the bottom. Taking cover behind a nearby wall, she held her breath as Daisuke sed the cavern ahead, his eyes narrowing as he detected the mana signatures of several individuals.

  “There’s no point in hiding,” called out one of the men, a hint of amusement g his words. “Your stealth is impressive, I must admit. If it weren’t for that woman, I might not have detected your prese all. But unfortunately for you, she pletely blew your cover.”

  Petu’s heart sank like a stone, her breath catg ihroat as she turo Daisuke. The telltale signs of fear etched across his face mirrored the panic gripping her own body.

  Or so she thought.

  Daisuke slowly rose to his feet, his eyes sm with a silent fury ignited by the sound of a familiar voice. Without a moment’s hesitation, he abaheir hiding spot and strode purposefully into the chamber, driven by a burnio firm his suspis.

  Standing at the helm of at least a dozen men ominously bck attire was an individual Daisuke couldn’t quite fet—a man whose memory haunted him like a specter. As he locked eyes with the sinister figure, a flood of memories rushed back, eae carrying its ow.

  He remembered the man’s swift movements, his ability to catch the falling mana crystal before it had shattered on the ground. He remembered the cruel smirk on his face as he aided his rades to beat him within an inch of his life. And most vividly, he remembered the satisfa in the man’s eyes when Zephyr was killed.

  “Wait,” the man remarked, cupping his as he sifted through his own memories. “Aren’t you… that kid we taught a lesson a while back? Hah. So you’re still alive,” he uttered with indifference. “If you had half a brain, you would’ve skipped town, but instead you—”

  Daisuke tilted his head back, an ued ugh bubbling up from his throat that caught everyone off guard. “To think I’d run into one of you this soon,” he mused darkly while palming his face, a malicious grin stretg his lips. “It must be my lucky day.”

  The man frowned, a muscle w in his jaw as a cold and malevolent energy rolled off the intruder’s body. It was almost uling. “…You’ve ged.”

  “Gee… I wonder why.”

  Unamused, the man clicked his tongue in annoyand raised his hand in a andiure. In response, his loyal pdogs took a fident step forward, their defeance clear as they brandished an array of ons.

  “You’ve obviously lost your mind,” the man accused bitterly. “If I khis is how you were going to turn out, I would’ve done you a favor and finished you off back then. This time, I won’t make the same mistake.”

  Still palming his face, Daisuke regarded the bastard over the bridge of his he brilliant gleam from his golden eyes peeking through his fingers like ser beams. “Lost my mind?” he chuckled, the tones of his voice fluctuating as he arched his back forward, his arms falling limp at his sides. “Do you holy believe that’s what this is?”

  The man narrowed his eyes, a gleam of defiance flickering within them. “Then what else could it be? Please, enlighten me.”

  Daisuke ominously lifted his head with deliberate slowness, his eyes wide with a glint of madness, his grin veering into the realm of the unhinged. “This is the exhiration of someone who’s finally about to exact his vengeance… by sending his eo the deepest depths of hell.”

  PAJIK!

  A vein throbbed visibly on the man’s forehead, his features t into a grotesque mask e. What stung him most was the brief flicker of fear he felt from the lunatic’s ridiculous threat.

  Fully aware of what would unfold , Petu darted from her hiding pd positioned herself protectively in front of Daisuke. Ever sihat fateful day, she had been ceaselessly pgued and tormented by the guilt of what she had doo him.

  Sure, perhaps the weight of his loss had really driven him to madness, but it didn’t justify the wretched fate that awaited him. He was still a living and breathing human being; he didn’t deserve a dog’s death.

  Petu pursed her lips. While she cherished her husband deeply, she couldn’t bear the thought of itting arocity. The thought of her crimes weighed heavily on her sce, threatening to sever the bond of their love.

  “You o escape right now,” she urged in a hushed tone, her eyes locked with the sneering assassins. “When you reach the top of the stairs, kno the door three times. Once you’re outside, flee the town immediately and never look back.”

  “You won’t escape,” the man decred. “Dispose of them both,” he ordered ftly before calmly taking his leave.

  Without a word, Daisuke callously shoved Petu aside. A sharp cry tore from her lips as her back met the unfiving wall, leaving her crumpled on the ground. Dread gripped her as the assassins surged forth, poised for their assault.

  Leaning forward, Daisuke’s body tensed, his eyes veiled by the shadow of his bangs. Anger ed through his veins, stirring memories of the past—the ominous ch of the vial breakih his feet, his mother’s final words; the sting of betrayal by Brek and the others, the harrowing ordeal of svery; the bitter loss of his mana crystals to Reeza, and the heart-wreng death of Zephyr.

  Suddenly, his head snapped upward, golden eyes burning with madness and murderous i.

  DING!

  [The active skill ?Dash? has been acquired.]

  [Dash]

  [Rank: Rare

  Cssification: Active Skill

  Lvl: 1

  Proficy: 0%

  Unleashes a surge of mana to bolster speed and agility.

  Skill Effect:

  ?? Increases Movement Speed by 30%.

  Mana Cost: 10 ? Minute

  Skill Cooldown: None]

  SFFT-SFFT-SFFT!

  A flurry of shuriken reached Daisuke before the assassins could close the distahat separated them. Reag on pure instinct, he activated the newly acquired skill and propelled himself forward like a speeding arrow, skillfully weaving through the onsught of projectiles with deadly purpose.

  SHING!

  He sidestepped the downward ssh of the first bastard, wreng the short sword from his grasp before plunging it into his chest. Swiftly retrieving the bloody bde, Daisuke cshed with several others, cleaving through them like tofu. His attacks were unceasing and merciless, his expression an uncivilized mask of pure veracity.

  An expertly timed tornado kick sent another bastard hurling into the side of the wall, breaking several bones upon impact. Daisuke could clearly feel it—his stat allocation was fluctuatiween Strength and Speed of its own volition, seamlessly optimizing each of his attacks.

  But the liquid fire c through his vei no room for ption; all that mattered was the relentless dance of age aru.

  STAB-STAB-STAB!

  The short sword plunged several times into an assassin’s abdomen in a brutal fashion, then Daisuke used the corpse as a meat shield to protect himself against a hail of kunai.

  Chug the bastard to the side without a shred of remorse, he hurled himself at the remaining assaints. Petu watched in horror—just weeks ago, she had seen him helplessly at the mercy of the four hooligans. Now, he had transformed into a formidable force to be reed with.

  The csh of steel cast an eerie glow around Daisuke’s rigid expression. As Petu observed him effortlessly mowing through the men bck, the sword cleaving through them like a hot khrough butter, she couldn’t help but reize the true gravity of the threat he had posed to her earlier.

  THUD!

  Whe of the assassins fell lifelessly to the ground, a shiver ran dowu’s spine. She held her breath as Daisuke sloroached, a part of her brag for her own demise.

  But it never came.

  “…A-Are you alright?” she asked meekly.

  “You said you knew of a way to bypass the traps?” Daisuke asked, his head hung low, his eyes indecipherable.

  “Y-Yes, that’s right.”