2025-04-11 23:31:10The whole place was dark and silent.
But as I stared into the pitch-black corridor, I couldn't help but feel something was staring back at me.
A bead of cold sweat slid down my cheek, and I swallowed hard.
"Are you feeling scared?"
The voice came from the girl beside me, dressed in a black military outfit, her knife gleaming faintly in the dim light.
Her name was Sion, the most agile member of the Flames organization.
"There’s no way I’m feeling scared."
I replied, shaking off the chill crawling up my spine.
We were in the middle of a mission: to capture a rogue scientist conducting illegal experiments in this abandoned building. The information we received was vague, but the risk level was high. Sion didn’t seem bothered at all.
"That’s good."
Sion murmured.
Suddenly, the ceiling above us groaned and then collapsed.
From the shadows above, our target dropped down with a loud crash, landing with two monstrous, wolf-like beasts by his side. The floor trembled slightly beneath their weight.
"Damn it—Sion!"
I instinctively moved in front of her, shielding her from the falling debris. I activated my ability, making them disappear the chunks of rubble before they could crush us.
“I never thought the special forces would track me down…”
The scientist muttered, brushing dust off his white coat, which was stained with blood and grime.
“I’m sorry… But we’re not with the special forces. We’re with the Flames. The Dark Side.” Sion said.
“Dark Side…” he repeated. “So, you're the ones operating in the underground, those infamous killers-for-hire.”
“Hey! Sion! We're not supposed to say the name of our organization out loud—it’s a secret, remember?!”
“Oh…” she blinked, then covered her mouth. “My bad… won’t happen again.”
“You always say that! And you always mess it up!” I groaned. Honestly, this wasn’t the first time.
Still, I couldn’t stay mad at her.
We’d been on missions together more times than I could count. She was reckless but reliable.
Mysterious but not malicious. She didn’t open up to anyone—not even to me, and we were partners.
"My bad…" she said again with a sigh, and then her eyes turned deadly serious. "But no worries… I’ll make sure this man won’t see the light of day."
Without warning, she sprint forward with incredible speed, a blur of black slicing through the air.
“Sion, wait—!”
I tried to stop her, but she was already gone.
With precise and brutal strikes, she cut down both of the monstrous wolves in seconds.
They didn’t even have time to howl.
"You destroyed my creations!" the scientist screamed. "You filthy, low-life—!"
He didn’t get to finish.
Sion’s kick landed directly under his jaw, knocking him flat. She followed up by stabbing both his legs in one smooth, practiced motion.
The scientist scream in pain, his cries echoing throughout the building.
Sion showed no mercy.
Her face remained cold as ice as she stepped on his back, pinning him to the ground.
He whimpered, trying to crawl away, but she pressed her weight down harder.
“This isn’t over… This is not over…” he gasped.
“Stay still, or it’ll hurt worse…”
Sion warned, raising her dagger high. Her intent was clear. She planned to kill him.
I remembered the mission briefing: Capture the target dead or alive.
But still… something in me rebelled against this.
“Sion—stop!” I shouted, rushing toward her. “He’s already unconscious! There’s no need to finish him off!”
She looked at me, confused.
"But handing over a corpse is much easier than dragging a living, screaming lunatic to the client. He’s probably going to be killed by them anyway, right? So why not end it here?"
"It’s just… it feels wrong."
She paused. Her dagger hovered in the air, trembling slightly. Then she looked down at the bloodied, unconscious man beneath her.
“It feels wrong…” she repeated quietly.
After a moment, she lowered the blade. “I get it. Hurting someone who can’t fight back feels cowardly. We’ll deliver him alive.”
Relieved, I nodded as she stepped away and pulled out her smartphone.
Sion called Fina back at the hideout to report the mission’s completion.
That was close.
As a Dark Side agent, I wasn’t naive. I knew what this job meant—killing was part of it. Mei and Amber had made that clear since day one. But that didn’t mean I had to like it. And I would resist it for as long as I could.
…
The Next Day
We returned to the hideout. The scientist had been delivered safely—well, as safe as it got in our line of work.
Amber sat on the couch, arms crossed, clearly irritated.
"How long has it been since I started training you, Noah?"
"Two weeks…" I replied carefully.
"Then why the hell aren't you improving?!" Amber slammed her fist on the table, making the teacups tremble. "You're not showing any results!"
“Don’t be mad at him…” Sion spoke up, yawning. “It’s probably my fault. I finish the missions fast, so he doesn’t get much action time.”
“I see… Well, why the rush?”
Sion rubbed the back of her neck. “There was a big update in my game. I wanted to go home early.”
I blinked.
Sion’s… a gamer? That was not what I expected. I always pictured her as some cool, stoic ninja girl raised in a secret forest village or something.
Amber exhaled heavily, clearly fed up. Just then, Fina entered the room with her usual soft smile.
“Don’t worry, Amber. We just received a new mission.”
Emma, who was lounging on the floor, cracked open a can of soda. “Another mission? Guess our bank account’s gonna be fat again.”
“This one’s more investigative type of mission…” Fina said. “And I’ll be going with Noah.”
“You? You sure about that?”
Amber raised an eyebrow.
Fina nodded.
She wasn’t a frontline fighter, but her ability, Tracker, allowed her to analyze DNA traces like footprints, fingerprints, and even spiritual energy if she had a belonging of the target.
“I know I’m not strong, which is why Noah will be my bodyguard. Plus, this will be a great test for Noah’s progress.”
Amber leaned back and folded her arms.
“Makes sense… But if this pervert tries anything, don’t hesitate to chop off his head.”
“There’s no way I’d do that!” I shouted back.
Fina giggled.
“You two get along well. I’ll be in your care, Noah.”
She bowed lightly, and I smiled back.
Something about her calm energy always made things easier.
Amber handed us the mission file.
“You’ll be investigating a string of student coma cases. The special forces are also on the scene, so be careful. The client is particularly interested in finding the culprit behind the incidents. Capture them, dead or alive.”
“Something feels off about this one…”
Fina muttered.
Amber gave her a sharp look.
“You have a lead?”
“Not yet. But something doesn’t add up. I’ll do my job—data gathering. Noah, stay close and protect me, okay?”
“Of course. You can count on me,” I replied.
This was new. No guns blazing. No monster hunting. Just… unraveling a mystery.
I felt a strange excitement bubbling up inside me.
“What’s with that glimmer in your eyes?” Amber teased. “You’re being creepy again.”
“Can’t you tell I’m happy?!”
For once, it felt like I was stepping into something different. Something deeper.
Maybe, just maybe, this mission would make me the results of my training.
Previous Chapter
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The alarm clock rings, waking me up.The morning air was still chilly, but the sunlight streaming through my window made my body feel warmer than it should. My muscles ached from yesterday’s work and school, and every fiber of my being longed to stay in bed just a little longer.With a groggy sigh, I pushed myself up and stumbled toward the window, pulling the curtain shut. The room dimmed instantly, the invading light replaced by soothing darkness. Satisfied, I collapsed back onto my bed, burying myself under the sheets.I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to stay home and sleep. Just for today, I wanted a day off.Almost a month had passed since I met Amber and the other girls, and my life had changed in ways I hadn’t expected. Rest had become a luxury. I wasn’t even an official part of their team yet, which meant I wasn’t going on missions with them. Instead, I was stuck doing menial work—cleaning, running errands, and whatever odd jobs they assigned to me.It annoyed me.And yet, de
