A Hitman's Guide To Becoming A Hero

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed as every hair on his body stood on end, his instincts screaming danger. He reacted almost immediately, materialising a long blade in his hands just as Zero’s weapon came crashing toward him.

The two blades collided with a violent clang, but Nicholas’ weapon shattered almost instantly under the pressure of Zero’s blade, the materialised steel barely surviving for a second before breaking apart.

Nicholas immediately leaped backward, putting several metres between himself and Zero as his gaze remained fixed on the strange blade in the man’s hands.

’He’s fast.’ Nicholas felt something strange about Zero’s movements. It didn’t even seem as though the man had actually moved; one moment he had been several metres away, and the next he was already standing within striking distance. It was almost as though Zero didn’t cross the distance between them at all, but simply appeared wherever he needed to be.

’Is that also an ability of the sword?’ Nicholas wondered, a strange feeling slowly building inside him. The only other person he’d encountered using a plagued instrument was Melody during the Denvi Town incident, but she had been nothing extraordinary. Whatever Zero was doing felt completely different from anything he’d experienced before, and that difference immediately put him on guard.

Nicholas’ gaze narrowed as he stared at Zero. The man casually swept his hair backward, his sharp eyes never leaving Nicholas as a cold smile slowly appeared on his face. "Tsk. I didn’t dig deep enough," Zero muttered.

Nicholas’ eyes followed the length of Zero’s blade and caught a faint line of red running along its edge. Before he could understand what he was seeing, a cold sensation spread across his neck, followed by a thin trail of blood.

Nicholas’ eyes widened. ’I was sure I dodged that strike. How is this possible?’ His thoughts spiralled as he raised a hand and wiped the thin line of blood from his neck.

"Most people have no idea how the plague came about," Zero said, slowly running the blade beneath his nose as though savouring the scent of Nicholas’ blood. "You people use powers you don’t understand. Powers that were never meant to belong to you."

"Your desires are strong," Zero said, sweeping the blade away. "Now I understand how you climbed the ranks so quickly. Two unique abilities... that’s something I haven’t encountered before." His smile faded slightly as his eyes narrowed. "But my desires are stronger."

Nicholas didn’t wait for Zero to attack again. He immediately activated his Spatial Distortion, twisting the space around him as the distance between himself and Zero stretched and compressed simultaneously. Several distorted blades of spatial energy formed around him before shooting forward from different directions, tearing through the rain as they converged on Zero from every possible angle.

Zero moved with inhuman agility, twisting his body sideways as two spatial blades passed on either side of him. For a brief moment, his body was almost parallel to the ground as he slipped between the attacks, but he recovered instantly, twisting through the air before swinging his blade toward the remaining spatial slashes.

Sparks erupted as the weapon tore through the spatial attacks, each impact producing a sharp bang that sent a violent gust of wind through the rain, but Zero didn’t even wait for the disturbance to settle before disappearing from Nicholas’ sight.

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed. Zero’s blade shot straight forward from below, like a dart. Nicholas tilted his head backwards, catching the glint of the blade as it swiped over his neck and past his head.

He could see the blade hanging above his head. But Nicholas didn’t wait; he quickly disappeared, sensing danger.

As he reappeared several metres away, Nicholas was immediately glad he’d trusted his instincts. A powerful wave exploded from Zero’s blade, cutting a straight arc through the road before tearing through Julie’s van and splitting it cleanly in two.

"Hey! I just got that van!" Julie yelled, scrambling away from the destroyed vehicle like a startled cat.

She turned toward Nicholas, who had reappeared several metres away. A thin line of blood ran down the side of his face, while his shattered X-glasses hung in broken pieces around his eyes.

’Dana just gave me these,’ Nicholas gritted his teeth as he saw the two pieces fall apart.

Julie, for the first time, was seeing Nicholas bleed in an actual fight, and she wasn’t even sure of his chances of victory.

"Don’t die yet, Phantom! I’ve not started recording!" She yelled, her voice mixed with worry.

"Okay! We’re up," Julie said as she launched the stream, giving it the title, "Front Row Seat to Phantom’s Death."

[Eventfullmars: Talk about betrayal, and I’ll bring Peach Fairy to the front row seat.]

[Airman1991: Wait! Isn’t that Zero!]

[StandleyE: It’s Zero! Finally, someone to stop Phantom’s madness.]

[DreyEA: Phantom is cooked.]

Nicholas didn’t even know how to react to what she said; she sounded genuinely worried, but what she said fell in stark contrast to that worry.

Nicholas didn’t let his mind linger on her words for long. He turned back toward Zero, his expression becoming serious as he considered everything he’d seen so far. ’He’s strong, and I still don’t understand his ability. And this is the worst possible time to have to deal with someone like him,’ Nicholas thought, his gaze shifted toward the system interface hovering faintly in his vision.

[Charm points: 7252]

Nicholas didn’t give Zero any time to regain the advantage as he sent several spatial bullets flying toward him.

Each attack disappeared the instant Zero’s weapon passed through it, as though the blade was cutting through the attacks themselves and erasing them from existence. Only a faint ripple remained in the surrounding space where each projectile had been.

Zero smiled.

"Interesting."

Nicholas’ body vanished before Zero could react, reappearing directly behind him with his fist already carrying the full weight of his enhanced physical strength.

He drove it toward the back of Zero’s head, but Zero’s sword moved almost instinctively, the blade intercepting Nicholas’ fist before it could land.

BOOM!

A violent shockwave exploded through the surrounding rain, sending droplets flying in every direction, yet Zero’s feet remained firmly planted against the road as though the attack had barely affected him.

The impact sent a violent shockwave through the surrounding rain, scattering droplets in every direction, but Zero’s feet remained firmly planted.

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed.

’Again.’

He twisted his body and immediately followed with a knee toward Zero’s ribs, an elbow aimed at his jaw, and finally a sweeping kick toward his legs, chaining each attack together without giving Zero a chance to recover.

Zero’s blade moved again, intercepting each attack with frightening precision. He shifted his grip and caught the knee with the flat of his weapon before turning his body just enough to avoid the elbow and sweeping his blade low to force Nicholas back.

Nicholas pulled away, creating several metres of distance between them.

Zero stood exactly where he’d been, his sword hanging loosely beside him.

His expression hadn’t changed.

"You’re quick, your instincts are sharp," Zero remarked.

Nicholas didn’t respond.

Instead, his eyes narrowed as he activated his Third Eye.

The world changed.

The rain froze into countless suspended droplets around him, every movement suddenly becoming clear as the strange energy surrounding Zero’s sword came into focus.

Nicholas’ pupils contracted, and he felt dread from what he saw behind Zero.

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