Time Healer Ceres

Chapter 42: I’m Here to Collect Payment

“Failure?”

“I apologize.”

Kay, the new leader of the assassination guild Mirror, glared at the subordinate standing before him as if he were about to kill him on the spot.

“You failed to take care of a single child?”

“......”

“Hah!”

Kay let out a hollow laugh. This was the first assignment he had taken on since becoming the leader, yet his first commission was already going to be recorded as a failure. How could he not be furious?

How did I get this far?

How much blood had he spilled with his own hands to become the leader of Mirror? There was nothing he wouldn’t do. He had never hesitated to carry out the tasks others refused to touch.

I was the one who broke the eagle’s wings.

Years ago, he was the one who kidnapped and killed the son of House Schweiss.

That little brat.

The child who had thrown every curse at him. Yet after that day, Kay’s life had only continued to rise.

He was a tough one.

Twenty years had passed, but that day was still burned into his memory as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

Those pitch-black eyes that had stared straight at him... The way the child had smiled and told him he would die someday. Even when he lost his life at Kay’s hands, the boy had never screamed or shed a single tear.

Why? Why could he never forget that child?

Even now, that memory occasionally appeared in his dreams and left him feeling suffocated. Whenever he had that dream, his mood remained rotten for the entire day. He had the same dream yesterday.

“Do you think you’ll survive?”

...Damn it.

You were wrong, kid. I’m still living just fine after all these years since you died. I’m the one who became the leader of this guild.

Killing someone from Schweiss’s bloodline had filled his life with fear and unease. But at the same time, it had also given him a strange sense of pride. The pride of having crossed such a powerful family and still walking away unscathed. The thrill of having survived.

Perhaps that was what kept him going in Mirror. In the end, he’d even taken the previous leader’s life and claimed this position for himself.

“If you fail one more time, I’ll cut off your head instead of that child’s.”

“Yes.”

“Leave.”

The subordinate bowed before quickly opening the door and leaving.

Then he stopped.

“......”

Something was wrong with the subordinate’s reaction. His entire body had stiffened, as if he’d seen something horrifying.

“What is it?”

Thinking the useless fool was causing trouble again, Kay approached him with an annoyed expression. But when he reached the doorway, even he couldn’t help but stop.

A familiar scent filled the air.

...The smell of blood.

It was a scent they knew all too well as assassins. But this was the guild’s headquarters, a place where that smell should never have existed. Especially not this strong.

Silence.

The headquarters had always been quiet, but the atmosphere now was different. There wasn’t even the slightest sign of anyone’s presence.

Whooosh.

The wind?

In the windowless space, a breeze suddenly stirred. The scent of blood carried within it grew stronger.

Step, step.

At the end of the hallway, a man slowly approached. The moment Kay saw him walking closer without a sword in hand, his eyes shook.

Those black eyes were exactly like the child’s from twenty years ago... There was no way he could mistake him.

Duke Schweiss. How is he here?

Whoosh!

“......”

Kay’s eyes filled with horror. The subordinate who had been standing in front of him collapsed without even a chance to scream. It was only when he saw the blood spreading across the floor that Kay finally realized what was happening.

Something sharp had severed his subordinate’s neck. And that sharp weapon was the powerful wind surrounding Duke Schweiss.

Swoosh.

Then, as Duke Schweiss continued forward, new figures silently appeared. Their movements were so discreet that even Kay, an assassin himself, was left speechless.

“Are there any survivors?”

“None.”

Duke Schweiss nodded at the brief reply. But Kay couldn’t possibly dismiss that exchange.

What does that mean? Could it be...?

His throat went dry. Was he saying that he was the only one still alive here? That every single one of his subordinates had been killed?

Step.

Kay flinched. Duke Schweiss took another step closer. Kay forced himself to hide his trembling and slowly backed away, putting distance between them.

“W-what is this?”

“......”

“Why are you doing this to our gui—”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Ugh!”

The wind wrapped tightly around his entire body. The pressure was so intense that he could barely breathe. With a slight wave of Duke Schweiss’s hand, Kay’s body was dragged toward him.

“Hk!”

In an instant, Kay was pulled right in front of the Duke. He gasped for air. When he looked into those cold eyes at close range, he felt the blood in his body turn cold.

“Were you wondering why?”

The Duke’s voice was utterly flat. Yet Kay could feel the killing intent hidden beneath those calm words.

“You already know why I’m doing this.”

“W-what...?”

Kay’s eyes shook violently.

No, it couldn’t be. There was no way he had found out now. It had happened so long ago.

“Didn’t that child already tell you?”

That child... Could it really be?

“You won’t be getting a peaceful death.”

“......”

“You’re scared because you know you’ll be torn apart.”

“Everyone close to you will die.”

“Not even your flesh will remain once the winds tear you apart.”

“It would be a blessing if you died instantly, but my father and brother won’t let you off that easily. You’ll die in agony, unable to even scream—”

Those were the words he had heard in his dreams. The words that had haunted him like a curse, never fading from his mind for even a single day.

“How...”

He had killed the child. He had killed everyone connected to that incident with his own hands, even the people who were with him that day.

I didn’t leave a single person behind who could become a threat.

So how? How did this man know about what happened?

“I suppose I should thank you for surviving.”

“Guh!”

In an instant, the wind tightened around his neck, making it impossible to breathe. The pressure that had been crushing his body disappeared, but the pain that followed was far worse. The sharp winds sliced through his skin, cutting away piece by piece.

“P-please... save me...”

“......”

“I-I’ll tell you everything... Aaaagh!”

Even after Kay offered to reveal everything, Duke Schweiss’s expression remained unchanged. It was as if he never intended to listen to him from the start.

“The one behind it all... Guh!”

“......”

At those words, the wind around his throat weakened.

Thud.

Kay collapsed onto the floor. As he struggled for breath, blood pooled around him. His wounds continued to bleed, but he was too desperate to even notice.

This can’t be... I can’t die here. I’ll survive somehow even if I have to reveal everything about the mastermind.

He didn’t care if it meant breaking the first rule of the assassination guild. Wasn’t surviving the most important thing right now?

“The one who ordered that incident back then was... Gk... Aaaagh!”

A scream ripped from Kay’s throat. Duke Schweiss narrowed his eyes slightly. Before Kay could reveal the mastermind, black smoke began seeping from his body, and his flesh dissolved from his feet upward.

“Aaaaaagh!”

Kay’s agonized screams filled the room, but even those cries soon faded. In an instant, his entire body had disappeared without a trace.

That was...

In the place where Kay had stood, a strange magic circle briefly appeared before disappearing.

“Magic?”

It seemed someone had placed a restriction on his body. A magic circle that activated automatically the moment he revealed the person behind everything.

“Tsk.”

Duke Schweiss felt no disappointment over failing to learn the mastermind’s identity. He already discovered who was behind Mirror.

The only thing he regretted was that the person who had caused Ren to die had been dealt with far too easily. He had intended to make him suffer a far more painful fate, leaving him unable to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) live or die.

“We’re leaving.”

“Yes.”

After clicking his tongue once more, Duke Schweiss turned away and left his lingering regret behind. There was still someone left who would have to face his anger.

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