Cannon Fodder To Villainess

🏮33. Bane Clan

Zen stared at the spot where 'Lady Jinks' had been just a moment ago. She had suddenly disappeared and there was no way for him to find her. He should know, since he'd been trying to follow her all week. Ever since she'd gotten that cloud, she's been impossible to keep track of.

Zen sighed to himself while crouching in the tree. This tree was overlooking the field where 'Lady Jinks' was picking herbs just a moment before. However, he was also aware that some of those herbs were actually poisonous. He was by no means an expert of botany. He was familiar with some different poisons because of the typical nature of his job and his unique family.

Zen was usually an assassin for the Emperor and one that had been bred as such. His Dad had been a side family's assassin who had been put on level one missions and his father had been the same. Level one missions were the weakest missions that their Bane Clan would accept. He was expected to be similar to his father and grandfather. However, when that year's competition had come around, he had beaten out everyone and taken the position that the clan head's son was expected to have. After the next Emperor sat on the throne, Zen would be the next clan head.

The clan head's son was quite bitter about this turn of events, but there was nothing he could do except try to have a worthy son who can beat out Zen's future son. Killing clan members if forbidden and will turn you into a clan target.

There were no women allowed in the Bane Clan, with only one exception. Children didn't really have much in parental care to speak of, since their mom's were gone and their dad's were on missions. They were raised and trained by the retired assassins who were in charge of training. Zen didn't have a son yet, he knew that it was his duty. He somewhat envied the families of others.

The tradition of their clan was to find a suitably strong woman with good genes and seduce her for a one night stand. Then once she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, they would come in the middle of the night and take the baby to raise alone. If a girl was born, it was reported to the clan and the child was quickly disposed of. Any child that was unable to enter the clan was disposed of in case they inherited the unique and powerful characteristics of the clan and it was leaked to the outside.

They always raised their children without mothers because they believed that a mother's love would make them weak. It was fairly common for the women who were pregnant with their child to die during childbirth. More often than not, they would pick up their child from a hospital right after their mom had passed away.

Children that were born to the Bane Clan were poisonous. Their bodies absorbed poison and converted it into their own mana. For that reason, clan members would often secretly poison women who were carrying their child. Zen had no idea who his mother even was because his dad would never say. Because of the delicate nature of their job, they were required to do all things that they were ordered to do without question. The only exceptions were that they weren't required to assist in suicides even if they were ordered to and they weren't required to kill their clan members unless they betrayed the clan.

Watching other families while he was working made him sometimes wish that he could have been born into a different family.

Zen dissolved into a light orange poisonous mist and floated around, looking for 'Lady Jinks'. He couldn't keep his mist form for more than an hour at a time. So after an hour, he landed in a tree and traveled from tree to tree until he landed at the cave entrance he was staying at.

He stepped away from the tree and into the air. The air under his foot shimmered in the shape of an invisible floating disk. When he took another step, there was another see through disk under his foot. In this way, he continued to walk in the air just as easily as if he were walking down a flight of stairs. He had barrier magic which was extremely rare, but one of the expected traits of the Bane Clan.

After taking his last sky step, he stepped onto the ground in front of the entrance to the cave. When he crossed the threshold of the cave, the opening shimmered and jiggled. While his body was passing through, it felt like he was going through a bubble. There was the smallest of resistance and it felt ticklish. To anyone else, it would feel like a solid wall was present, although they wouldn't be able to see anything unless he made the barrier visible. Only those that he allowed to pass his barrier would be able to, unless they were stronger than him.

He walked further into the cave where he had a second barrier which he had disguised to look like a rock wall. Inside, the cave floor was covered in thick black fur rugs made from a fierce monster he had slain and the walls were draped in thick fabric. There was a floating orb for light and a comfortable hammock bed up high towards the ceiling. He also had a storage of food in a block made of ice and a bonfire in the other corner away from the furs. He pulled out some fish that he had caught earlier in the day and made himself a meal.

He sighed while eating his dinner and thinking about his current mission. It was frustrating to have to chase after some girl that he wasn't even allowed to kill. However, it couldn't be considered a complete loss of time. After all, he kept on losing track of her. That in itself was extremely unusual. Part of him felt intrigued that he finally had a bit of a challenge. Although there was another part of him that felt humiliated that he kept on losing track of a young girl. She wouldn't be able to avoid him for long though. While he was observing her, he noticed some patterns in her behavior. A glint of excitement shone in his eyes while thinking of his next moves.