Project Superior: A Hero's Awakening

Shadows of Duty

A few weeks later, Master Sakai received a lucrative assassination request. The client? A group of politicians desperate to eliminate a rival—an influential, wealthy man whose power threatened their own. In exchange, our master was promised an unimaginable sum of gold and wealth.

And so, as his loyal hounds, we were dispatched to execute the task.

The mansion was a fortress, sprawling and heavily guarded. But our team was honed for this—silent shadows slipping through the cracks of the world. We infiltrated unnoticed, dispatching guards with precision. They didn't have time to scream, let alone comprehend what had struck them.

As we approached the target's chambers, I allowed ethereal energy to flow through my body, heightening my senses, quickening my movements, and silencing my every step. The lessons drilled into me on Mount Koya came alive as I became the perfect predator.

Two of my comrades leaped ahead, eliminating the final guards stationed outside the politician's bedroom. We moved as one, a seamless force, until the moment the door cracked open—not by our hands, but by a sleepy child's.

The boy blinked at us, his small face caught between confusion and fear. Before he could scream, Number Twenty-One clamped a hand over his mouth. But the damage was done. From within the room, the sounds of stirring grew louder. A woman's panicked voice pierced the silence:

"My baby!"

The politician's wife sat up, her scream waking her husband. He jumped from the bed, his voice sharp and demanding. "Who are you? What are you doing in my home?!"

There was no time for negotiation. My body moved on instinct. My venomous green eyes flared as I dashed forward, cutting down the woman in a single stroke. Her blood sprayed across her husband's face as he fell back, frozen in horror.

Number Twelve moved next, his near-invisible threads wrapping around the man's limbs. With a flick of his fingers, both arms fell away in a grotesque spray of blood.

The man screamed, but Twelve's voice was cold and unrelenting. "Quiet, filth. You'll make this harder than it has to be."

The threads tightened around the target's head as Twelve continued, his tone devoid of empathy. "Our orders were simple. Your head is the proof we need. I'll make it quick."

Despite the man's desperate pleas for his life, Twelve silenced him with a swift decapitation. The body slumped, lifeless, as the head rolled to the floor.

The child in Twenty-One's grasp let out a muffled, heart-wrenching scream. His tears stained his cheeks as he trembled in terror, witnessing the brutal slaughter of his family.

For the first time in years, my hands trembled. A feeling unfamiliar and unwelcome rose within me—doubt. My colleague, Eighteen, noticed and whispered, "Big Sis, are you okay?"

I forced a smile. "I'm fine," I lied.

But as I glanced at the boy, red-eyed and shaking, something in me snapped. My heart felt heavy, my breaths uneven.

"We should leave the child," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The room froze.

Number Thirty-One spun to me, his voice sharp with disbelief. "What did you say, Sixteen?! Do you have any idea what Master Sakai will do if he finds out we left a witness alive?"

The others murmured in agreement, their eyes wide with incredulity. But I stood my ground, my voice steadier now.

"We're burning the mansion to the ground to cover our tracks," I said. "The fire will take care of the evidence. There's no need to kill him."