Starry Days & Sunlit Nights: Volume 2 - Haze of Shadows

Chapter 2.5 - Creeping Shadow

On the night of the Halloween party, while the entire student body of Marie Florence High School and its faculty attended the event in the rather spacious function hall—with the exception of a few couples that wanted their own private space—a figure lurked around the dark and empty hallways of the main building and made his way up the stairs.

He stopped in the middle of the top floor corridor and peered out the window. The function hall was not part of the original building, but rather an annex built ten years prior, and the spot he stood was an ideal vantage point to observe. He shrugged the duffel bag off his shoulder. A sword remained strapped to his back—he had managed to smuggle it in earlier with the usual guitar case.

His olive green eyes gleamed with fierce determination. Tonight was the night. He had been counting down to these very hours for the past five years. If he succeeded, he could end it all right here, and then he would no longer have to live a lie.

He dug through his bag. Rummaging past a couple of pistols, a flak jacket, and a black sheet, he grabbed a set of night vision goggles. With them, he watched over the function hall like the ever vigilant sentry that he was. The party seemed to be going on as normal, and those two, Yumi and Jay, had not even arrived yet. There was still plenty of time. Best to suit up while he still had the chance to.

Tonight would be the turning point in his journey, so long as he was successful. If he could kill the infamous Night Witch of Ice, the Yuki-onna, he could spare the one he loved a whole world of grief.

He felt beads of sweat trickle down his neck. He was anxious, an emotion he had not felt in the past five years.

He reached over his shoulder and clutched the handle of his sword—a habit he had developed to mentally prepare himself for killing. It was with this blade that he had manifested into an avatar of death, reaping the lives of many Magi, Witches, men, and women. And yet, in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't deny that for tonight in particular, there was some deep seated reluctance for what he was about to do.

He shook his head and pounded at his temple. "Keep it together," he muttered to himself. Normally, he would keep completely silent, but he had to convince himself to murder this last target, for everyone's sake. It would be just another assassination, nothing more. After this, he would be free.