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“They’re really underestimating us!”
“Do you think the target’s really up there?”
A pair of assassins—the Golden Hammer and the Silver Flash—was climbing Mount Garank from the south. They weren’t yet as renowned as veteran killers, but their reputation was on the rise.
“Well, at the very least, we know that lady assassin is headed here. Also, look up.”
“Huh?”
They both turned their gaze up toward the mountain’s peak and saw a flag with a woman standing next to it, looking down at them. Thanks to their sharp assassin’s eyesight, they immediately recognized her as their target—the imperial princess.
“That bitch! She’s provoking us!”
“Doesn’t seem like a body double... Heck, even if it was one, I’d never back down after being mocked like this!”
“Yeah. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve smashed her head in!”
The Golden Hammer and the Silver Flash readied their weapons—a golden hammer and a large silver sword respectively—as they continued to climb the mountain. On the way, they spotted other killers who were using different routes to reach the summit.
“We can’t let anyone else beat us to the punch...”
“Yeah, especially the Company. All they’ve got is numbers, not skill.”
“We’re gonna be the kings of the underworld! Soon, everyone will know the Golden Hammer and the Silver Flash!”
The two talked as they kept climbing laboriously, their heavy weapons in hand. That obviously made the climb harder, but the duo would never change the arms that defined them.
“Wait, do you hear that...?”
Suddenly, the two stopped as they heard chirping and saw something move. A three-meter-long lizard with stony skin appeared before them.
“A rock lizard...”
“Leave it alone, bro. We can’t waste any time.”
They had researched Mount Garank beforehand and found that while rock lizards were heavy and tough as stone, they were actually pretty fast—and that they didn’t attack people. They survived by eating rocks and ingesting their mana.
“We’ve come to hunt our target, not monsters.”
“Yeah, I know. We just need to stealthily skirt around—”
The rock lizard screamed...
“—and— Aaaaah?!”
...then leaped at the Golden Hammer, biting through the muscle of his shoulder all the way to the bone.
“Bro!” the Silver Flash called out to his companion, who was screaming in pain. “You bastard! Get away from him!” He swung his giant sword at the monster, but the rock lizard dodged it and made some distance between them.
As for the Golden Hammer, he collapsed on the ground, blood pouring out of the holes in his shoulder. His robust body convulsed a few times until he finally stopped moving.
“Goddamn! What the hell?!” the Silver Flash cried and charged at the rock lizard after witnessing his partner’s death.
Usually, rock lizards didn’t attack people, but this one was different—its eyes were completely red and a large quantity of saliva was dripping from its mouth. That was definitely strange.
And the Golden Hammer and Silver Flash weren’t the only ones who encountered such abnormalities.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Damn iiiiit!”
Rock lizards, stone apes, and other monsters living on Mount Garank began to assault the assassins climbing into their territory.
“Fire! Shoot it!”
Explosions rang out as countless bullets were fired, eventually managing to pierce the rock lizard’s tough skin and kill it.
“Finally...”
“But we lost three men!”
“How many has it been now? I thought the monsters here didn’t attack people!”
The black-clad men were holding weapons of the same color in their hands—firearms known as guns that used gunpowder to shoot bullets. That was how they had defeated the rock lizard.
“Are you hurt, Mistress?”
“No, I’m fine,” answered a woman wearing a red dress.
All of them were part of the criminal organization called the Company. They had come to Mount Garank to assassinate Millicia, but they’d been continually assaulted by monsters on their way. The members of the Company were divided into several groups, all of which were climbing the mountain separately. This group was the main one, as Mistress herself was part of it. However, the attacks they’d suffered had already reduced their number by half.
“There are only ten of us left,” Mistress sighed. “And the other groups must also have been attacked... Our dear Millicia’s really got us.”
Mistress had researched Mount Garank beforehand and knew that the monsters residing here usually didn’t attack people—and yet, this was already their fourth assault.
“Do you think the target did something to cause this?” asked one of the black-clad men.
“That’s the only possibility. Clever of them to make up for their numbers with monsters, though I don’t know how she managed to incite them...” Mistress dismissed the question of how the monsters were being controlled—but regardless, the situation was bad. If they wanted to reach the summit, they would need to get past the frenzied monsters. That made the flag at the mountain’s peak seem even farther away.
“What should we do, Mistress? Should we descend and reorganize ourselves?”
“Hmm... That would harm the trust in our organization, but it would be pointless to lose even more people...” Mistress pondered what to do, tracing her lips with her finger. Giving up even though they were near their target would harm the Company’s credibility, but continuing like this would only result in more casualties. However, as she tried to decide which prospect was worse, something happened.
“Ooooooooh!”
“What?!”
“Isn’t that...?!”
Suddenly, a man leaped at them from above, swinging his large sword at one of the black-clad men, cutting him in half.
“It’s the Silver Flash!” one of the other men screamed.
The Silver Flash was breathing strangely, glaring at the members of the Company with bloodshot eyes. “How dare you...? How dare you do that to my bro...?”
“What is he saying...?”
“Kill, kill, kill, KILL! I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”
“Shoot him!” Mistress ordered, and her subordinates obliged, riddling the Silver Flash with bullets.
“Has he gone mad...?”
“We’re not his allies, but still... Why would he attack us like this?”
The black-clad men wondered aloud as they looked down at the Silver Flash’s body. They might have been after the same target, but they hadn’t been on such bad terms that he would attack them like that. Even if it was a contest to see who would get the reward, outright killing a fellow assassin was taboo.
“He was acting strangely, like the monsters who attacked us...” Mistress trailed off, then gasped in realization, hastily covering her mouth and nose with her hand.
“Is there a problem, Mistress?”
“We must descend the mountain at once!”
“Huh?” The black-clad men were baffled by the sudden command to retreat.
“We cannot stay here! If we breathe the air here too long, we’re going to—”
“Aaaaaaaaah!” a beastly roar interrupted Mistress. The Silver Flash, bleeding everywhere from all the bullet holes in his body, stood up with a yell.
“What?!”
“How is he still alive— Gah!”
“Damn it! Shoot him!”
“KILLLLLL!” The Silver Flash swung his large sword, bisecting yet another black-clad man.
The members of the Company frantically fired at him. Screams and gunshots echoed throughout the rocky mountain until, finally...they stopped.