《The Snow that Falls in the Spring》 The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 1 I have to do something. But what can I do? I don''t have the power to defend myself, or my parents. But it''s my fault that Mama and Papa are injured. Why are they fighting so hard against the burglar, while I''m sitting in the corner of the room crying? It''s not fair! "The Akuma Crystal..." The burglar whispers while lying on the ground in front of me after Papa threw him to the floor. I look up and gaze into his eyes. His face is covered in blood and his eyes are glowing red, like a monster''s. He puts his hand out in front of me. "Give me the Akuma Crystal!" he yells as I close my eyes and scream. Papa smashes a flower vase onto his head. The burglar drops to the floor again, but slowly stands up and turns around to look Papa in the eye. He punches him in the face over and over again until Papa falls to the floor. The walls are stained with splatters of nearly everyone''s blood: Papa''s, Mama''s, and the burglar''s - everyone except me. What can I do? Mama has already been knocked out protecting me. The phone is on the other side of the room. If I call for help, I could get hurt. The neighbors don''t seem to care, or they''re too afraid to call the police. I''m all all alone. I clutch my snowflake pendant that my parents gave me yesterday for my tenth birthday. "Run. Run away with the necklace of yours, okay? Don''t let anyone have it," Papa instructs as I open my eyes and nod. "Shut up, old man!" the burglar yells as he kicks Papa in the stomach. I use that opportunity to run out of the room and across the hallway to the front door. Almost there. As I reach my hand out to open the door, the burglar grabs me by my long, black hair and yanks me. I stumble and fall on my bottom. "Where ya going, little girl? You still haven''t given me that necklace of yours," he says with a malicious grin. "Let go of me!" I demand, struggling to break free in futility. "Quiet, you nosy brat!" He bellows as he knocks me at the back of my head. I loose all feeling in my body as I fall to the floor. Everything starts to fade. Am I really going to die here? Along with Mama and Papa? No. I can''t die here. I need more power. Power to protect myself and my parents. "Do you truly seek power?" I suddenly find myself in a white room. Standing in front of me is a tall, blonde woman wearing a white tunic. She appears to to be glowing. She''s like an angel without wings or a halo. But for some reason, I did not get a warm vibe from her. "Did I die?" I ask her. She refuses to answer my question. "Do you truly seek power?" she repeats. I hesitate for a moment, but then respond,"Yes, I want power. Power to be able to protect me and the people precious to me." "Even if you do gain this power, it will only bring you and the people around you despair. Knowing this, do you still seek power?" the woman confirms. "As long as I can protect my my family and friends, I don''t care what suffering or despair I''ll encounter. Just give me the power," I demand. "Very well. I will grant you the power you desire," she says as she put her hand out in front of my chest. My snowflake necklace glows a bright white light that envelops my entire body. I close my eyes and awake back in the hallway of my house. The burglar slowly reaches out to grab my necklace. Before he does, a bolt of lightning strikes my body, but I don''t feel any pain from it. It actually feel wonderful. I can feel the rush of power surging within me! "I-impossible. This girl... She actually activated the power of the Akuma Crystal?" The burglar whimpers. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings."It''s amazing!" I laugh. "This power- it''s..." I start, but I''m cut off when my body starts to feel intense pain. Oh no. I can''t hold it in much longer. It feels like it''s going out of control! My body releases all of the power within me at once and a bright white light envelops the entire house. "Aaaahhhhhh!" The burglar shrieks. That''s the last thing I hear before passing out after releasing all that energy. When I awake much later, I nearly barf at this first thing that catches my eye. The corpse of the man who tried to steal my necklace. A pool of blood surrounds his body and his limbs are all over the place. The eyes and mouth are wide open, but his eyes are no longer glowing red. "That''s right! Mama, Papa!" I call out as I run through the hallway back into the living room. But the sight was the same as that man''s. Their bodies lie face down on the floor in a sea of blood. "Ahhhhhh!" I scream. "Did I do this?" I cry as I fall to my knees and shut my eyes. "Yes, that was all your doing." I open my eyes to find myself in the same white room, with the woman standing in front of me. "You killed both the burglar and your parents," she says. I gasp. "I''m supposed to protect others with this power. So why?" I sob. "In order to protect something, something must be sacrificed," she explains. "Then, take it back," I mutter. "Take back this stinking power and give me back my family!" I demand. She giggles. "I''m afraid I cannot do that. Once the power is distributed, it can no longer be taken back." "It can''t be." The woman starts to fade away. "Hey! Come back here! Take it back! Take it back!" I yell. "Wake up, it''s time to wake up," a man''s voice calls faintly. I open my eyes to find myself in my bed in the Secret Murder of Sinners Headquarters. A man with spiky, silver hair and a black suit sits at the foot of my bed. "Master." "Good, your awake. It seemed like you were having a nightmare," he smiles. "It was nothing," I quietly respond. "I see. Anyways, it''s time to get ready. You have a mission this morning. Sorry to make you do this early in the morning today. After all, you do know what today is, right?" I nod. "It''s the anniversary of the day when I got my powers. 6 years ago on January 3rd, 2030. And it''s the day you took me in as your assassin for the SMSO." That day, I wept at the corpses of my parents. Master came inside the house and saw me there. He explained to me about the Crystal. It''s called the Akuma Crystal. It came from a meteor that fell to Earth thousands of years ago. It has a negative effect on humans who touch it. That''s because they are said to be possessed by demons. Only a select few young girls are compatible with it and can utilize the power contained within them. He told me to use that power to become an assassin under the Secret Murder of Sinners Organization, which safely secures any found fragments of the Crystal and kills those who commit serious crimes to prevent incidents like that one. I accepted, and trained for several years to control my powers and to get where I am today. "That''s right. Anyways, get ready and come down to my office in five minutes for your next mission," he orders. "I undertand," I reply as he leaves the room. I pause to think about that dream I just had. I slap my cheeks hard. "I''m no longer that scared little girl I was back then. I''m now 16 and a whole new person. I am Yuki Kira, the Lightning Assassin. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 2 After getting changed, I take the elevator up to the first floor, where I go to meet up with Master. The whole base in underground with approximately 50 floors. "The target''s name is Yuto Fukudo. It does not possess a Crystal, but there is a possibility that it could be a theat to us," Master says. He pulls a picture of the target on the holographic moniter. He has vermillion red shaggy hair that covers most of his face and hazel eyes, with a scowl on his face. In short, he looks like a typical delinquent. "Lately, it has been posting threats to its Sensei at Sakurako Academy here in Tokyo on a social networking site. Fukudo frequently posts about bringing a gun to school and killing him. Just recently, Fukudo posted this:" Master explains. He pulls up the social networking site on the moniter. "''You shall be judged for your sins. Punishment shall fall down upon you. On the same day when everything started, your life will end,''"I read. "What''s that supposed to mean?" "''On the same day when everything started.'' To us humans, everything started when the Earth was created." "When Earth was created, huh? Do you mean something like, ''On Monday, God created the Earth?''" He nods. "This post was posted last Tuesday. So then that means that Monday means..." "Today." "Precisely. That''s why your mission today is to observe the target and kill it if the posts are true." "Understood." "The classes there start in five minutes, but I expect the target to arrive at least ten minutes late. You know how delinquents rarely show up to school on time, right?" You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.I nod. I take in a deep breath and let it out. "Release! 50 percent!" I announce. My snowflake necklace glows a bright white light and the kanji symbol for "release" appears on my hand as a red marking. My hair turns from jet black to a light pink color whenever I release 50 percent or more of my power. My full power is too much for my own body to handle, so a seal was placed on my power so that I can release portions of my power at a time, instead of using it constantly. This method preserves my strength so I don''t have to concern myself with running out of mana. But that doesn''t mean that a portion of my strength is fairly weak. A mere 10 percent would be more than enough to handle an entire gang armed with pocket knives and other low quality weapons with ease. 20 percent would be able to handle a handful of skilled warriors armed with high-quality guns. 50 percent allowed me to take out the whole Russian army in one night in World War 3 two years ago. 70 percent allowed me to take out all of our enemies- America, Russia, Germany, Britain, and France- in less than a month in that war. Anything beyond that is too much for my body to handle. So then why do I need 50 percent of my power right now? To have my hair color change act a disguise to avoid being identified at all costs. I wrap my black scarf around my lower face like a mask. Master opens the hatchet that leads to the outside and I fly towards the school to begin my mission. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 3 Monday, January 23, 2036. Today''s another ordinary day in my ordinary life. Well, my life isn''t that ordinary. The truth is, I''m... I glance over at my alarm clock. 7:55. "I''m gonna be late!" I exclaim as I jump out of bed and rush get ready. I dress myself in my Sakurako Academy school uniform, which consists of a light gray overcoat, a white collared under shirt with a red ribbon, and a reddish-pinkish skirt that goes up to my mid-thigh. I also add in white knee socks. I tie my hair into long, blonde twin tails using a purple ribbon and dash down the stairs. But due to my accelerating force, I trip on my own foot and tumble down the stairs, where I suffer a minor scrape on my knee. I place my right hand directly above the injury and summon a translucent, orange barrier around the wound. Within seconds, the scrape is gone. Fully healed, I sprint to the kitchen where our family maid greets me. "Good morning, Lady Hikari. I have prepared your bag and your breakfast for you," she says. "Thanks, Saya-san." I grab my bag and my breakfast, which is a piece of buttered French toast, and head out the door, calling, "I''m off!" "Take care!" she replies. Our family driverless limousine awaits me. "Welcome, Lady Hikari. Where shall I take you today?" it asks. "School," I command as I stuff my face with bread. "Understood," it replies as it drives me to school. That''s right. I''m a Mage. And not just any Mage; I''m the next head of the prestigious Mage family, the Ishikawa clan. But, I''m not my father''s actual daughter. That would be my step-sister, Hanako-oneesama, who was unfortunately exiled from our family after proving to be unable to effectively use magic. My father wouldn''t listen to me when I begged him to let her stay, he just too stubborn about his decision. Hanako-oneesama obeyed and disappeared for 3 years. But, at the beginning of the school year, she revealed herself at the school and we ended up in the same class. I was overjoyed by the news, but she ignored me whenever I tried to talk to her or invite her to be in a group. She would probably say something like "You shouldn''t even be in this family. I should''ve been the the next head." I don''t blame her. After all, I shouldn''t be in this family. I was born in Tokyo, but I moved to Europe when I was early a year old. My parents died from a car accident when I was 3, so I was sent to live in a small orphanage in a rural area with 10 other kids. It was like hell on Earth. The so-called caretaker serve us rotten food and whipped us with a belt if we didn''t finish it all. We would do our studies for 8 hours straight using old books from decades ago. If we answered a question incorrectly or slacked off, he''d smack us on the head with a cane. After our studies, we had to clean the whole building until it was literally spotless. Anything below their standards, and we would be strangled. After living there for some time, I came to realize that almost everyone mindlessly obeyed, like robots. I hypothesized that they hypnotized themselves into obeying every command to avoid punishment. It was like they''re souls were sucked out of them. However, there was one boy tried to escape, but the building had high-tech surveillance cameras and alarm system. He was immediately caught, and his fingernails were ripped out one by one as punishment. I couldn''t stand it any longer. One day, I snapped and said a horrible thing: "I wish you would just die!" I didn''t know what impact my words would have in the future. Not long after, the orphanage was bombed in World War 3. The whole place was burned to ashes along with everyone else inside. I was the only survivor. I subconsciously built a defensive magic barrier around myself to survive. That''s when my father, Hiro Ishikawa, adopted me, saying that I have the potential to become an elite Mage and took me to Tokyo. Upon arriving at the school, I manage to step foot in the classroom without a second to spare. "Made it!" I exclaim, panting. "What''s wrong, Hikari-chan? You usually come to school a lot earlier," my desk partner, Kazuki says. Kazuki has been a good friend of mine since middle school. He has light brown hair and eyes, and wears a warm smile almost all the time. His girlfriend, Kei, sits behind him. She has short black hair to her shoulders and brown eyes. Like, Kazuki, Kei has been my friend for years. They''ve both been nice to me, despite my rather clumsy actions. "I overslept," I admit as I take my seat in the front. I look to the seat to the right of Kazuki. Onee-sama''s not here? Sensei walks in and tells us to settle down. As the class representative, I lead the class in the morning greetings. "I''m going to pass back your tests from last week," he announces. When I receive my test, I sigh in relief that I got a 93, but I frown at the questions I failed to answer correctly, remembering my past. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.Ten minutes later, at 8:10, the class delinquent, Yuto Fukudo, enters the classroom. "Glad you could join us, Fukudo-kun, ten minutes, late!" Sensei yells. "But perfect timing. I was just passing back everyone''s test. Here''s yours," he hands Fukudo his test after showing the whole class that he got a zero. "Looks like your getting a double detention today. Not that I want to see your face around for much longer. I''m just glad the school year is almost over. "Sorry to disappoint you Sensei, but you''re not gonna see me today after school," he says, with a smirk on his face. "Huh? Why is that?" he asks, like he''s almost taunting him. "''Cause I''m about to blast holes through ya!" he yells, pulling out a hand gun from his bag. He removes the safety on the gun and points it at Sensei. The whole class gasps. "No one make a sound. I''ll shoot ya if you do," he orders. I have to protect everyone here. Right as I am about to use my magic, a girl armed with a katana jumps through the window and shatters the glass. She looks about the same age as me. She has long, glowing pink hair, a hot pink shirt, a black sweatshirt, dark blue Capri jeans and a black scarf tied around her lower half of her face. Her eyes are blue, like mine, but they''re different. Her eyes are ice blue, symbolizing her cold personality and lack of sympathy for those she kills with that katana. Is she- "Who the hell are you?" Fukudo shouts. "The Lightning Assassin," she replies, in a serious tone. "Let''s have fun together, okay? I haven''t killed someone in a while, so please put up a decent fight." Her tone changes into a playful sound. She actually enjoys killing others. "Screw you! You can go to hell with this bastard!" he yells as he fires a bullet at her head from about three meters away. The Lightning Assassin uses her sword to slice the bullet in half. You''re kidding! She cut the bullet in half...and from that distance! She must be amazingly skilled. Fukudo stares at the assassin in fear, but then regains his focus and fires several shots at her. She effortlessly slices the bullets in half as she slowly walks towards Fukudo. When she''s in point blank range, she lifts her sword up by her left shoulder, ready to kill him. Fukudo pulls the trigger twice, but it''s out of ammo. "Too bad. It looks like playtime is over," she says. Fukudo reaches into his pocket and draws a knife. He attempts to stab the Lighting Assassin, but she dodges the attack. During that instant, he dashes towards me and puts his arm around my head, and using his legs to wrap around my arms so I can''t move. He puts the knife to my neck. "Don''t move! Or I''ll slit this girl''s throat!" he threatens. Who do you think you''re dealing with? I really wanted to say that out loud, but I choose not to. I look down at the position of my hand. Good, I can still use it. I look back up to where she was standing, but there''s no one to be seen in that direction. She''s gone! When I look around the classroom, I find her right behind Fukudo. She had already swung her sword downwards and split his body in half. Blood explodes out of his body like a volcano spewing out lava. Blood covers his entire body as it releases me from its clutches. The dead body falls to the floor. The room is silent. Everyone is speechless. "Target eliminated," she declares. "Damn, he was no fun either." I slowly stand up, unable to take my eyes off of this sight. My memories of the fire in the orphanage come rushing back. I hold my head with hands, about to scream. The Lightning Assassin puts her hand around my mouth to stop me from doing so. I calm down after a few seconds. "Don''t worry, you won''t remember any of this," she whispers into my ear. She takes her hand off of my mouth and pulls out a silver pen. When she clicks it, a bright white light flashes and envelops the entire room. I see her jump out of the window immediately after, but I end up collapsing on the floor, along with the rest of the class. The bell rings I wake up from the classroom floor. Everyone''s unconscious on the floor. "Hey, wake up, Kazuki-kun, Kei-chan." I shake them gently, and they open their eyes slowly. "What''s going on? Why is everyone unconscious?" Kei asks. "I don''t know. I just woke up," I reply. "It''s already time for second period." "We''ve been asleep for that long?" Kazuki asks. I nod. I try to recall what happened before we collapsed, but my memories are hazy. I remember Fukudo walking into class, but.. "Fukudo-kun!" I exclaim. "Right before we collapsed, I remember him walking into class late, but he''s not here right now." "He probably used this opportunity to ditch class," Kei says. "Maybe. Ah we should worry about that later. We should wake Sensei and report this to the principal," Kazuki suggests. We nod. Something''s definitely wrong here. Something went on today. I''m going to find out what. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 4 "Target eliminated." "Excellent. Any witnesses?" "Their memeories have been erased." "Good. Report back to the base immediately. I''ll send a clean-up crew over right away." "Understood." I hang up my phone after concluding my report to Master and fly back to the base. The main base of the SMSO is located beneath a forest on the outskirts of the city. There are several skinny trees with no leaves that surround a giant tree in the shape of a semi-circle. When you look at the trees, a secret panel is hidden underneath the artificial bark on the tree with a scratch marking on one of its roots. That scanner initiates a fingerprint scan and an eye scan to verify my identification. The scanner recognizes me and open up a small, cramped elevator within the larger tree within its artificial bark. I take the elevator down to the training room, where Master awaits me. "Thanks for your hard work. I''ve already deposited your pay into your account. You''re up to 200,000,000 Yen now." I nod. I''ll be sure to spend all of that money on anime video games and manga. "So then, Master, shall I begin my morning training?" "Yes, let''s do that right now." I enter the training room through a large steel automatic door. A wall of sturdy, one-way glass separates the room where Master operates the training with the one where I commence my training. The room is dark and bare, with only security cameras on the ceiling - well, what''s left of them. "Yuki-san, I want you to do this excercise at 20 percent," Master orders through the speaker. "''Sir," I reply. "20 percent." My snowflake necklace glows a dim, white light as my hair changes back to normal. I feel quite weaker in this state, but it''s best that I train myself in all types of energy levels. The lights are shut completely off. Nothing can be seen at all. It must be blind-eye training, training without the use of one''s sight. I hear the sound of metal clanking a few moments later. It moves towards me slowly. They must be androids (artificial intelligence). Judging by how slowly the sound is moving towards me and the weight of their sound, I speculate there are around 20 of them, armed with heavy machine guns. They get into a formation where they separate into 4 groups of 5 that stand apart from each other, circling me in every direction. The sound stops after several moments, and there are a few seconds of complete silence. I get into my stance. My left leg is in front with my right hand holding my katana. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. The buzzer rings. In that instant, about 5 androids fire their guns at me from straight in the front. I instinctively move the the right to dodge the bullets. They trail me like a laser beam. I use that to my advantage as I swiftly move towards the direction of a few other androids. They point their guns at me, but I slice most of their heads off before they have the opportunity to fire. The ones that I miss are shot down my the first team of androids that were initially attacking me. The team that was shooting at me earlier has now ceased fire, assumingly because they have run out of ammo. I use that opportunity to slice open their bodies and kick through their thick heads. The sound of metal collapsing almost completely muffles the sound of another team firing. They fire hundreds - no thousands - of bullets targeted at me. Luckily, most of the bullets have missed my body completely. I fly up several meters above their heads, barely dodging the bullets. However, one bullet was able to piece my flesh in the leg. I grit my teeth. The pain from the shot limits my flight capabilities, but I still manage to stay in the air. I have to finish this quick. I charge my mana into my katana, which converts the mana into sparkling blue Lightning. The Lightning envelops the sword. "Let''s do this, Raeden," I tell my sword. I bring it up to my left shoulder and swing it diagonaly downwards to the other side of my body with all my might. "Aaaahhhhh!" I yell as the Lightning is released, destroying the remaining Androids. There''s a huge explosion that makes it difficult to hear what is going on, but I am certain that they were killed off. I start panting due to my increased fatigue. I slowly drop to the ground and catch my breath. I don''t have enough energy to support Raeden, so it disappears into the air. That''s one of its abilities - to be able to appear and disappear at will. However, it will disappear by force if I don''t have enough mana to maintain its form. A few seconds pass by, and Master still hasn''t opened the door. "What''s going on? Why isn''t Master opening the door. I''ve completed training." But then the thought comes to me. "Does that mean one''s still alive?" My assumption was correct. A survivng android jumps up from behind me and points its gun at me. My injured leg prohibits me from moving. I reach behind me and I feel a scrap of metal from the remains of one of the androids. I change the piece of scrap metal into a hand gun with only one bullet inside to preserve my mana. I quickly point the head of the gun at the android and shoot it in the head. It collapses to the floor and ceases to function. Shortly after, the gun turns back into a piece of scrap metal. The buzzer rings again, which means that training is over. I release 40 percent of my power, which accelerates my healing ability of any flesh wound. I am able to walk again half an hour later, when I deactivate my powers. I walk out of the training room, where Master greets me in a disappointing tone. "You got hit." I bow down in apology. "I''m terribly sorry I did not meet your expectations, Master." "Raise your head," he orders. I do as he says and look him in the eye. "You''re lucky you''re alive. A split second later and you would have been dead. I''ll let this slide for now, since it was a minor shot to the leg. However, next time, I''m deducting half of your pay. In real combat, if you start to slow down because of a little wound, you''ll end up dead." "I understand," I reply automatically. I take the elevator up to my room and wash off all the blood and sweat from the mission and training. My room is quite small, containing a futon, a small coffee table, a shower, a dresser, a small screen to watch television, and a shelf full of video games and manga. I put on a fresh set of clothes - a hot pink crew neck t-shirt, a black hoodie, and a pair of blue, boot cut jeans. My long-awaited breakfast is provided for me using a machine similar to that of a 3D printer hooked up to the ceiling. It projects a hologram onto a small coffee table in the middle of my room, and then materializes it within a few seconds. I give thanks and I consume my meal slowly. Master opens the door to my room after knocking. "You left your scarf in the training room." "Thanks," I respond quietly, taking my blood-stained scarf. "By the way, Yuki-san, you-" Master is interrupted by the ear-piercing alarm of the siren. He is contacted by the head of the Crystal Search Bureau. He speaks with him using a wireless speaker. "What''s the situation?" he asks. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Sir, we have identified the location of an active Akuma Crystal. It looks like it''s in the hands of a criminal that escaped from the Los Angeles Detention Facility in America," he reports. "Send me and the assassin the coordinates," Master commands. "''Sir!" he replies. My phone vibrates, indicating the coordinates on the map. I wrap my scarf around my face and release my power to 50 percent. My snowflake necklace glows a bright white light as my hair transforms into a glowing, pinkish color and the kanji symbol for "release" appears on my hand. Master and I take the elevator up to the floor that is just beneath the ground. He opens the hatch that leads to the outside. I fly out the hatch and up into the skies, heading towards California. "Raeden, my summoning tool, come forth!" I announce. My katana, Raeden, materializes in my right hand. It has a red hilt and a long, silver, elegant blade that can cut anything: flesh, bone, steel, etc. I charge my mana into Raeden as it converts my mana into Lightning. I position Raeden behind me and use the Lightning to give me a speed boost. I arrive at the designated location within 15 minutes (yes, that''s how I can fly when combining my flight ability with my Lightning). I survey the area, looking for the poor soul who picked up the Crystal. I search near the LA Detention Facility that is located conveniently across the street from a bank. (Wow, how stupid is that?) "Where could he-" I feel a pain in my chest, which is a sure sign that my life is in danger. Something is coming. I notice the shadow of of a large object hurdling towards me. I turn around and realize a gasoline truck is heading my way. With no time to react, it hits me. A fire breaks out and people are panicking amidst the chaos. "I''ll give ya''ll one last chance to give me the money. If you refuse, I''ll kill you all! None of you will escape," a man, who is most likely the one being possessed by the Akuma crystal, threatens. He is a tall black man with large muscles and blazing red eyes - a sure sign that he is being possessed by the Crystal. Several banktellers crouch down and hide while the police arrive on the scene, armed with handguns. "Freeze! You are charged for breaking out of prison, harming civilians, and damage to property. Put your hands behind your head and turn around slowly!" they demand. "I ain''t going back to the slammer!" the man yells as he lifts a car parked on the street and chucks it at them. The police escape from the attack and fire their guns. The bullets definitely hit, but the man is shockingly unharmed. The power of the Crystal must have really increased his endurance. The police gasp and cease fire. Aggravated, the man flings another car at the police. They retreat to a farther location away from him and call for backup. "Don''t move! I''ve already killed a little girl over there. You don''t want me to all of these bank tellers there would you?" he asks. I slice up the truck that fell on me into many shards and walk through the fire that is slowly spreading throughout the area. "Who said I was dead?" I ask with fiery rage. The black man turns around slowly out of fright. "Impossible. I-I was sure you were dead!" He gasps; then, with uneasiness in his voice, he whispers, "Wait, glowing pink hair and a long katana that can cut through anything. Don''t tell me you''re-" "People like you who think they can kill me so easily are the ones that piss me off the most. They''re all so full of themselves. That''s why it''s fun to see the look on their face when they die, thinking, ''How could I lose?''" I laugh. "I got bored watching your little spectacle. I''d like to join in on the fun now." The man grits his teeth and clenches his fist. But, he suddenly calms down and laughs. "This is great. With my new found power, I''m now free from that cell, and I can inherit the title, ''The Man who Killed the Lightning Assassin.'' I''m sure to make a fortune for your head." "Oh? I hope you don''t think that fantasy of yours will become a reality. It''s a fact that it will never come true," I taunt. "We''ll see about that!" he yells as he hoists up a large truck and flings it towards me. I effortlessly catch the vehicle with one hand and set it down gently. Enraged, he rips a street sign out of the ground and charges towards me. (Wait, he''s a Shizuo now?) He sluggishly swings the sign in an attempt to kill me with one blow, but I use my speed to dodge the attacks. I plant my foot on the ground and push off it for a counter attack. The man, to my surprise, instinctively dodges my attack and elbows me in my back when I am caught off balance. I fall to the ground and moan at the agonizing pain. I can''t take another one of those blows or else I''m done for. As I try to slowly stand up, the man kicks me hard beneath my stomach. I bite my lower lip to hold in the screams from within. The kick sends me rolling on the ground a few meters away from him, toppling into a nearby building. "What''s wrong? I thought you, the mighty Lightning Assassin, we''re going to kill me," he teases. "I guess that means... That I''m the stronger one." He bears a hideous grin on his face. He steps on my head and glances over behind him. He sees woman with her child hiding behind a lamppost. Don''t tell me. He chucks the street sign in his hand at the two. The child cowers in fear as the mother shields her child. Crap! In a last ditch effort, I charge my mana into my sword and convert it into Lightning. I pour enough mana into it to shoot Lightning at the street sign like a laser beam and burn it to ashes. The mother and child sign in relief, unharmed. The man curses at me and lifts his foot up to stomp me. I use the opportunity to roll on the ground away from him and stand back up on my feet. He''s got strength, all right. And he has enough speed to dodge my attacks. I have to change tactics if I''m going to beat him. I charge my mana into my sword as it converts into Lightning. The Lightning extends to form a long, rope-like shape. "Lightning Whip!" I bellow as I attack him. The attack is slow, so I bet he will try to dodge it. Which is why I use my powers to change a shard of broken window glass into a small throwing knife. As expected, the man leaps into the air to dodge it. However, I release Raeden from its physical for, and make it disappear. By doing so, I am able to quickly move to his location and throw the knife at his face, which ends up piercing his left eye. He grabs the left side of his face and screams at the pain. "Aaaaahhhhh! Why you-" I don''t wait to hear the rest of his sentence. I summon Raeden in my right hand again, move behind him, and cut the criminal''s head cleanly off. Blood splatters everywhere as the corpse now rests in a sea of red. I notice a faint green glow in the man''s pocket. I take out a pair of tweezers from my pocket and obtain the fragment. I store it in a small tube and seal it. Next thing I know, the police are pointing their guns at me. I quickly pull out the memory wiper from my pocket and push the button. A bright white light envelops a portion of the area as I make my escape back to the base. "Target eliminated," I mumble to myself. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 5 Why did we all collapse on the floor? What happened here earlier today? Why can''t I, or anyone else, remember? These three questions circle my mind up until lunch. I follow Kazuki and Kei to the roof, where we always sit. We usually just gaze at the afternoon sky and relax; but today, we end up watching a live news broadcast on the Lightning Assassin from my phone. It projects a holographic screen so we that we can all see it. "We''re here right now at the LA Detention Facility, where a prisoner named Jean Black demolished his cell wall and escaped," the reporter announces. "The suspect has darted towards a nearby bank, where he is currently threatening the employees to ''hand him the money.''" As the reporter continues to explain the situation, they show a live video of the incident. I ignore the reporter and focus all of my attention at the video. The video shows a high school girl, no older than me, with long, beautiful pink hair. She''s dressed in a black hoodie over a pink crew neck shirt and blue jeans, with a scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face. She slices up a gasoline truck with a long katana and walks through the flames of the fire. I stare in awe at the girl. The video shows a close up of her face, which is partially covered with her scarf. I pause the video. "Hey, why did you pause it?" Kazuki asks. I don''t answer. I zoom in on her face to get the clearest image as possible. The first thing I notice is her eyes. They''re blue, like mine, but they couldn''t be any more different. Her eyes have a cold and ruthless aura surrounding them, giving me the chills. Suddenly, I feel my heart racing. "That face...I''ve seen it before," I mumble. I grasp my head. Fragments of my lost memory comes together piece by piece. "Hey, Hikari-chan, what''s the matter?" Kazuki asks. The pieces all make sense now. "I remember." The two stare at me. "Remember when we woke up in the middle of the classroom, and we wondered what happened? I know why. I also know why our memories are a bit hazy." "We''re all ears," Kei says. "This morning, Sensei passed back our tests, remember? Fukudo-kun came in 10 or 15 minutes late. Sensei scolded him, and then Fukudo pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. The whole class was terrified. We all hid under the desks. Right before he pulled the trigger, ''she'' busted through the window." "Who?" Kazuki asks. "The Lightning Assassin." They gasp. "Then, Fukudo-kun tried to take me hostage after running out of bullets in the gun. She was able to deflect them all. I took my eyes off of her for one second, and she was gone. She cut him cleanly in half with her sword. She killed him," I whisper. Their eyes widen and their jaws drop. "That can''t be true, right, Kazuki-kun? I mean, you said she busted through the the window. But if that was the case, why isn''t there any broken glass or blood on the floor from the fight?" Kei asks. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "I don''t know. But I saw her pull out a small metal rod from her pocket. She even said to me, ''Don''t worry, you''ll forget all of this.'' I''m assuming it''s a memory wiper or something. That''s when we all collpased. That leaves me to believe that while we were unconscious, they fixed up the classroom to make it look like nothing happened," I hypothesize. "What about the teachers and students from the other classrooms? Firing a gun would definitely catch the attention of someone," Kei argues. "I''m not sure. That''s a hole I can''t seem to fill," I admit. "Is it possible the other teachers and students wanted him to die?" Kazuki asks, tilting her head down. "What do you mean?" I ask. "There''s no way they would-" "I heard some rumors," he interrupts. "Fukudo-kun was like the number 1 most hated guy in this school.I heard he was posting some threats on the Internet against Sensei. He used to do that to a lot of other people, too. But, the police traced the posts back to the school. He was apparently using the school Internet to cyber bully many students and teachers so they couldn''t trace it back to his devices. However, everyone knew it was him. If they were to secretly tell each and every person on campus to not interfere, it''s possible to pretend his death never occurred, thus keeping the attention away from the police," she explains. "Are you saying that everyone in the school cooperated with the Lightning Assassin?" she exclaims. "I didn''t say that. I''m just saying it''s possible they turned a blind eye to the situation for a reason," he admits. "But, how did they know he was going to die? And how did he know when he would die?" I ask. "There are two possibilities. It''s not impossible for them to predict if and when the Lightning Assassin would strike. They could''ve simply said to each other, ''If the Lightning Assassin ever shows up, don''t make a fuss about it and pretend nothing is going on,'' or something. The other is they planned to kill him and decided to ignore the murder. But she appeared and did the dirty work for them," he hypothesizes. Kei and I slowly take in what Kazuki said. I don''t even know what to say about this. The bell rings, indicating the end of lunch. "We better get going," Kei says. Kazuki nods. As we head off back to class, I call out to them, "Did you guys end up remember the incident at all?" I needed to clarify. They shake their heads. "I don''t know why. I believe the entire story, Hikari-chan. You have no reason to lie. It just won''t come back to me," Kei says. "Me neither," Kazuki says. "I see," I reply. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 6 "Good news, Yuki-san. Starting tomorrow, you''ll be attending high school," Master announces with a large grin on his face. I stare at him blankly in disbelief. "Huh?" I mutter. "Remember that school where you assassinated Yuto Fukudo last week? Starting tomorrow, you will become a student at that school, Sakurako Academy." "Why?" I ask. "You see, I have a mission for you," he says. "It seems there''s another Crystal user out there, and it''s running rampant. The target is a first-year at Sakurako Academy. The face has not been seen, but there are those who have seen the target wiled a deep red whip. There have been reports of people being set on fire, but the flames do not give off light .Right before their body disintegrates, the victims are eaten alive by vicious animals. Though, witnesses have said that they didn''t see actual animals, but bite marks all over the victims'' bodies proved to be that of wild beasts. Since all of these reports described the night sky, I''m assuming the animals must be dark enough to camouflage with shadows to run around unseen. After the body has been nearly completely consumed, the target would let out a hysterical, creepy laugh and ''vanish into the night.'' So, Yuki-san, you''re mission is to identify the target, kill it, and bring back the Crystal fragment. You will be working undercover under the name Miyu Kurobane. You have moved to Tokyo from America because your father got a new job here for a short while. Be mindful that you are working undercover, so you do not want to attract unnecessary attention. You''ve seen a lot of school animes, right? So you should know how to act in a high school." "H-how did you know I watch a lot of anime? I thought I was doing a fine job hiding it from you," I ask, embarrassed. "Ah, that''s a secret," he says. "You''ve set up security cameras in my room, didn''t you?" I guess. "Yes," he admits quietly. Even though I am angered at the fact Master would spy on me, I choose not to bring up that irrelevant topic and just respond, "Alright. Understood." The next day, I dress myself in my school uniform: a gray over coat, a white undershirt with a red ribbon, and a red skirt that matches my ribbon. I stare into the mirror at gaze at the uniform. "Wow! It''s like I''m cosplaying as a girl from a school anime!" I take the elevator up to the first floor and head out the shaft. I walk towards the new school, which is packed with many other students. After obtaining my schedule, I carefully follow the map to Class 1A, where Sensei tells me to patiently wait in the hall until he cues me in. The bell rings, and everyone sits in their seats. Sensei enters the classroom, and they perform their morning greetings. "Everyone, we have a transfer student from America joining our class today," he announces. I walk into the classroom and introduce myself, trying to show as little emotion as possible. "I''m Yu¡ª er ¡ªMiyu Kurobane. Like Sensei said earlier, I moved here from America, so my Japanese is not that fluent. But, I''m glad to meet you all," I announce as I bow. The other students stare at me. "A transfer student this late in the year?" one student exclaims. "Wow, she''s hot!" another comments. "Hey, do you have a boyfriend?" one guy asks. The room fills with the ecstatic voices of the other students. "That''s enough!" Sensei yells. The class settles down surprisingly quickly. "Alright, Kurobane-san, you can take a seat behind Ishikawa-san by the window," he says. I nod, taking my seat. A girl with long, blonde twin tails and blue eyes turns around to greet me. Is she a foreigner? "Hi, Kurobane-chan. I''m Hikari Ishikawa. Just call me Hikari. I''m the class representative, so just ask me anything," she says, with a friendly smile. I nod. For the rest of the class, I don''t pay attention to any of the lectures. I think to myslelf over and over again. Who could the other Crystal user be? Is she in this class? The Akuma Crystal responds to a specific gene only found in young girls. That is why Crystal users cannot be male. Any male who picks up the Crystal is easily possessed by it. Their bodies break down and turn to dust after a certain time period. Taking this into account, I''ve eliminated more than half of the class. But, is she even in this class? This is going to be difficult if I barely have anything to go off of. "Kurobane-san!" Sensei yells. I quickly stand up and answer, "Yes?" "Please read for us the next page." "Yes, sir." I frantically search the page where we left off. Hikari passes me a note from under the desk, indicating the page number and paragraph. I smile slightly and begin reading. It''s an article on World War III, which ended almost 3 years ago. "World War III was fought between 2024 and 2033. The United States of America, France, Germany, Iran, and Japan all engaged in warfare after the new French king wished to imitate Napolean and take over the Eurasian continent, and eventually, the entire world. The Fremch army took control of Iran within seveal months after the war began. France then used Iran''s nuclear bombs to try to take over Germany and Japan. Ignoring their past relationships with the other countries from World War II, Germany and Japan formed an alliance and requested the assistance of the U.S. Army to defeat the French army in 2026. Even with the three nations banded together, the French army continued to be victorious with their advanced weaponry and superior soldiers. In 2030, Japan decided to replace the human soldiers with artificial intelligence, otherwise called androids. These androids were thought to become the ultimate fighting force, since they know no fear, and are able to take the best possible course of action in battle, thus reducing casualties. However, these androids cost the alliance too much money and almost drove them to bankruptcy. America insisted that Japan get rid of these artificial soldiers, but refused, arguing that they would eventually pay off in the future. Unfortunately, that day never happened. In 2032, the French army hacked into the database of these androids and took control of them. Since the alliance had no other means to defend themsleves, they suffered a major defeat, called ''The Battle of Lost Hope.'' It didn''t take long for the alliance to disband after that incident. Each blaming each other, they ignored the French army and went to war with each other. But, before they destroyed each other, a mysterious war hero from Japan appeared before them and wiped out many French soldiers within one night using a poisonous gas. She managed to convince the alliance to fight together to stop the French army, causing a major comeback. It is said she wielded a long katana that generated blue Lightning. She used that Lightning to destroy the androids'' batteries (that were part of the French army) and wiped out all of their forces with the support of soldiers from the alliance. She possessed strength and speed unlike any other human being, with the ability to heal from any wound rather quickly. She possessed the miraculous ability to turn non living things into weapons she handled with ease. On March 21, 2033, she took the French king''s head and declared the war was over. The war hero was then nicknamed, ''The Lightning Assassin.''" A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I sit back down after reading. That''s the story that was released to the public, but it''s not the whole truth. The war started because the meteorite that contains the fragments of the Akuma Crystal was discovered in France. The French king foolishly made contact with the Crystal and became possessed by the demon. That''s when he rashly declared war to take over the two continents. However, when his time was up, a double took his place and sought the same goal. He was the one who led the army. Secondly, when I made my appearance, I didn''t poison the soldiers. I infiltrated the base and used Raeden to kill them, then disintegrated their bodies using the Lightning. After class, Hikari offers to show me around the school. "Hey, Kurobane-chan," she says suddenly. "Miyu is fine," I interrupt. "Miyu-chan, do you have a twin sister?" she asks. I pause. Has she seen me before? I try to recall where she may have seen me. Wait, isn''t she the girl who was held hostage by that one target in their class? Did she regain her memories? No, that can''t be. And anyways, I covered half of my face with my mask and changed my hair color during that incident. "No," I answer. "I''m an only child. Why?" "Oh it''s nothing," she replies as she giggles quietly. The bell rings. "Oh, we should get going. What''s your next class?" Hikari asks. "Gym," I respond. "What a coincidence! I have, too. C''mon, I''ll show you where to go," she offers. She takes me by my hand and drags me with her to the gym. After getting changed, the coach comes out to greet us. "Listen up!" she demands as she blows her whistle. "We''re playing dodgeball. I''ll split you off into two teams. The time limit is 20 minutes. The winning team gets to leave the class early, while the losing team runs the track." "Seriously?" one guy asks. Many of the guys cheer, while others sob at the fact they have the possibility of running. "Alright! I won''t lose," I declare. We''re then separated into teams. On my team, there are 6 females and 4 males. Hikari is the only other girl in the team that isn''t standing in the corner talking out of disinterest in the game. The guys on my team have their eyes focused on the balls, determined to win. Hikari stares at a girl on the other team. She has long, blood red hair in a high ponytail that is tied up in a hair band with a small flower on it. She has fiery red eyes that shout "Like hell I''m going to lose to you!" The girl wears an extremely cocky smile on her face, like she''s taunting Hikari. The atmosphere is quiet, like the calm before the storm. After a few seconds of silence, the whistle blows. "Start!" the coach yells. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 7 The coach blows the whistle. Nearly everyone dashes towards the 5 balls. Miyu and I have managed to obtain a ball, but the other team has the rest, including Hanako-oneesama. Alright, what''s my strategy? Should I attack them straight on? Or wait for them to throw and go for a counter attack? To my surprise, Miyu opts for my first thought and throws the ball at an unarmed guy with incredible force. There was no time to dodge. It hits him in the stomach, causing him to fall on his bottom. "Are you okay?" his friend asks, helping him up. The guy who tumbled on the floor has a tedious time getting back on his feet. It takes him several seconds before he stands up and walks out of the court. Amazing. Usually, if you try to chuck at someone unarmed, they will most likely catch it if they have enough skill. That guy (I never paid attention to his name) definitely had enough hand-eye coordination to catch an ordinary ball, especially one straight down his center. Yet, Miyu''s driving force overwhelmed him. She really is amazing. His friend, who currently owns a ball, sets his eyes on Miyu, ready to strike. Now''s my chance! Right before he throws his ball, I thrust mine at his legs. It didn''t have as much force as Miyu''s throw, but it had enough accuracy to hit him. He dejectedly walks out of the court after driving his ball, which he failed to throw, into the ground. With that, all the balls now lay in their possession. They decide to simultaneously fire at Miyu, hoping that at least one of them will get her out. Unfortunately for them, this was not the case. She gracefully dodges all of the balls, even catching two of them in the process. Miyu hurls the two balls at the other team, one after the other. The first ball hits one of the better players on their team, then repels off of his body and manages to hit another nearby player. The second ball bounces back to our side after hitting another player in the shin. The ball makes its way back to one of the guys on our team. He brings the ball behind his head, takes a few deep breaths, and fires. He belts out a tremendous shout. Expecting it to be a spectacular blow, I cannot describe how startled I am when I realize that he throws like a wimpy, grade-school girl. The other team easily catches the ball, while he slowly walks out of the court with his head down. The other team decides to go for the girls in the back corner who aren''t even paying attention to the game. Even though Miyu is within range of them to easily catch the ball, she does not move unless it''s to either grab a ball and throw or dodge if it is thrown at her. She could at least protect our team mates! None of us want to run laps, but we will at this rate. If one team has more players than ours by the end of the 20 minutes, it''s an automatic victory for them. They want to get as many weaklings out as possible. I guess that means I''ll have to pull the extra load. There''s less than ten minutes left. Whenever I grab ahold of a ball, I immediately throw at one person''s legs, followed by Miyu''s fierce throws. Our team manages to hit almost everyone on their side of the court by the five minute mark. On the down side, our team has been dealt a major blow on our numbers. Only Miyu and I remain. One of the two players remaining on the other team hurls a ball, nearly as fast as an excellent baseball pitcher''s fastball, aimed at Miyu''s legs. It''s too low to catch, and she won''t have much time to dodge. However, Miyu miraculously catches the ball in between her legs. He gasps. His jaw is wide open. "You can''t be serious!" Miyu remains emotionless. "Get out," she mutters softly. He grits his fist and furiously stomps out of the court. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. One of our players gets back in due to the catch. "Amazing, Miyu-chan! At this rate, we''ll-" I begin to say. I''m cut off when a ball traveling almost at the speed of light nearly knocks me out with its outrageous force. It can''t be... The ball bounces off my body into the air. Miyu rushes over to my side, which is across the court from her original position, to try to catch the ball while it is in the air. However, the weakling from earlier pushes her away and tries to go for the ball instead. His fingers graze the ball, but he fails to catch it. It hits the ground with a loud BANG. I gasp. It turns out Onee-sama was the one who threw that ball. She giggles, almost like she''s taunting us. "That''s two birds with one stone." She would giggle the exact same way when we were kids whenever we did any combat training. I was better at using magic, but Hanako-oneesama excelled at martial arts. Still in shock of what just happened, I eventually regain my senses and storm out of the court, dragging that other guy with me by the back of his shirt. "Let go of me, Ishikawa-san! This is not over yet!" he exclaims. I sigh, ignoring his rambling. It''s now a one-on-one face off featuring Miyu and Onee-sama. Miyu holds the two balls on her side of the court in both of her hands, while Onee-sama does the same. There''s one ball that''s left in the dead center of the court. They glare at each other for a few seconds to strategize. Then, they both take off. Miyu delivers the first blow, running up to the top of her side of the court to throw it with incredible force. Onee-sama deflects the ball and charges in with a counterattack. Miyu merely moves her head to dodge the ball, then steals the ball that laid in the center of the court. Onee-sama uses this chance to fire at her while she''s crouched down on the floor. She springs to her right and gets back up on her feet, then backs away from her. After exchanging glances, they thrust their balls at each other as a diversion. The balls collide and deflect into different directions. Then, they both sprint to retrieve the balls that lay on each side of their court. They attack each other with a barrage of throws, then deflecting or dodging each counterattack, and counterattacking back, resulting in an endless loop. After all those throws, they don''t look the least bit tired. In fact, they were smiling. I take a good look at Miyu''s face. Her smile indicates she''s having fun, but her eyes are something else. They''re cold, lacking emotion. They look at the world with a sense of hatred. Hang on a second. I have seen those eyes before. They''re like that time. During the Lightning Assassin incident. But, there''s no way it can be her, right? I mean, the assassin has pink hair, and Miyu has black hair. It''s got to be someone else. The two suddenly stop moving after they have released their balls. They take a few seconds to regain their breath. "Your pretty good. I''m actually having fun," Onee-sama comments. "You too. I haven''t had this much fun in a while," Miyu responds. "Too bad, though. I''m going to end it here." "Funny, I was about to say the same thing." They both smirk. Then, they dash towards the nearest ball, move to the center of the court, bring their balls behind their heads, and... The coach blows her whistle. "Time''s up!" she yells. "Since it ended in a tie, then both sides get to run!" "Eh???" the whole class groans. "No complaining! Hit the track!" coach demands. We reluctantly obey. Despite the running, this class was pretty fun. I look forward to the rest of the day with a genuine smile. The Snow That Falls in the Spring Chapter 8 After school, I briskly walk towards the base, constantly confirming that I am not being followed. I perform the scans and head down the elevator to Master''s office. I am surprised to see that he is not present at the moment. Seeing no point in waiting, I take the elevator down to my room. Once there, I set my bag down by my bed and take out my phone to watch some anime. "Help me." I flinch in surprise. I stay silent for a few moments and wait to hear the faint voice that was just in my head again. There''s no sound. I sigh. "It must be my imagination." "Someone, please. Help me." There it is again. That voice. I spring to the elevator as fast as I can and search frantically ponder about which floor to head to. I''ve been to every floor in this base, but I''ve never heard anybody calling for help before. Just then, I notice a secret panel under the button that leads to the bottom floor. Behind it lies a an unlabeled, black button. It is a different color than the other white buttons. That must be it. I''m sure the voice came from there. I can feel it. "Please." "Hang on!" I yell. Once the elevator opens to the bottom floor, I rush out of it. In front of me is a large, steel door. It has a thumb print scanner on the side. I try to scan my thumb, thinking something will happen. But, it rejects me. "Dammit!" I curse. "Help," the voice calls through the door. "I guess I have no choice. Release! 40 percent!" My snowflake necklace glows a bright white light. The kanji symbol for "release" appears on my right hand. I summon Raeden and use it to slash the door open. It cuts cleanly in half, allowing me to enter. I then release my katana from its physical form as it returns to dust. Once I have infiltrated the room, I regret ever doing it. The room is spacious, filled with a dozen human-sized chambers, like one where a scientist would keep a live specimen. It had green liquid running through it. Inside the chambers are kids, mostly preteens and young teens. They float in the tank, unconscious. "How could they...." I mumble in fright. I notice that nearly half of the chambers did not trap any kids in it. "Why?" I ask myself. Then, the thought comes to me. I look around the room and eventually spot a small, hidden door in the wall. The sight of it fills my entire body with horror. My eyes widen as I gasp. Through that door is a small, cramped room filled with corpses of young kids, all stacked up in a sea of dead bodies. Their eyes remain open, as a sign of a cruel death. Many detached limbs lay scattered among the corpses. Some of their blood is still fresh, while the others are dry, indicating they died a long time ago. It flows down their bodies like tears flowing down their face. "I know I''ve killed many people using some gory methods, but this?" I admit. I drown myself in tears at this horrible sight. I put a halt to my weeping when I hear a young boy screaming in terrible pain. I cover my mouth with my hand to avoid screaming as well. Just before I hear a deafening explosion, I manage to catch the boy''s last words: "Help me." He''s the one who called me. I collpase to my knees and grab my head with both hands. "What is this feeling? My heart''s pounding, but it''s not out of exhilaration. Why am I acting like this?" I notice my hand shaking wildy. "What''s happening to me?" "It''s an emotion called fear," a voice behind me answers. I quickly get back on my feet and summon Raeden back in my hand. I point my sword at the person behind me. It was Master. "What is the meaning of this?" I ask, demandingly. He sighs. "I guess I''ll have to start from the top. It''s a shame. I wanted to keep it a secret until we completed this project. You see, everything you have been doing for me up to now has all been for this! These children are my test subjects for the new world I''m going to build! A new world without those filthy humans! I''m going to create a new race of Crystal users that are under my complete control!" he madly exclaims. "Huh? You''re joking! How do you plan on building a race like that? You would only be able to use a tiny percentage of children, but they would their bodies would still end up decaying by the time they''re adults." "That''s what these experiments are for. I''m looking to find a way to forcibly make children compatible to the crystal using drugs and such to artificially increase their compatibility rate and slow the decaying process even further. The problem is, most of my test subjects have given in too quickly, so their body goes BANG!" he explains enthusiasticly using hand motions to picture an explosion. "But, we''re making very great progress. Eventually, I''ll create a whole army of them that will take over as the new dominant species on Earth!" "N-new species?" I ask, stuttering. "Oh, I forgot to talk about that. I''m planning on summoning the demon lord, Satan, from the depths of hell. He''ll wipe out the entire human race, leaving only the crystal users remaining. But don''t worry, I''ll make sure to shield you from the blast. After all, you are going to be the queen," he declares, smirking. "Like hell I''ll give such a twisted plan! Actually, that''s not even a logical plan to begin with! There''s no way you can summon a demon lord that doesn''t even exist, and even if you magically do, there''s no guarantee you won''t be wiped out along with the rest of the race!" I yell, outraged. "That''s where you''re wrong. First, Satan is real. Why, how could there be an akuma (demon) Crystal without a demon? And how could there be a demon without a demon lord? Do you remember when you first made a contract with the Akuma Crystal? You saw an angelic figure in front of you, right? Her name was Tenshi-sama (angel). However, I though something was strange. She didn''t have any wings, but she definitely looked like an angel. So, I came up with this theory: Tenshi-sama was originally an angel, but she lost her wings when she sided with the demons, so she lost her wings and descended to hell and became a demon in the form of an angel. And the one who was responsible for this was Satan. As for the summoning him, my plan''s already underway. I was able to produce one successful test subject. Do you know who it is?" he asks. "The target you assigned me, Hanako Tachibana." I whisper. "I''m surprised you were able to figure it out so quickly," he compliments. I figured it out during the dodgeball game in gym. She was the only one who could match me. But the thing that turned me on was the way she looked at me. Her eyes spoke to me. It was almost like real battle. That''s how I knew it was her. "She had the ability to summon demons and controls them. Which means, of we amplify the crystal''s power, we may be able to successfully summon the Demon Lord!The problem is that girl just won''t cooperate with me. As soon as the crystal responded, she just took off. But, even if she herself womt cooperate, you can still kill her and retrieve the crystal. That alone should be sufficient to summon Satan. However, I wonder. If you knew it was her, why didn''t you kill her?" he asks. "That''s ''cause..." I hesitate for a few moments. I don''t know what to say. Why didn''t I kill her? "It''s because I didn''t want to kill her without solid proof." "You idiot!" he bellows. "That could have been you''re one and only chance to kill her! We have no means of tracking her, and she hardly ever attends school, which is our only lead. We don''t even know the location of her hideout!" he yells. He realizes that he is in a fit of rage, so he takes a deep breath in and lets it out. "Don''t screw up next time. I don''t care if you have to blow up the entire school for you to do it. Just kill her when you get the chance. Then, use the memory wiper to-" "No, I whisper. "No, I won''t fulfill this mission! I''m not going to be your pawn any longer. I never asked to be a queen, and I never asked for the annihilation of the human race or these human experiments. I won''t be your loyal assassin any longer. I''ll kill you with this sword and shut down these experiments!" I announce with rage as I dash towards him, gripping my sword to stab him. He doesn''t even flinch. In fact, he''s smiling. That''s because he has an invisible barrier around himself, that not even Raeden can penetrate. When my sword comes in contact with the barrier, electrical pulses are sent through my sword and throughout my entire body, giving me a big shock in more ways than one. I fall backwards on my bottom. "Dammit!" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "My, how naughty you''ve become. I guess I''ll have to punish you. However, if you plead for mercy and swear loyalty to me, I''ll forget this nonsense." "Cut the crap! I''m not following your orders anymore!" "That''s too bad. Code red alert," he announces. All the doors in the facility begin to shut down with a thick layer of steel slowly falling down from the door. Those doors have a barrier similar to the one that bastard has around him when they lock, which could trap me inside this death room for who knows how long. I have to hurry and get out of here! I dart towards the exit, but a handful of androids block my escape route. Half of them are armed with hand guns, while others are armed with twin swords. They charge at me like a team formation. Two of the androids armed with swords attack me in the front lines (let''s call them group A) , while the other three armed with guns (let''s call them group B) supports them from the back, guarding the door. Group A brings one of their swords up over their heads for an overhead strike. I dodge to the right, and push off my right leg and prepare to counter by springing back at them. However, Group B anticipates my position and fires a few bullets to where my momentum would have taken me, had I not reflexively zigzagged my way around the bullets out of anticipation for their attack. I slash Group A in half before they could swing their swords again. I then continue my advance by sprinting towards the doors, ignoring the androids in front of me. The only thing that matters right now is escape. The android in the middle fires four bullets in four different areas of my body: thigh level, stomach level, chest level, and head level. The other two on either sides wait for me to dodge to either left or right to fire. I guess their not artificial intelligence for nothing. Except... "I''ve already seen through that trick!" I exclaim as I slide under all four bullets. The other two androids quickly respond by shooting at me while I am currently sliding on the ground. Please make it! I am able to barely dodge the bullets, leaving little room to breathe. I take out the middle android and jack its gun. The other two androids turn to face me and fire. I dodge the bullets by doing the limbo like they do in the movies. And yes, like in the movies, they end up killing each other. With the door nearly fully closed, I slide under the steel metal door as it fully closes behind me. I wipe off the sweat on my forehead. Unsuprisingly, an army of androids armed with silver twin pistols block my path. Infuriated, I yell, "Get out of my way!" I charge my mana into Raeden and convert it into lightning. The bright blue lightning envelopes my sword as it rises up to the top of the ceiling and falls down on the army. It electrifies them with a loud crash, and they are instantly incinerated. Metal body parts lie scattered across the floor. I take a long, hard glance at them. The artificial severed limbs. They look just like that day. I am suddenly paralyzed with fear. I gasp, as my eyes widen at the scene. My heart beats faster and faster. I experience flashbacks of the day I gained my powers as the Lightning Assassin. The day when I killed my parents because I let my power take control of me. The room with the burglar who nearly killed them, the face of the criminal, and the sight of my parents'' corpses come rushing back to my head. "Ahhhh!" I scream. My hand is shaking frantically. "Why? Why do I have to remember this now? Why, at this time and place, do I have to relive this experience now? He erased my memories of my past when I first joined the SMSO so that I''m not weakened by emotions. Yet, this memory comes to haunt me now of all times?" "That''s because that is your sin." I turn around to find him. My body won''t stop shaking. "I''ve heard that humans never forget their sins. That may be why the memory wiper has some glitches. You abandoned your parents to save your own skin, and then killed them with your own power. That is your sin. Now, you''re sin is disobeying my orders. Do you feel the guilt rushing back?" he asks slyly. "You''re wrong," I whimper. "I-" "You have greatly sinned, my young assassin. But rest assured, for I am as forgiving as our God. I will forgive your sins as long as you repent." "Why would I repent to a lousy geezer like you?" "What was that?" He makes a grimace and reveals a pistol from his coat. "You''ve proven to be beyond saving, Yuki-san. I''m afraid you''ll have to pay...with your life." I gaze into his murderous eyes. He''s going to kill me. I have to move. My legs refuse to move. They just continue to tremble. Dammit! Why won''t you move? "You''re life ends here, Yuki-san. Goodbye." MOVE! I slowly lift up my right arm and stab my right thigh with my sword. The excruciating pain forces my leg to stop shaking. He pulls the trigger and fires his gun. I push off my left leg and dodge to the right, firing the last bullet in my gun. It hits him in the left kidney. Blood accumulates in that injured area of his body as he covers it with his open hand. He falls to his knees. "An ordinary human like you should never go against a monster like me. Especially since I''m the monster you created," I say. "You won''t get away. I won''t let another one of my creations escape from me when I am this close to achieving my goal!" he bellows. He unsteadily raises his right hand and aims his gun at my forehead and fires. I fly up in the air and announce, "Assault Mode." Assault Mode is a feature of my shoes where blades pop up on the bottoms of my shoes like ice skates whenever I use the command. Aside from giving my kicks an extra snap, they also have another feature. "Boomerang!" I declare. I side kick in the air with my right leg as the blade on that shoe detaches itself and spins like a throwing knife heading towards him. Not I only have I dodged his bullet, but I have also managed to slice off his right arm. The blade then returns to me like a boomerang and reattaches itself to the bottom of my shoe. "Ahhhh!" he screams in agony. His right arm flies up in the air, away from his body, as the gun drops in front of him. "This is the end. But don''t worry, I won''t kill you. No, I want to see you suffer as I bring down your organization, then I''ll torture you before putting you to death. That is how you will repent for what you''ve did to me. I won''t say, ''repent for your sins.'' I''m not God. No, I''m the opposite. I''m a demon. That''s why I''m doing this for my own satisfaction." To my surprise, he starts to laugh. At first, it''s a small, but it then escalates to a fit of hysteric laughter. "Who said that this is the end?" he asks with a horrifying smirk. "Code red AA." The previously destroyed androids assemble back together like a magnet attracting metal. The wires from the elevator in front of me are cut as it drops to a level even further down. So he had even more secrets lying down there? In no time at all, the androids are back to their original state, like time has been turned back to 10 minutes ago. They retrieve their dropped pistols off the ground. "So then, Yuki Kira. How do you plan to escape?" he asks confidently. I take a deep breath in. "80 percent," I announce. My snowflake necklace glows a bright white light as my hair changes color from a pitch black color to a bright pink. This is the maximum amount of power my body can handle. I have to finish this quickly. The androids take aim, then fire all of their bullets simultaneously. I charge my mana into Raeden and it converts the mana into blue lightning. It creates a circular wall of lightning centered around me that incinerates any bullet that makes contact with it. My blade is my shield. My body is put under tremendous strain, but I have to endure it. I charge even more mana into Raeden as the wall around me expands like a force field and causes a vast explosion of blue lightning. The androids, as well as the rest of the floors above are completely decimated. Some scraps of rubble remain, but the rest of the base is completely obliterated. My snowflake necklace loses its bright light and becomes dim. My hair color returns to normal, and Raeden disappears., as well as the kanji symbol on my hand. I collapse at the bottom of this hell under the earth. Before I completely lose consciousness, though, I spot something up above in the surface watching me...