The Assassins’ Order.
They were a religious sect devoted to the art of assassination. Masters of slipping through shadows with secret techniques, they claimed countless lives, amassing both wealth and infamy.
But not just anyone could wield such forbidden skills.
Orphans were brought in and trained under harsh, poisonous conditions—like a living venom pit—but only a rare few ever became true assassins.
The rest were discarded.
Because of this, the truth about the Assassins’ Order remained buried in darkness for a long time.
How exactly they moved through shadows, how they killed so stealthily—only a handful of high-ranking members even knew.
And now that the Order had vanished, only one person remained who truly understood its secrets.
Asana.
She stepped onto the shadow.
Then the presence spoke.
“Will you embrace the darkness…?”
Her body began to sink beneath the shadow, as if swallowed by a swamp.
The so-called Assassin God of the Order was no mere myth—it truly existed.
But Asana saw it not as a god, but as a monster.
The Order’s training was nothing more than a cruel game to please this creature. Through endless torturous drills, those touched by its capricious favor were granted power.
Among all in the Order’s history, Asana was one of the few to receive the Assassin God’s favor.
“You really shouldn’t go…”
“Shut up.”
Asana showed no respect for the Assassin God.
“This is dangerous…”
“You call yourself a god, yet you’re scared of a human?”
“…”
The Assassin God hesitated to enter the imperial palace, almost as if it feared something.
The time Asana spent away from Yuri, supposedly for training, was actually to persuade the Assassin God and draw more of its power.
Thanks to that, she could now delve deeper into the darkness.
“Move carefully…”
“I said shut up.”
“Ha, ha, ha…”
The Assassin God’s voice echoed directly in her mind.
“You damn woman…”
“Then go away.”
“Can’t help it. You’re all I have left. Ha, ha, ha…”
Some speculated this presence was a spirit.
But Asana didn’t care about the Assassin God’s true nature.
She only used it because her employer, Yuri, needed her help.
Swimming through the darkness, Asana crossed the palace’s boundary.
“This place feels ominous. An energy beyond your control…”
The Assassin God kept babbling.
Asana ignored it.
She had known the risks from the start. Ever since nearly being dragged out of the shadows in Yuzes, she realized dark magic might detect her.
So she had to move even more secretly and cautiously.
And that was her specialty.
Even without the Assassin God’s power, her skills were considered the finest in the Order’s history.
“So this is where the human emperor lives…”
Ignoring the Assassin God’s warnings, Asana slipped deeper into the palace. Corners, thresholds, every shadowed nook became her path.
Finally, she reached the place she sought.
It was her first time here.
“Stew’s off today. Did I overdo the seasoning?”
“Apologies, I’ll inform the chef.”
“No, I like it salty.”
In the grand hall draped with crimson cloth, the emperor dined alone.
On a glass table with golden legs, dishes of lavish food stretched endlessly.
The emperor savored each bite.
The Assassin God chuckled.
“The human emperor is a gourmet. Ha, ha, ha…”
Asana stayed in the shadow cast by a statue, carefully observing Emperor Ivar.
No sign yet of the trace her employer sought.
The emperor chatted with a bowed attendant as he ate.
“What kind of meat is this?”
“Beef, Your Majesty.”
“I know it’s beef. Which cut?”
“Rump.”
“You fed me rump? The cow’s rump? Ha ha ha…”
“Apologies.”
“No need to apologize. It’s delicious.”
Though he acted finicky, he never seriously scolded or summoned the chef.
Asana thought the emperor wasn’t truly cruel.
Many change when they gain power, but for one who rules a continent, his behavior was relatively mild.
He kept teasing his attendant.
“Was it worth risking all this just to watch that? Ha, ha, ha…”
Asana waited until the emperor finished his meal.
The many dishes he barely touched were cleared away, leaving a white, ice cream-like dessert before him.
He took a spoonful.
“Oh, I’ve never had this before. Sweet and smooth. What is it?”
“The chef developed it for Your Majesty. It has no name yet. If you name it, it will be a great honor.”
“No name yet? Ha ha, they made this just for me? Being emperor has its perks. Let me see…”
Ivar smiled and took another bite. But then his spoon froze mid-air.
The smile vanished from his eyes.
“Do I have to name it myself?”
“Your Majesty?”
He stood abruptly.
“How dare you order me around.”
“Your Highness, I—”
“You worthless worm!”
Ivar shouted, throwing something from the table. A plate struck the attendant’s forehead, shattering and drawing blood.
The sudden shift was shocking.
The palace guards rushed inside.
“Your Majesty?”
Ivar didn’t stop. Holding the spoon he’d been using, he grabbed the attendant by the hair and forced him to look up.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. Please forgive me.”
“If you’re sorry, don’t do stupid things.”
What followed made even Asana frown.
“Ahhhhh!”
Ivar jabbed the spoon into the attendant’s eye, stirring it like ice cream.
Blood and vitreous humor mixed and spilled down.
“Y-Your Majesty…”
Even the guards were stunned but dared not intervene.
Ivar dropped the nearly unconscious attendant and tossed the spoon to the floor.
“Bring me a new spoon.”
“Eh?”
“Do I have to say it twice?”
The guards bowed and left immediately.
The attendant convulsed on the floor, ignored by all.
“Ha, ha, ha…”
Only the Assassin God laughed with delight.
Asana watched silently.
When the guards returned with a new spoon, Ivar resumed eating dessert as if nothing had happened. A guard stood watch beside him.
“Excellent taste.”
He closed his eyes, savoring it peacefully—hard to believe he’d just gouged someone’s eye out.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Ivar spat out what he was eating.
There was blood mixed in.
“Huh?”
He stared blankly, then vomited blood.
“Gah…”
A guard rushed to support him, shouting.
“Priest! Call the priest! Poison!”
“Poison!”
Chaos erupted.
Guards flooded the hall as the emperor slumped against them, foaming and bleeding from his mouth.
The word “poison” echoed repeatedly.
“Talk about bad timing. Quite a show. Ha, ha, ha…”
Asana asked the Assassin God.
“Will the emperor die?”
“No, his vitality remains strong…”
“Is it really poison?”
“That I don’t know.”
Watching the emperor carried out on a stretcher, Asana sighed.
She couldn’t make sense of what she’d just witnessed.
Either way, it was time to leave. The palace’s magical barriers drained the Assassin God’s power unusually fast.
“Leave.”
Just then, the Assassin God’s voice grew urgent.
“You must leave…”
“What?”
“Something is here.”
It said no more, but Asana felt herself sinking deeper into darkness. The Assassin God was unleashing its power.
She moved immediately.
“Hurry.”
Retracing her path, she ran along the shadowed route leading outside the palace.
Now she sensed something chasing her.
A black, ominous presence.
“Don’t look back. Don’t look back…”
The Assassin God warned.
But Asana ignored it and glanced behind.
Her breath caught in shock.
A grotesque figure with blood-red eyes ran alongside her in the shadows.
Its form shifted like a flickering campfire, but those monstrous eyes remained fixed on her.
Her body froze.
Even the shadows that always aided her felt like quicksand, hindering her movement.
“Snap out of it, you damn woman!”
The Assassin God snapped sharply. Only then did Asana shake off the strange numbness.
“Run!”
She sprinted madly.
She was certain that if that thing caught her, she would never die peacefully.
At last, she reached a narrow gap in the shadows at the edge of the outer city walls.
This spot served as both the entrance and exit to the imperial palace.
Asana hurriedly slipped through the gate.
“Hah…”
Once outside the palace, shadowy paths stretched out in every direction.
Without hesitation, Asana grabbed onto one at random and moved forward. There were so many branches that any unknown pursuer could no longer follow her.
From then on, she kept weaving through the shadows.
Only when she felt completely safe did she finally emerge into the open.
“Ah…”
She found herself in a filthy back alley.
Exhausted, she collapsed to the ground. Using her abilities to that extent meant she’d have to lie down and rest for a while.
She thought she heard the Assassin God whispering something, but since she was no longer within the shadows, the words were faint and unclear.
She let out a long sigh.
She had no idea where she was. Even trying to stand was beyond her strength.
Then, from a distance, footsteps approached.
On guard, Asana raised her hand to the hidden dagger at her side.
This was a deserted street in the imperial city. Anything could happen here.
“Well, well. What do we have here? A young lady lying all alone…”
There wasn’t just one voice.
Several chuckles echoed from nearby.
Desperately, Asana tried to push herself up, but the weakness overwhelmed her. It was the price she paid for overusing the Assassin God’s power.
“Looks like she took some bad stuff and passed out, huh?”
“This place is rough as hell, you know. Heh heh…”
She took a deep breath.
Summoning every ounce of strength, she prepared to strike.
“We should help her out, don’t you think?”
“Can’t be helped. Heh heh…”
“A world where we all help each other, right? Heh heh…”
“Quiet down, all of you. The lady’s scared, you know? Hee hee…”
“Looks like we’re doing a good deed for once. Heh heh…”
Just as someone reached out to touch her—
Asana sprang up, drawing her dagger and swinging it fiercely.
Her head spun from forcing her body to move, but she couldn’t stay still.
But her attack was stopped.
“Now, now…”
A black-gloved hand gripped her wrist.
“Seems like there’s been some misunderstanding.”
Beyond that hand was a familiar face.
“Aren’t you seeing the world a little too darkly, Miss Asana?”
“You’re…”
It was Gorio.
Behind him stood his subordinates, holding placards with slogans like:
“Let’s drive drugs off the streets.”
“Drugs make people fools.”
“Medicine to pharmacists, drugs to the peacekeepers.”
“Drugs lead to self-destruction.”
“Do drugs, and you’re done for.”
Gorio helped Asana to her feet, holding her hand gently.
“You haven’t taken up drugs in the meantime, have you?”