Prologue (1)

1

"… And we will continue shortly, after this groovy music!" The pink-haired girl's voice rang out cheerfully as she slipped a music record and turned off the microphone. Although her voice sounded jovial, Senor Adriano couldn't help but noticed how his employee was sweating profusely, even though the air conditioner was on full blast. He watched as she slumped on her black leather desk chair, her left hand gripping the armrest with such intensity that the man wondered if it would break under the pressure. Her right hand reached up to her damp forehead and attempted to wipe the sweat there. She was looking agitated and uncomfortable; her mouth curled to a frown as she furiously massaged her temple.

"Estas bien, Senorita?" Senor Adriano asked with concern.

This girl, who was barely 17, came to his house one rainy day about 2 months ago. She was suffering from hypothermia and was cold to the bones. Senor Adriano took pity of her and allowed her to stay with him, given that she could remember who she was and where she was. There were no forms of personal belonging on her, and the clothes she was wearing were old hand-me-downs. Attempts to unearth who she was always met with a dead end.

Normally, Senor Adriano wouldn't think of allowing her to work for him at his radio station, due to her age and her lack of a work permit and being a complete stranger. But after discovering her bubbly nature and her love of talking (after recovering from her ailments), he decided to relent and let her work there. So far everything had been going smoothly and there were no bumps on the road.

Until 2 days ago.

As he wrapped his arms around the girl, he felt her trembling slightly. He couldn't see her face as her huge curls acted as an obstruction.

"Josefa(He called her that, since she did not have a name.)? If you are not feeling well, maybe we should call it a day, it's almost 10pm" Senor Adriano spoke.

"I'm fine, I … I just having a migraine." Josefa sighed audibly. "I just feel weird, like there something nagging in my brain…" her head hung as though in defeat. " No worry, let's go home. I will call someone else to take over you, okay? I…" Before Senor Adriano could finished, Josefa screamed shrilly, her whole body shook violently, her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Senor Adriano was taken back by surprise. But before he could react to this strange situation, it stopped. Josefa stood stiffly, like a stature, her eyes staring blankly at him.

"Josefa?" Senor Adriano inched forward; fear suddenly took hold of him, though he knew not why. "Are…" he stopped when Josefa spoke up.

"Designated codename: Enero. Online." She droned.

A sudden flash of red in her eyes was the last thing he saw before 2 powerful hands gripped his throat.

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" One down, eleven to go"

2

"Ohhh, Mademoiselle , which dress do you think look better on me, hmmm?" The plump convivial lady chirped brightly as she place a flowery dress over her body and admiring herself at a body length mirror.

None of them, porc. The pink short hair girl thought with a mental sigh, but she forced herself to smile radiantly. " Well, the dress you are currently holding sure fits you perfectly, like a glove." Her sarcastic remark was lost to the woman, who frowned and shook her head,

"Non, il ne regarde pas assez bon. Please, find better dresses! All these dresses you selected looked horrible!" The woman exclaimed bluntly.

Ophelie felt her throbbing headache getting worse as he glared daggers at the narcissistic woman. You fat bitch… She thought irritably as she looked back at the heaps of clothes she pulled out just for this woman. Ophelie wondered why she decided to become a clothing store assistant, probably because of her love of clothing or the more major reason of feeding her stomach.

Her earliest memory was when she woke up in a dingy little house, on a bed with a elderly couple tending to her injuries and exhaustion. They told her that they found her just lying in a dark alleyway 2 months ago when they were on their way home one day. Thinking she was some homeless child and seeing the cuts and bruises on her body, they decide to bring her to their abode. When they questioned her identity, to her surprise and horror, she couldn't remember a single thing. The elderly couple decided to christen her as Ophelie, which she thought was a beautiful name.

She decided to take a job at a clothing store to help keep ends meet, being the sole breadwinner of this 'family'. She regretted her decision almost instantly.

The reason why I'm still here, you little shit, is because I was lucky the manager decided not to ask for any identification. Ophelie thought before a sudden pang of pain shot through her head, causing her to bend forward slightly.

"What are you waiting for, Mademoiselle, find me better dresses!" The woman retorted, unaware of Ophelie's predicament.

"It hurts, it hurts so much!" Ophelie screamed out, unable to block the pain any longer. It felt like something dark was worming its way into her mind, breaking all her defenses, until…until…

A few patrons turned their head to her direction, wondering what caused the outburst. The woman took a uncertain step as Ophelie began to shake violently, spittle flying out of her mouth. Then she stopped.

The plump woman was figuring how to complain to the manager of such bizarre display of action when she saw Ophelie's inhuman red eyes and unnatural standing position, like a staure.

"Designated codename: Fevrier. Online"

The woman did not have time to scream before a sharp kick to the head shattered her cranium and ended her existence.

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"Two down, ten to go."

3

"Excuse me, Frau."

The purple-haired girl looked up from the doodling on her notebook and into the eyes of a young burly youth. She found herself blushing almost immediately, slamming her notebook shut so that he would see her childish drawings.

"Yes? How c-can I he-elp y-you?" she stuttered, mentally cursing herself for having this speech impediment. It always made her sound like a fool and idiot and she wished she could get rid of this annoying pest.

The youth seemed amused at her difficulty in speaking, but was a gentleman enough to avoid making fun of her. Instead, he asked " I seemed to have a problem with my library card, could you please help me scan it again so I could borrow my books?" he smiled warmly.

Conradina's was lost in those warm blue eyes, it just feel so…friendly, so…She managed to snap out of her trance and immediately focusing on her task, taking his library card with sweaty palms and grabbing hold of huge tome, shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts.

"Psychology: The Study of the Unknown", the title of the tome stood out in golden letters. Conradina grimaced slightly at the title. How ironic. Here she was, having no memories of her past, suddenly finding herself in Germany with no knowledge of how she got here 2 months ago. She was so afraid back then; she's certainly no lionheart. She would have lost her mind from fear if she didn't find an orphanage. The kind people there took her in since she was still 17 or so. They provided her with warm food and shelter and showered love on her, making her feel blessed. When they asked where were her parents though, her mind would immediately draw a blank, panic started bubbling in her guts and she would burst into tears. They later recommended her to the national library to work as a librarian.

How I hate this feeling of the unknown. She grimaced again as her headache returned with a vengeance. And this stupid headache too. How many days have it been?

"You are beautiful, hübsche dame."

Conradina looked up sharply, a gasp stuck in her throat as her blush began to deepen to a dark shade of red. "D-D-Danke." She whispered timidly as her hand holding the card began to tremble slightly, her heart was beating furiously in her chest. He's…He's flirting with me! She thought joyfully, temporarily forgetting her task and her headache. No boy ever done that to me before…Mein Gott…

Her pleasant thoughts were cut short when the headache returned, but this time it felt like her head was splitting. She fell forward, banging her elbows on the marble desk as tears leaked from her eyes. Make it stop make it stop make it stop…, her thoughts became more and more meaningless as she felt herself slipping into darkness.

A sudden scream shook the boy and many library-goers to their core, it sounded like a banshee to him. He watched in terror as the girl he had a crush on writhed on the desk like a dying snake. Suddenly she stopped. Before he could voice his concern, however, she spoke, standing as though she was a soldier in attention. A brief flash of red glowered in her brown eyes.

"Designated codename: Marz. Online."

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"Three down, nine to go."

4

" Would you hurry up?! We are going to be late for school!" the little boy whined at his red-haired sister. He was already in his school uniform and was impatiently stamping his feet on the polished wooden floor, creating a racket loud enough to wake up the dead.

Michele groaned irritably and using her arm to prop herself to a sitting position on her bed. She was having a hell of a headache already and this din was not making things any better. As she strolled lazily into her bathroom, she couldn't help but think how loud and annoying her brother was. Or at least she tried to see him as her brother.

2 months ago, she woke up in a Italian police station. Confused and frightened by her surroundings and to add oil to fire, she had no recollection of her past. After she woke up, she was given some sandwich to eat, which she devoured like a ravished wolf. Then she was being questioned about her identity, which she honestly told them she couldn't remember. Michele heard one of the policemen muttered "Amnesia." And her blood ran cold. She couldn't have amnesia, could she? The thought alone send chills down her spine.

She spent a few days in a jail cell (the police thinking she must be a asylum seeker due to the lack of identification papers on her), until finally, a family of 3 identified her as one of their kin, thanks to the small news of her appearance.

When they first entered the cell, she looked at them curiously, as she never seen them before. The moment her family laid their eyes on her, they immediately rushed forward, crying tears of joy and sprouting out blessing and thanks to who-know-who.

"Soella!" The little boy cried out, hugging his sister tightly, who just stare at him strangely. "Who…who are you people?" she questioned , trying to released herself out of the embrace of her little brother. Gasps of shock echoed in the tiny cell. The man took a step forward, his lips trembling as he spoke, " Don't you remember us? We are your family."

Michele shook her head as she splashed some water on her face, trying to forget her shock and disbelief. It was cringe worthy now that she thought it, her reaction must had been laughable. Of course after their introduction, she lived with them for the past 2 months and to be honest, it wasn't very easy. It was disconcerting to bid 2 strangers goodnight and handle to a hyperactive child she almost felt no love for. At least things were getting better now and she felt closer to them (maybe less for her brother) and she attended school and make some new friends. Life was peaceful for a while.

Until today.

As Michele exited her bathroom fully changed to a sleeveless white shirt and jeans, her headache suddenly took a turn for the worse and she stumbled to the ground, her face a mask of pain. Go away, you stupid thing, go- her eyes suddenly widened as she felt a dark presence entered her brain, twisting every cog and wheels inside, all for its malicious purpose.

The little boy arrived at his sister's side when he saw her thrashing violently on the ground as though electrocuted, a scream emitting from her mouth. "Madre, Padre, come quickly! Sister is hurt!" the boy yelled for his parents desperately, looking at the doorway. Footsteps can be heard resounding down the corridor, but they would not arrive in time to see her horrifying sight. Suddenly, the boy felt no movement from his sister. He glanced upwards only to see her standing still and stiff, like a plastic doll. The boy knew something was wrong, very wrong when her eyes flashed red.

"Designated codename: Aprile. Online."

She then turned her attention to the petrified boy.

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"Four down, eight to go"

5

" Focus, Komako! You need to concentrate!" The old man said, his long white beard flowed gently in the cool breeze. In front of him stood a teenage girl with short dark hair, who was panting from the effort she put in. " Gomen nasai, Sensei," the girl known as Komako bowed before resuming to a defensive stance, both hands gripping onto a katanna, which gleamed in the evening light. The old man sighed before reuming to his own defensive stance with a similar katanna in his hands.

In a flash, the girl sprinted forward before viciously swinging her blade towards the old man. He casually raised his katanna to block the attack, a metallic clang could be heard when the metals collided. Immediately, she dropped to the ground, attempting to sweep-kick the old man's feet. The old man leaped into the air and did a back flipped before landing a distance away from the girl.

Komako rushed towards the old man before jumping into the air and slashing her katanna downwards to him. The old man dodged out of the way using his katanna to shield him before grabbing the girl in mid-air and sending her forcefully to the ground. Then with the speed of a striking cobra, he poised the katanna near the throat of his downed opponent, " Sloppy." he commented, his tone indicating that he was not pleased with her performance. He moved the katanna away from her so she could stand up.

"Forgive me…" She murmured before collapsing to the ground on all fours, panting heavily. The old man shook his head in disappointment. How is she going to improve if this continued?

The old man thought back 2 months ago when he found this girl wandering aimlessly around the forest in the mountain near his dojo. The girl was heavily malnourished, having not eaten for days and was near death. He saved her and brought her to his dojo, where he fed her warm food and provided shelter from the harsh outside world. When she recovered, he found out that she couldn't remember who she was or how she ended up in the mountainous region. The old man sympathized her plight and allowed her to stay with him, even participating in the training he gave to his students. She managed to astonish him with her professional swordsmanship, causing him to wonder how she got that touch. Komako had been improving steadily under his guidance, pleasing him in every lesson.

Until a few days ago.

The old man eyed her trembling form, wondering if she was ill. It started a few days ago, when she would complain about headaches that were so severe that once she couldn't lift herself out of bed.

He started towards her and asked "Are you alright?"Komako stood up with shaking legs and tiredly nodded affirmative. "You seems tired. Let's continue tomorrow." The tired girl smiled gratefully towards her master before it turned to a scream. Immediately, the old man grabbed her before she falls and at the same time, sensing a huge amount of pure evil energy in the air, so evil that the old man could feel the temperature of the field outside of his dojo dropped rapidly.

What am I sensing? He thought in horror before realizing the girl was not in his arms anymore. In fact, she stood a few feet away from him, standing still like a sentinel of the field, her eyes devoid of any emotion. How- he couldn't finish his train of thoughts when Komako suddenly appeared in front of him-almost as if she teleported-and slashed the unprepared man in the chest with her katanna. The force of the slash threw the old man off his feet and landing on the ground, his blood seeping from his wound and mixing with the soil. He grimaced in pain and looked up, seeing his student looming over him emotionlessly. " Komako, how… why…" the old man said weakly, his vision blurring, but not enough to miss seeing her eyes turned red.

"Designated codename: Satsuki. Online"

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"Five down, seven to go."