"Leave mommy and daddy alone!" A boy no older than six years old screamed. A woman was holding the dead corpse of the boy's father by the face and she threw the corpse away from her.

"I've heard enough, you nuisance!" The woman retorted. She extended her two fingers and shot a blast of magic at the boy, hitting him in the eye and causing him to fall on his back, wailing in pain. The woman laughed at his pain then turned to a small crib on the other end of the room. She then made her way to the crib. She rose her hand to kill the infant but she felt a blast of magic slam against her back. She turned to see the small boy standing behind her, holding the eye she had blasted.

"Y-You ingrate...That actually hurt!" She exclaimed.

"Don't you dare touch her!" He growled. The woman's scowl slowly turned into a smile.

"That power of yours, it could be useful," She stated. She ran to the boy and then grabbed him by the jaw and lifted him up into the air. He slowly felt his life energy drain as the woman began to drain his magic ability. The boy struggled as his magic was drained trying to move the womans hand away. The boy faded as his grip on the woman's arm became weak. He began to fade away as he was thrown away. The woman then shot a powerful blast of magic at the boy, causing him to go straight through the wooden interior of the home. The boy felt a pool of blood begin to shape under him as the rain of the outdoors fell on his face. The woman then walked over to his body and she looked at the boy. The boy tried to grab her, but she kicked his hand, possibly breaking it.

"It's useless to keep struggling against death. When a mage loses their aura, they die automatically, but I'm surprised you managed to live this long. There is something extraordinary about you, which is why I must exterminate you now," the woman laughed as she placed her foot on the boy's stomach.

"Say hello to your parents for me," the woman laughed as she shot a blast of magic at the boy causing him to lose consciousness.

"Hey, wake up," a voice demanded. The boy woke up to see a man with long hair standing over him. The boy sat up and saw the hole in the side of his home. He ran to his house, but felt pain in his back due to the pain he'd been put through after being sent through the house. He ran to the corpses of his parents.

"No, mommy...daddy...No..." He then remembered his sister. He stumbled to the crib to discover that it was empty.

"No...My sister...Ah!" The boy exclaimed as he felt pain shoot through his ribs. The man then handed the boy a mask.

"Your face is horribly burned, maybe you should wear this mask," the man suggested. The boy took the mask and moved to the corpses of his parents. He took the blood of his mother and father and splattered the blood all over the mask.

"As a memory...To my family, this mask will have their blood on it...That woman...She will pay...With Saint Elimine as my witness, I WILL EXACT REVENGE!" The boy exclaimed angrily as he put on his new mask.

"Boy, what is your name?" The man asked.

"My name? My name...Is Kai..." The boy replied. "Who are you?" The boy growled.

"Karel," the swordsman replied as the boy looked at the man's sword as a sadistic smile appeared on his face.

(14 years later)

"Kai! Come here!" A voice ordered. The boy had grown up now 20 years of age. In the last fourteen years, he had continued to wear the mask in honor of his family. No one had seen his face.

"Yes, Lord Lundgren?" Kai asked.

"I have a new mission for you, this is of utmost importance. Recently, two knights have gone to Sacae to find Lady Madelyn and her family. Little do they know, Lady Madelyn and her husband were slaughtered by bandits. However, their daughter still lives," Lundgren growled.

"What does this have to do with me milord?" Kai asked.

"Your one of the finest assassins in all of Lycia. You may have the worst in battle ability, but strategically you're the best. I want you to assassinate the girl!" Lundgren ordered.

"Give me a name, and it will be done," Kai replied.

"Lyndis, kill Lyndis, that is your objective." Lundgren answered.

"Then it shall be done," Kai replied as he began to walk away from the throne, dagger in hand prepared for his next mission.

"Wait a moment Kai! For this mission, you will go by the name, Mark, is that understood?" Lundgren ordered.

"Yes, my liege," Kai answered as he exited the room.

Kai began to wake up in a bed as a headache began to take affect on the boy. He sat up as he began to look around.

"What the hell? The last thing I remember was...Oh no! Dammit! Those bandits, I need to leave and fast before they-" Kai ran toward the exit but he accidentally ran into a woman on his way out.

"Oh, my apologies," Kai said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"It's okay, just be a little more careful," the woman replied.

"Still, I'm glad to see you're okay," the woman stated.

"Thank you, but why did you help me?" Kai asked.

"I saved you because I felt it would have been cruel just to leave you on the plains. You were in a pool of blood, I could not just leave you there to die," Lyn answered.
"Thank you, may I ask your name?" The boy asked.

"I am Lyn of the Lorca," Lyn replied. Kai was surprised. The woman he was supposed to kill had saved his life. He couldn't be careless however, he smiled at her with an innocent look.

"My name is Mark, pleased to make your acquaintance," Kai began to laugh to himself. He could kill Lyn easily right now if he wanted since she was unarmed, but he preferred to deceive his target. Trick them into a false sense of security then strike them down when they least expected it. At that moment a loud bang was heard outside.

"Mark, wait right here, I'll be right back," Lyn stated as she walked outside. Kai began to ponder when and where he would strike down Lyndis. Suddenly, Lyn burst into the room rushing for her sword.

"Dammit, bandits! They must be looking to harm the people in the villages! I have to stop them! Wait here, I'll be back in a second," Lyn said. She then darted out of the door and Kai smiled.

"Heh, I could let her die out there, but I've been dying to get involved in violence...Heheh, I guess I'll have to get involved," Kai laughed as he ran out of the door. He watched on as Lyn began to attack two bandits in a two on one fight. Lyn was unable to attack due to the odds, but she could dodge. One bandit went for a violent swing and Lyn saw the opportunity. She ducked the attack and the bandits axe slammed into his partners rib.

"Gah! You backstabbing idiot!" One bandit screamed. Lyn took advantage and slammed her sword into the chest of the bandit who accidentally wounded his partner. Without missing a beat, Lyn turned and decapitated the remaining bandit as his head fell off his body. Kai was in awe of what had just happened.

"Impressive, she's got talent, that's for sure. Too bad I have to-" Kai had begun to make his way back to the ger, but as he turned he backed into something. He turned to see a bandit that was considerably taller than him standing behind him with a massive smirk.

"Blast!" Kai exclaimed knowing what was next. The bandit attempted to kill the boy who managed to duck the slash. He tried to get his dagger, but as soon as he pulled it out, the bandit kicked him in the hand. Kai then received a foot to the stomach, sending him flying. Lyn appeared and attacked the bandit. The two began to fight at an inhuman rate. The bandit tried going for the killing blow, but Lyn dodged slashing the bandit in the stomach. Batta stumbled back and began to laugh much to Lyn's surprise.

"Don't you know who I am?" The bandit laughed. His smirk quickly turning to a scowl.

"I'M BATTA THE BEAST! I WILL NOT FALL TO YOU! FEAR THE BEAST!" Batta exclaimed as he charged at Lyn. Lyn dodged his next move and then stabbed him in the ribs. He let out a massive howl as she slashed him in the chest once again. He pushed her away and screamed in anger.

"THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I WILL NOT BE BESTED BY A SACAEN WHORE!" Batta screamed. He then heard a whistle behind him. He angrily turned and Kai leaped onto his back. Kai slammed his dagger into the side of Batta's jaw, causing him to howl once again. He grabbed the boy from behind his head and flipped him over. Lyn tried to help Kai, but Batta grabbed her by her clothing and tossed her away like a rag doll. Kai stood and then charged at Batta again. Batta slashed at the boy. Kai managed to dodge by dropping on all fours. He landed, but he had made a mistake. He looked up and Batta's foot slammed into his right arm, Kai's arm bending awkwardly.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kai let out with a blood-curdling scream. His arm was broken and he held onto his broken arm as he looked up at Batta. He then kicked Kai in the face, but Kais mask protected his face from being disfigured. Kai landed on the ground with a thud. Batta turned to combat Lyn, but it was too late, Lyn slammed her sword straight through Batta's chest killing the bandit. She dropped the bandit's dead body and she rushed to Kai's side.

"Are you okay?" Lyn asked. Kai sat up covering his face with his left arm. For twenty long years, he had been masked. He was disfigured horribly after his family was slaughtered. He felt that he was hideous and he never wanted anyone to see his face, but Batta had destroyed his mask. His mask covered his whole skull. With his mask broken his entire skull was visible. His light green hair being the first thing that was seen.

"What's wrong Mark?" Lyn asked the boy.

"My mask is gone. I-I can't let my face be seen. I'm horribly disfigured. Fourteen long years and now-" Kai began.

"I'm sure it's-" Lyn managed to get Kai to move his hand from his face. She saw his true face, and she was shocked at what she saw. She had expected Kai to be horribly disfigured, but she was wrong. In fact, it was the complete opposite of what she expected. His blue eyes looking straight back at her. A scar over his left eye, but it had little to no impact on how he looked.

"You aren't disfigured. You look perfectly normal," Lyn stated. Kai was in shock. "Here, look," Lyn told. Kai walked over to the small puddle Lyn was pointing to. He saw his reflection and he was shocked.

"What in the world, how is this possible? She-She shot fire in my face! I should be disfigured, this is impossible!" Kai exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Lyn asked.

"I-I-It's nothing, let's just get out of here,"

Lyn had just finished wrapping up Kai's broken arm. It was now tied to his stomach. Lyn had used some cloth she found to wrap it around his arm and over his shoulder. Kai was sitting on the bed.

"Thank you, Lyn." Kai stated.

"Don't mention it, but...I wanted to ask you something," Lyn began.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

"Can I maybe...Travel with you?" Lyn managed to ask.

"What! No, I'm sorry, but I can't let you travel with me. How old are you? Fifteen? Sixteen?" Kai asked.

"I'm eighteen," Lyn replied.

"I'm sorry Lyn, but I will not even consider it without your parents consent," Kai retorted. In truth, he only said that because he knew in the end he would just kill Lyn when she fell asleep, so saying yes would be pointless.

"Parents...Consent?" Lyn looked away as Kai began to hear sniffling. He turned to Lyn who was covering her face.

"My-My parents...My tribe...They were all slaughtered...Bandits...They came...and killed everyone..." Lyn began. Kai was shocked at what came next. His heart seemed to sink when Lyn revealed her family's demise.

"Hey it's okay, besides I-" Kai froze, he remembered the slaughter of his family. The memory played back in his head over and over again. He eventually felt sorrow take over his heart. This was the first time in years he'd felt emotion.

"Y-You're not alone," Kai told Lyn.

"What?" Lyn replied.

"My mother...My father...My sister...They were killed before my eyes, and I was left for dead. Mother...Father..." Kai cried. "Wha-What is this emotion? Is this...Is this sorrow?" Kai asked himself. After the demise of his family he hadn't had any emotion about anything. This was a first for Kai.

"L-Lyn...It-It's okay...Don't...Don't embrace it..." Kai began.

"Embrace what?" Lyn asked.

"Don't embrace the hate...Don't let the hate overcome your soul," Kai instructed. He embraced it after his family died. He knew that when you embraced it all you desired was to kill the one who caused that hate to flare in your heart. Knowing that he would take Lyn's life later assured that Lyn would not get the chance to exact her revenge.

"Th-Thank you Mark, I feel better now," Lyn replied.

"I'll consider letting you travel with me. I'll sleep on it, is that okay?" Kai asked. Lyn nodded and Kai nodded back.

"I'll go outside, good night," Kai began.

"You don't have to, there are two beds here," Lyn stated.

"Two?" Kai began, but he remembered. One of the beds must belong to Lyn while the other belonged to her parents before they passed.

"Very well, good night Lyn," Kai stated as he smiled to the swordswoman, contemplating when he would strike.

Lyn was asleep on her bed and was in a deep sleep. Kai walked into the room with his dagger in hand. He waltzed over to Lyn's bed and looked down at the girl as she laid asleep on her bed. He unsheathed the dagger from it's case and smirked.

"Sorry Lyndis, nothing personal, it's just business," Kai stated as he raised his dagger. He brought down the blade straight at Lyndis' skull, but he stopped a centimeter from her face. He was shocked. He could not bring himself to kill Lyn, why he did not know. He rose his hand again and went for another attack, but again he stopped just before it could damage Lyndis. In anger he left the room and went outside he ran outside and threw his dagger at a tree.

"DAMMIT! What is wrong with me? It was an inch away! An inch! Why can't I do it?" Kai exclaimed. He then began to think and he came to a conclusion.

"I see, it's my pride. Subconsciously, my pride won't let me kill her without repaying her in someway. That is the only explanation. It's decided. I'll let her travel with me, and once my debt is paid, I will kill her where she stands!" Kai laughed as he walked back into the ger.

Kai was waiting outside for Lyn who was taking a while to finish preparations. He was getting impatient- he wasn't a patient man and he wanted to get going as soon as possible. The sooner he repaid his debt, the sooner he could assassinate his target. Lyn then got out of the get and Kai let out a deep breath.

"It's about time, what took so long?" Kai asked.

"It turns out I didn't have all the things you asked for." Lyn stated.

"WHAT! Perfect, if those bastards hadn't stolen my stuff, this wouldn't be an issue." Kai growled.

"We could always go to Bulgar, it is only a few hours away," Lyn replied.

"Fine, we'll go to Bulgar, let's get this over with," Kai grumbled as the two began their walk towards Bulgar.

(To be continued)