A long, drawn out sigh left Issei as he opened his eyes.
He sat up, rubbing an eye with a hand, and groggily glanced around the room, noticing how unusually dark the room was. He narrowed his eyes as he slid out of his bed, suspicion forming as the carpeted floor was cold to the touch.
'Is there someone here?' He thought, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists as he stood still, not willing to move from his spot. 'The room is unusually dark and I…sense something.'
There was a sharp exhale from inside the darkness as Issei hardened his gaze, the human barely making out the silhouette of the hooded figure that stood a mere foot away from him. "Shit…" The figure muttered, their voice deep and husky, a hand reaching out to grab something that was attached to their waist.
Issei winced in pain as a dagger slashed his throat open, blood spurting out as if it was a grand fountain in a park. It drenched everything it touched, including the figure in front of Issei, and had a foul, metallic scent.
"I was hoping to kill you in your sleep," the figure muttered as they stepped into the light, pushing Issei onto his bed as Issei clawed at his throat, choking and gasping for air, "but I had no other choice." The figure, whom was dressed in a black cloak that concealed their features, raised their dagger into the air, poised and ready to sink his weapon into the throat of his next victim. "So don't blame me. Blame the person who sent me."
His knife fell through the air faster than the eye could see.
Instead of piercing the flesh of next victim Raynare, it sunk into the feathery inside of a pillow. The figure visibly recoiled, his body becoming tense as his grip on his knife hardened.
Raynare was gone from her position on the bed.
"So you're awake now, huh?" The figure drawled, grip still tightening on the hilt of his knife. His arm flew through the air at an incredible speed as he pivoted his body at the torso, following through as he spun on his feet.
But he hit nothing but air, the blood that had already stained the dagger shooting through the air in an arc. The sound of Issei's blood fountain spraying everywhere quickly died out, the only sounds being the figure's slow breathing and the minute dripping of blood.
"Where…?" The figure whispered to himself, glancing around the bloodied room with narrowed eyes. "Where did you go, little girl?" The figure stepped forward, knife held in front of them as they cautiously approached the wardrobe. "Come on out, little girl. I promise I won't hurt you." He drawled, his free hand reaching out to grasp the handle of the door.
He flung the door open, knife raised above his head as a grin spread across his face, his expectations rising as time seemed to slow down. "I've found you!"
There was no one in the wardrobe. There was no traces of anyone being in the wardrobe.
The figure clicked his tongue in disappointment, "So you're not in the wardrobe. Where are you, then?" The figure silently closed the door as he talked to himself, a quiet chuckle leaving his lips as he spun around to further search the room.
However, as he stepped forward to move through the room, he stopped and glanced at the blood drenched bed to admire his work. But his heart sunk as he realised something.
Issei's body was no longer there.
It disappeared just like Raynare had.
"That body…what the hell? Where did it go?" The figure muttered, gripping the hilt of their dagger with deathly white knuckles, rapidly glancing around the room in an attempt to find any signs of Issei's body moving. "Where? I must know where it went! Dammit, is that guy still alive?!"
"Hoh…do you want to know how where I went? I'm right here." Chills ran down the figure's spine as they slowly turned around at the torso. Issei stood on the spot, uninjured and with a wide smile that betrayed the fierce look in his eyes. "Why would an assassin want to know where the body of their victim went, anyway?"
"Just shut up and die!" The assassin lunged at Issei and thrust their dagger towards his chest, the blade piercing his fragile body without any resistance. Issei simply grinned in response as he struggled to hold back a pained expression..
"That really hurts, you know. Although I may be immortal," Issei grabbed the wrist of the assassin and twisted it to the side, shattering all of the bones in an instant, "this kind of stuff still hurts really badly." Issei yanked the dagger out of his body as the assassin fell onto their knees, grasping their deformed wrist as they screamed in pain.
"You…dammit, why won't you die…?" The assassin managed to mutter through grit teeth, his breathing laboured as he stared down at the ground. Issei chuckled in response, fiddling with the dagger that was stained with his own blood, treating the assassin in a way that one would treat dirt.
"Immortality really sucks for those who share your occupation." Issei inspected the dagger as he spoke, tracing every square inch of the weapon with his eyes.
"Immortality? Heh…don't mess with me!" The assassin pounced at Issei from their kneeling position and held his uninjured hand out to grab Issei by the neck, an animalistic instinct overtaking him as he was determined to fight for his survival.
"Don't mess with you, huh?" Issei mumbled as he pointed the dagger at the assassin's form, the assassin's eyes widening as fear overcame him in an instant. "Too bad for you, then."
The dagger pierced the figure's hood and eye, forcing them to scream out in pain. Issei yanked the dagger out of assassin's eye, pushed them into the wall and held the dagger out to the side, blood dripping from the tip as Issei apathetically stared at the trembling form of the whimpering assassin.
"How…unfortunate." Issei said as he lowered his arm, staring down at the pitiful form of the assassin. "I know Sirzechs' sent you; it was obvious from the beginning, but I had to make sure you weren't just an ordinary thief. So, knowing that, what should I do with you?" The assassin shuddered as Issei spoke and curled up into a ball, their head cradled in their bloody hands.
The scent of iron permeated the room.
"…Sorry…I'm sorry…sorry…" The assassin's whispers were barely audible as he cowered under Issei's emotionless stare. "Please don't kill me…please…don't kill me…it hurts…it hurts…" Issei sighed and tossed the dagger to the side as he crouched down to the assassin's level.
"I really pity you right now." Issei spoke as if his statement was a widely renowned fact. "So I'm offering you two choices…"
"It hurts…I want to die…please kill me…"
"Die here, cold and alone while fulfilling the code of an assassin, or…"
Issei's door flung open with a loud bang.
He instinctively glanced up at the doorway.
"Well…shit…" Issei muttered to himself as his parents hesitantly entered his room.
I held a hand over my mouth as I yawned.
It was fairly early in the morning and I was on my way to school, Issei stumbling around beside me as he struggled to stay awake. Every now and again, I had to elbow him in the ribs to stop him from falling onto his face, but I didn't mind.
It was all because of what happened last night…
I didn't wake up during the whole scuffle, but from what I had heard from Issei, an assassin had infiltrated my new home and was planning on murdering him in his sleep with me being collateral damage. However, that didn't go as planned as Issei managed to fight off the assassin, stabbing him in the eye with his own weapon.
If I had to be honest, I didn't wake up until the police arrived. Even then, I woke up on a couch in the lounge, a different spot from where I had fallen asleep…
Apparently, someone from a neighbouring house had heard the screams of the assassin and various sounds that would indicate someone was being murdered and had called the police. What the police would do with a supernatural assassin that managed to sneak into a house that had Issei in it was something I didn't care about, but as long as they were locked away for the rest of their life, I was happy.
And, because the police had shown up, everyone had to recount what they had seen in regards to the incident and that took a while…needless to say, they also took Issei down to the station for questioning and whatnot and that left me alone for the remainder of the night.
"Issei, is the school even open today? Didn't Sirzechs and Azazel destroy it yesterday?" As we continued to walk through the quiet streets, Issei's eyelids started to droop as he blankly stared at me. He quickly rubbed his eyes, straightened his back and sighed, shoving both of his hands into his pockets.
"The Student Council can do amazing things. Besides, your uniform wouldn't be sitting on the doorstep if school wasn't on today, would it?" I huffed in annoyance, realising that what he said was true. Knowing that the Student Council was full of Devils, wouldn't I have faith in their ability to restore the school overnight?
"Will anyone turn up, though?"
"I dunno." Issei quickly responded, turning a corner with a yawn. "After yesterday, even if the principal told everyone to come to school, I think a lot of parents won't let their kids go. Fear and all of that." I lowered my head in understanding, knowing that what Issei said made a lot of sense.
Fear consumes humans, it changes the way they think and it ruins their world. I don't have any experience dealing with humans who were consumed by fear, but if I think about what would be running through their mind, it's unusually easy to imagine how they'd act.
"I wouldn't worry about it, though." Issei planted a hand on my head, knowing that it would annoy me, and cracked a smirk as he peered at me. "The less people there are, the better it is for you, right?"
I sighed and pulled Issei's hand off of my head, "I don't want to deal with a bunch of annoying, hormonal teens, so yes, it is. They'll still make me mad, though…"
"Well, you're going to have to get used to it sooner or later."
Issei stopped in his tracks as he finished speaking, his whole body still as he narrowed his eyes. I, who had continued walking like an idiot, turned around and planted my hands on my hips.
"What are you doing?" There was a brief pause as Issei slowly observed his surroundings, his eyes drifting from rooftops to light posts and back to the rooftops.
"Raynare, I need you to listen to me." I sighed and began to make my way to his side. "Stop. Don't move any closer." I stopped in the middle of a step, tilting my head to the side in confusion.
"Issei, what are you doing?" I called out, hands on hips once more.
"Raynare, I need you to run. Right now. Find your way to the school and stay there. Even if it's closed, the Student Council should be there and they will protect you."
"Huh? What, why?"
"Just go."
"Tell me why I should and then I might go."
"Oh, for fucks sake, Raynare!" In an instant, I had been tackled to the floor.
A thin, black object flew through the space where my head was, piercing the exterior wall of a nearby house instead of my brain.
I glanced at the object, quickly looked at my surroundings and noticed that I couldn't see anyone.
"Is someone attacking us?" I muttered, pushing myself to my feet. Issei was already on his feet, his eyes tracing the nearby rooftops once more in an attempt to discover our assailant.
"I don't know. And that's why you should run."
I could agree with Issei this time so, as he continued to peer at the rooftops, I turned tail and ran as fast as my weak, human body could, running as far from Issei as I could. I ran until I was out breath and I ran until I could hear the sounds of a fierce battle in the distance and I ran until I could no longer run.
Eventually, I stopped to catch my breath, a hand planted against a wall in an effort to support my body, "Dammit…I'm so unfit…" I straightened my posture, making an effort to pace my laboured breath and started to walk, one hundred percent sure that I would not be caught in the conflict.
A figure appeared in front of me without any sounds or environmental disturbances.
"Dammit. Did I just curse myself?" I muttered as I raised my hands, prepared to fight.
If this figure could appear in front of me the way they did, running would be pointless. Fighting would also be pointless, but it's the only thing I could do…
"You," I called out, sliding a foot back as I entered an extremely rough fighting stance, "what do you want with me?"
Instead of responding with words, they responded with their brutish actions.
I didn't even move before they had attacked me; faster than I could think, they had shoved a blade that was long as my arm and as thick as my torso into my stomach, lifting me up into the air to shove the blade further into my body.
A scream escaped my lips, as did a mouthful of blood.
A hot, burning pain spread throughout my body as I slid down the blade, my body going limp as all of my energy evaporated in an instant. Even if I had the energy to move, I wouldn't want to as it hurt to exist.
Breathing was painful, moving was painful and living was painful.
There was too much pain for me to handle and, as the attacker flung their blade out to the side, tossing me off of their sword and into a brick wall, my pain increased tenfold, my body contorting and twisting in an effort to relieve itself of what would eventually kill me.
The blood poured out of my midsection in a steady, limited flow that stained my clothes, body and the road I lay on, my liquid of life slowly bringing me the cold, emptiness of death that I was not prepared to welcome.
After a few moments of excruciating pain that distorted my sense of time, seconds becoming millennia, I breathed my last breath and saw my last sight, the words of my killer falling on my now deaf ears.
"This is your punishment for associating yourself with that man."
Cold.
Death is so cold.
I lay still as my body became cold in the empty street.
Well, that just happened…a moment of silence for Raynare, if you will? Wait, actually, it's not confirmed if she actually dies yet! Well, she did get jabbed by a long, thick, metallic thing. We'll see if she dies in the next chapter. Cliffhanger? Certainly!
Now, have fun with waiting for the next chapter!
Thank you for reading World's End!