Phantasia finally puts me down, after celebrating my murder for 5 whole minutes, gushing with glee about my skill. I don’t even have the energy to stop her. “That was incredible Kazesoku! You’re amazing, I’ve never seen an attack like that! Did Ki give it to you? Oh you have to show me again! There’s a member of our guild who’s been annoying me, can you use that on them?! Oh you’re just so cool!!” She squeals, jumping around me. Suddenly she stops, and frowns, “Hm?” Her eyes narrow in on nothing. She must be reading a message. That’s right, messages. Bai-ko sent me one. I open it on auto-pilot.

  [Understood, good work. We’re raiding the base now, just aiming to destroy it. Hopefully that will scare them off the floor and convince them we have a bigger party than we do. Help us out with that, will you, Aoi?]

  “Aoi…” I mumble, my eyes lingering on the final word of her message. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, processing. That’s right. I’m not Kazesoku, I’m Aoi.

  “Kazesoku, there’s a slight problem,” she mumbles, almost nervously. “You see, our uh, our base was destroyed while we were gone.” Her words go in one ear and out the other. All I can think about is how she made me murder Tankina. I clutch my sword tighter, staring daggers at this girl who forced me into this horrible role. “I-I’m sorry. They attacked very soon after we left! It’s ok, we have a base on the first floor!”

  I raise my blade, and whisper, “You wanted to see my skill again, right?” Phantasia’s eyes tremble. She was so willing to offer her life to me before, wasn’t she? I’m already a killer. If anybody deserves to die, it’s her.

  “S-Sure! Yes! Of course! But…I, I can still be helpful to you! I swear! I’m sorry the base was destroyed but it’s ok we can regroup and I can find you more victims and-”

  “You said you’d be willing to give your life for me, that it’s mine to take, right?”

  “But…” She gulps, eyeing my sword as it begins to once more glow with the red authority of the title ‘Cain’. “But I want to be with you longer than this, I didn’t even…I wasn’t even the cause! I can-”

  I cut her off with my sword. There can be no mistaking that the blade was swung with my own intention this time. It comes down at a blistering speed, but never comes into contact with Phantasia. A surge of wind blows through the trees as my attack crashes against the ground, leaving a deep slash.

  Her voice, echoing around me, comes from the darkness of the trees, “I’ll make it up to you, Kazesoku! I swear! I will! I will! I will…” her voice fades away, and she leaves me alone in the darkness. I simply stand there for several minutes, letting the emotions of the last few hours wash over me, and then I fall to my knees. Even though I’ve levelled up several times, and am technically overflowing with new power, I can’t bring myself to move. I can’t feel happy that Bai-ko raided the base successfully, all I can think about is that I’m a murderer.

  I hear a quiet growl to my left, but don’t bother to lift my head and look at it. I deserve to die. If a monster stumbles across me, that’s a stroke of good fortune. I don’t want to think, I don’t want to fight, I don’t know if I have the right to. The monster prowls in front of me, entering my line of sight. A strange creature, with paws on the hind legs but hands on front, moving like a gorilla with the head of a wolf, half covered in fur half in muscle.

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  Suddenly, the creature stops moving. Its form seems hazy for a moment, before it all at once dissolves into blue shards. Bai-ko walks through them, approaching me casually, “Aoi,” she calls out, her red eyes flickering with cunning, “Good to see you.”

  I don’t respond.

  “Thank you for infiltrating Thanatos for us,” she stops in front of me, pulling into her inventory and pulling out a potion, “Were they happy to meet Kazesoku?” She asks brightly, taking off the potion and pouring it on my head. I wince, the liquid splashing against my hair and matting it to my forehead. “This is a more permanent hair dye, a cosmetic item from a shop in Trestar,” Bai-ko explains, “You’re welcome, by the way.”

  I still remain silent.

  She finally raises an eyebrow, crouching down in front of me, “Aoi?” I hold my tongue, and she frowns. Her crimson eyes flicker around me, surveying the area and me accurately. “Who was it?” She asks, her voice softening slightly.

  “...Who was what?”

  She nods to my wrist, “The person you killed.”

  I flinch slightly upon hearing the words. I make eye contact with her, and confess, “Tankina. The title Ki gave me activated without my knowledge…It killed her completely. Took every life.”

  Bai-ko doesn’t let any judgement show on her face. She just nods, rises to her feet, and holds out a hand, “Come on. Yuto’s here with the rest of the Northern Star’s upper ranks. Clearing the 3rd floor should help take your mind off things.”

  “...” I look into the darkness of the forest around us. Phantasia’s white eyes are nowhere to be found, but I still feel as though she’s haunting me. Her obsession, her guild, her voice, her love, her powers. I take Bai-ko’s hand, climbing to my feet, “Yuto won’t want to see me with this on my wrist.”

  Bai-ko laughs gently, reaching into her inventory and taking out a skin colored write guard. She slaps it against my wrist, and it immediately melds into my skin, covering the marking. “I’m the leader of the information guild. I’ve gotten my hands dirty once or twice too, so don’t worry too much about it.”

  I examine my wrist for a moment, admiring the item. I nod, and open my player profile before the raid.

  [Player Profile: {Kazesoku}

  Class: Bounty Hunter

  Titles: Gilgamesh, Cain

  Lv. 20 - 12,559/32,000 EXP

  HP: 1455/1455

  ST: 1320/1500

  MP: 950/950

  Strength: 10

  Dexterity: 17

  Constitution: 7

  Intelligence: 8

  Presence: 7

  Skills: LOCKED, Swordsmanship (D), Evasiveness (Passive), Tracking (D), Weapons Improvisor (Passive), Arcane Knowledge (F), Sharpshooter (F), Mana Infusion (F), Acting (F)]

  “Yeah,” I murmur, eyeing my weapon’s improvisor skill. My mind drifts back to my rewards from the first boss, and an idea begins hatching. If it works, this time around I might not just be sitting behind the lines, I might be one of our main DPS players. And I have a lot of frustration to vent, “I’m ready.”