"Are you sure about this?"
The hooded granny was staring at the couple in concern. The man and woman glanced at each other, and then nodded determinedly.
"Michael Porter is pus.h.i.+ng our forces back hard. We did not expect him to have a Soul Beast of his own."
"It"s only to be expected," the granny replied to the man"s somber statement with a bow of her head. "The Porter clan was always the guardians of the south, the great family that embodied the Vermillion Phoenix. Many of its most famous scions are well known for materializing the Vermillion Phoenix as their Soul Beast."
"Daddy! Mommy! Please don"t go!"
A young boy clung to the man while gripping the fabric of the woman"s black skinsuit. The couple exchanged a glance, then the father knelt down to place a hand on the boy"s shoulder.
"Don"t be like this, Hades. We already told you that we need to go."
"Your parents have a duty that they must fulfil." The mother stroked the hair of the boy"s head. She tried to smile, but was unable to stop the faint tears from leaking out of her eyes. "We have pledged our lives to the Guild. It is only natural that we serve them unto death."
"But…!" Hades wailed, refusing to let go of his parents. "But you can"t die! At least take me with you!"
"You know we cannot," Hades" father told him as he placed both hands on his son"s shoulders. Looking at the dark-skinned boy, he felt his heart break. The boy was barely five, but already he was forced to deal with tragedy. Cronus wished he could spend more time with his children. There was still so much he wanted to teach his son…
No, not just teach. Enjoy the warmth of a family, bringing him up, and watching him grow up to become a respectable a.s.sa.s.sin.
"You have your own duty, young man. Your mother and I are counting on you to protect your little sister."
Cronus"s gaze turned toward the young baby in the granny"s arms. She was cradling her in a soothing manner, having quietened her down when she was crying earlier. His wife, Serena, reached out to stroke the baby"s face.
"I"m so sorry, Selina."
The baby cooed happily, not understanding her mother"s words at all.
"Take care of Selina, Hades." Cronus turned to stare grimly into Hades" eyes. His son lowered his head for a moment, and then took a deep breath and nodded.
"I"ll protect her with my own life if necessary. You can count on me."
"Very good." Cronus nodded and smiled proudly. "I know I can count on you."
He then stood up, still patting Hades" head, and turned to the granny, who was watching the entire scene in dejection.
"I"ll raise them both as my own."
"I know you will."
The granny smiled bitterly. "Don"t hold too high an expectation of me. You know who we are. They will be raised to become killers like you."
"We are all tools that serve the Guild, Granny." Cronus merely smiled. "And you raised me yourself. Look how I turned out."
"A little rough around the edges, but a decent man all things considered." Serena giggled. "Good enough for me to marry, anyway."The granny tried to smile, but tears slightly trickled from her eyes.
"I wish there was a way where all of us can return alive." She sighed. "No matter how long I live, I can never get used to saying goodbye to my charges."
"I hope you will never have to bid our children goodbye," Serena said, sending a wistful look at Hades and Selina.
"I won"t bury you," the granny declared. "No more. I"ve raised you, I"ve treated your injuries, but I won"t bury you. I"ve buried enough members of the Wright family."
"I don"t think any of us have a say in the matter," Cronus pointed out dryly as he tapped his chest. "Our lives and souls belong to the Guild. We exist solely to serve the Guild."
"They see only one end to their goal. Killing. Making more money. Becoming more powerful and obtaining new weapons. One day, I"ll have to tell them…this isn"t wartime anymore. It"s an era of peace, where bloodshed can and should be avoided. They have to find another way. They used to talk about finis.h.i.+ng, about expanding beyond that awful vocation of murder and a.s.sa.s.sination."
"Don"t let the higher-ups hear you say that," Serena warned hastily, her face pale. "Or they"ll bring you in for correction training. Worse, they might eliminate you."
The granny smiled. "I"ve lived long enough."
"Not yet. Not long enough." Cronus placed a hand on her shoulder. "We still need you to look after our children. Live for them, if nothing else."
"…I understand." The granny looked up into his face, and then at Serena"s. "But that doesn"t mean I"ll let you both off the hook if you die. You had better come back alive, no matter what. I don"t care what the higher-ups or the Grand Master himself says. Your children are waiting for you."
Cronus and Serena exchanged glances, and then they nodded heavily.
"Goodbye, Granny."
They then turned away and departed, leaving their children behind with their new guardian. For a moment, they walked in silence, and then Serena suddenly turned to Cronus.
"Is it all right? Deceiving them like this."
"We"ve said our goodbyes. They are aware of that there is a very high chance that we won"t survive this mission."
"You know what I mean." Serena clenched her fists. "We didn"t tell them the whole story. They think there"s still a chance, no matter how small, that the both of us can return alive."
"And there is. If it works out, you"ll return to them."
"I don"t want to return alone! How do I explain it to them?!" Serena turned and clasped Cronus"s arms before embracing him. "I…can"t. We can"t live without you. How am I supposed to explain to them that you are…?"
"You know as well as I do that we don"t have a choice. Our enemies have proven stronger than antic.i.p.ated. In order to fulfil our clients" request, we must…make certain sacrifices. We must overpower our opponents. Even when horribly wounded, the phoenix is still a formidable foe. Michael Porter has taken out at least three of the top Frenzor a.s.sa.s.sins in our Guild. If this goes on, he"ll reach the location of the ritual and stop it. This is…the only way."
Serena scowled. "Are we seriously selling our souls to a bunch of nut-jobs who plan on destroying the world? In exchange for money? Doesn"t the Grand Master understand that if we let them have their way, they"ll trigger an artificial Emergence event in Vermillion city and lay waste to it?"
"That"s not all. Given the unique fiery ley lines of Vermillion City, they don"t plan on summoning just any rank A monster. They want to summon Surtr."
"The Demon of Fire, Surtr?!" Serena"s hand flew to her mouth. "Are they serious? They really plan on destroying the world, don"t they?!"
"We"ve known that ever since they hired us…the Grand Master is completely aware. But he plans to honor the contract to the very end…even if we all die in the process. That"s our honor as hired a.s.sa.s.sins."
"That"s insane." Serena sighed. "Then again, this whole world is insane. Maybe it"s better to let it get destroyed."
"The strongest will survive." Cronus smiled, despite himself. "In such a deadly world, our a.s.sa.s.sin Guild will thrive. The world will need natural-born killers such as our children. I trust Granny to raise them well, and prepare them for the new world."
"…perhaps." Serena nodded.
By now the both of them had reached the building adjacent to the camp of the a.s.sa.s.sins Guild. They virtually melded with the darkness, slipping through the myriad of sensors set to detect any lesser human foolish enough to trespa.s.s upon the hallowed grounds of one of the a.s.sa.s.sins" temple. They avoided the traps, dodged the line of fire of automated sentry guns programed to indiscriminately open fire upon any moving object, living or mechanical, swung past pitfalls and glided through invisible lasers that would cut them apart.
This was the a.s.sa.s.sins" temple. There was no safety switches, no friend-or-foe identification system, no recognition device, no biometric scanners…nothing. The traps would kill both ally and enemy alike if any blunder into them. No a.s.sa.s.sin manned them, no human watched out for intruders and allowed visitors in.
They were a.s.sa.s.sins. They were expected to clear the traps of every temple effortlessly. For if they could not, then they had failed as a.s.sa.s.sins, for what use was an a.s.sa.s.sin who could not infiltrate the most highly guarded fortresses of their targets? If they died to their own traps, then they have proven themselves failures, and their losses would not be mourned but justified.
Cronus and Serena split up, weaving through the invisible lasers, which were indicated as red on their bioengineered retinas and relying on their enhanced senses and reflexes to evade being cauterized by them. The two of them reunited past the intricate web of lasers, and then gracefully leaped over a pitfall that was concealed by a tile. A misstep and the two would plunge into a s.p.a.ce of enchanted spikes. They then melted into the shadows to fool the sensors of the sentry guns that guarded the next corridor, rematerializing behind the guns – almost as if they had teleported.
Eventually, they reached a ma.s.sive laboratory that was guarded by heavy doors.
Without bothering with the doors, the two a.s.sa.s.sins slipped into a ventilation shaft some ways away, and vanished. The next time they appeared, they silently dropped behind a couple of scientists covered in full-body protective suits.
The first one turned to them, not at all surprised by their sudden, stealthy appearance. Even though they were not as skilled in the art of killing as the other temples, the Collegia Sect was still a branch under the a.s.sa.s.sins Guild. Specialized in research, information warfare, biological experimentations and weapons developments, they were the doctors and armorers of the Guild.
"Cronus and Serena Wright?" the Collegia a.s.sa.s.sin stated coolly, his expression concealed behind a sterile mask and wide goggles. There was no emotion in his voice, only a cold, calculated detachment.
"That is correct." Cronus nodded. The Collegia a.s.sa.s.sin scanned them with a biometric scanner anyway, to confirm their ident.i.ties – the Deceivum Sect, after all, was known for disgusing themselves as others by literally transforming and altering their physical features. The a.s.sa.s.sins could never be too careful.
Once he was satisfied, the scientist then led them toward the center of the laboratory, where a ma.s.sive machine stood in the center, a single orb revolving amidst a collection of metallic vanes and generating ethereal energies.
"You are aware of the consequences of this spell, correct?" the scientist stated emotionlessly. "I believe I do not need to brief you."
Cronus was holding Serena"s hand, and he gave it a squeeze before he nodded.
"That is correct. We"ve come, mentally prepared."
"Good." The scientist nodded. "Then let"s not delay the process. We should begin right away. Which one of you will be the vessel?"
"Me…" Cronus began, but Serena pulled him back.
"Are you sure about this, Cronus?" She was hesitating at this last moment. "There is no going back. Once you walk into that, you will…"
"I know. And I"m ready for it. As you should be too, Serena. We"ve already talked about this." Cronus reached out and stroked Serena"s face.
"I should…"
"No. we"ve already discussed this. I"ll be the vessel."
Tears were streaming down Serena"s eyes. "No, don"t do this, please…"
"I"m sorry."
Cronus shrugged her off, and then walked straight into the machine. The energies began to intensify as he neared it.
"No! Cronus!" Serena shrieked and she lunged forward, but three of the Collegia researchers immediately grabbed hold of her and restrained her, pulling her away from the machine. She struggled and kicked, almost breaking free, but she was outnumbered.
"Don"t worry, Serena. It"s not as if I will be gone. I"ll always be by your side. And this time, I will be with you forever."
With that, Cronus placed his hands on the spinning orb in the center of the machine.
"NOOOO!!!!"
While Serena sobbed as a blinding, white light engulfed her husband, a single, solitary figure watched from the distance, her hands resting on the railings of the observation room.
Angelica Porter narrowed her eyes, and then turned to leave the laboratory.