The Final Desperation

When Genji opened his eyes again, he returned to the real world. A blanket of snow covered his view as he admired the beautiful scenery. It had been the middle of summer when Genji left for his last mission. Now it's winter—about six months. To Genji, these six months were filled with twists and turns. Full of dancing on the edge of death.

Genji had pushed himself past his limits multiple times to come out alive. Yeah, most of those situations were his fault, but he didn't regret his choices. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And Genji got stronger, alright. He has honed his techniques beyond his imagination in these six months and incorporated a whole new energy system into it.

Gone was the dying assassin that once had no choice but to join EverRealm to survive. What now remains is an experienced fighter that had fought through hell to return. It's now time for revenge. Genji walked through the drifting snowflakes for the tree he had buried his desert eagles, leaving a trail of footprints in this white field.

Genji reached down and started digging with a shovel. Once the shovel head hit a metal box, Genji reached down and picked up the cold box. Genji started walking towards the city by shaking off the dirt and snow clinging to the side. When he entered the vicinities of the road, he waved down a taxi and got on.

"So where to?"

"Take me to the other side."

"Sure, but that's not cheap."

Genji took out a stack of bills and handed it over.

"That should be enough, right?"

The driver took the stack and count what he needed before returning the rest.

"I've never seen you before. You new?"

"This is a city. Of course, there are people you haven't seen."

"Haha. You're funny."

"Thank you. I try to be cheerful in life. Helps deal with all my problems."

"So why are you heading across the city?"

"I have some business I want to settle with some acquaintances."

"Oh? I didn't take you as a businessman."

"Appearances can be deceiving sometimes."

"Yeah. We're here."

"Thank you."

Genji got out of the taxi and started walking toward the secret base a whole out.

"What a strange fellow. He went from one side of the city to the other, just to leave it again."

Seeing the direction Genji was going, the driver muttered to himself.

 

---

 

Genji's footsteps crunched the snow as he followed the main road. After a while, he took a turn and started wandering to the side. Tire tracks became fainter, but the snow made one track obvious. Soon, he came across a rocky area with a large garage built into the mountain. Genji pulled out his dessert eagles and confidently strolled toward the heavily guard area.

"Stop! You're trespassing on private property. Return immediately or we will open fire!"

An armed guard yelled at him. Genji smiled. Although the League might put up such a front, Genji knows they mean business. Every guard on the premises is a skilled assassin in disguise. Should it be required, they can easily dispatch any intruders and make the body disappear.

"Stop! This is your final warning."

Genji's smile grew wider as he finally brought his dessert eagles out from behind his back.

"What-"

*Bang*

The guard's head blew clean off. The surrounding assassin's eyes widened as they tried to aim their guns at Genji. But before they can pull the trigger, Genji started blasting his guns, killing everyone before they can react. If Genji senses danger, he would pull the trigger in that direction. This caused everyone to be killed before they can react.

"That's a pretty good greeting, don't you think?"

Genji then shot out the security camera recording everything. Then sirens started blaring. The classic alarm to prepare everyone. Some things never change. Genji shook his head and faded into the shadows.

 

---

 

"Did you find him?"

The Headmaster slammed the table and yelled at the staff watching the camera.

"No, sir. He seems to have vanished into the air."

"Then what the hell are you people for?!"

"We're sorry, sir."

"Fine. What are the casualties like?"

"Not good, sir. We keep getting reports of assassins finding dead bodies as they searched."

"Shit! How could you useless bums let someone infiltrate like that?"

At this moment, a group of assassins swaggered into the room. Each of them had their own style and weaponry, but there was one thing in common between them. The black dragon badge pinned to their shoulders.

"So what seems to be the problem, Headmaster?"

A woman in a pink dress asked while sucking on a lollipop.

"Kosa. It's nothing worth your time."

"Ahhh, don't be like that. We're bored so we figured we might as well do something. What's happening right now seems more interesting than our card game."

"You're only saying that because you're losing. Now pay up. That's $1,894."

A tall man in a trench coat and round sunglasses hopped into the conversation.

"Tsk. You and your machinations, Malvin."

"As long as I win, it's fair game."

"I swear. You had to have cheated. There's no way I believe you managed to get 4 royal flushes in a row! I just need to find out how."

The headmaster cleared his throat and stopped the Black Dragons from embarrassing themselves any further in front of his subordinates. 

"Kosa. Malvin. And everyone else that is interested. We have an intruder. Someone is sneaking around our base and picking off the lower members. It's a whole mess."

"Oh? That's it? So a rat thought he was good and decided to take revenge or something?"

"Seems to be the case, Kosa."

"Oh, I know. How about we hunt this rat down? The first person to make the kill wins. Sound good?"

Malvin pushed up his glasses before answering with, "Yeah, but what's the bet? If there's no prize, why would we try?"

"How about we admit that person is the sexiest?"

A woman in tights at the back of the group blew Malvin a kiss.

"Not now, Kansas."

"Actually, I think that's a great idea," another member interjected, "I've been itching to one-up you people for a while now."

"Seems like everyone's on board. Then let's go," Kosa threw aside her lollipop and asked the group.

Everyone in the group nodded and started running in their own direction. The headmaster saw this and shook his head.

"Ever since Genji left, the group had gotten rowdier. It's like his attitude will always plague me."

"But at least our problem is resolved, Headmaster. With all 9 Black Dragons moving out, it would take a miracle for the intruder to survive."

 

---

 

*Bang bang bang*

Genji juggled his guns and clips of magazines as he fired a barrage of bullets into the crowd, unleashing a bloodbath. 

"J-just who are you? Why do you know tactical reload? And at such proficiency!"

Genji caught the smoking pistols and looked the person in the eye.

"You don't need to worry about this."

Then Genji pushed the muzzle against his head and pulled the trigger. Genji got up and started walking away when suddenly, he jumped behind a corner.

*Bang bang bang*

A series of gunshots that followed his trail. If he was even the slightest bit slower, he would have been filled with bullet holes. Given these wounds won't be lethal, Genji would prefer not to get injured right now. Genji peaked his head out before pulling it back quickly. In the brief moment, he peaked, the corner of the wall had disintegrated from a sniper shot.

Genji had an idea of who was behind the scope, but he decided to confirm it. Taking out an empty magazine, Genji chucked it into the open and watched it get shot into the ground. There's no doubt about it. It's Ross, Genji's gun teacher when he joined the League. There's no one else in the organization that has such a reaction speed and accuracy. It was under his tutorship that Genji was able to develop his mastery over different firearms.

A true marksman feared by many. Genji slowly shifted his body into the dark corners and circulated his energy, erasing his presence from Ross's view. Then he crept through the shadows and approached the origin of the shots. Genji has no choice but to do this. Ross is good enough to know that something is up and will soon change his position. Once that happens, Genji would prefer to be closer than in view.

A few minutes had passed, but things had returned to calm. If Genji didn't know Ross's patience, he would have thought the sniper had left. Genji closed his eyes and tried to sense Ross's position, but got no results. Ross had lowered his body movements to a minimum and blended himself with the surrounding environment. This was what made him so scary. You never know when he would show up and blast your head away.

Genji took out another empty magazine and threw it to the ground.

*Ding boom*

Another destroyed carriage, but Genji was expecting that. Now that he knew Ross's new position, Genji started making his way toward it. Genji has no doubt that Ross realized his mistake and will change his position again, but he can't move too fast. Not without giving away his position at least. Genji realized this and was betting on him being able to approach before Ross retreated.

Soon, Genji approached Ross's old position and spread his senses. Nothing. Amazing like always. Too bad Genji never learned this level of Stealth. If his abilities were converted to EverRealm standard, Ross would have grandmaster in stealth and guns. Taking out another magazine, Genji tried baiting Ross to give away his position but failed. The plan was up and Ross realized Genji was too close for comfort.

Letting out a deep breath, Genji stopped his circulation and walked into view, making himself the bait.

*Bang*

Genji jumped to the ground and rolled while firing shots at the origin. Ross, though, was unfazed by his counterattack and continued to bombard him with shots. The most annoying thing is Genji can't expect Ross to stop to reload. As the creator of tactical reload, it would be more surprising for him to need that time. That's what the technique is created to minimize.

Genji jumped back into the shadows and furiously circulated his energy to erase his presence. Then he dashed at Ross as he was stunned by the sudden feat.

[You have used your abilities in front of an outsider. Please eliminate all bystanders or you will be penalized.]

In a matter of seconds, Genji had covered the wide distance and appeared next to Ross. Then before he can react, Genji pressed his gun against his head and pulled the trigger.

"Sorry, Ross. We're now enemies so I can't let you live."

As Genji said his goodbyes to this former teacher of his, a woman in a pink dress ran into the room. Seeing Genji standing over Ross's body, she pulled out her scythe and looked at him.

"Who are you? You can't be a normal intruder if you can best Ross."

"Kosa. You were always fun to get along with in between missions."

"Huh? How do you know my name?"

Genji didn't answer and pulled out his daggers. Then he charged at her and swung down. Kosa moved her scythe to parry the attack, but Genji's daggers glided through the metal. Kosa's eyes widened as she did everything to jump back. To her surprise, she met no resistance as she easily pulled open the distance.

"You're not very good, are you?"

Genji shook his head and turned to a dark corner.

"No. The reason you got away so easily was because you had a friend. Are you going to come out or will you keep on hiding?"

*Sigh*

Malvin walked out of the corner with a gun in his hand. 

"You're perceptive."

"Malvin. Your schemes were always unbelievable. Everything seems like an accident for you, but you always benefited from it."

"How intriguing. You speak as you know us, yet I don't believe anyone has leaked out information. So only one person should know the intricacies you've displayed. Care to tell me why you're here?"

"Your mind is as sharp as ever."

Genji reached up to pull his hood down, giving Kosa a surprise.

"Genji? I thought you retired."

"Retired? Yes. 6 feet under that is."

Hearing the implications in his words, Kosa gritted her teeth.

"So you're back for revenge?"

"Yes. With respect for our past, I will give you a worthy fight without abusing my superior body."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kosa. Stop talking. He's our enemy now."

Malvin pulled out a sword and ran at Genji. This was because Malvin knows this was the only hope of winning. Trying to win a gunfight against the pupil of Ross, the Sharpeye? He might as well shoot himself with the bullet and save Genji the trouble. Genji parried the attack and swiped with his other hand. Malvin tried to sidestep it, but he realized Genji's dagger followed his movement.

Malvin hurriedly leaned back, reducing the fatal wound to a deep cut across his chest. Genji transitioned to a stab as Malvin jumped back. 

"You've gotten better since we last sparred," Malvin commented.

"Careful! His daggers are sharp!"

Hearing Kosa's sudden warning, Malvin finally noticed his sword had chipped.

'Shit!'

But Genji was upon him again, This time, Malvin had no time to dodge. Left with no choice, Malvin held up his sword in hopes of parrying, but Genji's daggers had become too sharp. It glided right through the metal, decapitating Malvin's head.

Genji ignored the blood and turned to face Kosa.

"Your turn."

"Wait wait. Just wait a moment. I don't intend to be your enemy."

Kosa hurriedly waved her hand in an attempt to defuse the killing intent aimed at her.

"Don't be like this, Genji. I'll pretend I never saw you. Or how about I help you with your revenge? There's no need to kill me like this. Please? For old times' sake?"

Genji paused and thought about her words. She's kind of right. There's no reason he has to kill her. Although he doesn't consider her a friend, she had made his life more interesting in the past.

"I'll give you 5 minutes. After that, there will be no mercy."

"Okay, see you around then."

Although Kosa said that, she had no intention of meeting Genji again. Why risk running into this revenge-crazed maniac when she stands no chance? And who cares about the others? It's every person for themselves.

'Maybe it's time to desert and turn over a new leaf.'

When she reached the garage for the vehicles, she took one car and drove out.

"Open the gate," she ordered the people in charge of locking down this place.

"Madam Kosa, we can't do that. We're in lockdown and until the intruder is caught, we can't release it."

"Do you really think the intruder can escape the other 8 dragons? Just open the gates. I have something to do so I won't be able to participate right now."

"But-"

"No buts. Or do you think you can bear my wrath if I'm late to my business?"

The people looked at each other before hesitantly opening the gate. They are only low-ranked assassins so it's not worth offending a black dragon. Not when they want to keep their position and lives.

Once Kosa drove out of the vicinities of the base, she let out a sigh of relief. 

"Finally out of the belly of the beast. Let's never contact the league again."

 

---

 

Yori and Nago. A pair of twins with impeccable teamwork. Despite their weaker physiques, Genji had drawn inspiration from them many times for his duel-wielding. Whereas one twin creates an opportunity for the other one, Genji uses his daggers instead. A lethal combo of attacks that Genji uses to this day and a concept he built many of his techniques around.

Genji came across these two twins when he was heading for the commander's room. Upon seeing him, the two of them instantly drew their weapons and attacked him. Not even a hint of hesitation. They had always been the decisive type.

Genji drew his own weapons and parried their attacks. Nago struck his dagger out of the way and Yori used Nago as cover to launch his own attack.

Genji brought his dagger down on Yori's sword and kicked at Nago. When the three of them separated, Nago felt a dull pain in his forearm. Looking down, he saw a bruise forming in the area of Genji's kick.

Nago nodded at Yori before the two of them jumped at Genji again. This time, Yori was the one in the front while Nago launch the surprise attacks. The three of them tangled back and forth for a few exchanges before the twins jumped back again. Their swords were falling apart in their hands. 

Flashstep

"Although we were never close, your teamwork inspired me a lot. For that, I will send you off in peace."

Hearing the sudden voice by their side, they hurried to dive aside, but Genji decided to stop restricting himself now. Both of their heads separated from their shoulders as Genji sheathed his daggers. Sensing the incoming presence, he took out his gun and blasted the lights before hiding in the shadows.

Seconds later, Silver Sword came into view. A grave expression appeared on his face as he observed the two dead assassins on the ground.

"Just who is this intruder? This is the fourth dragon dead."

Seeing this familiar face, a cold look flashed across Genji's eyes. There were two targets he was determined to kill today and this is one of them.

'Payback time.'

Genji snuck up on this backstabber and brandished his dagger. Before Silver Sword could react, Genji plunged his dagger through his heart.

"The headmaster bids his farewells."

Genji then yanked his dagger out and yet Silver Sword fall to the ground. The mortally wounded assassin unwillingly turned to see the face of his ambusher, but Genji's hood blocked his view.

"Farewell, Silver Sword. You've been a good assassin."

Then Genji slowly walked away, recreating the scene of his betrayal. Down to the very words Silver Sword had said to him. Just this time, their roles are reversed.

Although those words were faintly familiar, Silver Sword was too occupied by his bleeding wound to care. He clenched his chest, desperately trying to stop his escaping life.

A minute later, Genji came back into view.

"That was a pretty accurate reenactment, wasn't it? Except this time, I won't make the same mistake you did."

Genji then plunged his dagger into Silver Sword's heart and gave it a twist. Only when all signs of life faded from Silver Sword's eyes did Genji pull out the dagger and truly walk away.