The World Is Mine For The Taking

Cross stood frozen, staring at the mountain of corpses piled before him. The stench of fresh blood filled the air, heavy and metallic, thick enough to make anyone gag. Crimson rivers streamed endlessly from the stumps of their necks, dripping in steady trails down onto the floor, spreading into a grotesque pool. Their heads had already fallen, bouncing and rolling across the ground with dull, sickening thuds after being flung through the air. The sound of flesh hitting stone still echoed faintly in the room, almost like a drumbeat of death that refused to fade.

His eyes finally shifted to me, and the moment he locked onto me, I saw the terror in his face. His body betrayed him instantly—knees trembling, lips quivering, and his eyes wide with disbelief.

"W-What…?" he stammered, barely able to force the word past his lips. His voice cracked, as though the air itself refused to let him speak. Then his legs gave out completely, buckling under his own weight as if the strength had been ripped right out of him.

He was shaking in his boots, completely undone by fear. And honestly, I couldn't blame him. Imagine thinking you had men who could crush any opponent with ease, only to watch them lose their heads in a literal blink of an eye. That kind of scene would drive fear deep into anyone's bones.

"W-What are you all doing?! Kill him!" he screamed, desperation coating his voice.

The mercenaries hesitated. Earlier, they had charged without so much as a second thought, blades drawn and ready for blood. But now… after seeing their comrades cut down like cattle with nothing but a flick of my wrist, their bravery had dissolved. Their movements slowed, their steps careful, wary, like animals creeping toward a predator they weren't sure they wanted to fight.

Ayuru pulsed in my hand, the weight of her hilt alive against my palm. I could feel her drawing at my mana, drinking it like water from a spring. The connection was sharp and intimate—I felt her hunger, her pull, but also her restraint. She wasn't draining me dry. And she was giving me strength in return, as though she knew exactly how much to take. Ayuru wasn't just a cursed blade. She was a living presence, conscious, and aware, almost breathing with me as we stood there together.

"Y-You're not getting away!" Cross's voice cracked, higher now, trembling like glass about to shatter. "I'll make sure you sign that paper! Leonamon will be mine! I'll own it! I'll become the richest man alive!"

"Do you think it's that easy?" I asked him calmly, my words cutting through his noise like steel.

"I'm a businessman! I can make an empire boom with just a snap of my fingers! Better than you ever could!"

I tilted my head, eyeing him coldly. "If that's the case, then why is your business still leagues behind mine? And more importantly—why try to steal the ownership of my company if you really can do it yourself? Why not build your own empire, with your own strength?"

His jaw clenched so tight I could see the veins bulging in his temples. His teeth ground against each other until his gums bled, the metallic tang dripping into his mouth. His whole body shook, trembling not just from fear but from rage boiling inside him. Slowly, I could see him unraveling, his composure shattering as my words pierced straight through him. He couldn't kill me, he couldn't outdo me, and now, he had no idea what to do.

"You don't understand!" he suddenly roared, spit flying from his lips. "I'm already old! That's why—I need wealth now, fast! I don't want to rot away, I don't want to become dull!"

So that was it. Pathetic. He just wanted an easy way, a shortcut. He wasn't driven by ambition, but by greed that knew no end. Even with all the taxes he had stolen, all the corruption he drowned himself in, it still wasn't enough. He was nothing but a hollow shell reaching desperately for more.

"Well, it's your own fault for dulling," I told him flatly. "Aegis."

The moment her name left my lips, Aegis moved like lightning. She pulled out her special arrows, concealed until now. They weren't ordinary weapons. Leonamon had crafted them specifically for her—compact, retractable, but deadly efficient. There was no need for a bulky quiver for her, and there was no wasted movement. Her bow was the same, sleek and hidden until needed.

With fluid precision, she extended her bow and nocked the arrows, unleashing a flurry in every direction. The air itself seemed to crack with the force as her shots cut through it. In the next breath, ten mercenaries collapsed, each one struck perfectly through the skull. One arrow, one death.

But one arrow strayed, slicing the air with deadly speed—straight for Cross. He froze as it whistled past, grazing his cheek before slamming into the wall behind him. A crimson line opened across his skin, blood dripping down in a thin stream.

"H-Huh?" he gasped, touching his cheek, staring at the blood staining his fingertips. His voice was a pitiful whisper, disbelief flooding every syllable.

That was the breaking point. The remaining mercenaries cracked. Their weapons fell to their sides, fear etched deep in their faces, and then they ran. They didn't care about their contracts anymore. Normally, abandoning a mission would mean suspension, disgrace, and punishment. But none of that mattered when the choice was between humiliation or death. They scattered like rats fleeing a sinking ship, tails between their legs.

"It looks like you're out of cards, Lord Cross," I said, my voice low, cutting and final. "Now then…"

I stepped toward him, but before I could reach him, the maid we had been watching closely since we entered the mansion suddenly sprang into action. She hurled something at us, fast and precise. I reacted instantly, deflecting both with Ayuru's blade, sparks flying as steel met steel.

My eyes narrowed. Just as I suspected—she wasn't a maid at all. She was an assassin.

"T-Thank goodness Leonora sent you," Cross blurted, his voice dripping with relief. "If that woman hadn't assigned you to protect me today, I'd already be dead."

Leonora? So she knew I was here. It didn't matter much if she did. As long as she didn't know my true objective, everything was still under control.

"Kill them! I don't care about Leonamon anymore!" Cross screamed, spit flying from his mouth, his finger shaking as he pointed at us. "That company, that country—it's all going to burn when the Empire invades anyway!"

The assassin didn't hesitate. She dashed forward, twin blades flashing in her hands as she began hurling them at us in a deadly rhythm.

She was fast. Her movements were fluid, sharp, and deadly precise. She twisted, spun, and leapt like water flowing around rocks, unpredictable yet controlled. For a moment, it almost felt like she was using a skill, her speed too perfect to be natural. But no—she wasn't drawing on any ability. This was raw talent and raw training. She was simply that good.

And for some reason, instead of anger, what I felt was interest. She was dangerous, skilled, exactly the kind of opponent Leonora would send against me.

Now then…

It was time to see just how strong this assassin really was. By playing with her.