" it was twenty-five years ago, after the old head Hunter, Reges died.
The mantle of the head Hunter, the Web Weaver divine soul arms, remained unpossessed by a worthy successor. During that time, my brother and I were budding assassins who knew little about the ins and outs of the job". Saying this, Arachnid kept on with his barrage of assaults, seemingly trying to throw Hajime off his fighting rhythm.
He continued, " a month after we had joined, my brother got challenged to a dual by one of the promising assassin prodigies, who was believed to be the worthy successor of the Web Weaver. My brother utterly humiliated him before the grand council of assassins.
The news spread soon after. My brother became the well known one and slowly but surely, I was cast in his shadow of greatness. People did not recognize me at all anymore and if they did, it was to get on my brother's good graces.
With time, I grew sick of it. Five years had past, and still no Head Hunter had been chosen. My brother was given a request from a prestigious family, who wanted their first daughter to be kept safe by a strong assassin. As my brother spent time with their daughter,..." He closes in with full speed to attempt a strike. The strike is parried by Hajime's sleek footwork and blade handling.
".....he grew weak. He fell in love with this girl and she loved him as well, Inspite of her arranged marriage to a more prestigious household from the vale dutchie. One day, my brother made a choice of weakness, to run away from his assassin lifestyle and her nobility with their new found love".
Hajime's mind began to connect the coincidences in his story. But, not wanting to get distracted, he closed off his thoughts at the last second. Charging at Arachnid, he dealt an upward slash that cut Arachnid's shoulder.
He lunged back and steeled himself once more.
" You are quite mentally fortified for your age". Arachnid complimented Hajime.
He continued his story, dagger in hand as blood dripped from his shoulder wound.
" My brother succeeded and disappeared without a trace. The council of assassins blamed me for his short comings and I was forced to take the penalty. That day I realized, the strong dictate the weak. Once my mind had clasped onto that realization, I became merciless, a true blood thirsty killer. As such, the Web Weaver resonated with my soul. And I was crowned the Head Hunter. Eight years later, I received an assignment. And to my, utter joy, it was my darling brother and his beautiful wife. I enjoyed killing them in the most agonizing way imaginable".
Hajime was not about to fall for his taunts. Refusing to accept his words, he charged in for another strike. His strike was easily parried by Arachnid, using his dagger. Not wanting to stop without telling the full story, he continued.
" After killing them, I had to hide the evidence and so, I made it look like an accident. Can you guess which accident I used?". Hajime was still refusing acceptance. He knew his father was a retired adventurer, even having a Golden A rank Adventurer's identification card. He screamed at Arachnid.
" What does this have to do with my parents?!!!". Charging in, he dealt a heavy slash that pushed Arachnid back.
Arachnid knew his taunts had begun weighing on his mind. He was waiting to exploit the inconsistencies of his fighting stance when he successful enrages him.
He continued, despite clear protest from Hajime.
" I set their humble home ablaze, along with their mutilated corpses and their memories of their peaceful existence. It was revenge for leaving me in the spotlight to bare his responsibility. There was one thing I over looked though, they had an eight year old son at that time. However. He was not at home. As further payback, I left him to grow and despair because of his father's choices".
Horrible memories flushed into Hajime's mind. He couldn't deny the coincidences any longer. Standing still in despair, tears dripped from his eyes. Arachnid was in the mood for jubilation. Letting out a victory cackle, he mocked Hajime's stupidity for wanting to challenge an assassin of his caliber. What he did not expect suddenly occured.
Looking at Hajime with mocking eyes, he saw his fist clench around the Petal Scattering Blade's handle. He was about to finish the dual with a killing strike, when suddenly Hajime vanished and reappeared behind him. Looking at his right hand, Arachnid came to the horrid realization that his entire right hand was gone. He fell to the ground, writhing in agony from the shooting pain in his right arm.
Arachnid soon let out a sadistic yet somewhat nervous cackle.
He said, " it's okay, I~ I'll just reattach it at a healer's cabin".
Hajime with a calm, ominously quiet demeanour crouched and reached out for Arachnid's severed hand. Arachnid, as if knowing what he was about to do started to shout and beg for mercy.
" No!!!, No! Please, don't. Don't do this to me. Please don't!!!!, I beg you!!!".
Hajime cast destruction magic on his severed hand, and watched it crumble to black dust. Turning his head with a sadistic grin towards Arachnid, he said; " sorry...., uncle. My hand slipped".
Arachnid blazed with fury. Screaming at Hajime, he cursed atop his lungs.
" You bastard!!!!, you bastard!!!!!. Die! Die! Die! Die!. I'll kill you damn eyesore. I'll make you pay for this!!!!!!!".
Hajime's faced turned cold, his expression dead and lifeless. With a sudden step, he vanished, reappearing right in front of arachnid, crouched on the floor next to him.
With a glare that tore through souls, Hajime threatened.
" You filthy piece of scum. I'll make sure that you suffer slow and painful agony for what you did to them. I swear on the grave of my father, your brother, I'll kill you".
Arachnid begged for mercy with a trembling voice. He did not want to die like this. " Please nephew, have mercy on your uncle. I beg you".
Hajime stood up and walked away to a slight distance. Turning back to Arachnid he said,
" what did you say, you mutilated them and refused to give them any mercy?, I believe that's what you said right, uncle!!?".
He received a system notification and looked at it. His mask artifact had been timed out. His stats suddenly depleted by ten percent.
Arachnid took the opportunity. Creating a new hand with his blood iron threads, he charged towards Hajime. Hajime however, was not about to loose. Turning around, he slashed across his chest twice in the blink of an eye. His uncle fell to the ground and bled intensely. Hajime, hovering over his uncle's dying body, refused to grant him a painless release. He watched as Arachnid's body bled to death.
A series of system notifications appeared,
[ Main daily quest 2, Day 2 complete ]- rank S
Reward received: Dark type familiar embryo- acquisition level S.
Specifics: a spirit seed that takes the form of the administrator's mana type. Infinite probabilities of embryo forms. The rank of the familiar embryo is determined by the mana purity and density.
Sub quest: administrator should infuse his mana into the familiar embryo for five hours a day for eight days. Once begun, there must not be interruptions in the schedule.
Reward: familiar embryo will gain fifty percent more stays than it's beginner phase.
Hajime was filled with mixed emotions. The weight of taking a life hung heavily on him. He was angry that his own father could not tell him about his past. As he prepared to walk away and descend the Gale mountain, another system window appeared.
[ System Warning ]- assimilation of living soul has began, Soul Devourer has been fed a living soul. Potential mana overload eminent. Assimilation difficulty: S
[ Hidden quest unlocked ] : The Will of a Devourer - administrator must assimilate the overloading mana in his body completely.
Penalty: death
Reward: ???
Hajime's mind started to go blank. His body felt too heavy to walk in. Falling to his knees, he clutched his stomach as waves of soul energy or aura, emanated from his being. As he writhed in agony, the science shifted to the guard post. Lily, discussing about Hajime with Bianca, suddenly felt a shift in her being. She immediately realized. " He killed him".
Beckoning Bianca to follow, she ran and flew out off the guard post. Bianca, now supercharged in her vampire body moved faster than ever before. She lept off buildings like a graceful dancer.
Back at the summit, Hajime is still writhing in pain. He calls out in a faint voice for help.
Bianca incredibly worried asks Lily what was happening to Hajime. However, Lily was too worried and could not hear her. Bianca increases her speed to catch up to Lily's flight speed. In her head, she prays to the Revered One for Hajime's safety.