NOVGO.NET Chapter 1777: The Past Of The Assassin Hero 1
Chapter 1777: The Past Of The Assassin Hero 1
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Abyssal Embodiment.
Shadows.
Darkness.
Death.
Phantom.
Illusions.
These were the main elements and powers of the Hero of Shadows, Shade.
Designed by the gods as an “Assassin in the Shadows” and a “Rogue,” he was blessed with great power, combined with his bloodline, making him an ultimate killing machine.
He had incredible stealth abilities, the power to raise the dead in smaller quantities, talk with souls, manipulate minds, and even brainwash people.
His killing techniques were precise and sharp, capable of disposing of foes in a single blow, in mere seconds, without their victims even knowing what hit them.
These abilities and techniques were developed by Shade when he was a child, from the moment he could walk on his two feet. He underwent harsh training for years.
He had no childhood. Raised by the Church of the Gods as the last of his kind, the now nearly extinct Darkage Bloodline of Humans, once designed by the Gods as their undercover special forces against the forces of demons and other inhabitants of the planet during their conquest, his life was one of relentless duty.
Naturally, it was a surprise to him, someone who grew up killing and had completely abandoned his emotions, to suddenly be told he was chosen by a God to become a Hero.
His entire life, he was always told he was but a tool by the members of the church, the members of the secret assassin organization he belonged to, and others.
Since he was a one-year-old child, he was forced to exercise and use his bloodline abilities, undergoing excruciatingly painful training sessions that scarred his mind forever.
Being told he was “sinister” and “scary” quickly brought back these memories as Shade looked at the floor.
Even now, with friends and a family that loved him, even now that he had two precious daughters, the echoes of his past, the voices of his traumas, would never leave him alone.
It was especially awful when he recalled these things out of nowhere, when he was most focused on a task.
Sometimes, simple words could trigger these voices. Annoying as they were, they were merely voices.
Although that was the case, such voices, while holding no physical power over him, carried memories with them.
Memories of when he was a six-year-old child, crying on the floor, gasping for air, bleeding all over his body, as the bodies of three people lay on the floor.
“Cough, cough… Haahh… I’m sorry… I’m… sorry…”
His hands trembled, covered with blood. The knife he had used to slit their throats fell to the floor as he experienced his first panic attack after taking his first lives.
These people weren’t even bandits, let alone thieves or criminals. They were a group of adventurers who had discovered a ruin of the gods and tried to report it to the adventurer guild.
He was told to kill them before they could spread more information, while the church investigated these ruins.
He was told there couldn’t be any witnesses.
They were a pair of adventurers, and a third person who had seen what happened was also killed.
“You’ve done well.”
A shadowy figure emerged behind the child, glaring at him with sharp crimson eyes.
Despite his appearance, he was not Darkage but a simple human.
His master.
Or one of them.
“I-I… did well?”
“Yes, you killed as you were told. You took care of the witness as well.”
“B-But… I don’t…”
“Listen, Shade. Your value lies in your killing abilities. In this world, you won’t survive unless you do what you’re told.”
“…”
“You will kill when you’re told, and you will take down any who see you as well. You’re the church’s shadow and knife, just as I and your many brothers and sisters are.”
“I am not a person?”
“No.”
“…”
“Now stand up, child, before anybody else sees us, unless you want to kill more? Is your Darkage Bloodline reacting? Perhaps three people weren’t enough to satiate your bloodlust?”
“T-That’s not the case! I am not enjoying this…! I…”
“Who’s there?!”
Suddenly, Shade heard a fourth person running across the dark streets, a woman.
“Ah…!”
He quickly turned into darkness, disappearing with his master before he was forced to kill more.
The darkness always carried Shade through his life. The Shadow Order, constantly manipulating him as their puppet, served the church.
The church, benefiting from him and his companions, kept “order” in their society by taking down anybody who dared to oppose them.
Nobles, commoners, farmers, adventurers.
It didn’t matter.
Shade had long ago lost count of how many people he had killed, so many who had almost discovered the dark secrets of the church and were about to expose them, killed.
Not even nobles, the children of kings, or kings themselves were safe.
He walked a bloody path of cries for help, the pained groans of victims, and the cold steel of his blade.
Slowly, any hesitation he once had was gone as he became cold, calculative, and emotionless.
A husk of his former self, abandoning any innocence he once had, any emotion he once had.
Because he knew they were pointless, useless.
The breaking point. He could still remember it.
It was when the person he killed was someone he loved.
The body of his first love, a beautiful blonde girl, someone who belonged to the Shadow Order, an assassin like him.
A girl who tried to escape this world with him, who had convinced him to meet at night, behind the walls of the capital.
“Shade! Y-You’re here…! I knew you would come…”
“P-Patricia… You need to run… Run…”
“Eh?”
“Please… run before-”
“What are you waiting for, Shade? Do it.”
His master’s crimson eyes. He could still remember them.
So deeply ingrained in his mind.
In his memories.
In his heart.
His soul.
“Kill her.”
Shade’s hands trembled as he looked at his master, his eyes fixed on his sinister figure.
On the darkness he exuded, that old crow.
If there was a monster, if there was a devil, Shade was sure that his master was that being.
“Now.”
Patricia, at that moment, tried to stop him.
“You don’t have to listen to him, Shade! We can run together…! He cannot stop us if we fight together… right?”
“…”
She slowly walked to his side, hugging him from behind.
“Shade… we can do this together… please…”
“Patricia…”
As he hugged her, feeling her warmth, Patricia felt a sharp pain in her stomach and started vomiting blood.
Her eyes widened as she began crying painful tears, realizing Shade’s knife had already stabbed her.
“Sha… de?”
As Patricia began to feel weak, realizing the knife was poisoned with a potent toxin, she noticed Shade’s face.
He was no longer emotionless. He was crying.
“I’m sorry…! I’m sorry! Patricia…! PATRICIA!”
As he started to cry and lost his mind, Patricia slowly fell to the ground, and he followed her.
“Shade… You’re… you’re crying…”
“I’m sorry! I don’t know why I did this…! I-I didn’t want to do this…! I-I…! Patricia…! Don’t die…! Patricia…!”
Despite what Shade had done, Patricia slowly moved her hand toward his head, caressing his face and wiping his tears.
“So you… you have… emotions… Shade…”
Even as blood dripped from her mouth, she smiled lightly between tears.
“You… you’re a… a person… not a… tool… You’re not… a mons…ter…”
“P-Patricia…”
As Shade’s eyes widened in that moment, his master walked to his side, patting his shoulders.
“Well done.”
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