"Have you ever been stuck and bashing your brain against the wall trying to figure out the definition of a word? Or have you ever been reading a very confusing book, and wondered about the definition of a certain term used? Well fear not, because today We've come up with a new way to figure out the definition of those hard to understand words. I bring you, Sparkle's Dictionary of Truth! Created by yours truly, Sparkle! A dictionary all for you and your enjoyment as a reader! Here we store all the hard to figure out terms with tons of nuance! Take a look! Let's try something that's going to end up being very relevant in this story
Death:
the action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person
a cause of ruin
ONE
the passing or destruction of something
R■■■■ ■■■■■
SLAUGHTER
XIII
EXTINCTION
HEL
the state of being no longer alive : the state of being dead
Emanator Of Death
the destroyer of life represented usually as a skeleton with a scythe
THE HUNT
Thank you for checking out today's installment of the Dictionary of Truth! I should go now, seems like the authors going to return any minute now. Listen up, I'm not supposed to be showing you all of this, so lets keep this as a secret between me and you , kay? Muah!
Sparkle Ou-
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
The man in the long, dark trench coat leaned against the crumbling wall of the old building's interior. The building was a run-down excuse that could barely even be likened to a shed. The only difference between a dinky thing like a shed and this old building was that the building rose higher into the sky than a shed, standing at around 5 stories tall. Every single floor in the building was empty except for the one that this man and his partner were standing on. This floor was wide, fitting a large rectangular table in the center and a few couches and coffee tables off to the corners of the room.
Outside, the sound of gunshots rang loudly. Screams echoed. The sound of a robbery could be heard, and it was taking place on the sidewalk right next to the building. The building was located in one of the crime capitals of the world. Tijuana. A city plagued by organized crime, mafias, and illegal drug trafficking. Every single person on the streets of that city owned a gun. Every single mage in the city walked around with their weapons brandished.
To call it the capital of crime wouldn't even be an outlandish statement. The Magic Knights from the Mages Association stationed here were so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crime and the mafia organizations established here that they long ago stopped trying to do their jobs. Trying to fight crime coming from both mages and non-mages was harder than it looked. The local police were a non-factor as well.
All it would take was a few stacks, and you could have a shootout down Main Street without a single cop batting an eye. That left the city in the hands of the many different mafias and syndicates that gathered there. It was a city where gangsters and criminals trying to make money off of the illegal trade of drugs jostled for power, and it was a town that no sane person would ever want to live in. That meant the only people living here were those looking to make a quick buck off a shady job or retards.
"There's no way this shitty building was the very best these guys could come up with." Don't tell me they don't understand the status of the person they're meeting with?" The girl who stood next to the man in the dark coat complained. She pulled a cigarette out of a box and held it over for the man to light it for her. The woman was dressed in a nun's outfit.
"Don't get so worked up, Mia. I'm sure our clients did the best that they could with what they had." The man replied as he lit her cigarette. Prometheus. Leader of the Fangless Python. A man whose ideals and moves knocked the world off of its rocker. And he was only scheming up more.
"Don't try and be humble, Prometheus." Mia let out a large puff of smoke from her mouth. "Humility doesn't look good on you. Besides, this alone is disrespectful, especially for someone who's going to become the future [King of the World]." She knocked on the wall with a bit of force, and pieces of the ceiling literally began to fall. "I mean, look at this place. It's literally falling apart right in front of our eyes."
Prometheus put his hand out, and Mia passed him a cig. He lit it by using flames from his finger. Taking a swig, he puffed. "It's no use complaining right now. Once the negotiations begin, we will simply show them where they stand and where we stand. That will be enough."
At that moment the door swung open, and a group of men walked in. It was like a circus freak show, as 13 people of different heights, statures, attitudes, and appearances all stepped into the room. At the head was a man with black pants and a black turtleneck. He had snow-white hair, and even his eyes were a pale gray like a storm. He had a cigarette in his mouth, and at his side was a gun, concealed by his long white overcoat. He was a young man. There was no way he could have been any older than 18.
He was followed by two other men. Twins. They both looked identical. Black suits, black bowties, ginger hair, and their necks were heavy from the jewelry that they wore. The next was a woman. Long blonde hair, and dressed in a red suit with a skirt. She had sharp blue eyes that resembled those of a rabid dog. A long coat decorated with badges hung from her shoulders.
Prometheus didn't pay attention to the rest, as these were the only ones who really caught his eye at the moment. The 13 people shuffled into the room before all finding seats at the table. All except for one. A figure covered from head to toe...
In pink. They opted to sit on one of the couches in the corner of the room.
Prometheus ignored them and took a seat at the empty one at the table. Mia stood next to him. Settling into his seat and snuffing his cigarette out on the table, he turned to look up. Sitting directly across from him on the other side of the table was the young man. He had a smile on his face. He too removed the cigarette from his mouth and tossed it to the ground.
"Prometheus. A living legend. I can't believe I've finally gotten the chance to meet you, right here, in the flesh. Your ideals and your organization as a whole are creating seismic shocks around the world."
Prometheus laughed, deciding to play along with the obvious flattery for now. "So you do know who I am!" I'm surprised, because looking at this reception, I'd think the exact opposite." Prometheus put an edge in his voice that chilled the air.
The young man sitting in front of him was unfazed by it all, however. "I'm sure you've already seen the true purpose of us meeting in this shithole."
Mia finished the sentence for Liam. "It's not going to be hard to hide a body. You were prepared just in case we happened to be frauds. You'd kill us here and then destroy this shitty building by setting it ablaze. That would hide the bodies for you."
The boy with the white hair clapped his hands excitedly. "Right on the money! You're smart, nun."
Mia's eyes sharpened.
Prometheus's smile grew wider.
The tension in the room rose to an insane high for a brief second before dropping back down.
"Well, I'm sure you already know why we've come here. We want to hire you."
"We're flattered that such an organization has decided to take their time to ask for our help. So, how can KnT help you?"
"First off, quit using that shitty code name. Kage no Toru? Who the fuck is that fooling?
The boy with the white hair laughed. Mia's fist clenched once again. She leaned in and whispered into Prometheus's ear.
"This guy's fucking around way too much. If he knows who he's dealing with, then there should be no reason he's messing around like this."
Prometheus nodded before leaning in to whisper into Mia's ear. Her eyes widened. She then nodded and took a step back.
"Still, I don't like how that guy is acting. For such a pussy, he sure does act like a big shot."
"If anything, it just goes to show how respected and how feared the fangless Python truly are." He then turned back to face the boy.
"Our real name, you say? Fine, fine. You can call us Thirteen. Or, XIII. That is the name of our organization. 13 of the most elite assassins in the entire world. Our killers come from every side of the planet. And simply said, we're the best of the best at what we do. Of course, those services don't come from the goodness of our hearts. We need payment. The bigger the job, the—
"The more we have to pay. Yeah, yeah, just cut the bullshit. Allow us to get to the point. We want to launch an attack on the upcoming 10 Grand Magic Academies ceremony that's approaching. Our goal is simple: to kidnap one or more of the heirs of the 10 grand magic families. Preferably as many as possible. We've got that part sorted out. What we need from you is to create chaos and cause a distraction. We're sure that the World Ender of Asia, the headmaster, and a bunch of S-rank magic knights will be there. All you have to do is create insanity."
"For a job of that caliber? You're going to have to break open the bank, and wide. The risk is just so high; the payment has to be proportional. We're going to be risking our lives after all."
To that, Prometheus slid a phone across the table.
The boy picked it up, and when his eyes read the number on the screen, he couldn't hide his reaction. His eyes widened, and his hands trembled. His jaw went slightly slack.
"Close that mouth of yours before a fly finds its way inside, boy." Prometheus said.
The boy closed his mouth before turning to face Prometheus. "Forgive me for asking, but this amount would only be possible if you had the spending budget of an entire continent at your hands. "I-I can't believe this figure."
Prometheus grinned. "Those are the true capabilities of our Fangless Python. This isn't a negotiations table where we're both on even ground. So, will you accept?"
The boy swallowed. "We can't deny a job paying this much." We accept."
Prometheus smiled wide. Perfect.
He clapped his hands, and at that moment the heads of everybody in the room except for his, Mia's, and the boy's went POP! like a balloon. The walls, table, ceiling, floor, and even they themselves were all painted red with blood. The boy's face and white hair were covered in it, but he didn't even blink.
Prometheus stood up, walking over to the boy and holding out his hand for a handshake.
"A pleasure doing business with you, young man." The boy accepted the handshake.
"Thank you, Prometheus."
"And what is your name, if you don't mind?" Prometheus stared at the boy with a crazed look in his eyes.
"I'm just I. You can call me 'One.' I'm the number one killer within XIII. But if you don't like that, then you can always address us by our purpose." One showed a sinister smile. "The Hunt."
Prometheus nodded. "Alright then, One. Just a little tip." He then grabbed the boy before slamming him against the wall and then snapping his neck.
"The next time you meet with an important client, do it in your real bodies. Not with clones."
The two women stood outside atop a hill. Behind them, destruction. Where there once stood a lively village town, built upon extensive farmland with a wide variety of crops, there was now nothing but ash. The once green and vibrant land was now rendered into a barren black wasteland. It had all happened in less than a minute. Within that minute, the force of Death had descended upon the town.
The girl, Mia, headmaster of Europe's Magic Academy, stood back-to-back with another girl. One was dressed in paladin-style armor colored green. Hel.
Mia clung to her cross. All around the two, an air of death loomed. It was being emanated from Hel. Her very presence killed.
"What's the point in you continuing all of this?" We've already found our saintess. And thanks to the efforts of some unknown faction, we even have our congregation. What's the point in still going around and wiping these towns off the map?
Hel reached her hand out into the air. A crow perched on it. Then another. Then another. They landed on the spiked and twisted parts of her helmet that resembled a tree. They rested there, unaffected by the aura of death.
"A diversion. A distraction. In order for everything to proceed well, we have to ensure that the Mage's association is too busy chasing wild geese instead of looking where it matters. They're already being distracted by those disappearances. They have to deal with rebuilding, reconstruction, and immigration. They have to worry about that Mage Hunter killing their forces, and now, this. All the while they try to plan major events, such as the Seven Stars, to sell to the public that they're still going strong. They're completely overwhelmed. I want to keep it that way."
Mia nodded her understanding. "The less trouble, the better. But did you have to do it in such a....brutal, fashion?"
"It seems you forget, headmaster. I am the Emanator of Death. This is the only way I know how."