Daz Bonis's eyes were dazed, blood trailing from his forehead down his cheek, dripping to the ground one drop at a time.
As a renowned assassin from the West Sea, his mission success rate had always been one hundred percent.
In other words, he had never failed.
But today, that record might be broken.
And before today, he would never have believed that this assassination mission would end up like this.
The target was merely a defenseless woman.
Even though she held a somewhat troublesome noble status, in the end, it didn't mean much.
In fact, even before he accepted the mission, the guards around the target had already been attacked and killed by the mafia.
It seemed like there would be no difficulty.
And the employer offered a high reward, double the market rate.
He had no reason to refuse.
If there had to be a reason for this mission's failure, it could only be that he was too arrogant.
Even knowing that the target was still protected by ten marines, he chose to strike in the middle of the night!
The reasoning? The longer he waited, the more chances the target's security would be reinforced, making things harder for him.
Of course, that was just the excuse he gave the client.
The real reason was that he was too confident in his own strength. He wanted to finish the job quickly and then find a scenic place to relax.
Under normal circumstances, the entire Toledo Manor was filled with nobodies, no one could stop him.
All he needed to do was storm in through the front gate, kill everyone he saw, or whoever saw him, and then take out Tessa Toledo to finish the job and retire from the scene.
See? Simple.
Up until he laid eyes on the target, everything had gone exactly according to plan, no surprises at all.
But...
When a man calling himself Nova Jay appeared and saved Tessa Toledo right in front of him, the script fell apart completely.
And what's more...
That guy was trying to rewrite the entire ending!
"Never thought I'd lose to a 'normal' marine."
Thud!
As Daz Bonis finished speaking, his body swayed and then collapsed heavily to the ground, losing consciousness.
"If you hadn't gone down just now, the one who wouldn't be able to hold on... would've been me."
Jay's chest heaved violently as he struggled to regulate his breathing.
His clothes had long since been torn to shreds during the battle, leaving him looking like a beggar.
And it wasn't just the fabric that had been slashed, his flesh had been cut open too.
Dozens of wounds crisscrossed his body, making for a horrifying sight!
It was only thanks to his incredible defensive strength, tightening and contracting his muscles, that he managed to minimize the damage and stay on his feet.
But even so, the massive blood loss left his head spinning.
Even the nunchaku in his hand had one of its sticks split in half.
That alone spoke volumes about how brutal the fight had been!
And yet, in the end, he relied on both strength and sheer willpower to come out on top.
Though Jay looked utterly exhausted, his eyes were blazing bright!
At this point in time, Daz Bonis, who had eaten the Swift-Slash Fruit, was undoubtedly one of his strongest opponents yet.
While the victory came at a price, defeating him marked a critical transformation for Jay, one that reshaped him, body and soul.
That's why his spirit was so electrified.
To borrow the words of a certain flashy blond guy: "I'm so hyped I could explode!"
"Big bro Jay! Big bro Jay...!"
Bark, who had snuck over to check on the situation, suddenly let out a shout and sprinted toward him.
When he saw the fallen Daz Bonis, his eyes lit up with both awe and fervor.
Even a top-tier assassin from the West Sea had fallen to Big Bro Jay. And with Colonel Hammond backing him up, Jay's future was sure to be limitless!
Since Bark had been by Jay's side from the very beginning, he figured he'd be dragged upward too, when one person rises to glory, even the dogs and chickens around them benefit.
So how could Bark not be happy, not be excited?
"Use the strongest chains you can find to bind him. The sturdier, the better. Then toss him in water and let him soak..."
"Huh? That's too much trouble. I can just shoot him in the head right now..."
"Shoot your damn head! I'll shoot you first!"
Jay tried to move but tugged on a wound, making him grimace in pain.
If only they had some Sea-Prism Stone, they wouldn't need all this hassle.
"Just do what I said. He can't die yet, I still have use for him. Got it?"
"Got it, Big Bro Jay! Leave it to me. I'll make sure this bastard lives a little longer. I'll go find the chains right now"
"Wait, get back here!"
"Huh? Got more orders, Big Bro Jay?"
"Go round up the best doctors in town. Don't worry about the cost, bill that noble lady for the medical fees."
After forcing out those final words, Jay shut his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
Which absolutely scared the hell out of Bark.
He jumped into action right away!
Not long after...
"What?! He failed?!"
"He really did. A lot of people saw Miss Tessa out and about, and all the best doctors in town were called to her side."
"I already sent people to dig into it. Some reports are in, word is a marine defeated the assassin Daz Bonis, though he himself was badly injured. Miss Tessa is said to be unharmed, under the marines' protection."
The butler wore a strange expression as he relayed the gathered intel.
"A marine?! Are you sure that's accurate? You're telling me those useless marines from Branch 88 managed to take down Daz Bonis, the assassin? Are you kidding me?!"
"I know it sounds absurd, but... it seems a miracle really happened."
The speaker, a middle-aged man who bore a striking resemblance to Tessa Toledo, sat down heavily, disbelief all over his face.
If Tessa were here right now, she would've immediately recognized him as her uncle.
After all, just before the mafia attack, he had visited her at the Toledo estate, expressing concern and giving her warm advice.
But who would've guessed?
It was this very uncle who, upon learning that the mafia had failed to kill her, activated a backup plan, hiring an assassin to finish the job!
When Tessa's uncle, Toledo Lucien, urgently contacted the West Sea Assassin Guild, it was almost too perfect:
The closest available assassin was none other than Daz Bonis, who had just completed a job in the Tulip Kingdom.
To ensure Daz Bonis would take the mission personally, Lucien had offered double the usual pay, without hesitation.
That should've guaranteed success.
Just thinking about inheriting the entire Toledo family fortune had Lucien trembling with excitement.
But sadly for him, that dream was shattered in an instant.
And now, he even had to worry about his niece finding out about the "good deed" he'd done.