episode_0073

Aguillem, a city that appears to be extravagant on the outside, actually has a secret.

That is, there are people who solve ‘dark’ requests that cannot be revealed to the outside world.

No one knows exactly how the underworld of Aguilem came into existence or its beginnings.

It just happened suddenly one day.

Actually, it wasn’t anything strange.

Where there is light, shadows appear.

Where money and people gather, even human desires tend to gather.

And perhaps it was only natural that a dark shadow would appear behind Aguillem, perhaps the most dazzling city on the continent.

Some of the people who gathered in Aguilem entrusted dark requests that they could not make outwardly to the underworld of Aguilem.

Even people began to visit Aguillem for that purpose.

The underworld that started like that began to grow in power without knowing the end, and eventually tried to expand its influence to sunny areas.

At that moment, the person who appeared and blocked the way was Bella’s father.

Naturally, the underworld rebelled and tried to harm him.

However.

In the end, that intention was not achieved.

It was a simple reason.

Because he was so strong.

He broke all the blades pointed at him, subdued all those who were dissatisfied, and set the standard for the underworld.

Never reveal your greed to the outside world and stay in the shadows.

Many people were dissatisfied. Because the desires of those who settled in the darkness knew no end.

But because they could not defeat him, they swallowed their frustration and quietly hid their blades.

That’s how he became the head of the underworld.

Although he acquired great power and power in an instant, he did not wield it for self-interest.

He began to use that power to help others.

He began to gather the city’s lower class, who were hidden by Aguilem’s brilliant light, and improve their conditions.

No matter how rich a city is, there are bound to be poor people and people who are marginalized in society.

Originally, most of these people committed themselves to the underworld and lived a life of not knowing when they would die.

Bella’s father tried to change that.

Those abandoned by their parents.

Those who are alienated from society and are alone.

Those who cannot survive in this world on their own.

He gathered them together and gave them a place to stay.

They provided meals, clothing, and education.

Although they felt awkward at first, they accepted the situation as time went by, received proper education, and grew along the right path, not the wrong path.

He gave the name ‘Black Night’ to the group of weak people he created.

As time passed, the underworld transformed into a completely different person, and the people who wandered the streets found new lives.

Bella’s father received the support of many people in Aguillem and became a respected person.

Bella was happy at that time.

Although she lost her mother at an early age, her father was kind and devoted to her, pouring his love and devotion into her, and many of her father’s followers became her other family members.

Although they were not related by blood, they were her older brother, older sister, and younger sister.

That’s why Bella’s childhood was happy enough.

However.

That happiness suddenly ended one day.

With the news that my father, who had gone out of Aguillem to take care of business for a while, had died.

I couldn’t find out anything exactly.

How did it happen and who made it that way?

Bella had to look at her father’s cold body with her own eyes, not even knowing who the beast was.

That alone was a difficult misfortune for a young girl to bear, but the misfortune that befell her was only the beginning.

Another misfortune for Bella began when a man appeared in the dark area where the leader had disappeared and the atmosphere had become chaotic.

The man suddenly appeared and overpowered the chaotic underworld with overwhelming force.

The underworld, which had grown in size so far, was not going to give in easily, but their ambitions were swept away with a single gesture from the man.

A man with overwhelming strength who suddenly appeared in the underworld one day.

Looking at his actions, he was reminiscent of Bella’s father, but there was a crucial difference.

That there was nothing in his hands.

He did not forgive those who rebelled against him, nor did he show mercy and spare their lives.

He killed all those who resisted and were intrusive.

And he himself filled the vacancies in each group that emerged.

In one day, half of the Aguillem underworld fell into the hands of this man.

The leaders of the underworld were so enraged by his tyrant-like behavior that they even sought outside help through the connections they had made, but even that did not achieve their goal.

It was not that there was no external support.

However, they just couldn’t defeat the man.

In the end, no one could stop the man, and the man who suddenly appeared became the king of the Aguillem underworld.

If you look at it up to that point, there was no room for the man and Bella to get involved.

Changing the structure of the underworld wasn’t something Bella needed to worry about.

The problem was that among the organizations that fell into the man’s hands was Bella’s ‘Dark Night’.

The man began to reorganize the dark night that was in his hands to his liking.

The Dark Night, which was originally created to protect and help the weak, was arbitrarily converted into an assassination group.

He put those who bowed down to him to higher positions, and forced those who originally belonged to the Dark Night to become assassins.

The members were taught how to hold a sword and how to swing a sword.

Those who learned knowledge, common sense, and how to live in the dark night learned how to end someone’s life overnight.

Of course, there were those who rebelled.

However, their resistance was in vain.

Those who resisted were instantly beheaded and killed.

As if that wasn’t enough, the man force-fed the members a poison that would kill them if they didn’t take the antidote periodically.

In the end, the members of the dark night were forced to take up swords in order to survive.

Bella hated seeing that sight so much.

My own memories and the legacy my father left behind are being tainted.

The lives of people who are like one’s family are being ruined.

Therefore, she went to see the man despite the opposition of those around her.

─ “Huh? you… Ah, is that man’s daughter?”

With a listless face, the man greeted Bella.

Just looking at the man’s face made her body tremble and she was afraid, but she eventually poured out everything she wanted to say.

I want the dark night to return to its original state.

If that doesn’t work, give it to yourself.

The man reacted like this:

─ “Hmm… Well, that’s just one organization. I don’t need it anymore, so I can give it to you if you want.”

Although the words treating the dark night as insignificant provoked her anger, Bella said nothing.

It was true, and it was not a bad trend for her.

however.

─ “But… It wouldn’t be fun if I just gave it back.”

Saying that, the man smiled.

─ Bring “money. If you bring me the money, I will return your father’s tissue.”

How much do you want, Bella asked.

─ “Amount… Okay, maybe about 20,000 gold coins?”

20,000 gold coins.

It was an absurd amount.

It was an amount that anyone other than a wealthy family could not afford, even if they worked hard all their lives.

To make matters worse, Bella lost everything and became an orphan.

Her father was not a person who set aside property, so there was no way he had any money left behind.

To Bella, who was despairing over such a large amount of money, the man spoke again.

─ “One more thing. There is no limit to the period. 10 years. Bring back 10,000 gold coins before 10 years are up. Then I will do as you wish.”

20,000 gold coins in 10 years.

Bella ultimately had no choice but to accept those absurd conditions.

Because I have to reclaim my father’s legacy.

And, we have to save those who are suffering under the changed organization.

Because we have to make sure that there are no more victims.

However, if we were to consider the possibility, it was extremely slim.

But it seemed like the man had similar thoughts.

─ “But that’s too much for a kid like you to earn. Hmm… It’s no fun when there’s no possibility at all.”

The man who was stroking his chin as if he was thinking about it soon opened his mouth again.

─ “Good. Let me introduce you to a job.”

The job the man was talking about was none other than the dark night that had changed.

It could truly be said to be in bad taste.

However, Bella couldn’t refuse.

If the man’s feelings were hurt if he refused, there was a possibility that the transaction would have never happened at all, and Bella also knew well that if she worked normally, she would not be able to save the money within the deadline.

That’s how Bella became an assassin.

I learned how to kill people.

Fortunately or unfortunately, she had talent.

A talent that is different from others.

Once I learned one thing, I learned ten, and I grew each day.

As a result, Bella completed training in an instant and officially became an assassin.

The first time I was commissioned to kill someone, I couldn’t sleep for several days.

The face and eyes of the person he had killed came to mind all the time, and even when he managed to fall asleep, the person covered in blood and cursing him appeared in his dream, and he had to wake up in horror.

The girl, who was so soft-hearted that she couldn’t even kill a bug, ended up killing a person like that.

He ended up killing the life of a person who had neither held a grudge nor committed a mortal sin, in order to achieve his goal.

With each person she killed, it felt like her heart was being torn off piece by piece.

By the time her mind, which had been cut and worn down for so many years, was completely worn away, and she no longer felt anything about killing people on request, she was making a name for herself as a fairly excellent assassin.

If left alone, she would have become a great assassin, but that wasn’t the end of it.

One day, she got a gift.

A gift that can change its appearance in an instant to whatever form you want.

Through that gift, which can be considered a treasure for an assassin, her abilities developed further, and she became an assassin who never fails.

Before she knew it, the world was afraid of her, calling her by the name ‘Old Moon’.

The fact itself didn’t impress Bella at all, but it had its benefits.

That’s how many people found her, and more expensive requests began to come to her.

Assassins are already highly remunerated, but thanks to her fame, she can only take on expensive quests, so she receives a huge amount of compensation.

So much so that the goal amount, which seemed so far away, now seems realistic.

Gaining strength from that, she received and processed requests without stopping.

To achieve the target amount within the deadline.

And that deadline is now just around the corner.

‘… father.’

After completing another request, looking at the darkening sky, she recalled memories of the past that had now become blurred.

My father’s face became blurred like a painting smeared on water, and his voice became even more blurred.

As she recalled memories fading away with the irresistible flow of time, she felt a tingle in her heart.