Stormrider, an upper-tier guild with little to no renown owned one of the cheaper mansions. Members of this guild could be seen entering and leaving their mansion throughout the day. This guild owned few hunting zones, and had few enemies. From all appearances, it was just like any other guild.

But that was just a front. Once a member of Stormrider entered the mansion and was far from prying eyes, their aura underwent a drastic change. From a cheerful ascender, to a bloodthirsty murderer. This mansion was one of Yama's headquarters. Unlike Stormrider, Yama was known as the world's most infamous organization.

The top floor of the mansion was closed off from the majority of Yama's members. To enter meant death. The largest room on the top floor was completely devoid of furnis.h.i.+ng, except for one thing. A stand made from black wood held the sword of a samurai. It was purely decorational.

Cay Wolf, the leader of Yama, sat in front of the sword in the seiza position. He was j.a.panese, though he was raised in America. He had short black hair, razor sharp eyebrows, and appeared to be no older than twenty-five. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was calm and measured.

Unlike his outer appearance, his mind was in chaos. He prided himself on being the strongest a.s.sa.s.sin in the world. It was the core of his ego. Every bounty he accepted, he completed perfectly. Politicians, CEOs, guild leaders. Everyone fell before his deadly attacks. That was, until a few weeks ago.

As the war in Brazil's tower raged on, the tension between the United States and China increased. The person the U.S. feared most was Shenlong, acclaimed as the strongest ascender in the world. If Shenlong entered the war, the U.S. would be pushed into a corner. To prevent this possibility, they hired Cay Wolf to a.s.sa.s.sinate him. The result was a complete and utter failure.

Since the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, Wolf locked himself in his quarters, his pride in tatters. Wolf replayed the moment when he released his arrow. Everything was going perfectly. The target was unaware of his presence, and the arrow was released. How could he be so strong? It was like Shenlong had eyes behind his head. With a simple tilt of his body, the arrow had missed. The battle after that was a humiliating disgrace.

Wolf clenched his hands as his breathing quickened. The only person he could trust was himself. What he valued most was power, and yet there were no avenues for him to increase it. Because of his profession, he had many enemies. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the entire world wished him dead. If he went out to hunt monsters, it was highly likely that someone would recognize his skills. The only reason his strength still increased was because he was the champion of Vex, the G.o.d of darkness. With every a.s.sa.s.sination, he gained rewards. Still, progress in recent years was slow.

The only thing that gave him hope was the recent meeting with Vex, but the price for the strength he sought was great. Wolf sensed something and glanced behind him. A moment later, the door opened and two figures entered. One was a woman in her youth. She had long black hair, thin eyebrows, and an unblemished complexion. Her name was Aiko Wolf. The boy was Victor Wolf.

Victor followed behind his mother as they walked into the dark room. Aiko frowned upon noticing that the room was empty. She looked over her shoulder at Victor. "Didn't Ghost say that your father was looking for us? Why isn't he here?"

As Victor was about to respond, his eyes widened in horror. A large portion of his mother's chest was missing. Through the hole in his mother's chest, he could see his father nocking another arrow. Victor's mind was frozen, unable to understand the scene playing out before him.

Aiko's face was as white as a ghost as she glanced down. By habit, she twisted her wrist. A high grade health potion appeared, which she promptly drank. Unfortunately, a notification appeared before her.

You have been cursed for 1 minute. All healing is negated.

"C-cursed?" She only knew one person who had a skill like this. Her husband. Swiveling her head, she witnessed an arrow before her eyes. In the next moment, her head exploded. Her body fell to the ground before disappearing in a flash of light.

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"AHHH!" Victor screamed and fell to his knees. He reached out, but there was nothing there. Not even a body.

The sound of footsteps caused Victor to shudder. Scared out of his mind, he glanced up. "F-father, why did you-."

The words got stuck in his throat. Victor starred in abject horror into his father's eyes. It was like staring into an abyss. Pitch black pupils shrouded in darkness. These weren't his father's eyes. They were different.

Victor was filled with so much fear that he didn't realize his father nock another arrow. In his final moments, he could only see the eyes of a demon, before being completely consumed by darkness.

The room fell silent. Wolf glanced down at his feet, his heart unnaturally calm. He knew something was wrong. Like he lost something precious. But in the pursuit of ultimate strength, it was worth sacrificing. The notification before him verified his thoughts.

Severing the Heart

Kill that which you hold dear.

Progress: 66%.

Reward: Race Change into a Demon

This was the quest Vex had given him just hours ago. It was a simple quest, and yet required the strongest of wills to complete. Vex had promised that upon becoming a Demon, he could become the strongest person alive. Although, at the point, he wouldn't be human. But that wasn't important. Strength was the only thing that mattered.

"What have you done?" A voice as cold as ice broke Wolf from his thoughts. He glanced up and found Ghost standing at the door.

"Brother-in-law…" Wolf's voice was devoid of any emotion.

Ghost trembled with rage. Just a moment ago, he sensed that something terrible had happened. Upon entering the room, he found his sister's items on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood. Even a fool could figure out what happened.

"It's simple, really." Wolf raised his hand and swiped. A notification with the information about his quest appeared before Ghost.

Ghost read through it in one glance, but in that moment, an arrow pierced through his eye. Shockingly, the arrow pa.s.sed straight through his body without any resistance. It was like he existed in another s.p.a.ce. Ghost grabbed at his waist and threw down a ball. Smoke immediately filled half the room.

"I expected nothing less." Wolf jumped backwards and nocked another arrow as quick as lightning. He landed in a crouched position, his bow tilted horizontally. His eyes were like a hawk as he scoured the room, waiting. Finally, when the smoke cleared, Ghost was nowhere to be found.

Wolf narrowed his eyes. "Hiding in stealth, are you?"

Contrary to Wolf's expectations, Ghost had long since fled.