Right now, the train we were riding had been hijacked. Seriously—why does something like this happen the moment I get on?
I gestured to Jacob and the others, signaling them to stay calm and quietly observe the situation.
As the smoke cleared, I saw a well-dressed, wealthy-looking man kneeling on the ground, begging in fear to a bearded thug.
"P-Please don't kill me! What do you want?! Money?! I'll give you anything, just don't kill me!"
The bearded man tapped the side of his blade against the man's head and smirked in satisfaction.
"Well, well, now that's a reasonable guy. You all heard him—hand over everything valuable you've got."
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of thugs appeared, each holding knives as they began collecting valuables. I noticed that every one of them had the same tattoo—a symbol that looked like a black sun.
Lixia leaned out to take a look, and as a local, she immediately recognized it.
"That tattoo… it's the Black Sun."
"Black Sun?"
I quietly moved closer to her and whispered. She lowered her voice and explained.
"The Black Sun is the most dangerous organization in the country. They'll do anything for money. If they're here, it means someone on this train is their target. Robbing people is just a side job."
So this wasn't just a simple robbery—it was targeted. Could it be me?
At that moment, a malnourished thug approached us, pointing his knife.
"What are you whispering about?! Hurry up and hand over your valuables! Wait… you— Boss, I found the target!"
He stared closely at Licia before shouting. So their target was her. …Well, that's embarrassing. I got a little too full of myself.
Over on Jacob's side, another thug had come to collect valuables. I left that to them.
"Eh…?"
Lixia, now identified as the target, let out a confused sound.
A moment later, the bearded man walked over.
"Where's the target?"
"Here. Boss, look—the girl with blue hair."
The bearded man stared at Lixia and asked suspiciously,
"Are you Lixia Ethe?"
"Y-Yes… Why are you trying to capture me? Who sent you…?"
As soon as Licia admitted it in fear, the bearded man broke into a wide grin, and the malnourished thug excitedly declared they'd finally found her.
So they'd been searching everywhere using the clue "a blue-haired girl." Still… something about this felt off.
The bearded man, now looking completely satisfied, spoke in a casual tone.
"We're professionals. No way we'd reveal our employer. Take her."
After giving the order, he walked away.
"Yes, sir."
The malnourished thug grabbed Lixia's arm and tried to drag her off.
"No! Let go of me!"
Lixia cried out and struggled, hitting his arm repeatedly.
Seeing that the bearded man had walked far enough away, I grabbed the thug's arm and yanked him inside.
Before he could react after falling to the ground, I stomped on his knife hand and drove a punch straight into his solar plexus, knocking him unconscious.
It all happened in an instant—he didn't even get a chance to make a sound. And with the chaos in the train, no one would notice anyway.
The thug on Jacob's side was already down too—Ethefelis must have taken him out.
Lixia looked at me with teary eyes, her face filled with fear. Hearing that she was the target of a dangerous organization must have terrified her. Yet, she spoke with deep gratitude.
"…Mr. Karen, thank you for saving me!"
Her voice was too loud—it might attract attention. I placed a finger against my lips and spoke gently.
"Shh. Stay here quietly. I'll deal with them soon."
I gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to calm her down.
"Okay!"
She seemed to relax a little. After telling Alice to stay put as well, I quickly dragged the unconscious thug over to Jacob and gave instructions.
"Jacob and Grace, move over there. Lixia's been targeted—calm her down and protect her."
Jacob would handle calming her, and Grace would protect her. I didn't expect Grace to take them down, but at least she could buy time.
"Got it." "Yes."
Once they moved, it was Ethefelis's turn.
"Ethefelis, you're coming with me to take them out. If they try to use passengers as hostages, can you eliminate them without harming anyone?"
I was worried she might ignore the threat and kill everyone—including the passengers.
She pulled out several throwing knives and answered confidently,
"I can."
"Good. I'll treat you to something delicious afterward."
Looks like she's trained in throwing knives. What a talented girl—of course she deserves a reward.
"Hurry."
At the mention of food, she became noticeably more motivated.
I picked up the thug's knife and stepped into the aisle, raising it and aiming at an enemy standing a bit away from the passengers. I wasn't trained in throwing, so I wasn't sure if I'd hit.
Once I locked onto my target—the guy I planned to take out with a headshot—I threw the knife.
It didn't disappoint. The blade flew straight and buried itself perfectly into his head, killing him instantly.
After throwing it, I drew my own sword.
A female passenger saw the man collapse and screamed in terror.
"Ahhh!!!"
That high-pitched scream drew every enemy's attention—exactly what I was waiting for.
Ethefelis and I moved at the same time, cutting down as many as we could in that instant.
I decapitated my targets with clean swings, while Ethefelis leapt onto enemies from behind, slitting their throats in one swift motion.
Some passengers saw us killing. Others saw heads rolling. Panic spread.
"Ahhh!!!"
All the enemies' attention shifted toward us. I immediately stepped in front of Ethefelis, shielding her behind me. As an assassin, she needed me to draw the focus.
The bearded man had gone too far earlier—I hadn't gotten to him. Now he saw his men dead at my hands and stormed toward me, pointing his blade.
"Who the hell are you?! You saw our tattoo and still dared to go against us?!"
Since I was drawing attention, I needed to provoke him—make him angry and careless.
"What do you think I am?"
"I'm the one asking questions! Answer me!"
He glared at me furiously, no longer paying attention to anything else.
I took that moment to lightly tap Ethefelis, signaling her. With her small frame, she slipped past him silently and moved behind him to eliminate the remaining enemies.
Understanding instantly, she pulled out two knives and began cutting them down.
Once I confirmed she hadn't been noticed, I continued talking.
"Fine, fine. I'm an adventurer. What about you? What are you?"
"Why should I answer you, brat?"
"That's not fair."
While talking, I kept an eye on Ethefelis. Her assassination skills were flawless—each motion precise, each cut silent. The enemies didn't even realize what was happening before they died.
"You've got guts."
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"You only pulled that off because we weren't paying attention. Now everyone's watching you—you won't get another chance."
Smart man.
Too bad Ethefelis had already finished them all.
Now only the bearded man stood before me. I shifted my focus back to him.
…Wait. Why had the passengers stopped screaming? That was strange. He wasn't turning around, so I had no choice but to tell him.
"Really? Why don't you take a look behind you?"
"You think I'd fall for that? You just want me to turn around so you can strike. Kid, you're still too green."
"Wow, you're smart. Then try calling your men. See if they answer."
"Now that's more like it. Boys!"
"…"
He called out eagerly—but the dead don't respond.
After a moment, his expression darkened, and he shouted angrily,
"You dare ignore me?! You want to die?!"
Even planning to yell at corpses… what a miserable life. I decided to help him face reality.
"I'll put my sword away. Go ahead and look."
I sheathed my sword.
His face instantly turned pale with terror, his hand trembling as he held the knife.
"T-They're all dead…? How did you do that?!"
I didn't answer. Instead, I glanced at Ethefelis—she had already raised her blade, ready to strike.
"Don't kill him yet. I need to question him."
"You… who are you talking to?! Where are you looking?! I—I won't be scared!"
He refused to turn around. And somehow, he seemed to think Ethefelis was a ghost—which clearly irritated her. Her blade was trembling with impatience.
If he kept talking like that, she might lose it and kill him on the spot.
So I lowered his knife hand and placed a hand on his shoulder, warning him,
"Don't be afraid. But if you keep saying weird things, I can't guarantee what'll happen to you."
He immediately dropped his knife, fell to his knees, and clasped his hands together, begging for his life.
"P-Please don't kill me! I have a family to take care of… I can't die like this…"
I can't believe I'm actually hearing this line in real life.
Well… it is another world, after all.