[Remnants of Aristocracy: The Canvas of Chaos]
The Royal Chamber was not merely a crime scene of a passing murder; it was a screaming, brutal statement—a declaration of a force that recognized neither human laws nor the sanctity of kings. The luxurious velvet carpet, which "Adrian Valerian" had once boasted of for its softness and rarity, was now saturated with the viscosity of warm, heavy blood, transformed into a crimson swamp that swallowed the soles of boots. The white marble, carefully polished to reflect the light of candles and crystal chandeliers, had become a distorted mirror reflecting remains that no longer resembled anything human.
Adrian's corpse lay carelessly in the center of the room, like a ragdoll smashed by an angry child who had grown bored with it. But the precision of the dismemberment, the way the limbs were separated from the torso, betrayed something far more terrifying than blind rage; it betrayed enjoyment. There was no sign of a struggle or resistance; it was like a sadistic surgical operation performed in cold blood, without an ounce of mercy.
I took a cautious step forward, my heart beating against my ribcage in a steady, heavy rhythm despite the immense pressure filling the room. Gina stood directly behind me, but I felt her spirit tremble. And Nero? He had taken an involuntary step back, his bow shaking in his hand for the first time since I had known him.
Amidst this devastation, that man sat with deadly coldness. The moonlight highlighted his deep black hair as if it were a piece of pure night, and his eyes... his red eyes shone with a demonic, captivating beauty, like rubies dipped in the blood of emperors.
[The Confrontation: Family of Killers]
The man crossed one leg over the other, wiping a thin thread of blood from his leather glove, then looked at us and smiled a smile that revealed a row of perfect white teeth, yet it was the most terrifying smile I had ever seen in my life.
"You are very late, Ryomen Gang..." the man said, then burst into a faint chuckle that seemed to come from a deep well. "Perhaps the reward will be mine alone today... I have done the work on your behalf."
In a split second, driven by survival instinct, Gina drew her dual daggers in a blur, and Nero raised his bow, aiming his arrow at the man's heart. My muscles tensed, and I prepared to attack, but the man didn't move an inch. He didn't even blink. He continued to watch us with intense boredom and disdain, as if watching a poor children's play, not three professional killers pointing their weapons at him.
"Oh... you know me well," he added in a tone dripping with psychopathic calm. "I don't like fighting people who are like me... especially if they are professional assassins. You are my family... aren't you?"
My eyes turned to Gina, and I was shocked by what I saw. This wasn't ordinary anger. Her features were contorted, veins in her face bulging terrifyingly, and her eyes began to overflow with tears that froze before falling from the sheer intensity of her malice.
The man noticed this, and his smile widened to reveal a darker side of his personality.
"Oh... Gina... what's wrong?" the man asked in a theatrical tone of sadness. "Are you still sad because I killed Luca?"
A deadly silence fell over the room, a silence preceding the storm. The man continued, tilting his head as if trying to recall missing details: "It's been a long time... how many years? Three or four? I don't really remember... the heads I've dropped since then have made me forget your little brother's face."
The man's words were like direct stabs into Gina's heart, who looked as if she were about to explode and attack him without thinking, were it not for the heavy weight of that man's aura pinning everyone in place.
[Clash of Titans: The First Tremor]
The man rose from his seat slowly, and only then did I realize his true size. He was massive, nearly as large as I was, and just as towering. He advanced toward me with measured steps, and with every step, the marble beneath his feet groaned as if aware of who was treading upon it.
He stopped directly in front of me. The distance between us was no more than a few centimeters. He tilted his head and looked directly into my eyes with sharp features resembling sword blades.
"Oh... a large person... sharp features..." he whispered, leaning closer until I felt the cold air of his breath. "And beautiful eyes... just as I was told."
In that moment, something happened that I hadn't felt in myself before. I felt a slight tremor run deep through my bones. It wasn't fear, but a primal response of my body before a being that surpassed it in savagery.
The man smiled with terrifying enthusiasm as he saw that glint in my eyes. "It's been a while since I found someone who doesn't tremble before me when I look into their eyes... you are strong."
[The Dismissive Departure]
The man turned with complete coldness toward Nero, who was struggling to keep his bow steady.
"Hey, Kiro..." the man said, using the wrong name with utter disdain. "Tell Skyro that I took this mission for myself. He should develop his gang well; perhaps in the next mission, one of you can arrive before I finish carving my prey."
He turned to walk away, as if ending a conversation with servants. "Oh right... don't forget to cover Adrian's corpse... the view behind me might cause nightmares for the little ones."
Nero spoke in a voice choked with rage: "But... my name... is Ner—" but the man didn't bother turning around and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor like a ghost returning to his hell.
[The Grotesque Signature: Silence of the Victim]
I approached Adrian's remains to understand why he asked us to cover the body. When I looked at his face, the blood froze in my veins. It wasn't just a murder... it was a message.
The man had gouged out Adrian's left eye with surgical precision, and instead of discarding it, he had stuffed it inside the victim's open mouth, making it appear as if Adrian died tasting his own sight. This was the brutal signature he always left behind.
[The Return]
We returned to the headquarters, the atmosphere charged with horror and suppressed rage. When we entered and told Skyro what happened, I saw something rare in his eyes: Worry.
Skyro slammed his fist onto the table until the wood bent under the pressure, and shouted in a voice that shook the walls of the headquarters: "Damn you, Dan! That bastard isn't just harassing us; he's challenging my authority in this region!"
I looked at Skyro and asked seriously: "Who is this, Skyro? I have never felt psychological pressure like what that man emits."
Skyro sighed, lighting a cigar while staring into the void with a dark look: "He is Dan... the assassin whose name the Kingdom of Draka fears to mention in public. Wanted in every province, he killed more than five high-ranking nobles in a single night inside their fortified palaces. His killing isn't just a mission; it's a savage ritual. He always leaves that mark—the eye in the mouth—to show the world that everyone is under his gaze... and worse, he is a ruthless psychopath who only kills those he sees as opponents worth the pleasure."
Then Skyro looked at me and said in a warning tone: "Since he approached you, Ray, and spoke to you... it means he has put you on his hunting list. And those who enter Dan's list do not leave it except as torn corpses."