Rain poured relentlessly over the dark city.
The night was silent, except for the sound of distant thunder and the faint drip of water from the rooftop.
A man was running.
His breath was ragged. His expensive suit was torn, and blood stained the sleeve of his arm.
Behind him…
was death.
He turned the corner of the empty alley and stopped, gasping.
"W-Who are you?!" he shouted into the darkness.
No answer.
Only the whisper of the wind.
For a moment, he thought he had escaped.
Then—
A shadow moved.
A figure stepped down silently from the rooftop.
Black coat.
Black gloves.
Black mask.
The man's eyes widened in terror.
"No… it can't be…"
The figure tilted her head slightly.
Even in the darkness, her eyes were calm… almost bored.
"You should have run faster," she said softly.
Her voice was quiet, almost gentle.
But the man trembled.
Because everyone in the underworld knew that voice.
"The Shadow Queen…"
His legs gave out as he collapsed onto the wet ground.
The Shadow Queen.
The most feared assassin in the entire underworld.
No one knew her real name.
No one knew where she came from.
All they knew was one thing—
She never failed a mission.
Ever.
The man desperately pulled a gun from his pocket.
"You monster!"
He fired.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
The bullets cut through the rain—
—but hit nothing.
The Shadow Queen was already behind him.
The man froze.
Cold steel touched the back of his neck.
"You chose the wrong enemies," she whispered.
A flash of silver.
And then—
Silence.
The man's body fell to the ground.
Rain washed the blood across the pavement.
The Shadow Queen stood quietly for a moment, staring down at the lifeless body.
Another mission complete.
Another life erased.
She slowly removed the black mask from her face.
Under the mask was a young woman.
Beautiful.
Calm.
Dangerous.
Her name was Aria Vantrell.
And the entire underworld feared her.
But tonight…
something was different.
Aria looked up at the sky, her expression unreadable.
"For years," she murmured, "I've been nothing but a weapon."
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
A message appeared on the screen.
Final Mission Complete.Your services are no longer required.
Aria stared at the message for a long time.
Then she laughed softly.
"So this is how it ends."
The underworld had used her.
And now they planned to erase her.
Aria slowly typed a reply.
Understood.
Then she deleted the message.
Her eyes turned cold.
"If they want the Shadow Queen to disappear…"
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Then I'll give them exactly what they want."
Three days later…
News spread across the entire underworld.
The legendary assassin—
The Shadow Queen
was dead.
Burned in an explosion during her final mission.
No body was recovered.
No witnesses survived.
The Shadow Queen had finally vanished.
Or so the world believed.
Far away from the city…
A black car stopped in front of massive iron gates.
Above the gate was a single name engraved in gold.
MAFIA ACADEMY
The most dangerous school in the world.
Where the heirs of the most powerful crime families were trained.
Future kings of the underworld.
The car door opened.
A girl stepped out.
She wore a simple academy uniform.
Her long dark hair moved gently in the wind.
Students were arriving from everywhere, laughing and talking.
None of them noticed the quiet girl standing near the gate.
But if they looked closely—
they might have noticed something strange in her calm eyes.
Something dangerous.
The girl looked up at the massive academy building.
A faint smile touched her lips.
"New name."
"New life."
She picked up her bag and walked toward the gate.
"My name is Aria Vantrell."
Her eyes darkened slightly.
"And the Shadow Queen…"
"…is dead."
Or at least—
that's what everyone believes.