Prologue
In a contemporary world where magic still exists, though only a rare few are gifted with it.
I couldn't quite process what was happening. I just let my magic swirl around me, forming a protective barrier against the betrayal I had just learned.
"Our boss is..."
How could he betray me like this? I clenched my fists so tightly that blood began to trickle from my palms.
Five minutes ago
A flash of magic illuminated a narrow alleyway in the bustling city of Alegria. A pink-haired girl with heterochromatic eyes, stood motionless, her gaze empty of emotion. Across from her, a redhead girl smirked with unbothered confidence.
"You think you can scare me with your magic and all that?" she scoffed.
Instead of being angry, I smiled — slow and deliberate — and bent down slightly, my gaze never leaving hers.
"Tell me," I breathed, my voice a chilling whisper that sliced through the stillness of the night, "who is your leader?" I asked, my tone syrupy sweet, almost mockingly gentle.
The redhead's smirk faltered for a split second, but she quickly masked it with a sneer. She opened her mouth to retort, but the crackling magic around me pulsed once — a silent warning.
She laughed, sharp and cruel.
"Are you out of your mind, woman?" she scoffed, clasping her hands behind her back with a casual arrogance. "Why would I tell you? Remember this: no one defeats him. He has the knowledge, the power—he'll make you all pay, even if I die here."
A dry, humorless laugh escaped my lips.
"You amuse me," I said, pity dripping from my voice as I regarded her like a beast eyeing its prey. My smile widened, slow and predatory.
"Fun fact about me," I murmured, taking a step closer, "I'm the sweet agent everyone thinks they know... but I'm also the psychopath they pray they never met."
I sighed, the sound heavy with mock disappointment.
"I'm also impatient," I said lightly, as if commenting on the weather. "So whether you cough up that name, or I kill you... and your family next—"
I extinguished my magic with a lazy flick of my fingers and clasped my hands behind my back, tilting my head slightly with a too-sweet smile.
All the while, the words that spilled from my lips were poison: calm, steady, and lethal
Despite her feigned loyalty, the subtle tremor in her arm, the tightening of her jaw — she was undeniably threatened.
Alone. Wounded. With no escape.
Her cards were played.
But I still held a full hand.
"Sacrificing your life for your comrade," I taunted, savoring the fear radiating off her.
I stepped closer, bending down until we were almost eye level, and gently cupped her chin between my fingers.
"How noble... for a criminal," I whispered, my voice a velvet blade. "You know he doesn't care about you, right? You're all the same—selfish to the core. Alone. Abandoned. Forgotten."
I saw it then—the faint tremble of her lips.
The silence.
The cracks in her bravado.
Proof that I had already won, even without a confession.
She was on the brink, and I held all the power in my hand.
"Oh well," I said with a shrug as I stepped back, straightening up and crossing my arms.
I raised my right hand to my chin, tapping it thoughtfully, pretending to ponder.
"Since I'm nice," I said with a saccharine smile, "I'll give you a chance, then..."
Her breath hitched, barely noticeable.
"I won't kill you," I continued, voice almost chipper. "Instead of bleeding out for a worthless leader who'd discard you the second you're no longer useful... I propose a transaction."
Her eyes — wide, desperate — betrayed a flicker of hope. A spark.
Pathetic.
"A simple exchange," I said, my voice dipping lower, almost conspiratorial.
"A life for a name. Tell me your boss's name, and you'll live to see another day—granted, behind prison bars. Your family will live. I might even put in a good word for a lighter sentence."
I smiled sweetly, sickeningly sweet.
"A generous offer, wouldn't you say?" I tilted my head.
"But let me be very clear: one single lie, one false word..."
I leaned forward, just enough for her to see the glint of real promise in my eyes.
"...and I'll fulfill my original promise early. I'll kill you. Then your family. Got that?"
The calculation in her eyes told me everything.
She'd been waiting for this.
A gentle nudge was all it would take for her to break down completely.
And her hesitation was the perfect opening.
"I told you," I murmured, my voice a silken threat, "I'm not a very patient person."
"Ten seconds. To decide your fate—and the fate of your family. Ten... nine... eight..."
Her lips trembled. The silence stretched, every second heavier than the last, each unseen tick pressing against her chest like a blade.
"Seven... six... five..."
I didn't need to raise my voice; the pressure was a living thing, tightening around her like a noose.
"Four... three..."
Her eyes darted wildly, desperate for an escape that didn't exist.
"Two... one..."
My magic gathered, a silent promise crackling in the air—a threat that needed no words.
And then—
"It's..."
The name ripped through the silence like a gunshot.
My eyes widened, pupils dilating in disbelief.
A strangled gasp escaped my lips, the air stolen from my lungs.
The world around me dissolved into a blinding white void, reality shattering under the weight of that name.
And then the rage came — erupting, volcanic, unstoppable.
Without conscious thought, my magic burst free, a tempest of fury and heartbreak swirling around me, threatening to consume everything.
"Don't lie to me!" I roared, my voice tearing through the alley like a shockwave.
"I-I'm not! It's the truth! That's why you can never find him! He's—"
"SHUT UP!" I bellowed, cutting her off, the sheer force of my rage silencing her into terrified submission.
Before another sound could escape her trembling lips, the reinforcements arrived.
They cuffed her swiftly, dragging her away to our base for questioning.
I stood there, alone.
The storm of my magic raged around me, unchecked, furious.
"I need to find him," I muttered, fists clenching so tightly my knuckles shone white.
"HOW DARE HE BETRAY ME LIKE THIS!"
The roar that ripped from my throat was raw, wounded, furious — a sound that belonged more to a beast than a human.
With a snap of my fingers, I vanished from the alley—
And reappeared in the park.
A place overflowing with bittersweet memories.
Back to the present.
I walked mindlessly, not even feeling the downpour soaking through my skin.
The rain had started — unnoticed until now — mirroring the storm raging inside me.
Our past, once vibrant, now played like a cruel, distorted film across my mind.
Were those memories… fake?
My knuckles cracked under the pressure of my clenched fists, blood welling and mingling with the silent tears streaming down my face.
What kind of joke is this?
The bitter thought echoed the hollow ache consuming my chest.
Heaven was never meant for me, but the rain offered a small mercy, blurring my tears, masking my brokenness.
But this agony—
This wretchedness clawing at my soul—
It transcended words.
It was raw, suffocating.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
I'd waited a lifetime for this moment.
And yet—why?
Why did it feel like my heart was being torn from my chest?
As if the universe itself wanted to mock me, he stood there.
Waiting.
His face, shadowed by the rain, mirrored my own darkness — though perhaps not as broken.
Not yet.
I wanted to smile — to reach for the familiar comfort — but the attempt died, rotting on my lips.
Slowly, agonizingly, I raised my hands, weaving a spell of lethal intent.
I don't know him anymore, I realized bitterly.
Maybe... I never did.
Across the clearing, he, too, raised his hands.
Magic gathered, swirling in the rain like two storms preparing to collide.
My voice cracked, desperate, barely human, as it tore through the downpour.
"Why...? Why did you betray me like this?"