Chapter 197: An Agent

An unknown location...A group of figures walked across the desert, their bare feet sinking into the hot sand with each step. The dunes stretched for miles in every direction, waves of sand under a bright, harsh sun. Sweat glistened on their foreheads, but they kept moving, their eyes fixed ahead.

In the group, a particular girl with a strapped sword stood out. Her dark hair hung loose around her shoulders, shifting slightly with the dry wind. There was no shade, no sign of life, just the heat and the endless sand, but she didn't slow down. Though she wasn't alone, she was alert, as if expecting something to happen at any moment.

The clothes wrapped around the blade were stained—not just with any blood, but with the blood of the victims of her blade.

The girl's eyes flashed briefly as she recalled what had happened back in Snowhelm after Nox had escaped with the elemental crystals.

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A few days ago...

"Who are you!" Brolly, the head of the Bladesong group, exclaimed immediately when he saw a red-skinned girl appear in front of him. After losing the crystal that same night, he and his group were preparing to leave the coastal city when this mysterious girl appeared before him.

The entire Bladesong squad, at least what was left of them, immediately pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the red-skinned girl, who had yet to unsheathe her own blade. But merely standing there, she radiated a fierce aura that caused the other students to tremble.

The red-skinned girl looked like someone who was in her early teenage years, but there was something alarming about her; her mere presence seemed to scream danger. Her unique complexion didn't help matters either.

Brolly was usually impulsive, but in the presence of this person, he was forced to ponder his choices. Besides, his MP and stamina were frighteningly low due to the fighting with the elemental beasts.

"I say, who are you! I thought we all agreed to go our own separate ways, so why are you here!" Brolly shouted as he saw the unreadable expression of the frightening beauty; her eyes were listless.

Those eyes sent cold shivers down the spines of the students of the Bladesong Academy. They were all trembling like leaves in the wind, unsure of what to do next. The red-skinned girl remained silent, her gaze sweeping across the group with a calm, almost disinterested look. Her hand slightly moved to the hilt of her sword, still wrapped in cloth, as if the blade itself was waiting to be unleashed.

This sudden action made the others flinch back in fear.

"W-why does she have to show up now that I'm at my lowest?" Brolly cried internally, unaware that this was carefully planned.

After what felt like an eternity, the girl eventually opened her mouth and said, "I am...death." She spoke her voice cold and sharp, and then in the next instant, she disappeared from her spot at an astonishing speed towards the clueless group of students.

A few moments later, the ground was dyed blood red, with only the red-skinned girl standing.

----

"That lad! If I ever come across him, I'll make sure to squash him!" The leader of the scavengers sneered in anger as he and his group slowly left the coastal city, returning to the wilds where they would continue their banditry.

They'd thought that with the sales they would make from selling the elemental crystals, they could stop their outlaw ways and do something much more meaningful with their lives. However, because of a certain boy, they could only go back to their old way.

"Aye, who are yo—" Before the leader could finish his sentence, he found himself in the air and the world upside down as an arc of blood appeared in the air. The leader's head thudded to the ground, then the others followed suit.

---

The Silvermist Guild. Captain Bofan and the Maverick Guild. They all suffered the same fate—they were all killed when they were at their weakest.

Under the glare of the scorching sun, the red-skinned girl's eyes flickered sharply as she continued to trudge through the desert.

She could have completed her mission assigned to her by the Order of the Flaming Order with top scores; however, two people got away.

Nox and Jack.

'That boy! How did he escape me a second time?' The girl thought to herself as Jack's face flashed in her mind. Somehow, the boy had escaped her a second time. She could clearly tell he was tired; however, just as she was about to kill him, it seemed as if he was replaced with a different person, and he suddenly got faster.

'That woman...' She thought about Nox, and cold shivers ran down her spine. A pair of red eyes that she didn't wish to recall resurfaced in her mind. 'It's such a shame that I couldn't bring him back to the base.... If I had tried, I could have found myself in the afterlife.' Just then, her eyes flickered as she arrived at a spot with a single tree sprouting out.

Beside the tree, a lone figure dressed in a black cloak with the familiar flaming rose was standing there as if waiting for someone.

'We're here.' She smiled softly. After so many days, they finally arrived at the base.

"Well done, Agent Kira," the cloaked figure said in a feminine tone as she brought a medal and pinned a blue emblem that had "lv100" on the red-skinned girl's chest. "You're now promoted to level 100 agent."

"Thank you, Agent 70," the red-skinned girl bowed her head lightly, eyes sparkling with respect and reverence.

The cloaked woman then waved her hand as a portal appeared. One after the other, the rest of the members entered through this portal and disappeared. The process continued unhindered until it reached Kira, the red-skinned girl's turn; however, the cloaked woman stopped her.

"Wait, Kira." The cloaked woman's voice was low but firm. Kira paused and turned her head, confusion crossing her expression.

"What is it, squad leader?" Kira asked, trying to keep her composure.

"You did well in Snowhelm, and you should rest...but the Order has another mission for you. This time in the Vermilion Kingdom. The mission is..." The cloaked woman leaned forward and delayed the details of the mission, causing Kira's eyes to widen briefly.

Then she pulled back and instructed, "You leave at dawn. Prepare yourself. We'll provide you with a false identity and the necessary resources."

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