Shut Up, You Insect
“The Hero Party? You want me... in the Hero Party?”
“Yeah. I believe your skills are more than enough. What do you say?”
The man spoke, offering her a sincere smile.
It was an invitation filled with trust, confidence, and high expectations.
Faced with this, her initial reaction was one of profound bewilderment.
“B-but... there are so many others. Why choose me...?”
“Why? Do you not want to? If you don't, you don't have to force yourself. I have no intention of making you do something you hate.”
“N-no, it's not that I don't want to...”
She gave a slightly bashful smile, subtly hinting at her acceptance.
However...
Beneath that seemingly hesitant demeanor...
At that very moment, a deep sense of anticipation and a dark, writhing desire for what lay ahead were already taking root in her heart.
Me? In the Hero Party? Haha! Well, look at that... I never expected an opportunity like this to come so soon.
The Hero Party—a title bestowed only upon the greatest adventurers on the continent.
It was a position carrying the noble duty of being the ultimate shield protecting humanity from monsters and demons...
Yet, in her heart, there was no room for such noble duty. It was filled only with a craving for her personal dream.
Born and raised in a dirt-poor, lowborn family, she had lived a grueling life. And throughout it all, one dream had always occupied her mind.
It was...
What the world called wealth, power, and glory.
To live a dream-like life surrounded by luxurious jewelry, beautiful clothes, extravagant feasts, and elegant music, while being revered and loved by countless people.
It was a life many desired but few could ever grasp. But if she succeeded in the Hero Party and took the Demon King's head, she would undoubtedly achieve it.
Keeping that truth close to her heart, she spoke to the man before her, her voice laced with a seemingly noble sense of duty.
“Alright. I might still be lacking... but I'll do my best. To protect the people I care about.”
“Thank you. I'll be relying on you. It goes without saying, but the Hero Party is humanity's shield and its strongest sword. Keep that in mind, and continue to serve with all your heart.”
“Of course. I'll work hard to live up to those words, so just watch me.”
As she spoke with apparent resolve to the Guild Master, who was spouting his usual tedious platitudes, a quiet smile began to form in her mind.
She felt a shred of gratitude toward him for giving her this chance.
But at the same time, she couldn't help but think how much she detested his useless nagging.
It's over...
Thud!
Seton, the former Guild Master, collapsed before her eyes, completely paralyzed by the lethal poison.
Watching him fall, a bitter smile crept onto the lips of Annas, a member of the Hero Party who prided herself on being the world's strongest assassin.
So it ends like this... I suppose it couldn't be helped, but what a twisted twist of fate.
With that final thought, Annas slowly began to approach the fallen man.
He was the one who had pulled her out of poverty, guided her onto the path of an adventurer, and appointed her to the Hero Party. He was her benefactor.
Yet...
At this moment, to Annas, he was nothing more than an obstacle threatening the dream she had nearly grasped—a target she had been hired to eliminate.
A life that had to be ended.
Staring at the dagger stained with the man's blood, Annas let out a soft sigh.
Sigh... Well, even so, this doesn't feel great. His nagging always annoyed the hell out of me, but he wasn't a bad guy.
No matter how necessary the kill was, she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of hesitation at murdering her benefactor.
Since he was essentially the reason she existed today, such emotional turbulence was only natural.
Even so, Annas had absolutely no intention of backing down.
To her, nothing was more important than her own happiness.
To become a noble existence basking in wealth and glory.
For that goal, she was willing to sacrifice anything, and the benefactor lying before her was no exception.
Shall we finish this, then? He'd die anyway from the poison even if I left him alone...
Holding her dagger, Annas slowly closed the distance to the unconscious man.
He was bleeding so heavily from his wounds that a pool of crimson was forming on the floor.
Left untouched, he would draw his last breath within minutes.
However, as an assassin, it was basic common sense to ensure the target's death and take their head to complete the job.
Annas raised her dagger and offered her benefactor a final farewell.
Goodbye, Master Seton.
Without hesitation, she swung her blade down to claim the head of the defenseless man.
Right then...
“?!... Huh?”
A chilling, terrifying presence suddenly enveloped her.
Annas froze instantly, her instincts screaming as she whipped her head around.
What... What is this pressure?!
In the next instant, something massive and sharp flashed in her vision.
Like a streak of golden lightning, it flew toward her at a speed that even Annas could not hope to evade.
And...
Thwack!
“Aaargh!!!”
Her vision instantly dyed crimson as an unbearable agony tore through her.
As Annas let out a wretched scream, she finally saw 'it'...
The person who had just gouged her eye with a golden arrow.
It was a beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair and golden eyes, possessing an appearance that called to mind the sun itself.
She wore revealing, pure white cloth garments.
Her voluptuous breasts and slender waist were immediately striking, exuding an incredibly captivating allure.
Even while writhing from the pain of having her eye pierced, Annas had to admit that this mysterious golden beauty was more stunning than anyone she had ever seen.
However...
The black horns growing from the woman's head...
And above all, the extraordinary aura of power radiating from her...
Made Annas realize instantly that this being was not human.
“Who... Who the hell are you...?” Annas squeezed out, her voice thick with pain, confusion, and dread.
The woman looked down at her, her golden eyes flashing with murderous intent, and spoke in a voice that carried a bone-chilling frost.
“Shut up, you insect.”
“!!! Ugh! Aaaaargh!!!”
The woman put strength into her hand and ripped the arrow out of Annas's eye socket.
Blinded by the agony of having her eye torn out, Annas swung her dagger reflexively, but the woman lightly dodged the desperate counterattack, stepping back with ease.
“You... You bitch...!”
Annas clutched the empty, bleeding socket where her eye had just been.
The woman stared at her, a rage-filled smile playing on her lips.
She plucked the eyeball off the tip of her arrow, dropped it to the floor, and crushed it beneath her heel.
“A lowly piece of trash like you dared to touch our Adjuster. You deserve to die ten thousand deaths.”
The woman spoke in riddles, her hostility absolute.
Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, Annas, consumed by a rage that nearly shattered her sanity, charged forward with her dagger.
“Die! You bastard!”
As a top-tier assassin, Annas could move faster than sound when she was serious. This strike carried the full weight of her wrath.
It was the very attack that had once successfully pierced the flank of the Demon King, and now it flew straight toward the horned woman's throat.
But...
Grab.
“!!! What...?”
The woman caught Annas's wrist with effortless precision.
It was a movement so casual it was as if she were merely picking up a teacup, yet it held a strength that was utterly impossible to resist.
Only then did Annas realize that she had made a catastrophic mistake.
And...
Slam!
“Cough!”
With a simple twist of her captured wrist, the woman slammed Annas headfirst into the ground with terrifying force.
The strike was so fluid and devastating that Annas couldn't even scream before her consciousness began to fade.
This... This makes no sense...
Not even the Demon King had been capable of this...
According to everything she knew, this was impossible.
Overwhelmed by sheer shock, Annas plunged into darkness and lost consciousness.
Having dealt with the 'enemy' before her, the horned woman turned away from the collapsed assassin.
An uncontrollable excitement washed over her, and a smile thick with a dark, abyssal obsession spread across her face.
Slowly, she approached the fallen man.
“Ah... Finally... You have finally come to us... My... Our great Adjuster.”