Book Three – Chapter Eight – Part One – Wetwork

Since Deset was located underground, it had no windows. Therefore, if someone was to be trapped or locked up, it would be virtually impossible for them to discern whether or not the sun or moon graced the skies. But contrary to the bases Servi exterminated only a few short hours ago, it was extravagant in a weird way. Even though Deset was filled to the brim with lowlifes who had no qualms about robbing or murdering, Servi had fallen for the place. At least, she said that when Carrie woke up and asked how she felt about Deset.

It was all a lie; nothing of that statement contained even a shred of truth.

Servi couldn’t care less for Deset, and she loathed the rotten people inside. Nearly everything that spewed from her pretty lips were falsehoods, but Servi had honed that skill to such a sharp point that it felt like she even believed in them.

When it came to her violent outburst that wasn’t even four hours old, it seemed to be something of a faint memory. Servi didn’t remember anything but her reasoning of why Momo was going to be safe. The immortal being didn’t even remember slamming her head into the ground, nor did she recall her finger being a few centimeters into her neck. And Servi definitely held no memories of the horrific beatdown she put Carrie through.

When Itarr had gathered the courage to apologize, Servi deflected the question, choosing only to talk about her desire to kill. It seemed she didn’t have a recollection of the tense conversation the two shared. Only Itarr knew, and it was a curse. She was left with the pain of what it wrought while Servi didn’t have to worry about it.

It’s just another painful source I have to bear… Itarr whined. From then on, Itarr did the best she could in supporting Servi because she really wanted to believe in Servi’s words. The girl the Goddess loved was her whole life, and whether or not she was starting to have regrets, the Goddess was in it for the long haul. Everything’s going to work out, right? Servi… I can’t do anything but believe in Servi. I’ll… I’ll try to convince her again, but I fear revenge has overcome her desire to rescue Momo. She'll still be saved, but it won't be now... It should be now, but it's not... But it’s going to be okay… It has to be… It just has to be…

“Is that all he did?” Carrie asked as she pulled her shorts up.

“Yeah. That bastard brought me to his place, fucked me, and told me to go back to Deset,” Servi replied. She had remained in the same spot she took after brutalizing Carrie. She vowed to never again pleasure a member of the Mafia with her tongue or fingers, but that didn't mean she was going to miss out on an erotic show. Though they were enemies, Servi enjoyed Carrie’s bare body. Her generous breasts were just the right size for her hands to sink into, and her cute moans tickled Servi’s more sadistic side.

But after silently promising herself that she wouldn’t spend time on any pleasures that would sate her sexual urges, she spent most of the night coming up with the right kind of excuses.

“I can kinda see why you wouldn’t have to have sex right now. Such a shame. Hey, you know you can suck on my tits, right?” Carrie slyly hid her mouth behind her hand and shook her chest. Two twin peaks moved with her, slightly jiggling.

“Thanks, but no. I don’t even want to think about sex. That shitty bastard was rough,” Servi continued with her lie.

“That bastard,” Carrie cursed the now-deceased 5th as she slid her black top over her body. It covered everything except her stomach.  After bending down to tie her boots, she used Instant Retrieval to retrieve her spear.

“You know it wasn’t even three meters away from you, right?” Servi quipped as she stood up. Dusting off her pants, she made sure her daggers were attached to the back of her hip.

“I know, but my God chose to bless me with Instant Retrieval. I’m gonna use it as much as I can. Hey, after breakfast, let’s head up topside and extort supplies and money. Rumors say that we need to be prepared for Saturday.”

“Sorry, but last night, before the 5th took me to his place, he told the 6th to put me on wetwork,” Servi said as she walked through the door. Glancing at the empty bed and ruffled sheets, Old Man was probably in the cafeteria getting that filth called breakfast.

“Wetwork already? It pays good money, but I can’t believe a 5th told the 6th to put you on that. Do you think you can handle it?” Carrie asked. She sounded a little bit worried about her new lover, and Servi did all she could to stop herself from lashing out and killing her. The thought of her enemies pitying her pissed her off. Opening the door, Servi and Carrie stepped out into the hallway and made way for the cafeteria.

The small talk continued.

“If they give me a bow, a target, and a description, I can kill them. What use are Protection and skills if they never see or hear the arrow coming? I just have to strike before such things are used. If arrows won’t work, then all I have to do is throw some daggers. I rarely miss,” Servi replied with a bit of a boastful tone, but it was true. She didn’t think it was possible to miss with the thousands of different souls swirling around her ring.

“Maybe, but if the 6th does call on you, be careful.”

“Yeah, I’ll be—”

The two turned the corner and walked into an obstacle: a Kobold with the number ‘7’ etched into his facial scales stood tall and firm, preventing them from moving forward.

“Williana,” growled the Kobold. His voice was deep and guttural.

“Sir?”

“The 6th wants to meet with you. It is about the assignments 5th wanted to give you.”

“Where is he?” Servi asked. She noticed the Kobold’s muscles twitch ever-so-slightly. It was almost like he fought back the urge to grab his spiky mace and soil it with the Human’s blood.

“He’s in the same room as last night.” Turning on his heels, his large tail nearly smacked Servi to the ground, but a quick backwards hop took her out of his range. She swore she heard him chuckle as he turned the corner at the end of the hallway.

“If you have time to spare before you have to leave, come to the cafeteria, alright?”

“I will. But knowing him, I might have to leave right away.” Servi lifted a small hand towards Carrie and jogged to the spacious room she proved herself in the night before.

“Your first target is a man by the name of Snare. He’s a former medicine maker who recently found his conscious,” Carmelo said as he held his knife and fork. He sat on a nice chair at a table that was different from the last night. A plate of half-eaten eggs and sausage laid before him. The wooden cup to the left of his plate was empty, but a sickeningly sweet smell wafted from it.

“Where can I find him? What does he look like?” Servi asked. There was a second chair for her, but she said she would rather stand.

“He’s over next to the part of town where you were stationed yesterday during the bank robbery. It’s a total wasteland now. He doesn’t live there, but he showed up late last night to check things out. I would start checking around there. Here’s a portrait of him. It was drawn early this morning after confirming he was still around.” Reaching into his robe pocket, Carmelo took out a thinly rolled-up piece of parchment. He tossed it to Servi, who caught and unrolled it in a single motion.

Her target was an Elf. His pointy ears were rough and jagged until they somewhat resembled a snake-like shape. He had glasses on, and he had no hair. She thought it was someone she would easily be able to pick out of a crowd.

“How does he need to die?” Servi asked. She rolled the picture up and placed it in her pouch.

“Doesn’t matter. Snare only needs to cease living by the time the day is over. I believe he’s married, but I don’t know what kind of ring he has. It’s too easy to be forged, and you might bring back a fake. Hmm… Ah, his ears are unique, so bring one of them back as proof,” Carmelo answered.

“Okay. I’ll get going.” Servi turned around to walk out but was stopped by a hasty sentence.

“Last night, what did the 5th do to you?”

“I told my 9th, but he took me to a house, ordered me to undress, and he fucked me. I only came back early this morning because he told me he was tired of me,” she said, turning around and retelling the lie she had prepared.

“If you were out last night with him, then did you hear anything strange? I received reports of a girl soaring across the skies, a naked girl who slowly floated down after jumping up, and there was some kind of disturbance in New Arcton. Did you hear anything?” Carmelo placed his knife and fork on the table and narrowed his eyes. It was for a fraction of a second, but his eyes darted to Clarence. His soft gray robe hugged his slim body and arms.

“I did not. The 5th was rough when he fucked me, sir, and I focused on making it back to Deset. I’m sorry I didn’t pay enough attention.”

“Then you didn’t hear the lightning? We believe it came from a skill called Niadiabola. There are a lot of burnt buildings that proved it was used last night.”

“I did not. My 9th didn’t say anything to me about it. Now’s the first time I’m hearing about it,” Servi replied.

“Then tell me how a naked girl would jump up until she was the highest object in the sky, even higher than the buildings and birds, and fall like a feather?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t know. When it comes to skills, I lack even the most basic knowledge. I pride myself on becoming as efficient as I can with actual weapons because that's what I know best. I just don’t understand skills, and I can't just wrap my mind around them,” Servi lied.

“I suppose that’s fair enough. After you kill Snare and come back with the proof, I’ll give you the other three targets. If you can manage to kill all of them, I’ll give you a final target. Oh, and as for your reward. You’ll get 600 dupla for the first target. The next group is worth 3,000 dupla, and the final target is worth 10k. Do it all, and you’re looking to get 13,600 dupla. Oh, and take this.” Carmelo opened his Dimensional Storage and retrieved a bow that had no discernible flaws or blemishes. Servi took it in her hands and wrapped it around her arm. But that wasn’t all. The 6th reached back into the glowing void and pulled out a quiver of arrows and three throwing knives. “Consider this equipment to be your pre-payment. You can kill in whatever way you want, but if you’re caught, we aren’t doing anything to rescue you.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be on my way.” Servi stared into his narrowed eyes, hooked the quiver around her waist, and stored the daggers in her pouch. After a quick nod, she walked away. Moments before she reached the door, it opened up to reveal a familiar Dwarf. His glorious locks of blond hair forced Servi to remember something. He was the one who was with Baldy, and Baldy was the Dwarf Servi had recently framed. Servi had seen neither him nor Mel, the former 6th, but she was sure they were dead.

He met her gaze and gave her a scornful look that could make a ghost have a heart attack. Servi only produced a gentle smile and walked by without saying a single word.

She knew that he hated her. More likely, he wanted to get revenge on her. It was unlikely he knew that she forged the letter, but as far as he was concerned, she was the one who announced it to Carmelo when she first met him.

If he hates me, then he should hate Carmelo as well. It doesn’t bother me that he’s talking to him because I can easily erase them from existence, but I find it strange. No doubt they’re gonna do something to make my life hellish.

Turning the corner, Servi walked until she reached the community room. By taking the long way around, she bypassed the cafeteria entirely. Seeing Carrie was the last thing on her mind. Then again, it was probably for the best. She didn’t know until Itarr pointed it out, but Servi’s face had twisted into a sick, sadistic grin that reminded the Goddess of the Servi of the previous night. It was one of a girl who enjoyed taking the lives of those she believed to be enemies.

Of course, Itarr wouldn’t reference that last part. Her deep thoughts were her own personal thoughts, and if they dealt with Servi, then those wouldn’t ever be shared with the girl in question for the foreseeable future.

With a bow slung over her shoulders, Servi opened the glass door and stepped outside. The man to her left only nodded. She returned it and started walking towards the aftermath of the fiercest battle she had ever been in.

The day of assassinations was only beginning, and it was going to be a long day. More than that, it was time to kill, to slaughter those who deserved nothing but death’s release.

“Come all! Bring me your wounded! Bring me your afflicted! Bring me anyone who needs medicine!” A bald Elf with glasses stood outside of a makeshift tent. The hard brown ground underneath him cracked and tore with every hastened step. The number of wounded lying on makeshift straw beds in front of him was a sight for worrying eyes, but Snare was a man who had found his conscious.

With a step like a fleeting leaf in the wind, he raced to his table inside the tent and expertly mixed up a colorful concoction created from tree roots and shells. The babble of a crying child forced his snake-like ears to attention, and he nearly tripped over a small rock as he raced towards a woman who tightly held a small child.

“Here you go, sweetie,” Snare said. His left hand gripped the granite base of his mortar and pestle. His right hand went to the metal grindstick as he swirled it around the colorful mix until it was as fine as water.

The bright sunlight illuminated the mixture as its dangerous rays thumped down on everyone. The sweat of nearly one hundred wounded people wafted together with their unwashed bodies and polluted the air. However, not a single person ever made a comment addressing that. They were all here because they had nowhere else to go for healing, and it was no small wonder a fight didn’t break out.

The wounded didn’t know it, but Snare had incense burning in his tent. With careful manipulation of his various wind skills, its calming smell spread around and did its best to combat the growing disgust.

“Sir Snare, is she gonna be alright?” The woman who asked had a shard of glass sticking out of her arm. The blood had darkened and hardened after half a day of festering, and it was nearly infected. The little girl next to her had the same wound, only it was a shade darker. Snare was the only healer who had his heart touched by the absolute massacre that took place on the very ground he stood on. He had hoped more medics would find the kindness in their hearts and join him, but even he knew that was a long shot.

“She’ll be fine. It’s going to hurt, so hold her steady. I have to take the glass out and rub this mixture on her. After her, I’ll take care of your arm.” Snare's voice didn’t have the harsh, venomous-like coarseness as it had in his younger years.

In a swift motion that befitted an assassin, Snare ripped the jagged glass out and hastily applied the colorful mixture. It included a few spores of the sleepinwillo flower. The child’s wailing exploded and subsequently died out in a matter of moments as the sleepinwillo did its job, and the poor mother silently wept. She had no money or items to barter with since the explosion destroyed half of her shack. The other half had been looted in the panic that followed the explosion. It took time for the shock to wear off, but she didn’t have anything to defend herself. For the safety of her child, she couldn’t fight back and risk the looters’ anger.

“Thank you, Sir Snare! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you,” she cried. Tears dripped from her eyes, and they darted back and forth from her child to her savior.

“You’re more than welcome. I have to go get some more mixture, so I’ll be back in ten seconds.” Snare didn’t smile, but he allowed his eyes to convey what little emotion he had left. Standing up, he looked out to the ever-growing crowd. He had healed over forty-seven people, and his only wish was that the number of his patients wouldn’t grow any bigger. The sight of the injured and sick used to bring him joy, but now it only brought him sadness and guilt.

But more than that, his heart had felt such heaviness for those who he couldn’t save. Behind his tent and situated some fifty meters away was a growing graveyard of unburied corpses. There wasn’t much he could do if his patient was already on the edge of meeting the Gods in the Heavens Above, and although it hurt his heart, he had to prioritize those who had a chance. In a mercy-filled act, he wept as he used a quick-acting poison to end their lives. It had no name since it was a personalized mixture of many different toxins, but it numbed and killed in seconds, and he was sure they weren’t suffering any pain as the final breath left their lungs.

Unbeknownst to him, he wasn’t alone when he walked back to the tent. The back was enclosed, but the front was open. Someone couldn't slip by him without being seen, and it was even more impossible to sneak by hundreds of potential patients who watched him like a hawk. But Servi was Servi, a woman who shared a soul with a Goddess. She regularly performed the impossible and defied the world's expectations.

She had been watching him the past hour, but he couldn’t see her. His eyes couldn’t pick up her face or clothes, his ears couldn’t register her footsteps, and even if his hands passed right through her, he wouldn’t feel a single thing. The Rank 0 skill called The Shadow’s Embrace effectively erased the user from existence while activated. She tested it out earlier when she ran into a dark alley, but she could use her ring to its fullest potential without interrupting the skill. When she looked down, she saw her body encased in a squirming blanket of shadow, but she felt and heard the ground cracking beneath her. Her hands experienced the tent’s soft, coarse fabric when she walked behind him.

It seems I still have all of my senses. Servi thought.

She wouldn’t need to pull a weapon from her ring because the skill granted her a tool to kill in the form of a black bracer that clasped under her right forearm. It wasn’t made out of something solid like leather, but it also wasn’t intangible. The black shadow-like smoke that made up its appearance squirmed like a snake, yet at the same time, it remained still like a block of obsidian. A small black ring attached to a chain extended from the base of the bracer to her middle finger. It acted as a release mechanism for the blade. Cold and hot, it silently vibrated her hand when she pulled her hand back and thrusted her wrist out. Producing no sound, Servi knew it was the ultimate weapon for an assassin like her. When she flicked her middle finger back, the shadow blade returned to its resting position.

The black shadow covering her body felt both warm and cold. It thrived in the light, yet it recoiled in the darkness and vice versa. It was paradoxical as it could get, and maybe that was why it one of the few skills that required its user to be Rank 0. Servi pulled out a mirror, and even that was invisible to all but her. She saw a single blue eye surrounded by a sea of obsidian that flowed like a river. But that azure orb in her head also remained motionless like a mountain. When she saw her reflection, she grinned because there was nothing more suitable for someone like her.

“Damn it!” Snare whispered as if he yelled and hastily gathered various jars filled with alchemical ingredients. “I don’t have enough! It’s never enough! I don’t want anyone else to—”

“Your time has come, and you must die.” Servi walked up slowly and rested her left hand around his neck. Like she expected, he didn’t react to her touch. She stared down at her right arm and pulled her right middle finger back. The shadowy blade popped out from the black bracer with a silent echo. Raising her hand up, she brought her hidden blade down his throat and severed his windpipe. Instantly, he struggled against the foreign entity that pierced his throat, but the skill had gone to work. When the blade entered his body, a shadowy poison escaped from it and circulated through his blood. It acted fast and quick. Within seconds, thin smoke poured from his every orifice and flowed back to Servi’s black bracer. She thought it seemed a bit smaller after plunging it into his neck, but now it was back at full size.

With another quick thrust of her right middle finger, the blade disappeared inside the black bracer.

To keep his death hidden, Servi helped the man to his chair and faced it towards the backside of his tent. From the woman’s point of view, she figured he needed a quick rest before he returned back. Even if he didn’t come back, her child had been lucky enough to be healed by him. Her injuries didn’t matter at all, and she didn’t feel much of anything from the hundreds who moaned with pain and aches. She believed their lives didn’t matter because no one bothered to help her when she needed it the most.

“We need proof, right?” Servi spoke in her normal voice because there was no need to whisper. She didn’t know what would happen if she stabbed a dead man with such a powerful skill, so she decided to pull a regular dagger from her ring. The shadow hand that held her knife couldn’t be seen by anyone. The blood splattering down fell to the ground, bypassing her hand and knife. For the briefest moment that couldn’t be calculable, Snare’s left snake-like ear appeared to be floating before disappearing.

We can leave, right? Itarr asked. Servi’s ID was invisible like her body, but she could still read it.

“Yeah,” Servi bluntly replied.  "We can leave."