Operation: New World 7 Superiority

With the sun fully set, darkness shrouded the numerous a.s.sa.s.sins surrounding Kaito and Franciska, making it impossible to detect any of them. The ability to hide in plain sight no matter how great the numbers is a skill many of these Elven a.s.sa.s.sins take with pride. With his lackeys completely hidden, the lone master stepping forward towards the two seemed far less intimidating. This was, however, a ruse, one to make the opponent subconsciously drop their guard so that they could go in for the kill.

However, despite the numerous advantages these a.s.sa.s.sins hold over our two humans, neither of them advances even a step, all awaiting their master's order.

"Your reputation precedes you, human." Said the master, "Tell me, is this rumor true? Did you really slay a griffin singlehandedly?"

Part of Kaito really wanted to deny and tell him that it was all rumor, hoping that they would take him less seriously, however, before he could even open his mouth, Franciska jumped in front of him, talking in his stead.

"Yes he did! He slew the Griffin with ease! No injury sustained, no fear and no hesitation!" Exclaimed Franciska, attempting to intimidate them, "So you better screw off unless you want to meet the same fate!"

"G.o.d d.a.m.nit Fran!!!" Thought Kaito, gritting his teeth.

Hearing this, the master let out a light chuckle.

"My, you amuse me, Lady Franciska." Chuckled the master, before turning to Kaito, "Tell me, Kaito was it? Are you perhaps protecting her?"

"Why do you ask?" Asked Kaito back, lifting his pistol and aiming at the master.

"I'm just curious. Many adventurers, especially human rookies, would do this sort of stuff. Save someone you don't know, kill the aggressor and ask questions either later or never, simply do it for the sake of feeding their own ego or giving themselves a sense of importance." Said the master, "Are you perhaps that kind of person? Protecting someone just because you think it is "justice?"

"She was in danger and I saved her, end of story." Replied Kaito, slowly trying to back away, "Just get to the point!"

"Losing composure are we?" Chuckled the master, "Very well, I'll just give it to you straight, that woman you're protecting is a traitor to the [Alliance] and is plotting to destroy any and all non-human relations!"

Kaito's eyes widened with shock, as he turned to Franciska, who was just as bewildered as he was, but for a different reason.

"Isn't that right, Elaine Franciska, Ex-Head Representative of Humanity's seat?" Completed the master.

"Is that what they told you?" Asked Franciska, "You actually believe such lies!?"

"My beliefs are irrelevant. They payed me to capture you, alive or dead, that is all." Replied the master, "What counts now is if this Griffin slayer would be willing to protect you after such reveal."

Looking at Kaito, he looked conflicted, no longer knowing who to believe anymore. What was he thinking anyways? The two of them knew for like a day and a half, there was still so much mystery behind her. Plus, what is this "Alliance" anyways? Only a day in and he was already b.a.l.l.s deep into this world's politics of which he knew nothing of, what was he to do in a situation like this?

Just then, he recalled something Sergeant Watari had told him a few days before they were ditpatched in the Middle East.

"Now remember, the locals here have widely different beliefs and values than us, keep that in mind when you disembark." Said Watari.

"This is your first time in the Middle East Sergeant?" Asked Kaito.

"No, I've been here before, not as a soldier mind you, but as a tourist." Replied Watari, "It's already good to see different perspectives in this world, it keeps us open minded so that we don't always just blindly support one side without knowing about the other."

"I a.s.sume that you don't support the ideology of the terrorists we are up against." Joked Kaito.

"Of course not, but that's a choice I made after knowing what both sides had to offer." Explained Watari, "Listen up, rookie, staying neutral may be playing safe, but a real soldier must always take a side. And to me, that choice is one I can only take after looking at both sides objectively."

He was just transported to this world for a single day, yet, despite both sides being total strangers to him, he is already being tasked with picking a side. But now, thanks to sergeant Watari's wise words, he knew exactly what to do.

"I don't know what's going on currently." Said Kaito, "And because of that I cannot pick a side. Because of that, I'm staying neutral to this case."

"You're what!?" Franciska exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulders as the master laughed.

"Very well then, since you're going neutral, walk away! We won't follow you, promise." Said the master.

"However." Kaito cut off, firing his pistol out of the blue, as the master barely reacted in time as he blocked with his saber, as the blade shattered on contact with the bullet, "From when viewing from a neutral perspective, you people are still ganging up on a lone, defenseless girl! That will be the only reason why I'm protecting her!"

"I couldn't see his attack coming!" Thought the master, sweating nervously as he stared at his broken blade, "I, a proud Elven warrior, famous for our speed and precision, couldn't see the attack of a mere human?"

Clutching onto what was left of his saber in anger, the master let out a loud call.

"All troops, strike him at once!" Exclaimed the master.

A light swoos.h.i.+ng sound could be heard as dozens of silhouettes danced in the dark, enclosing on the two humans. Just then, Kaito pulled out an odd looking tube from his pouch as he removed the pin.

"Franciska, cover your ears and shut your eyes, otherwise, this might be painful." Said Kaito, tossing the tube in the air.

As the dancing silhouettes approached the two, dozens of blades popped out of what seemed like thin air, thrusting themselves towards Kaito's neck. However, just then, the human ducked down, covering his ears and curling into a ball.

Their moment of confusion was cut short however, as the tube he threw exploded in a blinding flash of light as well as a letting out a mighty bang. The elves, known for have extremely sensitive hearing were unable to withstand the noise, as many of the ones who were closer to the Flashbang when it went off simply fell to the ground, incapacitated, while most of them dropped their weapons, as they clutched their blinded eyes and ringing ears.

With the vast majority of them unable to fight, Kaito took his time to knock them out one by one by chopping them in the neck or vital pressure points. No point of wasting limited bullets on foes who were already neutralized.

Seeing this, the master trembled in awe, as in a single attack, the lone human wiped out about half of his squad.

"W-Was that light magic? N-no! That's not possible, even the most skilled Elven mages couldn't cast a spell of that caliber in that short period of time! Did he use a magic item? Right, that tube like thing he threw, it must have contained a high level spell!" Thought the master, as he took out a spare saber.

"All remaining men, ignore Franciska for now, our priority is this human!" Exclaimed the master, "We'll deal with her later, this man must be killed this instant!"

"Well then, looks like I'm hogging all the attention, hope you don't mind." Joked Kaito, "But since they are all after me now, take this opportunity to run!"

"R-Right!" Said Franciska, as she made a mad dash away from the scene.

"Are you sure you're okay with her getting away?" Kaito asked one last time, c.o.c.king his gun.

"She won't be getting away that easily." Said the master, "For now, you are our top priority!"

"Well, ain't that great." Kaito muttered to himself, as a blade came thrusting at him from the shadows. If it weren't for his pouch blocking the blade, he wouldn't have made it.

Just then, another blade came flying at him, as he was grazed in the wrist while trying to pull back.

"Woah woah woah! Time out time out! I haven't even fully set up yet!" Kaito frantically cried, as he was barely parrying the numerous strikes that came at him.

Just then, the master himself came running in, delivering a deep slash to his right shoulder.

"We elves..." The master kicked him in the stomach, sending Kaito flying back several feet, "Are unmatched in the ways of the sword!"

Raising his gun, Kaito fired blindly into the dark, but didn't manage to hit anyone, as a throwing knife came out of the darkness, lodging itself into his leg.

"Speed, Precision, Grace, on land, we are second to none!" The master said, das.h.i.+ng in, delivering a palm strike that send a shock of pain throughout Kaito's entire body.

Knowing that his gun alone wasn't enough to outmatch the elves, he knew he had to pull back. However, with the sheer number of elves on him, he knew the second he dropped his guard, it would be all over.

"So don't get c.o.c.ky just because you took out a few dozen of us out of sheer luck, human!" Exclaimed the master, his blade aiming right for his heart.

Just then, a horse came das.h.i.+ng in between everyone out of the blue, as a handful of a.s.sa.s.sins, caught off guard, were trampled. Looking to where the horse came from, they gasped in shock, as Vincent stood tall by a stable with it's doors swinging wide open.

"Made it... in time..." Uttered Vincent, before collapsing from his wounds.

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I thought I killed him back in the inn." Muttered the master, before turning back to Kaito, "Whatever, now, I shall finish the- Gah!"

Suddenly, upon turning around, the a.s.sa.s.sins were met with a strong beam of light, s.h.i.+ning in their face. Their eyes, having long adjusted to the darkness, were not prepared for a light this bright, as 4 gunshots soon followed, with 4 of the remaining 15 a.s.sa.s.sins dropped dead.

"Thank you Vincent, you bought me just the time I needed to turn this fight around." Said Kaito, aiming his pistol, now with it's flashlight attachment, "Now it's my turn!"

"What is this? More light magic? So this human is a mage after all!" Thought the master, as he jumped back several feet out of Kaito's range.

The rest of the a.s.sa.s.sins tried their usual stealth tactics to try and sneak up on Kaito, but now that he has his flashlight on, the ability to hide in plain sight was rendered completely defenseless, leading to 2 more a.s.sa.s.sins getting picked off.

At that point, have already lost so many men, the remaining a.s.sa.s.sins grew weary of their target. Their pride and confidence quickly deteriorated as each attack they threw became more and more desperate.

However, Kaito himself wasn't doing much better as, deep down, he was sure that he was gonna run out of ammo at any moment. There were still 9 a.s.sa.s.sins left including the master, and he needed to make every last shot count, as he knew he would be completely defenseless in unarmed combat.

Just then, as the remaining few a.s.sa.s.sins were shaking, indecisive between running away or fighting to the bitter end, the master dropped his blade, raising his hands in the air.

"We surrender." Said the master, with a stern and unfazed tone.

"Excuse me?" Kaito asked suddenly, feeling confused at the anticlimactic situation he was put in.

"We simply were not prepared for magic of this caliber from the enemy camp. As you know, it's not everyday you come across a magic user, let alone a human one, so our lack of intel and racial views lead us to underestimating you." Explained the master, "As such, I have come to terms with the fact that we simply cannot defeat you."

"Well that's a relief." Said Kaito, "But how do I know you're not lying?"

Suddenly, the master raised his right hand, making a gesture, as all the elves dropped their weapons, tossing them far away, at a distance too far for any of them to simply bend down and pick the weapons back up, as he himself removed his black cloak, removing any kind of camouflage he might have had.

"Is this enough?" Asked the master.

"I... guess?" Said Kaito in an unsure tone.

"If my memory serves me correctly, elves are a proud and honorable race in most RPGs, maybe I have earned their respect so they are pulling away?" Thought Kaito, "Yes, that must be the reason."

"Please forgive us for this night." Said the master, reaching out for a handshake, "I hope we may reconcile after such a horrid first impression."

"Well, yesterday's foes are tomorrow's friends they always say." Replied Kaito, shaking his hand in return, "So sure."

Suddenly, the master let out a snake like smile, as Kaito felt a stinging pain in his palm. Pulling his hand back, he found a stab wound on his wrist, with a purple-ish liquid dripping from the wound.

"Got you." Smirked the master, before kicking Kaito in the stomach, sending him flying several feet back, "That sting you felt was from my concealed dart I use to deal with magic users! It's coated with [Basilisk] Venom! A simple drop can permanently erase any and all mana from even the most gifted mages body!"

"Jeez, who taught this guy how to kick, Br*ce Lee?" Muttered Kaito as he struggled to get up, having the wind knocked out of him with that kick.

"It was a real risk throwing away our weapons to convince you that we were surrendering, but it's a good thing you are so gullible." Laughed the master, "Now, we won't even need weapons to end you, men, finish off this mage!"

As all of the elves charged in to strike Kaito however, another 4 gunshots were heard, as one of the elves dropped dead with a bullet right between the eyes.

"d.a.m.n, I'm out of ammo..." Cursed Kaito, getting back up after having shaken off that kick.

"I-Impossible! No mage would have been able to get back up after getting hit with [Basilisk] Venom! How is he still using that light magic?" Exclaimed the master, seeing how the flashlight was still on.

"This isn't magic, you pointy eared poser!" Sneered Kaito, "It's the power of the j.a.panese Self Defense force's armory!"

"j.a.ppwhat now?" The master stuttered out in a confused tone, as his men backed up slowly in fear.

"Master, we can't fight him! We are all unarmed with our weapons out of reach and facing off against someone with unknown magic, we can't do this!" Uttered one of his a.s.sa.s.sin.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Exclaimed the master, "We are the proud a.s.sa.s.sin's guild [Dagger]! We far surpa.s.s even the average elven warrior in terms of combat! True, he may have killed many of us, but we still have the numbers! Plus, we managed to hit him a few times and he has been constantly avoiding us, proving that he'll be defenseless once we get close!"

"But I don't wanna die!" Whined his men.

"Then you would rather live bearing such humiliation? What are we men!?"

"We are the proud a.s.sa.s.sins of [Dagger], we shall do all in our power to slay our target, even at the cost of our lives!" All of his remaining men chanted.

"You're G.o.d d.a.m.n right! Now charge!" Exclaimed the master.

As if they had all forgotten fear, all 7 of the master's remaining men charged at Kaito. Out of ammo and running low on stamina, with the pain slowly catching up to him, Kaito, who had hoped that they would just run off reached into his pouch, hoping to find anything that could help him.

As the rest of the elves were closing in, he managed to dig out infrared goggles. No good, seeing all of his enemies won't help him fight, he needed something more. The elves were getting closer, as he dug more and more desperately.

Just then, at the corner of his bag, he found another cylindrical object. As the elves closed in, attempting to throw everything they've got at him, he threw it. Seeing the upcoming object, and recalling that the last thing he threw blinded everyone and rendered them helpless, all of the a.s.sa.s.sins backed up, bracing themselves for the bang.

But the bang never came. Instead came a light sizzle. Confused, the elves opened their eyes. However, they saw nothing. The surrounding buildings, each other, the human, all gone. All that they could see was smoke.

Raising their hand in front of themselves, they could barely see their own fingers. Calling out to their comrades, they could hear disconnected voices around them, as they tried to regroup.

"h.e.l.lo? Anyone there?" One of them yelled.

"Yeah! I'm he-gUH!!"

Suddenly, the lone a.s.sa.s.sin started hearing the could of his comrades, all getting picked off one by one.

"It's him- Gah!"

"The humaAAARRGGHH!"

"He's all around us-ERGH!"

As the a.s.sa.s.sin backed up, thoughts raced in his mind behind what was happening.

"How can this be? How can that human nagivate through this smoke? A human! Even we elves, with our excellent sense of direction and navigation are lost in this fog, so how is he finding us?" Thought the a.s.sa.s.sin.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

"Is he even a human?" Thought the elve suddenly, "The incantationless magic, the odd weapons, the immunity to mana nullifying poison, and this level of navigation... Could it be? I've heard stories of these beings existing, but only in children's bedtime stories! Could he be... the incarnation of the [Demon King]?"

Suddenly, he heard footsteps, as the supposed Demon King's silhouette became visible.

"It is said that the [Demon King] would start off as an una.s.suming weakling, luring predator type creatures and people into a sense of confidence as they try to prey on him, only to reveal his true form after tearing down their will and feed off their fear and despair..." Thought the elf, paralyzed in fear.

Slowly, the silhouette became more and more visible. As the elve's eyes spotted the "Demon King", his fears became a reality. He was not a human, but a demon in disguise and his true form had been revealed before him. His face had black stripes running down to the chin, as three, gla.s.s eyes as dark as the night starred the elf down, with a small red glowing pupil at the center of each.

"The [Demon King]'s true form..." He cried out in fear, bolting off the opposite direction, only to slam face-first into a wall, knocking himself out.

Kaito, on the other hand, tilted his head in confusion, as he took off his infrared goggles, which he used to find the elves through the smoke.

"Demon King? Did he get high off my smoke grenade's fumes?" Kaito asked to himself, as the smoke cleared, revealing all remaining Elves, all incapacitated.

Looking around, the master was nowhere to be found. Probably ran off while he took care of his lackeys. Walking up to one of the a.s.sa.s.sin's corpses, he felt a small hint of guilt, knowing that he had just ended so many lives.

Despite knowing it was self defense, he couldn't help but feel bad for doing such a thing. Then again, he was a soldier, someone working for the JSDF, this kind of stuff was gonna happen later on in his life regardless.

However, just then, he heard an unusual rustling behind him, as the master, who avoided being seen by playing dead, came charging out of the dark, daggers ready to finish Kaito off.

"You let your guard down, human!" Exclaimed the master.

"s.h.i.+t, I'm all out of weapons!" Thought Kaito, unable to move in time.

Ready to be stabbed, Kaito clenched his muscles and put his arms in front, hoping that he would only get stabbed in the arm.

However, the master's mad ramblings were cut short, as a thud was heard, abruptly cutting him off. Opening his eyes after what felt life an hour, despite only 5 seconds pa.s.sing, Kaito found the master unconscious and with a b.u.mp on his head lying before him, as a feminine figure stood behind him, holding a broken plank of wood.

"Fran?" Asked Kaito.

"There, now we're even." Replied Franciska, teasing him with a smile.