"Ugh," the priest groaned as Ash threw him in the camp\'s infirmary. Ash stared at the man with hatred before sighing. He has needlessly endangered his life to save another.

Life taught him better.

Ash cannot remember how it began, but somehow, he learned to avoid being a hero. There were times, as a kid, when he pretended to be one, and his sister praised him. But, that was before Hyde\'s gang killed her.

It always made him wonder whether his sister\'s belief only lived within him when she was alive. After her death, Ash could not remember how life was. However, he can remember that he needed to change, and he did.

This was how Ash turned from a foolish kid to a fence who killed those who threatened him. However, as he was finally about to get revenge, Ash realized that some things refused to change.

"I did what makes you proud, Mary," sighed the fence as his head rested on his arms. "How about you let me protect my ass from now on?"

Ash suddenly remembered the kid who told him Hyde would be here. There was a time when he also helped him escape the city guards. But, everything related to Mary somehow makes him fall into buried naivety.

"You are here!" shouted a man who came into the infirmary. "I thought you died trying to be a hero! Furthermore, you are uninjured?"

Ash raised his head to find the armored man, the strongest of his group. It seems they managed to return before them, and it left a bad taste in Ash\'s mouth to be treated like a hero.

"I was lucky," said Ash, unwilling to say more. "I will go and patrol the forest. Take care of this priest."

"Why are you in a rush, gunman?" asked a voice behind the armored man. Ash frowned and stopped walking toward the door as the captain from earlier walked inside. "I heard about what happened."

"Nothing happened," glared Ash as he glanced at the armored man. This dog hurried to report what happened to Vangir Guild instead of using this to deceive them. This man was a spineless coward, judged the fence.

"You are a secretive man," the captain squinted his eyes. "You were interested in the darkness, and now you are trying to hide what happened there. I want to know why."

Ash did not reply. This looked bad for him since he did not want to explain how the darkness ignored him. It did not make sense for him, and he did not want to give them an excuse to use him again.

Those tongues might not be merciful next time.

"I defeated the dark being using holy bullets," grinned Ash. "Those bandits were killed by it, and there is nothing left to worry about."

"You are stronger than sixty bandits?" grinned the captain as he walked forward, and his hand seized Ash\'s throat. "How about you try a better lie? Tell me what happened there."

Ash can feel his lungs starving for air as the man held him in a chokehold. However, it did not occur to him to reveal what happened there because it would sound like a lie.

\'I need to attack,\' decided the fence as the hidden weapon was about to slide into his hand. But, then, a man appeared at the door.

"I am here!" shouted the man as he entered. The captain frowned and turned toward the door to find a masked man. Ash barely opened his eyes to see who it was, but he could not recognize them. "Ah, am I interrupting something?"

"Who are you?" glared the captain as he threw Ash away. "That mask..." his eyes widened as the man walked into the room, crouching beside Ash.

"I am a friend of this man," said the newcomer. "And I am also an executor," said the man casually. Ash was confused as he opened his eyes, but he could see the captain shaking from his angle.

"An executor?" muttered the guildsman in disbelief. "Are you the one who killed the dark being?"

"Indeed, I am," the executor rose to his feet. "I asked this young man to hide this fact until I present myself. I did not want any rumors to go around."

"I... understand," gulped the captain as his eyes darted everywhere. "Does that mean... that those creatures are here?"

"There is one hiding among you, yes," the executor raised a finger. "I am here to dispose of it. However, I believe you are aware that I need your cooperation. Otherwise... the church will not be merciful."

The captain\'s body was shaking before he nodded rapidly. Ash had no idea what was going on or what an executor was. However, the captain apologized a lot before leaving them alone.

"Who are you?" asked Ash as he used one of the beds to rise. "I never met you, so why did you lie to protect me?"

"This is not the best spot to discuss such things," the man held a finger to his mask. "Let us find a private place, shall we?"

"I do not trust you."

"Then I will tell them you are the dark being. So, follow me instead of being a cynical kid."

There was some casualness in how this man spoke to him, making Ash feel he recognized him. But, unfortunately, the threat also worked to leave him with no other choice but to follow this man.

Their destination was the outskirts of the ruins, all the way to an abandoned house. The vagabonds and the guildsmen were glancing their way in fear, but Ash did not understand why.

"Executors are a recent profession, known to a few elites. The church armed them with weapons for a single task: hunt the dark beings. Those who oppose the executors will be accomplices, and the church will hunt them down."

"That explains that bastard\'s fears," spat Ash as he stared at the man\'s back. "However, what does an executor want from me?"

"I want you to close your mouth until we are somewhere private," said the man, and Ash frowned because, for that brief moment, he felt like this was someone he knew.

At long last, they arrived at an abandoned house. The executor walked inside, and Ash followed. The man held the wall for a second before sighing and turning toward him.

"We are finally alone, Ash," said the man as he took off his mask. Ash\'s mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg as the man\'s identity was revealed.

***

"You... you... what are you doing here?" the fence pointed at Nikolai after he removed his mask. This was one of the priests\' masks, but without the holy water.

"I am adhering to our plans, right?" smiled Nikolai as he grabbed a chair to sit. "However, I cannot believe that you are stupid enough to come here alone."

"Bastard!" glared Ash before rushing to grab Nikolai. "You are the one who ran away without saying anything! It has been months since we last met, so I had no choice but to come alone!"

"Easy now. I just saved your life!" smiled Nikolai. Ash spat and let go of him, walking toward the wall and mumbling to himself in frustration.

"You seem different," said Ash after he calmed down. "Why are you wearing that headband? And what happened to your face?"

"A transformation skill," sighed Nikolai. "However, it made me stronger and gave me a better chance against Hyde."

"A chance... against Hyde?" muttered Ash before he burst out laughing. "Hahaha, you are crazy!"

"You are the one who wants to kill him using elemental bullets," grinned Nikolai without being offended. "I want to know what you uncovered."

"As if I would trust you after appearing all of sudden, looking as pale as a corpse!" said Ash after he stopped laughing. "I will take down Hyde myself, even if I have to give away my life."

"I am sure that is your only plan," said Nikolai with a shake of his head. "You want revenge, and I want something that Hyde has. The only reason for us to be enemies is that I am a crow."

"You are, maybe," Ash said before raising his gun. "I want to know where you have been. Money can change anyone, and you might be here to kill me."

"Ah, yes. Hyde fears your assassination attempt and has sent me here to prevent you. That man cannot even sleep at night because he fears your powers."

His sarcasm made Ash turn red before he lowered his gun. Nikolai can hear him mumbling to himself in wounded pride, looking like a second-rate assassin.

"I don\'t have a lot of expectations, too," mumbled Ash. "That means you also don\'t have a chance. Then, why are you here?"

"I have a plan to take down Hyde," Nikolai said as he spread his arms. "We are weaker than the criminal lord, so we have to act smart. There is no way for us to kill him, so all we need to do is..."