Chapter 23: Darkmoon
Lyla raised her delicate eyebrows as the name of her target was revealed. She had heard about the son of Thomas Clover who never showed his face in public.
'Poor guy, even if he is hiding inside his house, these guys just can't let him live.'
She could sympathise with the guy but she was just as helpless in this matter. Whatever was ordered to her she had to follow it. She could not go against her father even if she very much wanted to.
Lyla saw her brother opening the iron door of her prison. She got up from her bed made of a large stone slab.
She stepped outside of the cold dungeon cell for the first time in years. She channelled her mana outside and washed her body to get rid of the dirt and sweat.
Felix looked at her unblemished milky white skin in a daze and lost himself in her alluring violet eyes.
Again Felix felt discontented at the thought of never getting the chance to have this beauty for himself. He just had to give her the order to submit to him and he could have his way with her. But he dearly cherished his life, he would be poisoned by her 'Heartsbane' spirit as soon as he laid his hands on her.
He could only stomp his foot in indignation.
The black leather choker around her neck that was studded with beautiful rubies and emeralds made sure she always obeyed the orders.
After all, she was already in the same realm as his father and was definitely far stronger than him. So his father who already knew her potential had this choker tightly wrapped around her neck when she was just a little girl.
From then on Lyla's fate was sealed as she became a tool for her father to do his dirty work. She was strictly trained to become an assassin. She was taught how to seduce a man, how to brew poisons, how to cover her tracks after completing her task, and so on.
Just as Commander Cyril Denver had thought she proved herself to be an extremely competent assassin. She had an affinity with darkness coupled with her years of training made her a force to be reckoned with. She had almost never failed in completing her task except for when she was sent to assassinate the emperor.
Lyla tied her hair in a ponytail after she cleaned herself thoroughly. These dungeon cells were inlaid with runes that prevented her from using mana while inside. She cleaned herself as soon as she was released from her prison.
"Give me my weapon."
Her cold and emotionless voice shook Felix out of his daze. He glanced at her one last time before gesturing to follow him.
They climbed the stairs in silence and soon entered one of the rooms on the ground floor. This room had nothing except for several shelves stacked with letters and books. From the bottom of one of the shelves, Felix took out a weapon wrapped in a piece of cloth.
It was a long sabre made of a razor-sharp white blade, a golden coloured guard, and a black grip. Its blade was made with one of the strongest metals in the continent called 'Darkmoon'.
'Darkmoon' was quite an ironic name for the metal as it was anything but dark. It was a shining white metal found in the long stretching mountain ranges to the east of the continent that divided the continent into two parts.
It was a very rare metal found once in a century. One has to search through the eastern mountain ranges every full moon night until a fortunate night one finds an area devoid of moonlight.
It is in this area where the 'Darkmoon' could be found. One popular theory suggests that the metal is sentient and moves through the mountains hiding itself from others. It only comes out during the full moon night to absorb the moonlight to strengthen itself.
When it is about to fully strengthen itself and reaches what is called a saturation point it completely absorbs the moonlight from its surroundings making that area shrouded in darkness.
And this sabre was made using such a precious metal. Its value was astronomical.
Felix Denver, who did not care about the value of this weapon, had stashed it in a random place. If Commander Denver found out about this he would shave a layer of skin from Felix's body.
This sabre was one of a kind and was dearly cherished by Commander Denver. It could be deduced how much he valued Lyla as a tool since he gave this sabre to her for completing the given tasks.
Lyla gripped the sabre firmly and ran her hand on the blade surface lovingly. Although her face was devoid of any emotions there was a tender look in her eyes as she inspected the blade.
She was just a troubled girl at the core, who had little to nothing in her name. No friends, no lover, no money, no status.
Although she had a family she was never welcomed by her family members except for her father. The rest of her family treated her like an infectious disease and stayed away from her.
She knew her father only treated her as a weapon to eliminate his enemies but it still gave her comfort in a twisted way that someone valued her existence.
Her half brother though was a completely different matter. He has always had lust filled in his eyes whenever he looked at her. It was one of these moments where she thanked her 'Heartsbane' spirit.
Because if not for its protection her half brother would have ruined her life by this point. The bloody choker around her neck prevented her from killing him every time she had the urge to do so.
It was a blasted choker that represented her slavery. 'Ruffle of Servitude' was the name given to it. A rather fitting name considering the wearer would be forced to become a slave to the person who owned it.
It prevented her from attacking her family while also making sure that she followed every order given by her father. And much to her chagrin, now the ownership of the choker was also shared by her half brother.
Sighing at the state of her life she pushed a bit of her mana into the sabre.
-Voom!
Instantly the blade of the sabre hummed as it became transparent, completely blending with the surroundings.
If someone looked at the sabre now they would only notice the handle that was gripped by Lyla and wouldn't be able to notice the blade.
It was the special property of the 'Darkmoon' metal. It would become invisible upon imbuing it with mana. It was an excellent weapon for assassins who needed to be subtle in their work.
Lyla nodded her head in satisfaction after checking the sabre's condition. It was the only thing that had constantly accompanied her in missions. So she had developed a sort of kinship with the sabre.
-Clap! -Clap!
Felix clapped his hands to get her attention.
"If you are done daydreaming, let's talk about business."
With that he took out a parchment from one of the table drawers and opened it.
After reading the contents of the parchment Felix nodded and handed it to Lyla.
"Remember everything on the parchment and burn it afterwards."
Felix walked towards the door with his hands behind his back. Just as he was about to exit he turned around and looked at her somberly.
"Do not screw up this mission like last time or else there will be hell to pay."
"Understood."
Lyla nodded expressionlessly and proceeded to read the parchment.
"Tch."
Felix clicked his tongue in annoyance at her lack of response and left the room.
After reading through the parchment Lyla tilted her head in confusion.
'Eh? Why would they send me to complete such an easy mission?'
[
Mission Type: Assassination.
Target: Raymond T. Clover
Whereabouts: Clover Family Compounds.
Strength: Martial Minor
Guards: A maid with Martial Master level cultivation.
Mission Difficulty: ★
]
With her strength, Lyla could complete the mission with her eyes closed. She didn't understand why she was given this mission.
'It's a good thing. I don't have to worry about failing this mission.'
Thinking along those lines and after remembering the details of the mission she burned the parchment.
She merged into the shadows and headed towards the Clover Manor.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone