Chapter 1: Queen's Phantom
Chapter One
The city was eerily quiet. The sky was dark and the cold wind shook the trees. It was four in the morning. The sun was going to rise soon. In an old building, a man stood silently in a dark alley. He was waiting for someone. For someone who's scared of what's lurking in the night, he's pretty determined to get what he wanted. A few minutes later, two young women appeared from the opposite alley. They carefully approached the man. Both of the women wore black clothes and face masks. Their swords tied to their waists.
"I thought you've forgotten about our agreement," said the man.
"Don't worry, you're the one who's holding the money" said Lucy. She had dark hair that reached her waists. Her voice was thick with sarcasm. The man wasted no time and gave his request.
"I want you to kill Charles Hudson. He's my brother, the Silverwater Company that he owns should be mine. He took everything from me and I want him dead" said the man.
Lucy and her partner listened patiently. They have no time to hear the tragic story of their clients, but they need the money. It would always be the same routine. The clients would tell their sympathetic stories as an excuse to justify themselves. To justify their reason to kill but everyone in the world knows that no one would hire a murderer with good intentions.
"Does he have a bodyguard?" Kiara who stood beside Lucy spoke up. Her cold grey eyes behind the mask stare lazily at her client. Her monotonous voice could send shivers through anyone's spine.
"Yes, so I added more money. I've also included his picture in the envelope" the man gulped and gave Lucy a thick white envelope. Lucy glanced at the man to ask permission to check the envelope. Even though they were killers, they still have manners. The man just nodded his head.
"By the way, Mr. Hudson. I advise you to not search for people to solve your 'problems' on the internet. You can be easily traced," said Kiara. There's a glint of amusement in her eyes. Mr. Hudson could hear the mockery in her tone but he said nothing. As long as these girls could fulfill his request, he had no problems.
Kiara bowed to Mr. Hudson and gave him a black card while Lucy estimated the amount of money in the envelope. Lucy nodded towards Kiara after she was satisfied with what she was doing.
"Alright, the work will be completed within a week. The news of your brother's death will appear on TV so they can't cover up that you are the most eligible individual to own the company next" said Lucy with a cynical smile behind her mask. Both of the girls walked away from the alley and left the man behind.
Mr. Hudson stood alone in the alleyway. He glanced at the card in his hand. On the black card, there's a symbol of the moon, the name 'Luna', and a series of numbers inscribed on it. The man's face paled as he scurried to his car.
Kiara and Lucy, who had been standing on the roof of a nearby building, were watching their client leave. The sky turned violet as the sun began to appear. They both turned their heads towards the building across from them. They saw two young women about their age come out of the building. One of them was wearing a hoodie and the other was wearing a maroon scarf. They both were chased by three men. They ran away as fast as they could before splitting up.
Kiara and Lucy watched the situation silently. The hooded girl managed to run to the nearby alley and climbed the roof of the building. The girl with the maroon scarf hid in an alleyway and untied her scarf before covering her head with the piece of fabric. Her black jacket was tied at the waist to cover the traces of blood on her shirt.
The three men approached the building where the hooded girl was hiding but the maroon scarf girl came out of the alley to distract them. She walked towards the men confidently. Meanwhile, the hooded girl jumped from the roof to the roof where Kiara and Lucy were watching silently.
"Ready to go to Laura?" Kiara glanced at the hooded girl.
Laura just nodded and turned her head to watch the maroon scarf girl flirt with the three men. Suddenly one of the men glanced at the roof they're hiding. The girls simultaneously ducked and hid behind the chimney. They waited patiently for the maroon scarf girl to make her getaway.
"What's up?" a voice greeted them.
The three of them got up and faced the owner of the voice. The maroon scarf girl smiled cheekily at them. "What the hell, Tasha. Can you hurry up next time?" Laura huffed impatiently. "I'm sorry, it wasn't me who got caught earlier" Tasha scoffed. Kiara and Lucy stretched their back.
"Let's go," said Kiara. The four of them returned to Luna's secret base before the sunrise in the sky.
***
Charles Hudson waited in front of the elevator. It was 11 pm, he was heading home late because of the important pile of work he had just finished. Suddenly, the whole building was dark. The electricity was out. Just his luck, his day couldn't get any worse. He just wanted to head back home to his loving family.
"Sir, the elevator won't work. We have to use the stairs" said one of his bodyguards. Two of his hired bodyguards were standing behind him. The three of them started walking towards the emergency staircase.
The three of them were unaware that there were two assassins who were watching them from a distance. It has been two days since they were hired to eliminate Charles Hudson. Kiara and Lucy waited for the right time to act.
"Thanks, for the power outage, Dark," Kiara said to Laura through a communication device. Laura hummed when her alias was mentioned. Aliases were used during missions so their identity will remain anonymous.
"Ruby, you know what to do" Kiara glanced at Lucy. "Why do I have to take care of the bodyguard, Queen?" Lucy pouted her lips. "Do you want to chase the target?" Kiara offered calmly.
"No, I don't have the heart to kill the elderly," said Lucy. Teasing Kiara was her favorite hobby. Kiara wasn't the type of person who would wear their hearts on their sleeve, so any reaction from her was worth it. Unfortunately, Kiara did not give Lucy the reaction that she wanted.
"So you are willing to kill children?" said Kiara with a blank face. She thought that Lucy's excuse was illogical. A killer who was paid to kill shouldn't be picky with their victims.
"Guys, stop fighting. The target is heading towards the stairs right now" Laura said through the communication device.
Kiara and Lucy were standing on the roof opposite the company building. Lucy stretched her body and wore her face mask. She backed away before running fast towards the edge of the roof. Lucy jumped from the roof to the company building. She broke the window of the 17th floor and landed with her feet.
Kiara and Lucy's eyes met before Lucy ran towards their target's location. Kiara put on her mask to cover her identity. Her eyes gleamed in the dark while she waited for her time to act. Like a predator ready to catch its prey.
***
"Mr. Hudson, be careful going down the stairs," said one of the bodyguards. Charles and his two bodyguards went down the stairs with the help of the dim emergency light.
They heard the emergency staircase's door open and the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. As far as they know, no one was in the office other than the three of them. They looked up and saw a girl looking right at them. The girl has dark hair and wore a knee-length jacket. The dim light made a shadow appear creepily on the wall behind the girl.
"Wait, don't leave me," said the girl. She sounded scared but they couldn't see her facial expression behind her mask.
The girl walked towards them slowly as if to give them a chance to escape. They were too shocked by the girl's presence to move. They heard the sound of metal hitting the metal. At that moment, they noticed the shiny silver blade in the girl's hand.
"Run!" her bodyguard shouted. They both held the girl back from getting closer to Charles who ran downstairs. The girl dragged her sword to the floor deliberately producing a disturbing sound. The two bodyguards pulled out their guns.
"Get lost, I don't need to kill you if you hand over your boss," said the girl. The bodyguard pointed their guns at the girl. They didn't budge. The girl sighed loudly before straightening her back.
"Fine" the girl was annoyed. She swung her sword and ran towards her victims.
The bodyguard shot the girl but missed it. The girl attacked them but they managed to dodge. They fired repeatedly but not a single bullet hit their target. They didn't notice that the girl had shortened the distance between them.
The girl kicked one of the bodyguards until he fell and stabbed the other with her sword. The blade penetrated the man's body. She pulled her sword upwards, splitting the bodyguard into two parts. Blood splashed on the walls and floor. The lifeless body collapsed and the whole place was filled with the scent of blood.
The fallen bodyguard watched in horror as his colleague's life was taken. The girl wiped the blood that was splashed on her face using the sleeves of her jacket. She walked calmly towards the bodyguard to complete her task. The bodyguard ran away to save himself but fell and hit his head on the railing of the stairs. He felt dizzy and tried to stabilize himself. He held the stair's railings to support himself.
The girl observed the man in annoyance as he failed his pitiful attempt to escape. She pushed the bodyguard's shoulder and the bodyguard fell down the stairs. There was a sound of broken bones and a pool of blood began to appear under the lifeless body. The girl wanted to make sure her work was done properly, so she took the gun on the floor and shot the body right in the neck.
The girl wiped the bloodstains on her blade on the corpse's jacket before leaving. She saw a glimpse of a sun symbol on the bodyguard's jacket. She clicked her tongue in disgust.
***
Charles opened the door of the emergency stairs and observed the area around him. He's now in the parking lot. He sighed in relief and looked around to search for his car. He turned around the lot before he realized he was on the wrong floor. His relief of escaping was shattered.
He tried to find the stairs again but instead found a dead end. He was lost. How could he be lost? He owned this building. He desperately tried to contact someone to save him but was unsuccessful. He didn't get any signal on his phone. He was petrified when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him.
"Sir"
He turned around to face his killer. A masked girl with short hair stood behind him. This was not the girl he came across on the stairs earlier. Charles turned white when he saw the shining silver blade in the girl's hand.
"Please do not kill me. I have a wife and children at home" Charles' voice trembled.
The girl just kept quiet and drew her sword closer towards him. Charles backed away from the girl. "How can you end up like this? My daughter is the same age as you but you're a murderer. You're still young, you can't change the world with the tip of a sword" said Charles.
"There's a sword that's used to protect. There's a sword that kills" replied the girl monotonously.
"What's your name? I will die soon, so I should know the name of the person who killed me" Charles gulped in fear. The girl was silent for a moment like she was confused with the man's question.
"Kiara" replied the girl. "Kiara, please. You're still young. The world is not as cruel as you thought" said Charles.
Kiara sighed impatiently. For a man who's going to die, he got so much to say. It's getting annoying. She didn't know why she even bothered to spare a minute to listen to the dead man's words.
"I will make it quick," she stared at the man with a cold expression. Charles Hudson lowered his head and looked at the floor, accepting his fate. Kiara attacked and Charles felt the cold blade penetrate his chest. The white walls behind him splattered with blood. His breath caught in his throat.
He dropped down on his knees and Kiara stabbed deeper. His breath slowed down and Kiara twisted her blade. When the man's breath stopped, she pulled her sword out from the man's rib cage. The body collapsed and lay motionless. Kiara cleaned her blade on the corpse. She was careful not to step on the pool of blood, otherwise, she would leave a trace of red shoe soles.
She turned around and left the building.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone