Prologue | The Assassin Reincarnates
I was reclining comfortably in my seat on a passenger plane. Having finished my work overseas, I was on my way back to Japan.
Assassins exist only in fiction. I’m sure that’s what most people believe. Take a moment to really think about it, though.
There’s no quicker or more efficient means of disposing of an enemy than murder, and the more money and influence a person has, the more enemies they’ll need taken out of the picture. Where there is a demand for a service, a supply will rise to meet it…and that’s how assassins like me came to be.
“My last job went off without a hitch.” It was going to be my final day as an assassin. I had a retirement plan and everything.
I came to be known as the world’s greatest assassin, having been responsible for the sudden “death by illness” of numerous major figures, including several presidents. But in the end, even I was unable to defeat Father Time.
My next job was already lined up. I was going back to work as an instructor at the facility where I long ago learned the tricks of my particular trade.
Training assassins required an extreme degree of highly specialized knowledge and skill. Finding qualified personnel wasn’t easy. From that day forward, I was going to be turning promising youths into seasoned assassins like myself.
Or at least, that’s what I’d thought. Unfortunately, it seemed this job was nothing more than a fabrication designed to have me let down my guard.
The passenger plane shook violently with the sound of an explosion, then the aircraft rapidly began to lose altitude.
“I can understand the desire to dispose of a tool that has outlived its usefulness, but to go this far just to kill one person… It seems I’ve built up quite the reputation, haven’t I?”
Now I really felt old. I should’ve guessed this kind of thing would happen.
I stood up and pushed my way through the panicking passengers, hurrying toward the source of the sound. I hacked the security for the door to the cockpit and forced my way in. A few crew members tried to stop me on the way, but I kindly put them all to sleep.
When I entered the cockpit, I was greeted by the headless bodies of the pilot and copilot.
This is fine. Nothing I can’t handle , I told myself.
Assassination demands a great many skills. Piloting a passenger plane was no problem for me.
… Or at least, it wouldn’t have been a problem if the console hadn’t also been blown to smithereens along with the heads of the two pilots.
“I’ve taken the lives of a great many people in my day. I figured my time would come eventually, but I never imagined I’d have such an extravagant grave prepared.”
No matter the situation, I always tried my best to survive, even if the odds were stacked against me. That had always been my policy. I made use of all the knowledge and experience I’d gained over the years and pushed my mind to the limit in order to find a means of escape.
… There’s still something I can do. Saving the plane and its passengers was a tall order, but there was still a chance I could save myself.
“Well, this certainly came sooner than I expected. Their preparation was flawless… Looks like I’m done for.”
Outside the window, I could see a fighter jet armed with missiles quickly approaching.
The plane was currently flying over a metropolitan area. If it were to crash in the city, the damage would be catastrophic. It seemed that the plan was to break my plane into tiny fragments before that could happen.
By my estimation, the plane was supposed to reach its destination in about ten minutes, though that seemed less likely now.
The jet fired a missile.
It was an annoying complication. I would’ve been able to save myself if I only had the impending plane crash to worry about. The missile was an AIM-92 Stinger, an air-to-air model capable of so thoroughly destroying a passenger plane of this caliber that not even a scrap would remain.
… How unfortunate , I thought.
A lifetime of acting as an emotionless tool for my organization, and this was how I was being repaid. I was so loyal that I wouldn’t have hesitated to kill myself if given the order. Such a betrayal instilled doubts in my mind about my employers and my line of work for the first time in my life.
As death approached, I imagined that if I had another shot at life, I wouldn’t spend my days as someone else’s servant. I’d live only for myself. If I utilized my skills, knowledge, and experience purely for my own sake, then surely…
Holding on to that hope, I fought for my life until the very last second, using every means at my disposal.
When next I opened my eyes, I discovered I was in a temple. It appeared to be an ancient structure made of white stone. If I had to compare it to something, it’d be the Parthenon. There was no escaping that plane, and a part of me wondered if I’d dreamed the whole ordeal.
“Nope, that wasn’t a dream. Everything you just experienced was real. You were the world’s greatest assassin, but in a moment of carelessness, you allowed yourself to be assassinated. Ah-ha-ha…ha-ha-ha-ha!” A woman with white hair, dressed in an equally white tunic, burst out laughing. Actually, not only were her hair and clothes white, but so was her skin, her eyes—everything about her was that alabaster hue. To top it all off, she was strikingly beautiful.
Whatever she was, it was clear she wasn’t human. Her beauty was too flawless, as if she’d been carved by a master sculptor. The frank tone she was speaking with could not have been less appropriate, however.
“… Um, would you mind explaining what’s going on here?” I asked.
“You’re dead, and I summoned your soul to this place. Oh, I’m a goddess, by the way!” she explained.
“Do you bring every single dead person in for an idle chat? If that’s the case, then considering the number of people who die every day, there must be as many gods as there are stars in the sky. Either that or you have way too much free time. Or perhaps you had a special reason for summoning me here.”
“You got it on your last guess. Typically, souls are immediately wiped clean and recycled. We gods are very busy, after all.”
Throughout the conversation, I’d been trying to ascertain the validity of this odd woman’s statements by paying careful attention to the movements of her face, the intonation of her voice, her perspiration, and anything else that could’ve betrayed a lie. Unfortunately, everything about the way she carried herself was normal to the point of abnormality, almost like the so-called goddess knew what I was going to do before I did it and was having a bit of fun. It was unsettling, to say the least.
I knew how to play her game to a certain degree, but she was far superior, to a point where it extended beyond the capabilities of a human being. That’s what convinced me she really was who she claimed to be.
“If that’s the case, then may I ask why I was summoned here?”
“Wow, you’re a quick one. I’m giving you a choice. You can have your soul wiped clean so that you’ll be reborn as a brand-new person. You’ll be a cute little baby without any idea of who you used to be! Or, in exchange for taking on a little request of mine, I can transport your soul into another world and allow you to be reincarnated with the knowledge and experience from your previous life intact.”
So, if I went with the former option, I wouldn’t be me anymore. I’d become an entirely different person. The latter option would, in a sense, allow me to continue my current life. That seemed like a far more appealing proposition.
Spending my entire life as a weapon only to be betrayed and killed by my master in the end was an incredibly painful way to die. Starting again with my memories intact was a good chance for a do-over.
However, I could think of only one reason why I was handed this offer. The goddess’s “little request” was obvious, and I knew I wouldn’t like it.
“So, regarding the condition for the second option… Who do you want me to kill?”
“Ever the sharp one, aren’t you? That’ll make my job much easier. Though I’d expect nothing less from the soul I set my eyes on. I want you to assassinate a hero in a world of swords and magic. I need it done within eighteen years of your birth in that new world.”
“A world of swords and magic? A hero? Are you making this up?”
No sooner had I asked the question than knowledge of that world flooded into my mind. Instantly, I knew about the structure of that place, the art of “magic,” the culture, and the level of technological advancement. I even learned about the concept of “heroes,” such as the one I had been tasked with eliminating.
It was a world completely different from my own.
“This hero we’re talking about saved the world, didn’t he? Why does he need to be killed?” I asked.
“Sixteen years from now, after this hero defeats the Demon King and saves the world, he will use his power for his own selfish desires, plunging the world into chaos on a scale that will far surpass the reign of the Demon King. Then, two years after that, or eighteen years from now, that world will fall to complete ruin. I would like you to kill him before any of this comes to pass.”
“In other words, once the hero overthrows the Demon King, he’ll have outlived his usefulness,” I surmised. Somehow, I felt an affinity for that man who would become a villain.
“We would have left him alone if he didn’t cause any trouble, but he just had to go and make such a mess of things that I had to get involved. Ugh, how annoying!” the goddess whined.
This was a world where magic existed, and a good number of people possessed physical strength that far surpassed what was possible in my world. Their level of technology ranged from as far back as the Middle Ages to as recent as the mid-eighteenth century, though magic likely supplanted a lot of the more advanced science my world had.
My soul was to be transported there for the sole purpose of assassinating a hero.
“So I’m to dispose of this hero once he kills the Demon King and is no longer needed. Will I have to worry about suffering the same fate once I kill him?”
“Didn’t I just explain this? It’s only because he’s causing so much trouble that we have to get involved. Plus, you lack his power, and if you had the capability of obtaining it, I wouldn’t have chosen you in the first place.”
The goddess put a hand to my chin and gave me a bewitching smile.
“We chose an assassin because no soldier, knight, or sorcerer would’ve been able to kill the hero while staying within the bounds of normal human capability. Only a highly skilled assassin is capable of carrying out this job.”
“So I have to kill this hero, who happens to greatly exceed the strength of an ordinary man, while remaining a humble human myself.”
The reason for our difference in strength had been placed into my mind along with the information I was given earlier. The humans born in that world of swords and magic had a certain limitation placed on their abilities. From a very young age, heroes were able to break through that limitation and could become far more powerful and superior to other human beings.
The goddess, or whoever else was in charge, allowed only one hero to exist at a time.
Thus, if a hero went rogue and decided to rampage across the world, there’d be no one who could stop them. No other person could hope to best the hero in battle. That’s why this situation called for assassination.
“I understand the nature of this hero, more or less. He’s a monster. Given what I know, I’m sure I can kill him. However, I’m going to need abilities on the very high end of the human spectrum,” I said.
“Sure, I can help you out there. You’ll be equipped with the strongest possible specs a human can have, though still within reason. You will also be allowed to choose skills that would otherwise have been assigned to you at random,” the goddess explained.
Suddenly, countless skill options flooded my mind. In the world of swords and magic, people were assigned, at most, five random skills at birth. Being given the ability to choose freely from a seemingly infinite pool of skills was no small task.
Rather than simply choosing the most powerful skills, I thought it best to choose skills with strong compatibility. That way they’d add up to more than the sum of their parts.
“… You can’t choose the skills for me, can you?” I asked.
“Aw, is critical thinking not your strong suit? It would be thrilling to watch you struggle to complete the job with the weakest skills I could possibly give you, but… How about this? I’ll give you three days to mull it over, so choose wisely. Of course, that is only on the condition that you accept my request.”
“I have a number of questions I’d like to ask first. From what I’ve gleaned, it seems you’re not able to interfere excessively in worldly matters, but isn’t that exactly what you’re doing right now by sending my soul to this other world to do your dirty work?”
“You’re not wrong. Occasionally, however, it just so happens that a world is short on souls and needs an influx from another world. Then there are cases where, coincidentally , the soul-cleansing process goes wrong and memories and knowledge are accidentally left intact, and coincidentally , that person is born with great strength and powerful skills. That is the limit to which we can interfere. Unfortunately, this hero situation isn’t one where the world can be saved through conventional means.”
Evidently, the goddess was doing the most she could within her limited framework.
“Next question. I have to kill him within eighteen years, right? Can I just off him as soon as I’m ready?”
“Ah, no, that won’t do. Wait until he kills the Demon King, at least. Only the hero is capable of defeating the Demon King, so offing him before he gets the chance would doom the world in a different way.”
“I see. How many other souls have you lured here and enticed with this same proposition?”
It was hard to imagine I’d be the only person being sent to the world of swords and magic with their memories intact in order to try to assassinate the hero. If I were in the goddess’s position, I would try to up my chances by placing as many pieces on the board as I possibly could.
“Oh, now that’s a shrewd question. I can see how you were able to become your world’s most notorious assassin… The answer is none. For now, it’s just you. Even if I am a goddess, there’s no way I can pass off multiple assassins being reincarnated with all with their memories intact as pure coincidence.”
For now, she says. I made a note of that remark.
“Last question. Which is more important to you: saving the world or killing the hero? If it’s the former, then in the event that an opportunity to save the world without killing the hero presents itself, would that be good enough?”
“Saving the world is the primary goal, of course. Yes, if there was a way to secure a bright future for the world that didn’t involve the hero’s death, then that would be fine… If you really think you can make that happen, you’re more than welcome to try,” the goddess said with an unnerving smile.
“Got it. I accept your request. I’ll be reincarnated into the world of swords and magic. I do have one request of my own, however. I would prefer to be born into a family of moderate wealth. I’ll need an environment where I can train to the fullest.”
“Ah, there’s no need to worry about that. You’re being reincarnated as the scion of House Tuatha Dé. They’re that world’s greatest family of assassins. You will have every resource you need available to you, so please work hard to raise your abilities to the maximum of human potential. Once you choose your skills, I will transfer your soul to your new world.”
The goddess disappeared, and I broke into a bit of laughter. I couldn’t believe that even after being given a chance at a second life, I was still going to be stuck as an assassin.
I’d sworn to myself that if I got a second shot at life, I would live only for myself. Now I actually was getting another chance, with my memories of my past life intact no less, but I’d be a tool right from the get-go. The irony wasn’t lost on me…
Still, I wasn’t about to complain. I’d been given eighteen years to kill a single person, and I’d get to continue living as myself despite having already died.
This time, I promised to live for myself and find happiness.
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