Prologue

A Fateful Encounter

Taeyeon crept quietly along the rooftops, making sure not to dislodge any loose shingles.  Today marked her 100^th job, and boy was it going to be spectacular. As one of Flash’s most senior assassins, Taeyeon was often assigned to the most dangerous jobs. The high council of Flash liked her not only for her undisputable skills, but also for her obedience. Taeyeon didn’t question, she just did. Whatever the high council demanded, she executed, as long as she got a hefty sum of gold afterwards.

Approaching the target, Taeyeon whipped out her dual knives. Unlike other knives, these ones were attached to Taeyeon’s arm with a steel string, so they also functioned as faux throwing knives. After throwing one she could just pull it back into her hand using the string. This was extremely convenient for targets that were running away, and for making sure that she never lost one of the knives. After all, they were made of the best steel available in the entire kingdom of Terin, and they were so sharp that they could cut through blocks of metal.

Just in case she lost her knives, though, Taeyeon also came with a boatload of other equipment. She had more knives, albeit of a cheaper make, tucked into her belt, along with two more knives hidden in her sleeves, just in case she was ever captured, and her belt confiscated. On her back were the sheathes to her two precious knives, forming an X shape. The sheathes also served as protection for her back, in case anyone tried to backstab her.

Today, Taeyeon’s mission was to kill one of the enemy faction, Rouge’s, leading assasins. Her target had been wreaking mayhem among Flash for years. Taeyeon’s faction had unsuccessfully tried to catch her countless times. Even though the high council at Flash was at loathe to expose one of their best assassins, the threat had to be quashed.

Taeyeon spotted her target (codenamed Red), strolling along a trash-strewn alleyway. As for why Red had taken to walking around the city at night, Taeyeon had no idea. All she knew, from the info that the senior spymaster in Flash had told her, was that Red seemed to take the same exact path every night, which made an ambush extremely easy.

Taeyeon got into position, hiding behind a chimney, as she heard Red turning around a corner into the alleyway below Taeyeon’s hideout. She crouched down with her knives at ready, listening to the steady pit-a-pat of Red’s footsteps as they grew closer beneath her. Any ordinary assassin relied on eyesight, but Taeyeon wasn’t ordinary- she was extraordinary. Years of experience had lent her the knowledge to listen to sounds and determine the right time to pounce. In the darkness of the night, this instinct proved to be very valuable.

Taeyeon waited quietly as the footsteps got closer. Finally, when they were right beneath her, she emerged from behind the chimney and dropped two stories down to the ground, plunging her dagger into Red’s left , right were the heart should be.

Standing up, Taeyeon let out a quiet laugh. This was her element- it was what she lived for. The thrill of finally executing her prey was like no other. The payment was a bonus too.

As she started to walk away, she heard a faint rustling, and whipped around. Red had stood up, seemingly unharmed.

How? She thought, I swear my dagger drove straight through her.

“You think I’d be dumb enough to walk around at night like this without my wits about me?” asked Red, startling Taeyeon. Assassination was normally a silent business- no banter to be had, just knives and the occasional poison.

Instead of opting to respond, Taeyeon spread apart her feet, crouching down into a fighting stance.

“Relax,” said Red, “Are you that eager to fight?”

In response, Taeyeon lunged forward, throwing three knives from her belt as distraction. She heard the sound of metal clanging, as Red easily deflected the knives. In the faint moonlight, Taeyeon could make out the faint glimmer of steel as Red picked up one of the knives. However, she wasn’t able to make out Red’s face, as it was hidden beneath a large cowl.

“This is a nice weapon,” said Red as she balanced the knife in her hand, “but I think the ones in your hands right now are better.”

Red stepped forward smoothly with a knife in her hand, slashing at Taeyeon. However, Taeyeon sidestepped, cutting the blade of the throwing knife off, and then using the handle of her other knife to bash the side of Red’s head. Red caught Taeyeon’s outstretched hand, and twisted Taeyeon’s arm while pushing down so that Taeyeon was forced to let go of one of her knives. All the while, Red pinned Taeyeon’s other arm down with her knee, and flicked Taeyeon’s other knife out of her grasp, so that the girl was effectively disarmed.

“Well that was certainly a challenge,” said Red calmly, showing no signs of exhaustion.

Taeyeon smiled at Red, and then began laughing, still pinned down on the floor.

“I have never lost a serious fight in my life,” began Taeyeon, “And this one is no exception.”

Red looked around curiously, and then asked, “Well how are you going to beat me? There’s no one here to help you.”

As fast as lightning, Taeyeon pulled one of the knives towards her, manipulating it using the steel string so that it ended up embedding itself into the back of Red’s head.

Red moaned, feeling pain blossom, and rolled limply off of Taeyeon.

Brushing her hands off, Taeyeon pulled on the steel string, yanking the knife out of Red’s head and back into her hand.

No job is finished until the target is confirmed dead.

Taeyeon walked over to Red and decapitated her in a single, swift . Satisfied, she aimed the dagger at the roof of one of the buildings, throwing it with such force that it anchored itself into the brick tiles of the roof. She then used the steel string to swing herself up onto the roof, whistling a merry tune as she retrieved her knife and began walking back to her faction’s base.

In the alleyway, the head and the body seemed to fuse back together. Eventually, Red stood up weakly and limped away. All that remained was a pool of blood.