Chapter 36: Ayame Kurohana
Ayame's head hurt as she recalled her memories of the village. On a sunny morning, a man in white robes had come to the orphanage to visit. After a heated discussion with the principal of the orphanage, the principal told them to follow the man in white robes. Ayame's eyes glistened as she thought about her new home. Little did she know that it would be the beginning of her nightmares.
Dr. Milo had picked the orphan kids to experiment on so that he wouldn't raise any suspicions. He had also bought kids from other countries so that there would be a variation. When Ayame first came to the village, she was 10 years old. She thought that she had arrived at a nice place since the other kids at the orphanage were here too. Her mood brightened at the thought of playing every day with them.
Soon, she realized that the village was a nightmare. At first, they were injected with drugs every day. A lot of kids died because the drugs had strong side effects. There were more than 200 kids before, but now there were fewer than half.
The doctor then obligated them to kill small animals so that they would get used to the blood. Ayame's white dress has never been white again. As time passed, other kids died because they couldn't control their powers. Their small bodies blasted off, leaving no complete bodies.
The survivors had to stay strong if they wanted to survive. They buried their comrades' bodies and prayed that they would get a better life in their next life.
The kids stayed close to each other, trying to find some comfort. But their friendship broke when the doctor announced that they had to kill each other to survive.
Not wanting to hurt her friends, Ayame hid in a corner, avoiding reality. Little did she know that her plants were attacking the people that approached her, out of instinct to protect their host. It was a bloody battle, and Ayame realized that a lot of kids died due to the poison in her plants. She and Tetsuya were the only survivors of that village. Ayame would never forgive the doctor for what he has done.
"You should escape before my plants get to you," Ayame warned. She didn't want to hurt the two assassins who had the same terrifying childhood as her.
"What are you doing? Kill them!" Dr. Milo ordered. Anyone trying to hinder his plans had to die.
Worried about Winter and Nikolai, Valentin asked the system about their enemies' stats.
[Ayame Kurohana: A-Rank assassin
Tetsuya Hinokami: A-Rank assassin]
'Shit,' Valentin thought. They were much stronger than Winter and Nikolai. What did the doctor feed them to make them so powerful? It was inhumane. At this point, Valentin wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Milo successfully dominated the planet.
[Would you like to spend 1 billion dollars to know about the assassins' weaknesses?]
'Yes, tell me quickly,' Valentin said.
[Ayame's weakness: Light (her plants and her eyes can't stand the sun and the light)
Tetsuya's weakness: His sword (without it, he can't control his powers properly)]
Maybe with this information, they would be able to win against them. Still standing in front of the children, Valentin signalled Winter to approach him. Then, he murmured to her about the weaknesses of their enemies.
Shocked that Valentin had such precious information, Winter rushed back to Nikolai and told him about it, too.
Suddenly, a thick vine pierced through Valentin's thigh. The judge bit his lips in pain; he didn't want to scare the kids behind him by yelling. The blood dripped down his pants and tainted the ground. He was too careless; he didn't expect the doctor to attack him.
"You should stay focused or you'll die," Dr. Milo snickered as he controlled Ayame's vines. He loved the feeling of controlling other people. It felt like he had multiple superpowers at the same time.
Valentin's thigh burned, as if there was some kind of acid eating away at his skin.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that Ayame's plants are venomous. If you are lucky, you'll only end up losing one leg," Dr. Milo laughed.
Valentin tore up the fabric on his pants and tied it tightly around his wound to stop the bleeding. That kind of injury was nothing; he had worse before.
'System, activate my reward.'
[Debuff activated. Your enemies will become weaker.
Ayame —> B-Rank
Tetsuya —> B-Rank]
Suddenly, Ayame and Tetsuya felt that their energy had been drained. They felt weaker than before. Not thinking much about the change, they charged towards their killing targets. If they didn't complete their missions well, the doctor would lash out at them again.
Ayame's plants spread out in the entire parking lot, climbing around the big pillars. The kids retreated when their small shoes stepped on the spiky vines. The plants were everywhere. Small carnivorous heads popped out of the flowers, hissing towards their enemies.
Tetsuya's sword was engulfed in red flames as he took it out of the scabbard. The temperature in the parking lot quickly rose. His scars on his body slowly turned into small flames, protecting his body.
As soon as Winter saw the dangerous small plant creatures, she used her telekinesis to pop their heads off. She had to keep her distance from the plants or else she would get poisoned.
Nikolai lunged towards Tetsuya. If only he could get rid of the sword, he would have better chances to win. Nikolai slipped behind his back, but crouched quickly as the sword in flames cut his pink hair.
Every time Nikolai tried to get closer, the flames on Tetsuya's body would grow, making it hard for him to get closer.
"Shit, this is getting nowhere," Nikolai complained as he returned to Winter's side.
Winter's breathing got louder and quicker; it was tiring to get rid of the plants.
Suddenly, when she reached her limit, a wave of coldness burst out of her body. The parking lot instantly froze up. The ground, pillars, ceiling and plants were covered in ice.
[Congratulations! Winter has developed a new ability! The system will update her status.
Winter —> B+ Rank assassin
new ability: ice ]