"Okay, target is within sights, ready to fire...," I muttered to myself, as I set the sight of my sniper rifle onto my target's head and made sure that the silencer on the tip of the gun's barrel was secure.

There's hardly any wind blowing through, and his window is wide open...perfect, there's no chance that I'll miss. I then moved my index finger over the trigger, locking my aim onto the target's head...and then pulling the trigger, firing out a bullet.

The bullet silently burst out of the barrel of the gun, rapidly slicing through the air and shooting in through the open window, before striking the back of the target's head, killing him before he even knew what was happening. There we go, mission complete, time to get out of here...is what I would say normally, but the job's not over yet.

I let out a sigh as I pulled up my backpack and unzipped it, taking out my grappling hook. This really isn't my style, but I am being paid a shitload of money for this job, so I won't half-ass it. I then fired out the grappling hook, which shot forward through the air and in through the window, before I swiftly gave it sharp tug.

As I pulled back on the wire, the anchor at the end of it abruptly halted and flew back, wedging itself into the top part of the window frame. I gave it a couple of firm tugs to make sure it was secure, before tying it around the railing of the rooftop I was on.

I then took out a pair of handlebars and put it over the wire, after giving the railing a shake to make sure it could hold my weight. Seems sturdy enough, I doubt it'll break. I gripped the handlebars firmly before leaping over the railing and off the rooftop, ziplining across towards the window.

I raised my legs as I closed in on the opening, letting one hand go off the handlebars before sliding it off the wire, letting my momentum carry me straight in through the open window.

My feet hit the carpeted floor with a quiet thud, as I looked around the living room I'd landed in. My target was laying slumped forward on the floor, blood pouring out of the bullet hole in his head and seeping into the fluffy white carpet, staining it a deep, crimson red.

Hm, there's a lot of wooden carved objects lining the shelves in this room, like figurines and buildings. They look handmade, guess this guy had a hobby that he spent a lot of time on. Well, whatever, doesn't matter anymore, he's dead. And with that done, it's time to wrap this job up.

I then unzipped my backpack and took out an object, a ceramic Cheshire cat statue. It's kinda creepy, the wide smile on its face makes me feel a bit uncomfortable...but my client wanted me to plant this here after I took out the target, so yeah.

I placed it on a stained coffee table in the middle of the room, before taking out my phone and snapping a picture of it, along with another picture of the target's corpse.

As I sent the pics to my client, I then dialed his number and put the phone up against my right ear, pulling down the cloth mask covering the lower half of my face.

"Yes, hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I've completed the job, the target has been eliminated and I've planted the statue as well. I just sent pics as proof. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like my payment," I remarked, getting straight to the point.

I haven't particularly enjoyed working with this client, I only took on this job because he offered a huge reward upon completion. Once he transfers the money he owes me into my bank account, I can be done with this.

"Let's see here...ah, here we go. Perfect, it looks like your reputation was well-earned, not bad at all. I'm impressed, that compound is highly secure, I didn't think you'd be able to break in so eas-..."

"Yeah, yeah, cut the shit...I'm not interested in your hollow flattery. Transfer the money you owe me, make it quick," I cut him off dryly.

"Are you still inside his house?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm about to leave...quit dodging the question and just make the transfer already. I don't take kindly to being scammed," I frowned, getting irritated.

This isn't the first time a client has tried to skimp out on payment...the ones that previously did so are now six feet under. Well, metaphorically speaking, anyway...I drowned one of them in a river, so he's definitely well below six feet under.

"Thank you for your service, you've been a great help. It was a pleasure working with you."

"Hey! I swear, if you're not gonna pay me, then I'll-...!" I began to snap venomously.

"You won't be doing anything. Not ever again," He interrupted with a chuckle, as a muffled beeping sound suddenly began echoing out in the room.

I quickly looked around in alarm, before my eyes widened as my gaze settled on the Cheshire cat statue...the beeping's coming from inside it, don't tell me...!

Shit!

I reacted as fast as I could, rushing towards the window and raising the handlebars towards the wire of the grappling hook-...but the next thing I knew, a deafening explosion burst out from behind me, a sharp, excruciating pain hitting my back...before abruptly fading right as the sheer pain started to overwhelm me, everything going dark...

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Huh? What's...what's going on?

I...I feel like I'm floating in a void or something, flashes of memories racing through my head. Oh, I get it, this must be my life flashing before my eyes.

Damn it...what a wretched life I led. What the hell did I do to deserve any of this, huh?

I was born with a physical deformity, I had no skin on the sides of my face, where most people have cheeks, meaning that all my teeth were fully and constantly exposed. Still, I led a mostly normal life during my first fifteen years.

I was bullied in school for the way I looked, but it wasn't anything too extreme, it wasn't much more than cruel teasing. And I received a lot of support from teachers and counselors, so my school life wasn't terrible. I was decent at sports as well, as I'd also been born with flexible joints and limbs.

I particularly excelled at gymnastics thanks to that, I even won a local competition when I was fourteen. Not long before my sixteenth birthday, I was all set to participate in a national tournament, which could potentially have resulted in a spot in the Olympics if I'd won.

But I never got the chance to try. Growing up, my parents had been loving and supportive of me...but eventually, slowly but surely, they grew colder towards me, they'd look at me with strange, unsettling expressions sometimes.

I never thought much of it at first, I just assumed that, since I was older now, it was only natural that they wouldn't be as nurturing or coddle me as much as they did when I was a kid and brushed it off. In my head, I assumed that, since I was close to the age of being a legal adult now, they were treating me as such.

But I was wrong. Painfully wrong. A month or so before I was set to compete in the national tournament, my parents took me on vacation. They were acting strange through the entire journey there, and it wasn't long before I found out why.

A couple of days into the vacation, they took me to a shady-looking building in a dangerous part of town, where they met with a group of men in a creepy bar. I didn't really understand what was going on, I loved and trusted my parents, I never even considered the possibility that they might do something to hurt me.

One of the men gave me a glass of papaya juice, a fruit that I dislike and normally would've refused, but my parents prompted me to drink it. It must have been laced with something, because I passed out without even realizing it, and when I next woke up, I was locked up in a small, musty room.

I was scared and confused, I began screaming for my parents, begging them to come find me and help me. But I got no response, until one of the men I'd seen before showed up, snapping at me to keep quiet.

I was fully panicking at that point, so to shut me up, he explained the situation, sounding amused the whole time. These men, they were a ring of human traffickers. And my parents had sold me to them, because they couldn't stand to look at my deformed face anymore.

At first, I refused to accept it. But then days passed, and as all the pieces fell into place, I realized it had to be true. My own fucking parents sold me to human traffickers, I bet they probably explained my disappearance to my school and others who knew me by claiming I went missing or got kidnapped or something. I was in utter shock despair, which soon turned into seething rage and resentment.

So, I tried to escape, and very nearly succeeded as I used the skills I'd acquired through gymnastics to make the attempt. But they caught me before I could get away, plunging me further down into despair.

However, my escape attempt did have an effect...their leader was impressed by my agility, and having initially intended on selling me off to a circus as a freak, he made me an offer instead. An offer that would ensure that I wouldn't be sold off, so long as I work for them and do as they say.

It wasn't much of a choice, neither option sounded particularly appealing...but I accepted the offer, agreeing to work for them. After a few months of training me and teaching me everything I needed to know, they sent me out on jobs for them, where I proceeded to torture, kidnap and kill people for them. It made me sick...at first, anyway.

Because once I got used to it, I...I started to enjoy it.

I found myself developing a keen interest in weapons and tools of murder, from guns and blades to toxins and poisons, they began to fascinate and intrigue me. And eventually, I came to realize that I'd earned the trust of the traffickers, it wasn't long before they stopped treating me like an errand boy and began showing me respect, thanks to the results I was achieving.

I used that to my advantage.

During a feast to celebrate a particularly profitable sale of one of their human trafficked victims, I used a special poison I'd concocted to spice up the food and drinks served at the party, while ingesting the antidote to ensure that I'd be able to eat without being affected by the poison myself.

I killed them all, ate my fill and then took over their operation. But I didn't deal in human trafficking, it didn't really appeal to me...instead, I made use of their connections and wealth to make myself into a mercenary for hire.

Well, I use the term mercenary somewhat loosely...basically, I'd take on dangerous jobs for money, I accepted most of the jobs that came my way, so long as they weren't something I was apprehensive towards or just straight up uninterested in.

Mainly, I carried out assassinations, since those were the jobs I enjoyed the most. I did plenty of other stuff too, like stealing valuable artifacts or paintings and the like, spying on specific people for clients, stealing confidential information from business rivals of clients, stuff like that. And I had a policy of only interacting with clients and potential clients online, in order to minimize risk.

I'd go through their requests on this dark web website, then communicate with them to come to an agreement over the amount of money I'd be paid if I take on their request, after which I would have them transfer half the amount before the job and the remaining half afterwards.

I didn't accept requests where I'd have to target and kill kids or genuinely innocent people who haven't ever done anything wrong, but not because of some moral code or whatever, I honestly don't care about that. It just felt like, I don't know, that's a line I maybe shouldn't cross.

Anyway, a couple of years after I killed the trafficking ring, I'd made a pretty good reputation for myself in the underworld, I was rarely ever low on money thanks to a steady influx of well-paying jobs and before long, this way of life became natural to me. Not only was I used to it, but I genuinely enjoyed it.

There was no going back to a 'normal' life after that, nor did I have any desire to do so. My parents literally sold me off, so it's not like I could've just gone back home.

I had developed a strong sense of anger, hatred and resentment towards the world, those emotions constantly raged inside me ceaselessly...and my line of work happened to be the best way I had to let off steam.

But that's all over now. I really fucked it up. I should never have accepted this last job, taking it on was a big mistake, a fatal one.

The client, he's a wealthy businessman who's even fairly well known in the underworld for the less-than-legal methods and dirty tricks he's used to lift his company up to the top of its industry.

One of his staff members contacted me through the website on the dark web, revealing that the client wanted to meet me in person to discuss the request. I refused at first, but was then informed of the reward I'd be paid upon completion, more money that I'd earned on most of previous jobs combined.

So, I reluctantly accepted the meeting, and met the client at his house. He wanted me to assassinate a competitor, a fairly new company that had been steadily gaining market share in the industry through innovative ideas and revolutionary customer service.

A simple enough request that I'd normally accept without hesitation, but the client then said that he'll pay me only after the job is complete. I turned down the request and began to leave, before he doubled the amount.

I was still on the fence, before he pointed out that, since I know where he lives, I can just come kill him and steal all his wealth if he doesn't pay me. He justified his decision by saying it'd be a waste of money if he transferred half the amount before the job and I ended up failing, adding that it's just not a smart move as a businessman.

I was still pretty reluctant, but it was too much money to ignore, so in the end, I accepted. He also gave me that Cheshire cat statue to plant in the target's house...I thought that was weird, but hey, I've gotten much weirder requests from other clients in the past, and this wasn't the first time a client asked me to leave a sort of calling card behind, so I didn't think much of it beyond that.

Yeah...I really fucked up, didn't I?

I got too greedy and paid the ultimate price...but to be fair, he offered me enough money to live a comfortable, lavish life, like, five times over. More than enough to retire and just lounge about for the rest of my life.

Well, not that I would have retired either way...like I said, I really enjoyed my line of work.

I suppose it doesn't matter anymore...after all, that bastard clearly had no intention of paying me in the first place. It's no wonder he had no problem offering such an absurd sum of money, that piece of shit.

Hm?

I...I feel strange, like everything's starting to slowly but surely fade away. So, this is what death feels like, huh? Honestly...it's not so bad, kinda peaceful.

Not that I wanted to die, just saying. I wonder, if I got another chance at life, would I do things differently? Would I be a better person?

No...no, probably not.

If I do get another chance, I'd probably be a mercenary again. But I'd be more careful next time, I'd make sure not to get too greedy. Heh, what am I even talking about?

Reincarnation, yeah, right...I mean, I wasn't killed by being hit by a truck or dying of overwork at an office job, so I doubt I qualify for an isekai ticket.

Damn it, why'd I have to die like this? Could I have prevented it somehow? Maybe I should've just thrown that stupid Cheshire cat statue in through the window. Or maybe if I'd brought along that carbon fibre shield I'd had custom-made for me, I could've blocked the explosion.

Who am I kidding? That shield was huge, there's no way I could've brought it along with me on a covert mission. And a shield isn't exactly the type of weapon you'd normally bring along on a job like that in the first place.

I guess there's no point in this line of thinking, considering ways that I could've prevented being killed...I'm fucking dead, there's no changing that.

If I'd known I was going to die, I would've used more of the many weapons in my massive collection...or maybe not, most of my jobs require me to be as covert as possible, and a lot of my weapons aren't exactly suited for that, it just wouldn't have been practical.

How utterly disappointing...and I'd only just restocked my supply of ammo as well, I spent a massive amount of money on that, what a colossal waste. Oh, looks like I've almost fully faded away now, my consciousness is slipping away fast.

Damn it, if...if only there was a way to carry my entire arsenal of weapons without weighing myself down, then maybe...

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Huh? What the...? What's going on?

I let out a groan and slowly opened my eyes as I felt strong rays of sunlight hitting my eyelids, sitting up as I covered my eyes with my hand to block the sunlight. What the...?

Where am I? None of this looks familiar.

It looks like I'm in forest or something, I'm seated on the grassy ground, by a large tree with thick roots protruding out of the ground. I don't live anywhere near any forest or areas with heavy greenery, so where the actual hell am I?

Also, my body feels kinda strange too. Wait, did I survive that explosion somehow? No, that can't be, I'm pretty sure I felt a big shard of ceramic or something piercing into my spine, and I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head before everything went dark. I should be dead...so, uh, how am I still alive?

And why does my neck feel kinda stiff and sore?

Hm? Wait...my body, it looks...smaller. And my complexion is a bit different too, I think it's a bit lighter. Hold on...no way.

Have I...have I been reincarnated? Is this a dream? Or a hallucination in the throes of death?

Ow...nope, just pinched myself, and it hurt. There's something around the sides of my teeth too, something soft and-...huh? Wait, could it be...

I then slowly reached up to my face as I held my breath, touching the sides tentatively, my eyes widening in surprise. I...I have skin on the sides of my face, I have cheeks.

So this is what it feels like to have skin over these spots, huh? Hm, gotta say, it feels a bit weird, having gotten used to all my back teeth being exposed.

More importantly...I'm alive. This is...honestly kinda surreal. Reincarnation is real, I've reincarnated into a new body, with my previous memories intact. This is so wild.

Hold on, I'm feeling something weird by the right side of my neck. I think there's something inside my collar, like a bunch of lint or maybe a bug-...hm?

I can hear footsteps approaching from up ahead...someone's coming this way...

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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Jade:

"...-over here, it's just a little bit further!" Came a hysterical voice as the approaching footsteps grew closer...that voice sounds like a little girl.

And the other sets of footsteps, sounds like three other children and one adult...

"W-we were just playing around, I swear, we didn't mean to kill him!" A reply echoed out, sounding like a young boy.

Huh? Are they talking about me? I mean, I don't see anyone else around...

"Yeah, th-that's right, it was an accident!"

"No, it wasn't!" Snapped the little girl angrily, as I caught a glimpse of their shadows as they got closer.

They then came into sight, an elderly man along with a little girl and three young boys, they all looked like they were under ten years old.

Hm?

Woah, what the-...the girl has cat ears and a tail, and they don't look fake. Then, that means...I didn't just reincarnate, I reincarnated into a different world.

"Slow down, kids, my old legs aren't as nimble as they used to-...hm? He looks fine to me," Responded the old man in bemusement, as the kids around him stared at me with stunned looks on their faces.

"Uh...hi?" I said uncertainly, not sure what to make of this situation.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Jaedfern, I was worried when these four came running to me in a panic," Replied the old man, letting out a sigh of relief.

He looks like he's in his sixties or so, was on the short side with a hunched back, a bald head and wrinkly skin. He had a short, thick grey beard and dull blue eyes, with dark circles underneath them.

"Jade! You're alive! I'm so glad!" Exclaimed the cat girl with a look of relief, tears welling up in her eyes.

Jade? Is that my name? Kinda weird, but whatever. More importantly, what do I do?

Evidently, I haven't reincarnated into a new body, since I'm obviously not a baby, I've instead taken over an existing body, or something like that. Based on what I heard them say as they approached, I'm guessing those boys killed the original owner of this body, after which I found myself in it.

But it doesn't seem like I have any of his memories, I don't recognize any of these people, I don't even know what I currently look like, all I have is my own past memories.

Alright, then, that's fine...I think there's an easy solution to this...

"Who...are you people? Do I know you?" I inquired with a confused frown.

Instead of trying to bullshit my way into pretending to be whoever this kid was, I'll just play the amnesia card, that'll make things a lot easier for me.

"N-no, don't tell me you've lost your memories?" Gasped the little cat girl with a dismayed look on her face.

Her hair kinda looks like a leopard's fur pattern, dark yellow with black spots all over it, same with her ears and tail. A real cat girl, as I live and breathe...wow, never thought I'd get to see one, for obvious reasons.

"I...I don't know. I can't remember anything at all," I shook my head, putting on a dazed look on my face.

Based on the clothes they're all wearing, as well as the clothes on my new body, I think it's safe to say that this world is a hell of lot less developed than the modern society I lived in in my previous life. Or maybe these people are just really poor, which would make me poor too, I guess. Yeah, either way, I'm not too thrilled about this current situation.

But hey, at least I'm alive.

I then continued feigning amnesia, in an effort to get some information out of them. I don't like not knowing anything about my current situation, so I need more info.

I managed to find out that I'm an eight year old kid living in an orphanage, along with these other kids, and this old man who runs the place, plus some other adults who help him out with that.

And clearly, the previous owner of this body, 'Jaedfern' or whatever, lwas bullied by the other kids, though this cat girl seems to be on his-...or now, my...-side.

Apparently, 'Jaedfern' and the cat girl had been playing in these woods located behind the orphanage, when these other kids showed up and started bullying the pair.

One of them then shoved 'Jaedfern' when he tried to stand up for the cat girl, he fell back and the back of his neck slammed onto one of the jutted-out roots of the tree I woke up under, a loud crunch echoed out upon impact and he went limp.

Sounds like they broke his neck and killed him, that's probably why my neck felt a bit stiff when I came to.

The cat girl then ran away and called the old man, the boys chased after her and tried to explain that it was an accident. From the sound of it, technically yes, it was an accident. But it was still malicious intent on their part, accident or not.

And now, from their perspective, it's all well than ends well, since this body is still alive. They did actually kill the previous owner though, they really lucked out...well, maybe, I don't know if they'd actually have faced any real consequences, I still know too little about this world...

"How do you feel, Jaedfern? Any pain or discomfort?" The old man asked me...looks like that's all the information I'm getting right now.

I could ask more questions, I suppose, and I really want to since I don't like not knowing, but I better not push it for now. Don't want to rouse any suspicion, not when I still know next to nothing about this world.

For all I know, reincarnation could be a common occurrence in this world, and maybe it's seen as, like, I don't know, unholy or something, which could lead to me being executed or imprisoned or whatever.

Yeah, okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but it's best that I err on the side of caution.

"N-no, I don't feel any pain, but...my neck is kinda sore and I feel a bit dizzy," I replied with a slight groan, placing a hand on the side of my head as I briefly relaxed my legs so that my knees wobbled, making it appear as though I was dazed and unsteady.

"It might be for the best that you get some rest for the remainder of the day, go to your room and relax. Maybe a good sleep will help you recover your memories," He suggested as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

Yeah, I doubt that.

"Okay, I'll do that...some rest sounds good," I nodded, plastering a weak smile across my face.

I've learnt how to convincingly deceive people during some of the requests I got from clients in my previous life, some targets are more difficult to get to than others, so I have to get creative in order to reach them.

In such instances, I would often disguise myself as a janitor or caterer or waiter or whatever role would get me close to my target without arousing suspicion in a given setting. Those jobs were kind of a pain and a bit stressful, but they were also pretty fun and felt super rewarding when successfully completed.

Ah, good times...

Anyway, back to the present, the cat girl then helped me back to the orphanage, letting me lean on her shoulder. Pretty sure I should be able to walk just fine on my own, but this'll help really sell my act, so I'll let her help me.

As the orphanage building came into sight, I gave it a quick glance over...wow, what a dump.

The walls were dirty, covered in cracks and chipped spots, the windows were stained brown with dirt, and I could see rats scuttling about through the overgrown grass surrounding the building.

Well, this is unpleasant...I really don't want to live here. But going off on my own while in an eight year old body would be a bad idea, so I guess I have no choice but to put up with it for now...

She then helped me inside the building, which wasn't much better than the outside. There were wooden chairs and tables that were close to rotting, there were several holes across the ceiling, under which there were deep, dirty stains on the floor caused by rainwater.

And there was a slight unpleasant odor in the place as well, a dank, musty smell. I didn't see any drainage pipes or anything outside, so it looks like plumbing doesn't exist in this world. Fuck...it hasn't even been half an hour and I miss my old world already.

The cat girl then led me to a row of doors, before opening one and helping me inside. It was small, cramped room with two rusty, rickety old bunk beds by either wall to the left and right, and a window at the back wall, the glass smudged heavily with dirt and grime.

"Okay, you should get some rest in here, Jade. I'll come check on you later, okay?" She remarked with a smile, as I sat on one of the beds, grimacing as a few puffs of dust billowed out of the mattress.

These mattresses sure are pungent, covered in yellowish brown sweat stains, and with no bedsheets...at least, I hope it's just sweat stains. The pillows were heavily stained with sweat too, with no pillowcases to cover them.

This is so fucking gross, damn it...I want my fluffy goose feather-stuffed pillow, my king-size bouncy mattress and my soft, thick quilt!

Or at the very least, some sleeping pills, because there's no way I'm gonna be able to fall asleep on this goddamn petri dish of a bed.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," I replied with a smile, bottling in my complaints.

There's nothing I can do about it, so might as well accept it. But there is something I can do regarding another matter...this small, uncomfortable lump I'm feeling inside my collar, by the right side of my neck.

I noticed it earlier, but kinda forgot about it after being distracted by the old man and those kids showing up. It must be a bug or something, I felt it moving around a bit earlier...it hasn't bitten me or anything yet, but I'm still gonna kill it.

I raised my hand with my palm open and smacked the spot with the lump...before jumping slightly as a faint, startled cry of alarm rang out from there.

What the hell...!?

Suddenly, something swiftly flew out of my collar, a blur of black and pink coming into sight before stopping in front of me, hovering in front of my face...a bug?

Wait, no...

"Ow, that really hurt...I mean, it doesn't do anything to me, but still! So not cool, you stupid shithead!"

The fuck? It spoke.

It looks like a tiny woman, just a couple of inches long, with black feathered wings and a black, glowing halo above her head. She had long, light pink hair tied up in a ponytail, light blue eyes, and was glaring at me with an annoyed look on her face.

What the hell am I looking at, what is this thing?

"Uh...are you, like, a fairy or something?" I inquired in bemusement, as she suddenly grew a bit, to about five inches long.

"Huh? What, are you fucking blind or something, dumbass? Or maybe you're just retarded. See these wings? And more importantly, this halo? I'm obviously an Angel, jackass. Well, now a Fallen Angel, to be specific, but same difference!" She huffed indignantly, before I swung my palm across and swatted her, sending her flying across the room and hitting the wall with a quiet smack, "Ow! What the fuck was that for?"

Huh, that felt weird, the impact on my palm felt kinda hollow, as if I just slapped the air instead of anything solid. Also, for allegedly being an Angel, she's got a pretty foul mouth...

"If you're gonna insult me, then of course I'm gonna retaliate, you annoying little insect," I shrugged dryly.

"Insec-...!?" She began with an incredulous look in her face, before cutting herself off and clearing her throat as she muttered, "Okay, calm down...he's just a mortal who's barely two and a half decades old, and you're a Divine Being who's existed for several millenia. Don't let him get to you..."

"Talking to yourself, insect?" I taunted with a raised eyebrow.

"Tch, you're so rude. But letting myself fall for your provocations would be beneath me, so say whatever you want. Well, whatever, I suppose it is kinda my fault."

"Excuse me?" I frowned suspiciously.

"Hm...I suppose I might as well get it out in the open. My name is Arkiela, and like I mentioned, I'm an Angel, more recently a Fallen Angel. And I ended up as a Fallen Angel because I interfered with the living world and fucked with a human's life...namely, you. In my defense though...I was so goddamn bored, you have no idea how boring the Divine Realm is if you follow all the rules!" She replied with a strained sigh.

Hold on, what?

"I'm sorry, you fucked with my life? How? What did you do?" I growled, standing up and walking towards her with a murderous glare as my mind began racing, all my worst memories flashing through my head and seriously pissing me off.

"H-hey, now, let's stay calm, you're gonna want to hear everything I have to say, for your own sake. So, until I'm done, don't do anything rash," She grinned nervously as I approached her, before clearing her throat and adding, "You see, Angels are forbidden from influencing or interfering in the living world, we're just supposed to be observers who make judgements when the mortals we're assigned to observe die, we're in charge of the rebirth and reincarnation aspect of the cycle of life and death.

Breaking the rules and meddling in mortal worlds are a strict taboo, but I kinda sorta let my boredom get the better of me. Of course, if I did anything too obvious, I would've gotten caught and punished, so I tried to be subtle. Specifically, I used my powers to add fuel to certain people's dark impulses and intrusive thoughts, bringing those thoughts to the forefront of their minds and making it next to impossible for them to ignore those thoughts."

"Wait, you don't mean...?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I messed with your parents' intrusive thoughts until those thoughts became prominent parts of their mindsets. Let me be clear though...I can't add emotions in people that don't already exist within them. For instance, if someone is genuinely incapable of murder, I can't magically turn them into a murderer, that impulse needs to already exist within them, which I can then exploid and feed.

Of course, even if an impulse does exist within a person, there's no surefire guarantee that I can exploit that impulse and bring it to the forefront of their minds. A person with a strong enough will can resist my attempts to corrupt them, though very, VERY few mortals are actually capable of that. And unfortunately for you, your parents weren't such people. Deep down, both of them wished they had a 'normal' child, and hated your deformities.

It was shockingly easy to amplify those thoughts, corrupting a parent's perception of their own child is usually very difficult, except in cases of deadbeats and the like, of course. I also manipulated more people around you after you were sold off, like the human traffickers, I'm the reason why their leader ultimately decided to recruit you instead of selling you off, so you're welcome for that.

I also manipulated some of your clients and other associates and stuff, to make things more entertaining for me. Oh, but I didn't do anything with that last client of yours, the one who got you killed. That guy was a huge piece of shit to begin with, I didn't have to do anything to-...ow!" She informed me, chuckling as she recalled what happened before yelping as I swatted her again, "Stop doing that, shithead!"

"No, I don't think I will. So, are you done? Because if so, I'd like to get to strangling the living shit out of you, among other things," I replied with a calm, icily murderous smirk, reaching out towards her.

"W-wait, I'm not done, I haven't even gotten to the important part yet!" She blurted out in alarm.

Hm...I suppose I might as well get the full story. I am lacking in information, she might have the answers I need. I can always kill her afterwards...

"Alright, fine, I suppose I have no reason to rush. Tell me, did you ever control my impulses or intrusive thoughts?" I inquired as I narrowed my gaze at her.

"Yes, but only a little bit. Specifically, when you were locked up by those human traffickers, I stoked your rage and hatred. I didn't really need to lift a finger after that though...you kinda just embraced your darkest impulses and intrusive thoughts on your own. You were going in the exact direction I wanted you to, I didn't even have to do anything after the initial prodding.

Heck, the only reason why I later manipulated some of your clients and associates was because I was bored by how smoothly everything was going, it was as if you snatched the controller out of my hands and just put the whole thing on autoplay, it was still entertaining, but too predictable for my liking. And I didn't do anything drastic, just nudged a couple of your clients to the mindset of not paying you, minor stuff like that.

Honestly, the only thing I played a genuinely significant part in was getting your parents to sell you off. Everything after that was mostly you, inadvertently following my lead without ever realizing it. Anyway, even though I thought I was being subtle about it, I still got caught by my superiors, I guess I overdid it.

I was then banished to this backwater world along with you, and I'll be stuck her for the duration of your lifespan, with the added kick in the balls with the fact that most of my Divine power is sealed away. Now, then, for the most important part, and why you can't kill me...our lives are currently interlocked. Or, to put it simply, if you die of anything other than old age, I die too. And it goes both ways...if I die, you die," She informed me.

Okay, uh...that was quite the info dump. Yeah, there's a whole lot to unpack there and wrap my mind around. Alright, then, for right now, I'll set aside the past life stuff and focus on the last part...

"Hold on, why would that work both ways? You dying if I die makes enough sense, I suppose, considering that you're being punished. But why the hell would I die if you die? Hm, you know what? I've got the feeling that you only said that because you don't want me to kill you right here and now," I stated coldly.

"Sure, maybe so...but are you willing to take the risk? You see, under any normal circumstances, killing me is next to impossible, even in my current weakened state. I'm not a mortal being, after all. But by design, you've been made an exception...as things are now, you could kill me, and pretty easily at that. So, go ahead and call my bluff," She dared me with a smirk.

Tch...you little bitch. I'm, like, ninety percent sure that she is, in fact, bluffing about this, there's a hint of nervousness in her eyes. But that remaining ten percent...it's not a risk worth taking.

Well played, you damned insect.

"Fucking bitch. Alright, you win...if that's how it is, then I suppose there's no point in being at odds with you. If our lives really are interlocked or whatever, then it's in my best interest to make sure you don't die. I don't like it, but I guess I can tolerate your presence around me. You're a real bitch, but I suppose you are easy on the eyes, so whatever. Although, if you try to fuck with me again, I swear, I'll-..."

"Oh, no need to worry about that. First off, like I said before, most of my Divine Magic is mostly gone, so I can't use the immense, omnipotent powers I possessed when I was in the Divine Realm. That aside, I need you alive, I'm not stupid enough to screw things up for you when my own life is tied to your fate. Ugh, this sucks, I feel like a nun who's been stripped naked without my Divinity. Hm, but it looks like I can use a rare type of Magic in this world called Destruction Magic, so I guess it could be worse," She sighed wistfully.

"Oh? Then, this really is a world with Magic? Seeing that cat girl made me think it might be, but I didn't want to get my hopes up."

"Yeah, this is a world of Magic and Monsters and shit like that. I don't know too much about this particular world, since there are more interesting worlds out there. But I know enough about the Magic System and the basic structure of this world. Hm...there are a couple of things that are a bit strange though.

First of all, the fact that you reincarnated into this world to begin with...there have hardly been any people from your world who have been reincarnated in this world. The main reason being that the Magic in this world has fairly low compatibility with souls from your world, as they have grown less and less spiritual in the modern era, with a lot of religions slowly dying out and atheism rising. There are some exceptions, of course, but that's the case for the majority.

I guess that makes you an exception...which is weird, because you were definitely not a religious person at all.

The second thing that I find strange is your reincarnation itself...you didn't start over as a baby, your soul instead took over a vacant body. That's not totally unheard of, but it's not exactly normal, either. Well, to be fair, it is rare for an Angel to interfere in the living world, so this was already an unusual case to begin with.

And third is the fact that you didn't meet God and get to choose your abilities before reincarnating, which is practically unheard of. Unless you're-...n-no, that can't be the case. At least, I hope not. Oh, shit, I really fucking hope not.

Anyway, uh...you were probably reincarnated with your memories intact as a sort of consolation, to make up for your life coming to an unnatural end as a result of an Angel's, my, interference. You've probably been given some OP Magic as well, along with a Magic System interface to help you understand and use your Magic," She explained, as I listened in fascination.

This is pretty useful, I'm glad I didn't kill her right away. At the very least, I suppose I can make some use of her as an information bank, so there is some merit to keeping her around, unfortunately...

"How does the Magic here work, anyway?" I inquired curiously.

"Well, there are three main elements to the Magic System of this world. A person's Magic Class, their Skills and their Mana Pool. Their Magic Class is the core of their abilities, Skills are additional abilities, some active and some passive, and of which every person possesses three.

And Mana Pool is pretty self-explanatory, it's the quantity of Mana a person possesses, their Magical energy. There's also Mystic Pressure and Mystic Transcension, but we can get to those later. For right now, what do you say we get to seeing what abilities you were bestowed with?" She suggested with a look of intrigue, but also a hint of dread in her eyes.

"Yeah, sure, I suppose I'm pretty curious about that too. So, uh...how do I bring up the interface thing you mentioned?" I asked her uncertainly.

Hm? Wait, I see something in the bottom left corner of my vision. It's barely noticeable, but it becomes more visible when I focus on it...it looks like a small digital display, with two lines of text that read...

'Level: 1'

'EXP to Unlock Lv 2: 0/125'

Huh, it's like a video game or something.

"Try saying 'open display'."

"If you say so. Alright, here goes...[Open Display]," I remarked, feeling a strange sensation as I chanted the words, before a display opened up in front of me, a blue screen with rows of information on it...ah, I think it's like a more detailed version of the small display in the corner of my vision.

Huh? Wait, this is...

"Wh-what the hell is this!? No, really, what the actual fucking hell!? No Magic Class, and a Mana Pool of zero!? ZERO!? And...only the one Skill, 'Mercenary's Item Box'.

Hah...hahahahaha! Ohh, what the fuck!? Item Box is one of the most basic and common Skills in this world. Well, shit...it looks like I'm fucked, you're gonna die in no time with this weak-ass shit, which means I'm gonna die too! I don't want to fucking die like some lowly mortal!" She snapped in dismay, as she erupted into hysterics and flew around the room in a panic.

Do all Angels have such foul mouths? Though, I'm not gonna lie, this is pretty disappointing. I thought I'd be able to cast some cool Spells and shit, but I've got no Magic from the looks of it. Oh, well...if that's the hand I've been dealt, I might as well accept it. I doubt whining about it will change anything.

At least I have one Magic ability, might as well learn all that I can about it and figure out how to best utilize it, right?

"Let's see here...huh, it can be leveled up," I noticed in fascination, snapping her out of her meltdown.

"Huh? Leveling up isn't a thing in this world though," She responded in surprise, before letting out a sigh and slumping her shoulders as she added, "Not that it matters...there's no way you can survive in this world with nothing but a stupid Item Box Skill.

There's no denying it, I was really worried that this might be the case, and it looks like it's just been confirmed...you weren't reincarnated here as a way to make up for how I affected your life, this isn't a reward. No, you were sent here as punishment. I had a friend in Divine Realm, another Angel, who did the same thing I did, interfering with the living world.

I don't know the details, I wasn't fully paying attention when she talked about it to me, but she once mentioned something about enabling a serial killer to make him more successful. She wasn't subtle about it though, she did stuff like making evidence against him vanish like it never existed and stuff, so she was caught pretty quickly.

As a result, she was banished to this world a few centuries ago, along with the human she helped. They were both sent here as punishment, and since she never returned to the Divine Realm, it's safe to say that both she and that human died, I don't really know exactly what happened though. Shit, that's probably gonna be our fate in this world too! I mean, seriously, if all you've got is Item Box, we're totally fucked here!"

Okay, that's not very encouraging. So, after the shit I went through in my previous life, I'm being punished? Nah, fuck that...I'll survive in this world, no matter what it takes. And not just survive, I'm gonna fucking thrive.

"You're a real downer, aren't you, you little bitch? I mean, maybe this isn't just a basic Item Box Skill, it says 'Mercenary's Item Box', so maybe there's more to it? There's this row with 'EXP:' in it, though the value is 0. Okay, so I guess that means I can level up this Mercenary's Item Box Skill by gaining EXP. Hm, it doesn't say how leveling up will affect the Skill though, or even how to level up. There's a 'Storage' tab, let's see here...huh? Hey, check this out...it says I have twenty storage slots, and they're all occupied," I remarked, reading through the description.

"We're totally screwed here, damn it. I swear, if I ever make it back to the Divine Realm, I'm gonna fucking...," She muttered to herself as she flew around the room in circles.

Oh, she's not listening to me anymore, she's too worked up about the fact that we're both probably gonna die. Whatever, she can freak out all she wants, I need to stay calm and assess my situation.

For starters, I'll learn everything I can about this Skill of mine. Alright, the slots are numbered, and I open one by saying 'Open Slot N', with N being the corresponding number. Let's test it out...

"[Open Slot 01]," I chanted, my eyes widening as a square portal opened up in front of me...okay, basic ability or not, this is pretty fucking cool.

And what a strange feeling this is...I think I can widen or shrink the size of the portal at will. Now, then, let's see what's inside.

I reached inside the portal with a sense of anticipation, a slight clatter echoing out as I touched something familiar. Unable to resist my curiosity, I poked my head in through the portal, finding myself inside a large, cubic space.

And inside it...were several of my guns. Holy shit...fuck, yes!

"Hey, question for you, insect bitch...how advanced are the weapons in this world?"

"Huh? Not very, it's pretty damn medieval, and pretty much everyone uses Magic when it comes to violence, so there's little drive to develop more advanced weap-...is that a gun?" She trailed off in bewilderment as I exited the portal and held up a revolver.

"All twenty slots of this Item Box Skill are occupied, I...I think all my old weapons have been stored inside them. Some of my guns are in this one...[Close Slot 01]. [Open Slot 02]...yes! This one's got some of my ammo stash stored in it!" I exclaimed gleefully.

"Okay, I guess this isn't that bad, guns should be pretty damn effective in this world. Oh, except for the fact that they'll be useless once you run out of ammo," She pointed out dryly.

Tch...I may not be able to kill her, but I'm sure there are other ways in which I can get back at her.

"You know, you're a real bi-...," I began, before trailing off as I heard footsteps approaching, quickly tossing my revolver into the portal I'd opened and chanting swiftly and quietly to close it up.

Huh? Why isn't the Angel bitch hiding!?

"Hey, Jade? Oh, you're awake...you should really get some rest," Said the cat girl with a smile, as she stepped inside with a jug and basket with a few fruits, "Here, I brought you some water and something to eat."

Hm? She just walked right past Arkiela but didn't even seem to notice her. Can she not see her?

"Thank you, I'm grateful," I replied in a friendly tone, being careful not to sound overly familiar...I'm supposed to have amnesia, after all.

"You're talking a bit differently to how you did before, I guess you really don't remember anything, huh...w-well, anyway, I'll let you get some rest. Hope you feel better," She responded, as she placed the jug and basket down and headed back out.

"Why didn't she...?" I trailed off, glancing at Arkiela as the cat girl closed the door.

"Oh, you're the only one who can perceive me in my current state. I can make my presence perciveable to others if I want to, but since that puts me at risk, I have no reason to do so. As far as anyone else is concerned, I don't exist to them as I am now. I might as well be air, you're the only one who can see and touch me, it's a part of my punishment. I-...woah!" She exclaimed in alarm, as I suddenly snatched her out of the air and lay down on the dirty mattress and pillow, holding her over my head and staring up at her as she tried to wriggle free of my grasp.

"Hm, good to know, very good to know. Alright, time for game plan here...I have my guns and plenty of ammo, but like you correctly, and annoyingly, pointed out, my ammo won't last forever, and I certainly won't be able to get more ammo in a world like this one. I've got enough to last me for quite a while, but even if I'm super conservative about it, I'll probably run out in maybe three or four years.

No, it's too early to estimate that yet, I won't know for sure until I see exactly what this world's Magic is capable of, but I'll go ahead with the assumption that I'm at a significant disadvantage due to my lack of any Magic, which may mean I can't afford to be too conservative with my guns. With that in mind...I need to train my new body, I have to be as fast and agile as possible.

I should be able to achieve that by training in the same way I did in my previous life with gymnastics. I also dabbled in swordplay and stuff, and my blade weapons are probably in my Item Box as well, I should train with those, save my guns as a last resort. Granted, I never mastered swordplay, it was more of a hobby since guns are way more practical on assassination jobs, but still, I think I have enough of a grasp on the basic techniques of sword fighting techniques to develop a decent enough level of mastery if I really work at it.

This body feels pretty weak and frail, not exactly surprising considering that it grew up in this shithole of an orphanage. Come to think of it, those other kids looked pretty skinny too. That said, I think I'll stay here for a while, at least until I learn more about this world. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. It'll be a tough grind to build up such a weak body from scratch, but I don't exactly have a choice, now, do I? Okay, it's settled, my game plan for the next few years is set," I surmised with a sense of satisfaction.

"Yeah, that's great and all, shithead...but could you please release me now?" She frowned, continuing to try and wriggle out of my grasp.

"Oh, I don't think so. See, I might've accepted your presence around me, but that's only because I didn't have a choice, and also because you could be useful to me. I may not be able to risk killing you, but that said...I can still let off a bit of steam," I smirked menacingly, raising my other hand towards her, holding the tip of my index finger with my thumb...before flicking it out and smacking my fingernail against her boobs.

"Ow! Hey!" She protested in alarm, before yelping as I flicked her again.

"Mm, that's a nice jiggle. I've just found another use for you, you make for a pretty good stress toy. By the way, you grew a bit in size when you first flew out of my collar. How big can you grow? And can you only grow yourself proportionally, or can you expand specific parts of your body? Like, for example, your boobs?" I inquired curiously, flicking her chest once more.

"S-stop that! I am an Angel, damn it, a Divine Being! A mere mortal like you can't just-...owww, c-cut that out!"

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Arkiela:

"Should you really be taking such a risk, shithead? I mean, isn't it way too soon?" Frowned Arkiela, hovering over my right shoulder.

"Zip it, bitch. Don't tell me what to do," I responded dryly as I swatted her away with the back of my hand.

"Grr, stop treating me like a bug, you fucking dickhead!"

"No."

"Why, you little...!"

Five years have passed since I reincarnated in this world. My new body is now thirteen years old, I've managed to develop and build it up nicely over the last five years or so, my progress in that regard has been quite steady.

I'm still a long way from the level I was at in my previous life, but that can't be helped, considering that this body is still young and growing, only recently having started to go through puberty.

I've found out that my full name is Jaedfern Meraled, I'm about average height for my current age, with medium-length straight black hair that has a couple of green locks of hair down the middle and falling over my forehead, and I've got bright green eyes and a fair complexion.

The current year in this world is 1026, the date is the 17th of October. My new body's birthday is apparently the 13th of October, 1013, which is 10/13/1013 if you write your dates the wrong way, so that's a cool little detail. It also means that I turned thirteen just about four days ago.

I've spent the last five years working with a daily routine, I go off into the woods and train in secret every chance I get, with a focus on sharpening my speed, agility and acrobatic skills, along with training with my weapons besides my guns, making sure I'm wielding them as best I can.

I've also avoided interacting too much with the people in the orphanage, though for no particular reason, honestly. I just don't feel like wasting time with socialing or whatever, I've got more important things to worry about.

And besides, there's no sense in getting too close to people, I can't trust anyone but myself. I mean, my own parents literally sold me off in my previous life, the people I trusted the most betrayed me. And sure, the little bitch hovering around me played a part in that, but still, in the end, they were the ones who made the final decision with that.

Also, I don't plan on staying in that orphanage for much longer. For starters, the living conditions are a straight up violation, it would've been shut down ages ago if a health department existed in this world. The food is terrible, I've been making do by foraging for fruits and nuts, as well as hunting birds.

Kids get sick and die all the time in the orphanage, I've gotten sick a few times too, but Arkiela is capable of healing me. It's pretty convenient, she'll do it without a fuss since she needs me to stay alive, it's like I've got free healthcare in a world where the concept of healthcare doesn't even exist.

The orphanage is located in a small, poor town called Bael Town, it's a rundown dump of a place with a pretty atrociously high crime rate. And I have to say, getting used to this medieval, backwater world is fucking rough after being accustomed to modern society and technology.

This world is pretty messed up...at least, the part of it where I am is, I've managed to gather a decent amount of information about this part of the world over the last few years.

Specifically, I'm on an isolated island continent, called Acheron Island. It's a large body of land in the middle of the ocean that was discovered over one thousand years ago, a place teeming with ferocious Monsters, and was used as a dumping ground for the world's worst criminals by the rest of this world.

In other words, it's basically Isekai Australia.

Also, today's date that I mentioned earlier, it's based on a calendar that was established on the island. The current year is 1026, and it was exactly that many years ago that the island was first discovered.

In other words, Acheron Island follows a different calendar to the rest of the world. Which doesn't really matter, since the island is completely cut off from the rest of the world in the present era.

While it was used as a dumping ground for criminals for a few centuries after being discovered, things changed a little over five hundred years ago. Vicious Monsters and powerful, heavy storms began appearing in the seas around the island continent, making it next to impossible for anyone to enter or leave the island.

When that happened, for the next few decades, there was utter mayhem on the island, the criminals massacred and violated each other while also being feasted upon by the Monsters. I don't know the specific details though, they didn't exactly keep thorough historical records, at least not anywhere that's accessible to a poverty-stricken orphan.

Around four hundred and fifty years ago, a group of individuals fed up with the state of the island banded together to establish peace and order on the island. A goal that they ultimately achieved about four hundred years ago.

There are four races on the island, or seven, depending on who you ask. I'll elaborate on that in a bit. The first are the Sapiens, who resemble the humans of my old world, and that's also the race that I am, or at least that my new body is. The second are the Demons, they're also considered to be the most powerful race on the island.

Next, there's the Elves, a powerful and long-lived race, with average lifespans of upto around five centuries. And finally, there's the Animoids, people who possess some animal-like features, like the cat girl in the orphanage.

However, while some people consider all Animoids to be one single race, others count them as four separate races.

There's the Felinoids, cat people who have cat ears and tails, along with high levels of agility and strong instincts. Then there's the Kaninoids, people with dog-like features. Next, there's the Oryctoloids, people with rabbit-like features, and finally, the Cervidoids, people with deer-like features.

Four hundred years ago, when peace was finally established on this isolated island, it was accomplished by splitting each of the four races, counting the Animoid races as one, into their own territories and having them establish their own nations.

A fifth nation was them established at the center of the island, with the primary purpose of maintaining peace between the other four nations.

To the north is the Sapien nation of Septen, where the town I currently live in is located. To the south is the Demon nation of Meridion, then there's the Elven nation to the east, Orien, and the Animoid nation to the west, Occiden.

And finally, the nation in the center of the island, Centralis, where a mix of the various races reside. Of course, it's not like each race is isolated in their own nation, there are small populations of the other races in each nation at this point...well, except for the Demon nation Meridion, the current Demon King who rules over it established a strict isolationist policy when he came into power, they haven't interacted with any of the other nations in decades.

Oh, and in case you're wondering why the race I am is called Sapiens instead of humans, well...that's because all the races I mentioned fall under the category of Human. In other words, Sapiens, Demons, Elves, Felinoids, Kaninoids, Oryctoids and Cervidoids, they're all just subcategories of 'Human' in this world.

Basically, all intelligent races fall under the category of Human, and the so-called Demons in this world are just another race, not supernatural beings or the opposite of Divine Beings like Arkiela. In fact, they're technically mortal since, even though they don't age once they reach their prime or die of natural causes, they can be killed.

Then there's the Monsters...I've still never actually seen a feral one up close, though there are some species of Monsters that can be domesticated, I've seen a few of those, like Cockatrices, which are giant chickens, and Caprabovines, which are a sort of cross between cows and goats.

There are little to no normal animals here on Acheron Island, apparently they were hunted down by the Monsters centuries ago. There are still normal insects, fish and the occasional birds, but not much else beyond that.

Well, as I understand it, Monsters are just animals with unusual powers or abilities, there's nothing particularly special about them aside from that, at least not as far as I know.

Anyway, that about sums up the summarized history and basic current structure of the island continent I'm on. I'll gradually get into the details later, this has become quite the info dump already, so I'll leave it at that for now.

Getting back to what I'm currently doing, I was roaming the town for the first time. I haven't ventured too far outside the orphanage before today, deciding to play it safe as much as possible until I'd developed this weak body a bit and gained more information about this place.

But I've had enough of playing it safe now...I've still got a lot of room for improvement, but I can move around quite nimbly and quickly at this point, so I figured it was about time I take my new body for a test drive. Also, because I'm bored. But, uh, mainly because of the first part.

It was currently sometime around the middle of the night, so it shouldn't be too hard to find what I'm looking for. Telling time in this world is a real pain since clocks don't exist, you tell time based on the position of the moons.

Yeah, plural. Two, to be specific, one large and one small.

The two moons are clearly visible during the day, not just at night. The smaller one orbits the larger one, and based on its position, you can tell what time it is. Well, not that I can read it, at least not with much of any accuracy.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, since it's nice and dark as there's no street lights or anything, finding a fitting target to test my skills out on should be pretty easy. But I can't be too reckless...I've strengthened and trained this body to a pretty decent level, but that's no reason to be cocky.

I'm confident, sure, but not cocky.

I'd be even more confident if I were planning to use my guns, but I have to use them sparingly or I'll run out of ammo in no time. I have a whole lot of bullets stored up, but I can't use them too carelessly.

Hm? Well, now, what do we have here?

"Okay...yeah, these'll do nicely," I chuckled quietly to myself, peering down from the roof of a building into an alley below, where a group of three men had cornered a woman.

"P-please, leave me alone..."

"Come on, beautiful, there'sh no need to be shcared, jusht relaksh and let ush show you a good time."

"Mm, yeah, you'll be schreaming with pleasure by the time we're done with you."

Based on their expressions and words, it's pretty obvious what they're after. They look pretty damn drunk too, so this should be easy.

"Heh, this'll be good...it's too bad popcorn doesn't exist in this world. This'll be the first time I see you in action from up close," Smirked Arkiela with a gleam in her eyes, as the woman began resisting and trying to get away from the men.

Is she really an Angel?

"Wait...you had popcorn in the Divine Realm?" I responded in bemusement.

"Oh, we had everything up there. Which is exactly what made it so boring," She sighed in reply, before adding as she glanced back down into the alley, "Hey, they just stabbed her. Shouldn't you do something?"

"Huh? Didn't see that coming, though they were going a different route," I mused in surprise.

"Hey, what d'you do that for!? What a washte!"

"Not my fault, the damned bitsch tried to kick me in the nutsh!"

"Ugh, these guys are the worst," I sighed, as the woman collapsed onto the ground and bled out, before I added with a smirk, "And that's exactly what makes them the perfect targets. Now, then, [Open Slot 06]."

"Yeah, really wishing I had that popcorn right about now," Sighed Arkiela wistfully, as I opened one of my Item Box slots and took out a long, curved dagger.

This particular dagger was the very first weapon I bought with my own money after the trafficking ring recruited me into their ranks...so it'll be pretty fitting to use it to complete my very first kills in this world. Alright, here I go...

I then leapt off the rooftop swiftly and silently, plunging down into the alley before slamming my feet onto one of the men's shoulders as I closed in on him from above, eliciting a startled cry for him before I swiftly jammed my dagger into the top of his head, giving it a sharp twist and killing him instantly.

"Who the hell are-...!?" One of the other two began to snap in alarm, before trailing off as I swiftly leapt straight towards him off the shoulders of the one I killed as his corpse began to collapse, yanking the dagger out of his head.

He began to raise a hand in my direction in clumsy desperation, before I swiftly whipped my arm across, about an inch of the tip of the blade slicing through his neck before he could do anything. He let out an agonized, wheezing gasp as his neck split open and blood gushed out.

He stumbled back in excruciation while clutching his neck, tearing welling up in his eyes as he collapsed onto the ground and writhed around in despairing pain.

"And then there was one," I smirked as I turned my gaze towards the last one, who began to try and run away in alarm before tripping over his own feet and collapsing onto the ground, as I strolled towards him while spinning my dagger around on my finger by the ring at the base of the handle.

I found myself humming as a sense of nostalgic euphoria washed over me...I haven't killed anyone in five whole years, this is the fucking best! I missed this so much...

"N-no, get away! Stay away from me, I-I'm warning you!" He exclaimed in fear as he raised a hand towards me, the look of terror in his eyes giving me a rush as he stuttered, "T-take this, [Fire Arrow]!"

I swiftly shifted my body across as he fired out a narrow projectile of flames at me, which whizzed past my left shoulder and hit the back wall of the alley, dissipating following the impact, a burn mark left on the wall.

"Huh, you're so scared that you stopped slurring, isn't biology fascinating? And as for that attack you just shot at me...good try," I remarked dryly, spinning my dagger more rapidly before letting it fly off my finger.

It flew forward with a rapid spin and struck the man in the middle of his forehead, piercing through as he began to charge up another attack. His arm went limp and collapsed, as his upper body slumped forward and fell over.

His head hit the ground with a thud as the dagger got pushed deeper into his head upon impact, his ass pointing up at the sky.

I walked over towards him and kicked his left side, knocking his body over onto its back before I reached down and yanked the dagger out of his head, before swinging it across to get the blood off it. What a blast...and talk about easy. I mean, I know they were super drunk, but still.

"H-help me...," The woman the men had stabbed gasped weakly, shakily reaching her arm out towards me.

"Nah, I'm good," I responded with a shrug, walking away indifferently.

I have nothing to gain from helping her...and even if I did, there wouldn't be any point. With the amount of blood she's already lost and at the rate at which she's continuing to lose blood, she'll be dead within a couple of minutes.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, that was the best entertainment I've had since being banished to this world, which isn't saying much, but still," Said Arkiela, as she flew down towards me.

"I wonder, when was the last time before this that I killed someone without using a gun? It's a different kind of rush to kill someone with a blade, to feel the cold metal piercing through flesh and bone...and as much as I fucking love guns, they can feel sort of indirect and too easy at times," I replied as I let out a satisfied sigh.

"You last killed someone with a blade about three years before you died, more or less."

Oh, right, she was spying on me for most of my previous life for her own entertainment, the damned bitch.

"Cool."

"By the way, while that was a pretty impressive performance, it could've been better...before you killed the last guy, you should've licked the blade with, like, a sadistic look on your face, that would've scared him even more!" She suggested with an amused laugh.

"What, are you kidding me? No way, that's so fucking gross. I don't know what kind of diseases are flowing through these lowlives' bloodstreams, I don't want to end up getting AIDs or something," I pointed out with a shudder.

"Hm, fair point, though I can heal any illness you contract, so no need to hold back. Anyway, now what? Going back to the orphanage?" She asked me.

"Huh? No, of course not. The night is still young, isn't it? It'd be a waste to go back now," I responded incredulously, before glancing down as some papers suddenly hit my leg with a crinkly rustle, blown in by the wind, "Maybe I am a bit rusty. I didn't even notice this until it hit me."

Looks like a newspaper. I reached down and picked it up, about to crumple it up and toss it away, before pausing as the headline on the front page caught my eye.

"What is it?" Inquired Arkiela, as I skimmed through the article.

"Oh, just a report of a streak of serial murders and rapes that've been occurring in small towns across the nation of Septen. Hm...too bad there's no bounty offered for killing or capturing the culprits, I could've made some money by hunting them down. And considering that I have absolutely no money to my name whatsoever right now, that would've been great," I sighed wistfully, as I crumpled up the paper into a ball and tossed it away...

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Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!