*CHLAK*

  A 35-year-old man enters his lone apartment after a long day of work. He’s worked double shift, from night to day. Nobody greets his arrival, as he has lived all alone for years now in this small apartment. The apartment is merely 4x4m with a small bed and a small bathroom. There is very minimal furniture inside this room.

  The man immediately takes off all of his clothes and enters his bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out and was wearing casual clothing. It is currently only three in the afternoon, and he’s ready to end the day today.

  *YAWN*

  The man yawns so hard that his head is leaning far back.

  “(Damn, didn’t even have anymore energy to go to a brothel for how exhausting it was to take double shifts! Better save my stamina for tomorrow.)”

  The man walks, approaching his bed, and is ready to end the day with a peaceful sleep.

  “Sorry for intruding!”

  *!!*

  The man was shaken the moment he heard someone talking from behind. He recognized the voice as feminine, but he didn’t know who this voice belonged to at all. He quickly turns around in fear.

  He finally sees the owner of the voice. It was a young woman in her 20s. Tall and busty with long dark blue hair and a pair of dark blue eyes, wearing an all-black butler outfit.

  The man falls on his butt onto the bed.

  “W-WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY APARTMENT?”

  The woman was me. I have arrived to exact my revenge on everyone who raided my house and killed my parents.

  “. . .”

  I didn’t answer the man and just stayed silent. My face, strangely, doesn’t exactly show the expression of someone eager to avenge their parents.

  “(I. . . don’t feel a thing. . .)”

  “WOI!! I ASKED YOU A QUESTION! WHO ARE YOU? AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?”

  The man screams in anger at being ignored.

  “I. . . have come here to kill you.”

  *!!*

  The man’s head was suddenly filled with fear. He immediately retreated to the back of the wall on the bed.

  “W-WHAT? WHY? WHY DO YOU WANNA KILL ME? WHO EVEN ARE YOU? I DON’T KNOW YOU!!”

  “(He doesn’t remember? But I was already wearing my disguise beforehand? Or maybe he just forgot because a Lunehart is supposed to have black spiky hair and a pair of purple eyes, and I don’t.)”

  I summon my sheathed katana in my right hand.

  “Remember the Lunehart family, sir?”

  *!*

  As soon as the man heard the word Lunehart, his mind travelled back to the raid at my house that day.

  “Y-YOU? YOU’RE A LUNEHART? BUT YOU DON’T HAVE THEIR PHYSICAL TRAITS! LIAR!! WHO ARE YOU REALLY?”

  “I am wearing colored contacts right now, and my hair has become permanently dark blue, so I understand if you don’t believe me.”

  I raise my katana above my head and hold it with both hands.

  “But unfortunately, it does not matter if you remember or not! I am gonna kill you nonetheless!”

  *!*

  “P-PLEASE!! WAIT!! DON’T!! I’LL TELL YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT TO KNOW!! PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

  The man pleads in fear while raising both of his hands towards me. His words intrigued me, but if he only knows everything I already know, then I no longer have any reason to let him live. I lower my katana from above my head to the side.

  “Start talking!”

  “. . .”

  “W-We. . . We were paid a generous amount of money if we raided your house that day!”

  “What else?”

  “. . .I-I don’t know who paid us! A guy randomly approached me when I was on my way home from work and offered me that idea. I accepted without any hesitation. You see, I was only a construction worker! Just covering my basic necessities is already taking everything out of my salary. I needed money, so I didn’t think anything through! I was desperate!” said the man in a depressing tone.

  “. . .”

  “(So, in other words, he doesn’t really have anything against my family. But that doesn’t mean you can just kill someone for that! Does this guy think I’ll let him go because of his sob story?)”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Anything else?” said I.

  “N-No. . . That’s everything I know about that raid.”

  “Good! Then die, mister!”

  *!!!*

  I quickly raise my katana above my head and hold it with both hands again.

  “W-WAIT! NOO! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!! I STILL HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT IN MY LIFE!! PLEASE SPARE ME!!”

  “But you didn’t spare me and my parents, did you? Enough talking! Die!”

  *WWUUUUUUUSSHHHHH*

  “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

  The man screams as loud as he can in fear as I swing my katana vertically towards his head.

  “. . .”

  *ZRAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHH*

  But at the very last second, I took a small step back and cut his torso instead. The wound was shallow, and it wasn’t a killing blow. He did not die, but he lost consciousness from pure shock and fear. His body fell to the side on his bed. Blood quickly spills onto his bed, turning it red in a small area.

  “. . .”

  For some reason, I hesitated the moment I was in the position to take his life.

  I don’t know what’s happening to me. This should be easy. My parents were killed unjustly, which should make me furious enough to turn a blind eye to the death of a murderer. I should not care for his life at all.

  Yet somehow. . . I don’t have that fury and rage inside me.

  I know what happened to my family was so stupidly unfair, yet I cannot muster any hatred towards this guy, even though he was part of the raid.

  . . .

  I think to myself and stay silent in his room, just standing still in front of his bed, with a blank stare in my eyes.

  I. . . did not hate this guy as much as I should.

  But why?

  I should be angry. I should be furious. But I am not.

  I don’t. . . feel a thing.

  What is wrong with me?

  What is going on with me?

  I thought I wanted this?

  I thought I wanted revenge?

  I even felt so happy when the boss gave so much info about their identities and whereabouts.

  So why am I not feeling anything right now?

  And it’s not that I feel empty. It’s more like, “Eh, it’s whatever.” I feel indifferent.

  “. . .”

  Do I. . . not love my parents as much as I should?

  I don’t understand this. . .

  I turn around to exit the room and leave the area to head to the next murderer’s crib.

  .

  .

  .

  An hour later, I was only halfway towards my next destination. It took me so long because I simply walked instead of running and jumped around with my Vein armor.

  I feel so demotivated about all this.

  I. . . wanna go back to the boss.

  I no longer want to do this. I’d rather be there for the boss and protect him all day.

  “. . .”

  I stop my steps, and I turn around. I don’t really love my parents after all, huh?

  I care about the boss more than anyone else. I’d rather safeguard him than waste time with what I was trying to do. That’s it! I have decided! I’ll go back to him and spend the rest of my life protecting him!

  I activate my Vein armor and immediately jump around the city, making my way back to the boss’s mansion, which I can confidently call home.

  .

  .

  .

  I arrived at the mansion and opened the front door. The night has fallen.

  *!*

  Something feels wrong. It is way too quiet inside the mansion. It is usually quiet, given how big the mansion is, but now, not this quiet. I don’t even hear anything at all. Not even the sounds of footsteps from how many butlers and maids are walking around every day that I can usually hear with my Vein amror.

  I immediately walk fast towards the boss’s room on the third floor.

  *STEP STEP STEP*

  It’s strange. I don’t even see any of the maids or butlers that were usually busy cleaning the mansion.

  *STEP STEP STEP*

  I hasten my walking pace and climb up the stairs all the way to the third floor.

  “. . .”

  I activate my Vein armor again, and I still don’t hear anything inside this entire mansion. What is going on here? I also don’t hear any sound or voice coming from the boss’s room. Usually, I can hear the sounds of him working on his laptops or the sounds of paper flipping from him rummaging through the files.

  I gulp down my own spit, and I feel nervous.

  What is this uneasiness? It doesn’t make any sense.

  I steeled myself and ran towards the boss’s room at the end of the hallway.

  *BLAM*

  I slam the door open.

  “. . .”

  And there are no traces of the boss inside his room.

  “W-What? Where is he?”

  I quickly scanned the entire room to search for clues, yet I did not find anything. Strange. Zero traces of him.

  I activate my Vein armor again and run through every room on the third floor, frantically, to search for him.

  “Not here.”

  I run down the stairs and start searching on the second floor as well.

  “Also not here!”

  I run down the stairs once more and search for him again on the first floor. I have now realized that this mansion is entirely empty. All of the butlers and maids seem to have left without leaving anything behind.

  “. . .”

  I saw him at the end of a long hallway on the first floor. He’s lying on top of his own pool of blood.

  “B-Boss. . .?”

  I couldn’t believe my own eyes. I see the boss’s body already looks lifeless. The condition of his body saddens me the most. His right leg was cut open in half, his two hands and his left leg were completely cut off from his body. He’s lying on the floor, face up. The cuts were very clean, like it's been cut by something extremely sharp, beyond the levels of any known cutting tools or weapons. It is very strange.

  I approach him slowly. I still have a disbelief look on my face.

  “(What is. . . going on here?)”

  I crouch down and look at his face. He looked like he was crying out for help, but nobody came for him. I inspect his whole body carefully.

  *!*

  His body is still somewhat warm, though not to a level that belongs to a living person. That means he just died moments before I arrived.

  *BAM*

  “(DAMMIT!! YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT THE BOSS WOULDN’T HAVE DIED IF I ARRIVED JUST A TINY BIT FASTER?)”

  My breathing became a lot heavier, and my anger rose. But soon after, I calm myself down and continue to inspect his corpse.

  “. . .”

  It seems that he has no other wounds at all. He died purely from blood loss.

  “. . .”

  What is this?

  I started shedding tears without realizing it, but my face was not physically crying.

  “. . .”

  The boss is gone. The savior of my life is gone. I knew he was dead the moment I saw his corpse from afar, but that feeling still hasn’t sunk in until now.

  This feels. . . weird. To think that I was just gone for a day. I even came back a lot earlier than intended. And because of that, the boss is gone, and I wasn’t there to protect him.

  . . . .

  I feel empty.

  If the boss is gone, then what even is the purpose of my life anymore?

  What am I gonna do from now on?

  As I was lost in thought, I quickly realized the CCTVs all around the hallway.

  “(I HAVE TO FIND THE CULPRIT!! THEY WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE!!)”

  Anger boils inside my chest, and I cannot hold it back anymore.

  I stand up and activate my Vein armor. I made my way quickly towards the security room. I try to look for the footage of the hallway where the murder happened.

  *!*

  “Thirty minutes ago?”

  If it’s only been that long, then I can still go after the murderer!

  *BWOOOOSSHHHH*

  *GRAAAHHKKK*

  I activate my Vein armor and run as fast as I can, breaking through the walls until I am outside the mansion. I jumped up high into the sky, reaching 100m above the ground. I look down towards the city below.

  I made an oath to myself. I swore that whoever killed the boss shall not live to see the sun the next day.

  I PROMISE!

  It’s the least thing I can do to pay him back now that he’s gone!