Game's Extra: Starting With SSS-Ranked 1000-Death Talent-Chapter 51: The Axis

The third man shot at him.

Instead of mindlessly charging, he executed fluid footwork, creating clones of himself. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After seeing his dead companion rise from the dead and kill his comrades, he knew he had to be decisive.

Rather than asking foolish questions, the man tried to remove the threat.

The clones he birthed could be used as a deception.

Also, he was the one who controlled the shadows, his A-ranked talent granting him perfect skills for assassination.

There were three ruling powers in the Velrox Association.

No one knew their names, but among the few selected subordinates who knew of their existence, they simply referred to them as X, Y, and Z.

As for their combined codename, it was The Axis.

And the man worked for X.

Even though he had never met his superior, he knew what kind of fate would befall him if he failed the mission.

Fearing that the world’s ruling power would punish him, the man tried his best.

Unfortunately for him, his current opponent was Noa.

As the assassin moved like a shadow come to life, Noa met him headstrong, abusing the knowledge he had on the guy.

’What a useful ability,’ he mused. ’It would have been cool if I could just kill him and steal his skill.’

Then he shook his head.

This was one of the few encounters from the game that had solid combat mechanics.

The reason was simple.

All Noa had to do was detect which shadow clone was real and ignore them.

But after experiencing this scenario countless times before, he could do it even with his eyes shut.

Noa peered at the clones.

At the same time, he was narrowly evading incoming attacks.

Arthur also seemed to be ready to help him.

But the boy didn’t move, watching the fight with interest.

After spending ten full seconds to identify the real assailant, Noa slipped past his guard.

Then he swung his dagger.

It moved in a wide arc, catching the man completely off guard as it descended right at his ribs.

For a moment, there was no movement.

Silence appeared on itself—the short, rippling kind that shrouds the world.

Blood emerged as well.

Dripping from Noa’s blade to his hands as it warmed his fingers.

His chest heaved calmly, but the same couldn’t be said about the man.

The assassin was alive.

Noa aimed at the spot that wouldn’t kill him in one strike.

Yet the pain was sufficient to deprive the soldier of any means of retaliation.

To double down on his victory, Noa’s hands moved like a river following its path, the fingers clamping around the man’s throat.

"How?" the guy barely asked.

His teeth showing, his voice choked as air left his lungs, and pain overwhelmed his being.

When his body was about to go limp, Noa dropped him to the ground.

He stood over the weak for a while, looking at the result of his strength.

"How dare you?" he said, glaring at the half-dead man. "Did X really send you here?"

This question instantly sobered the assassin, his pain fading, replaced by inexplicable confusion.

How could a random brat know about their existence?

If it wasn’t all, he seemed angry, as if he had a problem with their decision.

"How do you know?" he questioned.

A quick slap was delivered on his cheek, reopening the gash on his stomach.

Noa smirked.

"It’s not your place to ask questions."

His tone was lofty and dismissive as he added.

"Tell me, who gave you the order for you to roam on my turf?"

Another surge of confusion swept over the man.

The questions Noa asked, the attitude he displayed, and the knowledge he held proved that he stood against some bigshot.

Before he regained his composure, Noa added,

"It was X! That bastard never listens to my father."

"Y-You are?" the shadowy figure muttered, losing his words.

’Just the way I wanted,’ Noa mused after seeing his removed expression.

He wanted to act like he was Z’s son—a name wrapped in whispered rumors.

According to them, he was cocky and even more talented than his father—one of the strongest and most mysterious men alive.

Stories also told that he was studying somewhere.

But everything else was shrouded in enigma.

"This is getting nowhere," Noa said, narrowing his eyes. "Talk if you don’t want Black Horizon members knocking on your family’s door."

If the atmosphere wasn’t chilly enough, now the temperature dropped to the absolute limit.

Noa teased the last piece of the information.

Black Horizon was legion, directly working for Z, and mentioning its name hammered the last nail into the coffin.

The assassin had no more questions to ask.

All he could think about was how to escape the predicament he was in.

His years of experience and instincts kicked in, telling him to speak to save his dear life.

"You are right," he sold his superior right away.

Maybe X wasn’t the one who directly issued the order, but he worked for the same institute that was under him.

It was called the First Directive, and he was a senior member.

Yet none of that mattered while dealing with the Axis, as their very existence was enough to alter or destroy the world.

"I am working for Mr. X... First Directive, to be more precise. Our orders were to eliminate the list of students and kidnap one of them."

"Kidnap?" Noa repeated.

This didn’t happen in the game.

The assassins didn’t even attempt to abduct anyone; their priority was to kill as many of them as they could.

"Yes. It’s Arthur Ashe," the man said, pointing at the protagonist.

Noa kept his face emotionless.

’Absolute cinema,’ he thought.

"I don’t need to tell you that you failed this mission, right? And we have to do something about the anger I am feeling right now."

Noa walked around the gym, his steps slow and heavy.

He seemed offended, and shaking his head, he said,

"You, my dear friend, just walked into a shark’s jaw."