Does the Assassin Girl Dream of the Mana Doll?

The Origin of the Ghost Moniker

“There’s no way you can evade this!” Brimming with unwavering confidence, Curtis swung his blade. But to his astonishment, the girl vanished right before his eyes.

What?! All he felt was the sensation of slicing through empty air and the recoil of striking the ground.

Puzzled by the unexpected turn of events, his rational mind questioned what had just happened. Did I miss? How?

His instincts alerted him to a presence behind him. In moments like this, patterns always emerged, and he knew he had to trust his instincts. With great effort, he halted his momentum and swiftly turned around.

“Take this!” he swung his longsword towards the figure rising behind him. But before he could execute his move, a chilling pain shot through the back of his head, causing him to falter.

The blade had pierced through his brainstem. Though he couldn’t fully comprehend the severity of the attack, he sensed that something was fatally wrong.

Despite his diminishing strength, he attempted to complete his swing. His blade merely grazed the girl’s neck before coming to a halt and descending, succumbing to gravity and falling to the ground.

“Ah, I fell short by a single step…” He finally understood. The realization of his impending death washed over him.

In a life where I indulge and act on my every whim, the climax ends in such an unfathomable outcome, he pondered, a sense of amusement creeping in. It’s strangely ironic that it took someone like her to put an end to me.

“I… I’ll be waiting for you in hell…” he managed to articulate, his diaphragm moving against all odds. His lips moved weakly, forming a sinister smile, before he collapsed onto the ground like a severed thread. A faint red mark remained on his pale, ethereal skin—an indelible mark he left behind in his final moments.

“Just go by yourself,” Ghost exhaled deeply from the depths of her abdomen, her gaze fixed on him. Though he lay motionless on the ground, she couldn’t afford to lower her guard. His immense power demanded caution until his demise was certain.

The fight had been brief, yet it had drained every ounce of her strength. She understood that even a single mistake would have put her in his current state. That’s why she had meticulously prepared herself and deliberately taken a daring gamble.

Her greatest skill was teleportation.

It granted her the power to instantly move to places within her line of sight or locations she could perceive through detection magic. She could also teleport to places she had previously visited and remembered. This incredible skill was the key to her success in accomplishing numerous seemingly impossible assassinations.

However, there were limitations to it. She couldn’t transport herself to places she had never been or locations she couldn’t perceive, which meant she had to rely on walking to reach unfamiliar destinations. While it was likely a form of magical phenomenon, she herself didn’t fully comprehend the underlying principles.

When the skill first manifested during her childhood, it frightened her parents, ultimately leading to her abandonment. That’s how she ended up being taken in by Greg.

Though teleportation was exceptionally suited for an assassin, she wasn’t entirely confident in her ability to defeat Curtis. Despite catching him off guard with a surprise attack from behind using the skill, he reacted swiftly and managed to almost fatally strike her before succumbing.

Having observed Curtis’ fighting style, she had reached this conclusion.

Even after causing him to miss and throwing off his balance, she had come dangerously close to having her own neck sliced. If she hadn’t remained composed, there was no doubt that her head would have been sent flying.

In other words, her appearance before Curtis had been part of her plan. She also deliberately made herself vulnerable, intentionally provoked his attack, and lured him into a moment of weakness.

“He really was a troublesome one…” she muttered, finally speaking of him in the past tense with a sense of relief washing over her.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she approached Curtis cautiously and slit his throat, severing the carotid artery. His heart must have already ceased beating as the spurting blood had lost its force and gradually came to a stop.

After spending another minute observing to confirm his death, her hand reached for his neck, removing the blood-stained holy seal he wore. It emitted an unsettling and almost taboo aura, but Ghost paid it no mind. She briskly wiped it off using a handkerchief and stashed it away.

“Now, what’s next?” She murmured calmly, her breathing steadying and erasing any trace of the intense battle that had unfolded just moments ago.

She calmly shifted her gaze to her surroundings, realizing that that was likely what the ruins had been guarding—the very thing Curtis had intended to acquire, and what Greg had casually suggested she seize if she stumbled upon any treasure.

It had to be in there.

There, an area caught her attention—a convergence point for the network of pipes that snaked throughout the ruins. On a desk resembling a control panel, an array of numerous buttons was arranged. Behind it, several massive tanks loomed, appearing spacious enough for a person to easily fit inside.

Apparently, this was the true “treasure” of the ruins.

“I can’t exactly take this with me…” she said with an uncharacteristically troubled voice as she eyed the capsule before her.

Her attention then shifted to the control panel. Will it trigger something if I operate it? If only there were a way to make transporting this easier…

Despite having some magical aptitude, she wasn’t exactly a seasoned researcher. She couldn’t discern the significance or arrangement of the buttons before her.

She then casually pressed a few buttons and switches, hoping for some effect. Leaning forward slightly, a drop of blood fell from her neck, landing with a soft plop and staining one of the panels. Instantly, the light emitted by the pipes intensified, and the terminal began to glow as if it had regained its breath.

What’s happening? she wondered, her gaze darting around the room.

Then, an unexpected voice echoed in her ears, causing her to freeze. “Blood reaction confirmed. Magic power rank B. Registration as the master possible. Verifying aptitude… Conditionally cleared…

“Registering blood pattern and magic pattern. Authentication approved as the master.”

The situation started progressing on its own, leaving Ghost struggling to catch up. Although she understood each individual word being said, she couldn’t grasp their collective meaning.

“Now registering the master name. Please state your name.”

“Huh? Um, I…” She hesitated, feeling that the name Ghost wasn’t the right choice for some reason. After a moment of silence, she made her decision. “Egret. My name is Egret.”

She revealed a name that hadn’t been used in a long time, not even by herself. In response, the light emitted by the pipes grew even stronger, radiating powerful magic.

“Master name registered as Egret. From now on, you will be recognized as the master.”

As Ghost—no—as Egret stood there, dazed, the capsule slowly began to open before her eyes.

Emerging from within was a girl who seemed to be around the same age as Egret. She was slightly shorter, with long flowing golden hair that gave her a somewhat youthful appearance.

Her robe, resembling a pale blue dress, undulated with an abundance of magical energy. Both the robe and the overcoat she wore were adorned with intricate embroidery, depicting delicate magical symbols in golden thread. Her eyes, opening slowly, resembled the color of the sky, a deep shade of blue.

Upon recognizing Egret, a warm smile graced her lips. “Nice to meet you, Master. I am a combat tactics class mana doll, an eliminator. You may call me Ellie. Would you prefer to be addressed as Master Egret… Ah what about Letty-sama?”

Still grappling to fully comprehend the situation, Egret nodded hesitantly.

This marked the first encounter between the girl raised as a tool and the girl created as a tool.

***

Author’s Note:

Two people who were never meant to meet. Different times, different places, different circumstances. And yet…

Even so, there is meaning in their encounter at that moment.

Up next: The Girl Known as Mana Doll

For now, nobody knows the true significance of it.