The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

Should he trust this woman?

A stranger he just met?

However, the confidence in the middle-aged woman's voice overruled the worries in Apollo's mind.

And so, he followed the woman.

The woman had a few wrinkles on her face and a slight hunch. Her hair still had color, but there were a few grey hairs mixed in between.

As for clothes, she had a brown robe on with various stains all over it.

The woman was in no rush, leisurely walking down the street. Apollo did not try to hurry her. He simply trailed behind. He matched her speed.

The woman did not turn around to look at Apollo. She was either confident he was following or did not care if he chose to do so.

Once there were no witnesses, the woman ducked into an alleyway. Apollo followed closely behind.

As he turned the corner, he half expected some sort of ambush. His eyes widened and his hand clenched on the hilt of his bokken.

But... it was just an empty alleyway. The woman continued on slowly.

Apollo relaxed and continued following.

The woman turned a corner. Apollo turned the same corner, but the woman was nowhere to be seen.

A deranged smile appeared on Apollo's face.

Was this some kind of joke?

"Come on. I don't have all day."

A voice rang out, but nobody was in sight. Apollo scanned the area around him.

He found nothing.

A sigh came from the empty air. Within one of the shadows, a hand reached out and pulled Apollo down into the shadow.

Apollo did not have any time to react.

With a flash, the entire world became black. Every object in this world appeared to be formed out of some mist. Apollo could feel ethereal shadows brush by him in the form of vague grey waves.

A more pressing matter was that Apollo couldn't breathe. Whatever this place was, it was not created for someone to live in.

Though Apollo couldn't see anyone, he felt someone dragging him along. After passing by some grey shadows, Apollo was able to make out a glowing eye symbol.

The eye was composed of white glowing mist. The eye itself opened by just a sliver. A deep red glow emitted from that gap.

Apollo was dragged into the eye, and with a flash, found himself back in the real world.

He took in a few breaths to stabilize himself then examined the room he was in.

It was a black room without any doors or windows. On the ceiling was a mass of white mist slowly circulating the room. The mist emitted a pale white light, just barely bright enough to light up the room.

The woman that brought him here was currently grabbing onto Apollo's wrist. She let go of Apollo and smiled.

"Do you know where you are?"

Apollo looked forward. There was a mass of grey mist that formed the shape of a desk.

He slowly shook his head.

"I do not know."

The woman laughed.

"So how were you able to describe the appearance of our assassin?"

Apollo remained silent.

The woman shrugged her shoulders.

"Ah, whatever. Anybody that knows of our association is allowed to make deals with them. Even if they are people that survived an assassination attempt."

A small smile appeared on the woman's face as she said that last part.

The woman cleared her throat.

"In any case, let me explain the basics to you."

The woman waved her hand. A familiar symbol appeared.

The slightly parted eye.

"We are called 'The Shadows'. We are a group of assassins that take requests."

The woman flicked her wrist. A small white coin appeared between her fingers.

On one side of the coin was the slightly parted eye, the association's symbol. On the other side was a minimalistic picture of a black Jaguar.

The woman chuckled.

"You can call me Jaguar."

Apollo gave a nod.

"Hello, Jaguar."

Jaguar walked towards the ethereal grey desk in the room.

"When we receive requests, we determine if the reward is worthy. If it is deemed so, we distribute it to our members."

Pieces of parchment appeared on the table. They contained faces, detailed descriptions, and a reward for killing the specified person.

Some of the rewards appeared as money, such as ten gold coins. However, Apollo was drawn to something else.

'Reward: Basic Shadow Step Technique'

Apollo looked up to Jaguar.

"Are you saying I can take on requests or give them?"

Jaguar chuckled.

"Both. However, certain requests are only given to those of sufficient rank."

Apollo slowly nodded.

"...Is there a way for me to contact other members of this group?"

Jaguar smiled.

"You want revenge?"

Apollo fell silent.

Jaguar's smile deepened.

Then, she chuckled.

"You may have a chance to get your revenge if you raise your rank."

Apollo's eyes narrowed.

"How do I do that?"

Jaguar smirked.

"Complete requests."

Apollo took a deep breath.

"How do I get started?"

Jaguar chuckled.

"Well, let us register you first."

The room around them began to dissipate. The walls retreated while the floor lowered.

After a few moments, the floor parted ways, revealing a grey platform.

Jaguar pulled out two knives from seemingly nowhere.

"For starters, let's see how long you can last against me."

Apollo nodded. His grip around his bokken tightened and his eyes widened.

Jaguar's figure twitched.

Then disappeared.

Instinctively, Apollo's bokken twisted to block his back.

A thud rang out.

Jaguar chuckled.

"Not bad."

A laugh uncontrollably bubbled up Apollo's throat.

He was brought back to the time he was fighting Willow.

Jaguar was like a ghost. Apollo couldn't even catch a glimpse of her figure, but still blocked her strikes.

His body was much stronger than before. Yet, he was having a much more difficult time now.

If Willow's strikes were like an onslaught of a prancing deer, Jaguar's strikes would be the lunge of a poisonous viper.

Cunning and nimble.

On top of that, every swing had the clear intention to kill behind it.

Apollo was forced to his limits within just a few seconds.

He began laughing like he was raving.

His bokken danced wildly in the chaos while the red tassel was flung from side to side.