Today was one of Anna Betsie's rare days off-duty. For a determined marksman in the imperial military, her job required lots of time an energy. She had countless encounters where she fought against fearsome species of monster's. But the most fearsome she's even faced was a Demon+Orc hybrid.
It was midnight and Anna had a craving for a drink or two at the bar. But before she could arrive there, she found herself in an unfamiliar place in town. She lived in town all her life, so there was no way she was lost. Yet, Anna couldn't explain why she'd never heard of this part of town.
Everything as far as she could see was deserted.
The only place that looked like it actually had life was a small bar down the road.
The hanging sign outside showed cheap prices which were tempting.
Anna began her walk there immediately.
Perhaps she could ask the bartender about which part of town she was in.
'I had another bar in mind that I wanted to go to, but I might as well drink here instead.'
Her hand was getting ready to reach for the handle, until her eyes came to a certain awareness. Every building, sign and object looked almost fabricated. From a normal person's perspective, it wasn't noticeable.
But from Anna's view, she quickly realized the situation her life was in.
This wasn't some strange part of town, it was a barrier which she was trapped in. This meant only 1 thing, someone was targeting her.
Anna reached into her coat pocket, gripping her revolver.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a few strangers approach. Years worth of training kicked in, Anna quickly turned, aiming her revolver.
Each of the strangers wore the same dark robes, along with white traditional masks.
"If you trapped me in a personal space, I assume you're not here to play." said Anna.
As the strangers didn't reply, she debated firing her revolver. She trusted her intuition more than anything else.
One of the strangers took the initiative at speaking.
"We have chosen you as one few to help us improve our forces. I hope you are quite happy with this opportunity." This stranger's voice sounded like an older man somewhere in his forties.
Anna kept a grip on her revolver as she asked, "What do you mean?"
One of the stranger pushed is hands together and explained with passion.
"Have you ever wished for power beyond what you're capable of? We discovered a way to permanently enhance a person's capabilities. Today, he have chosen you for the experiment. You will have your abilities greatly enhanced, only at the cost of working with us."
As far as her physical abilities went, Anna was fine with staying original. She didn't really have a craving for power.
"I'll pass. It doesn't make sense why i get to be your experiment then be force to work for you.:
The masked stranger sighed, while his glowing pupils maintained eye contact.
"You misunderstand me. It's not an option. You can can come willingly, but any defiance will result you being turned into a mindless puppet. Many others have defied and lost their humanity, but the smart ones changed their ways in an instant."
The stranger kept eye contact as he waited for Anna to change her answer. From his aura, it was definitely the last chance he was giving.
But as a marksman from the imperial military, helping strange groups wasn't an option.
One of the strangers attempted to lung toward her, but accuracy was her specialty. Anna rapidly squeezed the trigger, firing bullets into the many strangers ahead.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
She kept shooting, until her she had no more ammo.
All of the strangers collapsed as their wounds flooded with blood.
Only one of them stood without injuries.It was the same one who did all the talking, the stranger with the older voice.
"You have great aim with that revolver. Having someone with your accuracy would benefit us dearly."
Anna reached into her sock, pulling out three spare bullets. Loading her gun in a swift movement, she fired the remaining shots.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The enemy should've been hit, but the bullet only passed through where he once stood.
'Where did he go?'
Crack. Gush!
She fell over on the road the road, grabbing her shoulder which broke into severe pain. It took a moment till she noticed that it was a slash wound, which was quickly soaking her shirt.
"What the hell is your speed." Anna asked, now realizing that the stranger stood behind her.
Through many experiences in the past, Anna learned that she wasn't among the strongest in physical ability, but even she knew that the strangers's moments weren't normal, they were even rivaling S-rank level speed.
"I've been lucky enough to be enhanced with the spirit of a demon. My name is Achyls and I'm a former mage if the military."
His hand lit up in a silver light and he reached for Anna's forehead.
Her memory would now undergo the process of having her memories removed. Unless for someone were to somehow interfere.
This is exactly what happened.
"Not sure if you noticed, but you accidentally trapped me in the barrier too." said the voice of a man.
It was dark haired guy with shiny turquoise eyes. His posture was firm when standing and it gave hints that he had some sort of combat training. Despite that, Anna knew that she needed to warn this man of Achyls's level of power.
"Don't engage him. He's st-" She couldn't finish as Achyls covered her mouth and interrupted.
Achyls was fast to cover her mouth.
"-Don't listen to her nonsense. Instead, I'd like to know who you are."
The dark haired man crossed his arms, "I'm someone your unfortunate enough to come across. Now, undo the barrier so I can take you down to a guard station. I hope you know trying to kidnap girls is against the law."
Achyls shoved Anna aside and stood with confidence.
"I think I'll just simply deal with you instead."
" Watch closely, this lesson is free." The dark haired man slipped a pair of black gloves on his hands.