The Mission (3)

Leo's Backstory:

When Leo was a small child, he lived in the bustling streets of Japan, an innocent boy unaware of the darkness that would soon consume his life. His mother, desperate for money, sold him to a mysterious group known only as the Sword Organization. They trained killers—fierce warriors who wielded blades with deadly precision. Leo, just a boy, was thrown into this unforgiving world where cruelty and violence were the foundation.

The other children in the organization didn't welcome him. They saw him as weak, a target for their ridicule and bullying. Leo was smaller than the others, often mocked for his lack of skill with the sword. But no matter how many times he was pushed down, physically or emotionally, Leo never stopped training. Every day, he practiced relentlessly with his wooden sword, honing his skills, pushing his body to its limits. He knew the only way to survive this harsh world was to become stronger.

But one night, everything changed.

As Leo practiced alone in the stillness of the night, the sound of clashing blades reached his ears. He froze, heart racing. The noise was unmistakable—this was no ordinary fight. Something was happening, something that was far beyond the mundane battles he'd seen at the organization.

Leo, driven by curiosity and an undeniable sense of fear, followed the sound. As he moved through the halls of the compound, he stumbled upon a gruesome sight: a path littered with the bodies of the killers from the Sword Organization—his own kind, his comrades, the ones who had tormented him. Some of their faces were familiar. They had bullied him, made his life a constant nightmare. And now, they were dead.

Leo's heart pounded in his chest as he stepped over the bodies, his small feet moving faster despite the growing dread. He reached the end of the path and there, standing in the shadows, was a figure. A man. His presence alone radiated power—his aura so overwhelming that Leo froze in place, unable to move.

It was Johan, in his prime, standing tall and confident, his sword gleaming in the moonlight. Leo could feel the immense strength emanating from the man. But despite the terror that gripped his chest, something stirred inside him. Courage, or perhaps something deeper, urged him forward. He raised his wooden sword, trembling, but pointed it directly at Johan.

Johan didn't move at first. His eyes settled on the boy, studying him with a keen gaze. And then, in a moment that would change Leo's life forever, Johan simply walked past him, as if Leo wasn't even there.

But as he passed, Johan spoke, his voice calm, yet carrying weight. "You have potential, boy." His words echoed in Leo's mind, and with them came a sense of something far bigger than he could understand. Johan's voice lingered, "We will meet again."

And with that, Johan disappeared into the shadows, leaving Leo to fall to his knees in fear and awe.

The next morning, the news spread like wildfire. The Sword Organization had been wiped out. Over 2,000 of the most skilled killers in the world had been slain in one night. Leo, terrified but determined, managed to escape the compound. The man who had destroyed the organization was none other than Johan, the same man who had spoken those mysterious words to him.

But for Leo, that victory felt hollow. His world was shattered. He wandered the streets alone, hungry and cold, an orphan with no one to turn to. Sometimes, groups of thugs would beat him for amusement, laughing as they took what little he had. When he sought food, he was chased away. The garbage became his only source of sustenance.

Still, despite the harsh reality of his life, Leo couldn't shake the feeling that he had been marked by Johan. The words echoed in his mind every day: "We will meet again." He trained with whatever he could find—sticks, rocks, anything that resembled a weapon. He honed his skills with a single goal: to get strong enough to face Johan, to get his revenge on the man who had destroyed everything he knew.

Years passed. Leo grew, his body stronger, his resolve firmer. He started taking missions from strangers—killing, stealing, whatever he could do to survive. He became a ghost, a shadow in the criminal world. One day, he stole a sword from a famous museum, a weapon that symbolized everything he wanted to be—a deadly warrior. But even with that sword, Leo knew it wasn't enough.

His search for Johan continued, and it was then that a mysterious man approached him. The man handed Leo a black card, with no explanation, only telling him that the one he was searching for would find him. The man offered him a flight ticket to a distant location, a place where Leo would finally get the chance to confront Johan.

Present Day:

It was clear that Leo was still far from Johan's level. Even in his prime, Johan held back—his experience, skill, and power far surpassing anything Leo had encountered.

Leo lay there, defeated but not broken. His body ached, but his spirit remained unyielding. He had come so far, but he was still not on the same level as the man he had sworn to defeat. And yet, despite his failure, a glimmer of hope remained in his eyes—he knew that one day, they would meet again. And next time, he would be ready.

The journey of Leo, from a boy sold into an organization to a man seeking revenge, had only just begun. The battle against Johan was only the first step in a war that would shape his destiny.