Dysfunctional - An Assassin's Guide to Reincarnating in Another World

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"Alright, looks like he's dead now," I remarked, as I finished draining the last drop of his life force, after a brief pause to make sure that he really experienced the full brunt of the Chaos Magic spell I used on him.

"Guess I'll take this, if no one else wants it," Yawned Az, as he picked up Poseidon's Trident.

"Even if one of us did want it, it'd be pointless now that you've touched it," Sighed Sylvar wryly.

"I think it's pretty fitting for that weapon to end up with you, considering your prowess with Water Magic, not to mention that you've also got the Sea King's powers," Chimed in Belia.

"What should we do with this corpse?" Inquired Bell with a frown.

"I dunno, parade it around the rest of the world or something, I guess?" I shrugged in response.

"Huh?" She responded in bewilderment.

"Actually, that kinda makes sense...if this guy's really been terrorizing the world for well over a century, then the most effective way to rid people of their fear would be to display his corpse and prove to them without a shadow of a doubt that he's gone for good," Nodded Sylvar in agreement.

Oh, uh, I really didn't think it through that much, I just suggested what first came to mind, that's all. But I'll pretend like I had it all figured out.

"Yup, exactly. But we can deal with that later. For right now, how about we catch up with everything that's happened in the time we've been sealed away?" I suggested, as I reverted to my normal state.

"Sounds good to me, I'm pretty curious to see how drastically everything's changed," Responded Az with a look of intrigue.

"Same here, the little bit that we did see got me pretty fascinated, I definitely want to do some exploring," Added Belia, looking excited.

"Me too, and I'm also pretty hungry. I wonder how much cooking has improved while we were sealed away?" Grinned Sylvar, as his stomach growled slightly.

"Now that you say that, I am rather hungry as well," Nodded Bell, as I deactivated the barrier we used to entrap this Spectre guy.

"Our bodies are in the exact same state they were in right before we got sealed...and the last thing that you two did was duel against Kuro, so it makes sense that you'd be feeling hungry and worn out right now," Laughed Belia, as we began heading back.

Az froze the corpse in a block of ice and floated it up, so that none of us would have to carry it directly.

We made our way to the nearest teleportation booth, where Nezera was waiting for us, and teleported back to the castle, before heading back to where the others were waiting for us.

Nezera took Sylvar and Bell to see Esta, who'd been leading Liberty in their absence. I couldn't help but feel envious...the other races have much longer lifespans than humans, so most of their friends will still be alive.

But it won't be the same for me...outside of those who got sealed with me, and the Demons and Vampires, everyone else I knew was gone. I confirmed that with Nezera, all our human friends who didn't get sealed, they're all dead now.

The silver lining was that most of them died peacefully, natural deaths by old age. Even though I knew that by the time we broke free, this would be the case, I still held out hope that I'd see Rai again.

"Oh, they're back!" Exclaimed Rion, as we entered the building where we'd found ourselves in after breaking the seal.

"Hey, I'm guessing it went well?" Persia greeted me with a hug, a look of relief on her face.

"Mhm, it did. He was strong, and might have been tough to handle if it were one on one, but it wasn't, so beating him wasn't too tough," I replied, as I hugged her back...I missed this, I was conscious the whole time we were sealed away, so I really felt that immense amount of time pass by.

"I am glad...that pest has finally been exterminated," Remarked Jhin, as he walked up towards me.

After I'd healed him, I told him to go to where Nezera was and get teleported back here, looks like he's fully recovered.

"There's a lot to do now, we need to restore the peace he disrupted...but I think I'll put it off till tomorrow. I'm really curious to see how much Abyss has improved," I responded with a grin.

"I'm pretty intrigued to see how much the world has developed and progressed too," Chimed in Belia.

"Yeah, me too, everything's so bright and shiny, and they're moving too," Spoke up Fuo, who was peering out one of the windows with a look of fascination.

She must be referring to the animated billboards and stuff.

"Sweet, let's go exploring! I'm pretty hungry too, haven't eaten in nearly a hundred and fifty years, after all!" Laughed Rion, as he patted his stomach.

"Now that he mentions it, I could eat too," Added Persia sheepishly.

"Wait a second, guys. We should probably first go get some money to spend...I wonder what's happened to our residences?" Mused Az with a slight frown.

"Oh, there is no need to worry about that. All of your residences have been preserved, maintained and upgraded. Your bank accounts are also active, we have implemented a payment system using cards, so there is no longer a need for physical currency, although if you desire, you can withdraw physical currency using the cards instead.

Some opt to do that, as they say that paying using the cards makes it more difficult to manage and avoid overspending their money," Explained Jhin, before adding, "Come with me to the castle, I shall provide all of you with your cards."

"Woah, awesome, you guys invented credit cards?" Responded Rion in surprise.

"Sounds more like debit cards to me, actually," I corrected him.

"Whatever, dude, don't get caught up in the technicalities," He replied as he slapped my shoulder with a laugh.

We then followed Jhin out as he led the way to the castle, pretty much all of us looking around in awe.

"Oh, wow, look...there's a statue of you," Noticed Persia with a teasing smirk.

"Uh-huh, so there is...maybe I'll put in a request for them to make one of you too," I suggested with a grin.

"No way, that'd be way too embarrassing," She rejected immediately.

"Hey, who implemented all this? From what I can see, this all would've required some pretty high level spellcasting," Remarked Az in fascination.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too. Elina was pretty skilled, but I'd say most of this is beyond her capabilities," Added Belia in agreement.

"Actually...shortly after you all were sealed, we were approached by a talented spellcaster. He was, er, the leader of the bandits that had shown up prior to your imprisonment," Replied Jhin, before elaborating on what had happened.

Fascinating...all of this is really impressive. There was music playing out from a bunch of stores and restaurants we passed by, some of the songs suspiciously similar to songs I'd listened to in my old world.

The voices were different but they're definitely the same songs...oh, well, I doubt you can push copyright laws in a different world, so it's probably fine.

"So, hold up, this guy's situation with his bandits got so out of control that he just pulled the plug?" Chuckled Rion in amusement.

"Yes, it was quite bewildering when he approached us and confessed that he was their leader. We had anticipated that the bandits he abandoned may prove to be a problem later on, but the appearance of the Spectre changed everything," Sighed Jhin in response.

"Hey, um...you wouldn't happen to know how he killed Shiro, do you?" Belia asked Jhin.

"Not the specifics, no. However, Cusnai Bronztan alerted us that the Spectre had killed Minise Mefvis, by transforming into an insect, flying into her mouth and then returning to his normal form and bursting open her head and chest, which enraged Shiro.

Cusnai surmised that he would likely be defeated as he was blinded by rage. Shortly after that, we activated the barrier to seal Abyss and Liberty off from the rest of the world, we do not know what has been happening outside of that in the time since then.

I did think it may have been possible that Shiro could have survived, but the Spectre showing up here the way he did makes that very unlikely," Jhin informed her.

"Oh...I see."

"I can't say you made the wrong call with the barrier, but...I have to admit that I can't fully agree with it," I sighed wistfully.

"Yes, Rai protested it quite adamantly. But I had to make a choice, safeguard Abyss or fall in unity with the rest...I chose the former, so I knocked Rai out and activated it, at least then it would not be his burden to bear," Said Jhin with a sad smile.

He's really been working hard to ensure that Abyss prospers, even if he had to make a difficult decision like that.

If I'd been in his shoes, facing an enemy that I stood no chance of defeating...I might have opted to do the same.

But either way, there's no point in criticizing his decision now. What's done is done, the past can't be changed...all we can do now is look to fix the damage caused by the past, and ensure that the future is bright...

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