I don't want to be an elf!

“What you see with your own eyes may not be the truth,” Kurumi Tokisaki said. “Yasha Shirayuki is actually your mother’s superpower. Your parents are a world-famous assassin couple, but they just didn’t tell you about their profession.”

Izumi Kyoka looked at Tokisaki Kurumi with disbelief and doubt in her eyes.

His parents were world-renowned assassins.

This is impossible.

My mother's smile was always so gentle, and my father's hands were always so warm. How could a couple like my mother and father be ruthless assassins like myself?

Ignoring Izumi Kyoka's reaction and doubt, Tokisaki Kurumi continued, "That night, your parents' enemies came to their door and used their powers to control your parents. To protect their beloved daughter, your mother summoned Yasha Shirayuki, a power she had never used in front of you, and ordered Yasha Shirayuki to kill her and her husband to prevent them from falling into the hands of their enemies. Yasha Shirayuki was also transferred to you through some means. Perhaps you see her as a curse of patricide, but she was the last gift your mother gave you."

"..."

“Think about it, Kyoka,” Kurumi Tokisaki said. “Think about whether your parents subtly avoid talking about work, whether they tell you to take care of yourself when they go on trips, and whether they cherish the time they spend with you every time they come back from work.”

The long-forgotten memories of the past were unlocked by Kurumi Tokisaki's words.

The more beautiful the memories of the past, the more painful they are for her now.

Therefore, Izumi Kyoka has always been unwilling to recall the past.

That's why she never noticed her parents' unusual behavior.

Having joined the Port Mafia for six months, she is now far more mature than before, and her perspective on things is much more profound.

Recalling those long-forgotten memories, she gradually became aware of some disharmonious aspects of her parents.

Perhaps they really have been hiding something from me.

"My parents... what are they hiding?" she murmured to herself. "Were they assassins too?"

“Yes, but unlike you, they are still assassins directly under the government,” Kurumi Tokisaki said. “However, their contact with the government is very weak. In order not to be noticed by others, your parents almost never contacted the government. So when your parents were murdered, the government did not know immediately. After the government discovered your parents’ deaths, they did look for you, but by then it was too late. You had already been taken away by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and become a member of the Port Mafia.”

"Evidence." Izumi Kyoka stared intently at Tokisaki Kurumi. "I need evidence."

With a thought, a giant clock appeared behind Kurumi Tokisaki. Holding a flintlock pistol, she said, "Its name is Zafkiel, and it is my ability. The twelve hours on the clock each represent an ability. The Tenth Bullet's ability is to convey the past memories of the target or the owner of the hit object."

Although she didn't understand what Zafkiel was or why one superpower could have twelve different abilities, Izumi Kyoka still understood what Kurumi wanted to say.

“As long as I aim the Tenth Bullet at you and Yasha Shirayuki, you will know who Yasha Shirayuki’s true master is, and all of her master’s memories.”

Izumi Kyoka took a deep breath.

She didn't think Kurumi Tokisaki was lying.

Ultimately, she had no reason to lie.

Izumi Kyoka handed her the phone hanging around her neck: "Yasha Shirayuki will only listen to the voice coming from the phone, please."

"give it to me."

After writing down Izumi Kyoka's phone number, Tokisaki Kurumi dialed it.

"Show yourself, Yaksha Shirayuki."

Chapter Twenty: Self-Degradation

At Tokisaki Kurumi's summons, a massive phantom of a Yaksha appeared behind Izumi Kyoka.

The Yaksha, dressed in a snow-white kimono and wielding a two-meter-long silver-white katana, appeared the moment the surrounding air cooled down. His aura transformed into a gust of wind that could almost sever skin, causing the iron doors of the prison cell to creak.

"Ten Bullet."

Kurumi Tokisaki raised her flintlock pistol and pointed it at Yasha and Kyoka Izumi: "You won't feel much pain, but be prepared for a flood of memories to come into your head. Dizziness is not a pleasant feeling."

"I'm ready."

After receiving permission, Tokisaki Kurumi pulled the trigger, and a tenth bullet pierced through Yasha Shirayuki and Izumi Kyoka.

The moment the tenth bullet struck Kyoka Izumi, countless memories flooded her mind.

“These are…” Izumi Kyoka murmured to herself, “These are my mother’s memories.”

Carefree memories of playing as a child.

Memories of awakening the supernatural power of Yaksha Shirayuki.

Memories of being recruited by the government as an assassin.

Memories of becoming a mother for the first time.

as well as......

"Yaksha Shirayuki!"

With all her might, she resisted the mind control of the enemy. The mother, who had only a sliver of reason left, summoned Yaksha Shirayuki and issued her final command a second before losing herself.

"Protect my child!"

Without hesitation, the loyal Yaksha swung his katana.

Blood splattered everywhere; the woman's head was severed, and the man's chest was pierced.

Yasha Shirayuki was transferred to Izumi Kyoka at the last moment.

"So...it was true..."

Using the power of the Tenth Bullet, Izumi Kyoka obtained her mother's memories from Yasha Shirayuki and remained rooted to the spot.

Kurumi Tokisaki is telling the truth.

Her parents were government assassins.

The person who killed his parents was not his superpower.

Yasha Shirayuki was given to me by my mother before she died.

What expression should I use at this moment?

A sense of relief? Regret for misunderstanding the truth? Or resentment at not knowing the truth sooner?

Warm tears streamed down her face and fell onto the cold floor.

"These are... tears?" Izumi Kyoka murmured to herself. "I thought I had already cried them all out."

Izumi Kyōka's life was undoubtedly a tragedy.

The daughter, whose parents were government assassins, was kept in the dark and, by chance, became an assassin for the Port Mafia.

To protect her daughter, the mother commanded her supernatural power to kill herself, while the Snow White Demon, who should have been the guardian, was instead seen as a maddened supernatural being, a curse of patricide.

Concealment and coincidence ultimately turned Izumi Kyoka's life into a tragedy.

"Why...why did this happen...?"

If Izumi Kyoka's life had been changed even slightly, her story wouldn't have ended up in such a state.

If her parents had been a little luckier that day, none of this would have happened.

If the government had discovered her a little earlier, she could still have lived an ordinary life.

If it weren't for Ryunosuke Akutagawa who discovered her, she wouldn't have had her hands stained with blood.

Perhaps Ryunosuke Akutagawa genuinely wanted to save this girl who had lost the meaning of life.

However, he imbued Izumi Kyōka with a sense of purpose in killing, causing her even greater suffering.

This was to be expected, after all, how could someone who has lost their way possibly guide others onto the right path?

What Ryunosuke Akutagawa did was simply pull Kyoka Izumi out of the abyss and then push her into an even deeper one.

After learning the truth, Izumi Kyoka fell into a long silence.

Kurumi Tokisaki didn't try to comfort or persuade her. The truth was already laid out before her, and whether she could accept it, and what to do after accepting it, was up to Kyoka Izumi to decide.

The atmosphere in the dungeon was oppressive; apart from the occasional cough coming from elsewhere, there were no other sounds.

Quietly processing the information she had just received, Izumi Kyoka raised her eyes after a long while.

Her expression remained unchanged; there was neither emptiness nor liveliness in her eyes, only a serene indifference.

"What are your thoughts?" Kurumi Tokisaki asked. "For example, wanting to avenge your parents or something."

“No, I didn’t have such thoughts.” Izumi Kyoka slowly shook her head. “Assassins make a living by killing, and they are prepared to be killed. My parents would not want me to avenge them.”

"Judging from your expression, you must have figured it out by now."

"Yes, thank you for letting me know the truth."

Izumi Kyoka knelt on the ground, her forehead touching the ground: "I have no way to repay this kindness. Please accept my loyalty, Lord Tokisaki."

"Tokisaki-sama is too formal. I don't want to hear such an awkward title every day."

"So, what should I call you from now on?"

"Yes, that's right..."

Kurumi Tokisaki tilted her head and thought for a moment, then a strange smile appeared on her lips: "How about calling me 'older sister'?"

"elder sister?"

"Because Kyoka is so cute, I've always wanted a cute little sister."

"Wouldn't this...?"

"Can't you?"

"It's not impossible, if that's what you're hoping for."

"This is not an order. I would be very happy if Kyouka could genuinely treat me as an older sister."

Izumi Kyoka opened her mouth, as if to ask something.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked the question that had been troubling her.

"Why would you help someone like me?" Izumi Kyoka asked疑惑地. "I don't think I've ever met you before, so why are you so kind to me?"

"The reason... is that I helped you because I saw an injured kitten on the roadside and couldn't just leave it there." Tokisaki Kurumi stroked her head. "If I let you continue to fall like this, you might become one of my kind, which would be such a pity."

"similar?"

"Jinghua, depravity is a terrible thing. If you continue to wallow in depravity, you will find that irreversible change will occur."

Kurumi Tokisaki spoke slowly and deliberately, as if recalling something: "Conscience, virtue, kindness, all these beautiful things will leave you. In the end, you will find that you have nothing left. Even the whole world will reject you, banish you to the dead darkness, and make you a monster that no one can understand."

Imagining the scene depicted by Tokisaki Kurumi, Izumi Kyoka couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart.