Black Nightmare

Henry glanced at Karen, started to say something, then merely nodded.

"Ah, to be young." Walter watched Karen hurry away and shook his head with a smile.

"Hmph. Neglecting his proper work." With that, Henry lowered his head and went back to tidying up.

Of everyone at the school, he knew Karen best. Karen had very few numbers saved on his phone, and in the week since he had arrived at Eden Academy, he had neither made nor received a call... Henry had already guessed that this was Karen's real job.

Neglecting his proper work. Those few simple words carried Henry's heartache. In his eyes, Karen could clearly have become an excellent teacher. Unfortunately, he was also an assassin...

Ah...

Karen found an empty dead-end alley and turned into it. His gaze swept over his surroundings, and only after confirming there were no people or surveillance devices did he answer the call.

"Hello, Karen speaking. Another mission?"

The leader's slightly aged voice came through. "Karen, I have a mission here that only you're capable of completing."

Karen frowned. "Hey, you know my principles. I won't take a mission that undermines peace."

"Of course. This mission is just the opposite. If you succeed, you'll be contributing to peace between East and West."

Only after hearing the leader's words did Karen relax a little.

The leader knew Karen's temperament. He had survived the war and had an intense, almost pathological desire for peace.

Although he was an assassin, he was one of the rare ones with principles. He never accepted missions that would undermine peace.

What could the leader say? He could only let Karen have his way. It certainly wasn't because he couldn't beat him in a fight.

The leader coughed twice and outlined the mission. "This is a protection assignment. You'll need to protect Councilman Graff and his family in the capital."

Hearing that name, Karen nodded silently.

He knew of Councilman Graff, a very famous advocate of peace who championed "dialogue instead of war." Karen was willing to protect people like that.

The leader continued, "I'm sure you've heard of him. Because of their ideals of peace, his family has been targeted by the warmongers who want to unite East and West through force. They've hired an entire assassin organization to kill them."

"My informant tells me they'll make their move tonight. Sorry for the trouble."

"Yeah, leave it to me."

Karen hung up and squinted at the sky overhead.

The sun blazed high in the midday sky. It was one in the afternoon, still a long way from nightfall...

He could...

Have lunch before getting moving.

Night settled like black ink over a villa on the outskirts.

At this hour, people would normally have long since gone to bed.

Yet the villa's owner, Councilman Graff, was pacing anxiously. His wife and children were already asleep, but he could not rest easy.

His family was facing an unprecedented crisis.

He had always devoted himself to promoting peaceful policies, opposing the extremists who sought to solve problems through force.

Yet his ideals had made him a thorn in the side of numerous factions.

These people wanted to kill him to intimidate the advocates of peace.

Just as his anxiety reached a fever pitch, his phone rang.

He hurriedly picked it up. The screen showed the number he had been desperately hoping to see. "Hello, this is Councilman Graff. Esteemed leader of Phoenix, have you decided who you'll send to protect us?"

There was a trace of nervousness in his voice. His family's lives depended on the answer from the person on the other end.

"Hello, Councilman Graff. We've decided to send Black Nightmare on this protection assignment," the leader said steadily over the phone.

Graff's heart jolted. In the world of assassins, everyone knew the name Black Nightmare.

Five years earlier, there had been a small country called Gavira not far from Ostania. Its king was advanced in years, and the first and second princes had been willing to wage war over the throne, attempting to seize greater power through force.

The third prince, however, was gentle by nature and desired only peace, leaving him caught in a dilemma.

To prevent the impending civil war, the neighboring countries had pooled their funds to hire the already renowned Phoenix organization.

The first to take the field had been Black Nightmare, still very young and inexperienced at the time.

Then little known, he had wiped out the first and second princes and their nearly four hundred guards in a single night, putting the third prince on the throne and bringing peace to Gavira.

At that moment, the name Black Nightmare had spread across the world, and he had become a legend among assassins.

Graff drew a deep breath. He had never expected someone so formidable to be sent to protect them.

He could barely contain his excitement, stumbling over his words. "Sir, I... I'm deeply grateful that you're coming. My whole family... we're placing all our hopes... in you."

"Rest assured, Councilman. Phoenix will protect you and your family. Please remain inside the residence as much as possible and avoid unnecessary outings."

The leader's voice remained calm. He had absolute confidence in Karen. Over all these years, Karen's mission success rate had remained at one hundred percent, and this time would be no exception.

Besides, it was nighttime now. The night belonged to Karen...

After hanging up, Graff carefully entered his children's room.

As he looked at the sleeping faces of his wife and children, tenderness welled up in his heart.

Then he gently woke them and said softly, "Children, Daddy has something important to tell you."

His wife opened her eyes groggily. Seeing Graff's solemn expression, she immediately realized how serious the situation was.

"What is it? What happened?" she asked softly.

Graff told them what was about to happen that night. When his wife and children heard him out, fear filled their faces.

His wife quickly dressed and anxiously moved to pack their luggage. "Will we be all right?"

Graff shook his head and gathered his wife back into his arms, then stroked his children's heads with his large hand. "Don't worry. Black Nightmare will protect us tonight."

"Black Nightmare? The legendary assassin?!" his wife exclaimed.

"Yes. He's incredibly capable. As long as he's here, we'll be safe," Graff said with a nod.

His son asked, "Dad, we'll all be okay, right?"

Graff smiled and patted his shoulder. "Of course, son. Mr. Black Nightmare is the best. He'll definitely protect us."

While Graff spoke with his family, pairs of eyes watched the residence coldly from the darkness outside. The members of the assassin organization had silently surrounded it.

Their boss stood in the shadows, his gaze cold. He sneered. "So this is Graff's residence. This family's heads are worth a fortune."

"So what if you've brought in help? Today, this place will be your grave."

Inside, Karen sat on the living room sofa, leaning forward slightly, both hands loosely wrapped around a cup of hot tea.

He looked like nothing more than a young man, yet his bearing was remarkably mature.

He did not look out the window. His gaze rested quietly on the front door.

Yet it seemed to pierce straight through the door, landing squarely on the assassins lurking in the night.

The night was deep, and the wind whispered through the darkness, occasionally punctuated by the sharp snap of a breaking branch.