"KILL"
That instinct, cultivated from countless commands from my sensei and even more jobs as a mercenary, which had saved my dumb ass more times than I could remember, was the only thing I could think of.
My body was still numb. The command rang in my head, over and over again like a broken record.
'KILL''KILL''KILL'
Yeah… I would if I could feel my arms right now.
The command was still echoing through my head. The only other thing I could focus on, besides the poison killing me right now… plus the copious amount of blood I was losing. At this point, if the poison didn't kill me, blood loss definitely would.
The two NPCs responsible for this mess were currently knee-deep in their gloating session. No shame. They deserved it, even though this never would've happened if my body wasn't swimming in approximately fifteen bottles of booze. That fact alone made me seethe with anger.
And I couldn't do shit about it with how I was right now.
That made me seethe even more.
'KILL''KILL''KILL'
That damn command was still ringing in my head. My arms no longer felt like lead… because I couldn't feel my arms anymore. Same with my legs. I would've been lying down if I hadn't landed in a suspiciously comfortable seiza position. My breathing was shallow and my vision blurry. My head hurt, my body burned and froze at the same time, and my hearing was heavily distorted.
Those damn mercenaries… think I'm a joke, huh? They didn't even think to finish me off. Just walking away like I was nothing.
"Take your attackers with you, Tensei."
'KILL''KILL''KILL'
"Huh? What the fuck?" the larger man muttered as he turned back and saw the dead man on his feet. Slouched over, but still standing.
Tensei, on the other hand, was on autopilot. The command and instinct were driving his numb body, fighting through the poison and pain to take the mercenaries with him. No humor, no sarcasm. Only one goal.
"Take your attackers with you."
The shorter man, recovering from the shock, grinned. He looked over at his brother, the larger one, both wearing identical grins as they rushed toward the half-dead man."Looks like the title of 'the best' isn't for show after all!" one of them yelled.
The larger one got there first and swung, expecting an easy kill. He didn't understand what happened when he suddenly found himself staring at the ceiling, lungs empty of air.
Tensei's body, despite the immense pain from every movement, didn't stop. Old instincts fully took over as he twisted, caught the larger man's fist, and flung him over his shoulder in one smooth motion.
Without missing a beat, he moved to the smaller man, slid low, swept his legs, spun, and connected with a solid heel kick to the jaw before the guy even touched the ground again.
Snapping out of his surprise, the huge man got back up and rushed Tensei. Funny how he hadn't learned that doesn't work yet.
Tensei didn't move at first. He waited until the large man was right behind him, fist cocked back… then he moved. He spun around and punched with everything he had, right in the center of the man's chest. He felt bones shatter under his fist, felt his knuckles slam directly into the man's heart. The larger man coughed blood as his outstretched hand hung empty in the air before dropping without fanfare, signifying his death.
The smaller man froze in fear, then scrambled to his feet, crawling away while screaming.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE, I DON'T WANNA DIE, I DON'T WANNA—"
His screams were silenced by a sickening crunch as muscle and bone gave way to Tensei's fist, which for the second time that day, connected straight to a heart, destroying it completely.
Slowly standing, Tensei glanced around. The once popular and beautiful bar was now in ruins. The remains of people—innocents, probably—were scattered across the place, and the two new corpses lay in their own bloody corners.
This was his life. Drink, kill, get paid, kill again. Maybe innocent, maybe not. He wasn't paid to ask questions. He was paid to kill, and he did it without mercy. It's what earned him the title of "the best."
And that led to this—his life ending right after ending two more.
That whole final stand wasn't even registered in his memory. All he knew was the strong scent of copper, and through his fading vision, he caught countless shades of red.
'You know, dying really is weird,' he thought, since his mouth had stopped working a while ago. 'No farewell speeches, no fanfare, no dramatic theme song… just thoughts and wonders I never asked for.' He mentally laughed. So many things he'd never thought he'd think about.
Like how he never regretted what he became. It was pretty fun fighting all those people. The money was nice too.
He wanted a girlfriend once. But with his life as a mercenary, he'd never gotten close enough to anyone to even try.
Would anyone miss me? Doubt it. My family's dead. My friends? Either betrayed me or are dead. Mostly in that order. Ken's dumb ass? Probably halfway across the city, halfway through his twenty-fifth bottle of booze, wondering what he'll do with his life when he retires. And he's not even that kind of guy.
Plus, I died a fucking virgin. Ken would probably never stop laughing. If I become a ghost and even hear him chuckle because of that, I'm haunting his dumb ass for eternity.
And then a final question…
Do I even know how to be normal?
I see people living "normal" lives and can't help but wonder if I'd like that kind of life. It seems fun… I guess.
'If I get reborn, I wanna live normally for once,' I chuckled to myself. 'Yeah, right.'
Suddenly everything went dark. Peaceful, finally.
"So this is death, huh?" I thought.
No gunfire. No screaming. No hangovers.
Honestly? Kinda nice.
…Until I realized I could still think.
'Man, what the fuck?'