"To destroy someone completely, you don't need to kill them.""You only need to make them destroy what little light is left in themselves."— Axios
The room was dim. Cold, sterile. A silent whirring filled the space from the ventilation above. Axios sat in his chair with one leg crossed over the other, a predatory grin already forming as Itsumi entered without being called.
Axios always knew when to pounce.
"Sit down," he said, not even looking up. "This one's... special."
Itsumi obeyed, mechanically. Eyes dull, steps quiet. His hands rested on his thighs like a machine awaiting orders.
Axios slid a thick folder across the table.It stopped in front of Itsumi like a final nail in a coffin.
"Your next target. Don't bother skipping to the end — I know you like to scan for faces first."
Itsumi flipped the folder open.
And froze.
His pupils dilated.
Yurei Matzuri. Fifteen. International idol. Beloved. Talented. Visionary.
A rising symbol of unity in a fractured industry.
She was also… his blood.
A distant cousin. Someone he'd only seen in an old family photo. She was young when he was taken — too young to remember. But he remembered.
Her laughter in the garden.The sound of a toy piano.The way she offered him candy when no one else noticed he was there.
"She's family," Itsumi said at last, his voice more breath than sound.
"And?" Axios leaned back, arms out. "You've killed hundreds. Scientists. Healers. Men and women with world-changing potential. What's one more?"
"She—" Itsumi blinked, his voice trembling. "She wouldn't hurt anyone. She just sings."
"Exactly," Axios said coldly. "She sings hope. And hope is poison."
He stood and began pacing.
"Do you know what hope does, Itsumi?" he hissed. "It creates resistance. It inspires change. And change… ruins balance. It fuels revolutions, cures, rebellions. We don't need more music to make the sheep dream. We need silence."
"You're not asking me," Itsumi muttered.
Axios stopped pacing.
"You're right," he said. "I'm commanding you."
That night, Itsumi stood on the rooftop of an abandoned office tower. Below, the concert lights lit up the city with bursts of pink and blue. The screams of fans and echoes of music reached even here.
He set up the rifle slowly.
Every piece clicked with unnatural precision. His hands knew what to do. His heart didn't.
Through the scope, he found her.
Yurei was glowing.
Not just in the lights — but from something within. She moved like she was dancing in air, not for fame, not for greed, but because she loved to make people feel alive.
Her smile was radiant. Her voice trembled with joy.
She doesn't even know I exist, Itsumi thought.
And after tonight, she never will.
He hesitated.
His finger hovered over the trigger.
She twirled, singing a song about a forgotten boy who wished for light. The irony crushed him.
"I'm sorry," Itsumi whispered. "I'm so sorry."
"This world doesn't deserve you."
He closed one eye.
His heartbeat slowed.
Breath in.
Breath out.
The suppressor was active.
The trajectory disruptor clicked online.
Bang.
The bullet tore through her skull cleanly.
Yurei collapsed mid-spin.
Screams erupted.
The lights cut out.
The world below dissolved into chaos.
Itsumi didn't watch her fall.
He packed the rifle in silence.
Walked away from the rooftop like a ghost.
He didn't cry.
Didn't think.
Didn't feel.
He just existed.
Back at base, Axios was waiting.
His smile was uncontainable.
He spread his arms open like a proud father greeting his favorite child.
"There he is," he said. "The killer of hope."
Itsumi entered slowly, covered in moonlight and ash.
"How did it feel?" Axios asked, stepping closer. "Killing your own blood?"
No answer.
"Did you feel rage? Sadness? Nothing at all?"
Silence.
"You don't even need to answer. I can see it in your face. You're ready now."
He placed his arm around Itsumi's shoulder like they were family.
"You're more than human now. More than weapon. You're... inevitable."
"From this day forward, you'll be the storm they never see coming."
"And I—" Axios leaned in close, voice low like a devil's lullaby, "—I'll make sure the whole world fears your shadow."
Itsumi looked forward .No expression. No light. No soul.
Whatever part of him had remained…died with Yurei.