Classless Ascension

In a tiny apartment, four men were shivering in a bathtub.

They were tied up with no chance to escape their mad captor. Their souls almost left their bodies just thinking about the fate that awaited them. 

There were three things that they could hear: 

- The leaking faucet let through tiny droplets that would splash right next to them. Drip drop drip drop. It represented their life that was about to be extinguished. 

- The upbeat music blasting from the nearby club that they could hear even here. It shattered all their hopes of being rescued as no one would even hear their muffled screams for help. After all, they were all gagged. 

- The cries of pure anguish coming from the nearby apartment room that had been turned into a torture chamber. Just the plastic sheet had been enough to make them understand how bloody this torture session would be. 

The atmosphere was even gloomier than a funeral. What truly was the worst was the helplessness. They were forced to wait for their end without even being able to fight back. They had missed their only chance. No, this would assume they had one in the first place. 

They had only been pawns in an insane sadist's game. The ones that had badmouthed him felt regret. Were they seriously going to die for such a stupid reason?! As for the assassins, they couldn't help but think it was karma— and god, did they hate karma! 

They didn't regret killing people for a living. No, they regretted targetting a man with a 100k bounty on his head. Of course, it wouldn't be an easy thing to collect it! 

The muffled screams of the fifth member seemed to be laden with tons of pleading. What horrors was the poor man currently going through?! The man in the other room sounded like he was getting cut to pieces while alive.

Yet, all this guy had done was insult their target once! What would happen to them who had targeted his life?! The assassins felt like crying. 

It had only taken a few minutes for the man to break his victim. He had probably been confessing about everything he could think of and more. They couldn't understand anything from their position, but they felt the man's despair. 

After the torture, a long silence happened that wasn't reassuring in the least. Life had been snuffed out so easily. The four men couldn't help but look at others, seeing the same panic they felt in their eyes. Then, the madman entered the bathroom and grabbed another prey. 

The screams, the pleading, the confessing, and the deadly silence happened again. At this point, they all knew with certainty that this day would be their last. They felt regret and emptiness. 

Some would die for petty insults over drinks, while others would perish because of their greed. They desired nothing more than a peaceful death instead of this terrifying fate. 

It soon appeared that the ones that confessed the quickest died the fastest. This meant suffering less horrible pain. How low had one fallen when they considered death to be a good thing?

One after one, the men were tortured to death, with the assassins being the two last ones. They couldn't help but share a glance, seeing the same despair on the other's face. Then, it was the poison assassin's turn. 

There was only one remaining. The man hadn't even had the opportunity to strike and had caused no harm whatsoever so far. All that he had done was to follow his target home, even being used as a carry mule. This was so fucking unfair! 

As he was brought to the room, he couldn't help but retch. The stench was too much even for him. There was bloody mush all over the place. It wasn't just a torture chamber; it had been turned into a human butchery. 

Was this karma? No, the man in front of him was evil incarnate! As the devil looked at him, he stopped breathing. This was too much, way too fucking much! 

He could feel his aura that was oppressing his very spirit. He could sense the ruthlessness, the complete disregard for human life, and darkness that made him want to hide. There was pressure too, so much of it! He was akin to a small animal frightened into submission. 

The man, no the monster, turned toward him with a smile: 

"Now, let's play a game. The less interesting the information you tell me and the more I will play with you instead. Simple, right? Fun is guaranteed! Now, what do you know about the League of Assassins?" He asked in an icy tone. 

The League of Assassins? One would have to be an idiot to even blabber about them! But, somehow, he felt that this single crazy guy was perhaps the worst evil of the two. 

The assassin instantly spilled everything he knew. But he didn't fucking know anything of value! He was somewhat successful in the assassination business, but joining the League was more about luck! No one had ever invited him! 

Could he just admit this? No fucking way! The monster in front of him had a butcher knife in one hand and healing pills in the other. He would heal him and break him relentlessly! No, he had to answer! But, what could he even say?! everything!

"T-the only ones that know anything about it are its members! But I heard it's impossible to torture any information out of them! They all are affected by memory-altering spells!" The assassin cried out. (A) 

"That's obviously false. I've had people tell me about one of their meet-up spots before…." The man said as he frowned.

"I'm telling the truth! It was probably a trap all along! They probably thought they were being truthful too. I swear, it's common knowledge in our circle!" The assassin pleaded, hoping his captor would believe him. (A)

He couldn't help but shake as the man took out his UW and called someone. "Hey, just making sure, but did you guys check out the assassin's story?" Then a few seconds later, he sighed. "Alright, I understand." 

The devil hung up and turned toward the assassin: "Seems that your story checks out. Now, how would one go on about cracking this?" He seemed friendly, but it was obviously all a lie! 

The assassin couldn't help but feel relieved. The pressure on him seemed slightly reduced. He would probably still die, but perhaps he could have an intact corpse and a peaceful death? He had to nail this question. 

"The only method would be to join them directly. For them to do business, they ought to have a complete system in place. Wherever there is an organization, there are flaws. If you can somehow exploit them, then you could be fine!" (A)

"I see. Then how does one join?" The man curiously asked. 

"Rumors have it that the League has recruiters that will randomly invite people to join their ranks. No one knows who they invite or why, but it doesn't seem to follow any set pattern." (A)

"One requires luck, eh? What happens afterward?" The man clicked his tongue but still showed interest. 

"Every year, many assassins seem to either suddenly die while targeting people that didn't have a bounty, or they come back home having forgotten a week of memories. There are theories out there that all these people are ones that failed the recruitment."(A)

"So there is some test. Passing it shouldn't be too hard, considering that some weaklings are in their midsts. It will all hang upon the luck to be chosen in the first place, it seems. This shouldn't be too big an issue…."

The man was mumbling to himself, deep in thoughts. The assassin couldn't help but feel the stress. What would happen to him now? He could only hope that his captor would be merciful.

That's when he suddenly turned his way, removing the bindings holding him, and putting a low-quality healing pill in his mouth. A few seconds later, he had control of his body once more, but he didn't dare even try to move. 

What the heck was happening? Was the man trying to reignite his hopes only to shatter them? He turned toward him: "What are you waiting for? You can go. just don't go around blabbing to people, or you know what will happen…." 

"W-what?! You aren't going to kill me?" He asked, baffled while looking at the gore all over. (A)

"Do you want to die or something?" Then the man followed his gaze, chuckling to himself as he picked a nearby piece of meat. "Oh, you mean this?" He then slowly brought it to his mouth, gobbling the bloody mush up. 

The assassin couldn't help but tremble, seeing such an insane scene. But then the man's words made him feel silly: "It's just pork. I grabbed a bunch at a local butcher. Want some?" He even pleasantly offered him some. 

How could have the assassin mistaken pork for human remains?! No, it was all because of the man. He had made it sound so believable! He stiffly put one foot in front of the other, somehow leaving with his life. 

He felt relief as he was out in the open. He was alive! The usual him would have wanted to get revenge, but somehow he just felt like getting as far as possible from this monster! 

What had even happened to the others? Were they alive? Had he survived because he had given valuable information? He had no clue, but he wouldn't look into it. 

Hell, there was no way he wanted to be mixed up with someone planning to tackle the League of Assassins! This would probably end up as such a colossal mess….