Parallel Memory

“So, this is the location!”

Hiro checked carefully to make sure that he was in the right place. The place chosen for keeping hostages was really convenient, as there were no humans in sight. Even if there was a big commotion happening here, no one would notice it.

Hiro stood outside the abandoned warehouse, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and determination. He knew that his sister, Yui, was inside, kidnapped by some dangerous people who were likely aiming for his life.

He was not afraid that he would die but that they would kill his sister which was his biggest fear. Along the way, when he raced to the warehouse, his mind was focused on only one thing: saving Yui.

That’s why he did everything that the kidnapper demanded and didn’t inform The Authority or the professors of Ace Academy.

As he approached the entrance, he couldn’t help but think about all the times he had let Yui down in the past. He had always promised to protect her, but he had always been too busy with his own life and work as an Explorer to be there for her when she needed him.

Now because of him, he had implicated her life. If something happened to Yui, Hiro could never forgive herself. It was enough that his parents were targeted because of him, now even his sister had to suffer because of him.

He crept through the shadows, his eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of Yui or her kidnappers. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, and his hands trembled with adrenaline.

As he searched deeper into the warehouse, he heard a faint noise in the distance. He crept closer, his hand on his sword, ready for anything.

-CLANK!

*TCH!

“You are pretty good to be able to notice me!”

The leader of the assassins who struck Hiro said. He thought that he had hidden well enough for anyone below Rank-B to not notice him.

“I am a little sensitive to killing intent!”

Hiro replied, staring at the system that warned him about the attack. He would probably be injured if his System didn’t tell him about him.

“Return my sister and I will forget what happened here!”

Hiro said, releasing his bloodlust.

“Hehe… Looks like you don’t know who you are dealing with!”

-WHOOSH!

Two assassins who were hiding in the shadows revealed themselves and lunged at Hiro from different sides.

Hiro, who already knew about it, swung his sword at the assassin coming from the left. His strike was a surprise to the assassin as he didn’t expect Hiro to attack him. He wanted to defend himself but Hiro’s speed was too fast for him to dodge. The assassin got injured on his right shoulder, leaving him incapacitating.

One assassin had already been taken care of, and for the other, Hiro first blocked his knife attack. Then he quickly cut his abdomen, forcing him to retreat.

However, the fight was still not done. More assassins appeared and attacked Hiro from all directions. Hiro didn’t show any panic as he prepared to use his skills.

[ “StarShatterer Style: Stardust” ]

Stardust is an attack that involves a series of quick and precise strikes that can overwhelm an opponent with a flurry of attacks. Moreover, attack speed only increases with the number of attacks that a user performs.

While it lacked the destructive power of his other moves, it was the perfect skill for his current situation where he needed to deal with multiple enemies. Moreover, even though it was not very strong compared to his other moves, it was not something that Rank-C people could easily take.

-SLICE! -SLICE! -CLANK! -SLICE!

In an instant, the assassins who were attacking Hiro were the ones suffering injuries. Some managed to block Hiro’s attack with their knife but the majority were bleeding as they retreated.

“…”

The leader of the assassins couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He had collected information about Hiro and was certain that the boy was just a Rank-C +. However, his speed exceeded that of Rank-C and his strength was nothing to scoff at.

His prediction was that Hiro would be able to handle three or four of them but currently, even as he deployed 9 of the assassins, they were still on the losing end.

“Stop underestimating him! Use the Blood Frenzy Formation!”

The leader commanded. As things stand, if they didn’t use every skill at their disposal, they would be the ones to lose.

“Blood Frenzy Formation” increases their attack and bloodlust, similar to a berserk state. While their capabilities of thinking decrease, they could ignore the pain and become fearless.

The assassins set up their formation immediately.

[ “Blood Frenzy Formation” ]

Hiro had intended to stop them but it was impossible for him to defeat each individual in a short period of time. Though, before they used the formation, Hiro was able to take care of two assassins.

Now, there are only 8 of them left. For Hiro, those assassins were not very threatening to him as long as they were just fighting. Apart from their skill to hide their presence, Hiro didn’t find their other skills very powerful.

He didn’t think they were that strong since they were at Rank-C. His speed and strength had already broken through to Rank-B -. However, it was unsure whether he would be able to have it easy after they had used their formation.

“Kill! Kill!”

“Kill! Kill!”

“Kill! Kill!”

“Kill him!” …

The assassins were emitting bloodlust as they chanted to kill Hiro. At the moment, they resembled zombies who had nothing but killing in their minds. They rushed to Hiro as they prepared to kill him.

[ “StarShatterer Style: Complete Annihilation” ]

Hiro also didn’t hold back. He had no time to hold himself back as he was worried about the safety of Yui.

-BANG!

One of the assassins who were in the front got directly hit by his attack and died. His body was beyond recognition.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

However, this didn’t stop the other assassins as they neglected their comrades’ bodies and made their way toward Hiro. Because of their formation, their thoughts were only filled with killing Hiro and their fear of death was taken away.

Hiro was not surprised by their reaction. He has faced many opponents that could use a berserk state which ignores one’s fear of death.

-WHOOSH!

[ “Ember Ejection” ]

The assassin’s attack involved throwing his knife which carries destructive energy.

Hiro was sensing great energy from the knife and had decided to dodge it instead of blocking it.

-BOOM!

His instinct proved right as the knife hit the ground and exploded like someone had thrown a grenade. If he had blocked the attack, he would have been gravely injured.

Right after dodging the attack, Hiro was faced with assassins who were attacking him like they were some kind of beast.

-SHUSH! CLANG! CLANG! CLANK!

Hiro dodged the attacks while also blocking the attacks he could not avoid. Even with his superior speed, it was difficult to avoid the attacks from 8 assassins that had been enhanced.

If it was in normal circumstances, he would just need to wait for them to exhaust their stamina and defeat them afterward. However, he could not waste much time here as he was still unsure about Yui’s state.

“Let’s end this!”

[ “System Double Power Activate!” ]

Hiro could have used Limit Release to increase his power but considering the side effects and the situation he was in, he decided to use System power. The system points needed to borrow system power were precious, but compared with Yui’s life, they were nothing.

He wanted to save enough to exchange the points for the rank breakthrough potion but he could always collect the points later.

The leader watched Hiro struggle and sneered when Hiro increased his power. He thought that Hiro was just delaying the inevitable and wasting time.

-BANG!

Hiro punched one of the assassins which sent him flying into the wall. The leader didn’t have time to be surprised as Hiro began to massacre the assassins.

-SLASH! -SLASH! SLASH!

Hiro was killing assassins like he was cutting some vegetables. There was no resistance from the assassins as they didn’t have enough strength to block his attack.

( I need to escape!)

The leader thought. He was the only one who did not use the Blood frenzy Formation and showed fear to the power that Hiro displayed. He knew that their power was not enough to stop Hiro.

The other assassin had already gone insane without fear and was still charging at Hiro, not knowing how futile their efforts were.

“Sorry! However, your death would not be in vain!”

The leader spoke as he began chanting some kind of spell. He knew that those assassins would not be able to stop Hiro nor buy him enough time to escape.

( There is no other choice!)

“Explode!”

As soon as he finished chanting, the bodies of the assassins began to swell. Hiro sensed that their mana was beginning to overload just like Lilith.

-BOOM

But it didn’t take much time for their bodies to explode. Though even with the combination of four bodies exploding, their power was nowhere near enough to defeat Hiro.

Hiro had protected his body with the mana barrier. However, in the time he wasted, the leader of the assassins had already fled.