Everyone Else Has a System

During my time working under Lucia, there were 4 other people who also worked under her alongside me.

An information broker, code name Spike, Mike.

A deadly assassin, code name Masked Madonna, Cristine.

A master of puppets, the Puppeteer of Death, original name Unknown.

A smooth talker, code name Stage, original name Delen.

If my memory serves me right, then there was another person working before I was there… a childlike person who was trained under Lucia. Hmmm… what was her name… Eliza yeah.

...…

"Hmmm… is there anybody inside?" A familiar voice of a girl came from the outside as the entrance of the apartment was opened.

Hearing her voice, Zero immediately hid himself in the shadows before placing everything inside his space ring. He then waited for the girl to come forward.

After a few moments, 2 girls slowly came inside with a cautious expression as they examined around.

'Long white hair, blue eyes and a small mole below her lips Sligh on the right side. Cristine, huh? And here I thought, I was the first one who was brought here… guess there were more things Lucia hid from me than I had anticipated. Though what about the other girl?' Zero thought as he observed the child beside Cristine.

Small bowl cut white hair with the same blue eyes as that of Cristine. She even looked like Cristine. They both looked around for a few moments before dropping their guards down as they sat on the couch.

I slowly move out of the shadows and sigh before speaking," The name is Zero. I have come here to seek refuge, though it doesn't look like it's just an empty apartment." The moment Cristine 'relaxed her guard', she had already found out about my existence.

She might be one of the weakest among all of us back then, but then again, she was a skilled assassin. Had it been any of the others, I might have had a chance that I could escape unsighted but her? No way in hell! She might as well be already planning how to tackle me when she pretended to let her guard down.

She turns to me with a slightly interested look and says,"Is that so? Well, that is some bad luck you got." She has more or less decided to dispose of me. Do I have something that can make her change her mind? Hmmm…

"Is there anything I can do to get out of this situation?" I ask with complete sincerity. Even though Cristine worked under Lucia, she was one of the few people who didn't treat me badly. She even protected me once, even though it was for the sake of the mission. It still counts, I suppose.

'I don't want to make things messy anymore,' Zero thought, waiting for the answer as he looked at the young white-haired girl, cautiously looking at the exchange between me and Cristine.

"Hmmm… I don't think so. There is nothing a brat like you could possibly give me," Cristine spoke as she stood up and I took a step back before gulping and speaking," think of me something like a God for once and ask. Maybe I can give you something that you can't even fathom getting your hands on?"

Having the knowledge of the future, I bet on the chances that there has to be something that she desperately wants. Just please be there! Don't want to unnecessarily create a mess by killing someone I don't want to…

Cristine chuckles at my words before stopping and then thinking for a few moments. She looked like she was contemplating something.

"There is this thing called Almertitie. If you can provide any information about it, I might consider letting you go," she says as she takes out a cigarette and begins smoking while waiting for my answer. Looks like she decided to amuse me for a few moments.

"Almertitie?" Confused, Zero looked at Cristine with an analysing gaze. Observing Zero's confused gaze, Cristine chuckled before muttering,'well, it was worth a try, I guess.' before slowly moving to take out her weapon but…

"Why do you need the soul releasing stone?" Zero asked with the same gaze as he analysed Cristine, and she couldn't help but look at Zero with a dumbfounded face.

"You know about it?" Cristine looked at Zero as a ray of hope enters her eyes. She looked at Zero for answers and Zero nodded in return as his expression turned serious and once again asked,"It's not something people should know about in general… So first, tell me why you need it, I will tell you everything accordingly."

Hearing Zero words, Cristine got annoyed a bit as she instantly moved towards Zero with her knife, pointing it at Zero's neck she threatened," Tell me everything you know."

Zero dumbfounded looked at Cristine before figuring out something and then his eyes widened a bit as realisation dawned on him as he then corrected himself,"it's not that I don't want to tell you everything, just that there are too many things connected with Almertitie to tell. If you could provide me with some hints, I shall provide you with the most appropriate thing related to it."

Hearing Zero's words, Cristine couldn't help but look at Zero with a doubtful gaze. She then took her knife back and then looked at the small white-haired girl and spoke,"it's for my sister. She is suffering from a soul dispersal curse. I am trying to find a cure for her. I have heard from… a certain person that Almertitie can cure all soul related problems."

Zero looked at the small white-haired girl once again properly and she looked back at Zero with a curious gaze. Based on the exchange between her sister and Zero, she could deduce that Zero is someone important for her to get her cure. It only made her curious about who he is…

"Was it Lee?" Zero asked with a serious expression, but the other girl couldn't help but get confused at his words.

"Who is Lee?" Cristine asked as she looked at Zero, but Zero shakes his head and then speaks changing the topic,"Can I have a look at your sister?"