Intermission: Black Cuckoo in action

The mob boss looked at the dirty sack that sat on his expensive desk, took a deep breath on his tohacco cigar and smiled. “I must say, I am tremendously impressed. Or perhaps that is merely as expected of the mighty Black Cuckoo? Truly the rumors about you where not exaggerated.”

Black Cuckoo gave a curt nod on that. “I am pleased that my services were satisfactory.”

“With this the Capua family is finished. My rule over Red is set in stone.” He took another puff and used the decapitated head of his hated rival as an ashtray. “We must drink to this occasion! Not the usual filth! Bring out that Grand Chardonnay from Leazas!” On cue, one of the Don's goons offered Black Cuckoo a glass with deep red wine.

Black Cuckoo inspected her glass for a bit before handing it back. “I fear. I must decline,”

The Don grinned at that. “Careful, eh?” He demonstratively took Black Cuckoo's glass and drank deep, before offering her the other.

“Nonetheless. I don't drink while on a mission.”

The boss sighed at that. “What a waste. And here I thought I could offer you one final pleasure.”

“I take my reward now. 300 Gold Coins, as in accordance with my contract.”

The mafioso chuckled at that. “I don't think so.”

Suddenly numerous crossbows where pointed at Black Cuckoo. Three guards moved swiftly in front of their boss, while the two goons at the door locked the room.

The Don gazed upon the blood red vintage with great interest. “You see, I dislike risks. And an assassin of your caliber is a tremendous risk. What guarantee do I have that you won't come after me?”

Despite having four crossbows directly pointed at her, Black Cuckoo did not seem troubled. “I do offer an insurance service. 600 Gold and I will refuse any contract that involves you.”

First, there was just the usual chuckle. Then, the mob boss started howling with laughter. “So, you want to triple your reward is that it? That is quite the exorbitant pricing you have! Some might call it extortion!”

“I call it fair. Certainly a cheaper price then ****.”

That got another gale of laughter out of the boss. This time, his underlings joined in. “I see you are fearless to the end. I can respect such bravery. But bravery and foolishness are two sides of the same coin. A truly masterful assassin would have never walked inside a lions den with such carelessness.” He took another sip out of his drink. “When all is said and done, you are nothing more then a tool to be used by your betters.”

Black Cuckoo remained silent at that.

“Such a shame”, the Don mused. “You do have a very nice body. I would sell you to one of my associates. But no. I am afraid I am very risk averse person. You have to be, to thrive in this business. Anyways”, the Boss took one final puff at his cigar and put it out on the tongue of his former rival. “Any last words? Feel free to curse me if it helps your passing.”

“2650 Gold.”

“Hm?”

“5 Targets at Level sub 20, 200 Gold each. 3 at sub 25, 250 each. That big one will cost you 500. In addition 400 Gold extra due to multiple targets and express charge. Do you accept these conditions?”

The boss made a face at that, as if he had grown tired of these antics. “Kill her.”

4 Crossbows thumbed and 4 bolts flew towards Black Cuckoo. The attackers surrounded Black Cuckoo on all sides, as such escape should have been impossible.

And it was.

Black Cuckoo was able to deflect two of the bolts with her whip, but the other two burrowed themselves into her torso and left tight. Black Cuckoo collapsed. She wasn't **** yet, but no matter. This was already over. The Don was almost disappointed.

That was when the two goons at the door grunted and collapsed. A closer inspection would have revealed that they each had a crossbow bolt lodged inside their throat. But no one inside the room had currently time for this.

“Contract accepted.”

Black Cuckoo was not as incapacitated as her assailants assumed. With lightning quick speed, she rushed towards one of the crossbowmen and slit his throat with a dagger. A second goon tried to load in another shot and paid for that mistake with his life just one second after his colleague passed.

The two remaining crossbowmen where smarter, dropping their weapons in favor of a dagger and charged Black Cuckoo. The assassin did not retaliate but swiftly retreated towards the entrance. She tried the door, only to realize that it was locked.

“You fucking bitch!” Invigorated by the assassins attempt to flee, two more of the Don's guard joined the pursuit. The four men had their eyes peeled on the ninja, making sure to catch any movement and because of that they did not notice the puchi hanny Black Cuckoo had planted on the floor.

The ensuing explosion instantly killed three more of the attackers and maimed the last one beyond saving.

The whole encounter took exactly 9.1 seconds.

Despite this grizzly display, that reduced the Don's bodyguards to a lone single man, he still exuded an aura of confidence. He pushed a button on his desk and a hazy orange shimmer began to engulf his desk. A magic Barrier. “Gregorio, you have my permission to move.”

The bodyguard answered with a grunt and slowly edged towards Black Cuckoo, careful to have none of the bodies impede his movement.

Knowing how to read an opponent, Gregorio had used this fight to study Black Cuckoo's fighting style and devise a counter strategy. He knew he was no match for her speed, but Black Cuckoo was injured. Furthermore, there was already loud shouting and banging from outside. While the door was locked, this would not stall reinforcements forever.

In short, Black Cuckoo would have to finish this fight quickly and that would leave her open to a counter.

As expected, Black Cuckoo came rushing at him, Gregorio raised his arms to protect his vital organs. The assassin slashed at him with her dagger. Gregorio barely noticed the damage. Not yet. Do not attack haphazardly. Let her get tired first. One counter, at the perfect time will settle this.

Gregorio used to be a prize boxer, before he was picked up to be the Don's personal bodyguard. With a level cap of 28, Tough Skin Level 1 and Boxing Skill Level 2, he was one in a thousand.

Unfortunately for him. Black Cuckoo was one in ten thousand.

Black Cuckoo continued to slash at Gregorio from multiple angles. None of the wounds did any significant amount of damage, the scratches she inflicted barely worth mentioning. It would require thousands of such cuts to even dent his health bar. His stamina could easily outla...

It was the 27th cut that triggered Deathblow. Gregorio unfortunately was not immune and collapsed due to instant ****.

“W-what!”

For the first time the Don abandoned his countenance. Clearly, the failure of his most valuable bodyguard was not within his calculations. “Impossible!”

“You called me appearing here foolish.” Black Cuckoo regarded the mob boss coolly. “That is not so. No member of your organisation is of any threat to me.”

“This is the same stuff Zeth uses for the Maginot line!”, the Don announced pointing frantically at his magic barrier. “No matter what you do, I am safe!”

“Are you?”

Suddenly, a sharp pain assaulted the Don's chest. He started to cough. “W-what?”

“Pious toxin”, Black Cuckoo explained. “With the amount you ingested you will be **** within the hour. It is not an easy way to go.”

“W-when did you?” He stared at the empty wineglass and his eyes widened. “I-Impossible!”

“I do have the antidote. Provided of course you have my 2950 Gold.”

That was the moment when the heavy oak door to the Don's office finally gave way.

Black Cuckoo didn't even deign to look at them. “I doubt you have any more money readily available. So I suggest you do take care that your fee won't raise even further.”

…

..

.

“These Kalars are awful! I hate them!”, Kanami complained to Freya while munching down on her food. “They pursued us through the entire forest! Shooting arrows at us! We barely escaped with our lives!”

“I did level up to level 5, though”, Poron added. “So, I think it was a worthwhile experience.”

“How can you even say this?”, Kanami groaned. “Oh, I know! It's because the queen did erotic things with you! How lewd! Have you no shame, Poron?”

“What madness possessed you to go after the Kalar in the first place?” Freya took a swig from her bottle and sighed deeply. “Hate to break it you, but you got off easy.”

“Eh! But get this! I almost got 50 Gold Coins from that mission! 50 Coins! I would have gotten 100 Coins on the last one and 500 on the one before that.” Kanami grinned proudly. “I'm moving up in the world!”

“Missions you all failed. And you move in the wrong direction as far as your reward is concerned”, Freya pointed out. ”Also you forgot the one inbetween where you made 10 Silver.”

“Really? Which one was that?”, asked Poron rather curious.

“Uggghh! Shut up! Don't talk about that one!” Kanami screamed blushing. “What did you even do in the meantime? I bet you just lazed around drinking!”

“Well, something like that”, Freya said, sipping on her Grand Chardonnay a bit more before handing the bottle to Kanami. When all was said and done, she really preferred beer.