Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

She saw two pinpricks staring in her direction. A pair of dark orange eyes with vertical pupils that were sharp as a knife.

Then her eyes fell on a vicious yet tempting smirk.

“Let us talk first, shall we, Kiku-san?”

“Why do you know my name?” His smirk slightly faded, and he stared at Kiku with a blank expression.

“On the second thought,” he pulled his katana forward and kept it on the floor, “I think we should directly get to the point,”

“That is more like a murderer now.” Kiku used her hands to push herself out of the sofa and stand up in front of the boss.

Her hand went behind her back. She closed and opened her fist a few times but… nothing appeared in her hands.

She was left with no choice but to play along with these murderers.

Kiku lifted her upper lip, and curled her lower lip down to bite her lower lip.

He lifted his eyes at her without getting off the sofa, “Fine,” he smirked, “Where is the wand?” Kiku’s eyes wandered all over the room, “Where is that magic wand?”

She gulped. Her eyes landed back on the man with the snake’s eyes, “What wand? I do not have any,” she declared, “I do not even have mine-“

“Tch,” he looked down before getting up, “You know, it is blue and black in color…” Kiku’s eyes fidgeted in fear, the boss passed a sharp glare at her, “Yes…” he lifted his katana, “Yes, I am talking about one of the three legendary wands of wizards.”

Kiku took a step back. Her eyes wandered past the man in black. He glanced behind him then back at her.

He was not sure where Kiku had glanced at till her eyes fixed on the door of the storeroom closet.

“In that closet?” he lifted his katana to point at a door, “I will get it, thanks,”

She clenched her fists at the sight of the bad guy turning around and walking towards the storeroom closet.

“No, you do not!” she ran up to him and stood in front of him, “Get lost.” she looked straight into the snake’s eyes.

The man’s expression faded. He had not expected her to be this persistent, “Let me have the wand… and I will make your death… well, painless?”

Kiku gulped. She did not move from her spot. The man was annoyed at her actions, then his eyes fell on her rising arms.

“Stay…” she lifted her arms to protect the closet, “…Away, you piece of shit,” she dropped her head and bit her lip.

She did not expect to get out of this house alive, her hope to see the daylight tomorrow was almost zero and so were her chances to survive the night. But if she was going to die anyway… Why not give him a fight? Or take an arm? Or a leg? Or leave him with a grave injury?

No mage is allowed to use this deadly spell unless they are in a life-threatening situation. ‘Shinigami no Noroi…’

“Have it your way then–” the boss started but stopped.

After Kiku muttered the first part of the spell under her breath, she raised her head and jerked her petite body to run inside the closet.

“….how would you feel if an infant tries to put up a fight against a lion? You know that he can not win anyway.”

The man in black suddenly disappeared from his spot after Kiku went inside the storeroom closet.

‘There.’ her hands reached a package, she dug inside the box and pulled out a black color wand case which had thin strokes of dark blue color wrapping around it.

She flipped open the metal case. Inside the case sat a black color wand with blue lines wrapping around it.

She picked the wand hurriedly, turned around, and pointed the wand in front of her, “Shin–” she stopped midway when she felt a cold metal blade touch her neck.

It must have been her mind playing illusion games on her but whatever the reason was, she saw her wand was about to touch a man’s neck but before it could, a pair of snake’s eyes flashed in front of her eyesight.

It was not her mind playing games on her, when she saw those two pinpricks that glared at her, she was sure this was not an illusion.

She stared at the two people, with her eyes wide in shock, who stood in the closet’s doorway. She was startled.

Guns cocked. Metal clanged with each other, and mechanical parts unwound.

A black advanced gun was pointed at her face by the vice boss. The freshman stretched his hand forward which soon transformed into a hollow mini-cannon.

“Aah!” she snapped out of her daze when she felt a stinging pain in her stomach. Her eyes moved down to see blood coming out of her stomach.

Kiku planned to lift and move the wand away, however, the person behind her grabbed her wrist. He did not stop there, he squeezed her thin wrist in his hand.

“S- stop…” she let out a weak groan in pain. Her wrist bones cracked, and everyone heard the cracking sound.

“You should have handed me this since the start…” the wand fell off her hand and the man behind her grabbed it.

Kiku could feel the strength leaving her arms, but she decided to protest once again, “Give it… back!” her shout made blood pour out of the small hole created in her stomach.

The man moved his katana away from Kiku’s neck, he lifted it and brought it down in an instant.

Stab!

Kiku’s right leg gave up on her, when she looked down, the man’s katana had gone through her thigh.

“You would have had a painless death…” the man looked down at Kiku who struggled but fell to the floor.

He moved his eyes to his teammates, “I want you to treat her wounds and hurt her again,” he pulled his katana out of her thigh, “Now.”

Shot.

Hidari and his junior shot Kiku in the stomach and legs, then they used their advanced technology to treat her wounds- at least, till they had stopped the bleeding.

The dark man with snake’s eyes picked up the wand case and walked out of the closet. “Finally… mission completed,” he sighed.

He brought his katana back to its scabbard. Then he put the wand in its wand case. ‘Why does that old man want this?’ he thought, ‘Well, not like a scientist like me can understand.’ and a mercenary, he is.

“Sir, we are done,” Hidari called his boss from the closet.

“Bring her out, throw her on the floor,” he ordered as he put the wand case in his coat’s pocket.

“Leave me…” her voice was weak as a little insect. The man turned around.

Kiku’s body was dragged out, her face faced the floor, her hand was on her head, and her legs made a red line on the floor as she was dragged by the freshman, Hidari had ordered him to drag the woman out by her hair.

“Here, sir!” he jerked his arm forward and threw Kiku right under his boss’ feet.

The man looked down at Kiku with his deadly eyes. His hand reached for his katana’s hilt, “Suffer, Kiku-san,” his katana, shone as a brand new one came out, he gave it a strong swing.

Blood sprayed all over the white floor after both of Kiku’s legs were cut by the man in black.

Kiku did not even scream this time. All of the torture had been so much for her that… in the end, she lost her consciousness.

“Stop the bleeding,” he ordered as he put his katana back into the scabbard. The freshman got to work.

“Should we wait for ‘him’, sir?” Hidari asked.

The boss turned his eyes around. He glanced around the house at the same time he grabbed his sunglasses.

“No…” he put on his sunglasses, “We got what we came for… let that little boy suffer from the loss of his dear maid,” his eyes were hidden by his sunglasses.

“Our mission as of this moment… is successful.”