In the busy streets of the city, a voice rang out above the hustle and bustle. It was loud and clear, and spoken with such conviction that one could not help but pay attention to it.

"And thou shalt bring about joy and brightness, oh worthy Prince of Light. Thou shalt meetst with the Prince of Darkness, the great Darkangel and there shall my Lord, fight an earth-shaking battle to decide the fate of all. "The young man paused, the strange light in this eyes shining and he continued, his arms gesturing wildly.

"Thou shalt gather upon you, the most brave of men and most courageous, and there shalt thou assemble them and bring them together, for this ultimate battle." The young man raised his head up to the sky and his eyes seemed to plead for mercy.

"Should we lose the Prince of Light, ALL will be lost and no more will we see the light of day ...!" The last words were delivered with a desperate exhortation, as if the speaker was fighting in a life-and-death situation. The young man dropped to the ground, clearly exhausted. The half curious, half entranced crowd that had gathered around him drew back and then they started muttering as crowds always do.

"What rubbish!"

"Do you think it’s true? He is a first grade student at the university, you know ... maybe he got into the dark magics .. what a pity.."

"My god, he is violating the King’s orders to even talk about the Darkangel... "

"Do you think he was being possessed? Could it be the devil?" And the crowd drew in a gasp of fear.

Amidst the muttering, the young man of question had by now, fainted.

Kiminobu Kogure. He was just a harmless scholar of average height, with a pleasant and gentle demeanour. He had a open face that one could trust readily, but in this case --- after that dramatic performance, it seemed that the crowd gossiping right in front of him didn’t really care about that at all.

One young boy stepped forward. "Come on, let’s see what his ‘Prince of Light’ can do to us." He sniggered and beckoned to his other young friends. Picking up a stone the size of a man’s palm, he threw it hard at the still figure lying on the pebbled ground.

Whack!

The stone was supposed to hit Kogure, but it got diverted by something else. The stone rolled harmlessly into the bushes nearby and a silver dagger that seemed to appear out of nowhere hit the ground with a ‘clank’ sound. The boy turned. A figure appeared before him. A rather tall young man, with a menacing-looking scar near his chin was looking down dangerously at him.

"I .. I .." The little boy stammered, at the sight of the mercenary. Mercenary. One who kills for gold and silver. A brother of the Dagger. His chosen weapon had already proclaimed his linkage to this old and prestigious guild. An observant eye would immediately be able to see the engraved symbol on the fallen dagger and note that this particular mercenary ranked high among the Brothers. This one would probably have a few other daggers hidden somewhere in his clothes.

"Get lost." He had only said two words but it was carried with such commanding authority that the boy fled with his friends immediately without a second look.

"What the heck are all of you looking at?!" He glared at the curious crowd. Like smoke, the crowd disappeared hurriedly and went about their own business.

Sighing, Hisashi Mitsui bent and retrieved his dagger. Sliding it back into his clothes, he glanced at the fallen young man in front of him. Giving a huge sigh, he cursed involuntarily.

Why do I have to do this?!

Mitsui lifted one of Kogure’s arms and put it around his neck, the other hand sweeping his fringe away from his eyes ---

Have to cut my fringe soon, it really is getting too long ..

Pausing to tuck his hair neatly behind his ears, he wondered.

Why don’t i get those easy paying jobs that *** gets? No no no, they had to give me the troublesome ones ... He gave another loud sigh.

Dammit. I hope he isn’t too heavy..

One hand supported Kogure’s head and the other slid under his knees. Bracing himself, Mitsui lifted Kogure with an almost unbelievable ease and stood up.

Right, first half of mission over.