Fantasy Assassin in a modern world

Chapter 20 - We're Sorry

Loki woke up at around four in the morning this was now his usual routine. He started his day with some morning stretches and then proceeded to do some jumping jacks. Once he was done warming up a bit he got dressed and headed out for his morning jog.

It was pretty cold outside during this time of day, but Loki was using this time to train his body and mind to get used to such temperatures. Not to mention the morning jog was also quite calming. As he was jogging he remembered yesterday's events.

...

Once Loki killed the final gang leader related to Luke and his friends he returned to tell Luke that the job has been completed. When Luke and his friends heard what Loki said they could not say anything at all. They already heard from the local news that many of the small gang leaders in the city had perished one by one.

When Luke's friends first heard what Luke said about Loki dealing with their problem, they couldn't believe it, yet now seeing it happening right in front of their eyes they still couldn't believe it. Some random man they had just met, assassinated the local gang leaders, even though they were only leaders of small gangs, they were still part of that side of the world and were extremely dangerous. They weren't people that could be dealt with by ordinary means.

So when they heard from Loki's own mouth that he had finished dealing with the gang leaders, Luke and his friends could no longer hold it in and prostrated in front of Loki pounding their heads onto the ground.

"Thank you!" All of them spoke in unison with loud resounding voices.

"Hey, there's no need to do that, I just did the job you paid me to do. So raise your heads."

The group didn't listen to Loki and continued to have their heads bow down. Loki could see that most of them were crying at this moment.

"No please, allow us to thank you, for everything. It might have been just a job for you, but to us, it was much more than that. You might be labeled as a criminal now, but in our hearts, you are our savior."

"Yeah, the boss... No, I mean, Luke is right. We've already lost hope in going back to that kind of world since no one on that side believed in us, not even ourselves. We all thought that this was the only path we could go on. Yet you not only told us that we could go back, but you actually helped us. If someone like you can believe that we can do it, then how can we not believe it."

One of Luke's friends spoke out as tears and some snot fell down his face. Every word he said resonated with those present.

"He's right. We're not particularly smart, in fact, most of us are labeled as dumb, and all we're really good at is fighting, well against you, we might not have been much, but that was what we were best at. Everyone had treated us as outcasts, as people who could not be redeemed, yet you chose to help us despite what we had planned to do to you. So this time, I won't run away and I'll do my best to live a proper life."

Most of Luke's friends showed their undying gratitude to Loki. They all had been living rather harsh lives were no one believed in them, not even their own families. It was like all of them were forced into this way of living simply because they couldn't fit in. Some of them did it because of how they looked, some of them did it because they were forced by their peers, some of them did it because they had nothing else going for them, and some did it because they could not have the courage to walk forward and took the coward's path. They might have varying reasons, but most of them did it because no one believed in them because no one was there to set them straight, no one cared enough to help them change.

Some tried, but they were all talk and no action, not only did they fail to truly help them, but instead those people pushed Luke and his friends deeper into that part of the world. Also, Loki was someone that could easily kill them, this was one of the deciding factors as to why most of them wanted to change. Some of Luke's friends didn't really want to change their ways but had no other choice since if they don't change and continue doing bad things, the end result would be death. Most of them were definitely grateful, but the major contributing factor for their change was no only because of Loki's belief in them, but because of Loki's strength.

They were not only grateful but also absolutely scared of Loki. Even now as they talk to him, they couldn't believe such a weak-looking person was able to kill gang leaders without being seen.

When Loki saw how grateful they were something inside him stirred. Even back in his old world, he did similar things like this, but he was never thanked before. No matter the job no one had shown him their gratitude, this was the first time. Loki grabbed hold of his chest as he once again remembered his little sister's Shera's face.

'Is this what you wanted Shera, am I finally becoming that ideal assassin you wished for?...' Loki looked at the group who had different expressions on their faces, and he couldn't help but sigh.

'I was going to erase their memories about me once I had enough mana, but I guess I can trust these kids a bit. Also even if they somehow decide to betray me, they have no proof that I did what I did, I made sure to leave no trace behind. So it will just be their words against mine. This might turn out to be a mistake later, but I feel that this is what Shera would've wanted me to do.'

After that, the group had a little party to celebrate and they ate with smiles on their faces.

...

Just remembering that scene where they all thanked him sincerely made Loki smile a bit. He continued his morning jog with a happy smile on his face.

...

Later that afternoon as Liam was going home with his friends, he saw Luke's group. Unlike last time where it was only Luke and one other, this time Luke brought a lot of people with him. The other students coming out of the school gate passed by in fear, some of them couldn't even walk by as they waited for the scary-looking group to leave.

Even Liam was overwhelmed by the sight and wanted to stealthily leave, but he and his friends were already spotted by Luke. Seeing Luke approach him, Liam clenched his fist and so did Kenji, ready for a fight. On the other hand, Niel got his phone out and was about ready to call the cops. When Liam looked at his two friends he felt that this happened before. As Luke's group was now in front of Liam's group, Liam gathered up his courage and spoke.

"What do you want?"

"We're sorry!" Luke's group bowed in unison and apologized, shocking everyone present, especially Liam and his friends.

"Huh?"

"We're sorry for causing you trouble. What my friends did to you was wrong, so if you want you can punch us as much as you want. You can punch and kick until you're satisfied."

Liam couldn't understand what was happening at first, but slowly he was able to digest what was just said. Even his friends looked at the delinquents with surprise and confusion.

"Why are you doing this?" When Liam asked this question, Luke lifted his head and looked at Liam with a smile on his face.

"You might not believe this, but someone came to us and pointed out our mistakes, so we came here to change. I know it doesn't make what we've done in the past disappear, but from here on out we'll be trying our best."

Liam looked at Luke's expression for a few seconds, he could feel Luke's sincerity. Liam closed his eyes and sighed.

"It's alright, we all make mistakes. I can't really say that I fully believe that you guys changed just like that, but I guess I'll trust that you truly want to do something. So whatever happened between us, is over."

"THANK YOU!" Luke and his friends responded with gusto. "If you guys want, do you want to come to the open field and play soccer with us? You see as a sign that we're trying our best, we created a soccer club in our school. We might not be that good, but it's fun to play. So do you want to join us?"

"Not today, maybe next time."

"I see... Any time you guys want to play, you can meet us in the open soccer field near park avenue. That's where we're currently practicing since our school doesn't have the proper facilities." Luke and his group once again bowed their heads before leaving a bewildered Liam and friends. The students watching at the side did not expect such a sequence of events, most of them were expecting Liam to get beaten up.