After My Partner Turned Small, He Changed His Name to Mammon

[Blurb withdrawn] [Timeline has reached the Representative Battle] Phoenix has a partner. His name is Viper. He is the world's strongest natural illusionist, and he saved her life when she was fourteen. The price was a bill astronomical enough to make anyone's jaw drop. Phoenix couldn't pay him back, so he said: “You don't have to.” The young man's face was hidden beneath a wide cloak, revealing only the pale lower half of his face and the two dark inverted-triangle tattoos on it. His voice was cool and calm. “I happen to be in need of a partner.” And so they began working together. Phoenix was Weapon 037, a product of the lab. She was a professional killer, an assassin. With a dagger in hand, she fought her way through the underworld, and she and Viper made a name for themselves as partners. They worked together for six years. Then, in their sixth year, during a mission, Viper suddenly sensed the illusion link connecting them dissolve from the world like melting foam. Along with Phoenix. He went to investigate. An assassin who had worked with her said they had parted ways a month and a half ago. Her informant said she had come to ask for intelligence on Southern Italy a month ago. The employer for her last mission said she had disappeared halfway through, before finishing the job, and had not been seen since. Viper went to the place where she had vanished. The ruins were scorched black by fire. Broken pipes and bricks lay scattered across the ground. Viper stepped through the dust and sensed the lingering trace of her flames, mingled with his own mistfire. He let out a cold, absurd laugh. ^ The timeline runs from the Rainbow Children period to the Representative Battle. The romance is entangled with the gravity system. See the author's note in Chapter One for details. ○ Pairing: Viper/Mammon, strictly one-on-one, no unrequited love. ○ Major OOC warning. ○ I'm terrible at blurbs and titles. Sometimes I feel like an idiot. ○ This is my take on Viper/Mammon, and I have so many personal headcanons I've lost count. ○ The heroine has the attributes of a fragile Cloud-type magic assassin (Cloud > Sky). ○ More to come if I think of anything. Inspiration: 2025.8.27 Polished: 2026.1.21 Revised: 2026.5.16 Archived Theme: Life's road is long, and everything can change in an instant, so cherish the present.