[Heron's Pov]
Heron stood in the white recovery room of a private, unofficial clinic used by the Executioners. He looked down at the disgraced Executioner who had encountered the anomaly.
The Executioner, still visibly bruised and favouring his ribs, was sitting upright on the bed.
"So." Heron's voice was low. "This is where you've been hiding?"
The man struggled to stand, wincing as he straightened his back. "Sir, I..."
Heron cut him off. "Out of every Executioner in this district, you were the only one who encountered the Anomaly and yet you failed to eliminate him."
"He has friends, sir." the man pleaded, his voice thin with humiliation. "And one of them is the reason I am like this. Not him, the boy is weak."
Heron took a slow, deliberate step closer. "You're weak, too. How do you lose to a mere Candidate? We Executioners are tasked to eliminate Candidates, yet you couldn't take one down?"
He reached out and grabbed the man's throat, his fingers digging in with agonizing pressure. He looked the Executioner dead in the eyes. "There is no place for weak men in my organization."
The man clawed at Heron's hand, wheezing out muffled words. "I... I know... they're location, sir!"
Heron instantly released his throat. The Executioner stumbled back, coughing violently, sucking air into his lungs.
"Yeah?"
"They are in the South East side." the man managed to gasp out, clutching his neck. "There's a house there, the only one with a large yard. That's where one of his friends live."
Heron nodded, a flicker of cold satisfaction in his eyes. In an instant, Heron drew one of his Chained Cleavers. The massive, broad-bladed weapon blurred and the Executioner's head fell, rolling silently onto the floor and blood sprayed across the room.
Heron looked down at the corpse. "Thank you for the intel."
He walked out of the room.
An hour later, Heron arrived at the location. And found Luna and Ria walking out.
He stopped a hundred feet away, his arms folded, the Chained Cleavers resting at his back. He cut directly to the chase.
"Where is the Anomaly?"
Luna's eyes widened. "Even if we knew, we wouldn't tell you."
Heron sighed, a sound of profound disappointment. "That's a shame. For a second there, I was thinking of letting you live after you stripped one of my men's honour."
He blurred. And covered half the distance in a single dash. He was moving to eliminate Luna first.
Ria reacted with instinctive panic. Her eyes squeezed shut and the ground in front of Heron exploded. Giant spikes of ice, the crystalline shards erupted from the pavement.
Heron stopped his advance instantly. And began to dodge, moving backward in an acrobatic retreat as the ice spears materialized directly in his path. The spikes were huge and came in a wide, forcing him to cover a massive amount of ground.
When the assault briefly stopped, Heron instantly lunged again, pulling his Twin Chained Cleavers from his back. He spun in mid-air, slicing the thick ice spikes that stood between him and the girls. The blades moved in a flashing pattern, cleaving the crystal ice easily.
He closed the distance, his blade arcing down toward Ria's terrified and closed eyes.
Suddenly, Elena stepped out of Ria's shadow. She drew a wickedly curved dagger and blocked the cleaver just inches from Ria's head.
At the same instant, Damien appeared in a flash step, his katana already descending in an enhanced slash aimed for Heron's exposed neck.
Heron reacted to the simultaneous double attack with impossible speed. He violently shoved Elena, slamming her against Ria. Then he then vaulted backward, easily jumping over Damien's enhanced slash.
The Butler emerged too, placing himself at Damien's side, his cane ready.
"Your speed is annoyingly impressive." Damien stated, his katana lowered.
Heron straightened, assessing the unexpected alliance. "So, all of you are protecting the Anomaly boy?"
Elena smiled, adjusting her dress. "Whoa, there's an anomaly around here? This sounds like fun."
"No one has the privilege to crush my sister..." Damien stated, his eyes blazing, "except for me. That's what the three of us are here for."
Heron sighed, shaking his head. "Then tell her to surrender the anomaly and I'll be on my way."
"That's not happening." Luna responded, stepping forward despite Ria's terrified grip on her sleeve.
Heron let out a low and slow sigh. "This Game is filled with kids now." He looked at them with genuine pity mixed with contempt. "Do you know what is the purpose of this Game? All of you seem to know nothing about it. This Game is about who is superior to who. Only the strong wins and the weak die as worthless as they are. There is no place for weak people in this world or this Game. So why are you protecting instead of killing?"
"You don't get to tell us how to play the Game when you're not even in it." Damien snapped, his hand tightening on his katana.
"You're right. I'm not in the Game but I'm the one who deals with those who breaks it's rules." Heron replied.
"You don't seem like an Instructor to me." Damien muttered.
Heron laughed again. "Of course, I'm an Executioner and you know what that means."
"That just feels like a fancy word for calling yourself a pawn." Elena countered smoothly, her smile never wavering.
Heron visibly bristled, his calm presence flickering under her insult but he maintained control. He glanced at the two girls, then at the three standing opposite him.
"I'll let you all live this one time." Heron said. "But know this, the longer the Anomaly lives the more you risk pushing the Game to tear itself apart. And in the end none of you will get their Wish, because there won't be a Game left to grant it." He turned and without another word, he vanished in a blur.
Damien lowered his sword. "So, your friend is not only a misfit but also a plague?" he said, turning toward Luna. "No wonder why everyone wants him dead. And I'm going to see to it that he is. I won't lose everything for him."
Damien signaled his team. They stepped into the deep shadow of the house and their figures dissolved into the shadow.
Luna stood shaking, Ria still clinging to her. "This place is not safe anymore." Luna whispered, struggling to hold back her tears. "We need to find another place to stay."