~2923 words
Vanilla incense smoldered and suffused the entire room with a solemn mood, somewhat masking the fetid miasma of blood and grimy sweat.
In an underground area, away from the purview of the local constabulary and official Beyonder organizations alike, was a rather discreet bunker-like area. It was right underneath the sewers, so the roof had strange green vegetation growing over it.
Inside this bunker-like space were a few people with the source of illumination being a few candle lamps hanging eerily from the ceiling. Some of them produced a rancid sizzling sound as drops of sewage water fell on the candle flame.
Underneath its illumination, a hunched man stood near a chair. The man was dressed in tattered rags and his face was hidden underneath a ponderous black cowl.
The only visible part of his face was the crooked nose that casted a shadow over his lips.
His back was uncomfortably hunched, like the taut string of a high-tension bow. In front of him, on the wooden chair, was a woman who was in her late twenties.
She had auburn hair that sometimes appeared red under the eerie illumination, dark red eyes with thin, perked up brows and a thin nose. Her lips were thick and pendulous, giving her a natural pouting look.
The side of her face showed bulging blue veins and parts of her body seemed to mutate every now and then, bubbling into a disgusting morass of flesh and flames before reverting to normalcy.
The hunched man — Mal — kept staring at her while holding a fistful of her hair in his rough hands that were too large for someone of his frame. He jerked her head sideways playfully and spoke in a chittering manner, as if his vocal cords were vibrating.
"Losing control before Boss comes? How uncouth! Did your parents not teach you manners?"
Mal playfully slapped her across her ivory skin, making that part of her body effervesce up before settling down. The woman had malice in one of her eyes, and a pleading look in the other, as if scared for her life.
Just as Mal was about to slap her again, heavy footsteps filled the underground bunker.
Mal looked back and narrowed his eyes which remained concealed behind the cowl.
As he saw a figure stumble and take support of the wall to walk, he immediately genuflected, making his back hunch even more.
He threw one arm behind himself and bowed respectfully towards the man who seemed to be in the same state as the woman, however, a little better. This newcomer had oily black hair and olive eyes that opened and then shut tight in short intervals.
Hyde was facing early symptoms of losing control himself. He had egregiously underestimated the negative side-effects of Gloom.
When he had used it once before, he quickly took it off, and hence did not suffer from much.
He had assumed that the effects would only be slightly less if he wore it for more than a minute. However, he was totally wrong.
Unlike Ember, Guile or Cyst — who increased the negative effects one at a time — Gloom redoubled its psychotic repercussions with every activation.
That was the reason why after only using Language of Foulness two times, Lava Sword and Sulfur Fireballs once, he was so close to losing control.
However, with the help from Cogitation and medicine that Freya had concocted which could interfere and calm the Spirituality — or agitate it, in another version — he was able to bring himself under control.
After five minutes of Hyde gasping and Mal bending over, he finally gained control of himself and the black oily fur that seemed to grow underneath his shirt, over his back suddenly receded back.
Hyde took a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his brows.
'That was close... While I had expected a lot of things like these to happen, it still almost went out of my control. The Conspirer really is a scary Sequence. And while she did not use the full extent of it, I can only imagine my fate if she had.'
Hyde thought mentally and gulped a dry lump of saliva.
As he turned his head towards the chair, the woman over it began to struggle, thrashing her arms around. However, no matter what she did, she just couldn't bring herself to break free of the ropes bounding her.
Mal finally broke his bow and straightened to his natural angle, which was still quite hunched.
"Welcome back! I have good news!" Mal exclaimed excitedly, as if very happy to see him normal again.
Hyde's eyes swept over Mal, as if he was invisible, and then settled on the woman.
She had visibly calmed down after Mal had stepped away from her, and the mutations proliferating throughout her body and soul had subsided into a stillness akin to a placid, undisturbed pond.
Taking the support of his sword-cane, Hyde walked forward by distributing some of his weight to the cane. The flesh over his skin squirmed, as if there were illusory insects beneath it and he reverted his appearance back to normal.
The woman with mud-caked auburn hair and face suddenly felt her eyes widen but then she scoffed and lowered her head. "I should've seen this coming. Someone like you would definitely have an appearance altering Mystical Item."
Kiyotaka suppressed a groan and stood straight. "Bold of you to cause so much havoc against someone who you thought was not me."
"All research pointed towards your other persona as well. According to our divination results, both you and that black haired face of yours were on our list."
She sighed and scoffed once more, speaking in a self-deprecating manner. "Should've seen this coming."
Giving her head a jerk and flicking her hair back, her eyes fixed on Kiyotaka. "So? What now? I have already told everything to this... deviant of yours. If you have nothing else to ask of me, then just kill me already. If you want my body, be done with it as well."
Kiyotaka stared at the girl for a long time, who kept looking in his eyes, mirroring the same intensity as him.
'She did not act-up by staying in denial of her defeat and immediately accepted it. And instead of beating herself about it, she quickly acknowledged why her plan failed due to considering me as two different people and by being out-planned.
Furthermore, her demeanor is too relaxed. It appears as if she has been conditioned as such from a young age and things such as death or getting sexually assaulted after being captured are not enough to faze her.
Militaristic background? The Feysac Empire's ruling family is Einhorn who are in control of Red Priest Pathway which is centered around war and destruction. Is she from the royal family?
I mean, she is Sequence 6, and has an odd hair colour, which historically, has separated nobility from mundane people. But at the same time, why send a royal family member right in death's maw?
While I can't be considered too dangerous of an opponent, she was still sent to Loen Kingdom and in the capital, no less. This place is teeming with normal Beyonders from Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers and Machinery Hivemind.
Then there are elite teams as well, such as Red Gloves etcetera. There must be elite teams for the other Churches as well. There are many Demigods living in Backlund as well.
If not the Royal Family then...'
As if reading his thoughts, Mal rubbed his rough hands. The sound brought Kiyotaka out of his musings.
"Her name is Astrid Albrecht. Twenty-seven years of age, 1.75m in height, 62 kilograms. Her measurements are 102-..."
"I don't need that."
"Ah... My apologies, Sir... I am sorry..."
"Tsk, tsk." Astrid tilted her head slightly, her lips curving up into an amused smile. "Bad doggy. Next time, make sure to tend to your master's needs more meticulously. A loyal hound that fails to anticipate its owner's expectations is hardly a useful one."
Mal's body suddenly stiffened, and the muscles beneath his tattered clothes tightened as he bristled.
Astrid merely watched his reaction with a trace of satisfaction.
"Interesting," she murmured. "So even a creature like you still understands shame."
Not giving in to her Provocation, Mal continued. "She's the daughter of Rudolf and Elise Albrecht. Albrechts are subsidiaries or serve as a lesser branch to Einhorn Family. They overlook the Winter Province bordering the Intis Republic."
'That explains it. Of course no one would send their direct descendants into a suicide mission such as this. That said, her Provocation ability is really good. Even I felt something when she insulted Mal.' Kiyotaka pondered internally.
"Is your hair colour affected by the pathway?" Kiyotaka turned his head towards her.
"Yeah." Astrid shrugged her shoulders casually. "Direct descendents of Einhorns have fully red hair. The subsidiaries have some shade of it, such as Albrechts have lighter auburn or lighter shade of red. Same goes for the eyes."
Kiyotaka turned his attention back towards Mal.
"The person she came here with was a newly appointed priest at the Church of God of Combat. He was a Sequence 8: Pugilist and was promised the ingredients for Sequence 7: Weapons Master on successful completion of the mission." Mal explained.
"The restraining chains that you had experienced before were an effect of a Mystical Item called Seventh Shackle. It corresponded to powers from from the Prisoner Pathway and some other pathway, capable of restraining spirits, numbing mental faculties, making the target believe they belong in a box and then slowly turning them into stringed toys or puppets.
The reason behind coming after you was, after all, destroyed weapons. The crates that were destroyed during the incident in the docks belonged to Albrechts who were going to use it to sow discord via their moles in Backlund and in the Colonial Islands."
Mal stared at the woman from the corner of his eyes. While Astrid kept the composed smile on her face, she felt a shiver down her spine. "We are currently weeding them out."
"Good. Don't hurt them beyond recognition. I want the bodies to be handed over to me once they're done." Kiyotaka ordered as Mal nodded.
"So, you're a gang leader, huh? Quite a let down, I'd say. Not to mention you survived purely because you happened to wake up quicker than normal. How did you do it?" Astrid asked, crossing one leg over the other.
Mal raised his hand and slapped her across her face hard enough for her to uncross her legs. The chair buckled and she fell on her side, the side of her head hitting the cold floor.
Kiyotaka reached out inside his pocket, taking out a box of cigarettes as Mal pulled her back. The shackles holding her in place jingled as Kiyotaka took out something else from his pocket as well.
He took out a cigarette and took a step forward. Gently tapping her lips with his index finger, he made her part her lips as he inserted a cigarette stick between them before igniting it.
The woman took in a deep puff and huffed out.
"You can tell that I smoke?"
"Being single at this age must make you indulge quite a lot." Kiyotaka replied.
Astrid's brow twitched. "Wasted potential. You should've picked Hunter Pathway."
"Would you not ask how I know that you're single?"
"That doesn't matter, does it? You have already proved your intelligence, I admire you for that, even though I was supposed to kill you. Thank you for the cigarette. Now, if you are finished proving your point, you may kill me."
She revealed her pristine neck by throwing her head back. "Be sure to make it quick."
Her tone was neither fearful nor pleading. "I have no desire to spend my last moments as a fish out of water. Slice swift and deep, right across the carotid. High up, just beneath the jawline." She looked up for a moment, "You know what a carotid is, yeah?"
Without waiting for a reply, she went back to her previous position. "If you have decided my fate, then at least grant me the dignity of ending it without unnecessary cruelty."
As she was done talking, she looked back up. "Ah yes, and do not let that ugly deviant be the last thing I see. If I must die, I would prefer a somewhat respectable face before my eyes."
A faint smirk appeared on her lips. "Although... I suppose I should enjoy it while I can. In a few years, that receding hairline may leave you looking more like a peeled egg than a man."
Kiyotaka's brow involuntarily twitched. 'This woman... She is really good at what she does.'
The two men remained where they stood, while Astrid simply kept her head back and neck stretched.
Every so often, she would lift a hand as far as her restraints allowed, brush two fingers across the side of her neck in a casual slicing gesture, then let it fall again, as if reminding them they were taking unnecessarily long.
Nearly ten minutes passed like that.
"What?" She sighed, however, none of the two answered.
She raised an eyebrow before making the same gesture toward her neck once more, but when she saw no reaction on Kiyotaka's face, she huffed.
"Ah... I see." A knowing smile spread across her lips. "You Loenese are surprisingly conservative.
Her crimson eyes swept over Kiyotaka before lingering there. She tilted her head ever so slightly, exposing the pale curve of her neck once more and pushed her chest up.
"I suppose you have very little experience with women. Or perhaps you simply enjoy making your prisoners squirm before deciding what to do with them."
"No, not really." Kiyotaka replied and took a step forward.
Planting the cigarette — that had halved in length by now — between her long and thin fingers that had long and sharp nails, he looked at her face.
Up close, he could see a mole over her right eye, two beside her upper lip, on the side of her nose, another one between her jaw and right ear, and a smaller one on her chin.
Her skin was flawless and there were no black or whiteheads. However, the place where Mal had slapped left a deep mark, making her skin sink deep into face.
Astrid stared in his eyes and smiled. "Have you perhaps fallen for my charm?"
"No." Kiyotaka responded with indifference. "But I would be lying if I wasn't intrigued."
He turned his head towards Mal. "Get all the information regarding the weapon depository of Feysac in Backlund. It's impossible that they are smuggling out everything."
Mal's face that was hidden behind the cowl seemed to turn into a smirk as he glared at Astrid with a sick and twisted look.
As Kiyotaka walked out of the bunker, his voice reached Mal's ear, turning his smile into a disappointed frown.
"I need her alive and in one piece."
Exhaling exhaustingly through his nose, Mal turned around and glared at the woman who gave her hair a flick.
"Well then, doggy. Shall we begin?" Mal remained silent as she smiled to herself. "Tell me... how large is yours?"
Mal merely stared at the auburn haired woman with a look that was hidden from her, making Astrid sigh dramatically.
"Your cock, I meant." A faint chuckle escaped her lips. "I had imagined someone so eager to throw his weight around would possess something... more impressive."
Without another word, Mal stepped forward, grabbed her by the hair with one hand, and lifted both her and the chair off the ground.
Astrid winced, yet the corners of her lips only curled higher into a victorious grin. "There it is. I was beginning to think I'd struck a nerve. All of you are the same in the end."
"Your provocations are irrelevant." His voice had once again become distorted, as though countless vibrating throats were speaking in unison. "Only his orders matter."
Suddenly, a protrusion began to appear from Mal's temple. It looked as if something was growing from it underneath the cowl.
As the cowl showed a little bit of his face, Astrid's entire body shuddered and the same panicked look appeared on her face, making her entire body show signs of losing control.
Throwing her to the ground, Mal looked down at her writhing form, that looked as if salt was sprinkled over a slug. His lips parted as the protrusion disappeared.
"Anything beyond his commands..." Mal said, his warped voice devoid of emotion, "...carries no significance."
Astrid's composure began to slip away as she felt her own flames burning her from the inside.
As the sensation began to subside and the single stream of blood flowing from her eyes dried out, she looked up. Mal was standing with his hunched back as he rubbed his oily nose.
"Where is the depository? He wants you alive. It is in your hands if you wish to be fully alive or barely alive."
Astrid shivered and looked up. She had a pained look on her face and looked like she was about to cry.
Her lips quivered and eyes brimmed with tears as she let out a croaky voice.
"I— I'd like a serving o-of whale meat and Aurmir's Wine first. Sh-Shoo d-doggy..." She flashed a bloody grin. However, much to her surprise and horror, there was no one there and instead of being on the ground, she was sitting in the same chair, still bound.