A few months back, Kirsten put all his energy and focus into finding the second legendary killer on his list. He had a taste of what to expect from such people with Fate, so he assumed this one wouldn’t be that different.
Long ago rumors began to spread about a lone man living in the mysterious depths of the bayou, the place where an esoteric kind of evil lurks. The rumors said this man had the power and skills of all predators known to man; the strength of a rhino, the speed of a cheetah, the presence of a lion, silent as a mouse, and according to some more outlandish testimonies, he could also remain under water for as long as he pleased, as if he was some mix between man and fish.
Fate was one thing, but these rumors just were too bizarre to be true, or at least that’s what Kirsten believed. Regardless of what he thought, his task was to find him, and make a deal with him.
He arrived on New Orleans and began asking questions, of course no rich individual would know about him, he needed to reach deeper into the entrails of the city, where the essence of voodoo and all sorts of pagan rituals were still commonplace.
After some inquiring, Kirsten found a man simply known as Bastian and his humble abode full of trinkets that he was sure if he were to put a hand on them, a thousand curses would fall upon him in a second.
“No one dares thread in the swamp anymore…” – Said Bastian while preparing a strange concoction Kirsten didn’t want to know what purpose it had. – “Someone became its master, the spirits escaped in fear of his power…I have never seen something like it before, just like that, in a blink, the spirits, their essence, and we, their servants, lost our authority over the swamp.”
“What happened?” -Asked Kirsten.
Bastian inhaled the fumes of the concoction then suddenly stood up and search in his drawers. Kirsten thought that if things got even weirder, he would storm out of there, he would even search for his objective blind if necessary, but he refused to keep dealing with these people.
Bastian showed him a piece of cloth with a strange symbol drawn with old ink on it. It looked like a man hung from his feet. – “Years ago, a group settled in the heart of the swamp.” -Said Bastian. – “They adored a strange god we didn’t know about, their customs were similar to ours, but with time…it seemed like their god demanded them bigger, transgressive sacrifices…people.”
Bastian then showed Kirsten a newspaper’s cutout, it talked about human limbs found floating across the Vermillion River.
“A child was born within this cult.” -Said Bastian. – “A beautiful child I heard, and because he was so beautiful, his people determined he would make a fine sacrifice for their god when he had grown enough.”
“And they sacrificed him?” – Asked Kirsten, now invested in what he was talking about.
“…No…this is where the story gets complicated. There’s nothing stronger than a mother’s love…and that child’s mother was no different. She chose to go against the rules of the cult in order to save her child. She ran away, she intended to go somewhere the cult would never find her and her child, but ultimately, she failed…but she made sure the child wouldn’t fall under the claws of the cult. She put him in a boat and sent him floating down the Brays, and she saw him float away as she got slain…”
“…The kid…what happened to him?”
“All we know is that he arrived at a shore far from there, and he toddled into the depths of the wilderness…the swamp raised him, the forest raised him… mother nature raised him, gave him a power no other man was worthy of possessing, and many years later, he returned with a single goal in mind…to purify the bayou.”
He showed him more cutouts. A coven of witches chopped to pieces, a whole Haitian gang slain and their hideout reduced to rubble, a construction company retreating from a patch of land to the west after being harassed by an “entity”, and finally, a whole cult exterminated, their leaders crucified at the entrance of their villa for everyone to see.
“This child had acquired the power of nature and all of its creations. Every animal gathered in a single place and endowed the child with their very own gift, and when he grew up, it was just a matter of time this happened.”
“Do you know where I can find him?”
“You must be unhinged if you want to meet him. He’ll kill you.”
“I can handle myself. I must meet him no matter what.”
Bastian took a deep breath, putting his palms over his face then looked at him in the eyes. – “If you really want to meet him, head south from here, keep walking south until you see the effigies he’s built to keep strangers away, then find the old trail that heads west…at the end of the trail you’ll find a shack, that’s where he lives…” – Bastian pointed at him. – “If he deems you impure, he won’t hesitate to kill you and use you as fertilizer for his crops.”
“I’ll take my risks.”
Kirsten was heading for the door when suddenly a doubt surfaced in his mind. – “By the way…how do you know about all of this? were you involved somehow?”
Bastian stared at him and then took his shirt off, showing Kirsten the long scar that crossed through his torso, as if someone had attacked him with a buzzsaw. – “I was there when the brotherhood fell, was nothing but a foot soldier guarding the front door. He stood right before me, told me to step aside… I refused.” – He imitated the form a blade with his hand and cut through the air. – “He slashed me with his scythe, but the edge was dull…I laid there on the ground…watching as he killed my brothers…”
He sat down once more, demanding Kirsten to leave at once, and so he did.
Bastian was saying the truth, Kirsten crossed the swamp following his directions and after traveling through some old roads and then the rest on foot, he came across those strange effigies he mentioned; made out of pieces of wood and bones that resembled the shape of a butterfly, he at least hoped those weren’t human bones. Their intended purpose was to be warning signs to keep strangers out, and they seemed to be doing a good job so far.
He headed west from there, and after half an hour of walking and being harassed by mosquitoes, he came upon a small shack in the middle of a clearing in the swamp.
When he stood into the open field, all the denizens of the swamp went rabid, hollering and croaking, sending shivers down Kirsten’s spine.
The sun was about to set, the swamp suddenly fell into a deafening silence. Kirsten looked back at the shack, the entrance door opened slowly with a loud creak. A hooded figure walked out.
There he was, The Chain, looking at a poor bastard who dared tread into his territory.
Kirsten had to act fast. – “Now, listen…”
But he was not having it.
A chain extended itself towards Kirsten at an incredible speed and trapped his leg. Then he was pulled towards the hooded figure, being dragged across the dirt like a plastic bag, weightless and powerless.
Kirsten knew in the back of his head this was bound to happen, something similar happened when he met Charlie, he had fallen into her trap without even realizing it, and knew he had to be more cautious next time. He did his research, dug as deep as he could to find anything on him and how he came to be. In the end he had found something he wasn’t sure was related at all, but now he was sure.
But how helpful could it be, knowing he probably didn’t remember her at all? at a lack of better options, he had no other choice but to try; he would have time to regret his imprudence later in the afterlife if it came to that.
The Chain dragged Kirsten towards him, in range to be slain. When he was at his feet, he raised up a hand axe and was about to let it fall on Kirsten’s skull; it was now or never.
“Mary-Ann Black!” – Yelled Kirsten at the top of his lungs, as articulate as he could be so every single syllable would reach his ears. The axe stopped right over Kirsten’s head, cancelling his execution.
At that distance Kirsten could have a better sight of the face of the man under the hoodie. He was told he was young, but he could’ve never imagined the pureness of his handsomeness. Not a single mark or imperfection on his face, even considering the harsh environment he lived in, the only thing that wasn’t conventionally beautiful in him were those blue savage eyes that hid behind the golden locks of hair that fell over his face, giving up his wild, yet honest nature.
The Chain looked at him like would look at a cornered animal, adding some spiteful feelings due to him mentioning a name he didn’t want in anyone’s mouth.
“The boldness of wandering into my territory disregarding all warnings. Coming unprepared to pose a challenge, and on top of it all, you dare utter the name of my mother with your debaucherous mouth.” – He said as he placed the edge of the axe over Kirsten’s neck. – “What would such a reckless man want by marching into my home and committing so many mistakes?”
Kirsten was surprised by how articulate he was, even using words that no person his age would use or even know of without grabbing a dictionary to find it.
He showed him his hands as a sign of pacifism. – “Please, I mean you no harm! I came here because I wanted to talk to you.”
“Talk with me? I shouldn’t exist for the larger world at all. Someone as knowledgeable as you is dangerous for my peace.” – He raised up his axe, ready to slash his skull with it.
“Wait, wait, wait! I mean it, I’ve heard a lot about you, the things you did outside the swamp didn’t go unnoticed. You became a folk legend, many know about you, many fear you even…”
“Then why are you the only simpleton who’s tried to meet their doom personally with me?”
“I wanted to talk to you…I know you’ve got skills beyond anyone else’s; I know that you are stronger than most in this world…” -Kirsten took a deep breath, thinking about what he should say next. – “I represent a group of likeminded individuals who think that we could benefit each other with an alliance.”
The Chain spat to the ground right next to his head. – “I’m not interested in any kind of pacts with anyone from the tarnished societies. I have already fulfilled my goals by protecting this land from the blasphemous forces that sought to feed from it.”
He allowed Kirsten to get up, put the axe away and hid the chain he used to drag Kirsten through the dirt somewhere within his rudimentary jacket. Kirsten could only wonder what other weapons he was concealing under his clothes.
“I don’t feel like culling you anymore…” -He turned his back on Kirsten. – “So, you should take this chance to run away while you still can. You can forget about any offer you might have for me.”
He walked back into his shack, allowing Kirsten to have a look inside.
It was as humble as any other shack, a bit too small for his liking. A number of hunting tools and weapons adorned the walls. The place was well lit using oil lamps, something Kirsten thought was a thing of the past, but the thing that caught his attention the most was the little altar next to a window adorned with flowers of many types surrounding a picture of none other than Mary-Ann Black. Despite being a child when they got separated, it seemed like he still loved her and remembered her with all his soul.
Kirsten wanted to approach, but was deterred by Chain. – “If you place a step into my home, that foot is going to be severed from the rest of your body.”
“…Right, I’m sorry.” – Said Kirsten, taking two steps back for safe measure.
“Your time to leave is running out.”
Kirsten kept his head held high and stood his ground. He was there on a mission, to recruit The Chain into the organization, but this also became a matter of pride the moment he dragged him through the dirt, he would feel ashamed of himself if he were to capitulate to someone younger than himself by a long shot.
“You said that you already fulfilled your duty by protecting this place from certain groups that wanted to destroy it, right? Well…what if I told you that your job is not exactly over?”
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That seemed to catch his attention.
“The world is a big place, you know? Far bigger than some are willing to admit, and every day a tree gets cut down and no seed is placed in its stead to compensate for its death. There are many people out there who want to destroy nature in order to build frivolous things in exchange of wealth or simple vanity…and they are so powerful that they’ve managed to replace their opposition with people of their own side to discredit the importance of the preservation of nature; villains, each and every last one of them.”
Chain stood upright and looked at him in the eyes, he could see his honesty as clear as day so the hand that was clutching at the axe meant to sever Kirsten’s life was put at ease.
“…If I may try and guess…I’d say you don’t protect this landscape because some superior power gave you this assignment…you protect it because your mother loved it, didn’t she?”
He looked at his mother’s portrait and back at Kirsten. – “You say there’s a greater evil that seeks to destroy this world’s greatest beauty?”
“That is correct.”
“And what role do you and your people play in this conspiracy?”
“We seek to put a stop to their felonies…but for that we need the help of extraordinary and overly competent specialists such as you. You’ve got a gift no other mercenary in this world has, and we think it’s just what we need to put an end to them.”
Chain averted his gaze once again, towards the window, staring at the thick wall of wilderness that was being coddled by the darkness of night, yet he could see it as clear as day. There was no point in protecting a single patch of land while ignoring the silent suffering of the rest of God’s creation.
“…If what you say is true…I’ll have to see it by myself.” – He said. – “But if you are lying, you’ll suffer the consequences.”
“I wouldn’t be here if I had to make up lies to get you on our side…so, will you come with me?”
He took his hood off, allowing him to marvel at his golden hair that some would say shines in the darkness, like a holy symbol that deters evil spirits.
“That I will.”
But before doing anything else, Kirsten had another question for him. – “…By the way, no matter how much I investigated, I never found your real name…do you have any?”
“Arthur…like King Arthur.”
“How do you know about king Arthur?”
“My mother loved that story.”
Kirsten took Arthur out of the country, and showed him what he needed to see to decide to side with the MTW. In the future, knowing what he knows by then, Kirsten would wonder about the reason Darius chose these three assassins, and on top of that, why he chose him to recruit them in the first place. Did he give him the task for a reason? Was he just available for it? was it all decided by chance? Did it even matter?
He would often look at the three of them, wandering about on their usual routines and he’d wonder how each of them saw the world, if it was a hopeful place, a place worth fighting for, or something to be annihilated.
At least for Arthur he could make a fair picture of what he felt about the world. It was indeed worth protecting for no other reason that it was the right thing to do, but for him there weren’t many who understood how to protect nature, and thus he chose to side with them.
Arthur’s only wish was to protect the world his mother loved so much.
Emilia began shuddering because of the cold air descending from the peak of the mountain, he couldn’t stand being the captured princess anymore and wished that the man holding her hostage would just kill her already so she wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore.
She knew about him, his name was Derek Smith, a specialist the organization hired before Darius decided to recruit insane murderers as assassins. After that day, she would be willing to admit that Darius had a point on hiring them, disgusted by the fact that so called “professionals” would have the gall to betray them this way.
“Don’t take it personally, lady.” – He whispered to her ear. – “This is just business, that’s how this world works. We are just gonna find our way out of here, and you won’t ever hear from us anymore.”
“Stupid idiot, as if you could leave. Alquist and his men will gun you down no matter what you try.”
“We’ll see about that, you are just the perfect coin to get us a ticket out of this frozen tomb. Besides, I know Alquist, he has a weakness for women and you are just his type, he isn’t going to risk you getting killed just to stop me, believe me, I always keep this kind of information at hand if I need to improvise.”
Alquist raised up his voice from the other end of the bridge. – “Smith, let’s talk this out, let the woman go!”
“Do you think I’m retarded!? She’s staying with me until you and your minions step aside and let me find my way down this facility.”
“There’s only a few ways this is gonna play out, or you surrender and put down your weapons, you get out of this place in handcuffs! Otherwise, the only way you and your friends are gonna leave this place is in a bunch of body bags!”
“Don’t you care about the life of this lady? Try anything and I’ll splatter her brains all over this snow at our feet.”
Silencer would take some time to reposition and find the correct angle to shoot from, they had reached and impasse, Emilia was the only thing that kept Derek from being gunned down by the dozen men present there.
However, just as he was about to put his tactician mind at work, the key to victory would arrive.
Half-naked and armed with a cold determination, Arthur arrived on the scene, followed closely by Jules. He dropped his jacket right next to Alquist, exposing himself further to the cold, not like it did much to protect him from it anyway, nor he needed it.
“Ah, Chain. Good to see you! We need to make a plan to-” -Arthur walked past him without heeding him attention, straight towards the danger, like the blue prince about to face the dragon to save the princess, but even the blue prince would think twice about doing what he was about to do.
“Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself, come back here!” – ordered Alquist, but Arthur just kept walking.
“Ah…that must be one of the freaks Darius hired.” – Said Derek. –“You think he’s human enough to put your safety above all else? Because I very much doubt it.”
“That also puts you in disadvantage you idiot!” -Said Emilia. – “Didn’t you want to come out of this alive? He’ll make sure you don’t.”
“Not a problem, I still got another card under my sleeve.”
Arthur stopped a dozen steps right in front of them, Emilia couldn’t understand how he could be out there with them in the cold wearing just his boots and pants and nothing above, almost as if he didn’t even perceive the cold.
“This perfidy has come too far.” – Said Arthur pointing at Derek. – “Desist on your reckless foolishness and let her go!”
“Well, what’s this? did you eat a dictionary or something, forest boy?” – Said Derek. – “What I ask is pretty reasonable, I want a ride out of this place for the boys and me, will you get it for me?”
“It’s not my responsibility to make such deals. My only duty with this organization is to cull all of their enemies, and because of your bloody betrayal, you have made a convincing case for why you must be exterminated.”
“Aren’t you a bold little brat? Don’t you care about her life?” – Derek clutched at Emilia’s throat, plunging his nails into her skin. – “I’m strong enough to rip her throat apart with my hand, you wouldn’t be able to take two steps before you are showered with her blood.”
“Is this really the path you wish to take?” -Aske Arthur, he ran his fingers across the chains tied around his waist. – “This is a turning point, a point where everything can change. We don’t know how the future will play out, but at least we can determine our present by ourselves.”
“Don’t spit cheap philosophy at me, brat. Back the fuck off or she dies.”
Arthur closed his eyes and sighed, a cold cloud of smoke coming out of his mouth. – “As you wish.”
Arthur gripped at the chains around his waist, the tension kept escalating. He didn’t show any signs of wanting to back off. Derek kept his eyes on him to see if he would be imprudent enough to try and attack him while he had Emilia’s life in his hands. In the best case scenario, he would be able to kill Emilia, evade his attacks and back off inside the building again and reunite with his comrades, he just needed to be fast enough and put all of his focus into this single task: staying alive, or at least that’s what he thought would happen.
Everyone around them was on edge, Alquist noticed Derek was too focused on Arthur, so maybe he could land a shot on him now that he was distracted, he was tempted by the idea and his hand was approaching his pistol unconsciously.
Silencer was about to arrive at a better position to kill Derek, she had the skill to do so from that position, but she was running out of time.
Like Derek said, he had one last ace up his sleeve. He wasn’t alone out there after all. There were at least eight men waiting for the right moment to strike and deal with the enemies in front of them before any of them realized what was going on. No one would be able to see them, they were equipped with the best camouflage you could buy in the black market, something that was not available to armed forces anywhere in the world; they weren’t ready for it yet. No regular human could ever see through optic camo. However, Arthur was no mere human, the sun revealed their position to him. He didn’t quite understand how they managed to become invisible, nor he needed to.
All he cared about was to show them that no one gets far through treachery.
Crack! Derek felt a sharp pain on his chain, he was suddenly out of air. He stared at Arthur, he was holding onto a chain that had flied towards him somehow. He followed the chain with his eyes to see where the other side was.
Just like he suspected, the other end of the chain had pierced through his chest and hooked itself to his rib cage.
“Auggh…you bastard!” – He was about to kill Emilia, but then Arthur pulled the chain towards him with all of his might, sending Derek flying through the air, releasing Emilia in the process.
Both friends and foes couldn’t process what was happening on time, Derek was completely alone and at the mercy of Arthur the Chain.
Derek was falling head first towards Arthur, he tried to react and reach for his gun to counterattack somehow, but the moment his feet were divorced from the ground, it was already too late.
Arthur used his free hand to take the chain with the sickle and chose the right moment. When Derek was within range, Arthur used his sickle to slice him in half like a familiar sized piece of butter.
Emilia witnessed as the man that a few moments ago was clutching at her throat was being slashed as if he was nothing, a mere piece of paper flying in the air. Arthur washed himself with his blood before his severed corpse fell right behind him. His left hand held a chain whose end was like the head of a spear, sharp and lethal, it still had a piece of Derek’s ribcage stuck on the point.
When she put her eyes on him, she saw a strength she had never seen in any other man. Just like how she understood why Darius sought to hire Butcher’s services, she now understood why he sought Arthur’s.
The invisible agents nearby jumped into action, three of them took Arthur head on armed with knives, since they were invisible, they concluded that Arthur would have a hard time making sense of their figures and position before they could stab him in a vital point.
But even if that was true, Arthur only needed to see the print of their boots sinking in the snow, one after the other.
He swung three chains around, tied to three different blades, decapitating the closest one, slashing the chest of the second and chopping in half the third one.
The moment those two died their optic camo deactivated, surprising the spectators by their sudden appearance.
“What the hell!? Who are they!?” – Said Emilia, trying to get to cover. Alquist reacted and ordered his men to advance.
Stealth was out of the picture now. The remaining agents readied up their guns and opened fire on Arthur. Fast like a gazelle, he rushed towards the agent he had wounded and used him as shield, that’s when Alquist and his men opened fire, following the last location of the muzzle flash from the enemy’s SMGs.
They took cover behind the rocks or hit the ground and blended with the white landscape, a couple of them retreated into the building and stayed close to the entrance, they were invisible, not invincible. The agents looked back at the corpse Arthur was using as a shield, and much to their surprise, Arthur was completely gone.
Suddenly, there was an explosion of snow in the spot where one of them was hiding, when it was cleared out, they could see the corpse of their ally, with a big open wound on his back.
One more time, another explosion of snow, when the snow cleared out it was the same story. They had lost the majority of their team in less than two minutes at the hands of a force of nature, mysterious and lethal. The ones that managed to hide in the building were the smartest ones. They retreated further into the facility to rendezvous with the other agents and make up a plan, they would have to find another way to escape the facility, they had no chance against the organized forces of the MTW anymore. Lionel had effectively left them for dead.
Arthur approached Emilia. – “Are you wounded, lady?” – He asked, reaching his hand to her.
Emilia just stood on her own and shook off the snow that had stuck to her clothes. – “What took you so long? That asshole was going to rip my throat.”
“Those ruthless enough to brutalize women in such a manner deserve the swiftest of punishments. I had to put a lot of my focus and might in the correct moves…” – Arthur clutched the hand he used to grab the chain with the hook blade. – “Otherwise, I would have hooked you with him.”
Emilia shivered. – “W-whatever, all that matters is that freak is dead.”
He just nodded. Alquist walked up to Arthur while his men rushed into the administration building to follow the rebels.
“That was impressive boy, I seldom see such power in action.”
“I’m surprised that no one else is capable of doing it.” – Said Arthur. – “All men are blessed with a gift.”
“That’s true…but some are more…special than others.” – Said Alquist, thinking about the other beasts that Kirsten had recruited.
They all had a distinct smell, the smell of blood, Alquist’s senses were sharp enough to notice it. Butcher had the thickest scent, though that was no surprise; out of all the legendary assassins, Butcher probably had the largest kill count.
Jules on the other hand, had a different scent, something Alquist couldn’t exactly say what it was.
“My men will take care of the ones inside.” – Said Alquist. – “You can go to the main building and see if you can find any stragglers, and put some clothes on, you are gonna catch a cold like that.”
“I’m impervious to weather, worry not.” – Said Arthur. – “But I shall keep on fulfilling my role until the organization is out of danger.” – He turned around, but before walking away, he asked one last thing. – “Where’s my handler?”
“Kirsten? Well, he left the base, had a little perchance but he’s alive and safe as far as we know.”
“He better be. If he dies, my ties to this group will be severed.”
Arthur walked away, leaving a certain impression on both Emilia and John.
“I’ve got the feeling that the three of them are more loyal to Kirsten than the organization itself.” -Said Emilia.
“Well, can’t blame them, Eyler has a pretty decent silver tongue. Besides, in a way, he believes in the same things they do, and he’s got his own experience getting his hands dirty.”
“Maybe that’s why he managed to get them on board.” – She said, crossing her arms. – “You need to be one to understand another one.”
“In that case I would’ve been able to recruit them myself.” – Said John while reloading his guns.
“Don’t make me laugh. You are so incompetent with young people that each of them would have attacked you after you said the wrong thing.”
“Ah, come on…have some faith in me.”
While they were bantering, Arthur headed to the main building. Aside from Kirsten, there was someone else occupying his thoughts.
He was watching when she made that demonstration at the training area, for some reason he could see through her while she fought, he could see the crimson light, wavering and growing as her energy grew, and when it was all done, it became nothing but a tame bonfire, eager for the next chance to burst out.
Arthur heard the rumors about her. While he was in the wilderness, fighting the great evil that threatened to take it over, she was out in the dead wasteland, destroying the evil that had conquered it since ancient times.
He was certain that this girl was just like him, and that they could understand each other. Alas, he was eager to work with her.
Later on, Butcher would find her way to safety, though it was one that she wasn’t used to. She was used to the cold and humid, silent and empty shelters that are out of the way enough for no enemy to consider you are hiding there, and the walls provide enough darkness so you won’t be spotted at a first glance.
No, this shelter was the complete opposite of that, and better yet –or worse yet in her opinion- she would have company.