"The Butcher is a man in his 40s with blue eyes, a mustache, and grey hair. He is a Revenant of an unknown class and type. Three murders have been confirmed to have been committed by him: a man and two women, all tortured badly before dying, with their bodies found in Briarsfield. The two women were street girls he killed after luring them in with money. The man was killed because he witnessed the murder. The Butcher takes enjoyment in killing and torturing his victims, beating them and cutting them to the brink of death before killing them. He also has a compulsion to cut his victims' wrists, and he seems to enjoy the killing of women more than men. The exact time of death of the murders is unknown, but they were committed at nighttime. Nighttime patrols around Briarsfield are needed to catch the Butcher."

"That's it for now. I'll get Tommy to run an autopsy on the bodies later," Michael snatches the case report out of Adrian's hand.

"What do we do now?" Adrian asks.

"Nothing," Michael says as he's walking into the captain's office. The captain isn't there; Michael puts the finished case report on his empty desk.

Adrian looks at his pocket watch; the time is 3. "We got nothing to do until the others return, so let's put that time to use, aye?" Michael walks towards Adrian.

"Get up," Michael says, standing over Adrian.

"Why?"

"Training."

"Didn't I already do your training?" Adrian says as he begrudgingly gets up.

"No. That was to build strength; this is actual combat training."

"Oh yeah? What are we going to do?"

"A spar. I'll attack. You try to dodge or block whatever I throw at you." Adrian's eyes open wide with a look of fear.

"Don't worry; I'll hold back. You won't die," Michael says as he walks to the center of the room, gesturing for Adrian to follow him.

Michael flashes a sinister grin at Adrian. He throws a hook towards Adrian's head. The punch is much slower than normal; he's clearly holding back.

Adrian ducks. A swarm of kinetic energy passes mere millimeters by his skull. Adrian looks towards Michael. A hefty punch headed for the stomach is coming his way. Adrian slides towards the left in hopes of dodging, but it's too late; Michael's fist connects with Adrian's stomach. He braces himself for severe pain.

Pain erupts from Adrian's stomach as Michael's punch connects. "Don't take your eyes off your opponent no matter what."

He said he would hold back; why is he making this so painful?

Adrian falls to his knees; he clutches his stomach and clenches his teeth. "Get up before I punch you." Adrian's spine tenses up as he hears that. He gets up as fast as he can, hoping to avoid more pain.

"Again." Michael throws the same hook towards Adrian's head. Adrian ducks underneath it without taking his eyes off his opponent. Michael goes for another gut punch. Adrian quickly moves his body to the left, dodging the hit. A fast jab comes flying towards Adrian's face. He ducks underneath it. A second jab comes towards him as he's ducking; it's too late. Michael's fist connects with Adrian's face; the shockwave sends Adrian reeling back while clutching his face.

"You shouldn't be trying to dodge a weak punch like that; just block it. And quit overreacting; keep your movements short and concise."

"Shouldn't you tell me this before hitting me?" Adrian barks back in frustration.

"You take the lesson to heart when it's beaten into you." Michael smiles as he puts up his fists, ready to beat more lessons into Adrian.

...

A man with brown hair ascends the stairway wearing a black jacket, suit, and gloves. William Hawkins.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Why are you beating up the newbie?"

"Training." Michael looks towards the man.

"If that's what you consider training, then you're terrible at it."

"I don't want to hear shit from someone who hasn't fought barehanded in their life."

"I'm smart enough not to get into a situation where I would have to fight. It's that simple."

"Yeah, yeah, of course you are. What's going on with the Reaper? Any progress?"

"Nothing substantial yet. We first thought they were some rogue vigilantes, but they don't seem to have any real motive behind their killings. You would think it's to enact justice, but they don't interrogate their victims or collect any actual evidence of wrongdoing before killing them. They're either insane or not vigilantes, and we're not sure which one it is."

"What about the captain? Has he not been able to catch them?"

"Nope, they haven't attacked the noble that the captain's protecting."

"Dogshit."

William sits down on the sofa opposite Adrian's. He looks at him and says, "From what I've heard, you haven't been given a complete explanation of our general rules, have you?"

"I haven't."

"I wouldn't mind giving you one. Beats talking to this bastard," he says while glancing at Michael.

"I would appreciate it."

"First rule: don't make any deals with entities, no matter what they may promise; they will take over your body. Second, use your powers in the right way; don't let the madness build up."

"What happens if it does?" Adrian interrupts.

"You go insane and eventually die."

"How would I find the right way?"

"Have there been any moments where the intensity has decreased?"

Thinking back, the intensity decreased when I made that rose.

"Yes, it was when I made a rose for Viscount Claire's daughter."

"Think about what exactly made doing that right for you. That should lead you to the right answer."

"I will."

"Let's continue. Four: avoid killing if possible. Capturing Revenants is our main goal, not killing them. Five: your way of going up in class is by making enough contributions to the PRF; any other way is prohibited. That's it for the rules; follow them, and you'll be fine."

"If I want to learn more about Revenants, what should I do?"

"Talk to Ed. His job is consulting, after all."

Footsteps ascend up the stairway.

"Speak of the devil. Did you finish the case report?"

"Yeah," Edmund puts the report onto the captain's desk.

"Do your job and consult our newbie, will you?" Michael says, looking towards Edmund.

Edmund steps into the records room. Michael gestures for Adrian to follow him. He obliges.

"What questions do you have for me?" Edmund asks as soon as Adrian steps through the door.

"I need a better explanation on entities."

"That's doable. Entities are creatures from the spirit world. They can invade our world using three methods: forcing themselves into someone's mind and taking over their body, making a spirit-binding contract, and being summoned using rituals that sacrifice cores or human lives."

"What is a spirit-binding contract?"

"It's an agreement that can't be broken, no matter what. You just need to make a normal contract but get the people signing to infuse their spirit energy into it; then you get an unbreakable agreement. Always remember this one thing, however: do not, under any circumstance, make deals with entities."

"Let's get back on topic. The cores we consumed also came from entities, with different species giving us different power sets. The creatures in a species have differing levels of strength, with class 1 being the weakest. A class 2 of that species is essentially a stronger version of a class 1. We also use certain body parts of entities in the making of equipment, and that's it for the basics."

"How do we go up in class?"

"Well, to go from a class 1 to a 2, you would first need to get rid of any madness fully, then you would need a class 2 core of the same type and two class 1 cores. Oh, and you can't switch core types; you're stuck with whatever you got."

"Thank you. That's all I wanted to ask for now."

"No problem; if you ever get more questions, make sure to ask me. It's my job, after all." Adrian gets up and leaves the room.

"Done with your questionnaire, I assume?" Michael asks.

"Yeah."

"Good, but more importantly, from tonight onwards, you and I have to do night patrols around Briarsfield; it's our best bet of catching that bastard. We'll switch every night, starting with me. Also, it's about time you head home, don't you think?"

Adrian takes a look at his pocket watch. It's 8.

Adrian says his goodbyes to the station before heading home in a carriage.

...

Adrian knocks on the wooden door.

"Coming." The voice of a teenage boy sounds from behind the door.

The door opens with a creak. Jack is standing there.

"You know, this is really strange. This is your third day of not being drunk. Normally you wouldn't even get past one." Jack walks aside, allowing entry to Adrian.

"A man can't change for the better?"

"Never said that. I welcome not seeing a drunkard at the door. Dinner's ready; it's beef."

Adrian waltzes into the kitchen. The small girl is sitting there as always. He sits down and begins chowing down his meal.

...

He walks into his bedroom. Let's see if John left anything special here.

He searches his room, looking under any pillows, opening any drawers, and rummaging through his clothes. He feels something hard in one of his coats.

He reaches into the coat's pocket and takes out the mysterious object. It's a green notebook.

What is this, a diary?

Adrian opens the notebook. The page has words written in ink; it reads.

"I spoke to Him."

"I will be free."