A few minutes earlier, running footsteps echoed in the dark alleys of a night that had not given an appointment to the moon. The two young men who had just encountered a monster feared that it would chase them always and fled through the southern area's small ways of the black district. They were called Thomas and Augustin; they had joined the Road star clan at the same time and had known each other since that time. Breathless, Augustin stopped first in the light of a lamp post, his tousled black locks in his eyes. Thomas, who was dragging a little, finally caught up with him and fell from fatigue to his knees on the ground . He tied his long hair in a ponytail and turned to address Augustin.
"I don't think he's following us, but it's not nice to Cain what we did."
"In truth, perhaps we weren't risking anything since we don't have any power." Augustin wondered.
"You do not know the rumours about the red demon or what? He is a fucking monster that kills anything that bothers him! Unfortunately, there is a high probability that Cain is already dead by now."
"No, I am sure it is possible to save him!" said Augustin clenching his fist.
The boys continued walking between the dead streets until one of them heard voices in the distance. In front of them, two men were chatting as they walked. One was armed with a bat that he was holding, resting on his shoulder and the other wore an reverse cap. On the sleeve of their hoodies was drawn the emblem of a road with a star at the end: the symbol of the members of the Roadstar clan. They had to be clan elders, as only those with powers dared walk around at night with their clan's mark visible. With any luck, they should have some mighty power.
"Hey guys, we're from the same clan and we need you!" Augustin shouted at them, pointing to the Roadstar emblem that he had on the sweatshirt covered by his coat.
"Only Muggles can hide the clan symbol, come on Ludwig, let’s go."
"Yes, you are right Yannis, it is a shame to speak with clear souls."
Ludwig had just used the term 'clear soul' in a derogatory way, one could decently understand that he was advocating the superiority of shiny souls. Since the appearance of powers, we differentiate between clear souls, without power, and shiny souls, with power. And then there is the frowned upon bleak souls, which have multiple powers after killing shiny souls.
The two young shiny souls passed in front of Thomas and Augustin, ignoring them completely.
"Wait! Our buddy Cain is in danger." begged Augustin. "We met the red demon..."
Yannis turned around, looking Augustin in the eye for the first time.
"You said the red demon. Where was he?"
"Some street over there." replied Thomas, pointing to the distance he estimated between death and himself.
"I saw that his head is priced at 10k, with that we will be rich. Do we do it Ludwig?"
"You are serious…" Ludwig pretended to think for a moment, but the greed showed in his eyes."I'm totally on board."
"No, you are not asked to fight the red demon, he is very strong you know."
"Don't worry. No one in the world can match our combined attacks."
"Remember it's to save Cain?" Thomas reminded them.
"Yes, of course." Yannis answered without paying too much attention to Thomas's words.
Ludwig and Yannis left with insurance in the direction from which Thomas and Augustin had come, who, for their part, hastened to join the headquarters. The streets they crossed were getting dirtier and dirtier, trash cans strewn on the sidewalk. They had left the southern zone for the northern one, which was one of the least maintained zones by the government. The two friends found themselves in front of a sort of dilapidated old warehouse, which even the rusty beams managed to embellish. Thomas stopped first in front of a nondescript metal door, followed by Augustin. The two boys looked at each other and it was Augustin who decided to knock. He performed a series of three knocks on the door. The long peephole slid to the left and a pair of eyes appeared through the hole.
"It is for?" a hoarse-voiced man asked from the other side of the door.
"We just come from the hairdresser." answered Thomas
"It's okay, you can come in."
It wasn't a random phrase, but Roadstar's official password. He tells himself that they chose it because this sentence is the least suspicious possible, according to them.
"Too much." added Augustin.
"I know." Thomas whispered.
The door opened and they were able to enter. The person guarding the entrance today was an old gentleman with greying hair and a goatee on his chin. He held a cane in his hands, the handle of which was shaped like a duck's head, but standing up hurt him so much that he preferred to sit on a chair.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Excuse me old man, could we meet the boss? It is urgent."
The old man looked up at Augustin who had just asked him a surprising question. It must be said that few of the clan members have already seen the boss in person. In the red glint of the guardian's eyes, one could read an unsuspected strength, like a tiger hiding in the body of an old ram.
"Okay if you're willing to take the consequences." he laughed softly.
He took a bunch of keys out of his pocket, one of keys, in copper, of which was particularly disproportionate. The old man grabbed it and walked to the first door at the start of the hallway to open it. Usually ordinary members of the clan did not have access to any of the rooms in the headquarters except the common room at the end of the corridor, under penalty of punishment. The door, once opened, led to a staircase. And once down, there was another corridor similar to the first, except that the light was less strong and it was more maintained.
Once through the corridor, they entered a room as bright as it was spacious and which even contained a chandelier in its centre. Thomas and Augustin's amazement was short-lived as they realized that the space was occupied by many important people. It was all the main leaders of the Roadstar clan, all the leaders of the six factions and their vice-leader. Thomas, Augustin and the old man made their way amid the evil looks that barely allowed them to move. In the middle, a person was seated on an imposing brown patent leather armchair. From the aura that emanated from it, Augustin and Thomas understood that it was the boss himself. His strong build married perfectly with his long light brown hair of king of beasts. His smile showed large, sharp teeth. A caged lion for too long.
"Good evening, Boss." coughed the old guard. "I bring you two recruits who speak of an 'urgent' matter."
The boss stretched his hand forward. A kind of vision of death rose above the armchair, which had the effect of completely petrifying Thomas and Augustin with fear. The monster seemed so real that it couldn't be anything but a power. No great clan leader could afford not to have powers anyway. What is practical is that a white soul can also steal a power by killing a yellow soul. And for a black soul, it's the same because only the primary power can be stolen, that is, the power acquired by an awakening.
"Be quick and choose your words carefully." the boss said, addressing the two boys.
"We met the red demon in the street, one of our members is in danger." Thomas began, devoting himself to speak.
"And what can it do to me?" asked the boss, laughing.
"So, you're going to let Cain die without doing anything!" Augustin got angry, although his intonation is diminished by the fear caused by the power of the boss.
The boss's laughter stopped instantly, as if he had just understood something.
"Did you say Cain? The one that arrived yesterday?"
"Yeah, that's it, Boss."
He banged his fist on the seat armrest. Which surprised the other leaders who were following the conversation.
"That's more problematic!"
"What's so problematic about this minus?" asked a young man whose nose looked like a pig's.
Immediately, he was glared at by everyone in the room; except Thomas and Augustin who asked themselves the same question. Then the poor piglet understood his mistake and apologized while trying to be discreet. And the boss resumed the conversation as if this incise had never existed.
"What exactly happened?"
"Cain crashed into the red demon who seemed to be in a bad mood, so we fled and met two yellow souls from our clan who went to confront him. But I have my doubts about their chances against the red demon." Thomas summed up.
"So you're telling me that two of our members have already been there?"
"Yes, I think they were called Yannis and Ludovico, no it was Ludwig!" answered Augustin
"Whose dogs are these?!" the boss growled at the people around him.
"They're mine." a man in the eyepatch and military coat to the left of the boss told himself. Probably a close subordinate of the boss.
"They are strong?"
"No more than amateur shiny souls…"
"It's because you pamper them too much that they think they're invincible, but they'll just die and give up their power." mocked a handsome dark-haired man with snow-white skin, to the right of the boss.
And each of the chiefs went there of his small personal remark.
"Silence! the boss calmed them down. This bloodthirsty madman has a 10k value on his wanted poster, which makes him the third highest bounty in the black neighbourhood."
"Yes and the poster does not mention his power in any way, he is unpredictable." said a man with a thin moustache, who was, among other things, the leader of Augustin, Thomas and Cain.
"Then let me take care of it. If it is just a matter of finding the kid and getting him to safety, that's my specialty."
A very thin man emerged from the shadows of the corner of the room. He had his hair dyed green and wore a tooth pattern mask. His body, which could be seen under a black hoodie, was strangely covered in bandages.
"Ah Niko, since you have already caught a bounty at 5000 Euko, you are indeed the most suitable for the situation!" exclaimed the boss.
He threw a gun with a silencer at Niko who put it in the back pocket of his shorts. The masked man turned his gaze to the two intruders in the room still petrified by the boss's power. From his fingers came long threads of sticky silk like those woven by spiders. Niko grabbed Thomas with a thread that stuck to the boy's chest and brought him back to him. He lifted Thomas by the collar like nothing and brought his fist a few millimetres from his cheek.
"Where was he the last time you saw him?" Niko asked curtly.
"In the southern zone, sir, I swear."
Even before the sentence was finished, Thomas had already been knocked to the ground and Niko was starting to leave the room. Thomas got up; he had twisted his ankle. If only he had power too... it frustrated him so much. The boss ordered Thomas to return to position himself in front of the leather chair because he was going to be given the final verdict of the case.
"Well now, what will be your punishment?" the boss reflected.
Although Thomas bitterly regretted having associated with Cain at this time, Augustin was happy that the clan took matters into their own hands, and that Cain was saved, well almost saved.
BONUS
WANTED POSTER
The Red Demon of the Black Quarter:
- Very violent in nature
- Camine hair, dark skin tone, tall
- Unknown but certainly powerful powers
Request: Dead, his head in evidence
EK 10,000
- INFORMATION: The classification of souls is not the only way to talk about powers. Common people consider themselves "normal" while yellow and black souls are called "deviant".