Oscar merrily waltzed down the marble steps that led up to the Palace Needle’s main doorway. He paid little attention to the towering Romanesque sculptures of Frutrruschuk, nor the towering and multicolored futuristic skyscrapers that filled Neo Arachnis’ wealthiest district. Such things might be entertaining for a man like the president, but they just seemed lights and noise to Oscar. No, what was truly beautiful was the color of the blood that flowed out of a mortal wound, and the intestines of a man cloven in two by a cleanly sharpened blade.

As Oscar waited for his taxi he observed the passers-by, all wealthy-looking folks in what he assumed were the latest fashions. That old man looked like he’d be interesting to kill, but old people often died from heart attacks the second the blood started flowing, and that was no fun. Maybe that woman in the purple dress would be better. Removing her head from her body would certainly be quite the treat! He wondered if his value to the government would protect him from the law if he did it right here and now. Jailbreaks were such a pain…

However, at that moment the taxi pulled up, and Oscar abandoned the idea. The idea of going up against Amido Amdahl was far more delicious, and legal troubles could cause the president to give the job to somebody else. So Oscar settled himself inside of the comfortable taxicab and contented himself with watching the lights roll by, softly singing one of his favorite songs to himself.

“I’m gonna rip you limb from limb, ‘cuz you’re my tasty prey. Beware, cuz this dog DAMN bites!”

He briefly paused to take a picture of the taxi driver’s face in the mirror. Oscar enjoyed collecting faces. He had an entire album of photos of people who were simply uncomfortable with him that often proved quite entertaining to look at, though not as enjoyable of the faces of men and women screaming before their deaths.

When the taxi dropped him off, it was in the slums of Neo Arachnis, in a thin street dimly lit by greenish streetlamps and crossed overhead by power lines hung with ivy. A few flickering neon signs cast spots of faint color onto the ground. Whistling, Oscar made his way towards a glowing sign depicting a voluptuous and scantily-clad woman slurping up ramen, making sure to splash in all the puddles along the way. “Big Kathy’s Noodles' ' was his favorite bar, though unlike most of the patrons he was just there for the food.

The bar was cramped and dimly lit by flickering lights. A few greasy looking men sat in the corners slurping noodles and guzzling beer. The bartender, a middle-aged woman in a low-cut red dress, shot Oscar a flirtatious grin. “Back again, sweetie?” she purred.

“Yup!” Oscar replied cheerfully, sauntering over the bar and seating himself before her. “Your biggest bowl, please!”

As soon as Oscar got his ramen his face lit up with pure joy, “It’s time to chow down!” He messily slurped up his ramen with a loud slurp, disturbing everyone else in the restaurant, which was his intention.

“Hey now, little boy, don’t you go making a mess of the delicious ramen I made just for you.” The bartender said, with a flirty grin on her face.

“Haha! I don’t care about manners! This ramen is just too tasty! Another big bowl please!” Oscar said, holding out his now empty bowl.

After five more huge bowls of ramen Oscar leaned back against his chair. “You know Miss. Bartender, I’ve been wondering recently that the only sensible way to live in this world is without rules. That everybody's morals, everybody’s code— it’s just a bad joke.”

“The things you say sometimes, sometimes I really do think you’re crazy.” The Bartender said with a flirtatious smirk.

Oscar smiled crazily, “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you right now, because you’re just too much fun. Even though I’d definitely enjoy it…just imagine taking that beautiful face and slicing it up, or taking those bright blue eyes…and gouging them out!”

At this point the entire bar had left or were extremely uncomfortable eating their food. The only one who seemed to actually enjoy it was Oscar, who had a maniacal grin on his face.

“My my, you are in quite the mood today aren’t you! You got offered an assassination, I assume?”

Oscar laughed, “Yup, and it’s not just somebody random, I’m going to be paid to kill the people that called me a part of their team, can you even imagine what fun faces they’ll make when I kill them?! I’ll have to take lots of pictures!”

The Bartender softly laughed and handed Oscar a glass of water, “That sounds like a big job for you, but I’m sure you’ll be able to do it. Being so talented as you are… perhaps you’ll tell me the reasons why you’ve been sent to kill them?”

“No idea why you’d want that information, but why should I hide it from you…it’ll keep it interesting!” Oscar said, taking out a small knife and quickly tossing and turning it around his hand, in quick complicated movements. “Apparently they have something to do with a group or something like that but oh well, I guess I forgot.”

“You… forgot?” She slowly sat down on the counter in front of Oscar, “You forgot what your mission is?”

“That’s right! I just have to kill these people!” He tossed his knife and threw it into the table, nearly stabbing the woman's hand. “I better go now. Nice talking to you Granny!”

Oscar ran out of the bar, slamming the door behind him.

The bartender jerked her hand away on impulse and, frowning, stepped away from the bar to a holographic communication console installed into the wall. She pulled a necklace with a sparkling star pendant out from between her voluptuous breasts and scanned it into the interface. A shadowy hologram of a man flickered in almost immediately. “Mr. Metalik, I think we may have the tiniest bit of a problem.”

***

Amido Amdhal sat behind the wheel of his flashy high-speed racer, attempting to survey the house of his target while his two accomplices fought over a lollipop in the back seat. Fangtastic Teslamancer’s residence was a towering pinnacle of a skyscraper, bearing the Teslamancer family name in enormous blue neon letters down its side to remind people of the important man who lived within. “Girlies!” Amdhal snapped his fingers to bring them to attention. “Candy comes later, first up is the killing.”

At the word “kill”, one of the girls forgot all about the lollipop and snapped to attention, practically jumping for joy with her blue curls bouncing. “Oh I just can’t wait! My knives are so hungry for blood,! Can we go in now? Please Mr. Amdhal?”

“Stupid Aycee,” replied the other girl with a deadpan expression, sticking the lollipop into her mouth. “Wait.”

“Correct! Mai is correct!” congratulated Amdhal, “Our target should be coming home from his office any second now. Once he comes home, we strike!”

Aycee giggled. “Yes! Yes! Assassination time!” Little did the assassin team know that they were not the only people carefully watching for the right time to strike. Amido was a good enough assassin, but it would take a master to notice the lanky man in a pinstripe suit gazing at them from a window high above the ground.

An ornately decorated gold hover car emerged from the misty heights of the city and alighted in front of the tower. A short, round, man dressed in a gold-embroidered white trench coat that looked rather out of place with his balding hairline stepped out and alighted the entry staircase, surrounded by bodyguards dressed in sleek black battle-suits. Amdhal smirked, slicking back his greasy black hair, “That’s our cue, girls. Time to move in.” Amdhal was a seasoned assassin who usually relied on poisoning and the element of surprise. His two accomplices preferred the second option. Aycee bounced out of the car, dressed in a short frilly blue dress, which was covered with suspicious red-brown splatters. Scaling the side of a skyscraper might seem impossible to some, but Amdhal worked with only the best.

By the time Fangtastic and his entourage had disappeared behind the glass doors, Aycee had already reached the building’s side. The girl did not hesitate for a moment…her pink light-up sneakers magnetically connected to the wall while hover devices in her doll-like dress granted her body support. “You better buy me some candy after this, Amido!” she called back.

“Sure, sweetie,” Amido chuckled as Aycee casually strolled up the building’s vertical side, her hair hanging straight down. She’d reach the Teslamancer penthouse in no time. If she was lucky she’d be able to kill Fangtastic right then and there, but a professional assassin like Amido had to prepare for every possibility.

“Mai, get the rocket launcher loaded,” he ordered.

“On it,” the girl replied, reaching into the trunk and withdrawing the latest in military grade bazooka technology. Just one missile out of these bad boys could bring down a tank. With a flick of his finger, the roof on Amido’s sports convertible retracted. Mai fiddled with the settings, bringing up a targeting scope. If Fangtastic managed to escape into his private helicopter, he wouldn’t make it far.

“I have it under control, Master,” Mai said without looking at him. “Please do not concern yourself with me.”

“As you wish, dearie!” he smiled, patting her on the head. Then he reached into the glove compartment and withdrew his prized possession… “Old Charlie”, his solid gold submachine gun. Assassinating a target as high-profile as Fangtastic Teslamancer usually required a…distraction.

Amido stepped out of the car. The smells of the city were all around him, exhaust and cold air with hints of rain. His body felt on edge, electrified and hyper-sensative, the way it always felt before a fight. He was well-aware he was addicted to this. Who wouldn’t be? There was no drug like gunfire.

He advanced towards the doors, feeling the security cameras lock their eyes on him. His heart was pounding and he allowed himself a little laugh. Killing the head of one of the Union’s great families…he hadn’t had this powerful a target in years! Assassinations like this were practically holidays.

Stroking his gun as if it were a lover, Amido unleashed a hail of bullets, annihilating the defense guns that had only just popped open from the wall. Like a pop star performing on stage, he ducked down and slid his body across the marble flooring, striking an absolutely incredible pose while he was at it. He was through the doors even before the great iron gates closed over the Tower of Teslamancy’s entrance, just a moment too late to prevent an intruder.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Amido Amdahl walked through the halls confidently, holding his sub-machine gun as if it were a cane. He had no direct destination in mind, his goal was simply to patrol the halls for any potential runaway attempts by Fangtastik. As he was walking he noticed the extremely recognizable high-pitched laughter of Aycee. “Oh Aycee, she probably already found him and is now killing him. Oh for Pete’s sake, she is truly insane, just like my entire hitman team… including me!” Amido chuckled to himself as he continued his slow saunter down the halls.

***

Amido was certainly correct in his analysis of Aycee, because she was indeed insane. She loved nothing more than murder. “Heehee, Fangtastic! Meet your end, by my Pink Bubblegum Laser-Shooter!”

“Wh…what sort of name is that! I refuse to die by such a pathetic gun! I refuse! I have much more to do in life, my life is worth infinitely more than yours!”

Aycee held out her small, pink handgun to his head with a small grin, and a large giggle. “Maybe it is, but I don’t really care who I kill….I just want to kill!!”

Fangtastic’s eyes widened as the reality of his death hit him, he might truly die by this immature assassin, with her stupid pink gun. “You can’t actually kill me, I’ll give you money! I’ll pay you with anything!!”

“I don’t need money! The best treat I can get is your death! Teehee!” She continued her childlike giggles as she slowly squeezed the trigger, getting ready for the satisfaction of killing.

Then suddenly, before she even had the chance of pressing the trigger she felt a sharp knife getting stabbed through her head, and heard new crazy laughter that was certainly not hers.

Fangtastic took a step back. Was his assassin being assassinated? “Thank…thank you, kind mister. I thought I might have died from that,” Fangtastic carefully said, clearly terrified of these shocking new events.

As the dust and broken glass cleared Fangtastic could see a tall skinny man with messy brown hair wearing a pinstripe suit, holding multiple throwing knives. Something about his wide grin and big, crazy eyes caused Fangtastic to be extremely terrified.

“Sorry about the mess!” Oscar said lightly as he walked through the room, as he walked closer to Fangtastic he exclaimed, “Wait a second Gramps, I’ve seen your face before! Aren’t you the same guy who killed all those people just to make their children your slaves?”

“I don’t know what your point is, I did do that, but those people were poor! They had nothing of any value in their future, I did them a favor!” Fangtastik said, a greedy glint in his eye. “If you have no other business here I’d suggest that you leave, I have no interest in talking to a lowly assassin.”

Oscar stretched his hands casually above his head. “Well, let me think…I am on a pretty tight schedule. You might just make it, gramps!”

Fangtastic hurriedly grabbed some transparent plastic bills from his jacket pocket and smirked greedily. “Looks like even an assassin commoner can have some sense once in a while. Take this and get out of my house!”

Oscar snatched the money and did a little bow before spinning around on his heel. Fangtastic breathed a sigh of relief and stumbled towards a large glass cabinet to pour himself a drink. Suddenly he heard the sound of something whistling through the air and turned around just to find his sleeve pinned to the wall by a thin needle-like throwing knife. Oscar had a huge and evil grin on his face. “Just kidding! How does it feel knowing you’re going to be killed by one of those commoners, gramps?”

Fangtastic’s greedy face turned into an expression of pure rage as he struggled to find a way to save his life. “I can pay you! I can give you a title! Listen here, young man, you can’t kill me. I support this city on my own shoulders, you hear me? I’ll pay you triple the price of whoever hired you! Triple, you hear me?” Oscar plugged his ears and started humming to himself as he waltzed towards Fangtastic and threw his knife cleanly into the man’s heart..

“It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic.” Oscar retrieved his knife and wiped it clean on Fangtastic’s white coat, leaving broad streaks of red. “Now where is my little partner, hm?”

***

Lounging against a wall in the foyer, Amido was beginning to become impatient. Sure, Aycee had never actually murdered anyone before, but he knew she was more than capable. So what was taking her so long? He really didn’t want to call in Mai and her rocket launcher because the thought of turning all of these priceless decorations to dust pained him deeply. Amido began to make his way up the long, winding staircase. If Aycee had gotten into some trouble, it was up to him to finish the job. Twirling his gun in his hand, Amido confidently slinked up the stairs, prepared to react at even the slightest noise.

***

The Teslamancer penthouse was bare and open-concept, enormous panoramic windows staring out at Neo Arachnis and the Palace Needle that rose into the clouds. Its’ furniture was entirely white and entirely dull. Fangtastic was the worst kind of man to kill. Even if he had been one of the most powerful in the nation, Oscar would forget about his murder in a week.

Fangtastic and Aycee’s blood mixed together on the pure white floor, a crimson river on a plain of snow. Oscar leaned against a glass fireplace underneath an enormous painting of the Teslamancer family crest, a Tesla coil within an arcane circle. He whistled a merry tune as the footsteps approached from the penthouse’s first floor. A cold wind blew through the shattered window.

Amido Amdahl was a young man, with light brown skin and curly hair. He was dressed like a gentleman and the penthouse’s pot-lights sparkled on his golden gun. Oscar twirled his favorite knife around once, then twice, then a third time. Amdahl’s eyes met his. A moment later they assessed the crime scene.

“Howdey, partner!” Oscar waved. “Fine night for killing, huh?”

Amdahl knelt down and gazed at the knife protruding out of Aycee’s head. “Aycee, my baby…” he breathed, before looking up. “Oscar, you silly brat. Do you know how hard it’ll be to find somebody so effective, yet so adorable again?”

“Pretty easy,” Oscar grinned, “Cuz’ you’ll be dead soon, boss!”

Amdahl sighed, a melancholy expression atop his usually-foppish face. “I never did like you,” he drawled. “This is the last time I’m having a man on my squad.”

A cold, biting wind whistled through the empty penthouse. The blood trail reached the starwell and began to drip down. The sound echoed throughout the pale room. Multicolored lights of the endless city cast strange glows on Oscar and Amdahl’s faces.

Then Amido Amdahl pulled the trigger.

Oscar had anticipated this…he faced down gunmen for fun, after all. His fingers danced together like a master puppeteer, blades slashing and flying to deflect each out of the bullets. They went flying off with ringing hisses, blasting holes in the faraway windows. The moment the last of the bullets was deflected, Oscar had launched forward, thrusting out with his knives pointed right at Amdahl’s throat.

Yet the melancholy look had now left Amido Amdahl’s face, and his smile was alight with glee. With Oscar closing in, Amdahl dropped his gun and spun around, kicking it head-on at the approaching assassin. Oscar stopped short to smack it away, but the one-second delay was all Amdahl needed to draw a machete from his coat and extend it to a full-length sword with the press of a button.

Oscar grinned and jumped back from the large sword, “Didn’t see that one coming! This is getting interesting!” Oscar grabbed a long, sharp knife out of his pocket and held it up right between Amdahl’s eyes. “Are you scared yet?”

Amdahl laughed, batting the knife away “I would never be scared of a little brat like you! I could beat you with one hand tied behind my back.”

Oscar’s face lit up into a crazy grin, “Then let’s put that to the test!”

Oscar ran closer to Amdahl, twirling his knife between his fingers and easily dodging Amdahl’s many attempts to push him back with his sword. Then with a quick, clean movement, Oscar sliced off Amdahl’s right hand.

Amdahl screamed as his hand fell to the floor, dropping his sword along with it. “Shame on you….you childish beanpole! I shall never forgive you for as long as I live!”

“Well luckily, that won’t be very long! Well now, let’s get this fight started!” Oscar said happily.

Amdahl spat on the ground and looked up, his eyes full of bloodlust. He ran towards Oscar, dragging his large sword with his hand, while screaming, “You’re younger than me so I am sure you are weaker than me!”

Then right before Amdahl ran up to him Oscar put up both of his hands, “Wait, stop! I forgot something!” Oscar rummaged through his pockets as Amdahl confusedly stopped running.

“Found it!” Oscar said holding up a badge with the words ‘Obscurum es, et serviam tibi’ “Does this badge mean anything to you, partner?”

Amdahl’s eyes widened as he saw the badge, “How…..how did you get that?”

“Hah! I got you!” Oscar said hanging the badge right above Amdahl’s head. “I think you might want to explain something to me?”

“I….I know nothing about that badge!” Amdalh said, his face now expressionless. He held his hand above his head, trying to grab the badge, “Let me see that!”

Oscar laughed and pulled the badge away from Amdahl’s outstretched hand. “If you tell me where this cult is I’ll spare your life…that is if I feel like it!”

Amdahl slowly backed away from Oscar, “I told you, I don’t know what you mean!”

“Alright, then it shouldn’t matter if I kill you, right?” Oscar said with a psychotic look in his eyes. So fast that Amdahl could just barely track him, Oscar twirled towards him with his knives splayed in his hand like a fan. Amido Amdahl braced himself, pulling a knife from his coat to guard. “Too slow!” sang Oscar in a sing-song voice, cutting off Amdahl's other hand. It fell to the ground, causing the white marble floor to become streaked with red. Amdahl stumbled to his knees. Oscar kicked the fallen knife out of the way. “Well, partner, have you changed your mind yet?”

Amdahl screamed from pure rage. “You’ll never get anything from me! The seal has broken and the god of death is coming. You’re going to regret this, Oscar! When I offer myself up as his servant he will curse you, do you hear me?”

Oscar let out a long laugh. “The god of death? Wow, you’re really scaring me, partner!”

Any sense of humor had disappeared from Amdahl’s face. “Obscurum es, et serviam tibi. You are the dark, and I will serve you.” Amdahl got to his feet and started walking slowly towards Oscar. “Go back to the Needle like the dog you are and tell President Cybers to enjoy ruling while he still can. A god is coming, Oscar, and he won’t forget this, oh no he won’t.” Heavy footsteps rang throughout the hall.

A loud, synthesized voice boomed into the room. “Intruders! Put your hands in the air.”

Oscar gave a small bow and stepped backwards. “Well I suppose that’s my cue to leave, it’s your lucky day. Please do introduce me to the god of death when he arrives, he sounds like my type of guy.”

A mass of bodyguards in shiny black battlesuits stormed down the stairs, brandishing laser rifles. Abandoning Amdahl to his fate, Oscar reached up to his ear and activated a switch, causing rockets to activate on his boots, sending him flying through the air and crashing through a stained glass that must have cost more than Oscar’s entire knife collection. “Ahh, Kaneda might be a tiny bit upset that I didn’t finish up the job,” thought Oscar with a yawn as he sped away from the Teslamancer building, narrowly avoiding a couple of speeding hover cars as the rain relentlessly soaked him no matter how fast he flew. Oscar did not believe in superstitions, but he did believe in people. And Amido Amdahl never lied, he was so obnoxiously honest that it quite disgusted Oscar at times. The thought of some god coming down and accepting Amido Amdahl as his follower was so hilarious it made Oscar giggle under his breath, but yet there was something about the crazed look in his eye that made him feel a shiver of anticipation as he lazily flew his way towards the Palace Needle.

The city of Neo Arachnis never slept. The streets never emptied, and the sky was eternally filled with the reflections of thousands of neon lights. And yet, that night, the stars were frighteningly clear. This night marked the twenty billionth day since Feros Obscurum had been sealed among the stars. When the clock struck midnight, a god descended to Earth.