-Day 1-
It's over. We've been busted.
My name is Draven Hall, and this small cartel I have built up over so many years has finally come crashing down. And what did it take for it all to come crashing down? One guy being caught. All the blood and sweat I put into making money and gaining influence, and this was how it was going to end. I had it leaked to me that one of my people that I trusted the most ratted us all out for a significantly reduced sentence. So much for loyalty. Now they were filing an arrest warrant for the couple people I had to take out and whatever else was on my tab.
I dropped out of school by the age of 23. It was tough at the very start of the journey. I had to do things back then by myself. The core of our gang managed to flee the United States to do business in the capital of Britain after evading arrest over there. Business was booming here more so than overseas. I was only 34 years old and could already retire if I wanted to. And I really should have, in hindsight. Living a life of deceit in London made money easy to earn, and too easy to resist.
I anticipated that this would happen at some point, but to get a message telling you the gig was up instantly broke me. And what better way to prepare for your inevitable arrest and sentence than to drink yourself into the gutter and completely blackout yourself in alcohol for possibly your last time of your youth?
I didn't really have any real family anymore. Not that I cared about that terrible home I came from, and the only person I could trust in this family passed away a long time ago. It was a win-win for me to go my separate way from those drunks and cavemen I was related to.
Right now, all I had on my mind was having some alone time. I had already sent a message out to anyone I employed that the time had come without disclosing where I was. I had gone to a bar in town that barely had customers on a Wednesday night. The barkeep here kept tabs on me and likely wanted to close, but I ordered so much he probably didn't want to miss out on the money and just did chores while entertaining my cravings. He was giving me the odd eye here and there behind the bar counter as if wondering why I was here. But he didn't ask questions.
All this sitting around was making me dull though. With a double dose of beer in my hands I decided to go onto one of my final adventures of my free self before likely being apprehended the morning after. I tipped the bartender more than I usually did as a thanks for not closing and went out into the city. It was time to go to the streets in a drunken stupor, just like the old days.
But man. Retrospecting while totally wasted was a bad idea. Bad ideas kept popping up whenever I was drunk actually. The streets were empty, so there was nobody to talk to. It was late in the night on a weekday, so it's not like it's unusual. But I've done a lot of bad shit in my life, haven't I? That one guy who found personal information on me and tried to extort me back when he couldn't pay up for his drugs... He got roughed up real good. Didn't we paralyze that poor dude from the waist down? Or the dude from a year ago. We had to dispose of his corpse in some river far away. Not pleasant, but it was self defense. Well, partially. He was an asshole too. Well, not that I particularly cared. I had already gotten loads of scoldings from people with "empathy" saying that what we were doing was wrong, but none of them dared to actually report us.
First of all though, I'm going to have to vomit out some of the drinks I've had this night. I've been drinking for four hours straight now while watching some football at the bar. And now that I think about it, I probably am not as youthful as I think with my age, so I really shouldn't be doing this...
But instead of just throwing up like usual, I felt sick in a way I never experienced before, as if something inside of me was melting. I was nauseously sitting on the bench feeling as if the world was getting darker and darker around me. I'm used to being wasted, but not like this. Doesn't this feel way too real for a hallucination? I grab my chest and neck with both my arms and try to call for someone to help me out. I felt like I was starting to pass out due to heart cramps or something, that's how bad it is.
Something suddenly felt wrong with my hand when I was grabbing my neck with. As I hold it out in front of me, it becomes obvious why. My hand was disappearing before my eyes. My head hurt like it's never hurt before. And then, everything suddenly blacked out.
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{...}
{Self-evaluation.}
A voice inside of my head that I could faintly hear started talking. My own voice was speaking in a rigid tone. But I couldn't think anything myself. It felt robotic.
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{Self assessment: Nature is compatible with summoning type. Shadow nature available to be amplified to 99%. Calculating reconstruction.}
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{Transference initiating reconstruction of the physical body.]
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{Withstanding individual affirmed.}
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{Contract construction initiated.}
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{Contract failed.}
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
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{Contract construction initiated.}
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{Contract failed.}
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{Contract construction initiated.}
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{Contract failed.}
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{Contract cannot be established. ERROR: Mind instability detected. Chemicals of
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{Fusing Shadow Beast in exception mode.}
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{Summoning in exception mode succesful.}
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(Maximillian): "-east! Beast! Awaken at once!"
(Summoner 1): "...Sage, it isn't reacting."
(Maximillian): "It does indeed seem rather slothful, this one. Did we summon a dead beast? No, no, that shouldn't be possible... These beings shouldn't be able to die. Was the vessel maybe inadequate or incompatible?"
(Summoner 2): "Should... Should we slay it then?"
(Summoner 1): "You idiot! You know fully well we can't put it down!"
(Summoner 2): "Who knows what it could do if it's a failed summoning! Do you want to be on it's bad side when it wakes up?"
(Maximillian): "No, you are right, this one is unresponsive to our calls. Better safe than sorry. I could simply entertain a lie to the customer. Heh, yes, that would do."
(Summoner 1): "Are you sure? Are demon vessels like these not expensive?"
(Maximillian): "Very much so! But I didn't pay for it, so frankly, who cares. They have money up their wazoo either how."
(Summoner 1): "...Very well."
What were they yapping on about? Can't a man be getting a good night's sleep?
(Maximillian): "No, no, for goodness sake, you must crush the head, not simply stab it!"
It stung in my shoulder. Why did it sting in my shoulder? I instinctively opened my eyes in a flash to figure out what was going on. Where did this stinging come from?
(Maximillian): "Have you not been paying attention to my education? Do you really think a mere wound like that is enough? Be efficient, for crying out loud! We aren't dealing with a kobold here!"
(Summoner 2): "My- My apologies!"
I noticed that I had been stabbed, and it's not just a regular stab. A deep one, barely missing my throat. What the fuck is going on? Was the police or someone else I screwed over trying to have my head? Everything was still blurry for me. I felt terrible, like I was going to pass out any second now.
But this light feeling.I got up to my knees, and when I turned to look, it felt like my body was moving way faster than before. Looking at it, there was the silhouette of a man trying to stab me. He had a blade that was dripping with blood, presumably mine, although it looked like some extremely dark colored blood. So this is the guy. If he wants a brawl, I could hopefully give him one.
(Summoner 2): "Sir! Sir! It's moving!"
(Maximillian): "I can see that you moron! Quickly, before it gets up!"
He tried swinging the blade downwards again for a lethal attack right at my face.
(Maximillian): "I said CRUSH IT, not stab it! Do your ears need waxing?!"
I got up in time, but I was still dizzy. Probably from all the beer I had yesterday. He missed me by a long shot. A novice at using a knife at best. With unbelievable speed I got up from the ground and jabbed him right in the side of his stomach, and to my surprise, sent him flying several meters before he finally hit a wall, splattering it red with blood.
Dead on impact. What's going on? I felt sick, dizzy, and plenty of other terrible things. But I still packed this power. That was a human, right? Not some sort of balloon toy? A slight look to the right revealed two other men in some sort of morning robes of all things. The guy I sent flying had some kind of robe too. It was hard to see their faces, but they were clearly trembling.
(Maximillian): "Wh-"
Actually, this wasn't where I passed out at all. I was stumbling around still, and I was in some kind of room, not the streets. A circular room with tables all over. The guy I punched was definitely dead. Cracks in the wall, blood dripping down the impact of both my fist and the wall-splat. When I looked at my hand, it became apparent that I took quite some damage from that as well. No wonder, the strength packed into that punch would hurt anyone, no matter how well trained they would have been. Strangely enough, I didn't really feel any pain though. Likely because of a rush of adrenaline.
(Maximillian): "Take it out with your sword, quickly! Hecate! Energy Beam!"
One of the other guys in the room started yelling weird crap. Something about energy and swords. What was he going on about? The last of the three people that I could see in the room was picking up something in the corner of the room. It was hard to see what it was.
Out of the blue, lightning struck from the palm of the hand of the guy who shouted. It grazed me as it barely missed to to my right, creating a huge bang with a flash of light which incinerated various things behind me. What the actual shit? Did he just create friggin' lightning from his hands? Was this some sort of new weapon? Had I not instinctively tried to avoid it then I would have been penetrated by it. He looked startled when he saw me just barely avoiding this weapon of his. Finally, the last one who hurried to pick up something turned out to be charging at me with an actual zweihänder in hand.
The distance between us was not very far as he charged at me. I did just earlier realize just how stupidly much power I could pack into a punch right now. Then, would it matter if I punched this guy too? Actually, sure, why not, let's liven up this life of mine one final time. In that moment, I felt like I could take on the entire world like this, at least until I lose consciousness again. If I didn't do something right now, that sword would be stuck in my head, and another one of those lightning beams could completely burn me up.
Not more than a second passed and I was already in range to deliver a fist of my own to this sword maniac. I got a short glance at his terrified face before I sent him flying upwards with a good uppercut to the stomach area. Instantly dead as well. I made sure not to use the same hand as last time so the injury wouldn't get too bad on my end. If I had learned something from all the brawling I did back in my days, then it's that dividing the damage to yourself between different parts of your body gives the least risk for permanent damage.
The guy I sent flying plopped back onto the ground after a good three seconds in the air. His corpse had the same terrified face as when I saw it up close the first time, just more extreme and caricatured. I made sure to avoid the sword that went flying with him as it dropped down right after.
Ah, looks like I overdid it. My hands were bloodied and damaged and my sight was fading for real now. There was still one guy left. I overextended myself too much somehow and could barely even lift my arms all of a sudden.
(Draven): «"Get out."»
(Maximillian): "Eek!"
Movement felt sloppy now. The complete opposite of what I felt earlier. Trying to get the last guy to leave voluntarily was probably the only way for him not to finish me off for good.
(Draven): «"Now!"»
He lost his balance and fell on his back when listening to me. After a few seconds, he then scurried out of the room from the only door leading to the rest of the building.
That's good. If he were in cahoots with the dead guys, he would probably want me dead. But he was afraid for his life and ran away. I was on the brink of passing out again for some reason.
I would like to manage to take a few steps to get somewhere safe, but this was it. The burst of energy I had was completely gone, and everything became dark again.
If I at least could get hide in another room...
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