Chapter 53: Kill is such an easy Word
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In another zone of the city, Charles Vane could hear some commotion from inside the accommodation room he rented close to the harbor, which made the man who was resting inside a comfortable bed get slightly annoyed by the noise.
"What's with this commotion? Is someone fighting inside the Harbor? I thought everything was closely watched by the Skyfruit Temple, with each Elder taking turns overseeing that no pirate is messing with the citizens of the city."
"Could it be? Is that guy who entered into conflict with the Skyfruit Temple? I guess he is the only crazy bastard capable enough to clash with the monsters on this island … like the one called Greenwood and Wormwood."
Out of curiosity he slowly gets up from his bed, fishing out the crutches that he uses to move toward the balcony of his room, and once there he had the perfect view of the Harbor where he could see a group of 40 guys surrounding a certain medium-sized Caravel that didn't have any pirate flag.
"Ohh, it's not the Skyfruit Temple guys … instead some idiots from this city. But … I don't understand what's their problem with Dracul."
Charles watched with a curious look at the guys stepping inside the caravel, where some of the bandits were giving orders so people would start searching for some treasures, which made the Pirate Captain frown a little bit.
"Those people are dead for sure once Dracul hears that they vandalized his ship."
With a slight seriousness in his tone, he watched as if he was at a spectacle, and along the way, he began to chuckle a bit, finding amusing this situation, where he got reminded about how he also planned to corner Vlad at the harbor only to end terribly for him and his crew.
Then, from the entrance to the harbor, he could see the figure of a woman wearing little clothes, revealing a curvaceous body that made his green eyes flicker a bit, finding it rather enticing.
"Who is that hooker? Ahhh, I need to win a bit more at the gamble den to get enough money to enjoy myself fully as my leg recovers."
Watching the display, he heard the beautiful lady holding her chest from exhaustion, she called out panicked with tears in her eyes.
"Master Fanul!!! Something bad happened at the Den!"
"Mhmm? Eleine, what are you doing here? Also what's with that appearance, also the wounds on your neck?"
"Master Fanul, someone attacked the Den and slaughtered everyone inside, leaving only the girls alive. His next target is the Manor!"
Charles Vane who was pry to watch this spectacle couldn't help but smirk a bit, talking to himself quietly, as if speaking a quick observation.
"So, I guess those guys got played by Dracul who went directly to their base to kill what people they had there and maybe also steal their wealth? Curious as to why he even bothered fighting those bunch of nobodies who don't even have a bounty on their heads."
"Ohoo, wait, that woman … She is acting. She must be a whore that Dracul picked to work for him. Nonetheless, it isn't a bad choice. That blind fuck sure knows how to pick his bitches."
.
On the other hand, since Vlad departed from the Brothel leaving only Eleine conscious from the whole fiasco, the young woman was contemplating all her choices as she was rushing toward the Harbor exactly as Vlad told her.
She couldn't help but feel a new sense of ecstasy remembering how Vlad treated her like a puppy, almost close to how one would behave with his pets, which brought to the woman a new feeling, an untapped sensation that couldn't compare with the sense of getting fucked.
Since escaping from Vlad's emotionless and abyssal eyes which could shallow the minds of anyone trying to peer into them, she felt the rush of adrenaline which made her wet herself as she was gazed down by the tall black-haired man.
And once arriving inside the Harbor, even if she was doing something dangerous she didn't feel any excitement, and instead wanted to do this job masterfully so Vlad would reward her.
'To hell with their money, I don't need money. I sold myself for good money, so that I don't need any material possessions. I want to feel that sensation again! That exhilarating feeling of losing my consciousness only by being in the presence of that man.'
It wasn't sure why Vlad got interested in this woman to give her this chance to shine, if he picked up her deeper parts of the mind or not, yet Eleine was playing a masterful teatral act as she was telling a bigger story of what actually happened.
"Is it true, Eleine? Some bastard attacked our base?" asked one of the bandits next to Fanul, and many other bandits stopped their search inside Vlad's ship, focusing their attention on the young woman who felt another sensation in those moments while being watched by dozens of gazes.
"E-Everything is true. I heard it myself as I was hiding from that killer."
The bandits started getting infuriated as Eleine continued telling a made-up story that would work the guys more than what the cruel, yet simple slaughter executed by Vlad.
'Those guys are so easy to play on your fingers. Compared to that man … they are useless.'
Fanul jumps from the main deck and walks toward Eleine who was surrounded by the bandit. Grabbing her by her black hair, he only asks her a direct question, looking into her tearing, black eyes.
"How long has it been since that incident?"
"Fanul! It happened quickly, I rushed at you with everything I could, maybe 6 minutes."
"Six minutes? Then he should be on his way to the manor. LET'S GO GUYS! CHANGE OF PLANS, WE GOT A RAT INSIDE OUR MANOR TRYING TO PICK ON US!"
Finding out what happened with the Brothel and what would happen to their manor, Fanul abandons the idea of searching for Vlad's wealth, and instead he takes his boys and rushes back to their manor, abandoning Eleine who was pushed ruthlessly to the floor by some of the bandits and even stepped on like a lowly human being.
She was hurt, but thankfully for her nothing serious, beginning to get on her feet, and finding herself alone with the mid-sized caravel, her beautiful green eyes sparkled a bit, getting a new idea, for which she started limping to get inside Vlad's ship.
"This should be his ship … I have never been to one with such a unique design as if it was crafted for him, for an icy person."
Eleine found her way to the Officer's Quarters, where the steering wheel and the Captain's Cabin were situated.
With a small smile, she tried to open the door, but it was clearly locked.
"I don't want to steal anything from you. I just want to see the place the one who stole my heart lives in. Let me think…"
Back to Fanul, he was rushing at the head of his group, murmuring to himself, cursing whoever was messing with his plans of taking out the traveler from Picodras.
"Cursed fucker, who dares to attack my Gang? I'll make sure he or she will suffer a lot. Ahhh, I hope they don't find my deposit since I have 10.000.000 𝔅 inside."
In his mind, Fanul was getting worried about his money instead the lives of his men.
Then, after about 5 minutes of rushing at top speed, he entered the courtyard of his manor where the bandits immediately found out the 5 bandits tasked with keeping the manor defended while they were on a mission.
"Killed by a sword cut...
… Boss, we are dealing with a group of killers since each strike looks perfect." commented one of the youngsters of the group, who didn't fear the bloody scene, while other bandits weaker to such sights held up their puke down their throats.
"On the alert. Everyone enters formation Z0." commanded Fanul, who saw how the bandits grouped up in groups of 5, drawing out their weapons from cold weapons to fire-arms.
"Ready? Let's enter and fuck those motherfuckers."
Entering the manor, he places one team to remain on the look-out at the base level in cease the killers tried to escape, since they weren't inside the base level, and slowly with the rest of his teams he begins ascending to level 1, entering in a calculated manner inside each of the rooms, but failing to get a target which made him conflicted.
In a specific room inside level 1, Fanul walks toward a chimney and pushing his hand inside a specific brick, it lead to a hidden room being opened, revealing his treasure room.
'Phew, whoever is the killer group, they didn't find my treasure room. Good, I can kill whoever is stupid enough to mess with me.'
Yet, when the group of bandits climbed toward the second level of the manor, in a bizarre occurrence, the weaker members of the Gang started showing signs of heavy breathing, as if someone was taking away their oxygen.
Fanul stared straight toward the Conference Room where he could swear he saw something strange, various faces of suffering people screaming from the top of their lungs, which made him step back, with sweat running down his spine.
"Boss? Everything is alright?"
"Mhm, yea. Get ready for the fight, guys."
"We are ready. But … Why does it get so hard to breathe? Some of the boys almost turned purple."
"No idea. Maybe we are dealing with a Devil Fruit user. Careful on the way inside."
Opening room after room, similarly to the first level, he was left with only the Conference Room, where the nervousness of the bandits reached a pinnacle, while Fanul also gulped some of his saliva.
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Yet as if a spell was broken, just like glassware, they were awakened by the presence of only a tall man with long black hair seated on the High-Chair of the Gang Boss with his feet placed on the table in a relaxed yet arrogant manner.
"What took you so long, sewer rats? Did you really have to open each of the rooms just so you were assured no one would backstab you? Well, I guess it isn't a bad approach by not leaving yourself open."
"And who might you be, asshole? I don't remember ever meeting you and having any beef with you. Does anyone recognize this bastard?" asks Fanul who from the moment of stepping inside the large room, pointed his two revolvers at Vlad.
"Wait, boss. Isn't this the son of a bitch from the market? The one who the bitches in the town were all wetting themselves. Boss, this is the guy we were after, the one whose ship in the harbor belongs."
"Ahhh, really? What a coincidence. So unexpected for one of my targets to present themselves so willingly. Oyy, foreigner, do you want to escape from here with your life intact?"
Vlad opened his black eyes to "look" at Fanul where his expression looked to be expecting another comment, as he started clicking his tongue confusing the bandits.
"So scared that you can't even respond? That also works for me. If you want to get away with your sorry life, I want you to give me the keys to your locks at the ship."
"Interesting, you are looking for my ship keys? But I left everything on the caravel since I don't like to have too much possession on me when I move around." responded Vlad casually when he heard they wanted his keys.
"Good to know, since you didn't want to collaborate with us. This will be your end."
"Ahh, really? What a coincidence indeed. You want to end me? But I was also looking after you bunch of parasites. Tell me, the one in the front, is anyone missing from your group?"
"Hah? What gall. You want to take us down?" called out some bandits, who pointed their guns at Vlad.
Vlad only laughed, finding it amusing that those ants who wanted to bite him were so clueless that their death was sealed long ago, and Fanul because of the adrenaline rush forgot everything about the impending doom sensation he felt initially before entering the Conference Room.
"Kill him guys!"
"Kill is such an easy word to say. Killing is indeed something that will happen."
Then the bandits who began firing their guns and also throwing their daggers at him, stated with shocked eyes at how the man sitting on the chair disappeared like a ghost where only a strong wind could be felt from a shockwave.
Looking around themselves, one of the bandits called out scared.
"A ghost?"
And from nowhere, Vlad appeared right in front of the bandit who voiced out his confusion, moving along with the swinging motion of his Kilij that decapitated the man in one blow.
"Maybe, maybe not."
In what one could say, something unnatural for the bandits they started firing at Vlad but once again he disappeared from where he was standing, appearing beside another bandit who held a sword in his hand, having his guard high. He slashed at this man even if he felt the sword blocking his path to the throat, delivering a slashing strike that opened up the stomach of the bandit.
Since the chaos began, the cries of agony and pain echoed loudly and in only 5 minutes Vlad killed everyone in the room showcasing an ghost-like ability to appear and disappear from harm's way whenever he felt like.
Fanul was running from the Conference Room the moment he understood he had no chance of defeating Vlad and the team he left at the base level of the manor were already tense since they heard the gunfire and screams of their comrades.
Seeing Fanul was a sign of relief but his expression looked pale, his eyes were screaming in fear at the sight he saw, and to not lose his life he pushed his men to their death.
"Stop him guys. It's one of my strategies to defeat him."
The bandits were quick to get nervous when Fanul got out from the manor, leaving them confused only to see a tall man holding in his hand a black curved sword which gave off a menacing aura.
The man didn't look to have suffered any wounds on his body, but his white shirt was painted crimson-red, while his boots also had stains of blood.
"Y-YOU! S-STOP RIGHT THERE!"
The five bandits started moving backwards along with Vlad's paced advancement.
They took out their weapons, pointed at him with their weapons, mostly firearms, which had the man instead of stopping, before releasing a laugh and dashing at them instead of using his newfound ability the 'Phantom Step' as if he took a break from straining his body with the high requirements of the technique.
"Innocence? I can't feel and see any fragment of what you call Innocence."
The bandits began firing at Vlad as he was approaching closer and closer to their body, deflecting the bullets fired at him, while constant tongue clicks would accompany the sound of firearms and metal.
They dropped on the floor while slowly losing the breath of life, but this didn't matter for two particular men, the Bandit Fanul and for certainly, not Vlad.
"The only way I can survive is to get to the Temple and plead for my cause. Once those monsters find out what happened to my people, they will only be forced to strike him down."
Following an unmarked path from the manor toward the mountain, he thought he lost his way once entering the forested path, but what he didn't take into account was how long it would take for Vlad to take those 5 bandits who didn't know better.
"Interesting. So you think the ones at the Temple will be able to rescue your sorry life? Sorry to break it to you, but they will not bother fighting me for some bugs.
Besides, you aren't even a functioning citizen of this City, which wouldn't affect the livelihood of the people, in fact, by killing you sewer rats, the ones at the Temple might reward me."
"YOU??? HOW ARE YOU HERE ALREADY?" screamed Fanul from the top of his lungs, not believing that Vlad was already behind him, sending him flying with a kick after ending his scream of help.
"ARGHH! YOU MONSTER!! SOMEONE HELP ME!! ELDERS!! HELP!"
Vlad only laughed, finding it amusing how a man who thought had power in his hands, dropped so low, it made him laugh like a maniac especially when he remembered his nightmarish past from his twisted upbringing to adulthood.
"This is so interesting. As if I am once again back feeling that sensation when all the Boyars begged me not kill them and punish their families."
Saying that, he approached Fanul using his Phantom Step, making the drowned man scramble up on his feet and run with a fearful expression.
"The hunter has become the hunted. Doesn't it have a twisted side to it? A lowly criminal taking advantage of everything in his hands to achieve something "great' brought back to reality."
Fanul saw Vlad who raised his Kilij begin the same swinging motion that killed so many of his men.
"Say hello to everyone waiting in hell for me."
Doing his swinging motion, he target straight for the guys head, yet, he shifted the attack and blocked an attack coming from a blind spot.
"..."
Titania who for the most part closed his heart to not be tainted by the death she witnessed, remaining silent the entire time as a third party observer, couldn't help but show some emotions when she saw an old person wearing orange Buddhist robes and welding a metal staff, it was exactly the same elder from the Library of the Skyfruit Temple.
"ELDER!!! THANK YOU! Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Wormwood, who was on guard that night, heard the cries of help and also the running bandit whose expression was as pale as one could get. Only those who experienced a great emotional and mental shock could get in such a state, and to his surprise, the one chasing this lowly bandit was the one he sold the Temple's books.
"... Did I disturb something?"
Vlad remained quiet and while clicking his tongue, he tensed his legs so hard that his veins appeared like swirling worms, and to Wormwood gaze, he saw the tall young man kick two times toward Fanul, sending off two flying blue wind blades which cut his chest open and also razed off his legs.
Fanul was shocked at Vlad who was "watching" him with his abyssal eyes, void of any emotions, and slowly because of the blood loss and the damage sustained, he collapsed on the ground.
"You didn't disturb anything, sir. How can I help you?" inquired Vlad, calmly, as if nothing ever happened just a few moments ago.
Meanwhile, Wormwood watched Vlad with new eyes, not expecting this blind man to have learned the CP Rokushiki Technique.
"Where and who taught you the Rokushiki? That Rankyaku of yours, while forced, was truly the correct technique."
"No one taught me anything. This is just one of my techniques with no names."
"Really, mind showing it to me?"
"... I have no reason." replied Vlad checking on this old man whose energy was increasing ever so slowly with each second.
"What if I force you since you are now a criminal of the Athkatla regardless if you killed some of the city scum. It is my duty to apprehend anyone breaking the low and committing crimes in the island."
"Tell that to all the people who might have suffered because of those bugs."
Thinking in an alerted manner, he started placing head to head some scenarios concerning Wormwood, and how powerful he might be. Since all of the citizens and even Charles Vane mentioned not messing with the Skyfruit Temple.
"If I attack you won't I give you a reason to retaliate?"
"Haha, that's a way of looking at things I guess. But I don't need a reason to attack you because of the kill you did."
"I will show you my technique if you give me some more books to read for free."
"For free? I'll give you a 25% discount."
"... 50% discount."
"Fine. Show me that technique of yours. Attack me with it."
Not overthinking what the old man said, not caring if he had suicidal thoughts, he once again tensed his right and left leg, making Wormwood who was observing every single move that Vlad was doing to stroke his long beard with interest.
'This is a variation of the original Rankyaku… He clearly doesn't know the full technique and resorted to doing this barbaric effort to push it through.'
Vlad kicked the air two times, sending out those 2 wind blade attacks which formed a cross, which had Wormwood nod slightly pleased.
'Not bad, this guy's body is trained to the limit. Let's see how much Doriki he has.'
Without bothering to dodge those wind blades, the old man took a deep breath and called with a murmuring tone.
"Tekkai."
Titania watched with big eyes as this strong looking attack who killed Fanul in one go, was taken casually by the old monk whose muscles on his chest looked to have tensed up, increasing in size a bit, and after taking Vlad's attack, he closed his eyes and placed his fingers together.
"Rokushiki Art: Comparison."
Vlad didn't care what this old monk was doing, instead had his interest picked by the blocking technique which allowed Wormwood to take in his variation of the Rankyaku effortlessly.
'Interesting defensive technique. For a second I felt all of his energy being transferred back in his body, like a superficial layer of armor.'
With his own thoughts, Vlad later on heard Wormwood open his mouth, telling him casually.
"Ohhooo, interesting. Truly. If a cannon fodder in the Marine has about 10 doriki, what I received is shocking for someone who isn't even trained by a Master Instructor."
"... Does it matter?"
Wormwood opened his lazy eyes, and while stroking his long white beard, he asked Vlad, acting nonchalant, about the whole debacle.
"Lad, do you want to join an Organization which will make you far stronger than you are right now?"
"Not interested. I have far more important plans that I can't abandon. Besides, tell me what this doruki of mine is, if you said a meat shield is only 10."
"Hehe, I even like your cold personality, exactly what the Organization deems the best traits in a recruit." "As I said, not interested."
"We'll talk more as we get to the Temple to give you the books. Let's get going, let the wolves eat that guy's corpse."
Not having a reason to decline since he was enticed by the books more than the thought of joining an organization which would bind him, just like the Societas Draconistarum which didn't offer him much support when fighting the Ottoman Armies.
"So? What's Dorruki or whatever you call it."
"It's called Doriki, a form of measuring the strength of the Rokushiki users, but also for the strength of combatants in general. You are at 2886 which for your age, your unprofessional training for which I am certain in my words, also not having a Devil Fruit … It is amazing nonetheless."
"I see, from how big you make it sound, it's rather good."
"Good, you are already an elite fighter by the standards of our Organization. I extend my hand again and invite you to the Organization."
"As I said, not interested."
"Even if we can make you stronger than you are right now?"
"... First, I don't know anything about this organization … Second, my journey is far more important than some quick power … Thirdly, I don't trust you and for that matter the second old guy."
"You are quite blunt and direct with your words. But if I tell you more about our Organization will you consider it?"
"First start with who you are? Don't go about with your monk persona for I really don't care about it. This isn't a normal temple anyway."
"Hahaha, I will only tell you this. I am an Instructor for this Organization, codename, Wormwood."
"I see, meaning this is one of the schools for this Organization. Interesting picking up youngsters to give them a chance at doing something instead of rotting in slums. Go on, tell me more, manage to sell the story for me, a customer." said Vlad in a sarcastic tone, clearly not caring much about the organization the old man belonged to.
Wormwood on the other hand, couldn't help but chuckle, thinking about something in his mind.
'His cold, detached personality, it's perfect for an undercover agent, for a taskmaster. I have to recruit this guy to Cypher Pol, instead of letting him rot in these shit-stained seas that can't offer many opportunities for greatness.'
"I remember you said you were a doctor, alchemist and bounty hunter, right?"
"What about it?"
"Well, in a sense, this Organization I belong, is the one running the whole bounty-hunting system. You'll receive all sorts of benefits, besides the peak quality training. Also, the fact you are a doctor and alchemist, we can offer you a vast network of masters of their craft and improve your knowledge."
"Interesting, go on. Tell me more." commented Vlad as he was walking up the mountain to the Skyfruit Temple at a stable pace along Wormwood.