Several bullets had pierced through his skull and turned his brain to mush. Thanks to the company’s healing magic, his brain was reformed, and he could finally think again. Unfortunately, they didn’t bother to remove the shrapnel, so Ed could still feel each piece pressing painfully against his fragile brain.

Blood continued to flow out of him as his insides healed just enough for him to stay on the brink of death. Feeling that his body had stopped improving, Ed reluctantly turned his attention to the outside world. With his blurred vision, he watched as a couple of the guards made their way towards him.

BANG.

Everyone stopped in their tracks as a bullet was fired. Confused, Ed watched as a bullet flew through the air, heading straight for Mr Milani. What? While no one was watching, one of the guards had turned his gun on his boss, aiming directly for his head. It’s him!

The bullet collided with him but failed to pierce his skin. The bullet dropped to the floor, clinking against the hardwood floor. Before Ed could figure out what was going on, half of the guards had turned their guns on the others.

The old snake turned to the first guard and grinned. “I’ve got you now.” Faster than Ed could blink, he had pounced onto the guard, coiling around his body. The guard smiled, before disappearing.

Escaping from the snake's grasp, the guard appeared some distance away before suddenly growing tens of metres taller. The old snake grew in turn and chased after him, crashing through the house.

Bullets started to fly around Ed as the guards began to fight. The traitors severely outnumbered the others, leaving the loyal guards at a disadvantage. Not having enough time to lift their guns, a few of them resorted to using hand-to-hand combat.

What the fuck is going on? I need to get out of here. Ed tried to crawl to the gaping hole in the wall, hoping to flee from the conflict. I’ll just get my money elsewhere.

As Ed crawled, one of the traitors tripped over his body, crashing to the ground. The person he was fighting with jumped on the opportunity, picking up the gun and unloading everything into the person's body. Ed groaned painfully but continued to push on.

Eventually, he made it to the edge of the room. Looking through the hole in the wall, he watched as the mansion fell apart. Off in the distance, the giant snake had once again coiled around the guard’s body, this time directly spewing noxious fumes onto the guard's face. As much as the guard tried to fight back, he became weaker and weaker as his body was slowly crushed.

Using the wall, Ed pulled himself to his feet. Groaning in pain, he tossed himself over the broken wall, finally escaping the immediate fight. Hiding off in a corner, he waited for everything to stop.

He continued to watch as the giant snake crushed its prey. The giant lost strength, causing it to slowly shrink back down to its original size. The old snake maintained its grip around the man, shrinking down with him.

Standing tall above his fallen foe, Mr Milani opened his mouth wide, and consumed the body in its entirety. Blue wisps of smoke escaped from his mouth as he let out a satisfied sigh. The hollow wails of the guard’s dying soul disappeared as the smoke dissipated into the air.

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The fight inside had also come to a close, with the guards prevailing over the traitors in the end.

Looking around at the destruction caused by the battle, the old snake grumbled. “This cost me way too much.” Making his way back to the living room, Mr Milani noticed Ed in the corner. “There you are.”

Before Ed could do anything, the old snake had appeared in front of him, offering him a hand.

Huh? Although a bit confused, Ed still took the hand, painfully getting to his feet. He tried to prepare himself to fight but knew there was nothing he could do after what he just saw.

“Relax, I’m not going to kill you. I’d never hear the end of it if I kill one of Arthur’s guys.”

What is going on? Ed failed to understand what was going on and decided it was best to just ask. “What just happened?”

“I suppose you wouldn’t be here if Arthur had told you. Follow me, I’ll explain everything.”

A moment later, Ed found himself sitting across from Mr Milani while drinking some tea. The warmth of the tea spread throughout his body, slowly healing his wounds.

“I always found this tea to be especially great after a fight.” Mr Milani said. Seeing that Ed was waiting for an answer, he sighed and jumped straight into it. “Fine, I guess you deserve as much. I had found out that an enemy had snuck into my mansion, but I couldn’t find out who it was. I was talking with Arthur about it, and he suggested that I should lay a trap to try and get them to attack me. So, I pretended to be injured, and Arthur would have his son send me some ‘medicine’. I knew that whoever had snuck in would eventually take the chance to strike, they just needed an opportunity, and well, you know the rest.”

Taking in everything he heard, Ed continued to drink the tea. I shouldn’t have signed up for this.

“Here’s your compensation as promised. Get some rest and you can head back in the morning.” The old snake tossed a coin pouch over to Ed before leaving the room.

Picking it up, Ed felt the hefty weight of it. At least I got something good out of this.

~

“Good morning, Zara.”

Hearing Buddie’s voice, Zara reluctantly unfurled her wings, allowing herself to get out of bed. Her wings folded in, disappearing back into her body. With a sigh, she began the process of healing the wounds. Why do I have to do this every time?

After healing herself, she went about her usual morning routine before stepping into the office. Looking at her desk, she was saddened to see that Ed still wasn’t there. Please come back soon. Without anyone to talk to, she zoned out until the file arrived.

Name: Joshua Price

Age: 43

Occupation: Servant

Biography: Born to parents Tom and April Price, Joshua’s parents both worked as servants for a noble family... He followed in his parents’ footsteps, going into servitude under the same noble family. However, due to several incidents, the status and reputation of the noble family declined. Because of the stress, the nobles began to mistreat the staff... Seeing the mistreatment of his family and fellow servants, one night, Joshua poisoned the nobles' drinks, resulting in the death of the entire family except for the youngest child...

-End of document-

Stuff like this still happens? Well, I think I’ve already got an idea. She started by recreating the noble family’s dining room. Ooh, fancy. “Sit Joshua at the head of the table and place seven cups in front of him. All of the drinks will be poisoned except for one. He has to drink the safe drink in order to escape, and if he drinks the poisoned drink he will die. Also have it that once he starts drinking, he can’t stop until that cup is empty.”

Satisfied with her decision, she made one final check before submitting the project.

“Thank you for submitting your plans, I will inform you when it is ready.”

Zara looked at the empty desk next to her and sighed. Guess I’ll go get lunch.