Cloudy evening sky was lit up with a bright light outbreak. Thrusting through the darkness, it reached the ground in the blink of an eye. Fierce thunder scattered around the shore, and vicious shockwaves crushed the ramshackle huts, throwing old skiffs all over the place.

At the site of the havoc, a column of light left a lone figure in a white chlamys standing knee-deep in muddy waters. One could read overtones of disgust on the old wrinkled face. Not accustomed to such a stench, the man covered his nose with a hand. In the dark, the stranger's fingers glowed: they were decorated with rings with huge multi-colored stones.

The elder took a few steps towards the shore, breaking through the debris floating in an even layer on the water.

“Oh!” Exclaimed old geezer. A shard of broken glass dug into his leg, causing his bewilderment: for several hundred years nothing could injure that body. Finally stepping on the land, he looked around and smiled bitterly.

“O Exalted Veshtra, where did you lead me to?” With lamentations the elder called to the Heavens. “This is not the domain of the Crimson Spirit… The energy in the air reeks of poison. Amazing! I actually can’t feel the presence of a heavenly guardian.”

From behind the wrecked barracks, he heard voices and clatter. Several dark-skinned young guys, illuminating their way with telephones, got closer to the river. As soon as they approached, the elder felt an aura of hostility and cruelty emanating from them. The guy in the red shirt, uttering a loud cry, violently threw a bottle at the stones. A small shower of red drops fell on the old man, staining his favorite robe.

“Just an old geezer. Probably came here for the evening prayer.”

“Dad, are you lost?” the bald man cackled and drank some from the bottle.

“Wow, just look at it! Look at the shinies he's wearing!”

Company stared at the jewels hanging on a foreigner: he looked like a Christmas tree to them.

“Uncle Ramesh will give us a lot of money for that,” the youngest uttered his thoughts with barely audible voice to comrades-in-arms.

“Hey dean, did you want to swim? Take off your clothes and dive-in, we will guard your things!” The big man supported his brothers with a friendly laugh.

The stranger stood still, not even listening to their incomprehensible blabbering. However, this did not prevent him from catching their intentions - what exactly these animals wanted from him. He smiled and said a few words:

“Lowly creatures have not yet recognized their master...”

The foreigner's speech sounded like a set of disconnected sounds for everyone else.

“Hah, look at this idiot, forgetting his mother’s language out of fear! Vijay, explain what we want. In a simpler manner.” A young boy pushed his friend.

The lanky guy snapped his knuckles and straightened his shoulders, rushing towards his victim. Grin widening as he approached: in his mind, Vijay was already imagining which girls he would buy using the riches that had come his way.

Approaching the crazy old man, he made a false swing with his hand. However, the old geezer did not react in any way to his trick. Elder’s gaze seemed to encourage the young man's actions. This made the bully nervous, instincts screamed at him to leave the elder alone and get the hell out of here. An irritated voice rang out from behind:

“And why are you standing here? Beat him to death already!”

Vijay got angry with himself for cowardice and, grabbing dean by the chlamydī, struck a sharp blow at the head. Instead of the usual pain in the knuckles, his wrist was numb and aching. Young man stared blankly at the exposed bone. Dark blood pulsed from the torn flesh like a fountain. Boy squealed more in fear than in pain.

«Run away from him, run! Right now!!!» the adrenaline-choked brain shouted at him.

Vijay took a couple of steps back. The gaze of the demon in the guise of the old dean was still the same, only a serene smile now hanging on his face. The guy could no longer stay next to him - he had to run. However, as soon as he turned his back, a sharp pain constrained his movements. He clearly heard a crunch in his knee and fell straight onto the recently broken bottle.

“Help!” Vijay screeched in pain. He started crawling to his friends, grabbing piles of sand with his bloody hand.

“Ant, how dare you turn your back on the master?” Elder placed his foot on the boy's head and pressed lightly, bottle fragments dug even deeper into the pimply face.

“Bastard, let him go! Otherwise, I'll shoot you!” one of the thugs pointed an old revolver at the old man. His hands were sweaty and shaky.

“Are you going to fight me with a pipe?!” the old man pressed harder on Vijay's head, who squirmed and squealed under his feet.

“Kill him, shoot already!”

There was a loud bang, the bullet flew close to the foreigner's head, leaving a tiny trail on his cheek. The old man finally recognized the danger it posed to his infinitely long life. In a split second, a long greenish whip rose from his palm. With a whistling click, the blow of the whip cut off the boy's palm that held a weapon unfamiliar to the stranger. The second blow tore the bewildered child into two pieces of bleeding flesh.

Such a quick and brutal reprisal against their comrade made the others think faster. In a moment, the whole gang was already sparkling with their heels.

“You decided to wound me, the great Bai Enlai, and escape?! You must be out of your mind!” exclaimed the old man, directing the blows of the whip at the fleeing figures.

«I only need one of them... That ant sure is quick, he’ll do! »

After half an hour of following the boy, the old man stopped on the roof of a four-storey building. He was more and more surprised by the world in which he found himself. Although the lion's share of his powers was sealed, some spiritual techniques remained available.

The old man took a deep breath:

«No divine power whatsoever, brave new world ...»

Meanwhile, the panting boy stood at the massive doors to the two-story mansion. A couple of brutes at the entrance took out their weapons, but having identified the guest, he was allowed inside.

Inside the mansion.

Ramesh Khann sat by his friends and associates. Today was a special day for him - at long last he suppressed all local groups and became a full-fledged shadow master of this city. He will never again have to bend under anyone else in his life. He looked around the room filled with gifts with a satisfied glance - this is only a small part of what he has been able to acquire recently.

The pot-bellied mayor got up from the table and was barely able to tilt his head down - several chins greatly hindered him:

“Let's raise a toast: to the great and gracious Ramesh! May his life be long and his wealth inexhaustible!”

Ramesh bowed his head graciously and raised the exquisite glass. However, he did not manage to take a sip - the front doors opened with a thunderous sound and his obnoxious nephew burst into the hall.

“Uncle! Uncle, help ... me! He's chasing me... he killed them all,” choking, the young man coughed violently. Kneeling, he nearly coughed out his lungs. Ramesh frowned:

“Hey, someone give that bastard some wine!”

At the very edge of the long table sat a junior official from the cabinet of ministers; trying to serve the very first, he grabbed his goblet and ran to the boy. The young man took a couple of noisy sips.

“Massud, I told you to get lost and not bother me until next week, useless punk!” Ramesh curled his lips in displeasure, leaning his whole body against the back of the chair.

“Sorry, dear uncle. My friends and I were celebrating your successes and for no reason we were attacked by some crazy old man. He obviously heard us talking about you and attacked out of anger. This old fart slaughtered them all, I alone managed to escape!” The boy once again raised the goblet and finished it in two sips.

A clamor and noise rose up in the hall. Everyone cast concealed glances at Ramesh, waiting for his reaction. Such behavior from an unknown person in his city will cause a lot of commotion.

«Not a single day without trouble from this trashy child. » Ramesh rubbed his temples. «Although if this is true, something needs to be done urgently. »

“Ajitt, take this bastard and gather the people. Find this daft ruffian; you know what to do afterwards... Please, dear guests, do not pay attention to this: the feast continues.”

His most faithful ward didn't have time to get up from his seat, as the lighting blinked twice and the hall sinked into darkness. Shots and blood-curdling screams could be heard outside the door and on the first floor. One of the servants pressed the emergency button and dim red light from hanging lamps on the walls illuminated the room.

Panic broke out among officials and distinguished guests. At the time, Ramesh's people, familiar with such cases, received further instructions from the chief of security. They took out their weapons and knocked over the tables closest to the entrance to the hall, creating a line of defense. A minute passed, then another - but everything was silent behind the door. Attempts to contact external security by radio were unsuccessful.

The mayor of the city crawled up to Ramesh. His voice went from thick baritone to thin and trembling voice:

“Master, do you have an emergency exit? Maybe we could get away from here?”

Ramesh glared at the wiggling pig beneath him:

“Do you think the one who dared to attack me wouldn’t block this exit? Hey Bazu,” Ramesh waved his golden pistol towards the doors, “check what's going on in there!”

Bazu nodded and clapped a couple of militants on the shoulders, before moving towards the door without making any unnecessary sounds. Standing on the sides, his comrades-in-arms opened the doors. Bazu took a deep breath and carefully peered into the passage. There were no bodies, no signs of a struggle in the corridor.

«Our people should be standing guard here, perhaps they went down to the first floor and got into a gunfight with the enemy? »

-It's empty, - Bazu turned to his leader.

The radio on Ajitt's chest hissed, and from there came the voice of one of the guards:

“Sir, we are downstairs, everything is in order, you can go there,” the voice sounded familiar, but something highly alerted the head of the security.

The officials sighed out of relief and forced out a meager smile. Ramesh was able to relax a little too. And why did he get so scared just now? No one would dare to have him as an enemy, because no one could oppose him!

Ajitt immediately demanded a report:

“Who shot? Why did the light go out?... Hello! Can you hear me?” The patience of the head of security was at the limit.

Silence from the radio dragged on for half a minute, and then the same voice devoid of emotion rang out.

“We, your slaves, are here, come down here, it's safe”

An unpleasant chill ran down Ajitt's spine.

“What's there? Can I go in there?” Ramesh approached his close friend.

“No, I think it's a trap. Perhaps our people were forced to say this...” the militant shook his head.

The radio peeped again:

“The owner of this house, nobody will touch you, get down, it’s safe!”

“…It is necessary to call my people,” the chief of police interrupted the conversation. “Let them cordon off everything here to deal with these bastards.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Ramesh did not like his idea, but apparently there was no other way out. He will have to pay dearly for this service.

The radio beeped again:

“This lowly slave made a mistake standing up against the master, slave will pay for it.”

The owner of the house thoughtfully took out a cigarette and lit it up:

“Ajitt, that voice sounds familiar to me.”

The head of security immediately replied:

“Sunder, this is definitely him. I have known him since childhood.” Ajitt anticipated the next question, “he’s not a traitor, he was probably forced to say it.

“Why his voice sounds so… weird?” Ramesh lit a cigarette.

“No idea.”

The police chief ended the conversation and reported while picking up a glass of strong drink from the table:

“I called everyone available, in a couple of minutes they will be here.”

“Uncle,” next to Ramesh, as if from nowhere, Masud appeared, “maybe it's safe and we should just go in there?”

“You damned coward, how dare you offer me such a shitty idea?!” Ramesh gave his nephew a savory slap on the head, “cretin, this is probably Asha's group. I'll deal with her someday...”

The emerging tension was disturbed by the sirens and the flashing blue-red light under the dark thick curtains. One of Ramesh's subordinates, standing near the window, watched, slightly pulling back the curtain, all the arriving cars of the police, special forces, firefighters and ambulances.

“Mr. Ramesh, the police occupied the house across the street, snipers are already on the roof!”

“Hah, great, if these barbarians are still here, then they now have nowhere to run. Dilip,” he turned to the chief of police, “if one of the attackers survives, you will hand them over to my hands. No one dares to break into my house with impunity. Ramesh sat back down and poured a full glass of wine.”

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Saturday night for the Deputy Chief of Police was amazing. His new secretary brightened up relaxing evening in the only elite restaurant of the provincial town. The girl was stroking his leg with her foot in secret under the table; her eyes drove the middle-aged man crazy. His brand-new smartphone sounded with annoying melody for half a minute already, knocking him off the mood.

«Damn you, who's calling? »

Flipping the phone over, his face contorted with annoyance.

“Chief-”

“Asim! Get your lazy ass to Mr. Ramesh's mansion right now. Some bastards attacked us; they are on the first floor. Come quickly, it’s a matter of paramount importance.”

As soon as the chief of police finished speaking, he immediately hung up. In complete confusion, Asim sat for another ten seconds. Frustrated by his foiled plans, he casually pushed his chair back and threw a wad of cash on the table.

“Dear, is everything okay?” the girl anxiously looked from cavalier to the money.

Without saying a word, Asim silently left the restaurant, lighting a cigarette. On the way to the car, he quickly called his subordinates. The black Mercedes growled, rapidly picking up speed, and rushed into the old part of the city. By the time Asim arrived, the area had already been closed. The street was crowded with the number of police officers.

Asim parked next to an officer who was shouting into a megaphone with all his might, with the demands to the criminals. The deputy chief of police did not even hope that the people who attacked the head of the local mafia would voluntarily surrender to the police.

Asim just got out of the car when a young officer ran up to him with a report: “The criminals are in the building, they have control over the first floor, they are armed and wounded two police officers.”

“Mr. Asim, our group is ready, but shouldn’t we prepare better? Maybe find house plans...”

The deputy chief raised his hand, interrupting his subordinate.

“This is unnecessary: our unit already stormed this mansion six months ago. Moreover, if we delay, some of the hostages will suffer. I will not take on such responsibility,” Asim interrupted his subordinate again. “I know what you mean… keep it to yourself. Now go!”

Asim climbed into an armored van to track the group. He has watched one of the most capable teams in the state dozens of times already. It was never a problem for them to complete an operation of any complexity without casualties. Twelve professionals were already at the main entrance. The lieutenant colonel watching the house was surprised: there was no activity on the ground floor. Are they going to surrender?

There was a small-scale explosion: massive doors flew off their hinges. A thick darkness swirled inside. The detachment, having entered the main hall, divided into two groups, like last time. The storming of the rooms was swift. The militants, no matter how they tried, could not give a worthy rebuff.

Breaking into the corner room, the second group came across an old man sitting in a chair. He calmly drank tea and did not pay any attention to the people who rushed in. Incense sticks smoldered on the table in front of the old man, and faint smoke, illuminated by a dim lamp, spread throughout the room.

“Commander, here’s a civilian, he’s unarmed!” reported one of the capture groups.

"It must be a hostage, take him out of the building," came panting voice of the squad leader.

Asim, who watched the cameras, was pleased with the work of the special forces. The operation lasted less than five minutes: all the criminals were eliminated and even the hostage was rescued.

“The boss will be very happy, maybe I will even be rewarded? Wait, why aren't they moving?”

All members of the group who met with the hostage stood motionless in place. Weapons fell out of their hands.

«What’s wrong? » Asim grabbed the microphone.

Meanwhile, the old man put the cup aside and stood up. After saying a few words in an unfamiliar language, he took out an object from his bosom. Due to the poor picture and the gray color, Asim could only make out that it was some sort of the strange-shaped flask. He went up to the nearest guy of the special forces and threw back his head, pouring something down his throat. He apparently intended to do the same with all the other operatives.

Asim quickly pressed the communication button:

“Elephant, there's something wrong with that hostage. The group seems to be in a trance, perhaps it is one of the militants acting. Most likely he is using some kind of gas.”

“Got it!” the commander started to give out instructions for the first group.

The second group at this moment started moving. They picked up their weapons and listened intently to the stranger. For Asim, the old man's speech was completely unfamiliar, and he was amazed by the fact that apparently special forces guys could understand and speak this weird dialect. After a few seconds, they began to rip off cameras and communication devices, and then smashed them on the floor. And apparently special forces guys could understand and speak this weird dialect now!

“Elephant, the second group intends to give you a fight. Take your people away!”

“Asim, are you crazy?” The squad leader stopped; they were only a couple of rooms from the second group. “They are our brothers, leaving them here is the same as betrayal. We will save them!”

“Elephant, stop! Get out of there, this is an order!” However, commander did not listen to him, already giving his orders to the subordinates.

«What a stubborn fool...» Asim had no choice but to watch.

The first group made their way, step by step, towards the corner room. Blood splatters and bullet holes were visible on the door. Two corpses in civilian clothes laid next to it. Their leader gave silent commands. A second before the attack, a shrill whistle of fire alarms sounded, and water poured over their heads.

One by one, the cameras stopped working. Asim turned pale: after all, it happened because of his involvement in the procurement of this "high-class" and "water-resistant" equipment. Part of the money from this contract ended up in his and the patron's pockets.

The sounds of gunfire were heard from the house, and the windows were lit up by the blinding flash of light from the exploding stun grenades. Skirmish began rapidly and just as suddenly ended. A couple of minutes later, from the main entrance, limping on his right foot, squad leader with his subordinate came out.

“Did the invincible squad suffer such terrible losses? We urgently need to come up with something... Wait, I gave him the order to retreat, but he did not listen. The Elephant is to blame for the failure of the operation. I can definitely cover myself! Just need to figure out what happened to the cameras...” Asim thought about the words he now needs to say in front of his subordinates and exited the van to meet with the wounded. The elephant was already waiting, with several alarmed operatives standing beside him.

“Why the hell did you violate my order?!” Asim shouted out deliberately loudly, “I ordered you to get out of there! The operation failed because of you! Are you aware that all the bigwigs of the city are in the building? Because of you, they might suffer, because of your willfulness! Why aren’t you trying to defend yourself? Feeling guilty, huh?”

The elephant silently gazed at the deputy chief. Asim felt uncomfortable and even lost confidence in his rehearsed words.

“What’re waiting for? Answer when your senior addresses you!”

Suddenly, squad leader took out small bag from his bosom, rummaged inside of it for a moment and casually threw it to the lieutenant colonel. Asim caught the gift instinctively.

“What’s that?” without waiting for an answer, he immediately opened the bag, “Goodness gracious…”

Second floor of the mansion.

Water from several drenchers continuously poured over everything. Only the important guests did not get wet, who had been hiding under the tables for half an hour already and were trembling with fear. Shots and pops from below stopped again, only the noise of spraying moisture remained.

“Someone, turn off this damned water already,” it seemed that Ramesh's anger might result in him having a heart attack.

Several people rushed to the adjacent guard room. Shutting off the water supply was a matter of a couple of seconds.

“Hey, whoever you are, can you see anything on the street?” Ramesh called out to the militant who was watching from the window.

“Mr. Khann, there’s n... two policemen running. One of them is most likely injured”.

The boss personally went to the window to make sure:

“Damn, Bachman, you said that your guys are the best! So why are they running out of my house like beaten dogs?”

The police chief, slipping and struggling to keep his balance, reached the window:

“I don’t… what the…? This is one of the best squads in all the neighboring states!”

“The best?” Ramesh moved away from the window, “they cannot even get rid of the Asha’s pitiful mercenaries! Surely someone in your office is leaking data to this whore. And if I find out that you are involved in this…”

The last words greatly frightened the chief of police.

“Boss Khann, I don’t know what happened there. But I can say for sure: me and my people are loyal to you. No one in their right mind would...”

A series of rumbling explosions in the street interrupted Brahman's tirade. In fear, he fell to the floor and covered his head with his hands. The dark floor-length curtains were thrown back by the shockwave and shards of broken glass flew into the room. Emerging fireballs frightened everyone. Room now was filled with a strong smell of fuel.

Indiscriminate shooting began in the midst of the demolished police cars. Dozens of mutilated people crawled from the explosion site. Machine guns fires from the first floor of the mansion, shooting dazed police officers.

“Bachman, motherf-, what happened there?” Ramesh looked in fright.

“How would I know!” Snapped the chief of police. “This idiot Asim isn’t picking up the phone.”

Bachman threw the phone aside and, clutching onto his head, sank onto the wet carpet: «My career’s over! »

At that moment Ramesh really wanted to beat the shit out of him, but quickly changed his mind and called for Ajitt to come.

“Can we try to get out of here?”

Ajitt pondered his master's offer for a moment, but soon shook his head.

“No, that’s too dangerous for you. It is easier to defend here: there is only one passage to us, and it is barricaded. They didn’t attack immediately, that means they’re searching for something or someone else. I advise you to wait, sir.”

Massud squeezed into the conversation again:

“Uncle, maybe it's better to surrender? We still don't kno... – “

The young man did not have time to finish, as the blow he received on the cheek thrown him a couple of meters away. Blood gushed heavily from his nose, he tried to get up but his hand slipped, and the boy flopped onto the floor.

“I tell you this once again - if you interrupt the conversation of the elders ever again, I swear: I will beat you to death! And I'll tell everyone else right away - I'm not going to surrender. The bastards who invaded my home will soon be kneeling and praying that I will grant them a quick death.”

Ramesh's subordinates perked up slightly and smiled. After a fiery speech by the owner of the house, the gunshots on the first floor stopped. Ajitt looked out into the street: there were still shooting targets running around. After a moment's thought, he shouted:

“In position, cover!”

There was a slight knock on the door from the other side, and a second later explosions resounded. Black smoke engulfed the passage.

Ajitt looked around at his people — most were unharmed. Only the table closest to the entrance got knocked over, behind which Bazu and the guys were hiding. They were motionless: either dead or unconscious.

“Chetan, Kasi, help them!” Ajitt pointed at his stunned comrades.

After exchanging glances, the militants threw their submachine guns on their backs and, bending down, ran to their comrades-in-arms.

Piercing dense black smoke, the familiar bifurcated greenish rope flew into the hall. It deftly entwined bodies of the rescuers and slowly pulled them towards the exit. Confused militants began to shoot aimlessly into the smoke. One of them pulled out a long knife and, nimbly jumping over the table, rushed to the aid of his comrades.

To the touch the rope felt like a snake skin. Man quickly tried to cut it with a knife, but there was not even a trace left. Then he fiercely tried to saw. And, suddenly, the knife and hand stuck to the rope in a strange way. The daredevil was overcome with horror, and tried free his hand. However, the rope, as if alive, began to grow all over the hand and moved higher and higher, simultaneously carrying him towards the black smoke. Hothead screamed, wriggled, but it made his predicament only worse: the rope, as if feeling his resistance, twisted around harder and harder, crushing the bones. When rope entangled his entire body, he was already dead.

Militants stopped firing as soon as their comrades got in the doorway. Behind the rope-bound bodies appeared the muzzles of machine guns and dark silhouettes. Ramesh recognized several of the attackers at once - they were his people. They started working with him ten years ago. And then he also recognized three more of them; those belonged to Special Forces.

“Bachman, bastard! Is this your doing?!” Ramesh, menacingly flaring his nostrils, pointed a pistol at the poor fellow crawling in a puddle.

“No, sir! I have nothing to do with it!” He turned towards his subordinates and shouted, “how dare you break in here? Who gave you the order? Was it Asim?!”

The attackers were silent. For another minute they could only exchange glances. Fear chilled Ramesh to the bone. He was about to give the command to fight when the tall figure of an old man in a ceremonial robe and an absurd headdress appeared behind the traitors. He held his right hand slightly outstretched upward, and from his palm, like a thick snake, a greenish whip was wriggling.

The elder's face was streaked with the deepest wrinkles, his smile kind and welcoming, as if he had come on a holiday to his old friends.

“And who’s that freak might be?” Ramesh laughed, the strange look of the old man amused him. But the smile quickly disappeared from his face - from behind, in the back of his head, someone jabbed him painfully with the barrel of a revolver.

“Uncle, I asked you to surrender to the mercy of the great master. Why didn't you listen to me?!” the boy's voice trembled.

“Massud, dear, what are you doing? We are of one blood. Have you forgotten how I took care of you throughout your life? And now you decided to sell your own uncle to some bastard?!”

The boy's finger on the trigger twitched slightly.

“I say this once more: If you offend my master ever again, your brain will be presented on the feasting table!”

“Massud, calm down, do not take offense.”

The old man shouted something to the boy and Massud’s face lit up in smile again:

“My master wants your people to drop down their weapons and kneel. He is merciful and said that no one will get hurt if you, uncle, do not act stupid!”

Ramesh assessed the situation for several seconds, and the screams of dying people in the street also helped him to make the right decision:

“Do as he says.”

“But lord...”

“I said, bitch, do as you are told!” Ramesh shouted, but tried not to twitch too much.

The militants obeyed their boss' orders and disarmed themselves.

“I did as you said; Now, who are you? What do you want?” Ramesh angrily looked towards the old man; in his thoughts he was frantically looking for a way out but couldn’t think of anything worthwhile. The shadow lord of the city could not understand: from where exactly did this elder get such influence and power?

«Who is this old freak? Asha's man? No, she doesn’t have anyone like him! He’s not afraid to openly oppose the authorities. Madman, who are you? »

Elder said only a few words, his voice sounding majestic and solemn. Ramesh's nephew reverently repeated the words of his master:

“Bai Enlai is my name. This exalted one is an elder from the Jade Hell sect. «We» are in need of slaves.”