???: 936, February 12th, Friday, 10:00 PM.
“It’s getting out of control!” The woman dressed in a white lab coat with a mask and safety goggles yelled.
Her co-workers—dressed in the same outfit, approached to inspect the large containment chamber made of laminated glass—providing oxygen through a large tube connected from the ceiling. The container held a small girl of short light brown hair and pale skin, her dark brown eyes remained shut as she let out a distressing painful scream—receiving shock waves from conductors installed all over the floor in order to calm the large amount of crimson energy flowing from within her body.
“It won’t stop!” One of the scientists quivered. “What’s gotten into it!”
The ground shook violently below their feet, the glass chamber at the center of the room began to break slowly, causing distress among the scientists. More and more workers rushed inside the room to provide any assistance they could offer, but the power of the imprisoned child was indominable.
The thick layered walls began to break through multiple strong impacts as if someone, or something was desperately trying to break free. A couple more hits was all it took to bring the chamber down into tiny shards of glass—startling the crew as they were forcefully pushed to the ground by the magnitude of the impact.
Observing the breached chamber with dread and confusion mixed in their eyes, the scientists froze in fear as they stared at the empty glass chamber.
“Ugh! Aaagh!” Suddenly, a piercing scream hit the crew’s ears like a hammer to the head.
Turning their heads towards the sound, they noticed one of their co-workers floating in the air—as if some sort of invisible force held him up by the neck. The scientist was flung away into a wall with an inhuman amount of strength, causing his fragile body to fracture on impact—breaking the wall in the process.
Whatever caused his death continued on an animalistic rampage, more and more scientists were taken by the invisible monster as they ran for their lives. A blinking red light set off across the rooms as the screams of the victims overpowered the sound of the alarm. One of the scientists managed to reach a safety room, shutting every emergency door and locking himself inside—his hands and legs trembling in horror. Before he could take a breath of relief however, the heavy vault like door built from reinforced steel budged in mere seconds at the terrifying strength of whatever creature hunted the halls.
Unable to see the monster, the scientist wept with tears in his eyes as his back hit the wall behind him—his breath quivering rapidly as he patiently waited for his demise.
Democratic republic of Pelkesk, Kapono City: 936, February 13th, Friday, 6:00 AM.
To the south of the Hemel continent, lied a fairly large country known as Pelkesk. Neighbors to Heildin from both the west and the east, the country found itself threatened by the Deadlands from the north—offering support to Cerberus ever since its conception. As its capital, Pelkesk had the large city of Kapono—known for its beautiful jungles and tropical weather that served as a major point of interest for tourists and travelers.
“What a beauty,” Tormod said—bubble pipe in hand. He tugged the neck on his shirt to get some air as he insisted in bringing his usual outfit to work. “Should’ve left the jacket at home... what do you think, lass?” he addressed his companion beside him.
The woman dressed in a white suit with a skull mask did not respond to his question however, keeping her gaze forward with no interruptions.
“You uh... kinda bring a lot of attention to yourself with that getup,” the detective mentioned. “Do you want to go on a shopping break, lass? I could use something fresher myself.” he chuckled, but received no answer once again.
Presenting the detective with a piece of paper from a small notebook she carried, the skull masked woman introduced herself to Tormod—the message read: ‘My name is not lass. I’m Bianca.’
“You do have a name!” Tormod cheered—blowing bubbles from his pipe. “Let’s get moving, Bianca! We got a job to do!” he pointed forward with his finger.
The pair moved to explore the vast city of Kapono, filled with so much greenery the place felt like a forest itself—with every part of the city decorated with plants and trees that completed the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. The passed by the residents as they continued their daily routines, from kids walking to school to adults heading to their jobs. As they continued with their little stroll, Bianca stopped suddenly to look at a glass building nearby—a small coffee shop of sorts.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“You hungry?” Tormod asked, “they might sell donuts in there.”
Bianca pointed at a middle-aged man sitting inside the shop by himself, he seemed to be smiling and glancing at the sit in front of him while reading a newspaper. He kept his black hair short and had bags under his eyes.
“Poor guy... he probably got stood up.” the detective sighed in respect for a fallen warrior. Feeling the stinging pain in his arm, he moved to look at Bianca—who held a piece of paper for him to see: ‘That’s our target, look at your papers.’
Inspecting the details given to him by Yeon, Tormod confirmed the assassins written words—nodding to her and proceeding inside the building. The pair nonchalantly approached the man and stood beside his desk—their target seemed anxious at their presence, avoiding eye contact for a second before introducing himself.
“H-hello... can I help you?” he greeted the pair nervously.
Tormod took a sit beside him and put his arm around the man’s shoulder. “Hey, friend. I heard you were that super cool dude from somewhere.” he playfully said before blowing bubbles from his pipe. “What’s your name, lad?”
“L-lucas...” he quivered—his body tensing up by the physical contact. “W-what do you want...?”
Bianca approached him and presented Lucas with a piece of paper; the man’s constricted pupils observed the assassin’s message with trembling lips and wide opened eyes. Her note demanding him to, ‘Hand over the girl.’
With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Lucas took Tormod’s arm off his shoulder and sprinted towards the exit. “Woah!” the detective reacted to the violent response—seeing as the man frantically ran as far away from them as possible.
Bianca looked at Tormod with a new message on the page: ‘Chase?’
With a quick sigh, the detective casually stood back up and shook his head. “Not necessary, he’ll get tired eventually. Want some donuts, lass?” he offered.
Lucas continued running as if his life depended on it, almost dragging himself as his low stamina got the better of him. It didn’t take him long to fall on his knees with panting breath—his face and clothes drenched in sweat. Looking back over his shoulder, Lucas moved his eyes from side to side while trying to locate the pair that he believed was chasing after him.
“Did I... lose them?” he breathed.
“Not quite, lad. Not quite.” A cheery voice spoke
Lucas redirected his gaze towards it and noticed the detective accompanied by the skull masked assassin standing right in front of him. He stood back up in a shock, but was unable to flee due to his fatigued body—promptly hitting the concrete on his butt.
“Please... I don’t know where she is.” the man pleaded as he slowly dragged himself back.
‘Lies,’ Bianca wrote in her paper.
Tormod scratched his chin while reading her message. “Should we get you a whiteboard?”
“You don’t know what you are getting into!” Lucas snapped suddenly. “She just wants to be left alone... I’m not sending her back.” His voice quivered—his hands trembling with fear and anxiety.
“Ah, I see the problem.” the detective slapped his forehead and smiled. “We are not members of Chimera, lad. All we want is to save the girl some trouble,” Tormod claimed while helping Lucas up his feet—patting his outfit a little to get rid of the dirt.
“You are mistaken!” he raised his voice as fear grew inside his mind. “I don’t know anything, I don’t!”
Bianca took another piece of paper and proceeded to write a message on it. Presenting it to the frightened man right after, ‘gives us the spect—"
Before Lucas could even finish reading, the assassin is flung away by an unseen and powerful force—her body flew a large distance and only came to a stop after colliding against a tree.
“Lass!” Using his sharpened senses, Tormod used his arm to block an incoming blow from the invisible monster. The impact was strong enough to stagger him however, giving the specter an opportunity to continue its assault.
Receiving a strong punch to the gut, the detective is left open for his opponent to tackle him to the ground. “Damn, get off!” he wrestled with the specter on the floor and managed to get a hold of the creature’s arms—moving his face away to prevent its sharp claws from causing him any harm.
Jumping at the invisible creature from behind, Bianca plunged one of her daggers on the specter’s chest and slashed upwards towards her, continuing by stabbing the side of its neck with the second one—both blades glowing with bright crimson energy, a small gift given to her by Cerberus. The monster cried in pain as it knocked the assassin away with a strong elbow to the face—sending her off into the concrete.
Having fulfilled its purpose, the crimson energy from Bianca’s daggers loses its power—transforming them back into their original state. The assassin recovered quickly and helped the detective back on his feet, both of them observing the retreating specter as its invisible body slowly came into view. Possessing a strong and sturdy exoskeleton, its humanoid face and body was covered with fissures that glowed red through the crimson energy veins within.
Letting out a powerful and intimidating roar, the creature leaped away from the pair and into a dense area crowded with trees—disappearing from everyone’s view in the blink of an eye. Bianca attempted to chase after it immediately, but was stopped by Tormod’s hand on her shoulder—he simply looked at her and shook his head slowly.
“How about we discuss the situation with some mochas?” the detective suggested while looking at Lucas, who remained seated with an open mouth during the entire event.
Somewhere else...
Far from the detective and the assassin, the specter stopped in the middle of an empty area—its presence protected by the surrounding trees. A small girl of light brown hair approached it, she was sweaty and seemed exhausted. The specter picked her up gently in its arms and sat near a tree, lying its back against it as the girl promptly fell asleep.
END OF CHAPTER