Somewhere inside a vehicle: 936, February 13th, Friday, 8:00 AM.
“Do you really think it wise to delay the meeting with King?” Yeon expressed her doubts through the phone.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Sovereign replied with little concern. “It will give Jacob some time to prepare himself, you know.” he mentioned playfully.
Jacob’s defeated sigh leaked through the speakers, standing not too far from Yeon’s phone. “Why... why me?” his discouraged tone combined with his puzzlement showcased the state of his broken mind—realizing he’s being married off like a princess in some romance novel.
A joyful laugh from Sovereign was the response he received from expressing his anguish, but the young CEO’s fun was cut short when a piercing sensation in his chest caused him to abruptly spew blood from his mouth—splashing the front sit of the car as his condition worsened with every intense cough.
“Sovereign!” Yeon yelled through the phone.
“I’m alright... I’m alright,” he replied with a groan. “I just need to take some of these...” with agonizing pain progressively surging all over his body, Sovereign took out a small bottle full of pills from his vest—taking one of them and swallowing it right after.
“I told you to bring someone with you,” Yeon’s voice grew angrier. “I’m heading your way, don’t do anything stupid.”
Sovereign could simply laugh softly as the pain was too unbearable for him to even move. “Y-you... know me, heh.” he breathed after the exhausting sensation his body endured in a matter of seconds—the blood splashed in the car dissipated with a hissing sound, like the body of a specter after losing its core.
Democratic republic of Pelkesk, Kapono City: 936, February 13th, Friday, 8:00 AM.
Crowds of people ran terrified at the sight of the monstrosity roaming the streets—filled with screams of horror as the masses fled from the specter as fast as they possibly could.
The monster tackled the wooden door of a small restaurant open—finding the place empty after its occupants deserted the establishment. The specter continued its way further inside, opening its path to the kitchen. Before it could cause further damage however, a strong impact on the back of its head stopped its ravenous advance.
Turning to face its aggressors standing in formation at the entrance, the demonic creature leaped towards a group of five heavy armed men dressed with red combat armor and helmets—carrying the insignia of the pharmaceutical entity led by Sara Endel, Chimera.
Landing in the middle of the group of soldiers, the specter ignored the rain of bullets colliding with its sturdy exoskeleton and swung its arms against one of the men—hurling him away into one of the tables. Grabbing its next victim by the neck, the creature smashed his head against the floor and lunged him far into the middle of the street.
“Spread out!” the man who seemed to be the leader ordered his team.
The remaining soldiers split and took positions surrounding the monster, unloading every magazine from their rifles into its body. Not letting itself be overwhelmed however, the specter rushed one of the men standing outside and struck his head with the back of its fist—partially breaking the man’s helmet and knocking him out cold.
“Eat this!” One of the soldiers released the safety from a hand grenade in his hand—flinging the explosive towards the specter with no regards for the safety of his ally.
Igniting into a powerful burst of flames and iron shards, the explosive shattered the ground underneath and flung the specter away into the concrete. The knocked-out soldier nearby stood up with shocking tranquility—unfaced by the severity of the wounds in his body. The broken helmet split in half and fell on the floor, revealing the specter like features of his face.
“Stop it!” a little girl with light brown hair cried as she rushed out of the building.
Charging one of the men approaching the specter, she attempted to stop his advance by holding onto his leg—her arms and entire body however, flew straight through the soldier like a ghost through a wall.
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“Please, don’t harm him!” she continued to beg, but to no avail—it was as if her hopeless screams couldn’t be heard by anyone around her.
The group leader’s arm transformed into a specter like abomination—becoming larger and stronger with long sharp nails. Holding down the specter with its mutated limb, the man prepared to put an end to the creature—lifting it in the air while crushing its head under its gigantic palm.
The girl screamed and pleaded for the specter’s life, but her prayers fell on deaf ears. Just as the soldier was about to end the creature’s life however, a startling and deadly cut sliced his arm in two—its pieces dropping to the ground and turning into an oil like liquid that burned and dissipated in contact with the concrete.
“That was close,” a cocky voice rejoiced from inside the restaurant.
The armed men turned towards it, noticing the detective and the assassin taking a fighting position at the entrance of the establishment. “I suggest you run... the lass here doesn’t like messing around.” Tormod said with a smile on his face.
Two of the soldiers rushed them immediately with their bodies mutating along the way—releasing terrifying screeches and growls as their armor broke down. Intercepting their advance, Bianca sprinted towards them in a zigzag pattern, avoiding the horizontal swing of one of the soldiers by running under it and lunging towards the other mutant—sitting on his shoulders from behind and plunging both of her daggers on his neck.
Before the second soldier could assist his ally, Tormod connected a right hook straight into the man’s chin—flinging him away into the ground. “Let’s finish you off!” the detective roared as he brought his clenched fist down against the mutant. Successfully reaching his target, Tormod’s punch was strong enough to break part of the concrete underneath the soldier—crushing his head and ending his life in an instant.
In an attempt to defend himself against the assassin, the mutated man hurled Bianca away and leaped at her with his sharp fangs prepared to gnaw at the assassin. With incredible mobility and speed however, the assassin changed her direction in mid-air and avoided the mutant’s attack—stretching her arm out to get a hold of his shoulder and stab his ribs from behind.
The man let out a painful screech as he was brought to his knees for an instant—giving Bianca enough time to jump off his back. Recovering from his wound, the maddened soldier turned to face the assassin—not realizing it would be his last mistake. With a fast swing of her blades, Bianca cut the mutant’s neck with a clean slash through the middle—the lifeless body of the soldier fell to the floor and dissipated quickly.
Having no backup to support him, the leader of the mutant group began its swift retreat by running into a group of trees—a hopeless attempt that met its end at the hands of Tormod.
“Not too fast!” the detective flanked the soldier and cut his escape route.
Having not option but to confront him, the mutant leader transformed his second arm and swung at Tormod—attempting to crush his head in a single blow. Bianca interrupted his attack however, jumping from the side and cutting his other arm like a knife through butter.
“End of the line.” The detective pressed his fingers tightly and clenched his hand into a fist—emanating a bright azure light that surrounded it. Trusting his arm forward, Tormod pierced the mutant’s chest in a single blow—putting an end to his life.
The soldier’s face hit the concrete, his body dissipating with the burning oil like liquid. Both the assassin and the detective looked around for signs of the specter they were chasing after, but realized soon enough that the creature made its escape while they dealt with the mutants.
“That’s not good...” Tormod scratched the back of his head with a frown. Feeling the gentle touch on his arm, he turned to face Bianca—who waited with a message in her newly acquired small whiteboard.
‘You are strong,’ said the top part of the message. ‘You are no human,’ it concluded at the bottom.
The detective offered a chuckle and pat the assassin in the head. “I am no Gladean Knight if that’s what you are implying, lass.” he answered. “I’m a hybrid... half knight, half human.” He told her with a smile.
‘Cool,’ Bianca wrote, causing Tormod to laugh.
Having lost track of the specter, the detective took a picture from his vest—looking at the small girl of light brown hair named, Lucy Engel. “We need to find her fast...” he claimed with unusual urgency.
Kingdom of Heildin, Heaven’s Castle: 936, February 13th, Friday, 10:00 AM.
“The exile’s spawn has agreed to meeting you, my lord.” the delicate looking man of name Theo informed his king. “However, he deemed it necessary to delay his arrival.”
“Who is this man!” a young woman standing beside the king snarled. Her messy black hair was tied in a high ponytail and one of her azure eyes remained hidden behind her bangs—she was dressed in black armor with a shoulder cape of the same color as her eyes. “Father!” she directed her glare towards the king. “Let me bring him to you on his knees if I must!”
King Date raised his hand slowly, appeasing the fiery daughter at his side. “I have other plans for you and your sister, Eutychia.” he claimed softly with his heavy voice. “Focus on finding Specter for me, Theo.” the king ordered while looking down at his subordinate. “The old god’s reign will soon come to an end.”
“As you wish, my lord.” With a deep bow of respect towards his ruler, Theo excused himself and made his way out of the throne room.
END OF CHAPTER