“The old man said he came by this way. Let’s go down them stairs.”

“We’re right behind you.”

Scar and his crew’s boots were splashing through muddy puddles as they searched for the blindfolded youth. They made their way through the torrential rain down a flight of stairs. They followed the lead they had received and eventually found themselves in front of a tunnel beneath a bridge.

“This must be it.” They carefully stepped inside. It took mere seconds for their eyes to adjust to the gloominess. They scanned the darkness, searching for any sign of the blind youth they were hunting.

“Hmm, I think I see something over there.” Suddenly, Raven spotted a flicker of movement in the tunnel up ahead. She signalled to the others to come over and they crept closer with their weapons at the ready.

The pressure in the air grew thick as danger drew nigh, the silence was broken only by the distant sound of rain and the shallow breathing of the hidden figure. Getting closer, they could make out Hao's form up against the cold, damp wall, moreover, the hairless puppy nestled against him for warmth.

"Huh?" The moment Hao sensed their presence, he rose from his rested position. The puppy also stirred awake and began barking at one of the intruders.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

"Shut up, you little shit!" Without any warning or sense of mercy, Raven moved forward and swiftly kicked the innocent puppy into the filthy drain that coursed through the tunnel. The hapless creature let out a yelp of pain and terror as it was swept away by the murky waters.

“No!” Hao's heart clenched in horror as he watched the puppy disappear only for his dread to intensify when he saw the alligators lurking in the depths. The vicious reptiles tore into the small, defenceless animal using their razor-sharp teeth to shred its fragile body. Blood and fur swirled through the water as the puppy's pained whimpers were drowned by the scary growls of the ravenous gators.

“Hahaha! That’s what you get for barking up the wrong tree, mangy mutt.” Raven smirked like she had done something noble. By ascertaining her smile, Hao saw the dark patch in the villainous heart she had pumping inside her chest.

"Come with us now if you don't want to end up like that dog," Scar threatened as he stepped ahead, the sinister smirk on his lips belied by the anger in his eyes.

“You ruthless bastards! How could you do that to a defenceless puppy!?” Hao's own anger and sadness fuelled him greatly. He sprang into action, charging towards the nearest attacker while unsheathing Vibe Edge.

Slash!

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He executed a slicing arc strike that almost cut off Scar’s head if he hadn’t ducked in time. The mob of thugs behind him were caught off guard by his sudden attack, they quickly scrambled to retaliate.

“You bastard, how dare you strike at us!” Raven lunged at Hao with her matching pair of daggers aimed to slash at him.

Hao expertly dodged her strikes by twisting his body and spinning with impressive agility. He countered with a swift, well-placed strike that forced her to retreat momentarily. It was then that Boulder charged forward with his colossal greatsword swinging through the tunnel with a thunderous roar.

Boom!

Hao nimbly ducked beneath the massive exploding blade, feeling the rush of wind as it narrowly missed him. With a quick pivot, he slashed at Boulder's legs, causing the brute to stumble and grunt in pain. “Ah, the bugger got mi leg!”

“Scar I thought you said this kid was blind, how can he move like that?” Raven was taken aback by this discovery.

“I don’t know.” Scar who was just recuperating from his near-headless experience saw how skilled Hao was with his sword and commanded the rest of the gang to charge him, “Get him!”

“Rah!” The other sword wielders, now fully engaged in the battle, moved in unison to surround Hao in the narrow stretch of the tunnel.

“Come at me with numbers all you want, it doesn’t matter. I’ll cut you all down!” Hao was confident in his swordsmanship, additionally, in a space like that where the entirety of the gang could hardly fit, he had the advantage of randomly executing a slash and cutting somebody’s meat effortlessly.

The blue-beat tones of his enemies were populating his vision like an agitated frequency. They were shouting expletives while baring forth the sharpness of their Blade Edge.

“Come on…” He waited until they were positioned just right before he released his Quick Draw ability.

Swoosh!

His sword danced through the air like a sharp zephyr, parrying and deflecting the mob’s relentless onslaught. Each clang of metal on metal reverberated through the tunnel, creating a symphony of violence.

Clang! Clang!

“Damn, this blind bastard is nimble!” Cursed Silas. “But… if we get around him, he can’t take us all.” He commanded the others to form a ring around Hao, thus they did this in a skilful manner of execution. Some run alongside the walls until they arrived at his rear while others rolled beneath him to get a certain edge.

“Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. He’s fish food now! CUT HIM APART!” Silas got so pissed off by Hao’s niftiness that he completely forgot the particulars of their mission, thus Scar had to remind him.

“Hey, Silas! I said alive not dead!” Though he tried to warn him, Silas was too engrossed in his anger to stop himself from what he was about to do.

“Psycho Rumble!”

Slash! Slash!

Silas was pulling off a dreadful technique which was causing him to spin with his blade like a typhoon billowing out of control. The other mobsters had to retreat temporarily from his range of influence, otherwise, they risked losing a limb or two.

“Huh, he’s transformed into a tornado?” This was how Hao was perceiving Silas’s advancement, he resembled a twisting blade god!

“I better clear away.” Finding a brief opening in the chaotic melee, Hao leapt to the other side of the drain, putting some distance between himself and his assailants.

“Rah!” Silas, furious at Hao's defiance, lunged after him, but Hao was too fast. He extended the tip of his sheathed sword and delivered a powerful thrust to Silas's gut, sending him careening back into the nasty drain.

“Huh! Uh! Kyah!” Silas exuded horrifying screams as the alligators swarmed him in droves, their powerful jaws rending his flesh from his bones. The horrific sight of their comrade's demise only served to further enrage Scar's crew.