I scanned the area to learn more about my new environment; the slums. The immediate area was vacant other than me while several meters away the streets were crowded. The whole district was dimly lit and had a grungy atmosphere. It seemed busy despite the absence of any form of either natural or synthetic daylight, and I couldn’t be sure if they even got any artificial daylight being the slums and all; it was likely a city of eternal nightlife.

… And crime, I don’t want to be the victim of that. Dawn, how do we avoid being targeted?

< (Well, these are ‘the slums’, the piece of society which best represents the term ‘urban jungle’, so we have two basic laws to follow if we want to be here unharmed.) > (Dawn)

And those laws would be?

< (The ‘urban law’, and ‘the law of the jungle’.) > (Dawn)

What does that mean?

< (First comes ‘the law of the jungle’… quite simple really, it’s called ‘survival of the fittest’, in every situation the opponent is either ‘predator’ or ‘prey’ while you are the other. The ‘predator’ can ‘feast’ on the ‘prey’ all they like and the ‘prey’ can do very little about it. We want to be the ‘predator’.) > (Dawn)

Is that always the case? Is one always stronger than the other?

< (No, sometimes both sides can be predators, in which case they will either fight for dominance or simply agree to leave each other to their own devices. The weak also gather together, there lies strength in numbers, this allows the weak to resist the predators and sometimes even beat them.) > (Dawn)

So, we can also join a group of weaker people for our own protection?

< (I refuse! Even if they have the strength to resist the predators, the prey will continue to die every day! This is where my newly created ‘urban law’ comes into play; prey are not the only ones who team up for more strength.) > (Dawn)

So, we join ‘a group of predators’ then?

< (Exactly! My ‘urban law’ states that ‘it is not only the opponent in front of you who you must be wary of, but who your opponent works for’. If you gain the support of some bigshot people will be hesitant to act against you.) > (Dawn)

I see, but how do we get the support of one of the bigshots?

< (With our services of course, I suggest pursuing a career in ‘information gathering’, it would coincide with our original goals too… let’s get going before we attract unwanted attention to ourselves.) > (Dawn)

I paid attention to my surroundings, a few people seemed to be watching me stand here idly as if in a daze while talking to Dawn. The attention was probably not a good thing so I quickly walked into the crowd. Unfortunately, diving into the crowd did absolutely to escape attention, in fact, it even drew more attention to me. Almost everyone in the immediate vicinity was stealing glances at me, many with reddened cheeks.

Suddenly a chill shot up my spine and I instinctively turned around. I scanned the scene behind me to figure out what I was reacting to, but nothing stood out suspiciously so I dismissed it and continued.

I needed to escape the attention of the crowd, I was getting restless under the gazes around me. I picked up my pace and kept walking without knowing where I was going, my heart was pounding and I just wanted to get out of there. All other thoughts stopped as I stormed through the crowd.

After an unknown amount of time I snapped back to my senses and froze on the spot.

Where am I?

There was nobody around me, the desolate alleyway I found myself in became terrifying as my instincts kicked in and another chill roared up my spine, much stronger than before. I was agitated and my eyes darted around the empty alleyway restlessly, something in me simply knew this was all going to end badly.

I froze as I sensed an ominous and oppressive presence behind me, the sound of footsteps instilled fear into me.

I slowly turned around to find the presence, rooted on the spot in fear, my feet did not move and I could only move my head and my shoulders. I did not want to know what was behind me, but I also needed to know, something inside me forced me to find out. My instincts were screaming at me to run, but I slowly turned my head as my instincts gradually lost the war.

Behind me stood a man clothed in red and brown, a smile that sent a barrage of chills up my spine, and a faded orange scarf wrapped around his neck. He stood a mere two meters behind me and the ominous aura oozing off him made him seem four meters tall. His eyes held a savage glint that incited terror and hopelessness. Every muscle in my body stopped responding as beheld his overpowering existence. I was frozen on the spot and as he took another step closer my body began to tremble.

His smile widened and sent more chills down my spine, he grew scarier with his smile.

“A little young for my tastes but an incredible find nonetheless, don’t you agree Voss?” (Ominous man)

“Yes, she’ll be an unrivalled beauty in a few years, with the right training she’ll be a star… I might even take some time to personally enjoy her.” (Voss)

A second man appeared out of nowhere from behind the ominous man, his name was apparently ‘Voss’ and he seemed to be the leader here despite feeling far less threatening than the ominous man he appeared next to. Vos was clearly rich and indulgent, his belly hung out over his belt and he was clad in a perfectly fitted suit which was jet black with a bright red waistcoat, white undershirt, and a gray necktie. I could only turn my eyes to see him, the rest of me was still unable to respond under the pressure of the ominous man who first approached.

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“Well then, shall we take her home?” (Ominous man)

“Yes, I’ll enjoy her first, but after that she’s all yours!” the fat man said, following up with a disgusting laugh that made my stomach churn.

“Understood… Sir.” The ominous man responded, seeming almost disappointed.

“Well then, for this great find I’ll give you a reward!” (Voss)

“… Thank you, sir, for… bestowing one… so lowly as me… the honor… of receiving a gift from one… so great as yourself.” The ominous man responded, it seemed forced and his face was full of lies and disgust.

The fat man laughed an arrogant laugh and responded, “it’s good to know your place Mr. Hunt, you’ll do well for my organization. Just remember the lesson I taught your parents!”

For a moment, the aura from Mr. Hunt became significantly more terrifying as he glared at Voss, but it returned to its previous level in a moment. I broke out in a cold sweat while Voss didn’t even seem to notice.

“… Yes, sir.” (Mr. Hunt)

“Good! Now take her back to the mansion for me like a good little boy.” (Voss)

“… Yes, sir.” (Mr. Hunt)

Seeing the ominous man’s anger directed elsewhere I could snap out of my frozen mind, I quickly reached into his mind to gain an understanding of their relationship. Unfortunately, nothing clear came through since I couldn’t think properly through all the fear, I just felt an insatiable rage and hatred directed towards Voss inside him.

“Hmph, I have things to do, I expect to find her in my room when I return!” said Voss as he turned and walked away.

As soon as Voss vanished so did Mr. Hunt’s oppressive aura, I also heard a very quiet “I’m sorry” from Mr. Hunt. My body started to respond again, despite my instinct screaming to run a few minutes ago I felt that the man in front of me could be an ally. I mustered all my courage and took a step closer to Mr. Hunt, who was now hanging his head and clenching his fists. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he raised head, jumping a little when he saw I was closer than he expected.

I once again mustered my courage and whispered what I saw in him.

“Rage… hatred…”

“What?” he responded confused and surprised.

“You hate him, don’t you?” I said again, playing with his feelings while reading them through his mind.

“How did you?” he began but I interrupted him as I found more in his mind.

“Revenge… You want revenge, don’t you?” I whispered into his ear, making myself seem more mysterious.

“… Yes.” He replied, curious and intrigued by my words.

“Why?” I asked him, I already knew the answer, but I want him to open himself up to me. This is not my own plan; Dawn is in charge.

“Surely someone as powerful as yourself already knows the answer?” he said with a raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

I giggled and spoke again, “Fufufu, of course, even if I’m not omnipotent I can guess… but I want to hear it from your lips, not your soul.”

The man trembled and hesitated, “he… killed my parents…”

“There’s more to this story, I want to hear how he did it and why he did it,” I cooed softly and his cheeks reddened slightly.

He trembled and tears began to form as he tried to speak, “… he is a fallen noble, he wanted to strike a deal with my parents… so he called them out in private, he… he had hired assassins to kill my parents and… and sent someone to ‘fetch’ all the documents from my father’s study… he… he stole my father’s position…”

“Your father held his fair share of power, correct?” I intervened to keep him going.

“Yes… my father leads one of the major ‘criminal’ organizations hidden in the slums,” he responded with half his mind lost in thought, I understood why he emphasized ‘criminal’ in his explanation.

“Your father may have run a criminal organization, but he was still a good man… a good father.” I continued using the childhood he was reminiscing as a guide for my deceit.

He was silent for a moment before he burst into tears, I wrapped my arms around him and ‘hugged’ him as I leant in and whispered, “It’s okay, child, things will come right… I promise.” I no longer knew why I was trying so hard to seem mysterious, but it seemed to be effective so I kept it up.

He wrapped his arms around me as he wailed. I simply comforted him until he calmed down again and spoke, “Can you… help me?”

“Yes, but not right now, have patience my child. I will help you gain your vengeance, but I cannot do that as I am now since I too find myself in need of help,” I said, attempting to open up negotiations.

“Anything…” he mumbled, “I’ll do anything you ask if I can avenge my parents!”

“Thank you, this plan will take time, I need to strengthen this body before I can be of use beyond planning,” I informed him.

“Yes Milady!” he responded with newfound confidence, confidence that turned into worry after a moment before he remembered his orders, “… But that man wants to take you to his chambers, he will taint you if I obey him… but disobeying means death...”

“Is his hold on you truly so strong?” I asked, feeling a little confused.

He stood still for a moment before he reached towards his scarf, as he did so he spoke, “this scarf was given to me by my mother, it gives me comfort and makes me feel safe…” he tears up again and continues, “it is the only memento of my parents I have left… It helps me forget…” he drifted off.

“What does it help you forget?” I continued, prying him open under Dawn’s guidance.

“This,” he said as he pulled the scarf off and revealed a tight collar on his neck and explained, “This collar has explosives rigged inside of it. It is set to automatically detonate if tampered with and can be triggered remotely by the bastard. I can’t even go to someone who can remove it since all the technicians in the organization have been ordered not to touch it and I can’t visit another organization since I’m supposed to be the heir apparent…”

He looked down regretfully and began to think deeply about something, after a brief silence he quickly raised his head and grabbed my shoulders as he said “I won’t let him taint you, take my weapons and money, run! I’ll buy time for you!”

I simply glared back at him and responded with a short and flat “No.”

He seemed distraught at my words and dropped his head as he murmured, “but… he’ll…”

I raised his chin and forced him to meet my eyes, I stared strongly into his eyes to show my confidence, it was met with silence and the atmosphere became increasingly tense, after a minute I said “Do I look like a fool?”

We had swapped places in the power relationship, it was now him who was trembling in fear as he weakly responded “… no.”

I spoke up again with extra confidence to maintain the new power relationship, “I know exactly what will happen. Unfortunately, we don’t have the means to avoid this issue right now, it is inevitable. Sacrifices must sometimes be made for progress to be made, running away is not always an answer.”

“Yes Milady! Thank you for your gracious enlightenment!” he said with renewed strength and an odd amount of enthusiasm.

I was a little confused about his enthusiasm, but continued nonetheless, “Splendid, for the time being we must act as if nothing is going on. For your ‘reward’… I will arrange that later.”

“I will do as you asked, Milady” he said enthusiastically.

“Stop calling me ‘Milady’, it’s strange and will obviously draw attention. If you must, call me Tiama,” I said, somewhat annoyed.

“O-okay,” he said in a shy voice, almost as red as a tomato while his eyes bounced around at my feet.

“Well then, shall we get going? I’ll explain things on the way… and since we’ll be playing along with Voss for now, I suppose I’m technically unconscious right now.” I said with a grin on my face as I fell to the ground with my eyes closed.

He laughed a little as he picked me up like a princess, playing along.

“This is nice… but not quite right… maybe next time” I whispered without opening my eyes.

He laughed again as he slung me over his shoulder, “Sorry, I’ll find time to do it again when were finished.”

He began walking towards our destination, I continued pretending to be unconscious and left my body limp. I now had someone to do my bidding, a smile spread on my face as I regained my pride.