The forest was still. The faint sounds of birds' calls echoed between the trees, the chirping of crickets were heard in the grass, and the trees themselves seemed lush with life, their leaves gleaming under the afternoon sun. The lone traveler walking in the shades was also at peace, his feet carefully and slowly taking him through the underbrush. His stride was leisurely, yet purposeful. He knew exactly where he was going, and even though the forest seemed to beg him to stay and enjoy it, he knew he had a time window. The man disappeared into the dark depths of the forest, not leaving a single trace behind.
Violet carefully peeked out of the closet. She and her friends were playing a game of hide-and-seek, and she did not want to get seen. Just then, she heard voices. She quickly retreated to the back of the closet, but it wasn't any of her friends. It was her father. "Good sir, I just can't allow you to touch my wife! It's ridiculous!" It seemed like her father was angry about something.
"This matter is not in your jurisdiction." Another man, a voice deeper than her father's. "For the sake of all, for the greater good, the plague must be contained. I must redeem myself." "I don't even know your name!" Her father protested. "Hanzo, at your service." Her father raised an eyebrow. "Hanzo, eh? Weird name." "It was a joke. I am not a Hanzo, and am definitely not a Hanzo main." "Now you're not making any sense!" The stranger promptly ignored the outburst and strode past the closet, as evidenced by the passing shadow. Violet did not like the way he was going. He was headed to her mother's room.
Two weeks ago, Violet's mother had been bitten by a wild Grimm. It in itself was nothing unusual: people got attacked by Grimm all the time. So, everyone didn't think much about it, and the situation ended with Violet's mother bandaging her arm. But then, things took a turn for the worse. For some reason, a viral infection seemed to be spread across the arm, darkening the skin and causing lots of hair growth. As the days passed, Violet's mother grew more and more pained, and was losing herself. In the end, Violet's father chained up his wife and locked her in her room. Now, only the occasional grinding of chains and muffled growls showed any sign of life in that room. It was not a pretty affair, and all who knew about it was pretty shush-shush. And now, this completely mysterious stranger came out of nowhere and seemed to be heading towards her mom. Violet didn't like it at all.
So she burst out of the closet, ran up to the stranger, and tackled his legs. Even though she was only about as tall as his thighs, she clung on, on the verge of crying and shouting, "You can't take mommy! Don't take her!" The stranger in the black coat looked down and smiled at her. "Don't worry, kid." He said. "I'm here to help your mother get all better." Violet wasn't sure about that. But then, her father gently pulled her away from the man's legs. "Violet, it's alright." For some reason, her father's eyes had tears in them. He also had that look that adults had when they were lying. "Everything's gonna be alright." Violet didn't want to let go, didn't want to let this weird man get near mommy with his weird stick, but her father pried her away.
The mysterious stranger stopped in front of the bolted door. "This is the room?" He asked. Violet's father nodded, not all too enthusiastically. "She's in there, all chained and gagged. Couldn't bring myself to… finish the job." The stranger undid the bolts and paused. "If you don't want to look, that is perfectly understandable." Violet's father put a hand on her shoulder. "Violet, get outside." Violet stiffened. "But, dad!" "Outside, now!" He shouted. Violet froze. She had never seen him as angry as this. Confused and scared, she ran out of the room, tears forming on the edge of her eyes. The stranger held a bemused expression. "You want to stay?" "I have to see this!" Violet's father shouted in response. "I have to see for myself, that, that thing in there is not my wife anymore!" "Good choice. But remember that you hold full responsibility for this choice." The stranger replied. He then dramatically opened the door.
The inside of the room was dark and cold. The visitor held up a hand lantern. Inside, he could see a figure chained to a chair, still struggling to break free. He could also see that she was too far gone. He hung his head. There was nothing he could do to save her, except to free her from her misery. Another person, dead. Another person, dead for his sins. All more the reason he mustn't stop. He hung the lantern on his belt and drew his viciously curved blade. The bloodtinged steel glinted maliciously before the orange light, and Violet's father grimaced. The visitor glanced at him, "I'll try to make it quick as possible." The stranger murmured, and fit the blade at the end of his unfolded walking stick, making a scythe. He held the inner edge of the blade against the gruesome thing's neck. For a moment, the thing in the chair froze. The hairs that grew all over its face stood up; its collapsed pupils widened. Maybe, in the face of death, a part of its former consciousness returned. Maybe, the last scraps of humanity left inside struggled to make a statement. But, it didn't matter. The visitor calmly lifted the scythe and brought it down in a great swing. The beast's head fell to the ground, dark, putrid blood spraying and splattering the front of the executioner's greatcoat. Violet's father winced and took a step back, but nothing more. The executioner then pulled out a small urn, sealed with animal hide, and poured its contents all over the body and the blood. The sharp pang of oil hit the men's nostrils, just before the executioner dropped a match and lit the corpse on fire. The men watched as the corrupted, beastly body burned, the smoke trailing out the window into the night sky.