Chapter 2: Defence (Part 1)

The deaths of Ariana and Adonis at the hands of Hass only symbolize the beginning of the chain of events leading to an unprecedented crisis in the entire history of the Serscio organization. In order to know the details of the aforementioned events, we must go to Serscio's headquarters, where we have the opportunity to see the impact caused by tonight's tragedy on the couple's fellow comrades.

The scenery of the story takes a turn, transiting from the previous pine forest tundra to Hillwood's downtown neighbourhood. The group manages to remain hidden in public sight, by setting their HQ building in one of the vast plethora of abandoned buildings, as a result of the bad reputation held by the people of the neighbourhood.

The Serscio's HQ doesn't distinguish itself from other buildings around it, with the exception for the colour: its outward appearance is of a purple five-story flat apartment, inspired by the exterior design of a common New York flat. However, the building's true nature lies within the secrets kept hidden beyond the mundane walls of the apartment, whose identity is not visible to the naked eye of a passer-by.

Now, we enter the halls of the headquarters, inspecting its corners from a first-person point of view of an unknown member of the organization, without knowing their position occupied in the group's hierarchic structure. The first division encountered upon entering through the front door features a long and straight forwarded corridor, leading to an open door with visible stairs rising to the top floors of the HQ.

One can see the simple designed dark blue velvet carpet, extending itself from the entrance until the very beginning of the hall of stairs. Naturally, this wasn't the only piece of decoration furnishing the space: its most evident purpose is to establish a frontier separating the two characteristic halves unique to the floor.

On the left side, the wall exhibits five distinguished masterpieces of art on the domain of painting: "Las Meninas" by Diego Velázquez, "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich, "The School of Athens" by Raphael, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and "Self – Portrait" by Vincent Van Gogh. In front of the paintings stand still the busts of their respective authors, sculpted in a strong material resembling clay with the resistance of iron, and all of the facial features of the figures were painted, so the statues could seem realistic representations of the painters.

Whereas, on the right side of the corridor, there are enough bookshelves spread through the wall to fill it, leaving little space between each shelf; besides this arrangement, all of the bookshelves were organized by categories that marked specific subjects worth studying, and within each individual shelf were two more categorial divisions: the first marks the books in their original language and the second marks the books in their translated versions to English. The different subjects filling the bookshelves range from Sciences, History, Music, Art, Languages, Cinema, going into other artistic and theoretical knowledge books until it reaches the final shelf where it deals with Philosophy.

Last, but not least, the room has the proper furniture for the readers and scholars to feel comfortable while reading: instead of the tradition wooden tables and stools, the organization put several sets of two sofas facing one another, with each set separated by a glass coffee table.

One who reaches the exit of the first-floor hallway can look up to see a stone tablet sculped in marble, with the following description of the room, written in Latin: Arte locum, et Library (Art Room, and Library). After reading the tablet, the viewer lowers their head and their point of view turns to the flight of stairs in front of their eyes. The climb of the stairs had to be done in a rush, giving the impression of the unknown member being a messenger racing to deliver an urgent message from a nearby Marathon.

Upon reaching the highest floor of the Headquarters, the member hesitates for a while before reaching the doorknob of the entrance for the Nursery/Grand Master's Quarters. Nonetheless, they open the door to reveal an irregular shaped room, where at the right side is a smaller room closed by another door with the word "Nursery" written on a sign and closed off from the rest of the office space by transparent glass walls. The Nursery was full of navy-blue coloured cradles with some of them occupied by infants either crying, sleeping or being fed by babysitters. The babies that weren't on their cradles were drawing in colouring books, reading picture books, playing with toy cubes and making jigsaw puzzles.

While on the rest of the office, we turn to focus on a working environment. The strangest thing characterizing the whole space was the existence of several monitoring screens on the wall, practically covering all corners of the HQ building being controlled by a computer glued to the floor. Below the mentioned security camera screens lies a relatively large working desk, decorated by a scaled world map on the centre and by some photographs of different people filling both the left side and right side of the desk. However, there's a man sitting on top of a rotating desk chair whose face is hidden because he is facing it on top of the desk, sleeping on duty. His name appears on an executive business card as being "Rodrigo Vásquez".

"Master, it's time for you to wake up." says the one we've been following until now, gently rocking with his hand Vásquez's right shoulder. It's not hard to wake the man up. He wakes up very easily, although he lets out a long yawn before rubbing his fatigued eyes with his fists. Vásquez's physique is typical of an elderly man: he has a medium sized grey mane, combed backwards, with the rest of the hair forming a ponytail. His face is cleaner than most men of his age, but still has some visible wrinkles underlining his forehead. His eyebrows almost form the shape of a unibrow, his eyes are coloured of a sweet and kind brown, his nose is long and elegant, has a thick grey-haired moustache covering his upper lip, and lastly his Spanish heritage shows itself on his lightly tanned skin.

Before speaking to his messenger, however, Vásquez took a bottle of pills from one of his interior coat pockets and swallowed two pills without drinking any liquid to ease the swallowing.

"Oooof ….. Damn, I fell asleep while researching the map, again …. "replied Serscio's Grand Master in a groggy tone of voice.

"Master, you didn't have the time at all to rest the whole day. I don't believe it's because of your sleeping disorder that you fell asleep at your desk, and so I didn't see the need to take your prescription medicine." says the member, who is revealed to be in fact an anthropomorphic bald eagle dressed in a dark blue Western formal attire.

"Sentinel, despite your good advice, you already know that my personal doctor recommended me to take this medicine to control the consequences of my narcolepsy. But …. you must have a reason to return from your patrolling duties before finishing your shift. What do you have to report?"

The calm and composed eagle sentinel trembles, not being able to hold back a grieving face, expressing the shockingly depressing news "I-I-I don't know how to express this more bluntly than what I'm about to do. But … it's about your best students, Ariana and Adonis: they were both found dead outside of the city at the heart of the pine forest."

Naturally, the news caused a noticeable impact on Vásquez's current demeanour: as he suddenly lifts himself from his chair and gazes at the sentinel with his pupils contracted as a sign of deep shock and terror. This is an atypical behaviour for Vásquez, a Grand Master well-known for his stoic approach with people and life situations. To further demonstrate how he was impacted by the news, he slams his hands onto the working desk shouting directly to his face "Pero, qué estás diciendo, hombre?! ¿Como así, Ariana y Adonis murieron hoy a la noche?" (But, what are you saying, man?! What do you mean, Ariana and Adonis died this evening?)

"Unfortunately, they have died at the blade of our, perhaps more personally speaking, your greatest enemy: The Grand Master of our enemy faction, Hass." At the sound of this name, Vásquez tried with his best efforts to control his anger by closing his eyes and clenching his right fist as firmly as possible. Meanwhile, inside the nursery, a young teenage boy with messy black hair is watching the entire scene rolling before his eyes, without hearing any of the words exchanged during the conversation.

The boy spends a few seconds looking through the glass wall to his master's concerned expression, deciding to walk towards the door and talk to him in person. The boy's physique is not very peculiar from other boys his age: besides his messy black hair, his face is marked by a Nubian nose, a large mouth and finally by dark green forest eyes. His body appearance shapes an overall slender teenager, wearing light blue jeans and a musical concert t-shirt depicting the symbol of the "Queen" rock band. The boy politely verbalizes his thoughts as soon as he's in front of Vásquez "My master, what seems to be the cause of your concern?"

Vásquez still maintains the same attitude of disbelief as of before, struggling to deliver the terrible words passed on from the eagle messenger "D-D-Darius, niño mío (my child), I'm afraid you will not like what I've heard from our fellow sentinel over here."

Darius' eyes were glowing from his curious nature, which makes him persist with his question "No, master. I worry about you and I wish to know what troubles you. Maybe even I can help you overcome your problems."

"N-N-No…. This is a situation that neither me nor you can solve with our own actions. However, I do not feel at peace with myself if I lie to you, or even hide the subject from you." Darius continues to look at this master, eager to hear the rest of his words, ignoring their true meaning until this sentence is pronounced "Darius, I'm sorry to inform you of this event: you see … your mentors, Ariana and Adonis, have been found dead."

Darius reacted like everyone in the room expected: unlike Vásquez, the boy has trouble withholding his grieving emotions, and after hearing the news he kneels on the floor and bursts in tears, while lowering his head in order to hide his emotional distress. However, Darius still saw the need to pose the question of how his mentors died "H-H-H-How did they perish from this world?"

"T-T-They were murdered, or to say more precisely, killed in combat by Hass, according to the report of my eagle sentinel."

This account of events described by Vásquez made Darius see on his mind a brief mental image of a dead boy …. with a sword piercing through his chest and making it easier to understand the cause of death. The memory of the dead child stimulated a reaction on him cowering in tremendous fear. Apparently, the memory made the teenage boy relive a traumatic experience from his personal past.

"N-No, non un'altra morte di persone care! (N-No, not another death of loved ones!)" Afterwards, Darius found himself unable to continue expressing his grief over multiple people simultaneously, because that represented too much of an emotional burden for him.

"My boy…. I'm sorry to tell you this grave news, especially since I knew you admired them not only as teachers who passed on their knowledge and wisdom to you, but also as figures of an older brother and an older sister who took care of you on your early formative years."

A short silence followed this speech, but Vásquez continued to speak the thoughts of his mind "Moreover, both were formidable apprentices who quickly became skilled warriors highly regarded on our ranks. So much that I considered having them replace my position as the Grand Master if I couldn't keep carrying on the task. For all these qualities, they deserve a minute of silence to properly mourn and honour their contributions to everyone's lives."

And so, everyone in the office respected the Grand Master's wishes and dedicated the said amount of time to reflect on Ariana and Adonis' lives as members of Serscio. During that moment, Vásquez remembered the last wishes of his fallen apprentices and decided to reveal them only to Darius "My boy, do you think you can fulfil one last favour for both your masters?"

"Of course, just name it."

"Ariana and Adonis were having second doubts about wanting to continue to work here in the organization, ever since their son came to be born. This is because they wished to give their son the life of a normal child. So, I must ask: can I trust you to deliver the child to a good orphanage? We both agree that a life like this one being the only way to live isn't going to guarantee a healthy childhood for him, and we can't afford to spend all of our time taking care of him."

This time, Darius replied in a joyous tone of voice "Master, I would be honoured to carry the task myself. In fact, I believe I can start doing it right now. For, the sooner he stays in good hands, the more time we'll have to go back to normal and battle Hass with all our strength and resources."

Vásquez reacted to this suggestion by nodding his head, denying its value, and let out a grunt to show disapproval of Darius' plan "No, I won't allow it to happen. You and the other soldiers must stay here to defend the building against an incoming ambush."

Darius grew resentful against his superior on that instant, raising his voice to match his feelings of anger "What?! Do you mean to tell me you would put the many lives of the babies inside the Nursery at risk, knowing our enemies wouldn't spare their lives, just to guard the documents keeping track of our search for the lost Codex of the Sophon?!"

"No, Darius, you don't fully understand! This decision serves more than only to save the entire work on that mission! You may not understand the outcome of your intentions because of your lack of experience on these matters, but I worry about your safety since Hass is a very dangerous individual. If he finds you and the baby in the streets, he will stop at nothing to kill you both!"

Vásquez didn't stop his sentence there "So, I have a different plan. I will order my men and women to set up a defensive strategy against any attack and I'll ask you to stay here at the HQ in case there's a breach inside the building. Besides, you've proved many times to be exceptionally more skilled than the average recruit of your age, and I need your help to defend everything that's in here."

The elderly leader of Serscio bent down his back to reach, under his work desk, his two signature weapons: a 17th century long Spanish rapier sword, typically belonging to a high-ranking officer of that historical period; and the other being an equally sized 18th century light French sabre belonging to a member of the cavalry unit. After picking up both swords, he immediately sheathes them on their respective guards. But not without declaring posteriorly "As for myself, I will try to hunt down Hass with my own hands and make a path for you to carry the baby on the streets of the city. You can only leave this place as soon as you receive news directly from me."

While Vásquez walks towards the exit of his quarters, he feels a mildly strong grip on his left wrist. Darius was holding his master with all the strength he could muster and didn't spare him any thoughts racing through his mind "No, don't go without me! With your protection I can easily deliver the boy to the orphanage without any problems! Just let me go with you!"

"Darius, I already discussed with you the reason why it's better if you stay here. Now, let go of my wrist and let me leave!"

"No, I can't let you do that! Hass must answer for all the crimes he's committed. I feel that I can help you defeat him, only if you trust my skills!"

Vásquez manages to release his wrist from Darius' hands and he's visibly furious with his behaviour, as shown on his heavily frowned mouth and not less frowned brow. Vásquez begins to lose his composure and expresses his anger very explicitly "I am beginning to lose my patience with your antics, young man! So, allow me to enlighten you with some advice: if you don't follow my command, you will be expelled from Serscio for the rest of your life, with no hope to ever return!"

"B-B-But, Master ….. I thought you only gave advice to us in our time of need, instead of issuing angry orders…."

"Well, young man, now you learned that there are exceptions that don't follow this principle: in situations of emergency, my word is an unbreakable order with serious consequences for those who don't obey me. Is that clear?!"

Darius decided to back away from Vásquez and understood that perhaps he had a good point. The young boy remains silent in an attempt to show he would abide to his will, an intention that Vásquez saw through him.

Vásquez turns his attention away from his apprentice and into the halls of the headquarters to pass on his order "Men, listen to me carefully! I will be gone for a few moments to deal with an eminent menace, and until I return, I want everyone to form defensive posts inside and outside of the building! Every room of every floor will remain in constant vigilance and every entrance and exit will have the same measures implemented! Failure will result in an enemy invasion and in the loss of several lives and of the progress of our work."

The leader turns back to Darius before leaving, bowing to him while pronouncing the group's farewell motto "May the voices of the Sophon guide you wherever you are and go." Darius returned the bow and repeated the same words "May the voices of the Sophon guide you wherever you are and go."

Vásquez proceeds to make a hand gesture, signalling four guards to appear at their posts on his Quarters/Nursery and ordering them to close the doors once they were inside. They fulfilled his orders and closed themselves in the room along with Darius.

Fifteen minutes passed by without anything special happening. However, when one considers putting themselves inside Darius' mind, they could sense the feeling of anxiety disturbing his inner peace "Gods help me, I hate being so powerless! Sincerely, I don't want to be imprisoned inside these walls and feel helpless, but the master said he would expel me if I didn't obey his command. On the other hand, though, I don't want to let Gamesh stay in a place where I feel it's not safe for him. Between leaving the HQ and staying inside of it ….. what should I do? How should I solve this moral dilemma?!"

Darius stopped thinking about his troubles to observe his surroundings, in hope of finding a way out: there are four guards watching the door, so there doesn't seem to exist an easy escape, and even if he could escape the room without anyone taking notice, he couldn't escape the view of the security cameras positioned in every corner of the apartment. Darius fell once more into his previous state of anxiety, curling himself like an armadillo as a result of his hopeless state of mind.

However, the boy quickly changed his outlook on the situation when he remembered to do something that could help him follow his heart. Darius remembered that the nursery is the only division that isn't in the scope of the security cameras' field of vision. He enters the room, picks up a classic straw basket made for babies and wraps Gamesh in a multiple coloured crochet blanket before putting the infant inside the basket.

Then, he walks towards the bright yellow and white striped walls and hand presses a segment of one of the white stripes of the pattern. Doing this, as it's later revealed, unlocks a rectangle shaped mechanism that seeps inside the confinement of the wall, being replaced by a standard number pad with the screen showing the numbers.

On the screen appears a very simple question for Darius to answer, "What is the passcode?". To answer it, he presses the buttons to introduce a 5-digit code, unknown to oblivious eyes on account of him obscuring the view from other people's eyes. But the security measures don't end with this test, for another message appears on the screen "Please, position yourself for the facial recognition scanner", to which Darius abides to by approaching his face to an optical camera scanner and standing still for 10 seconds. After that time lapse passes, the scanner retracts inside the keyboard and another message appears "Facial recognition scanning complete.".

A third test appears on the screen "Preparing to receive saliva sample…", Darius completes the proposed task by throwing his own spit directly onto the screen visor without any vial storing it. "Saliva sample testing complete.". A fourth test follows the saliva test, consisting this one in a blood sample test "Preparing to extract the subject's blood sample.", a syringe pops out of the interior of the keypad and punctures into Darius' skin, extracting his blood successfully "Blood sample test complete.".

A final step is the last step required to activate the secret hidden beyond the workings of the mechanism: a handwriting verification test, and to serve that purpose, the numbers keyboard was substituted by a sheet of paper, with the request written in the form of an essay question "Please sign the line with the signature of your first and last name.". To which Darius replies instantly, wasting as little time as possible.

Unlike the previous reactions, this time the mechanism didn't show its creator a message on the screen. Instead, he had to await thirty seconds before the answers took full effect: the wall turned 180 degrees to reveal inside a simple steel lift controlled by a standard button panel. Darius holds the straw basket cradling Gamesh and enters the lift unnoticed by the other guards.

Darius looks downward, meeting the eyes of the baby of his deceased mentors and smiling at him, and talking to him alone "Are you ready for the first adventure of your short life?". Gamesh continues to glare at his caretaker with his dark violet eyes, responding to his question with a baby laughter that could swoon the hearts of the most sensitive people, which corresponded to Darius' personality. In the next moment, Darius pushes the button leading the lift to the bottom floor, making the lift grate close as a means to prepare the descent into the pits of an unknown depth.

The readers of this tale only discover our current protagonist's destination when the scene changes from the downtown HQ to a normal city street, located nearby the edge of the pier of the river surrouding Elk Island. The action's beginning takes place when a sewer coverage in the pavement is lifted out of its place, emerging from beneath the lid a pair of human hands: effectively, it is Darius who emerges to the surface with Gamesh. And to ensure the safety of the latter, the young boy put the straw cradle outside before climbing the stairs leading upwards. Both are completely covered in a putrid mix of the city's sewage residues, leaving Darius unsatisfied with his escape trip "Che diavolo! Il americani non mostrano pietà per i loro bagni… Che puzza!" (What the devil! The Americans don't show mercy to their toilets… What a stench!).

Darius removes most of the sewage from his clothes, from his body and even from his small companion. He doesn't move from his current spot for a few moments to observe, once more, the environment surrounding him: he notices the given fact that the streets don't have the usual bustle associated with the pier customers, eager to spend most of their savings on buying things they don't need for their lives. Which is highly unusual, despite being only one in the morning; Darius highly suspects the prolonged silence amid the night "How come there is no one in the streets this evening? It seems as if this scenario was premeditated by Hass himself to prepare a surprise attack against me and …. ".

However, his line of thought was interrupted when he sighted a shadow coming towards him. Darius didn't listen to his own voice of reason that instant, letting himself be driven by his own survival instincts which forced him to hide again under the sewers cover lid without thinking twice. He sighs in relief knowing his enemies wouldn't capture him red-handed, especially since he wouldn't also have an idea of the atrocities, they would do to the descendent of two of the best elite members of the enemy faction. Yet, the feeling of relief abandons him as soon as he realizes he didn't bring Gamesh down, leaving him exposed to the menace.

But the walking shadow proved not to be an imminent threat to the new-born. It was a familiar face to most of the teenagers studying at P.S. 115, the closest high school in the P.S. 118 district: now we see Helga G. Pataki walking on the streets without any worries whatsoever during all night. Helga blossomed into a 13-year-old teenage girl who doesn't show many changes, apart from having grown a few centimetres in height, changing her trademarked pink dress into a buttoned polo pink shirt and wearing dark blue jeans. She still has her hair combed into two pigtails and hasn't shaved her unibrow for as long as she herself could remember.

Helga only stopped walking when she saw the abandoned straw cradle on the streets and questioned herself "Huh? What's this doing out here?". Her curiosity led her to lift the cradle until her eyesight met the baby resting in its nest of comfort "Whoa! I don't know if this is the strangest or the ugliest baby I've ever met. Look at him Helga, my old girl: he's got an eye colour that no one else does, but what strikes me most are his big ugly ears."

Helga glares at Gamesh long enough to see his face show a clear-cut smile directed to her, while giving her some time to think about something else. The idea that came to Helga's mind was related to his appearance "I don't know yet which name I'll use for you, you little rascal. So the best one I've invented is about your pointy ears: I think I'll call you Fat Needle Ears. How does that sound, bucko?"

Gamesh's response to her creative skills was summed up in a kind gesture to thank her. The baby rises his hands, seemingly trying to ask Helga to carry him on her arms. Naturally, she interpreted his behaviour in this way and bent her back to pick him up. Unfortunately, all that Helga receives is an unpleasant surprise in the form of a physical harm. Because Gamesh grabs her nose firmly using both his hands, applying as much pressure as he could.

This action makes Helga back down from the strong baby, holding onto her nose marked by a swollen area resulting from the tremendous force, while letting out a small scream to release her pain "Criminy, Fat Needle Ears! I know the nicknames I give to other people are hurtful and somewhat mocking them, but I wouldn't think a new-born baby would be this insensitive brute!"

Her aggressor, however, seemed amused with his own act of violence, giggling softly after what happened. Helga, on the other hand, wasn't very amused by all of that play "Hmph! Your parents won't think you're so funny after I tell them what you did to me."

"… Speaking of which, where are your parents, bucko?" Helga's question isn't answered in the way she was expecting instead of seeing Gamesh's parents searching for their missing son, she saw a hooded figure coming towards her position. And the glint emanated by its bright red crimson eyes didn't escape Helga's view either. As we got to know from the very beginning, these characteristics belong to Hass himself, the walking terror that opposes Serscio's very existence.

Hass didn't need to walk much before he came to stand before Helga and Gamesh, gazing at both with the intent to intimidate the teenager into doing whatever he wanted. Inevitably, other people can't avoid being afraid of him when they hear his beastly voice "You, young girl! You have something in your possession that interests me. I need you to give him to me, now!"

However, Helga wasn't the least bit terrified with the sound of Hass' voice. Instead, she became suspicious of his true intentions when she carefully observed his eyes, together with his visible malevolent grin "Before I turn him to you let me ask you a question: why should I give this baby to you? You don't seem a trustworthy person, and you're not one of his parents."

"You don't need to be afraid of me, kleine Dame (little lady), I'm a personal friend of his parents. You can trust me to return him safe and sound to them."

"Hmph! If you are really who you claim to be, you're able to tell me the names of the baby's parents, right?"

Hass didn't take too long to reply to Helga's personal test "Their names are Ariana and Adonis. Is that enough of an answer to you?"

"Not yet. Now, I want to hear from your mouth the true name of their son. Can you do it?"

"….. Rudolph. Yes, his real name is Rudolph. Can you give him to me now?" He was already growing impatient by the end of this sentence, and tired of Helga's obstacles.

"No, you were hesitant in giving me your answer. Which means you gave me the wrong answer and you failed my test. Now, get away from me and from the baby before you force me to call on the powers of Old Betsy here!" Helga finishes speaking by forming a fist with her right hand, consequently showing it to Hass in order to scare him away from her.

But this defensive tactic didn't work as planned, for in response to that physical threat Hass draws out his personal weapon from underneath his ragged robes, pointing the sword's tip to Helga's face without showing signs to retreat it. In addition to this act, Hass adds his own wrathful words "Little lady, if you don't bid yourself to my will as soon as possible, you will meet your own end, slashed by my sharp blade. Do you want your short life to end this way?"

To Hass' astonishment, Helga doesn't draw back her characteristic scepticism towards other people who don't follow their own words, and in the place of dread she defies her aggressor "First, prove that the sword is real and that you're not bluffing, old man! In truth, I think the sword is only a theatre prop that has a dullness posing as a fake sharpness!"

Hass' astonishment is quickly replaced by an outraged contempt to his enemy's stubbornness, losing his calm façade after the witty remarks from Helga had their effect on him "Why, you defiant little scamp! Are you willing to risk your life because you don't believe that my blade is sharp enough to cut a person?!"

"Ha! I wouldn't call it risking my life if your theory is proven wrong. I warn you, though, that if I'm proven right you and me are gonna rumble til' dawn!"

Meanwhile, Darius had been hearing the entire dialogue from down below his hiding place. Helga's dissident behaviour started to worry him, since he feared another life would be taken on the account of her own naiveté about Hass' full extent of his abilities. So, the young boy filled his chest with an air breath full of determination, opened the sewer lid very silently and carefully, and once on the surface he began to prepare himself for a suicidal attack.

Darius, once more, filled his chest with a breath of fresh air, ready to act. He proceeds to run as stealthily as possible in the direction of his opponent, drawing on the midst of his sprint a pair of butcher knifes far too dangerous to be handled by a child or a young teenager. Near the end of his trajectory, the apprentice squats down and subsequently leapt into the air above him while holding both his knives above his head.

Hass didn't ignore the fact that something wasn't quite perfect as he desired. His recognition of the situation compelled him to turn around on his back and look upwards: of course, Hass saw what was to him not Darius, but a furious assassin that remained hidden until this moment. He knew his enemy was aiming straight to his heart and couldn't avoid the fatal blow due to his high speed, unless he did something that could defend him. Hass opted to raise his arm in a defensive stance to protect his vital organs from the attack.

The strategy proved to be successful, as the results show that Hass didn't die from his injury. Unfortunately, however, Darius plunged one of his knifes into his left forearm with the full force he could muster. The amount of pain Hass felt at his injury wasn't left unnoticed: the man let out a scream of agony, more similar to a lion's roar than to a human sound, echoing through the surrounding neighbourhood.

Following this stunt, Darius made use of his telepathic forces to remove the bloodied knife from Hass' forearm. The knife returns to its rightful owner in a flash, leaving a hole in the victim from which a considerable quantity of blood was squirting and painting the street around his body.

Hass clings painfully to his newly formed wounds, trying to clog the blood flowing out of his body to ease his pain. But not without asking later stuttering "W-W-Who are y-y-you?"

"Non importa chi sono. Tutto quello che voglio e ' che non ti prenderai altre vite innocenti stasera, FIGLIO DI PUTTANA! (It doesn't matter who I am. All that I want is that you won't take more innocent lives tonight, SON OF A BITCH!"

After Darius' intense speech, he stops himself from doing anything else, with the purpose of locking eyes with the man who ruined the evening and possibly the whole future of his foster family, expressing with his gaze all the hatred he's feeling for Hass…

To be continued …..