[Normal P.O.V]
"Hey, Noah!" Astrid's feminine yet stern voice called out from the kitchen. "Can you please bring the beef brisket? It's by the table!"
The boy's soft, sandy-blond hair bounced up and down as he skipped out of the living room, leaving the flat-screen playing the new season of Phineas and Ferb, and scurried towards his mother's voice with a wide and toothy grin.
"Mommy, should you weally be cooking?" Noah asked the blonde, who was sporting a dark purple apron over her white baggy shirt that reached over her thighs as she flipped a couple of eggs that were thankfully, edible and still looks presentable.
Astrid turned over from where she's previously looking to mock-glare at her son. "Nuffink, if you want to eat, you better keep your opinions to yourself." She scolded.
The young boy seemed unfazed, and even flashes her a gleeful smile. "I will if you bu- buw- burn the food again!"
"Okay, kid. That's enough." Astrid scowled, inwardly embarrassed and ashamed to be bashed by her six-year old son. "Where's the beef brisket?"
"Thewe' wasn't any." Noah replied, confused. "It was... I think, pok belli!" He showed her the bag full of chopped pork belly from behind his back as a supposed surprised, and sure enough, it did amaze her that Noah was able to figure out exactly what it was.
Astrid sighed as she took the pork belly from him to prepare dinner, which has now changed from steamy beef stew to crispy pork belly with garlic sauce. Well, that's how she envisioned it.
"Alright. Now, go back to the living room and wait for your sister." She told him, to which Noah obeyed and rushed back to the room in a flash. However, the thought of Ezra caused her to shout out a question at the sandy-blond boy. "Nuffink! Do you know where your sister could be at this hour?"
"No?" Was the response, which did not help at all.
A frown of concern formed on the woman's face, as she turned her attention back at what she's cooking that were now mushed into a delicious form of fluffy, scrambled eggs. The only recipe Astrid could cook without absolutely and utterly murdering it. That's why she mostly leaves lunch and dinner to Ezra, who is mysteriously a much better cook than anyone in the Hofferson clan, and handles breakfast in the morning. But ever since three weeks ago, when Ezra came home with her hair styled and cut in a much different way and her carefree demeanor had shifted to a cynical daily mood that would only soften upon contact with her family and friends, she has been missing dinner entirely and often comes back home between ten P.M. to twelve A.M.
Whenever Astrid would question the young Dragon's whereabouts, she would simply reply with a nonchalant shrug and respond by saying that she was just out flying. No one with a normal and functioning brain would ever believe that kind of lie. That was horrible, even for Astrid. But just like what she promised herself, she won't force any assumptions or confrontations in their already wobbly relationship. She had planned to wait until the tense and awkward atmosphere around them was gone, and then that's when she'll question her.
Except... it's already been two weeks since their relationship was restored to its fullest and Astrid was merely chickening out. Astrid Hofferson, the fearless General of Drakos and the slayer of evil, was afraid. But then she realized; she was no longer a Hofferson, but instead is a Haddock. She has children of her own and she doesn't want to lose that. Sometimes, Astrid's both grateful and regretful that she now has children. On one hand, she's more sensitive and vulnerable, exposing a very weak side that she already has but won't reveal. On the other, she found herself to be more caring and soft, which she now realizes to be a good thing. Her children are both her weaknesses and her strength, and that scares her.
"Mommy, the fluffy eggs a' on fire."
Noah's voice finally snapped her out of her thoughts and her gaze focused back to the black, charred eggs on the frying pan, which now bears a quite small flicker of flames. Panicking, she momentarily forgot all logic and grabbed the closest thing on the counter to throw it at the burning food. Unfortunately for Astrid, Noah, the frying pan, the kitchen, and the house, the object she took was a bottle of cooking oil.
Fire Oil = Big-ass explosion
Flames enveloped the entire stove, causing the minor situation to escalate even further. Astrid yelped, jumping out of the way as the fire nearly licked her face and clothes.
"Oh, fuck me!" Astrid cursed out loud.
Her head whipped around her surroundings, trying to find anything to extinguish the flames on the stove. Then her gaze locked on a bright red, cylindrical vessel with a black, short hose attached on the nozzle and the side. Acting quickly, she reached for the fire extinguisher and held it tightly in her arms. She gritted her teeth, preparing on what's to come, and then... tore the entire nozzle of the top and hurled the vessel in the source of the flames because, what else are you going to do with it?
Naturally, the fire only grew stronger and ate up across the vermilion curtains by the window. Astrid's face paled before the scene. She had just made the already bad situation she created, worse. Now you see, Astrid has never encountered a situation where she needed to quench a fire. Sure, she saw how firefighters work but none of them use a fire extinguisher. She may have seen one in a movie once or twice, maybe even saw how it worked. But after years in Drakos, handling weapons, bombs, gangsters, and other battle situations, her mindset completely focused on that particular setting.
Astrid envisions a normal fire extinguisher as a bomb that quenches heat and fire. So obviously, she threw the damn thing in the flames, hoping for it to explode into some sort of fire extinguishing agent and kill the flames. But of course, it didn't work.
During all of this, Noah Haddock silently watched her mother panic and perform some unusual actions to defuse the situation. His face contorted into one of confusion and concern for his mother as he witnessed all the solutions she did for the fire. The reason on why he's not panicking like his mom, who is kind of new to this type of case, is because he's kind of used to this wild situations.
He saw his own sister fly-and even carried him sometimes when their mom is gone-shoot energy bullets out of her palms, release an electric discharge from her own body. He witnessed his mother wield an axe like it was a toy, chopping off heads of metal dummies. He certainly saw his mother and sister battle it out, so he has experienced his fair share of explosions and fire. What's happening right now is simply child's play to him, which is ironic for a child. What he's concerned about is why Astrid is panicking over a small thing like this.
But not to worry. Astrid answered this exact question, right after she retrieved her axe and smashed the fire to the ground, including the counter, stove, frying pan, and curtains, until all that's left is the charred floor and metal shards on the ground, accompanied by a few sheets of vermilion cloth and shards of porcelain tiles. Thick, black smoke hissed out of the pile of broken and burnt debris. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she wiped a bead of sweat trickling down her temple.
"Thank the gods. If Camilla saw me burn another stove, she'll..."
The sound of a door shutting close alerted both Haddocks, causing them to turn towards the front door, where Ezra and Camilla stood in shock of what they witnessed. They had just returned from the gym when they heard the sound of crunching metal as they came up by the gate. Once they opened the door, they were greeted by the horrid and burnt stench of eggs, metal, and cloth. What followed was Astrid, hacking away in the kitchen while her six-year old son watched the scene unfold by the dining room. It was a strange sight, probably even more than that.
Upon seeing the duo she least expected to see by the doorway, her face blanched. "Oh, h- hey! Th- this isn't what it looks like." Astrid tried to explain, but the disbelieving look on their faces says it all.
Camilla had decided to join the Haddock family to dinner. She expected bad food, crazy antics, maybe a few punches flying around. But this was just the next level. Ezra was also quite shocked to see her mother destroy the kitchen. But the shock quickly disappeared and was replaced with exasperation. Strangeness is no longer considered abnormal in their book and it merely became an annoyance in their lives.
"So, Astrid..." Camilla started, obviously not missing the nervousness creeping up Astrid's neck. "You burnt down the kitchen."
"Wh- what?" She sputtered, averting eye contact. "I didn't! T- technically, I didn't burn down the entire kitchen!"
"It's useless to retort. I said that if you ever cause fire or smoke to erupt in the kitchen again..." Camilla arched an eyebrow, causing the taller blonde to groan and lower her head in shame. A grin cracked across the petite blonde's lips upon visualizing Astrid's soon-to-be one of the most embarrassing moments in her life. Ezra, who's quite familiar with the deal the two blondes had, subtly joined in with enjoying her mother's torment.
"Well, looks like we'll be eating out tonight!"
"Hello, welcome to Applebee's. My name is Astrid Hofferson and I'll be your server for tonight. How may I help you?"
Astrid stood in her standard attire; a black button-down shirt with the logo of Applebee's on her left chestpocket. She had no choice but borrow a pair of sleek-black skinny jeans that was too tight for her, emphasizing her natural curves. To solve that problem, she tied a black waist apron around her lower body, safely covering the front and back. In her hand, is a notepad for taking orders and a ballpoint pen. She may look like a normal and standard waitress, except for the strained smile on her lips and the subtle glare hidden in her sapphire-blue eyes.
"Uh, I- I'll take the, uh... the grilled chicken breast... please!"
Zythid tried to say without bursting out with laughter, but it was simply too hard for him. Even with his hand over his mouth, he constantly twitched and trembled as the laughter tried to escape his lips. Unfortunately for Astrid, he wasn't alone. Together with him on the table, are her former students; Marcos Rodriguez, Henry Legend, Takeo Yamazaki, and Gavin Larson. Almost all of them were stifling their laughter. Gavin was outright giggling while Takeo was only one to keep a straight face, although no one really knew what he was thinking.
The four were present due to a mysterious source, telling them that the General of Drakos was now working as a waitress in Applebee's. It's safe to say that no one doubted that it was Camilla, especially not Astrid. So, when she first saw them enter through the doors, a dreadful feeling rushed up her body and her face paled. Her stiff legs plodded towards their table in a robotic way, almost as if the only one driving her forward was her willpower. The former students were irresolute at first, but upon witnessing their former superior walk up to them in an employee attire and a smile, their jaws dropped comically.
"It'll be the Mac n' Cheese for me, please..." Henry chimed in with a much better self-control in his voice.
"Two Quesadilla Burgers for me." Marcos choked out, desperately holding his chest as if he was losing air.
Gavin couldn't get a single word between his giggles. "I- I- I'll... get..." He was unable to finish his sentence due to his laughter.
Astrid stared at him with dead-fish eyes. "I'll get you a corndog from the kids menu." She announced monotonously before shifting her gaze to the only respectful man on the table. "What's yours, sir?"
Takeo had his eyes closed, jaw clenched, and his fists balled up. You could practically see the air surging through his nose as he breathed in. One might even say he was meditating or creating an inner peace with his mind. But Astrid knew better. This guy was resorting to meditation in order to stop his laughter. As soon as his eyes opened, you could see the unshed tears of joy and mirth threatening to fall from his tear glands. His eyes locked with Astrid's, and it all came to a staredown... that only lasted a few seconds before Takeo's body began to visibly shake, rejecting the peaceful presence he empowered deep in his mind and heart.
But it took no longer than ten seconds before the former Japanese officer's willpower broke. Gales of uncontrollable laughter erupted from his mouth, causing the others to burst out into chuckles as well. Astrid watched the scene unfold with a menacing glare. However, she made no move to retort or argue due to her agreement with Camilla, who was watching the scene unfold together with her children. All three looked amused, but did not waste the food they previously ordered from Astrid herself. Camilla shot her a wink, which only irked her. But sadly, she must honor their deal.
She must stay professional at all costs. So after flipping her braid to her right shoulder, she cleared her throat and fabricated a robotic smile on her lips.
"May I repeat your orders? Four glasses of shut-your-fucking-mouths, two plates of kill-all-of-you-after-this, and a side dish of my-axe-shoved-down-your-throat."
The amount of killing intent radiating off the waitress was utterly overwhelming. To the eyes of her former students, black tendrils and fire were emerging out of her body and ready to melt the skin, muscle, organs out of their body. Their skin turned pale as chalk, the blood instantly draining out of their body.
A sickly-sweet smile formed on the general's lips. "Would you like to add something?" She seethed out.
Without wasting a second, all four agents scrambled out of their chairs and made their way towards the exit as fast as they could. Fellow customers shot them a perplexed and concerned look as they swiftly dodged any obstacles on their way out. But before he dashed out the door, Takeo stopped in his tracks and turned towards his former superior.
With a respectful bow, he boldly declared, "Shujin! Gomeiwaku o okake shi mōshiwakegozaimasen!"
Astrid arched an eyebrow, still not knowledgeable about where was this going. She knew from the little Japanese that she remembers, that he apologized. But there was still an unspoken comment waiting to be said. Luckily yet also unfortunately for Astrid, Takeo had no problem with voicing it out.
He proudly raised his head like an officer at the face of a superior, which was heavily similar to what is actually happening. With a serious and impenitent look on his face, he announced, "Demo, u~eitoresu no kosuchūmu de kawaiku mieru to itte okitai—"
No one had anticipated it. Not even the man himself. Camilla and Ezra watched with consternation as Takeo's body flew out the wooden doors. The customers weren't able to catch it either because of the absurdity of the scene or because of Astrid's lightning-like movements. The attacks unleashed may be invisible to the naked eye, but Camilla had caught everything within a blink. The blonde waitress had kicked the former Japanese officer, upward into the air and then brought him down with the same leg. She had lifted him back up by the arms and Sparta-Kicked him out of the the restaurant.
Camilla won't lie—it was the second best thing that happened in her life involving Applebee's. The first one still goes to that one time where she got the entire restaurant drunk, but also caused it to shut down due to health protocols.
Fortunately for Astrid, she was not fired and was able to defend herself, but only because she was friends with the manager. After a couple of minutes, Astrid's shift ended and she joined her family at the table, where Camilla followed her form with a smug smile as she sat down directly in front of the petite blonde
"Well, how was your part-time job?" She asked innocently.
Not even bothering to reply, Astrid quickly devoured the burger in front of her like there was no tomorrow. She had to serve customers for hours without even having dinner herself. Plus, she burnt their supposed dinner back at the house so she had no one to blame but herself. But, that still doesn't erase the fact that Camilla had humiliated her in front of her former students. She would've been fine if she was serving strangers but Camilla threw that hope away.
"You're lucky Noah's here or else I would've said a lot of big bad things to you." Astrid growled out, although it was tuned down a but for Noah.
Noah's head shot up at the mention of his name. Then suddenly, his eyes widened as if he remembered something. "Mommy, what's fack?" He decided to ask, which then brought silence at the table.
No one spoke at least for thirty seconds. Camilla's head was lowered, avoiding any eye contact as she excused herself and made her way towards the bathroom. Ezra was silently slurping up her pasta, keeping a wary eye at her mother, who was at the brink of breaking down.
She gulped down her anxiety and spoke with a shaky voice, "N- Nuffink. Wh- where did you hear that?"
As innocent as possible, the sandy-haired boy cracked a grin and points an accusing finger at her, causing her to blanch even more. The next words, however, was what did it.
"Fwom you, mommy! You sed it back at house!"
At this point, a court date is being held in Astrid's mind and the stupid version of herself was being tried. So far, every emotion has pleaded her guilty. But the only one who was going to decided her fate was the judge, which was not fortunate for Stupid Astrid because the judge was Motherly Astrid, who did not waste a beat to condemn her to death. Soon, Stupid Astrid was the dragged away from the court and executed by beheading. This entire scene happened in exactly one second before the real Astrid snapped out of her stupor. She was then met with a confused gaze from Noah and the silent treatment from Ezra. Realizing the situation, she immediately rushed into action.
"Noah, please forget that word. You may only remember that word once you're at least fifteen." She lightly scolded the young boy, who responded with a carefree nod.
"Well, that was awkward." The chestnut-haired girl quipped as she took a sip from her iced tea. "Now Nuffink has a new word in his special dictionary."
"Can we please forget this?" Astrid pleaded, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "I know I made a huge mistake but I don't want to dwell on it any longer."
Ezra shrugged. "Suit yourself, Mom." Then her eyebrows lifted at the sudden thought that entered her mind. "Oh, by the way, Mom. Do you have any news about this..." she surveyed the surroundings to check if anyone suspicious were listening in before speaking, "...Demon Killer?"
Astrid nearly choked on her drink at the sudden mention of the mysterious vigilante. She had no idea that Ezra was familiar with the name, although she did tell her that she was dealing with a dangerous individual.
"Who told you that?" Astrid demanded.
"Aunt Cami told me about him. I'm just curious on what your moves are." Ezra replied sincerely. "I already asked around and they provided me with enough information to deem this guy as a Grimmel kind of threat. "
A exasperated sigh escaped the blonde's lips. She might as well tell her. Ezra's practically part of Drakos and it won't be long before she'll figure it out. "Actually, we still are on observation mode. We decided that we'll watch his movements and if he poses as a threat to society and the peace, we'll eliminate him."
The casual conversation may seem heavy and confidential but in reality, Ezra is quite used to it already. Other than her past, she was already involved in some missions where her powers useful. Most of the times, it was because of her high intellect. But there were one or two instances where she had to go out in the field to recover some information. Astrid only agreed because none of the missions were dangerous. But that doesn't make it less important and quite stressful. In other words, Ezra is comfortable with discussing things like this.
"So far, we haven't received any news about his recent activities. The guy's out of the radar, leaving no traces in his tracks."
Ezra frowned. "Are you sure?" She asked, which caused her mother to also frown in response.
"What do you mean by that?" Astrid tilted her head curiously and suspiciously. "You haven't seen him, did you?"
Partly expecting the young Dragon to get nervous and sputter out an obvious lie, she was surprised to see a serious shake of her head and a evident look of concern on her face. "No. I don't think so. There are a lot of shady people around and maybe I did see him or not."
Astrid was more surprised that Ezra told her this without any reluctance or hesitation. "Well, you better be careful. The Demon Killer is not just the person to look out for. Crazy people like him are always roaming around the streets. Better not stay out late these days." She scoffed out.
Ezra breathed out a chuckle, nodding with what Astrid like to call as a sigh of agitation, which she did not miss. Due to this carefree and sweet atmosphere, she felt a surge of confidence and she couldn't help but tackle the unspoken subject of Ezra's mysterious late night escapades. Her eyes whipped towards the young Dragon, who immediately stopped laughing upon seeing her mother's hard gaze.
"You know, Ezra. I have a question for you that I have wanted to ask for the past few weeks."
A visible gulp bulged down her throat. Ezra pursed her lips in attempt to act casual. After all, she isn't hiding anything, right?
Obviously noticing the nervousness of her daughter, Astrid decided to keep silent for now and move in with her question. "Where have you been every night for the past three weeks?" And when Ezra opened her mouth to answer, she raised her finger to silence her. "I want the truth."
A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of her right eye, her mouth formed a tight frown. This was not what she was expecting the conversation to turn out at all. With hands clasped tightly in front of her stomach, she constantly fiddled with her knuckles, weaving her fingers in and out of each other.
"I-" the young Dragon started, shaking her head slightly. "I'm not..."
"She was with me. We go hang out every night"
Both occupants on the table stared up at the petite blonde smiling at them. Noah was busy creating a house out of french fries and so far, he already built a decent platform with walls and a door. He was growing to be just like his father in more ways than one.
"What?" Astrid questioned. "You two go out every night?" When Camilla nodded, the blonde crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "How about the times when you were on a mission?"
"Well, Zythid replaces me. Ezra always wanted to roam around and loosen up. Somehow, flying just doesn't solve it all."
Camilla had no reason to lie for Ezra, so Astrid has nothing else to do but believe her. But her eyes narrowed at Ezra's form. "Ezra, is that true?"
The young Dragon was quick enough to pick up the mood and the words. She nodded steadily and grinned casually. "Yeah. It's why I'm less stressful these days. Plus, Aunt Cami told me that I looked good with short hair."
'Kinda true. I told her that, after she got her new haircut.' Camilla inwardly shrugged, but nodded otherwise. "Yeah. I invited her to hang out every day to, y'know... have fun and do teenager stuff."
Still skeptical with how the explanation was a bit strange, she opened her mouth to ask another question but she heard something that she wished that never came out of her son's mouth.
"Ah! Fack!"
The boy pouted once the french fry house fell apart, after he tried placing a roof on top of it. Everyone within a six-meter radius were able to hear the unexpected curse from the sandy-haired child. Almost immediately, their gazes shifted to Astrid, staring at her accusingly as she sputtered and failed to speak.
Meanwhile, Camilla shot Ezra an arched eyebrow. "Hey." She whispered. "What was that about?"
Ezra pursed her lips, returning the look at the petite blonde. "What do you mean?" She replied nonchalantly, but there was a hidden message in her eyes that Camilla interpreted very well.
As far as she knows, Ezra isn't doing anything bad or illegal so it technically isn't her business. But the reason she helped her was because Camilla doesn't want another crack in the relationship between Astrid and Ezra. Plus, some of the things she said was half-true. She sometimes did invite Ezra to hang out. And every once in a while, she accepts and they travel around the city. But she hadn't heard the part where Ezra disappeared almost every night and comes home late. And she won't push for answers.
But she just hopes that whatever she's doing, she'll be safe.
"Yo, man. Kurt said he's going to hook you up with the crystal tomorrow." The man said impatiently, tucking his hands in his long trench coat, covering his large frame. A series of tattoos were etched on his face that stretched down to his neck, swirling around his skin like a rune. A strand coming off the main branch of the tattoo sprung out up to his bald head, spreading out into a flat plane of symbols and patterns, and creating the impression that he still has hair.
"Hack won't like this." Came a shaky, nervous voice. "He said he'll lower the price if he doesn't get it by 0200."
The person was a thin and frail fellow with shaggy blond hair. Almost too weak to carry a gun. But strong enough to carry the large bag that was strapped onto his back, metal hooks and chains hanging by the locks. A collectors is what he's called these days. What they do is in their name; they collect. But it differentiates between other collectors like this man, who is a stone collector judging from his chisels and sculpting tools hanging from his backpack.
"That's not our problem, Nile. We ain't done wrapping it." The taller man retorted, crossing his arms over his chest authoritatively.
"Don't bother wrapping it anymore. Hack needs it fast. He-"
A sound of metal scraping on the jagged concrete ground interrupted them. It was a small and chaste sound but it was enough to get their attention. The guy in the trench coat pulled out a P16 out of his coat, his finger steady on the trigger. The frail man scurried around, the metal rings and hooks on his backpack ringing nosily as his head whipping from left to right in a frantic state.
"What was that?" Nile asked. His hand gripping the strap of his back nervously.
The man scowled in response, but gave him an answer anyway. "I don't know. But stay sharp."
Suddenly, a disembodied voice echoed throughout the alley. It had a feminine tone in it, yet there was a hidden authority and strength in it that no woman could have, and it scared the living shit out of him.
"Hey, what do we have here?"
A gunshot rang across the alley as the guy in the trench coat fired aimlessly at the dark. Neither of his shots hit anything except concrete and open air. He won't admit it but he was scared. His hand was trembling and all the hairs on his skin stood up to its end. Word on the streets that the Demon Killer was roaming around, city after city, finding lone connections to whatever he's finding. All small gangs and criminal groups were terrified to the bone. They still did their business but were extra careful and cautious. They heard and maybe even saw the Demon Killer's work. It did not settle their nerves at all.
"I would've thought the Scaled Shadows would be better than that." it continued, the voice bouncing off the alleyway's walls and, creating a mysterious and unknown presence.
"Wh- where are you?" The armed man trembled as he spoke.
He was informed that their business is out of the Demon Killer's radar, simply doing crystal trades between other gangs. If he knew that even their line of work was threatening to the deadly vigilante, then he might have brought back-up and a bigger gun. There's no doubt that his puny pistol would do shit against the infamous Demon Killer.
After receiving no response from the mysterious voice, he emptied out his pistol at the dark alley, shooting at both directions and wasting every precious bullet he needed for this unknown threat. For the first time, Nile knew what to do and slammed his feeble arm against the man's wrist, causing him to drop the pistol.
"What the fuck?" The man cried out, shooting his arm out and grabbing Nile by the collar, almost entirely lifting him up.
Nile gulped down his fear and anxiety to force out the words. "I- if you waste y- your ammo, w- we'll have no p- protection left!" He stuttered out.
As much as he hated it, the man admitted that he was right. He was panicking. Him, one of the top members of the Scaled Shadows, is panicking because of this small problem or so he thought. As he was about to drop Nile back down to the ground, he sensed something. It was fast. It was slim. It was tough. Then all of a sudden, the wind around his face separated abruptly and vigorously and he felt something cold and solid connect to his face. He felt his cheekbone crack upon impact, the force of the foreign object pushing him towards the side.
Everything cane as blurry. Before he knew it, his body slammed against the concrete wall. A flare of pain swelled up his muscles as he dropped to the ground. A small groan escaped his chapped lips, wincing due to the pain in his cheek. His eyes were half-lidded, visibly weak to rise and only being able to see the ground, which now has a pair of boots stepping in front of him.
With now a slightly visible target, he raised the hand that held the pistol and opened fired, only to feel something rough wrap around his wrist and forcibly push it his right. The bullet flew out of the barrel and the sound of the silver projectile eating through flesh entered his ear, followed by a heavy thud on the ground, accompanied by a series of metallic jingles and crinkles.
His gaze then caught the sight of a pool of blood running down the floor beside a pair of legs lying on the ground. The rough hand on his wrist then twists the gun out of his hand, leaving him unarmed.
"Wh- who are you?" As he spoke, he rose his head to meet the attacker's form, only for his breath to be take away, almost literally.
This time, he saw it coming. But he couldn't stop it either. It was elongated and metallic-shaped into a pole-like structure, except that it was just long enough to be gripped by both hands without being obstructed by any of its surroundings. Strange ancient runes covered the staff, bronze plating enwrapping the object. At one end of the staff, is a thicker version of it below. It seems to be heavy and solid. After all, it did knock the wind out of him.
His breath hitched upon impact. The bone structure protecting his chest split like a plate, some of its brittles flying all over his sensitive organs. The pain was immeasurable. His hand flew to clutch his struggling chest, only for the pain to flare up. He couldn't hold it due to his broke sternum. His hoarse scream tore through the silent night, but sadly no one could hear him in the secluded area he chose. His eyes snapped wide open, staring at the star-studded blanket of darkness above him as his scream died down.
"It's because of you..."
The same voice resonated around the alleyway, whizzing inside the man's ear like a simple and gentle breeze. But the voice was anything but.
"Because of you, he died. Scum like you roam around the world, plaguing the gods gave us as a gift." The voice continued.
The night itself was cold, but the voice froze everything in place. It felt like fire whenever the ice touched his skin, sending shock after shock through his body and adding to his agonizing pain.
"I will continue his path. Continue his journey that was ended so abruptly and dreadfully."
The air hissed once the staff split through it as it twirled around the mysterious person's fingers in a delicate and professional manner. The man could only stare at his attacker, entranced and frozen upon what he's witnessing.
"I'll be a beacon... A Light in this dark world. I'll make sure, that his goal will be fulfilled. His rage and anger will be known by you degenerates."
The amount of venom she spat within her words were enough to melt steel. The quarterstaff froze in its gyrations, the solid end held up in the air in a threatening way. The man could only watch as his untimely death nears.
A wisp of hair blew her bangs away from her captivating eyes as she spoke in a deathly whisper. "His fury... no, my Fury... will be known..."
The glowing purple orbs he's been gaping at fixed itself at his direction, an enormous amount of icy hot rage pouring out of them. Her cheeks stretched upward and her lips spread apart to reveal her glistening teeth, however the emotion in her eyes did not flicker. The last thing he saw was a grim smile, before the staff came down on his head and the world turned black, sending his soul to the light.
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English Translation:
*Master! I apologize for the inconvenience!
*But I just have to say that you look cute in your waitress costume—