At a private warehouse, somewhere in the harbour...
There was no central light in the enormous space, which was filled by lots of wooden crates and iron boxes at the sideways as the main path was completely free from objects. A simple flashlight was shining through the darkness that this warehouse held.
It was a mystical picture, a bodybuilder figure holding in his left hand a light, while carrying a secured metal box under his right arm.
This feels a bit off, I do know that this her normal separated state from her body, but it's still ambiguous. I thought I had enough experience to just take it without any concerns about it and look me now, experiencing a sense of discomfort due to her.
The shelves were filled with boxes, small ones, long ones and heavy ones, made from steel, plastic or simply wood. He didn't came here often lately, with his rich and high-placed customers, the demand for more specific objects became more prominent.
Some people seemed to be reasonable enough to kill a person for this head, what a good excuse. This thought was as genuine as you would say if nothing was wrong with it.
He knew that the world was filled with mad and insane people, humans that were annoying, arrogant and selfish. He wasn't sure if a monster was the same, maybe it is more reasonable individual, because it wouldn't give in to his emotions, if they have them at least.
However, when he looked to this head, this beautiful and graceful entity, peacefully sleeping, while the world was going round as usual.
Maybe, the supernatural isn't that threatening. That werewolf couldn't do anything else at that moment, he can't talk to a normal person and having a simple conversation with that human.
He smiled with a warm face, while he was thinking about his own treasure, his daughter Stefana. Sometimes, he wondered if there were any supernatural creatures that could measure with Stefana's activity in the summer.
He walked between a stack of wooden crates, containing artefacts from different continents and era's. If he remembered it correctly, he had somewhere a narrow place, just wide enough for the cube made of metal.
If they have tracked the head down to a single location, then I would like to make it as difficult for them to pin it down to place in the warehouse.
He placed the lovely and precious relic in the small space and took a step back. He felt the enthusiasm for a fight boiling in his veins.
He hoped and wished for a better fight than with that rich spoiled man, who was lying in the hospital, due to underestimating Yvan's capabilities.
As long as she isn't involved in this, I am happy, I don't want to lose my pillar due to my own interests. This is for myself, with her safety in consideration.
He walked back with the thoughts of returning to this place a bit more often. Now, he had a good and beautiful reason to come back to this warehouse of him.
But first, I want a drink to ease the mind. I hope that Edwin is finished with his other private conversation.
In an abandoned warehouse, somewhere else in the harbour...
"You idiots, how are you entitled to call yourself professionals?!" a man dress in a classy suit was ranting to the henchmen and their leader. The man stood in the dark, covering his face for anonymity to the two groups, who were standing before him in small angle, ten metres away from him.
"Yes, they do call themselves professionals. It seems that they have misunderstood your order, because they brought the wrong person to you," the representative of the other group commented with a smirky smile on his face. The leader of the group was nowhere to be found, so the purple and yellow haired punk took his place as the leader and counted himself responsible if something was wrong with their own order.
The other leader, dressed in all black suit made for janitors was piercing with his eyes to this ill-mattered rebel.
"I asked for a woman, you can't just mistake that kind of detail, a major detail for god's sake."
They were really targeting me, what kind of instructions did he gave them then?
Ruri was surprised when she found out that both vans were heading for the same location. It appeared that she wasn't the only target for abduction.
She had jumped off the vehicle to find some coverage in the construction of steel that held this place intact. She was witnessing how the man was complaining in harsh comments to the gang and saw how they had bound Uthan with high-quality rope. It must be terrifying to experience this whole chat from a smaller distance. Uthan could see everything that was going on with the three negotiators for this deal.
"Don't say that you have the reputation of being professionals in human smuggling and kidnapping and then arriving with the fucking wrong person," he spitted his anger out like fire balls from a dragon, filled with fury and dangerously hot.
"Don't be dumb, we have followed precisely your instruction to identify the right person. If our strongest member felt resistance from the person, then he had the right one before him. If we have caught the wrong person, due to your description of the target, then you're responsible for this mistake."
The leader interrupted the stream of hatred towards his group and was constantly looking towards the punk, who went by the name of Remco Sevenear.
"Ever considered that your strongest person may be weak in reality? Don't blame everything on me, you made an inaccurate estimation."
The counter argument of the client wasn't a valid one and was full of logical holes. Nobody, except the strongest person, wasn't offended by this big hollow bluff from the customer's side.
While the henchmen were trying to calm him down, Ruri realized that the man must have known the secrets that were surrounding here. Only a monster like her could withhold the strength of the bodybuilder type.
"That's sad for Angle's Rescue, all that planning and waiting done for nothing," the third person began to laugh a bit as he clearly enjoyed mocking the other party.
"Having captured the wrong person? Mistaken a man for a woman, what could you expect from a 'professional' gang like them. A small amateur gang like us won't make these mistakes, that's refreshing and hilarious to hear for you."
The last comment wasn't clearly targeted at a person and resulted in a backlash from the kidnappers.
"We didn't have equal jobs, you know that. We didn't have to kidnap that small frightened girl of yours."
"Shut up! Both of you! Just hand me over the girl and you'll receive your payment, the other group will receive no money as a punishment," the rich man shouted, while trying to calm himself down, because his face was as red as a tomato due to his rage.
He stepped out of the shadow, which made his recognizable for both parties. One of the leader's faces was turning into ultra-serious mode, while the other started to become mischievous.
"I see that you didn't have done your homework," the rebel remarked. He was searching in his pocket for a mechanics tool, while he was looking full of joy towards this entitled rich person.
"What are you claiming? Of course, I have done my homework, I can't describe your target without any research."
He didn't know that he pointed out the wrong point, which made the next line a surprise attack.
"Then you know that there's a chance that we will refuse your order to deliver the girl. We as burglars have standards too and so, we have decided to not give her to such a corrupted politician like you," Remco lectured the client in his own domain. The girl, who was restrained by rope, like Uthan, was dazzled by the fact that she now got protected by these rotten people. She was surrounded by five man, armed with mechanic tools to defend her.
Wait, a politician? There's only one person that could know my abnormality: Berker-sama.
With the feeling of being watched, she experience the tense atmosphere in the warehouse.
Uthan wished that he could do something about it, however, his arms and legs were tightly wrapped up, so he couldn't use the raw power of his supernatural strength, which wasn't as strong in the upper parts of his limbs.
Both groups stood at the opposite side of the abandoned warehouse, with the client as the border between the two boiling enemies. Everyone know that they wanted to eat the other's flesh, without thinking about morality or compassion.
The rich man snarled arrogantly and waved to them if they were disposable, which they were in his eyes.
"In that case, I won't stop your guys from attacking these scumbags, these rebels. I will allow you to kill them if you are confident enough for that."
Everyone expected a brawl between the two sections as both sides were getting ready for a long-during fight. In contrast, an object zipped before their eyes. It was a sharp object that missed the rich client for an inch. All of their eyes, were directed to the weapon, it was a throwing knife.
"He won't stop you, but I will!" a voice echoed through the vast space. With a simple construction, the location of the voice was determined and showed the face of a resolute woman.
"I will warn you, that knife missed on purpose, the next one will hit your forehead if you are careless with your actions.
Just one year back, in the bedroom of Astrid and William…
Astrid's first shock happened when she woke up from a good night with her husband William as she found herself carrying a kitchen knife in her hand.
Her husband was the second shock. He wasn't dead though, in fact, he was smiling with a disgustingly large smile on his face towards her. She saw that he didn't had any regret of his action, what that might be.
I can't undo it, in some aspects, I won't do it or can't forgive him for this cursed state of mine, but I can pay him back as a thanks now.
"What have you done with me!" she yelled at him after she threw the knife into the trash can in the corner.
"Don't curse or swear at me," he said with an utterly calm voice. "Curse the knife."
Astrid saw how he pointed towards her hand and the third shock came when she noticed that the knife was back in her hand.
What have you done with me? What kind of a miserable trick is this?
Regret, sorrow and remorse, these were the feelings and emotions where the knife was known for by a few people, who all are gone in this world. These feelings were now embodied by her, these values were imbued by the knife, who was known as the Butler's Knife.
A small amount of people had ever heard of this blade, some might call it a legend, others will recall the weapon as tragic tale of an individual, who has cursed it in the first place.
It was demonstration of short-period thinking by a person, who took revenge on his master for executing his whole family. The landlord was killed by the man, who he always trusted, his butler.
After the death of his master, the butler didn't felt salvation or any satisfying conclusion for his revenge and blamed everything onto the kitchen knife, who was covered by the landlord's blood. He didn't feel freed from his anger, he knew that he had taken revenge, but regret started to show up. Remorse and sorrow were brewing under his skin and were never released into the world. As a result, the knife got cursed by concealing these emotions inside itself.
"You can never abandon a life changing choice."
It was a saying that was rumouring alongside with the knife, who got feared for the person who possessed it. The newly found owner will get stuck to this cursed knife for the rest of his or her life. This time it was a lady who was attached with her soul to it, a woman by the name of Astrid Frandward-Meijster.
And every time when she closed her eyes, remembering the presence of the blade, the knife will return to her hand or secondary to her hand bag that she always carried with her.
"Is that her?" one of the Rotters stuttered and stumbled where after he was trying to find some balance by his fellow burglar.
Remco felt how the Rotter leant on his shoulder and looked with astonishment towards the prostitute that he had spoken to multiple times. It wasn't surprising that she turned to be such a dangerous woman, he was more thrown off guard by her appearance, which he saw for the first time without make-up. She looked different, more natural in his opinion. He was still careful, while he was aware that his boss William has done something with her, he didn't have any idea what she could do, what kind of deadly moves she knew.
Yes, it's me, a monster completely fabricated by the love of my husband, who has left this world.
"I just want that you are able to protect yourself. You know that I have enemies and I don't want to cause trouble for you, because of that." William Frandward said and immediately received a slap in his face. While she was clearly upset about her, his words were remaining calm and genuine.
"I would like if your strikes are a bit more lethal. So, I want to propose something, let me teach it to you."
When he mentioned more lethal, she didn't expected that it would be absolutely lethal.
The already twisted couple of low level criminal and prostitute turned to be even more twisted. Slowly, she evolved from only a lady who liked to entertain men, to a woman who was able to kill these men.
A criminal leader and a seductive assassin resulted in a perfectly deadly couple.
When she realized that she was manipulated into this position, her mood began to drop drastically. Her emotions were dragged into the wide and vast ocean, to the darkest bottom of the sea.
Sorry William, I have to rescue myself.
Since two days, she has made herself a widow, by killing her own manipulated husband, who she still loved.
"Don't be the heroine, you're vastly outnumbered," Berker bragged towards her.
She knew that she was surrounded by professional kidnappers and under normal circumstances, she couldn't defend herself.
From the normal peeling pose of the knife, she switch to another position of the blade, which was now pointed to the ground, ready to plunge its steel into people's hearts.
For once in a long while, her heart and mind were having peace together. Her body was ready to fight and her focus was locked on these criminals.
You were right, the whole damn time. I am thankful for your disgusted and twisted gift. Your lessons are now sometimes worth the suffering and I will test these skill on these thugs, so that you could be proud of me.
The first thing that she planned to do, was to tackle the members Angle's Rescue and free the person who was wrapped up by the human traders. After that, she figured out that she maybe could speak with Remco as long as they didn't found out what has happened to their leader.
The members of Angle's Rescue couldn't wait any longer and started to attack her, or that's what they had planned. In a short time, they saw how she evaded the first attacker and kicked him on the back to let him fall on the knees, while the second one's cheeks were scratched by the knife immediately after that. The skin that was cut, wouldn't be normally in the reach of a simple knife, but the machete that she held in her hand was long enough to touch the attacker.
The Rotters didn't have any losses and Remco, who stood at the front line with his arms spread, was making sure that nobody of them would attack her. In the end, he realized that this wasn't necessary as he noticed that his members were already frightened by the amount of skill that she has displayed.
The group started to scatter a bit and Remco witnessed the reason why. The same figure who looked through the rear door of the van, was standing at that moment on that same van.
For a few seconds, the fight was stopped by the sound a working motor and a siren, a recognizable one for sure.
"Let's go, if the police sees us, then it will be over for us!" both of the leaders commanded and they left Astrid behind in their fight.
The police arrived with assistance on the place and witnessed how almost all the criminals were fleeing, with the exception of the few Rotters who were given the task to protect Denise, gave themselves over. The client of these two groups seemed to have avoided the eyes of the cops, because he sneaked away.
For Astrid, she ran towards Uthan, who she immediately recognized due to his light sucking eyes.
"Uthan, is that you?" a male voice behind Astrid was speaking before she could say a word. The voice sounded surprised and dazzled by his presence.
Instead of answering his police partner, Uthan stared only towards the empty Rotters van. The mysterious figure has disappeared.
The cop looked to the widow with a sad and serious face.
"It's better if you came with us to the office, we have some questions for you," the man stated.
"Wait," Uthan interrupted the convo, "she was here to rescue that blond girl." He knew that it was rude to point towards someone, but this would make the situation much more clear.
"In that case, go to your house and rest, we'll except you tomorrow," the cop decided and directed his eyes towards Uthan.
"However, I need to talk with this rookie about the situation."