Of Black Devils and Midnight Blue Huntsmen
«»
(Dante POV)
I let out a deep sigh as I drove down the night road, letting the faint breeze brush past me as I stared at the Holographic screen projected from the central console. I was currently in a call with Inuba, who was currently asking for specifics. That and making sure I was okay and everything.
"Maybe you should have waited for me…"
"Why?" I asked, "From the description Ozpin gave me it seems like it's just a Wraith. Easy."
"But it has been some time since you've fought a Wraith." My partner countered.
"Like I said, it'll be easy. This is basically just a milk run if you think about it. That, and I'm pretty sure this can kill can it." I said summoning my longsword briefly before dematerializing it, "I'll call you when I get close to Beacon."
"Very well then… Please, be careful."
The screen closed to end the call just as I approached the entrance of the village, passing through a thin veil of mist and seeing a few buildings with lights still on.
"State your business here." Asked one of the guards.
"I'm the guy they sent front Beacon. Here." I said handing him an info-card, which he carefully looked over.
He scoffed when he finished reading, handing me back the card as he said "They sent a kid like you to take care of this?"
"I specialize in dealing with the supernatural."
"That's what they're calling it? Supernatural?"
"No one in your village informed you of anything?" I asked a bit surprised with the guard's lack of information.
"The mayor didn't say much. All any of us know is that people have gone missing as of late whenever they went up to hill near the crypt's entrance."
"Crypt?"
"Yeah. The mayor's family has been in charge of this place since two hundred years ago. When the first head of the family died, they built a crypt within the hill to bury and honor their dead. No one ever goes in there except a head of the family. It's not allowed."
Hmmm… That's a bit suspicious…
Wraiths tend to hang around in graveyards and the like, and sometimes slip out if they're attached or bound to objects, usually personal belongings from when they were alive. A Wraith is by definition an evil spirit, a transformed variation of a Ghost whose rage upon dying kept them tethered to the world.
If a Wraith is responsible for the missing people, what's its story? This town has been here for about two centuries, so I think it's safe to assume it came into formation during the beginning time period of this town. But then there's two more questions I need to ask…
What does the mayor know? And is he involved somehow?
"The town meeting hall is just at the end of this road. Drive on up there and the mayor will be waiting inside for you."
"Thanks."
I shifted Primarius' gears and lightly pressed the gas pedal to move through the road in the center of town slowly, seeing more than a few glances from the townspeople eyeing up the car.
I don't blame them. It's not often some stranger drives through your town with a fancy looking car decked out with amazing features.
I both hate you and love you Ross. Either way, again, thanks for the car, wherever you may be.
The town was pretty nice looking. Most of the buildings resembled and were styled in a manner similar to those from old western films I used to watch sometimes. It was a nice and familiar feel too it.
I saw the sign for town hall and slowed to a halt, shifting the gear into "park" once more while I pressed a button near the center console to raise the retractable hardtop completely so I could lock the car as I stepped out.
Entering inside the building gave me the same feel as walking through a courthouse. After the fiasco about two years ago, despite being innocent, I cringe a little each time I enter a courthouse.
It wasn't a good week.
"Excuse me sir." A guard spoke ahead of me, "Please remove any metallic objects on your person as well as any weapons in your possession."
At least they're being safe. Doesn't matter though since I can summon in my longsword at any time. It's my only weapon too.
I had nothing on me except my car keys, the small black square stud no bigger than my fingernail that acted as my unit for my HoloScroll, and Inuba's fox shaped charm. My hands dropped everything in a small container as it went through the scanner and out the other side, the guard apparently alright with everything.
Except for when I tired to take the basket of my belongings from him.
"You'll get these back after your meeting with the mayor is finished. Safety reasons and all that."
"Yeah, because there's clearly something nefarious hidden in that." I said pointing to the fox charm, "There's actually a miniature sized nuke hidden within that only I know the activation sequence to. Because the reason I'm here is to totally destroy your village."
That shit would've gotten me arrested in an airport back on Primordial, even if it was just sarcasm.
The guard gulped audibly enough and took a few steps away from me, as if he were going to run and call for help.
"Relax Gus. Mr. Dante was just fibbing. Please, return his belongings."
"But sir-"
"Gus…"
Gus the guard gave me a weary glance before he handed me the box with my stuff. I clipped the black stud back onto the collar of my black long sleeved shirt, and pocketed my car keys and charm in the pockets of my grey jeans before stepping forward to shake hands with the unusually young mayor.
Seriously, this guy looked to be twenty five years old or something. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, and wore a dark blue suit and tie.
"Mr. Dante, Professor Ozpin said to expect you here at this hour. And to expect some quirkiness on your part."
Quirkiness? Well, yeah, my behavior is strange at times. Again, that nonsense with the nuke would have gotten me arrested in Primordial. Here? I can get away with it as a joke. As far as I know, there's no nukes in Remnant. Well, except for myself, Inuba, and the oh so kind Niro. I think we're pretty much the only ones that could level an entire city.
"Sorry for that joke earlier. I'm just a bit personal about my stuff is all."
"Understandable." He said letting go of my hand as we shook, "Come into my office."
Uh-oh. I swear principle, I didn't stick the slices of ham on the ceiling.
Mental jokes aside, I did as he asked and stepped inside, taking a cautious glance around as the mayor of this fine establishment sat down in his leather chair, and I sat in mine.
"I'm glad you're here Mr. Dante. Matthew McDavis, mayor of Eliad Town."
"Dante, Beacon Academy student."
"I'll admit, I was surprised when I heard the Headmaster of Beacon would be sending a student. A lone student at that."
Surprising for anyone really. But like I said, this was a milk run at best. No need to drag the others along for something that would take thirty minutes or less.
See what I did there?
"But regardless, Professor Ozpin assured me of your skills. Spoke highly of them even. You deal with the supernatural on a daily basis?"
"Used to be daily…" I answered as I crossed my legs in my chair, "But I decided to become a Huntsmen instead. Either way, I know how to deal with just about anything."
"That's very good then-"
"But…" I said raising my hand to warn him, "It's best you're honest with me from the get to. Otherwise I won't be able to deal with this quickly. And before you know it, you'll be having a lot more people going missing. That being said...is there anything you need to tell me, mayor?"
He glanced at me, hesitant to say what was on his mind. But I made a compelling enough argument I believe.
"What do you know of our family crypt?" He asked me.
"Only what I've been told. Your family's been buried in there ever since the start up of this village. But what I don't know is how many are buried within there."
"Seven generations worth of relatives."
"Seven?" I asked almost surprised, "Not to be rude or anything, but that seems to be a pretty short lifespan."
"Age thirty to be more specific."
"Any specific reason for that?"
This might be a cursed object then if they're all dying at thirty.
"My father wrote a letter to me after my birth before he died. He told me it was my duty to become mayor of this town and to learn as much as I could as quickly as possible, so that I could guide and lead my citizens within my time to live, because one day...I would need to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect this town."
…
Son of a…
I pinched the bridge of my nose, now realizing what it was I passed through earlier. And it wasn't just a thin veil of mist.
"You idiots…" I whispered.
"S-Sorry?"
He heard me say something, but he apparently didn't hear me say "idiots".
"Mayor, I think I found your problem."
"Just from hearing a few words?"
"Like Ozpin said, I'm an expert. Anyway, your father, and his father before him and so on, they all died at the age of thirty, right?"
"Yes, every single one."
"And that veil of mist outside… That's up all year around?"
"How did-?" He sighed deeply before glancing towards me, "You're an expert."
Damn right I am. And your stupid ancestors made a really stupid mistake.
"My father explained that the veil was a family secret of sorts. For the two centuries this town has been established, the veil has stood in place ever since the passing of the first family head and has surprisingly kept the Grimm away from our village. We haven't suffered an attack ever since."
"Did you ever question anyone on how the barrier was maintained?"
"No...but… After reading my father's letter, I can only assume it feeds off of the life of the family head."
"And so you called Ozpin to see if he had any solutions to save your life and the life of any villagers unfortunate enough to go near the crypt. Sorry to say, the ones taken away inside are more than likely dead."
A morbid statement, but it was the reality of the situation. And he needed to know that so he wouldn't get his hopes up too high.
"I see… Mr. Dante, what exactly is it that we are dealing with here?"
"Well, both guesses were wrong so far. Well, my first guess wasn't wrong, but it wasn't entirely right."
"Then..?"
"What I'm going to fighting...is much worse than just a simple Wraith."
Did I ever mention how much I hate going through crypts at night? I hate going through crypts at night. Not because there's spooky, scary skeletons down here that send shivers down your spine, but because if there's a lot of dead in a crypt, and they get re-animated by whatever the hell Entity took up residence inside, I'm going to get swarmed in a confined space.
I don't enjoy being swarmed unless I'm out in the open.
In the case of if others were with me, I could project some of my Aura Swords and make them shine brighter to make more light. Fortunately it was just me, so I could use only my Shadow Eyes.
I could feel power blanketing my eyes and saw everything now. My sight when using Shadow Eyes is pretty interesting. Everything is pretty much Shadowy and Dark, but every single corner, edge and gap was highlighted in a lightly smoky white color. Given the numerous contours and shapes of people's faces, I could see them perfectly well in the Dark. Same goes for attacks as well.
Point is, I can see perfectly in the Dark.
As I moved through the underground tomb, I could see a few open plots, made for the future generations most likely. But what really caught my attention was the skeleton lying directly in front of me.
Well, it wasn't a complete skeleton. But it was fresh. Like yesterday fresh. Skin and whatever remaining flesh was completely withered, exposing many of the corpses bones across numerous sections. The dried up pool of blood underneath was dry, but the color wasn't faded in the slightest, which helped me in determining how long this corpse has been here.
Looking ahead, I could see a few more corpses and moved up to examine them. The first three or four bodies were kills from this week alone. The rest were older. I kept pressing forward ever so silently, checking every single corner and even checking the ceiling.
Damn monsters just love crawling up there…
Surprisingly...I found almost nothing except bodies so far. But then, I came up to the end of the tomb, seeing what had to be the bodies of the previous heads of the McDavis family. But the most distinguishable tomb was the one at the center of the rest of the graves.
That and it was seeping with dark red energy.
This had to be the body of the Wraith. So with that in mind, I grabbed a small blackwood grain rectangular box from my pocket, which I had stowed in my car and taken with me after my meeting with the mayor, and slid out the wooden lid. Inside were numerous varieties of paper talismans Inuba had made, ten talismans each for every variety of exorcism and purification, amounting to one hundred talismans total.
The one I needed was… Ah, this one.
Inuba was meticulous when it came to organization in general. But when it came to tools necessary for the trade, her methods went above and beyond.
For instance, what I needed was a purification talisman. For exorcism talismans, the paper used was black and the ink white. For purification, which I currently needed, the paper was white with black ink.
Now, there's different varieties of purification methods. But what I needed was one for a body, which would burn the remains and purify them in the process, allowing the spirit to move on. And since Inuba's flames has the same purifying effect as salting and burning a body, the talismans would work the same.
And so I took the white talisman in my hand, slid the lid back in to cover the box, and then placed the paper in pocket so I could slide the tomb lid off. When I did, I found exactly what I had hoped to.
A body.
The flow of energy was sinister to say the least. Hateful, enraged, take your pick. Either way, bye bye Wraith.
I took the paper talisman and slapped it on the corpse, then, summoned a small wick of my white and black Aura and touched the paper, which then lit the entire corpse ablaze and consumed it entirely within a few seconds.
That takes care of that. Now-
An ear piercing, ghastly shriek sounded through the tombs and continued for a few seconds without pause. Normally that's just a Death Wail, a sign of their being exorcised and being made to move on. But...I get the distinct feeling this isn't over yet.
And I was right.
The second I turned around, I found myself staring upon a figure cloaked in Shadowy black garb, and a hood standing up, obscuring his face, if he had one, from sight. His hands were gauntleted in silvery, segmented armor that had a twisted design about it. I was right earlier.
This thing was a Shadow Wraith.
I made to swing at its head, but it turned into black mist and vanished from sight. Moving my head to the right, I saw a rusted steel sword pass by head in a stabbing motion, and spun around to take a swing at the creature again. This time instead of dodging, it quickly swung its sword against mine, letting out another screeching wail.
Surprisingly, this thing was quick on its feet. Everytime I swung at the Wraith, it quickly dodged back from the attacks it could and blocked my strikes when I made it very difficult to dodge. The problem was its constant turning into mist to quickly get behind me.
But that's what made its movements predictable. When Wraiths strike, they attempt to strike mostly in places their opponent can't see, their blind spots in a sense. But again, if someone knew their tactics well enough, it made their attacks predictable as easy to dodge.
Technically, I can end this now. But I'd like some fun with this first at least. It's not everyday you get to fight a Shadow Wraith.
Normally, a Wraith is impossible to kill by physical means unless using magic. But in the case you don't have magic, a weapon made from silver would work. But this was a Shadow Wraith, which meant I couldn't just hit its body all willy nilly and kill it. To kill a Shadow Wraith, one must break the item that's tethering them here.
But I burned the body, so where..?
…
Sneaky bastard… Guess I might have to get a little crazy after all.
The next time I clashed with the Shadow Wraith, I quickly pushed it back and sent it crashing into a wall with an amplified swing, unleashing a small wave of white and black Aura all the while to send it flying.
Alright, here goes.
I twirled my blade into backhand position, grasped it with both hands, and raised it slowly up into the air, keeping the point facing the ground. The blade glowed with my Aura and shone brightly, the amassing of the Aura slowly starting to seep out of the blade.
And then, I plunged my sword into the ground, letting out an expanding shock wave of white and black Aura that traveled throughout the entirety of the crypt. The Shadow Wraith wailed from the overflow of Aura, falling to the ground on its knees as it dropped its sword of to the side.
Whatever object it was tethered to was broken. But that wasn't the need. See, breaking the object tethered to a Shadow Wraith won't kill it. But it'll make its body tangible to destroy.
The ghost like creature looked up at me quickly, but I immediately plunged my sword in its chest to end its existence. I could feel the magic it had set up in defense to physical attacks trying to punish me for stabbing it, but the pain was virtually nonexistent, and very slowly, the creature's body turned in black dust and crumbled into nothingness.
The Wraith had met its end.
"Thank you, mr. Dante. You've done more than just save the lives of my citizens. You saved me, and future generations of my family. I can't thank you enough."
"Don't sweat the small stuff mayor. Just happy help. Like I said earlier, make sure the Aura Sword I planted stays planted. It'll keep the new barrier up and will use solar energy to keep it powered."
"Are you sure it will be self sustaining like you said?"
"Trust me mayor, this is kitsune magic. It's gonna work. How do I know? Well… Let's just say I have my sources."
"Understood."
I turned to make my leave to my car, but the mayor's voice stopped me before I did.
"A moment longer, mr. Dante."
I don't need a higher payment amount. I'm just fine with what I earned.
"If it's no trouble to you, could you perhaps go further up the road and check on the village there? We haven't been in contact for a few hours now, and we were supposed to receive trade supplies about three hours ago."
"Send a scouting party to check it out?" I asked facing him.
"We did but they haven't returned."
Could be they're under duress from the Grimm…
"I'll go check it out then. Thanks again mr. McDavis."
I received a wave goodbye from him and a few of the villagers as I stepped inside my car and pressed the ignition button to start it.
Guess I had to make another stop…
What could I be walking into, I wonder?
A town under siege from a Grimm incursion? Or something else entirely? Like bandits? It's not uncommon out here. If it were Grimm, I'm sure someone would have managed to get a message out.
The chances of this being a bandit attack just rose up a bit.
Like a bolt from the blue, a dozen Beowolves had gathered up on the road a mile or so ahead of me. Which was good for me, since I got to try out a new trick I forgot to earlier.
I held the button on the side of the door down to lower the car window entirely and stuck out half my body from the window.
"Alright you uglies… Have a taste of this!"
My hand was quickly raised upwards into the open air, forming about a dozen Aura Swords that hovered in the air near the side of the car as I sped down the road. Then, when I lowered my hand and made my palm face the Grimm on the road, my Aura Swords shot forward with intense speed, leaving wispy trails of white and black Aura behind them as they pierced each of the Grimm. The force of impact from the Swords pushed away and cleared the Beowolves from the road, and I let out a short cheer of success as I seated myself normally again and continued down the road.
I think that experiment can be called a success.
Primarius carried me forward elegantly, but every now and then I had to swerve a pit to avoid potholes and the like.
In the earlier days before air travel, few roads were built leading all across the continent, and one big road connecting to a bridge leading to an island of sorts, the very same bridge connecting from that small island all the way to Atlas. Road travel was the basic means of transport for a few years, and so they had roads built and posted signs and the like everywhere.
However, travel on the roads became more and more dangerous due to bandits and the Grimm. And so, once the roads were completed, the kingdoms began working on a new means of travel with Atlas at the forefront. Air travel. Within a few decades time, airships soon became the common means of transport for both goods and people. Usually nowadays you only see cars within the Kingdoms. There isn't anyone crazy enough to travel outside of the Kingdoms using a car.
Well, except me of course. I'm a complete lunatic, and if you called me one, I honestly wouldn't deny it. The ideas I have time to time are crazy, so…
Interesting thing I did two days ago. I tampered with Primarius' radio so I can pick up radio stations from afar, as well as emergency broadcast signals. It wasn't easy, but after reading through a few books and poking around on the internet, I was able to make some fine tune adjustments to make things work.
Which reminds me, I better take a few pages out of Ray Chroma's book concerning tech. And by that, I mean I should learn from him. And others of course.
Unsurprisingly, there were a few good tunes on the radio. I mean, I have music from Primordial, but only what I had on my HoloDevice after I converted it into a HoloScroll. So on my free time in between, I've been tuning in to different radio stations and listening to songs whenever and seeing what I liked so I can download it later.
This also brings me to another epiphany. I need to find ways to make Lien, other than the standard causal jobs around town. And technically, I can only get paid from missions, which we wouldn't be doing too much of considering we're only first years. But considering the batch of first years I'm in with, we're a tough bunch. The teams to definitely look out for are RWBY, JNPR, LMKN, ELAA and RGDS. And of course my team, DICL.
I think it's safe to say we're an exceptional bunch.
As I drove down the road, a bright glow in the distance caught my attention, making me rotate the volume knob on the radio to low as my eyes scanned the area ahead of me. When I got closer and out of the clearing, I could see the village mayor McDavis sent me to check on.
It was burning.
I quickly turned the wheel as I approached the village entrance and drifted to face forward in the direction I came from in case I needed to make a quick escape. Once I rapidly shifted the gear into park, I quickly stepped out of the car and locked door, turning my attention back to the village and listening carefully for any voices or screaming.
Silence with the exception of the crackling of the wood and the roar of the flames.
"What the hell happened…"
I kept the question tucked in the back of my head as I summoned my Longsword to my right hand and quickly stepped into the village, keeping my footsteps silent in case whatever or whomever did this was still here.
Homes and shops were lit ablaze, and within them…
I've seen a lot of messed up things in my life so far. Hell, I've done messed up things when I was younger. Despite being the cold bastard that I was, I can never get used to seeing a mass of dead bodies and not react. Even then it made me uneasy.
I saw a few burning corpses out in the street, their bodies nearly ash. But for the few still a ways from breaking down, I can see what kind of wounds these were.
Circular entry points. No jagged formations. No bites. No slash marks or cuts. All the other bodies were the same. Grimm weren't responsible for this. These were gunshot wounds. But something was odd about them.
They were perfectly clean and circular, like something burned through.
I've been shot thousands of times by now. And every time, none of the wounds were that clean unless they were done with some sort of mechanism to make bullets burn through.
Then I heard it.
A gunshot rang out from further within the burning village, and within seconds, I pinpointed where the noise came from.
It wasn't until the second shot that I bolted forward and made my way to the village square.
I ran past everything, keeping my focus on the direction of where the shot came from until a Beowolf burst out from one of the buildings, completely lit ablaze by the flames from within the flaming house. It flailed its arms about momentarily before diverting its attention to me and lunging forward as I ran.
One swift movement and I ducked under its swing and quickly slashed through its waist, passing through it with my swing as I turned my blade downwards and plunged it into the creature's head, pinning it to floor. With that quick kill out of the way, I pressed forward all the same, rounding the corner and taking a quick look around.
It was then I could see him there in the town square.
A man stood at the center of the burning village, staring out into a distance with a gun raised.
"So he ran away. Predictable…" I heard him say.
His head turned in my direction slightly, as if noticing me now, before turning around to fully face me, allowing to get a good look at him.
The man was garbed in a tight Midnight blue coat with long tails that reached his calves, the coat sporting black flame patterns along the ends of the tails, the lapels of his coat and around the ends of his sleeves. The coat was closed and held together by two black straps, and along the sleeves, descending from his shoulders, where two large black lines ran all the way down to his tight sleeves.
Around his neck was a thin fabric, Midnight blue scarf, with its tattered ends dangling behind his back as it moved with the small breeze that swept through the town. It wasn't until he lifted his head up that I could see his entire head was covered in a black bone-plate mask-helmet of sorts, the face entirely resembling the features of a human skull, but slightly different. There were large, diamond shaped gaps between where the molars where and where the jaw connected.
Oddest of all however was the tattered Midnight blue cowboy hat atop his entirely armored head, sporting sharp and dangerous looking edges. Looking to his hands, I could see that they too were layered entirely in black bone-plated armor resembling sinew and muscle fibers, the fingertips sporting small claws. From that gap between the lower half of his coat, I could see he wore black, bone-plate armor leggings similar in design to his gauntlets, that fully protected his legs.
The black plating itself looked as though it were perfectly molded bone plating that came together in tight seams, visible on the sides of his legs. The leggings also came with knee guards attached to the greaves that were triangular in a sense, bending inwards and slightly outwards along the edges. Even the thighs of the leggings shared the same bone-plate look, with no visible gaps to be found except for behind the knees.
Then, there was the thing that caught my attention the most. Two black holsters completely attached to the hips of the Midnight blue coat, where one of his guns was holstered while he held the other.
The gun was a silvery colored, top-break handcannon, the gun's barrel vertically wide by slides and a sleek, heavy-duty twelve inch barrel. Those guns of his had to have been built for delivering high impact payloads while dealing with the flinch of an artillery cannon. From what I could see of the other gun in his holster, which I assumed to be of the same design as the one he held, both revolvers sported black, wooden, ergonomic grips that had finger grooves.
This guy is seriously bad news… I'm getting all sorts of bad vibes from him…
"Oh? A survivor?" I heard him speak out to me in a collected, even voice with a mild reverberation, "No… Not quite… I would have run into you earlier if that were the case. You must have arrived from the outside just now."
I was silent for a few moments before I asked with a hint of frustration in my tone, "Did you do all this..?"
No response. He simply stood there, watching me with his gun lowered to his side.
Was he studying me?
"I just asked you a question, now answer me!" I said pointing my sword at him.
He kept silent and still all the more, soon raising only his empty left hand up slightly with his clawed index finger pointed upwards slightly.
"Your voice…"
"What..?!"
"You don't have to raise your voice. There's no need for that."
I took a cautious step back, keeping my eyes on him entirely as he lowered his left hand.
"I came in search for something in this village. That certain something has moved to a different location, luckily slipping out of my hands at the very last moment due to your arrival. Sensing your presence, I was distracted for a moment and 'it' managed to escape. I was more than certain that with the battle before your arrival, everyone in the town had perished. Which is why your arrival was surprising to say the least."
"Then...you did all this…"
"Not entirely."
A glint of surprise was all I flashed him while I tried to understand what he meant.
"I wasn't solely responsible for the villagers perishing. Rather, I let the other 'thing' largely responsible kill the majority of the villagers. I only silenced the ones that managed to survive."
My grip tightened on my sword as I lowered it to my side, my eyes glaring daggers at the man ahead of me.
"I prefer silencing any and all sources of potential knowledge about me, preventing them from leaving the locations I work in. Now and then I allow a survivor or two. But because of you, what I had come searching this village for slipped out of my fingers. And so, I'll determine whether or not you are worthy of being allowed to live."
A smile formed across my face at his challenge, amused with his quick assumption that I would be easy work for him. He's going to be in for a world of hurt.
"No cavalry hiding around somewhere?"
"Don't be so quick to hold your breath. I am here by myself. The only person you have to worry about now is me...and me alone."
Can I take his word for that?
One way to find out…
I quickly shot my hand forward and sent an Aura Sword zooming faster than a bullet directly for the strangers skull, who ducked under the it and leapt upwards as I shot another at him.
My feet pushed me off the ground easily to quickly met the man as we exchanged a few blows midair. He shot for my head first, making me move it to the side as swung my blade. The stranger used his gun to block it and force it away, making a few more attempts to shoot me up with his revolver.
The man in Midnight blue kicked away from me to put distance between us, but I didn't back off quite so easily. I grabbed hold of the tail of his coat, spun him around twice and tossed him towards one of the burning buildings near us. He twirled himself around and safely landed on a flagpole, leaping up into the air yet again when I dropped my heel down on the base of the pole, sending it spinning upwards towards my enemy.
He leaned back enough to dodge the pole and performed a drop kick on me, which I blocked using my forearm, but was completely overpowered and sent tumbling down the side of the building. I nearly would have fallen had I not plunged my sword into the side of the wall to keep me in place.
I sent out another Aura Sword, but before it even got close, he took quick aim and fired a bullet directly at the Aura Swords point, destroying both metallic bullet and Aura made weapon. My feet touched the side of the wall as I let out a roar, ripping my blade free from the stone while lashing upwards with great force, unleashing a menacing torrent of white and black Aura that tore through the building to swallow up the stranger, forcing him to leap off the building to avoid the destructive wave of energy and stand atop the tower falling down.
As it fell, I ran up it towards the man and lunged forward with a quick stab that he moved his head out of the way of, ducking underneath my next swipe to his head while raising his gun to fire off another shot that I dodged. He moved to deliver a quick stomp kick and I countered with a kick of my own, forcing the two of us apart a considerable distance as we both landed on the ground seconds after.
The top of his revolver opened up, and out popped a cylindrical cartridge as he slapped a new one into the gun and motioned his gun upwards forcefully to close it back up.
"Impressive. Most impressive. You're far more skilled and able than I originally gave you credit for. Perhaps…"
Silence was the only response I have him. I was too focused on what he might pull next. He's no ordinary fighter. If anything, he's highly skilled.
"No… It's too early to tell… But you have piqued my curiosity to say the least. I would meet with you again sometime on the future."
"How about now and save yourself and me the annoyance?"
He chuckled silently at my words.
"In time. Until next time, young man…"
With that, the man's body completely turned black, obscuring his features entirely as he quickly sank down into the surface of the building.
No use in trying to go after him. Whatever he just did either cancels Aura Sensing or put him out of range.
Damn… What the hell is he? That's two people now that have been able to keep up with me fairly well… Not only that…
My gaze turned back on the burning village, watching the last few buildings finally crumble and fall, kicking up the ashes in the air. The fires seemed to be dwindling slowly, but to be safe, I outstretched my left hand, my white and black Aura slowly forming a large dome of tightly knit hexagonal shapes around the entire town.
The fire should die out entirely in a few hours, so I set the barrier to crumble after twenty four hours. And with it, the ashes of what remained would be free to scatter in the winds.
I'd gotten back to the mayor a few minutes after what happened in the obscure village a ways from them and told him of what had happened.
He was...devastated to say the least.
I could only offer him my condolences as I got back into my car and took off into the night once again, and made my way back to Vale. Except, I didn't go straight for Beacon.
I needed to de-stress.
I may not have been impacted as much as Mayor McDavis was, but I still felt a bit...troubled? We'll go with troubled.
So I drove around Vale, looking for a nice place to sit down, relax...and get a drink.
Yes yes, how immoral and irresponsible for a student, a person of my age to say the least, to go out drinking.
It didn't matter anyway. Can't get drunk. Alcohol burns away practically as soon as it enters my system. In a sense, to me, drinking alcohol is like drinking tap water, or flavored drinks. Either or. So in my perspective, it's ok for me to drink since there's no consequences other than moral outrage of my peers.
Like that matters.
Then, I found a "safe haven".
I parked my car in one of the sidewalk spaces literally just a few feet away from the bar I stopped in front of and stepped on out, giving it a once over. It was a modernized, darkwood tavern with a sign hanging on the outside, labeling it "The Black Stallion. I also noticed a bit of an overhang/veranda.
First impressions so far?
It's actually pretty good. Kind of my style. Definitely won me over with the darkwood grain.
I don't know what it is with that type of wood. I just like how it looks.
The neighborhood was pretty alright. Little bit shady, might be a few stand ins for even shaded underground business. But hey, no need to barge in really. I'm just here for a drink.
Before I even thought of going inside, I stretched out my hand towards Primarius and covered her in a thin veil of my white and black Aura, forming a barrier of small hexagons that covered it from head to toe. That was just in case anyone tried to break into my car. Or steal it. But even then, I had some failsafe plans in place.
And so I took my first steps inside the bar and took a look around at its patrons.
Rowdy bunch. The whole lot of them. Might be a criminal or an outlaw here and there, but hey, who am I to judge really? I'm just here for a drink.
It was really nice in here… It had a dark wooded theme setting, my favorite, and an almost tavern-like look overall. The bar wasn't all that large; two large spanning windows encompassing both sides of the entry door, which also had glass to peer out into the street. Boothed tables lined the room on all of its walls, save for the bar that lie centralized on the righthand wall.
The bar itself wrapped around in a hard u-shape, shelves of drinks and glasses lining its wall alongside drink dispensers, bottles running along the interior of the bar's countertop. The bar's most upper portions was its outer portion, all of which were polished dark wood to cater to those who sat on the stools lining the bar's counter. The center of the room is where the rest of the tables were, situated with surrounding chairs and spaced out around the room while the corner of the bar was reserved for the two pooltables and dartboards.
I'm officially sold now.
Well, better get started.
I walked on over to the bar table and looked around for a bit. Then, I heard an oddly familiar voice call out to me.
"Want something?" He asked, eventually turning toward me.
…
Remember that bit about this being a safe haven? Scratch that, I just walked into the freaking lion's den. Which lion's den?
The den with Niro freaking Ezdeil in it.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiii-
"Oh. Well… Hi?"
He still kept his usual stoic expression, telling me as I sat down "Name a drink, I have it. Pay the lien, and you can drink it. No formalities needed."
Okay..? More importantly...
"You work here?" I asked, leaning forward for a moment in my seat, trying to get a closer look at his wares.
"I'm the owner." he replied simply.
Something I've noticed with our dear friend Niro, is that he tries to keep his voice from dipping as low as it can with me. Seriously, what the hell did I do to you to be this way with me?
I'll just...keep being nice. Remember what Inuba said,"Tolerance...is key."
"Heh… That's pretty cool. How'd you come by it?" I asked.
Not too many people his age own a freaking bar. Which has to mean-
"Inheritance."
Bingo.
"Family business? I mean, Black Stallion. Kinda works with your whole…" I started, motioning my hand in circles towards him before eventually saying, "thing."
Seriously, it does. All this guy wears is black.
"My father named it. I run it now."
Father, huh..?
"His time to retire?"
"Wasn't his choice. What do you want to drink? I can serve you anything, mix you anything, even enough to kill you if you give me the lien for it" He explained, carefully cleaning a glass in his hands before putting it away.
Cute. Can't kill me normally, so now he's going to try using alcohol. Alright, I'm game chuckle brother. Bring your A-game.
"Alright then… What's your top five best?" I asked.
"One of the strongest percentages of alcohol content I have is a mixture of concentrated acolyte and hard whiskey, finished off with a dash of Aura-stimulant. It's on the top list." He nodded his hat up to the menu board of drinks shining across the top of his bar, "One of many among a list of the forbidden items. All of their contents are listed."
See, now I'm one hundred percent sure he's trying to kill. Anything with "forbidden" in a drink menu is kind of a big tip off.
"Leading with no-fly list items? A game of chicken right off the bat?" I smiled, "You interest me."
Let it be written in the histories of…whoever from wherever, that I'm not drinking the hard stuff just to prove something to him. Sort of. I just wanna see if the pack as much of a punch as he makes them out to be.
"I punched you. You didn't die. You can take a few of my drinks standing, no problem."
Aw, is that disappointment I hear in his tone?
"What? A first even for you?" I asked him.
He only shot me a stare before going to work cleaning another glass.
Now that I think about it, that might actually be a first for him. I can tell how hard he hit me. And trust me, a punch like that would explode a normal person if it made contact.
"You know what, no, I can see that. That could have killed someone. Or horribly disfigured someone's body. And internal organs. And definitely the bones."
"If they have Aura, it usually just shatters that shell and erases their arm, taking half their body with it. You took it with just your hand, despite having more Aura in you than the majority of the school." He returned.
See, that's where your logic is flawed a bit.
I didn't use a speck of Aura to block your punch.
"Whoa… That's pretty cool. I mean, not cool for the person on the receiving end, but man, what a picture."
Usually when I see someone getting exploded, it's by a bolt of something or magic or whatever. Well, then there's Saitama who just...annihilates people with one punch. Hence why I refer to Niro as wannabe One Punch man.
"I'm beginning to think you're not actually thirsty…" He muttered.
Don't be so quick to chase me out. I was just working up to it.
"Nope, I am." I replied, "Just kinda sorta making small talk in between."
"There is no in-between when you don't have a drink to start with. Starting with the hard beverages? Or do you actually want to work your way up?" He asked absently, trying to keep his glance away from me.
"Is that even a question?" I asked rhetorically, planting his hand down, "Hard drinks."
Go hard or go home. That is still the term people use these days, right? No? I don't know…
"Rectified Sin it is." He replied.
Well with a name like that, I'm sure there's nothing nefarious in there.
"96.6% ABV. I'll give you a pint." He stated before cleaning, cooling, then sliding me a full glass of "Rectified Sin".
"Nice!"
He didn't think I was watching, but I could see him eyeing me expectantly, waiting to see if this drink would drop me. Then in a swift display of insatiable thirst, I downed that chucked in five seconds, chugging it like a fish. As soon as I finished it, much to his disappointment at still being standing and unaffected, I lowered the glass and shuddered slightly as I let the drink wash over me, letting out a satisfied sigh.
"I like it!" I exclaimed in an intake and outtake of fresh air, thinking about a little trick I could pull, "Another!"
I saw the floor beneath me where I intended to "throw down" the cup erupt in a small cluster of fragile lime green polygons, ready to catch the glass as soon as it landed...had it even left my hands on the first place.
I only made the motion to make it look like I was going to throw the glass on the floor, only for me to quickly place my index finger directly beneath the center of the cup's bottom, balancing it perfectly on my fingertip as I raised it up.
"Ah! Got you!"
He wasn't showing it all too much, but he was fuming a bit.
Serves you right.
"Do that again and I'll get you a sippy cup..." He replied, letting his Aura melt back into the floorboards.
"Lighten up chuckle brother. I wasn't actually going to do it…" Even though I had half a mind to,actually do it, "Consider me making you tense up a bit of payback for the punch. I have a twisted sense of humor at times."
Which is technically true. Though, if I think about it carefully enough, that might not be the only thing twisted about me.
Instead of refilling my glass, he slid me the rest of the bottle of Rectified Sin, "If you want more, just pour it yourself. Just keep a tab on how much lien you're drinking."
The bottle lasted only fifteen seconds until it was fully empty.
"That had some kick to it. Damn…" I said, pounding my chest twice while sliding aside the empty bottle, "What else you got for me?"
"Next one on the list is Devil's Mistress, which is the mixture of acolyte and whiskey I mentioned." He stated, drawing out a new glass and mixing up the second strongest drink he had listed.
Huh… Mixing in Aura Stimulant? That's a bit dangerous. From what I read up on, they used Aura Stimulants as tools on the battlefields during the war ages ago in order to enhance soldier's Aura Supply. Problem was, too much of it and it made them go berserk. While there were benefits, there were also drawbacks.
He planted the drink down in front of me, a soft, shining light bristling out from between the clinking ice cubes.
Fancy.
"Sweet suffering succotash it glows…" I rattled the glass while staring intently at the clinking amber liquid, "Why the Aura though?"
"It adds the glow, but it also strengthens the alcohol concentration by acting as its catalyst. It has an attribute that draws out energy within a substance." He explained, the ice melting a little, "Whether it be inside our bodies or inside a pool of liquid."
"Alright…"
I quickly brought up both my hands and rapidly slapped the sides of my to ready myself, then, like the last drink, downed this one in one go.
"Not gonna lie, that was brilliant."
He can make some great drinks, I'll give him that.
"What's the most popular drink in here that won't kill someone?" I asked, enacting my habit of gnawing on the ice cubes quickly one after another.
"Most popular is a drink called Liya, a mixture of whiskey, bourbon, and water. Served with ice."
"And which majority likes that one more? Girls or guys?"
"Both. It's popular due to it being a socializing drink that looks appetizing, but it retains a kick to it that patrons enjoy." He replied, crossing his arms behind his bar.
Huh… You know...I just realized something. This ice cubes aren't normal… They taste like… Ethanol? Man, he really is trying hard to subtly kill me right now
"Your tab's racking up. Do you have the lien for all this?" Niro asked.
That depends. If I remember the conversions I did, the amount of Lien compared to the money in Primordial is about one hundred Lien for every one Silvered Note back in Primordial.
So yeah, I think I have enough Lien.
"Uh… Let's see… How much are we at?"
"Considering the drinks you've had so far were among the most expensive, due to the certainty of death factor, you've racked up enough to cover half a pound of Atlesian silver plus a Mistrian Cigar collection."
"Exact numbers man." I asked.
"About 27,000 lien."
"That much?"
It wasn't so much that it cost a lot, it was just the fact drinks like that cost so much. Not that it would seriously dent my Lien Savings I've made so far.
"The high price is to dissuade patrons from drinking to their death." Niro stated.
"Right, right… Cool then."
Under the table, in a small flashing streak of white and black Aura, my black leather wallet appeared in my hand, allowing me to dig inside and look for the eight lien cards I needed, sliding them Niro's way without hesitation. Strangely enough, when he took the cards, he just dropped them into a conglomerate pile of lien and gems and anything else that could be used or traded for currency.
My guess is that he leaves it out in the open since no one would want to steal from his bar. Hell, I'd piss him off slightly just to mess with him, but have mercy on the poor bastard who would think to steal from him.
"And that was just two of five. Three left I guess. What else you got that's capable of killing a man?" I asked with a cheeky smile about me.
"A six-shot revolver and a stash of D4 in the back." Niro returned, "Just read off a name, I'll tell you about it."
Fiiine… Hmmm…
"Oh! What about…Cynthian Ale! What's up with that one?" I asked pointing it out.
"It's not your traditional ale. The water and herbs used to brew it are from a small village southwest of the kingdom, grown under unusual circumstances due to the spring water there. It's fifth on the list but still strong. It's popular among veteran drinkers."
"Popular and strong, huh…? Alright, let's give this one a go. I'll take three."
The three pints were poured within a second, foaming down the sides of the glasses as Niro planted them in front of me, a dark, crimson red hue of color shining through the drinks.
"I keep forgetting how fast you are..." I said working on my first pint.
I mean really, he's the fastest moving I've seen since… Well… A certain someone I used to know.
Finishing my third pint, ready and eager to start on whatever ungodly, but deliciously savory concoction he had waiting for me next, I set down my glass.
Like I said, he makes good drinks. I should offer a compliment.
"Got to hand it to you though, good touch with the sweetness. Really thirst quenching too. Did you come up with everything?"
"Not that one. I import that from the village of Cynthia itself. They're the ones to brew it. I create the majority of the rest of the drinks, if I don't collect them from exterior sources."
"So how do you go about getting barrels?" I asked, sliding the three empty pints to him, "Payment? Trade off's of sorts?"
"The village is well-off, but they lack protection. I supply that in return for the products of their brewery."
"Mmmm. Like the barrier we put up near the eastern mountains outside of Vale. Well, on the mountain to be more specific. Mountain village."
So he can make barriers too… Offense and defense huh? You're going to be annoying to deal with if ever I fight with you...
"Cynthia's barrier is similar to the field I put up around Beacon's outer forests. The invisible array of strands allow those with Aura, and certain creatures without, to pass through."
"Like shredding paper. Fun. Ours just incinerates things entirely. Actually, on that, you do odd jobs besides running this place? I mean, if you go out that far, you must, right?"
I might need to expand my search for jobs beyond normal stuff. I have to start racking up lien for a decent foundation.
"None that would interest you."
So you say…
"Afraid I'll snatch a job from you?"
"I don't take jobs out there for lien. I take them for sourcing my business here at the bar. If you're looking for work that'll earn you lien, try asking around the information network."
And have them cut out my liver or kidney? No thanks.
"Noted. So then…next would be… Dark Laerze? What's that?"
"Dark Laerze," Niro restated, titling the name of the next drink on the list, "Sourced from Vacuo, made from sugar cane and dark-roasted cocoa beans. It's a bitter-sweet drink, but that clash is what puts it on the list."
"Very nice…"
"95.2% on its own." he said pouring me a single chilled pint for this one, sliding it my way.
"Always up for a challenge," I said raising the glass, "I've only heard tales of beverages that come out of Vacuo. Let's see if they live up to them."
And because of that, I took my time with this one, savoring the flavor as I slowly downed it.
"So you mentioned sourcing business at your bar. Am I correct to assume part of, if not a majority, of the info net in Vale comes through here?"
Maybe he might have the information I'm looking for...
"It's the focal point. Basically a hub for the info-brokers in the kingdom to share information." He returned, setting the empty pints that have been piling up down onto my side of his bar.
"And you'd clearly know of things going in and out of here. 'People', to be more precise."
"I head the bar here." He replied simply, nodding to the rest of the room with a slight tip of his black hat, "Their business is their own, I'm just the median. It's Anoel's job to handle the information. That being said, nothing is uttered in here without me hearing it."
I could feel his eyes on me as I slid the pint glass on the table between my hands, a bit hesitant to ask my next question for the fact he might not answer it.
But I asked it anyway.
"What do you know about a huntsman garbed in Midnight blue?"
As soon as I said that, the entire bar went silent, making me take a glance around to see the stunned stares I got from everyone. Even the patrons near me scooted away, as if uttering those words brought an omen of death or something. Though, they wouldn't be wrong about that. That guy in the Midnight blue coat… He's definitely more than just a murderous wanderer.
"The Midnight Huntsman has been brought up a few times in here, but only rumors. The name alone is a hefty weight to know, let alone speak freely." Niro said looking my way, crossing his arms as the attention shifted in the room, "He kill someone you know?"
"No. I went out on a task Ozpin sent me out on concerning a town with supernatural happenings and occurrences. I dealt with the problem, but the town mayor tipped me off to a village with potential problems of their own. So I headed on over. Fire and ashes were all I found. That…and him. I asked if he was the one responsible and he just toyed around with me when he gave an answer. Didn't take too kindly to that so I decided to engage him. Whoever he is…he's good. Real good. I think he shot me? Can't seem to recall…"
I swear he managed to land a shot on my body earlier when we fought, but feeling around my body said otherwise. Must've been my imagination.
"Information about him is near impossible to come by due to either all witnesses being killed or, for the few who actually survive an encounter, the sudden phenomenon of that information slipping from their conscious grasps. He's a shadow, whatever's known about him has only ever been the end-results he leaves behind in his wake."
"How long has he been around? If one were to guess at least..."
"Fifteen years. He didn't exist in any information network before then." Niro replied, as initial unease of the bar's occupants slowly dwindled away so they can resume their activities.
"Ffiteen years and no one's caught on to this guy? Unbelievable…"
I mean, if he's been around for that long, someone must've tried to do something right? Maybe they have...and it didn't go well.
"Several have died trying, all just adding to his kill count."
"How many by now?" I asked, meeting Niro's eyes, "Hundreds?"
"22,384 dead by his hands."
Damn… That's...a lot...
"That's not right man… That many? And for what exactly?" I asked with a hint of frustration in my tone.
"It's unknown. That's why people are either searching for answers or avoiding his name entirely."
"I've run into some real pieces of work… But this? This is a whole new level entirely. Human wise at least. If he's even that."
Wasn't sure if he was the standard human or Faunus around Remnant. Especially with that disappearing act of his.
"What's your take on it then? He's obviously up to no good, and that's putting it lightly. So? Thoughts?" I asked, legitimately interested in what he had to say.
"His intents are his own and what he intends to do is up to him. If you want to stop him, then you're not the first to try. He's set on something. I couldn't care less about what that is unless it directly involved me."
"Heh. You never know. I mean…" I leaned in a bit closer so he could hear me without others listening in, "You aren't exactly normal yourself. If anything, you're a freaking anomaly that very few would like to understand."
"I live under a simple state of mind." He returned, narrowing his eyes beneath the shadow of his cowboy hat, "You take someone else's stuff, I don't care. You take my stuff, I ruin you."
"Simple indeed." I replied, tossing a small smile to the side, "Not that there's anything wrong with it. Simple is…good. I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for MH from now on. But can I rely on you to send anything my way?"
Niro could be my means of getting to the Midnight Huntsmen. If I was enough to interest him at my current level, he'd definitely take interest in Niro too if he saw him in action.
"If you're looking for the sympathetic kind, you're looking in the wrong place. If there's no association or nothing in it for me, then there's no reason for me to even get involved." He explained coldly.
Cold as he was, at least he was being honest. And sensible. I might have to ask Anoel about him when I get the chance...
"Then what would you require from me?" I asked, fairly sure that he would have a price for such help.
"Nothing you currently have to offer."
…
You little…
"You'd be surprised with how many unexpected things I can offer."
If only you met me before I came here…
"Then prove it. Otherwise, it's all of no concern to me." Niro glanced toward the rest of the bar, his eyes dissuading any lingering onlookers to go back to what they were doing and return to their drinks, "I'd recommend you to leave soon. You spooked the whole establishment."
So what? They can deal with it for all I care. Not my fault they scare easily. Well, sort of my fault for this instance.
"Let's see then…" I said, narrowing my gaze behind Niro before my eyes widened when I saw the last drink on the menu, "No… Seriously? I mean, that's not disappointment talking. That's just the bit of surprise in me. That's honestly first on the list?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"Not in the slightest." I honestly answered as I continued staring at the list, "Again, just…wasn't expecting it here of all places… Saké's one of my top favorites aside from whiskey."
"Anything else?"
"Two cups, if you don't mind."
"As long as you're paying..." Niro returned, two empty glasses already resting before me.
"Oh, I'm paying."
He drew out a porcelain container from behind the bar. then poured me two chilled glasses of my final request for the night.
I was feeling nice and friendly, despite how Niro is usually with me, and slid him the other glass as I took the other.
"You paying me to drink my own alcohol?" He asked, eyeing me as I retracted his hand.
He can be a dick, no question about it. But respectable at least.
"I can pretty much tell you wouldn't accept a gesture of goodwill from me. At least, not yet. Or possibly ever. Point is, you'd refuse me outright. For now. So until I in some way prove some form of worth or value to you, this will have to do."
"There's only one person in Remnant I'm actually fond of and respect. Do you really think it'd be feasible to join that person on the list?" He challenged.
"I do. Eventually. As long as the opportunity arises, I'll manage it. You may very well be the chilliest ass I've ever met…but a pretty okay dude overall from what I can tell so far. And in my own way, I respect and recognize your worth as a person, however much I may know currently."
With my words spoken, I slid forward the last of the lien cards I needed to pay Ezdeil for tonight, and he actually took his offered drink up into his hand.
I like making friends, especially respectable ones. Sure, they might be difficult to deal with, like his Iron Frostiness before me, but it's worth it in the end.
Besides...he may not admit it now, but I'm more than certain we have a few things in common.
And so, he and I downed our drinks for the night as I let out another satisfied sigh, placing my cup down on the table. I was about to say something else, but the six chirp tune that was my HoloScroll ringer sounded off once, notifying me of a text.
Crap, it's from Inuba.
"Well, that's my cue to leave." I said standing up from my stool and heading towards the door as I offered Niro a short wave, "See you around."
Of course, he didn't answer. Just went back to his business of cleaning glasses and tending to anyone else's need for drinks.
When I got outside to my car, I lowered the barrier I put around it and got inside, bringing up the Holographic display from my device to see the message.
Apparently she was worried since I didn't check in for a while…
Whoops.
She's going to be a little miffed with me when I get back.
I touched the sides of my checks, letting out a sigh as I prepared them for harsh pinching when I got back to our dorm.
Mystery mystery, who could this new person be? I swear, he and one other character are the last I'm going to introduce for a good while. Just need to get enough "players" on the "board" if you know what I mean. Like with all characters, our friend The Midnight Huntsmen has an important role to play within the story of KoWaB, so keep an eye out for him.
That's virtually all I have to say, so with that...
I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing collab Xera Stark and I are currently working on concerning his story XSRA's Flame. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you read from the very start. I've said it once and will say it again, you won't want to miss out on this story.
Not only that, but check out his other awesome and highly entertaining story Rogue Huntsmen. It's just pure awesomeness bundled into one story. Trust me, you'll love it. And hey! Go check out HydraFLow's story Lost in Binary! It's equally as awesome and entertaining, definitely worth spending the time reading and enjoying.
Questions? Ask them anytime. I will try to answer without spoiling.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend!
Bye-bye now!
