'Thoughts'
"Talking/English"
"Talking/Foreign language"
~ Parsel Tongue ~
[… Moon Cell talking in his head …]
…
Twice is Fate
…
Hadrian smiled.
'… found you.'
Under a minute, the trail eventually led him to the target's current location, which was in a room a few doors away from where he was before, and now he saw the target in person.
The target, Igor Kamenev, was a tall and broad-shouldered Russian male.
He had a dirty mop of dark brown hair that looked a bit oily, making him appear as if he hadn't taken a bath for days, and a pair of dark blue eyes that radiated arrogance and cruelty in everything and everyone he laid his sight upon.
He wore a large heavy brown coat, a black shirt beneath, black pants and muddy brown boots.
There were gold rings on some of his fingers and layers of gold and silver necklaces around his neck, which were clear signs of his vanity, despite his unhygienic appearance.
And his face, it was just as unsightly.
He was neither handsome nor ugly, just average in truth.
A common face among mundanes.
But the scruffs, the bell pepper nose, the oily hair, and the wide blue eyes rendered him to look like a typical lowlife scoundrel trying hard to make it in the big leagues, making Hadrian's bright cyan eyes roll in exasperation at the situation he found himself in.
Not to sound vain, but he felt a bit cheated by being given such a boring target whose common traits were akin to a typical third-rate villain.
The pest was sitting in a booth, lounging with one arm on the head of the seat and the other was on the table.
Upon close inspection, the irritating cur was not alone.
There was someone with him, most likely a potential client, by the appearance of the man's suit seated across from him.
One quick look into the other man's history caused Hadrian's resolve to end him as well.
Better to end both trash than let them soil the earth with their rotting existences any longer than necessary.
SHING
The familiar hiss of the blade as he withdrew the sword from its sheath entered his ears, almost comforting to him as he walked slowly to the target.
VROM
Behind the mask, the glamoured cyan eyes glowed with a faint blue and violet hue, as if in the process of shifting yet restrained at the same time.
With a calm and collected façade, Hadrian quickly went to work.
…
…
The upcoming events went by so fast that nearly everyone in the room didn't have time to react.
SQUELCH
"URK!?"
Despite the music blasting from a number of speakers situated all over the room and other audible sounds, the shuddering sound of someone's flesh being pierced with great force was loud enough to interrupt the busy yet somewhat relaxing mood in the room.
"…!"
All eyes turned to the source, and everyone looked on in shock and fear at the same time as they behold the horrifying scene that they laid their sights upon.
In the right side of the room, there was a booth where two men were seated facing one another while two other men, armed and heavily built, were standing guard.
One man seated in the booth was familiar, a regular face seen often in the marketplace and in the underground business.
The other was new and seems to be a potential client of the former.
But there was one standing near the former, who was never seen before by any that were present in the room.
The figure was tall, a bit slim yet proud and hale in terms of physique.
Body structure alone, it was obvious that he was a male.
He was dressed in an all-black attire, one that was quite stylish and too detailed to be made from common materials and minimal effort.
To those that can only see his back, they can see the dark depth of his clothes, as if drawing them in.
Even from afar, the beautiful shade of the figure's ash gray hair caught the onlookers in an admiring state for a few seconds before the gravity of the situation sunk in.
The ones near the booth, however, are shocked and terrified by the ominous white smiling mask that the figure wore on his face, and even more so by the long bluish silver blade that was in his right hand, which was currently lodge through the side of a man's neck.
"…"
DRIP
DRIP
The soft noise of blood dripping on the surface of the table and the ground was loud, pounding in their ears of all onlookers like drumbeats as an ominous feeling crept in.
…
One second passed, a mere second of silence, before everything turned into a chaotic mess.
"AAHH!"
"WHOA!"
"HE–"
Some panicked, screaming as they tried to get away from where the foreboding figure in black was standing, while there were some that moved into action, flustered as they were by the sudden severity of the situation.
Some of the armed individuals tried to ready their weapons to bring down the unknown figure in the case he turns on them.
The two men with guns, standing near the booth, were the first to direct their weapons at him.
WOOSH
But unfortunately, they did not expect the man to move so fast.
One moment, their guns were trained on him, and they were just about ready to fire –
WOOSH
– only to find that they couldn't as they watched on helplessly what happened next.
Their boss and employer (who had tried to move out of the booth after it dawned on him that the person he had just spoken to was killed right in front of him) became the man's next victim.
Like a black mirage, the man was on him –
SLASH
SQUELCH
THUD
– their employer's head was chopped off, flying away, and landing on top of a table nearby.
"AAH!"
"THE FU–"
Loud screams began to fill the air as they all witnessed the casual and sudden murder of two men by a sword-wielding figure in black.
THUD THUD THUD
THUD THUD THUD
Panic and fear immediately settled in as half of the occupants rushed over to the entrance, only to discover that it was locked and surprisingly sturdy.
"The fuck!? Why isn't this opening!"
"The windows won't open too!"
Some even tried to open the windows by force, to no avail.
"Try breaking it!"
"It's useless! Nothing works!"
But no matter what methods they tried and used, the doors and the windows within the room would not budge, much to their massive confusion and dread.
The ones who stood their ground quickly found themselves in a fearful predicament.
CLACK
CLACK
"What the fu–"
"What's the matter with this fucking gun?!"
The guns in their hands would not shoot, what with the triggers locked in a jammed state, despite some having made recent adjustments and maintenance on their weapons.
Unknown to them, Hadrian had the foresight of jamming their firearms (via spell) earlier before he made his move. Locking them inside the room had also been his doing.
Some gritted their teeth frustration (a reflex mechanism to suppress their fears of the unknown variable they were facing) and went to fight the white masked man with either a melee weapon or unarmed.
Most wavered at the thought of engaging him in close combat though, not after they saw how he made quick work of the two heavy built men that were the closest to the booth.
"AACK!"
"DAMN IT!"
SLASH
SPURT
Soon after, pained screams echoed in the room as wild sprays of blood, severed body parts, and beaten bodies flew across the room in different directions as the white masked man teared down every opposition in his way.
The ones that didn't join in the fight could only watch with absolute fear in their bloodshot eyes, cowering in their respective hiding spots as they all witness the black clothed figure swing his weapon at his enemies in smooth arcs and motions.
All the while maintaining a calm posture without displaying any signs of exertion on his part as he moved at a speed that almost made him a black blur in their eyes.
The man was a well-seasoned fighter.
His movements were calm and calculative, no energy wasted and perfectly timed, as if he had already predicted how they would react before they could apply it.
The way he fought was unlike the people in the room had seen before.
Regardless of the limit of his space, he can weave his way out of their attacks, even dodging some of their coordinated assaults seemingly without effort was near entertaining to watch.
He was also unpredictable in the timing and manner of his attacks and counters, including the way he used the environment to his advantage from time to time.
These were telltale signs of how much combat experience he had accumulated and the power he had at his disposal, despite being a complete unknown.
It was as if he was born to fight, a ridiculous notion that only exists in weird fantasy tales and alike.
And yet, here he was, fighting them all by his lonesome.
And winning single-handedly at that.
The fact that he appeared seemingly out of the blue and just began cutting down people was something he will be remembered by.
By the time Hadrian heard of this, he would defend himself by pointing out that he was simply after one person, but there were idiots who decided to join the fray and attack him.
That, and he would conclude that even lowlife criminals were humans in the end, seeing as almost none of them noticed he left the people who didn't fight him unharmed (albeit traumatized) and the ones that were the lesser of evil (thanks to the automaton quickly looking in through their pasts) merely experienced the discomforting sensation of having some of their limbs detached or crushed beyond repair.
Both groups survived simply because he let it happen on purpose.
Hadrian may be intending to cause actual harm to gain infamy, but he was not that heartless.
…
…
BAM
"Ugh –"
After kicking a stool (that conveniently landed in a mercenary's face, knocking him out cold), Hadrian finally left the room once there was no one left for him to fight, much to the quiet relief of the ones that hid and abstained from fighting him.
The fight took no more than a minute and a half.
He fought a lot, probably most of the occupants in the room, but he did not feel the slightest bit of exhaustion.
"Hmm…"
Looking at his gloved hand, fist closing and opening a few times, Hadrian was a bit amazed at how potent the aging potion his grandfather had made for him.
Before departure, he was given an aging potion that would grow his body into its natural state without comprising anything.
After drinking the potion, his body aged ten years and was now similar to that of seventeen years old, which made it convenient for Hadrian to tackle missions easily.
Aside from age, the potion gave him the side benefits of a powerful and able body, augmenting everything inside him.
Hadrian paused, expression turning blank from behind the mask.
Well, almost everything.
Imagine his surprise that he was unable to activate the Armiger, the power of the Lucis bloodline, to its full potential.
Hadrian had discovered it earlier (before departing from the hotel) when he tested it out in the glass pavilion.
Oh, summoning phantom weapons, elemancy and some others were still available for him.
But the true power of the Armiger – the supreme ability to summon the royal arms of his predecessors at once, only exclusive to those worthy of being the next ruler of Lucis – was, unfortunately, locked out for him.
Not that the ability itself was lost to him. He can still summon astral weapons, just not the royal arms that were once wielded by his predecessors.
The ancient magic of the Lucis Caelum still dwell in his soul, regardless of him being reborn in a different body.
This, he could confirm even without the Moon Cell's assistance.
Which led him to consider that the reason why he could not use the Armiger at its true potential was due to the ring worn on his right middle finger, only hidden via magic.
The Ring of Lucii.
He had no idea how the astrals sent the ring to him, but no matter how many times he was reborn, the ring was always with him.
He only needed to summon it from the Armiger.
It was identical to the one he had worn in his first life, appearance-wise at least, but Hadrian can tell that it was not the same ring that was passed down to his family.
The true Ring of Lucii held enormous power, almost to the point that it nearly drowned and crushed Hadrian in its brilliant radiance the first time he tried to wear it.
The one bestowed upon him, however, felt different.
It was as if the ring on his finger was made solely for him to use and no one else.
Further analysis via a magic spell gave him a deeper insight into what the ring was truly capable of. Much like the former, it can amplify his powers and reduce the cost of magic energy when casting spells.
The three spells in the ring were also present, but Hadrian dared not to cast any of them.
There were a few reasons why.
One, his body (despite quickening his body's physical growth to that of a young adult with the aging potion) was not yet ready to endure the strain and exertion of his divine heritage.
And the ring can sense it, even acting as a limiter of a sort to prevent him from casting the spells imbued in the ring.
However, the Moon Cell assured him that the seal was only temporary, and that it will disappear once his body (without the aging potion) matures.
The reasoning was sound enough as it coincides with what he knew and experienced in the past.
Even though Hadrian had great control over his powers, he had only managed to awaken the true power of Armiger after he passed the trials given to him by his predecessors, and when he reached the age of fifteen in his first life.
It was also the same in his second and third lifetimes, which gives credit to the Moon Cell's analysis of the ring's strict requirements.
The age of his body was still young, seven-years-old at that, but Hadrian only needed to wait for it to grow (naturally), and the Armiger would be fully accessible to him then.
Second, Hadrian was quite aware of how destructive the ring's spells can be, and thus, he had no desire to test it out of idle curiosity.
At least, not without extensive measures and careful preparation.
Hadrian was cognizant that he would have to test the ring's spells at some point.
And he did not particularly look forward to the scarring effect that it would leave on him once the time to do so arrived.
Fortunately, most of the spells and abilities that he learned and acquired in his previous lives were still available for him to use freely.
Thus, despite the limitations he discovered, Hadrian was not that helpless.
His grandfather mentioned another minor disadvantage though, but the old magician was interrupted before he could explain.
Once he was back in the lobby, Hadrian snapped his fingers, activating a spell, as he made his way through the front doors.
There were several curious gazes that followed him.
"Hey! We need help here!"
"Ugh... my... my arm...!"
"Fire! There's fire inside!"
"Ring the alarm!"
"Someone, call the ambulance and the firemen!"
But their attention was redirected to the panicked shouting and pained screams of the people as the glaring scent of fire burning everything it can reach, along with the black smoke permeating through the vents and appearing in the hallway he had just came from.
During the scuffle, Hadrian had placed incendiary spells on the ones that he killed, which can be activated via remote thought.
The snap of his fingers and his intent were the trigger.
Soon, mass confusion and panic ensued throughout the whole building as alarms blared out.
Because of the chaos occurring inside, no one even bothered him as he casually strolled out of the door.
Everyone else were too busy getting to the source of the fire, making it convenient for him to leave without hindrance.
The culprit of the incident left the building with no one being the wiser.
…
…
STEP
STEP
Depositing his weapons and mask in one of his subspace inventories, Hadrian went on a walk.
The assignment was finished late in the afternoon, and now it was evening.
The sky was still tinged with an orange hue due to the setting sun, but the night was closing in, almost occupying most of the space in the sky from where he was located.
The city also became active as the lights from various buildings and billboards came alive.
And while most of his heightened senses were sealed to a quarter of their level, thanks to certain artifacts on his person, Hadrian can still hear various sounds typically heard in cities.
Cars moved forward and the honks of their alarms were loud.
Indiscernible chatter of people from various buildings.
The scuttering of vermin and insects in shadowy corners and sewer entrances.
The sizzling noises of a piece of meat on the flat surface of a commercial grill, most likely a burger patty, considering the tempting smell wafting from a nearby vent.
Hadrian can hear them, and if he focused enough, he could even understand what the people were saying.
But he had no desire to do such a thing, seeing as he did not want to and there was no need for him to pry.
And so, he ignored the things that his senses had gathered to his attention, putting all trivial information till they were nothing more than white noise in the back of his mind.
Sighing through the half mask that covered the lower part of his face, Hadrian opened his eyes and continued his idle stroll.
While he did say to Luka and Lionel that he might call a service from the hotel, Hadrian wanted to spend some time roaming the city and clear his head before he did so.
No, there was no remorse nor guilt inside about what he had done to those people earlier.
They attacked him due to their own reasons, and he merely responded in kind.
Even in his first life, Hadrian was never the kind to let a violent response pass, especially when it was directed at him unprovoked.
Furthermore, it was not as if those people's hands were clean either.
So no, Hadrian's conscience was not at all disturbed by what he had done earlier.
Rather, the reason he was taking a stroll right after the mission was simply out of habit.
After displaying (and partaking in) such brutal violence, Hadrian felt the urge to walk and relax his mind.
It became even more important for him to do so when a mild, yet familiar headache disturbed his peace of mind. (4)
'I guess this detriment will always be present, no matter where I go…' Hadrian grumbled, irritated by the throbbing at the forefront of his head.
In a magus's point of view, the soul acts as the blueprint for the body. It contains the 'record' of everything one has attained in their life, particularly their ego, memories, and even their abilities.
In Hadrian's case, the myriad of knowledge (of events, blueprints, spells, etc.) and various abilities he attained in his previous lives were carried over into the present, including some of his weaknesses.
And his headache was caused by one of his 'special' abilities as part of its cons.
Even though he would rather be without it, Hadrian could not deny that it was an especially useful ability that he was willing to endure its side-effects.
'Not that it would go away anytime soon. It's rather depressing to think that I'll have to endure this bloody thing for the rest of my life, regardless of how many times I reincarnate…' Hadrian sighed, displeased at the thought.
"…"
Lamenting at his (mis)fortune, the young magician snapped out of his musings as a sound entered his hearing, interrupting his thought process.
Belatedly, Hadrian blinked and looked around.
Earlier, when he began his walk, he was somewhere near the slums, walking along the side of the somewhat empty streets.
Hadrian was not aware of how long he had been walking, but now he found himself standing in some alleyway. Given that he had yet to familiarize himself with the city, it was safe to say that Hadrian has no bloody idea in where he was exactly.
Which was fine, considering as he was not exactly hopeless when it comes to navigating his way through unknown locations.
'It's not as if this is the first time I've gotten lost before…'
Using his enhanced hearing, he can hear the vehicles moving and random chatters of people, which meant that he was still near where it was bustling with activity.
It was all normal, and there were no signs of anything out of the ordinary.
'Then what was that sound earlier? Did I just imagine it?' Hadrian wondered, brows knitting.
"… uuaACK!"
"Stop her!"
"GET THAT BITCH!"
Not a moment later, he was proven wrong as his hearing picked up the sound again.
'Is that…'
While there was no prominent change in his calm and regal expression, his cyan eyes glowed a bit brighter as he walked through an alleyway with dim lighting.
His feet moved on their own, while he was focused on the sight occurring a fair distance away close to where he was initially.
Casting a few muted spells upon himself, Hadrian crossed the distance in a few seconds.
He quickly found himself standing at the end of the alley with a large space.
There were two more alleys linked to the area, but Hadrian paid it no mind as his attention was set on the scene that he stumbled upon by chance.
It was also fortunate that the shadows hid him perfectly, otherwise the people in the area might have taken notice of his presence.
Said scene he encountered was a fight.
"…"
Hadrian tilted his head, taking in the sight before him.
… well, it was the aftermath of one.
Judging from the tone of the one who came out on top, the fight started from a disagreement between the ones involved.
It was a fight between five to one.
The former was a group of men, most have broad-shouldered and able in body.
And even though most were already unconscious or writhing on the dirty cement in pain, there were knives, shivs, and crowbars clattered around the floor.
From head to toe, they have the typical appearance of grungy-looking goons, all shady and not the slightest bit trustworthy.
Some even have tattoos peeking out of sleeves of their clothes, and piercings on their faces.
Ignoring the third-rate ruffians, Hadrian turned to his attention to the only one still standing.
In the middle of four injured and groaning burly men, there was a young woman with a deep crimson curly hair.
Recalling a certain memory, it was the girl from earlier.
The same one he had seen inside the black market.
She has a slim and nimble appearance, has a pale skin tone, and she seemed smaller than most women. When she moved, her hair gave way in effect, and his eyes widened a tad as he caught sight of her face.
'Young…' was his first immediate thought.
The girl was just that, a young teenager, somewhere around fourteen or fifteen years old.
While Hadrian had seen bizarre situations where young people proved themselves more capable of enacting violence and maturity than most grown people twice their age (himself not included), it was still a bit surprising to see it in someone with no magical background.
True, Hadrian had seen such cases even in his first life, but the era he had lived in before was a time when Niflheim waged an all-out war with the rest of the world, and orphans with rough childhoods were not rare occurrences back then.
In fact, it was something that happens almost daily, tragic as it was.
Clearly, similar cases also occur in this reality as well.
Hadrian was dragged out of his melancholic musing as the young girl moved.
The redhead lightly crouched over the last man conscious, holding a wickedly sharp knife over his right eye.
Said man breathed heavily, almost hyperventilating.
The fear from his expression and body language alone were clear to see.
Due to his experience before, Hadrian knows a bit of Russian.
His understanding of the language was average at best, but not polished enough to instill confidence in him to talk to a native speaker for long hours.
Granted, the Moon Cell can help him remedy that issue easily, but Hadrian prefers not to rely on it too much when it comes to things that he can attain via effort, learning new languages included.
Of course, that was a difficult mindset to maintain as the alien artifact residing shamelessly in his soul was more than happy enough to translate the rest that he does not understand for him.
"– touch me again and I will gauge out your eyes, cut off your extremities, and feed them to you." She spat at the man beneath her.
"Please! I won't do it again, just don't –"
FWOSH
The thug stopped talking.
Wide eyes riddled with fear, the poor tosser watched the knife quickly and steadily travel down his body to rest above his privates.
"What did I say about talking?" The girl's eyes were bright with malice as she applied a bit of pressure.
The man yelped, eyes glistening with incoming tears.
PAT PAT PAT
PAT PAT PAT
The sound of hurried footsteps distracted Hadrian from the poor fool's slobbering as a group of men came either side of the alleyways.
Noticing the similar emblems on their clothing and the ones that were on the ground, it was not that difficult to tell that the two were connected.
The girl was good at fighting, she could obviously defend herself, but as a mundane, and one that young, she was bound to limitations.
It would not be an issue if there were just four or five guys, but a group of them would be problematic even for her.
Hadrian suspected that she might survive the encounter, but not without sustaining an injury and some bruises.
As the men stepped took a step forward, pulling out knives and cracking their knuckles in an intimidating manner, he became conflicted.
Admittedly, he had been curious as to what he heard earlier. He went to the source, much like how felines would do to sate their curiosity.
And now that he did, a curious dilemma dawned upon him.
'Intervene… or no?'
Hadrian did not have to help her.
There was no need for him to as she was skilled enough to defend herself, and not to mention that he had just completed his own task.
There was no need for him to stay around when he had committed his first kill as 'Rey' from just around the corner.
The part that tried to reason with him to not get involved was silenced, however, when he saw the men's gazes on the girl.
There was an undeniable filthy glint in their eyes as their gazes roved over her form that caused Hadrian's eyes to narrow in contempt.
It was not difficult to guess what their intentions were at that moment.
Because of that, he didn't doubt what his next actions were going to be.
Glancing upwards, Hadrian sighed and squared his shoulders in preparation.
His left hand opened before motes of blue, silver and gold lights flashed briefly as he summoned Tempest and Lapis again in his hold. His right hand held a black half-mask.
With his lower face covered and the trickster weapon in hand, he looked forward and stepped into the scene.
SHIIK
STEP
He only took one step forward, yet everyone in the vicinity took notice of his entrance.
No matter, their attention only made things easier for him to deal with the situation faster.
"Now, this is unsightly. All you fools gathered like this for one little girl. Even I think that's unfair." Hadrian mused aloud in Russian.
"What the…?"
"Where'd he come from?"
Whispers were exchanged between the group of thugs as they noticed his presence.
Most were confused and amused by his appearance.
Apart from the mask and the weapon in his left hand (which appeared like a cane in their eyes), Hadrian looked like he was on his way to attend a formal event, what with his posh suit and all.
But some of the more sensible ones noticed a peculiar air about him that caused the hairs on their bodies to rise.
Their inherent instinct as old as men telling them to be exert caution to this strange person – that he is someone dangerous.
Their wariness turned up a notch as a few took note of the small red stain on the man's left collar of his shirt, and the visible droplets on the front of his dark brown shoes that looked suspiciously a lot like blood.
They were details that were easy to overlook, but due to their mounting fear, some of the thugs could not help but feel intimidated all the same.
It was subtle, but there was a pressure that weighed down upon them, unconsciously permeating from Hadrian due to his displeasure at discovering their ill intentions towards the girl.
The way the pair of bright cyan eyes seemed to glow in the shadows, despite the dim lighting of a post lamp above him, only amplified the creeping sensation they were feeling by instinct.
Unaware of their distressing thoughts, the girl took advantage of their moment of weakness to look at her surroundings and ascertain her position.
Her eyes darting from one man to another, counting the newcomers, before deciding on the best course of action.
With a frown, she turned to the man on the ground and used the end of her knife to knock him out then sprung up beside Hadrian.
"What do you want?" The girl asked as she kept her eyes trained on the enemies.
"To help." Hadrian answered quietly, somewhat muffled due to the half mask.
Even though his eyes were on the enemies, he can feel the young girl's confused gaze from beside him.
He took a glance at her and was momentarily taken aback.
Her hair was a deep shade of red, slightly curly and cut just above the shoulders.
She was young, but her face already held hints of the kind of beauty that she would become once puberty hits her.
However, it was the color of her eyes that caught him a bit off guard.
They were green, like emeralds, a bit darker in shade, but clear and beautiful on their own, nonetheless. They also held the same unique essence as someone close to him.
'Like hers…' Hadrian thought with a familiar pang in his heart.
Oddly enough, he could not remember that person's name nor their full appearance.
Only that they have green eyes and that they were female.
So lost was he in memories, he almost missed her next response.
"Why?" She asked, suspicious.
Not that Hadrian could blame her.
People working through illegal means rarely help each other out without a motive.
Giving her a shrug, Hadrian smiled before he turned back to face the men that were now approaching them.
"I'll tell you later."
With that said, he immediately went on the offense.
Eager to return to the penthouse for some well-deserved rest, Hadrian wasted no time in dealing with his enemies.
Striking the fools' vital points with punches and kicks, occasionally taking advantage of their critical points, he made a quick work out of them.
Sometimes, he would use more strength than usual in his assaults, causing some of the poor fools to fly across the area due to the amount of force he used behind them.
THWACK
SLAP
BAM
One punch under the chin, a reinforced slap to the side of the temple, a kick to the solar plexus, and so on.
The thugs all crumbled just from taking one attack directly from him.
Compared to his previous battles, it was disappointing.
The one he had earlier inside the marketplace had been disappointing, but this one was even more so.
Still, he could not exactly complain. He was up against mundanes (non-magical humans), after all. They have no body enhancements, magical or chemically speaking. They also do not have magical heritages to fall back upon and open a path in gaining power on their own.
Therefore, he could not blame them for their lack of effort in resisting his attacks. (5)
'They could at least find new ways to avoid my hits. I mean, I'm not even going that fast nor are my movements that complex to read…' He mused as he backhanded a man into unconsciousness in one motion.
Concluding that his opponents were just simple-minded cretins, Hadrian sighed and endured the (one-sided) fight in irritated silence.
It had been a boring distraction, him beating down one filth after another in a cold methodical and almost robotic fashion, until he heard a sharp cry come from behind.
Smacking the side of another goon's head with the rear handle of his sword, making him lose balance and fall to the ground unconscious, Hadrian snapped his gaze to the source.
"AHH!"
The cry came from the young girl, who was on the ground and seemed to have been tripped by one of the men fighting her.
And it appears that she had twisted her ankle, judging by the limping she had as she stood up.
Even with her injury, the young girl looked ready to fight, no matter what.
That fierce spirit of hers… it was something Hadrian can respect.
Glancing back to the ones he was fighting, he saw a few of them were the only ones left standing.
They all looked afraid though, glancing worriedly at their fallen brethren who were too injured to move, unconscious or taking permanent dirt naps from then on (dead).
To be fair, Hadrian did not really care whether they live or die by his hands.
They lost any shred of mercy from him the moment he saw through their intentions earlier, and he was not exactly the forgiving type to them filthy sort.
Sensing their unwillingness to fight, Hadrian turned away from them and moved to where the girl was located.
Uncaring of the bodies he stepped on, he stepped close to the young girl till he was next to her, making sure that she noticed his presence so as not to surprise her.
The girl opened her mouth, a questioning look in her emerald eyes, most likely to ask what he was doing, but was interrupted when Hadrian lifted his left hand.
The hand that held Tempest, pointing right at her, and his finger was on the trigger (which appeared from the side of the sheath).
BANG
The sharp sound of a rifle going off startled almost everyone in the vicinity, including the young girl in front of Hadrian.
The recipient of the sudden fire was a man who was a few feet near the girl.
Judging by his movements, the fool seemed to have planned on taking the girl from behind, probably with the intent to take her as hostage, but Hadrian rendered his initial plans to rest by giving the idiot a point-blank rifle shot to the chest, to which the fool had received head-on.
The mixed expression of shock and pain on his face was clear for all to see as he slowly fell to the ground limply, chest bleeding heavily from the bullet wound.
With everyone wide-eyed and frozen momentarily, Hadrian took this as a chance to put this back-alley skirmish to rest.
By killing the rest of them.
The second to fall was a shady-looking man with typical thuggish features.
While it was uncharacteristic of Hadrian to label people as such, he was not feeling particularly forgiving as he recalled that the man in question was one of the vermin that looked at the girl with disgusting intentions earlier.
And as an empath, sensing lust from people, even if it was not directed at Hadrian, was always an unpleasant experience, especially if the emotion was born from ill-intentions.
For his malevolence, Hadrian gifted the man a slow and painful death.
By delivering a swift blow of his foot in the most important part of the man's body, which crushed his reproductive organ due to the great force behind the kick.
Then, slit his throat with a quick swipe from Lapis, not giving him a second to grieve of losing his most private part.
"Kuack… kack…" The man gurgled, shock and pain clear on his face.
The man fell backwards, hands letting go of the crowbar in favor of his throat that was bleeding profusely.
Before the man's body hit the ground, Hadrian had already moved on and found his next target.
From there, Hadrian moved as if on autopilot.
His body moved by instinct and muscle memory; a powerful combination that was only earned through countless life-and-death situations.
Behind the half-mask, he wore a calm and collected expression, but his cyan eyes were replaced by crimson ones, glaring, and glowing slightly.
A side-effect caused by the activation of some of his magic circuits and the calm yet simmering anger raging inside him.
His mind was blank, but he was aware of his surroundings, even more so as he cut down the lecherous cretins in a methodical fashion.
At this point, the girl was already forgotten, pushed into the back of his mind as Hadrian's attention was focused only on eliminating his targets in painful ways.
Some tried to stop him, throwing threats and insults in stutters and unconvincing tones.
When they noticed that it did not even faze their assailant in the slightest, the remaining ones tried to run away.
Some of them had tried to stop him by attacking him, but that action only earned them either the blade, a few bullets, or broken bones.
All were attacks that would eventually lead one to a slow and painful death, which left the others with one choice.
To run away from the vicious monster that landed upon them unexpectedly.
Of course, with mercy out of his system for these fools, Hadrian gave them no reprieve and merely did as he wished.
He had wanted to end his stroll by returning to the hotel in peace, but as usual, the world thought the opposite.
Hadrian was painfully aware of this.
He should have walked away earlier, but having seen through these cretins' ill intentions towards the girl, he did not want to turn away from the situation, not while knowing that they would simply find another to prey upon in the future.
Hadrian was no hero. He never will nor did he want to be.
But he was a king once, and even then, he had lines that he would not cross.
Ignoring what these uncivilized fools were about to do to the girl once they had beaten her to submission was something he cannot stand by and allow to happen.
He was angry, not just at the situation and at these vilesome men, but more so at himself.
Normally, he was calmer and more composed, always in control of his emotions.
It was not the first time he had encountered such a situation before.
He had killed plenty of evil people in the past, shoddy rapists and murderers included.
The kind of monsters with human skin, and the ones who just wanted to see the world burn, unrepentant and uncaring of the consequences of their actions.
But for some reason, he was a bit out of sorts today, and it was bothering him the more he thought about it.
'I wonder why…' Hadrian mused, frowning.
When nothing came to mind, Hadrian sighed as he extracted the sword from the beaten body of the last thug.
Looking around, Hadrian blinked languidly, taking in the current state of his surroundings.
The once semi-clean and average-looking alleyway has now turned into a bloody murder scene, while decorating the stone floor was blood and various appendages belonging to the men that had the unfortunate experience of being eviscerated by him earlier.
Some parts of the walls and the ground had web cracks, courtesy of his own doing when he tossed the men around earlier in the fight.
It was an image typically seen in most horror movies.
Scratching the back of his head, Hadrian felt a bit embarrassed at the aftermath of his anger.
"Hmm… overkill." The magician in disguise muttered, his eyes returning to their cyan coloration now that he was calm.
Still, he felt no guilt in what he had done.
He might have in the past, but after experiencing the glamorous life of a magus, plus those few wars, especially that one last war, he had gone past the point of no return.
Now, he only felt bad that he killed them all too early.
He did a once over at the area.
"…"
That, and vandalizing an area that was once in good condition.
Contemplating on casting a few spells to fix the damages (it was far better than to send money to the local government anonymously), Hadrian idly flicked the sword to the side to rid the blood off the blade.
Then, he sheathed Lapis a moment later.
Out of habit, he was about to deposit Tempest and Lapis into one of his spatial vaults before he stopped when he noticed a presence nearby.
Languidly, he turned his head, directing his gaze to the left where he sensed it.
Cold, bright cyan eyes met a pair of clear emerald ones, the latter belonging to the girl he had saved then forgotten.
The red-haired girl looked out of place, like a lone rose standing out in the middle of mutilated corpses.
She was standing at the edge of a large puddle of blood, just several meters from where Hadrian stood.
And though she wore an impassive expression, it was a façade, a mask to hide her true feelings.
Her control over her faculties was impressive, but she was young, and there was a limit to what she could conceal, especially from Hadrian.
The light sheen of sweat on her forehead, the droplets cascading on the side of her cheek and down her neck – they were so very easy to see.
Her body was tense, coiled like a spring, ready to move in case there was a need for her to. Her eyes, while there was fear in them, were accompanied by others.
Hadrian can sense several emotions from her, pouring out in waves.
There was fear, almost conquering the half state of her mind and body, but it was balanced by wonder and curiosity.
Oddly enough, there was also fascination and anger mixed in.
The last not directed at him or anyone else, but at herself.
Hadrian had inkling of why she felt that way, angry that is, but he was not interested in knowing the reason as it was none of his business.
No, he was more interested in something else.
It was clear in her eyes. She was afraid, and yet, she chose to stay even after witnessing him single-handedly killing the men harassing her earlier.
Hadrian expected her to be gone while he had the cretins' attention before.
Yet, here she was, standing before him, albeit anxious to be near him.
Whether she was brave or foolish, her actions piqued his curiosity.
But, after his bout of rage, Hadrian was not feeling particularly willing to speak to anyone, especially not to a stranger.
Just as the girl opened her mouth to speak, looking a tad nervous as she did so, Hadrian turned on his heel and walked away.
"Ah, wait…!" The girl called, but Hadrian did not look back.
Like a black spectre, he disappeared into the shadows, leaving only after his wrath was emptied.
Silence ensued as the redhead stood in midst of bloody, mutilated corpses, bewildered at her situation.
…
…
Hadrian lost track of time as he walked with no specific destination in mind.
With the anger flushed out of his system, his mind returned to its usual calm and calculative state.
All he could think about was his actions earlier.
It was certainly uncharacteristic of him to suddenly commit murder out of pure displeasure, and not just one, but multiple times at that.
True, there was the fact that he felt no remorse in ending the lives of those men, nor did he felt pleasure in committing such actions.
No, he was more concerned with how at ease he was with enacting murder.
He had been angry, this much he can admit.
Hadrian wanted to make those depraved men bleed painfully for bearing such sickening intentions to that girl, especially one that young.
Recalling their disgusting gazes and the equally abhorrent lust from earlier, Hadrian was regretting killing those depraved imbeciles.
'Hmm… death is mercy for the likes of those vermin.' Hadrian frowned.
Perhaps he should have let them live and use them as test subjects for the practical testing of his research.
Hadrian blinked, idly realizing that he had walked into a small, empty park.
The park was small in size, surrounded by trees with a few stone benches to sit in, tall lamp posts and a small-size fountain in the center.
Having been distracted by his thoughts earlier, Hadrian had no recollection of how he got there.
He did a quick look around, and found that the park was located near to a two-way road with cars passing by every few minutes, which was a good sign as it meant that he could call for Luka to pick him up later without giving the aide much difficulty locating his whereabouts.
GPS was not exactly advanced in this world's time yet, though he can probably program one for his holo-tech and include it as an update in the future.
Effort was not a problem, but it would require him some time to do it.
Striding to one of the benches, Hadrian sat down with a sigh and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.
The respite was brief as he was interrupted when he sensed a presence making their way in his direction.
"…"
Regardless, Hadrian did not open his eyes as the newcomer was not a danger to him.
STEP
STEP
STEP
Soon, footsteps came to his hearing range, along with the sound of someone panting softly.
The footsteps stopped for a moment as he felt a tentative gaze land on him, before moving in with caution, as if intending to sneak closer to him.
Unfortunately for them, Hadrian has a few methods in searching for people, one of which was augmenting his sense of hearing only limited to the range of his vicinity.
The young newcomer had already failed in their endeavor, despite their efforts.
It was only when the presence he felt was several steps behind did Hadrian spoke up.
"Why are you here…" The magician asked, opening his eyes.
Languidly, he turned his calm and collected gaze over his left shoulder.
"… little girl?"
"…!"
Standing behind him partially to his left side was the red-haired girl from earlier.
The girl looked at him with wide green eyes, looking like a deer in headlights.
The expression on her face would have amused him a little if he had been in a lighter mood.
But, after reflecting on his actions and mulling over the possibility that his recent behavior might be influenced by something of an insidious nature, Hadrian was not in the mood to entertain unexpected guests.
Still, he had to give a bit of credit to the girl.
Hadrian had been staring at her calmly for almost a minute now, yet the redhead held her own as she met his gaze head-on.
The girl was nervous, he could sense it despite her efforts to hide her wariness behind her stoic façade.
Most people, even those who served him before, would often take on an obedient and docile demeanor when they were in his presence, including most of his current retainers in this life.
Partly because they had all seen what he was capable of, and partly due to his background.
But the girl before him, she stood firm under his calm and somewhat cold scrutiny.
Again, either she was truly brave or merely showing bravado, Hadrian can't help the faint smile from appearing as he looked at her.
And for providing him amusement, he was willing to speak to her, despite his mood.
It was certainly not because he felt bad as he saw the slight fatigue in her body, nor the sweat that fell on the sides of her cheeks.
Nope. Not at all.
Hadrian scoffed deprecatingly at his own thoughts, turning his gaze to the front before speaking.
"Well, if you chased after me like this, then you must have something to say. You might as well sit down and state your reason, while I don't have the urge to get up from this bench just yet." Hadrian announced nonchalantly, staring at the water pouring from the top of the fountain.
Hearing the girl swallow her nervousness behind him, Hadrian kept his eyes ahead even as the redhead slowly took a seat at the opposite end of the bench.
Silence set upon them as neither spoke for several moments.
Hadrian was not bothered by the silence, finding himself somewhat entranced by watching the water flow from the top of the fountain and down below its artificial cavity of the structure.
The nonsensical action had successfully distracted him from his previous thoughts, relaxing him even.
Although, while he appeared absentminded to others, this was merely a deception.
His mind remained alert and his body, while relaxed, was on guard, still high on adrenaline and ready for any surprises.
Only fools would try to take advantage of his current state at this point. The few that did and, miraculously, survived after attempting such can testify to that.
The girl beside him was the opposite as she stared at him from the corner of her eyes, obviously trying to gather whatever courage she could muster to speak to him.
Hadrian did not mind her looks as he was used to being the target of attention, usually the unfriendly kind.
Stares and words can only bother you if you let it, and he had already endured far worst in the past.
It took a while, but the girl finally mustered enough courage in her to break the silence, and it just so happens when Hadrian had the urge to stand up and leave.
Before he could do so, however, the girl had already spoken.
"You… what do you want?" The girl asked, her voice low and he almost missed it.
But thanks to his unnatural sense of hearing, Hadrian heard her, and he turned to look at her.
The Moon Cell's automatic translation was still working as he saw her lips moved in a way that was not comparable to when one speaks English.
Hadrian had to take a moment to marvel quietly at the automaton's ability, but he did not delve into it too much as the little girl was in front of him.
"Food and some rest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get going. Farewell, little one." Hadrian said with a small wave as he stood up from his seat.
He was about to walk away after grabbing Tempest when the girl also stood up from the bench.
"You can't just leave!" The young redhead said loudly, stopping him in his tracks.
Turning his gaze over his shoulder, Hadrian lifted an eyebrow, even though no one can see it.
"I beg to differ, little one. I can do whatever I want."
Hadrian sighed loudly when she tried to place herself in front of him, limping slightly as she did so.
"Look, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I do not need or want anything from you. I helped because I wanted to. Now, I understand if that is a foreign concept for you digest, but just accept the minor act of goodwill for what it is and move on."
After his admission, it was quiet for a few moments before Hadrian began to move once more.
He passed her and was only a few feet away when she suddenly spoke again.
"I can't be in debt to you."
The words were whispered, and the emotions in her voice were mixed and quite genuine that caused Hadrian to move into a slow halt, but he heard her all the same.
"I refuse to be in debt to anyone, anymore. So, what do you want?!" The girl was almost yelling at him now, and it caused Hadrian to recall a memory of –
BZZT
Behind the mask, Hadrian grimaced as his head throbbed in pain, interrupting his train of thought.
Noticing his posture and the way he has a hand on his masked face, the girl spoke again.
"… Hey, are you okay? You've been quiet for a while now…" The girl said, sounding nervous and a bit concerned.
"I'm fine, just a bit of a headache…" Hadrian answered with a slight nod, waving a hand to her worries.
Inside though, he could not help but wonder if the 'condition' from his previous life was returning.
'Hm… another one to look into later…'
Exasperated by the thought of his 'weakness' coming back, Hadrian scratched the side of his head with his free hand and sighed.
"I suppose… you wouldn't just accept me telling you that I don't require payment, huh?" Once more, he sighed when she shook her head. "Hm… stubborn. Fine, fine. I can probably think of something later. But for now, I really need to return. Are you amenable in coming with me to where I'm staying?"
"No, I'm fine with it." She said with a shake of her head after a moment of deliberation.
Hadrian was about to walk again before he noticed her condition.
Now, he can be heartless at times, but he was not a bastard to leave a child limping after him.
With another sigh (having lost count of it for today), Hadrian crouched on one knee and pointed at his back with his thumb, uncaring of the confused look she shot him.
"Come on, best for you to get on my back since it's still quite a walking distance to where we are going. Or do you fancy limping all the way there?" He asked with a knowing side-way look.
With a slight nod, the girl moved and got on his back, leaning on him as she placed her hands on his shoulders for additional security.
Once he was sure that she was settled and tuckered in, he stood upright and made his way out of the park.
"What do I call you?" She suddenly asked from behind.
"Rey… you can call me Rey." Hadrian said nonchalantly.
It was quiet for a few moments as he walked before…
"Black Widow."
'Huh?'
Hadrian paused, then turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.
"Black Widow?" He asked with a curious tint in his voice.
"Black Widow." She repeated, her green eyes staring back at him with his own.
"Really?"
"Really." She said in monotone, face expressionless.
Bewildered, Hadrian let out a soft 'huh' before he moved again.
Idly, as he exited the park, he could not help but think of how familiar the girl's name before.
'Black Widow' was most certainly not the girl's actual name, but an alias she refers herself to for people in the underground business.
The alias and her appearance seemed familiar, and it was nagging at him endlessly.
He just could not point out what it was… yet.
Still, one thing was for sure.
Hadrian has no idea what will happen in the future now.
…
…
3) – The headache is a side-effect to his Mystic Eyes. It's one of his weaknesses, and the severity of the pain gets worse if he does not use his mystic eyes in a balanced manner.
4) – For those who have not read the MC's overview, Hadrian has the Mystic Eyes of Death. And just with Shiki Tohno and Shiki Ryougi (MEoD users in canon), his mystic eyes are different. It's a bit of a combination of the two, but unique on its own. The headache (migraine) is just one of the cons of having the mystic eyes for him, and it'll happen at random times. And since it's a powerful ability on its own, there'll be another weakness, but that's in the future.
5) - This is the 'Knowledge of the Sowa' in play. It prevents his enemies from being able to read his any of his attacks, making him a tricky opponent to fight. If it ain't obvious yet, the MC does not know this little effect yet. He's aware of the ability, but he does not know what it really does.
...
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(This chapter has been edited for polish and improvement of the content and better viewing...)