Chapter 30

Awaking back in his mansion, Mercury looked to his left arm, seeing it was healed. A long scar ran down the length of his arm, a permanent reminder of what had happened.

Grabbing his clothes off the dresser, having been washed and folded, Mercury left his room. Walking down the hall and out the back door, Mercury entered the gazebo in the garden.

Looking over his scar, Mercury was startled when a voice, not his own, echoed in his head.

(Glad to see you're okay.)

Turning around, Mercury saw it was Makoto standing behind him, her hair a mix of orange and yellow.

(I could say the same to you.) Mercury replied. "Any casualties in the village?"

Makoto's gaze fell.

(Some of the villagers, and a few guards.)

Mercury rubbed his eyes.

"Dammit!"

Makoto looked back up to Mercury.

(Satella and Daenerys are sparring again.) She told him, changing the subject. (And they're not alone.)

"Whaddya mean?" Mercury asked.

(One of the maids is watching them. The human girl. Christine..?) Makoto shrugged, not sure if she got the name right or not. (This isn't the first time I've seen her. She never interferes or causes problems, so I don't say anything.)

"Yeah, I've noticed her as well." Mercury replied. "I doubt she'll do anything. Leave her be."

Makoto nodded before turning around to take her leave.

(Hey.) She paused to look back at Mercury. (Once we're all patched up, could we take a day to ourselves? Just the two of us.)

Mercury let out a quiet chuckle.

"Yeah. Definitely."

Makoto smiled before walking off. For real this time.

(Well...) Mercury stretched his arms. (I wonder what kinda jobs are available in town.)

After heading back inside to grab his torn cloak, Mercury began heading into town. Once there, he went right to the notice board.

(Hm.) Mercury glanced over many of the job offerings. (Bounty. Men ending up mysteriously killed at night in the north section. Woods clearing. Rabbit hunting. Hm. Well, the most interesting one here is this one.)

Mercury took the piece of paper about men getting mysteriously killed.

Heading back to the mansion, Mercury was going to wait until dark. Deciding to take a bath in the meantime, Mercury headed for the bathing room.

Turning on the faucets, Mercury left to let it fill. The tub was the size of a small swimming pool, so it was gonna take a bit of time to fill.

A few minutes later

Heading back to the bath tub, it was about 3/4ths full. Taking off his towel and placing it on the rack, Mercury entered the tub. Resting against the edge of the tub, Mercury let out a sigh. The warm water felt good to his aching muscles.

However, his relaxation soon ended when a set of hands grabbed his ankles.

Pulled under for a brief moment, the hands vanished as Mercury went up to the surface.

Turning around to get out of the tub, Mercury stopped when he saw Makoto was behind him, her hair a bright red.

"Jesus!" Mercury let out a breath. "Scared the hell outta me."

Makoto gave an innocent smile.

(Sorry. Couldn't help myself.)

"I didn't even hear you get in."

(I was here before you, dummy.) Makoto replied. (I hid behind the water faucets. When I saw you come in, I hid in the water.)

Mercury shook his head.

"Sneaky little fox."

Mercury slipped his arm around Makoto, pulling her closer.

Letting out a silent gasp, Makoto smirked as she looked up at Mercury. Leaning in to kiss her, Mercury was instead met with a wave of water hitting him in the face.

As Mercury rubbed the water off his face, Makoto quickly moved to the opposite side of the tub.

"Really?" Mercury narrowed his eyes as he stared at Makoto. "C'mon. I don't wanna have to chase you."

('Cuz you know you can't catch me?)

Mercury rolled his eyes.

"I could catch you in an instant." Mercury replied.

Before the two could continue, there was a knock at the door.

"Sir Hero?" Christine's voice said softly. "There's a man here looking for you."

Mercury looked at Makoto before letting out a groan.

"I'll be there in a minute."

A minute later

Opening the door, a man, dressed in a black cloak, met him.

"Are you Mercury Takamaki?" The man asked. His voice was deep and raspy.

"That depends." Mercury crossed his arms. "Who's askin'?"

"A friend with a warning." The man replied.

Mercury raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Right..."

"The creature in the North section is otherworldly." The man said. "Be wary."

With that, the man turned around and began walking away.

Scratching the back of his head, Mercury turned around and shut the door behind him.

"Strange ass dude."

A few days later

Having prepared for the quest, Mercury, Daenerys and Makoto, embarked, ready for anything.

Almost anything.

Arriving at the section the disappearances were reported, the trio split up to gather info about what it is exactly they are up against.

Heading out on his own, Mercury decided to begin his info gathering at the Inn, the go to place for such a thing. However, upon setting foot inside, a very uneasy feeling flooded Mercury's body. It was as if everything around him was watching his every move.

This put Mercury highly on edge.

Before he could even reach the counter, a horrified scream came from upstairs.

Bursting into action, Mercury rushed up the stairs, dagger in hand.

Bursting through the door the scream originated from, Mercury was immediately hit with nausea at the sight before him. Covering his mouth, Mercury turned away, fighting back the urge to vomit.

"Holy shit...!" He coughed.

Inside the room could only be described as all of Jigsaws victims in a single room. Except all the blood and guts were from a single person.

Guts were piled on the bed. An arm hung from the ceiling fan. His head was neatly placed atop the lamp, so far, infact, that the light could be seen through his open mouth. There wasn't even a torso. The whole thing having been slashed, squashed and bashed into mush, that was currently the paint of the room.

"'Mysteriously killed' is a goddamn understatement!" Mercury said as he got to his feet. "Sweet, merciful buddha, what the fuck?"

Needing to re-enter the room to be able to figure out what happened, Mercury hesitated before heading back inside.

Helping the Inn maid to her feet, Mercury escorted her out of the room and down the stairs. Having her sit down on the bench, Mercury addressed everyone else.

"Make sure no one comes upstairs!" He shouted. "There's been a murder. Alert the local officials!"

With that said, Mercury headed upstairs again.

Walking back into the room, Mercury fought back every urge to puke as he activated his "Recall" ability.

Instantly, a ghostly image replayed the events leading to this man's demise.

A small woman, a pair of demonic wings on her back, knocked on the door. She was entirely nude.

Soon after knocking, the man opened the door. Upon seeing the woman, the man's jaw dropped.

"Jillian?" The man said the name softly as his eyes began to water. "But... you're dead. How-?"

'Jillian' silenced the man by placing a finger to his lips as she pushed him into the room. Pulling him into a kiss, she began to hastily undo his pants.

"I've wanted you to say that for so long." The man suddenly said.

"What?" Mercury said softly. "She didn't even say anything."

Suddenly, Jillian pulled out the man's member, prompting Mercury to quickly turn his back.

"Al-fucken-righty!" Rubbing his forehead, Mercury did his best to push the image out of his mind.

After a couple minutes, Mercury took a glimpse back, only to see the two going at it like animals. Averting his gaze, Mercury went back to watching the wall.

Suddenly, one of the man's limbs flew passed Mercury's head, hitting the wall and sliding to the floor.

Looking back, the woman was savagely digging into the man as if she was suddenly starving and had no other choice. The man wasn't even screaming, though. He was sleeping. Smiling. As if he were at peace with being a human happy meal.

That made it all the more horrific.

She tore his limbs off like they were chicken heads. Her claws dug into his torso, tearing through his flesh like a hot knife through butter. She continued to consume him until his torso was nothing. His bones were even turned to dust from the woman's strength.

"I'm gonna be fucken sick..." Mercury said softly. "Nasty ass bitch."

Once she was done, the woman headed over to the window and leapt out, flying off into the night sky.

As the Recall ability faded, three of the town's guard appeared in the doorway.

Instantly, one of them threw up, another had to leave, but the third stuck his ground.

"Do you know what happened, sir Hero?"

Mercury nodded.

"This man was killed by a monster. A naked woman with a pair of red wings on her back."

The guard rubbed his chin.

"At least we have a description to go on." The man stated. "Thank you, sir Hero. We will take it from here."

Taking his leave, Mercury made a quick exit from the Inn.

"Holy shit..." Mercury said softly. (What the hell am I going up against here?)

End of chapter 30