Necromancer

Still gagging Dave pressed his hands on his kneecaps trying to steady himself.

"We have to bring them back fast. Don't let them escape!" Ayano stormed to the store's entrance and stepped out on the street.

Dave straightened up and looked once more down the staircase.

5 puddles of mangled flesh lay on the stairs. They were human corpses that were turned from inside out. Obviously, someone tore the skeletons out of their bodies.

Dave grabbed Anna's shoulder and pulled her with him.

"Come, we have to help Ayano. She won't be able to handle those psychos alone." Dave shut the door with one kick of his foot and ran with Anna out of the store.

Back on the streets, they found Ayano running behind Dan and the Skull-Face.

Ayano managed to block the Skull-Face and stopped both of them in their tracks.

Anna and Dave dashed forward standing only 5 seconds later right next to her.

"Dan, what did you do? Do you think this is the right way? Do you really believe we will get her back like this?"

Dave didn't understand what Ayano was talking about, but it seemed to him, it was connected to the thing she kept hidden from him.

"Haha, wasn't it you, who said that it was my fault all of it happened. What else can I do? I have to take drastic measures because the normal way simply doesn't work. How many years is it already? Are you nearing the point, where you will get her back? I don't think so!" Said Dan a contemptuous look in his eyes.

"Ha, what do you know?!? I might not reach my goal the way I originally intended to but I am still making small steps in its direction!" After saying this Anna threw a glance at me. Dan caught up on it and started laughing.

"Wait, wait, wait. You wanna tell me that he is your plan? Hahaha! That is a joke, isn't it? He is only rank 1. How many years more do you want to wait?" Dan shook his head disbelievingly.

Dave didn't know how to feel right now. He wanted to know what this plan that seemingly included him was and at the same time he wanted to rebuke Dan for belittling him. But before Dave managed to do any of the two barged Anna in on the conversation.

"Dave is not weak Dan. And even if he needs many more years to reach a power level, where he can have an influence, it doesn't matter, because, in the end, he will do it. And he won't do it just any way, he will do it the right way. Raising a necromancer, are you insane? You won't be hunted only by the Agency. No, every living being will be your enemy! You think she would be okay with that?"

'This is frustrating. They are intentionally trying to keep me in the dark!' Dave became frustrated the more he heard.

Hearing this Ayano wanted to add something. "I am seeing things differently than back then Dan. And she..."

"Who the fuck is she?" shouted Dave. The frustration that accumulated during the entire conversation spilled over. No, telling the truth, Dave felt so for a very long time already. Always being kept in the dark while everyone knew about something, he seemingly was excluded from, even though they seemed to place their hopes for the future on him, was a shitty feeling.

"Wait, you didn't even tell him about her?" Said Dan in a ridiculing tone.

"I don't want to interrupt your talk but the agents will be here in a few seconds and some of us don't want to get caught like this! The skull-faced man said with a kind of strange voice. It was like the sound that occurred when someone scratched over ice. It was unpleasant.

"Sorry Ladies! We have to go!" Said Dan and winked at Anna and Ayano. Directed at Dave, he added. "Ask Ayano about her sister!"

Dan grabbed the skull-faced man by his arm and turned around. Lightning sprung to life around him and they jumped off.

Just when they were 50 meters away, they were hit by a salvo of fireballs. They crashed to the ground and created a deep crater in the street.

"Ahhhh. Damn, are you okay skully?" asked Dan. Skully answered with a nod and grabbed his right arm that was twisted strangely. With a single tug from him, it looked as good as new.

Dan climbed out of the deep crater and shouted, "Who attacked us?"

A man started laughing. He walked in front of Dan and said, "That must have been one of my men."

"You! You are here?" Screamed Dan shocked. Suddenly fury flickered to life in his eyes. "Didn't I tell you that the next time we meet, I would kill you?"

"Haha, You want to kill me, someone at rank 8 and my 10 followers, who are of rank 6 and 7? You think you can do that?" Said John Tracker in a happy tone. "And don't forget, while you kill me, who will defend that Necromancer over there? He seems to be only rank 2!"

Dan gritted his teeth hearing this. "You dare to threaten me after all you did! Let me show you what I am capable of!"

Dan activated his powers. A Halo came to life around him with lightning crackling his body up and down. He raised his hands in front of his body and a thunderbolt came to life between his palms.

He threw it but not at John Tracker, no, it flew straight over to his followers and exploded in between them.

Cries of pain came to life. All of this happened to fast for John Tracker to defend his men.

"Run, Skully." The skull-faced man hearing this tried to enter a side road to escape his pursuers.

Seeing this, John Tracker commanded a man that stood 20 meters aside and wasn't part of his Team.

"Marco, You follow that Necromancer. Your chance to make up for your earlier failure. Don't try to catch him alive!" The man was no one else than Marco Filoni, who was supposed to catch the Hero. Unfortunately, even though he followed John Tracker's instructions and laid out a trap for the hero, he wasn't successful at all. After his prior inability to catch the hero on his own, it was simply said that he executed the plan badly.

As a consequence, he was demoted to follow John Tracker while he was on the island and learn from him how to do his job.

Marco did as he was told and followed closely behind Skully.

Dave looked at Anna and Ayano, both of them were still standing at the same place as before and watching the spectacle unfold in front of them. They were apparently unable to decide what to do.

Understanding that he wouldn't be in any way useful here, Dave decided to follow the Necromancer. That was at least a fight that wasn't completely out of his league and he felt that as a hero and future agent it was kind of his job to make himself useful in this kind of situation.

Of course, he shouldn't forget that he was better of not using his hero powers. Ayano warned him many times, what the repercussions would be if the Agency found out about him.

Dave followed after the two but still kept his distance. If there was no need to help, then he wouldn't intervene.

Turning a corner, Dave saw the two of them facing each other in the middle of the street.

"Surrender and you will live. Fight and you will die. I am rank 5 and you only rank 2. There is no way for you to win." Marco offered him to surrender even though John Tracker told him he shouldn't. The reason was simple. He was a good-hearted person and despised killing. He was a pacifist.

"I will live?" Cackled the necromancer. He stretched his arm out and a hand that was covered before by his robe became visible. It was the pale hand of a corpse.

"If you can revive the dead!" Skully shook his dead hand leaving behind a perplexed Marco Filoni.

"Rise Skeleton Soldiers!" Screamed the necromancer.

Runes spread, starting from his feet over the floor creating 10 circles.

In each of the circles, a black light came to life and a skeleton's arm stretched out of the earth reaching for the sky.

Following the arm came the rest of their bodies.

After a short 5 seconds were the 10 skeletons fully materialized.

"Look at them!" Cackled the Necromancer. "Do you recognize them? They were once your colleagues!"

And truly, Marco Filoni was able to sense 10 familiar auras.

His face turned deathly pale.