Bloodlust

Maxus didn't sleep.

Dawn seemingly took forever to arrive. The vigilante counted down the minutes that painfully turned into hours. 4am...5am...

The first rays of sunlight finally seeped through his window. Maxus hastily prepared his clothes and bags for school, kicking his door open and marching out. The burning sensation running through his chest, a hungry unquenchable rage constantly pumping an endless wave of adreleline into him.

He only had one thought in mind. Alex Beng must pay.

People in school avoided him.

Maxus had his jaw clenched, giving the path ahead of him a hostile glare. Most people spotted his bruises, large areas of his forearms swelling purple and black, several cuts across his cheek and more, looking like a fighter that was looking for a prey. Alex Beng...he was warned. He had every reason and chance to not kill but yet, everytime Maxus thought back about what happened yesterday.

The Red Scorpion matching his every move, an opponent that he couldn't beat for the firsst time in his vigilante career.

Flashes of Uncle Lim's body clouding his head.

"Maxus? You looked messed up. You okay? Dude?"

Reynesh was ignored, watching as the vigilante brush past him, making his way to the classroom across the long hallways of the Polytechnic. Maxus only had one thought in his mind but he wasn't sure what he was gonna do or if he was even going to do anything. All he knew was that he needed to bring justice for Uncle Lim.

Reynesh followed quietly behind Maxus, spotting Leah sitting outside their lecture hall's benches which he expected Maxus to stop for. Leah waved at the vigilante enthusiastically like always only for Maxus to walk right past her, not even noticing her presence.

Leah frowned, lowering her hand awkwardly as Reynesh approached her.

"What? Why did he ignore me?" Leah asks confusedly.

"I don't think he is ignoring us. He just straight up didn't notice." Reynesh answers.

"Why? What happened to him? Did you see those bruises?" Leah was about to chase after Maxus when Reynesh stopped her, knowing that whatever his friend was going through, he probably needed privacy at the moment. "Let him be for now. I don't think he's in the state to talk nicely with us. We'll approach him when he cools down."

Alex Beng...where are you?

It didn't take long for Maxus to spot him, the flashily dressed teenage loan shark runner was chatting with his group of friends who were dressed similarly to him, over the top wild and bright trendy clothing, over stylized hairstyles and piercings all over their bodies. They didn't even resemble students who were here to study, but gangsters who were here to party.

"Alright boys, I'll be back. Gotta take a shit." Alex uttered to his friends who were blatantly breaking the school rules, smoking along the side of the corridor staircase.

"Go go. Shit need to say one meh?"

Alex briskly walked away towards another corridor that Maxus followed, glaring at the teenage murderer from behind. Alex didn't even notice Maxus' presence who observed the bandage on the young loan shark runner's hand...he looked like he had fingers missing.

Probably punished for failing the first time, Maxus guessed correctly.

Alex turned the corner, entering the toilet at the end of the corridor which Maxus followed, completely masking his presence as he watched Alex walk into a cubicle. Maxus looked around quickly, spotting a cleaning cart, grabbing a sign from it and placing in front of the door.

Cleaning in Progress. Please use the next closest washroom.

The vigilante set sights on his prey, kicking open the cubicle door that Alex was about to close, greatly startling the latter who looked at Maxus with nothing but pure confusion:" Maxus? The f-"

Maxus shot a punch forward, catching Alex off guard as he felt his jaw crack, several teeth flying right out of his lips along with a mouthful of blood. "You son of a bitch, I should have done this a long time ago." Maxus grabbed Alex by the collar, pulling him up before landing a devastating strike on his ribs, elbowing him in across the eye, kneeing him in the crotch and finishing his combination of blows with several consecutive punches to his torso, greatly injuring Alex who fell onto his knees.

"Why...?" More blood, along with several chunks of meat flowed out of his broken jaw.

"You know what you did." Maxus kicked him in the face, slamming Alex face first into the toilet seat, breaking apart the lid of the toilet bowl. "What...? You..." Alex paused for a moment as the pain he suffered lingered across his body. It struck him...Maxus was talking about the murder of Uncle Lim.

"How...?" Alex croaked.

"I warned you the other day to never harass him again."

Alex's eyes widened in fear, knowing exactly what his fellow classmate was talking about. "You...? You're him?!" Alex gasped, his entire body quaking as Maxus clenched his fist, flashes of Uncle Lim's corpse polluting every thought he had. "You should have listened."

"WAIT WAIT!"

Maxus grabbed Alex by the jaw, stopping him from begging as he smashed the latter's head into the wall with all his strength, leaving a splatter of blood behind. The anger continued burning in his heart...no...he wasn't satisfied. Maxus grabbed the barely conscious loan shark runner by the hair, forcing Alex to look at him as the vigilante raised his fist, blasting Alex with a fury of punches again and again.

Maxus didn't wanna stop. He wanted Alex to feel everything...the pain...the fear.

Maxus roared out loud, his knuckles numbed and his adreleline at an all time high as Alex's face started to become deformed, his nose cracked wide open, parts of Alex's facial bones crumbled with his eye popping out, barely hanging onto his skull. His teeth shattered and dropped as each punch continued devastating the teenager. The exhaustion soon kicked in as Maxus finally took a breather, holding onto the corpse of his latest victim.

The pain was still there.

It didn't relief his anger like he thought it would. Maxus let go of Alex's body, looking up at the ceiling which also had splatters of blood. "I..." Maxus quivered, unable to think for himself at the moment. His hands were stained in blood, red dots splattered all over his black shirt which fortunately, wasn't too obvious.

Footsteps.

"Wah...who moved the sign?" An annoyed janitor's voice echoed.

Maxus forced himself to focus, thinking about the next best course of action. He cannot remain here. The vigilante looked around him, grabbing some toilet paper that he wrapped around him hands, trying to clean the blood before quickly taking out his combat gloves from his bag, opening the toilet's window for an escape route.

The vigilante peered out, finding himself on the 4th floor. If he fell...he might live but he definitely won't be able to move like he does now.

Just don't fall. Maxus tells himself as he pushed himself out of the window, looking up to see the upstairs toilet window half open above him. He had no choice now as he heard the toilet door open, quickly stepping outside on the narrow ledge in front of the toilet window, closing it as quickly yet silently as he could.

"AHHH!"

That was it. The cubicle was locked which meant that blood was probably flowing down on the floor or she spotted the blood stains on the ceiling. Maxus knew he would be spotted quickly by the people below him if he didn't escape his current position.

Maxus looked down, his feet barely fitting onto the ledge as he pressed himself against the wall, looking up and taking in a deep breath, bending down a little before leaping upwards as high as he could, his fingers barely managing to grip onto the side of the ledge right below the upstairs window.

The vigilante grabbed on quickly, using his other arm to ensure he was secured, performing a muscle up that pushed him safely to the narrow ledge, escaping semi successfully. Maxus took a peak into the window of the upstairs toilet, ensuring that no one was inside as he opened the window latch, squeezing himself in. His heart began beating faster and faster, the realization of what he had just done slowly setting in.

The vigilante hid himself into another cubicle, taking the water hose and used the limited amount of time to quickly wash his clothes clean. I did it...I actually did it. Everything felt surreal, the past five minutes felt like something he dreamt about.

Even from upstairs, he could hear many footsteps and voices, a commotion was starting to form.

Maxus looked around, grabbing toilet paper off the rolls as he squished his shirt, getting every last drop of blood dropping into the toilet bowl before flushing the evidence away. He had to be somewhere, to pretend that he was with someone at the least as Maxus decided to grab a hoodie from his bag, putting it on to cover the remaining stains on his shirt and exiting the toilet.

His heart was pounding violently, worse than how he felt yesterday when he faced the Red Scorpion. Maxus took a deep breath to calm his nerves, walking back towards the lecture hall where he was hoping Leah and Reynesh would be at. "Over there! Help!" Maxus heard an old female voice, presumably the building's janitor yelling out loud as more students were starting to walk towards the scene, forming a huge commotion.

Maxus walked down the stairs back to the floor he came from, running straight into Leah who managed to stop in time before ramming into him.

"Maxus? Are you okay?" Leah asks.

"Yeah...yeah I'm okay why?"

"You didn't respond to me just now? I waved at you."

"Oh what? Sorry I didn't see you."

Leah looked behind him, spotting the huge commotion as lecturers themselves got involved, keeping students away from the toilet. "What's happening?" Leah asks. Maxus shrugged:" I don't know...not too sure if I want to find out though."

"Imma take a peek." Leah tip toed, getting close to the crowd.

Reynesh was right behind them, dragging Maxus by the arm and whispering to him:" What did you do?!"

"Not here." Maxus answered which Reynesh was clearly annoyed by:" You want to do your thing, I've been letting you do it. I thought I understood what you were trying to do, but now you want to do it in campus? What is wrong-" Maxus quickly stopped his friend from continuing:" I've put that fucking bastard down because he murdered Uncle Lim in cold blood last night. I had already warned him before that do I need to say more?"

"What bastard?"

"Alex."

"Guys...I think someone died." Leah came back, the tone in her voice dropping. Reynesh and Maxus both looked at each other, knowing to continue the conversation later on. "Who...someone died?" Reynesh pretended along for Maxus' sake.

"Yeah...I heard someone calling the police."

"I don't think we should look. It's disrespectful." Reynesh suggested as the three of them backed away from the massive crowd. "You've gone too far this time. You know that? How far are you gonna go?" Reynesh stressed, trying not to be too loud while Leah had her attention at the commotion.

"I'm not sure anymore."

"I cannot follow you anymore Maxus. This is the line."

"I'll...give me sometime alone." Maxus muttered, walking away from them. "What's with him? "Leah noticed, asking Reynesh who quickly dug an excuse out:" He...he watched his father die in front of him, therefore this type of scenarios is especially uncomfortable and traumatizing to him."

Maxus found himself on the rooftop garden.

Reality was hitting him. Maxus looked down at his hand which still had several little spots of blood on them, wiping the blood off against his inner pocket. The vigilante sat down, embracing the cooling breeze the rooftop garden gave him as from a distance, he spotted the red and blue lights of a police car approaching the school.

His anger quelled a little, but the...the feeling of being wronged, of not being good enough. If only he was there instead of fighting the Red Scorpion, Uncle Lim might still be alive.

No...I've failed. I-

"Maxus? Are you alright?"

Leah's kind voice knocked his chain of negative thoughts away as he sniffed some tears back, trying to keep himself composed. "Yeah...yeah I'm okay."

Leah walked up to him, hand signing if it was okay to sit next to him as Maxus nods, Leah resting herself right next to the vigilante. "I'm sorry if...I say some stuff that you may not want to hear so...you can stop me at any moment. Reynesh told me about your dad, the source of your trauma. I'm...not that I'm a trained counselor or anything but I know that talking about it will help you release some of that pent up emotions so...if you need anything, you can talk to me."

Maxus looked at her, quivering:" Why?"

"Why what?"

"No one ever cared. Why do you?" Maxus' honest feelings poured out, surprising Leah with the lack of emotion support Maxus clearly never had. "Maxus...I don't know what you went through and honestly...I can only imagine the pain you did feel. I personally didn't go through any big tragedies in my life before so I can't pretend to know. I'm just offering a listening ear because I know talking about your troubles would be better than dealing with them alone."

Maxus could hear the sincerity in her voice. It touched him. Feelings he had never felt before, a colorful blend of anger, rage, confusion, yet being accepted, unjudged and cared for. He didn't know how to react.

Maybe she's right. Maxus decided to give it a shot.

"I'm...I don't know how to start but...I guess all I've wanted is to be cared for, but that has always never been fulfilled. I had always struggled in school, seeing my other classmates with a mother. But I learnt that...even though it hurts, I had my father and that was probably all I needed. It took many years, but I eventually learnt to live with the fact that I had no mom." Maxus admits, quaking a little.

Leah placed her hand on his back, patting him as drops of tears flowed down his face.

"When I finally accepted my life...my dad was taken too, I watched him burn in front of me, trying to protect me." Maxus looked into the sky, wiping his tears as Leah grabbed him by the shoulder, stroking his arm:" It's okay...you're a strong person Maxus. I don't know you for very long but that's one thing I'm certain about. You can move on, do well in your life and make your parents proud. Even if you don't see it, you will know deep down that they are."

Maxus nods in agreement, keeping his head low.

"We're still young Maxus, don't let your past define who you are going forward. You have went through a lot, but things will only get better from now okay?"

"Yeah...I know. Sorry you had to see this side of me."

Leah didn't stop patting his back:" It's okay, you know me now don't you? You can find me anytime to talk. I'm okay with it." Maxus smiled, forgetting about the troubles he had for a moment as he gazed at Leah:" I...you don't want to Leah. "

"Maxus, trust me when I say I'm willing to. There's a reason why I'm studying psychology after all, I wanna help others. Mental health is a huge issue that people don't talk enough about and it causes many negative thoughts that will affect their day to day life. I don't want a friend like you to go through that so...I'm here Maxus. Don't push me away."

Maxus could see the eagerness in her eyes. How could anyone reject her?

"Sorry...alright just don't find me to annoying." Maxus felt a little better.

"Ha. Try me."

"You actually want to be a psychologist in the future?" Maxus asks her. Leah smiled, nodding shyly:" I'm hoping to. I mean of course it isn't going to be easy but you can never fault a girl for trying. Also, you've seen my family situation, being a psychologist will allow me to relieve the financial burden off my parents' shoulders. What about you? I mean there must be a reason why you're in this course right?"

Maxus' mind went blank. Yeah...why was he here?

He remembered scoring fairly well in his O level examinations, especially in Math and Science which even surprised him. Maxus recalled being interested in the human mind, that was something he was always fascinated about in primary school and after looking at the behaviors of people around him, be it his loved ones or the people he had killed, something must have happened in their lives for them to behave a certain way. That was interesting to him.

"I guess I'm just interested in how the human mind works, why people do or act a certain way. It makes socializing easier, coming from someone who sucks at doing that." Maxus reveals.

"You don't even suck in socializing dude." Leah comments. "I don't?" Maxus tilted his head in confusion.

"No. You don't. Where did you get that from?"

"I've heard people say I come across as hostile before."

"Ah...they're right."

"What."

Leah smiled, punching him lightly in the arm:" Brighten up a little. This is only our first year here you know. We have 3 years here and it's great if you have friends here don't you think, it's definitely more enjoyable and memorable than being here alone for 3 straight years. We'll definitely meet some new people when we eventually have different modules to take, talk to some people then."

"I guess. I'm awkward though." Maxus admits. "Some extrovert like me might adopt you, it's okay man." Leah gave him a comforting thumbs up.

For a moment, Maxus forgot the troubles he carried earlier in the day.

Evening. Marina Bay front.

Eden Lee, The Red Scorpion found himself waiting in the backseat of a car, awaiting the arrival of Minister Kenneth. "The minister has an appointment. He will only allow you five minutes of time." The driver informs Eden who nods:" I'm aware."

From the side window, Eden spotted the minister walking towards him from an extremely luxurious hotel lobby, dressed smartly in a formal suit and accompanied by two bodyguards. The minister hopped into the car as Eden moved aside, making way for Kenneth who took a seat next to him. The moment the door closed, the driver started the vehicle, taking off to the Minister's next destination.

"I had a report. Alex died in his school, murdered. Was that you?" Kenneth asks.

"No." Eden answered.

"So it's safe to say that the Soultaker got to him first. I didn't expect him to be active in the morning as well. Never mind for now, I have heard of your fight with him...I was told not only you and the officers present didn't manage to kill him, he put up a decent fight against you. Am I wrong to say that he is equally as skilled as you?" Minister Kenneth questions.

"Not equal. He is skilled, undoubtedly leagues faster and stronger than any of your men now with his knowledge in his weaponry probably unparalleled. But he lacks experience when it comes to combat with people of his own caliber. He's lucky that he caught me off guard that is all." Eden explains.

"Now...your reputation is to be the best in the industry. Yet after two weeks, you can't take down one man?" Kenneth coldly asks, looking down on his phone texting someone else.

"Your men interrupted me, gave him the chance to escape."

"Excuses?"

"Watch the fucking body cam yourself. Tell me if those amateurs you hire on a daily basis know how to even do basic combat." Eden growled.

"Your employment has indeed prevented the Soultaker from destroying more of my operations so far, but that isn't enough. You can say whatever you want Eden, but at the end of the day, you are here for redemption. You are a simple family man that is gifted with extraordinary combat abilities. "Kenneth clutched his fingers together, placing down his phone down elegantly.

"Don't talk about my family." Eden warns.

"Why not? That's the reason why you're still working as the Red Scorpion. How about this...Eden. I'll double your pay if you can kill him. I'm sure your wife...ex wife...would be more accepting to your visits to your son if you can show her that you are financially capable." Kenneth offers, greatly vexing Eden with his extensive knowledge.

"I'll help you out, how about that. I recently got my hands on something particularly interesting." The minister added.

"What is it?" Eden was visibly annoyed.

"A sword that I found, crafted by a collector who loves to construct swords out of the rarest metals he can get his hands on. More recently, he has made an auction for this partifular sword that I got my hands on for twenty million dollars."

"What so special about it?"

"It was crafted out of a chunk of meteor that fell in Indonesian waters. It's said to be harder than diamond and lighter than wood, said to be able to cut through even the toughest of metals. I will lend you this sword, but I better see the Soultaker's head in your hands soon. I hope I made myself clear." Minister Kenneth offered.

"No...I want to offer something else." Eden proposed.

"Bargaining? This ain't a wet market Eden."

"You can pay me the normal rate. But I want you to make sure that my family gets the best thing possible within the system. I want my son to have the best possible grades, to get to any school he wants and whatever he wants to study. Their house loan, I want it cut. Medical for them, free. If you can help me do that for them, you don't even have to pay me." Eden begged.

"Reaching soon. Please prepare." The driver comments.

Minister Kenneth smirked. "Okay Eden. Normal rates then. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you sir." Eden lowered his head in gratefulness. "I'm willing to be generous now, so you better show me some results. If not...I will do the opposite of whatever you just requested. I'll await your report soon...Eden." Kenneth says as the car stops, arriving at his destination. The minister adjusted his wrist watch, leaving the vehicle and closing the door behind him.

"Daddy!"

The driver began moving the vehicle again as Eden watched the Blood Lion, the feared figurehead of the underworld go up to his wife and daughter...to his happy family.

Kenneth smiled, looking at his wife Laura and his daughter, Rae.

"Hello sweetie." Kenneth lowered himself to grab onto his charging daughter who bumped right into him, squeezing the Minister tightly in her arms. "You're only gone for a few days and she's already like this. No more business trips for you." Laura joked.

"If I don't what I do this country would collapse." Kenneth answered, carrying his 5 year old daughter in his arms. The family walked over to the private Teppanyaki restaurant they booked as a private chef greeted them:" It's a pleasure to host you and your family minister. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

They took their seats, watching as the chef prepared the ingredients.

"When's the next time you'll be away?" Laura asks.

"The day after tomorrow." Kenneth answers he as Rae looked at him innocently:" You have to leave soon again? But my birthday is coming soon Daddy please be there." Rae begged him as Kenneth smiles, stroking her hair:" Of course I'll be there baby girl."

"Yay!"

The Teppanyaki chef began cooking, filling the room in the fragrant aroma of the meat and vegetables in front of them as Laura leaned in to him:" So what's the latest issue now? "

"Businessmen. Their businesses have been disrupted recently by the Soultaker. That criminal has been wrecking havoc all over the country and police are having issue finding him." Kenneth chose his words carefully. "Soultaker? I heard on the news that he's a vigilante. He's taking down business as well?"

"Not exactly. He's killing a lot of people, not just criminals. I think he's a bloodthirsty monster that happens to kill criminals. Not a vigilante." Kenneth lied, painting the Soultaker negatively. "So do you guys know exactly what is he?"

"Nobody has a clue, which is why I'm working overtime recently. The police force has next to zero evidence to who the Soultaker is or where he is." Kenneth tells his wife. "The murder at Nanyang Polytechnic today...is it-"

"We believe it's the Soultaker as well."

"Oh god...please don't delve too deep into this okay? Whoever he is it's almost like he doesn't care who his victims are. But why that student though? Why was that student his target?" Laura was concerned for the safety of her husband. Kenneth shrugged, his expressions unchanged:" No clue. I'm sure Inspector Huang will find something soon."

Ding.

A new message.

Kenneth sighed, ignoring his phone. "You know it's okay right? Just do your thing." Laura tells him. Kenneth nods, getting up and going to the back of the restaurant, ensuring that he was alone before checking on the notification.

[ Black Moon Sword order. Arriving in 72 hours. ]

Kenneth took out his phone, dialing Eden.

"Your sword will be arriving at Coney Island in 72 hours. Be there."

Next Chapter- The Infamous Sword