Chapter 31 - The Blunt Berserker

Earth - Moscow, Russia. Twenty years before the death of Hati and Luna

It was currently two hours past midnight, and a large silhouette could be seen wandering through the alleyways of Moscow. From a distance, some might mistake this silhouette for a bear walking on its hind paws while carrying a knapsack on its shoulder. 

However, the people who knew this silhouette would much rather encounter that bear than the person to whom this silhouette actually belonged. He was known as the Blunt Berserker. 

Very little was actually known about the Blunt Berserker. All most people knew was that he was an enforcer for a powerful faction in the Bratva, that he always went in alone and that he would always be the only one to get out.

The Blunt Berserker was only sent out on extermination or intimidation missions. However, most intimidation missions would end up in extermination, which actually made future intimidation missions easier.

This was why they called him a berserker; the rumour was that if he were angered, he would not calm down until all the targets of his anger were dead. That is how intimidation missions would often result in an extermination.

The Blunt part came from his choice of weapon: a war hammer. How he slaughtered entire buildings filled with gun-toting criminals with only a war hammer was just another mystery connected with this man.

The Blunt Berserk was, of course, Hati. In the years since coming over from Norway, he had been quick to make a name for himself in various boxing rings before he was snatched up as an enforcer by the Morozov family.

Ever since then, he had determined that there were two ways to make the best use of his abilities in a fight. Option one was to focus on the protection provided by his prideful aspect and use that to stay safe while standing in the open with, for example, a light machine gun.

Unfortunately, this option did not prove as safe as he initially thought. It was too easy to make him angry while in a fight, which would cause him to lose his protection while gaining great strength.

But what use was great strength when fighting from a distance with a gun?

This brought him to option two, which was to instead focus on his wrathful aspect by dressing in a specially designed full-body bullet-proof armour while wielding a melee weapon.

The reason for his choice of melee weapon was simple: swords or other sharp armaments had trouble cutting or even stabbing through Kevlar. Sure, blunt-force trauma was still a thing, but if you were going for blunt-force trauma, why not go all in?

So, it came to be a war hammer. The hammer head of a war hammer had one flat end and one pointy end. This was useful for Hati in case he needed to stab something for any reason.

Through the strength provided by his wrathful aspect, he could wear the full-body armour, wield a large war hammer and still move around unbothered by the weight while also shrugging off the impact of bullets hitting his armour.

So Hati's standard tactic in wiping out his target became simply to stroll in through the front door, get hit by bullets, get angry, gain strength and then wipe everyone out. Of course, this only worked inside buildings.

This was also why he preferred using the small back alleys and often stayed inside. Out in the open, he was much more vulnerable; after all, neither his armour nor his pride ability would protect him from a rocket launcher or tank buster weapons.

His prideful aspect was now used in non-combat situations to protect himself against sneak attacks. Something that became increasingly necessary as opposing factions attempted to remove this powerful enforcer from the Morozov family.

Currently, Hati was wearing his full-body armour while having his hammer swung over his shoulder. His face was hidden behind the helmet, while his armour and weapon were covered in blood. A clear indicator that he had just returned from another mission.

The armour was covered in bullet impact and would have to be repaired once again, something that he did himself and was getting quite proficient in. As he walked along the alleys of Moscow, he eventually reached his target.

It was a large building owned by none other than himself, something that only the Morozov family was aware of. It was an apartment building, but he obviously didn't simply live in one of the apartments.

He moved to the basement, un-afraid of anyone following him. After all, all they would find in here was an empty basement. He chuckled and mumbled to himself, "That's my secret, I'm always angry."

He then took out two handles and inserted them into two holes in the cement floor, about a meter apart. His eyes reddened as he pulled on the handles while straining himself. It didn't take long for a large cement block to suddenly start rising from the floor, revealing a ladder.

He put the block aside, took out the handles before setting foot on the ladder, and dragged the cement block over the hole, closing it again. This was why he didn't care if he was followed; to ordinary people, this basement was empty. 

And even if they discovered the seam and the holes, they wouldn't be able to do what he did without heavy machinery or explosives. Something that would undoubtedly alert Hati, allowing him to escape through one of his many escape routes.

As he entered a well-lit area that looked like a cosy and expensive apartment, even if underground, he tossed his armour and weapon into his armoury, took a shower and put on some regular clothes.

He thought to himself, 'I had best tell that old man about my success before I get some sleep.' His pride baulked a little at reporting to anyone, but he was given enough autonomy to keep his pride from acting up too much. 

He moved to a heavy steel door locked with a num-pad, punched in the code and went through it. Behind the door was a long cave-like underground path. As Hati went through it, he passed several obstructions that, much like the basement entrance, could only be moved by Hati, powerful machinery, or explosives.

After a few minutes of walking, he came out the other end in a walled-off garden, from where he started moving towards the home of the Morozov Don.

A few henchmen were already waiting for him; one of them started talking, "Ah, Berserker, there you are. Come, the Don is waiting for you. We just got news about the cleared-out hide-out from the Lebedev family. Well done!"

Hati simply nodded, trying to limit his contact with others as much as possible. After all, he still had very little control over himself, and any contact with others might become a bloodbath.

The guy already expected not to receive any answer and simply kept leading the way. He knew that previous comrades who greeted The Blunt Berserker and acted too friendly, especially physically, often ended up with severe injuries.

Patting someone's shoulder after a job well done might be expected by regular people's standards, but doing it to Hati might get your arm broken. So caution was the name of the game for anyone greeting him.

He was led into a study where a middle-aged man sat behind his desk. Upon seeing Hati's entry, he looked up and said, "Ah, Hati, my friend, there you are! Come, come, take a seat."

Hati nodded and sat down on the appointed seat, making sure to keep calm at all times and his pride ability active. He might be working for this man, but he didn't trust him. "Greetings, Don. I did as requested."

The Morozov Don chuckled and said, "Still as stand-offish as ever, huh? Well, no matter. Your work is what matters. Listen, Hati, I know you've rejected me before, but I want to discuss a more permanent employment situation."

Hati grunts as he thought, 'This again? Just forget it, old man. My pride wouldn't allow me to follow a weak man like yourself, no matter what you say or do.'

Of course, he didn't say this out loud, instead saying, "You know I won't agree to that, Don Morozov. The deal was autonomy in return for results. I am still producing results, so why bring this up again?"

The Don sighed and said, "Well, you know how it is for a man like me. Any cog in the machine I can't fully control is like a little splinter in your foot that hurts with every step. Anyway, I think I procured proper incentive this time."

Hati raised his eyebrow and asked, "Incentive?" He also sent his protective pride ability into overdrive as he was none too pleased about the old man's tone of voice.

"Right, incentive. I honestly wasn't sure how much you still cared about these people, and guessing wrong would surely bite me in the ass, but I decided it was worth the gambit."

At those words, he turned on a video screen in the room. On the screen, a room with two people could be seen. Both were beaten bloody and tied to chairs. They were Hati's parents from this world.

Seeing this, Hati's eyes turned reddish as his brain lost the capacity for most rational thought. The truth was that, despite his parents kicking him out, he still loved them. 

He was fully aware that they were absolutely justified in kicking him out, and the amount of love they gave him before then was still burned into his soul.

This was also a rare case where his pride was actually fuelling his anger more than it was suppressing it. After all, pride loathed any influence on Hati's mind, but they were his parents, his people, and they had been harmed, which hurt his pride.

The Don looked at him with fascination and said, "Oh? It seems you still care about them. I'm glad! Loving your parents is an essential part of life. Now, let's talk terms. Or should I kill one of them first to prove my point?"

The Don was entirely unaware that Hati had lost his rational thought; after all, while he had some idea about Hati's abilities, the specifics still eluded him. So when Hati started charging at him, he was surprised. But before Hati could take his first step, he was hit by more than ten darts in the back. He immediately felt drowsy and started to stumble forward. 

Usually, drugs had little effect on him, but even his abilities needed a little time to clear out the ten darts filled with horse tranquiliser. As he slipped to his knees and into unconsciousness, the last words he heard came from the Don.

"Hmm, shame. But not unexpected, considering your nickname. Well, no matter. Since you are unwilling to come to an agreement in a civilised way, I'll have to rely on plan B."