The Badger's Den

In tracking the person that had so carelessly left behind tracks, Naos had intended to find the Badger's base.

But what he found instead was the bellboy.

The bellboy he had met seemed to be also tracking the gang responsible for his home's troubles. But, he was not as proficient in following people without being noticed.

The bellboy hadn't noticed Naos yet, and his attention was focused around a corner that Naos couldn't see past.

This indicated that the true person Naos was looking for in this situation was the one the bellboy had spotted around the corner.

Suddenly, the bellboy started moving. Almost in tandem, Naos moved as well.

This chain of stalking continued for tens of minutes until they reached where Naos had hypothesized was the gang's main base.

The bellboy was still unnoticed up until a bulky and intimidating man walked out of the discreet building. He had intricate tattoos creeping around his arms and meeting at his neck.

He stood at a scary 6'5" with a sharp glare that seemed as if it would set those in its range on fire.

The bellboy flinched when the man directed his gaze in his direction. It seems that he had been spotted.

The large man spoke to the one who had been guiding the bellboy so effortlessly. Naos wasn't close enough to hear them, only being able to read their lips vaguely to choose his next course of action.

When the larger man stopped talking suddenly, Naos made his move.

...

The large man, named Keith, finished talking to his subordinate who had so recklessly led someone to their main base. Keith walked over to a grouping of barrels and raised his hand.

Scurrying could be heard when his hand reached near its peak and a quick figure abandoned its hiding spot. Not a moment later, the group of barrels had been reduced to splinters of wood and metal.

Keith looked to the fool who had decided to challenge their gang. He was a stringy boy with fierce eyes that did not match his build.

"Young ones shouldn't be involved in these matters," Keith smirked, "who's dad did we rob for his brat to come after us alone?"

"...Curtis" A frail voice hesitantly responded.

Keith's eyes widened as he thought of the stalker's identity. The only one who fit the bill was Curtis's only son, Wilson.

"Little Wilson, do you think that anything will change if you find out where we are?" Keith maliciously grinned as he thought of all the things he could do with Wilson walking in here on his own.

"Something will happen," Wilson stood up and straightened his back, looking Keith in his eyes. "Karma will strike you down!"

Keith burst out in laughter at Wilson's immature ideals, amused by the child's naivety. "Hey, kid, maybe you really can fix this problem!"

Wilson's eyes brightened from its murky mix of fear and rage, "Really?"

Keith's grin reached his eyes as he said, "Of course, your organs will have a high price with how young you are, right?"

It was then that Wilson started to realize how there was no chance of him convincing these monsters. They had all sacrificed their humanity in the face of money and weak authority.

Keith started walking towards the helpless Wilson.

"Although your brain doesn't seem like it will sell well because it isn't fully developed,"

Step.

"maybe your stomach will fetch a good price because you haven't had the worst foods to ruin it."

Step.

"Oh, how could I forget? The bone marrow!"

Step.

Wilson was paralyzed with fear at the face of someone gleefully talking about chopping him up and selling his organs.

"P-please!" Wilson pleaded, "W-why do you have to do it this way?"

Keith reached Wilson and moved his hand over the boy's head, "Because it's the most fun this way. Obviously."

Wilson closed his eyes and prayed to something that this would all blow away, that nothing bad would happen.

And his prayers were answered.

Keith paused before letting out a blood-curdling scream the likes of which had not been heard in the area for a long time.

Behind Keith stood Naos, holding Orion in his hand, the blade sheathed in Keith's back. The point that Naos had stabbed was not enough to kill the man, but plenty enough to immobilize him with a mix of pain and physical trauma.

Wilson opened his eyes to see that Keith had fallen to the floor, spasming violently for a moment before becoming still. Standing where Keith had before was the customer that he had welcomed less than a day ago.

"W-why're you here?" Wilson was still terrified from his previous situation but somehow managed to ask a question.

"I took in a request from your father to take down this gang in exchange for lodging." Naos put away his blade and turned his back to the child. "I couldn't exactly let you die, since you still need to attend to customers like me."

Before Wilson could string together enough slurred words to make a somewhat comprehendible sentence, Naos had walked into the building and closed the door behind him.

A click could be heard from the door and Wilson simply sat there. He was still scared from what had happened, affected heavily. When he could finally stand back up again, he rushed as quickly as his shaking legs could take him to get back home.

No blood had stained his clothes.

...

Naos looked around the room he entered. It looked like a room that was just to branch out to other more important rooms. One door at the back left of the room he could hear multiple voices talking cheerfully.

That one seemed like a recreation room for the gang members where they would gather to play games together.

Another room was seemingly silent, but if Naos focused on what little sound he could hear from it, wailing filled his sensitive ears. That door appeared to lead to a room filled with inhumane horrors and trophies of the gang's atrocities.

Naos decided to enter the recreation room first to start his crusade against the horrendous people of the Badger.