Chapter 45

It took me a while to adjust to riding the horse, in fact it was the first time I rode a horse in my entire life, and the buildings and streets seemed to move like a blur as I passed them with Shinso behind me.

He decided not to take another horse because it was very stubborn and refused to move in any way, shape or form, so he decided to tag along with me because it was our safest bet.

"We're almost there."

I assured Shinso, looking back at him with a careful expression, my eyes also scanning the rooftops for any suspicious or dangerous activity.

I pulled out the bullet from my pocket and held it tightly in my hand, hoping not to lose it. Suddenly, another loud boom was heard from above, then a woosh seemed to pass inches from our faces, and suddenly stopped once a tiny clink hit the ground. 

"What the-"

I attempted to hoist the horse in its spot, but it wouldn't budge, it just kept on running, so had no choice but to land a powerful hit in its right leg. The horse let out a loud neigh that pierced the quiet night before tripping onto the ground, causing a flurry of dust to fill the air.

While the dust flew in my face, another loud bang filled the air, as another object whisked past my fast and hit the ground again. I knelt down and picked up the object, it was a bullet! The same bullets that made the carriage driver explode minutes ago!

I stocked the bullet into my pocket before running out of the dust and immediately looking towards the rooftops, and suddenly I saw a silhouette of a figure, they had a large black cloak over their features, and their handgun was pointed in my direction.

"Get down!"

Shinso yelled as he ran at me, the sound of the gunshot pierced the air again as Shinso pushed me to the ground, allowing me to dodge the bullet in instantaneous speeds.

The cloaked figure leapt back, putting their handgun back into their holster beneath their cloak, before pulling out a large throwing knife and leaping down from the building, throwing it in our direction.

I felt the knife grace my cheek slightly as I managed to get up and weave past the knife, which hit the street behind us.

The scent of warm blood filled the air as it leaked down my face, and the cloaked figure pulled out another knife, ready to throw it again at us.

Before they could do anything, Shinso charged at the cloaked figure, swinging wildly at the cloaked figure in an attempt to overwhelm them.

The figure let out a low growl as he landed a hard punch in Shinso's gut, sending him back into the road, coughing for air.

Before I could say anything the figure pulled out his gun again and pointed it inches from my face, their wrinkly hands hovering over the trigger.

I closed my eyes tightly, sweat beaming down my head.

"Damn it…"

Then they pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into my skull. But for some reason, it didn't go dark, I didn't go to heaven or hell, I was still here, where's the pain of the bullet, did they miss or something?

All those questions flooded my mind as I carefully opened my eyes, when I did…the figure was looking in another direction, towards Aaron who was in the middle of the street.

"You!"

The figure called out, who I now could tell was a man. He attempted to put out his gun but was stopped by a swift punch to the face, sending them tumbling back a few steps before recovering his equilibrium in time for the next blow.

Aaron leaped up, having surprising agility for an old man, landing a kick at the man's head, sending his hood off and exposing his face, his icy white hair, and his wrinkled up face. He didn't look too good to say the least.

Suddenly the man let out a low growl, and his pale skin started to turn charcoal black, and his nearly cut fingernails shaped into eagle like talons.

"Wait, is this the man that Demetrius was talking about?!"

I didn't have time to finish my mental sentence as he leapt up and clawed me across the face, sending me into the street, my face leaking with a lot more blood than before.

"Isaac!"

I heard Aaron call, before ordering Shinso over to me for assistance.

"You ok?!"

Shinso's voice was filled with concern and worry as he lifted me up and rolled me over to get a full view of my blood stained face.

"You're bleeding a lot!"

He stated as he frantically pulled off his vest, wrapping it around my face like a protective fabric covering.

Shinso then grabbed my by the arm and hoisted me over his shoulder, running away from the fight before swinging into an alleyway and setting me down on the ground for treatment.

"We're safe now."

He whispered as he sat down next to me, looking down at me with a face of worry.

"You're gonna be fine."

"I am fine."

My muffled voice rang out from beneath my makeshift bandages, it filled with annoyance and a little fluster.

Shinso looked away and blushed a little.

"Right…"

Aaron leapt back to dodge the "man's" powerful swing with his talons, his many red, glowing eyes locked on Aaron's movements, analyzing it like a living supercomputer.

He then leapt at Aaron spinning around and attempting to claw at his face, but Aaron using his precognition was able to dodge the attack before returning his own, kicking him right in the jaw.

The crunch of teeth and bone matter was a quiet yet potent sound, letting Aaron know he landed a critical hit on the "man's" jaw.

The beast-man hybrid fell to the ground, letting out a whimper like howl that rang throughout the streets. 

Aaron walked over to the beast-man slowly, planting his left foot on his chest to stop any movement coming from the beast-man.

"Tell me, who are you?"

Aaron asked, his voice suddenly turning illusory and layered with another voice, which was actually many voices.

Suddenly the beast man let out a high pitched shriek, as its body started to smoke like a cigarette, like it would catch on fire at any given moment.

The beast man's body started to turn into a translucent smoke that flew into the air, like it was being vaporized.

"What are you doing?"

Aaron's voice fell to a whisper, like he was talking to an animal, except that animal was yelling and writhing underneath his body.

The beast man continued to yell and howl, until it disappeared quickly like it was instantly vaporized, causing Aaron to put his foot back down ground, a look of confusion and worry on his face.

"It disappeared…"