Mercenary Crew (Part 2)

ARCANE ERA

Chapter 27: Mercenary Crew (Part 2)

The world stood still.

Theo, with bulging eyes, felt his body move on its own—sharply leaving his position as he darted towards his friends. For a brief moment, he glanced behind him and saw the man with the scarred, deformed face as well as his allies.

All twenty of them looked stunned, unable to fathom that they were being followed.

'Damnit! I mentioned their names…' Theo thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he pushed his body forward so he could close the distance and rescue his friends. 

However, before he could stop the grinning silhouette, the looming figure forced his blade down in unstoppable descent. Time froze for Theo at that moment, as his racing heart practically went into overdrive and more beads of sweat formed on his face.

Was this the end for his friends? Would they—?

WHOOSH!

Liyah easily dodged the attack, her attention sharply focused on the man behind her—much to his shock. Her reaction time was unreal, with her body instantly leaping to action as soon as she heard the warning from Theo.

"Tch!" The assassin clicked his tongue, alternating his grip style so he could pierce rather than slash with his blade.

And, this time, his target was Kaycee.

CRACK!

Liyah either picked up on this frighteningly quickly, or she predicted the action, but her next course of action was to send a powerful punch to the man's wrist—dislocating it instantly—while swiftly spinning to hit him in the chin, completely stunning him.

Both her attacks connected successfully, and the blade sharply lunged into the air as a result.

Theo leaped from his position, grabbed the blade, and settled right next to his friends. He made a relieved smile, and his eyes which focused almost solely on Liyah glimmered with both pride and surprise.

He hadn't expected her to be so skilled at disarming an opponent.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Theo told the two, and they instantly nodded—racing off as they heard the footsteps of followers nearing them. Before leaving, however, Theo quickly grabbed the man Liyah knocked unconscious, easily carrying him on his shoulders as he picked up the pace and overtook his friends.

Since he had optimal vision at night, he had to keep watch over their path so they wouldn't get any further surprises or fall into any traps. 

He also handed the blade over to Liyah so she could cover the group with it if it came to that.

"This way!" Whispering under his breath so only those immediate to him could hear, he guided his friends through the labyrinthine passage that he already memorized. They followed his lead, their hearts racing and their breaths heavy.

Kaycee was especially sluggish in his movements, as his frightened state sent exhaustion creeping into his body at a much faster rate. They kept glancing behind them as they ran, worried that the shady men were following them, but at some point they saw no one and decided to find their way back to the rented R'ac.

"Damnit… why aren't the street lights turned on?" Kaycee's murmurs echoed silently into the night as they neared to the parking area where their driver promised to be.

Thankfully, they saw their R'ac still there, with the driver impatiently clacking his feet as he sighed in frustration. He probably never expected to remain out so late and was looking forward to an early end in his shift.

Once Theo spotted him from a distance, he yelled: "Hurry! Start the R'ac!" 

The driver turned in their direction, frowning deeply as he tried to complain about their attitude despite the inconsideration they had shown him. However—

"START IT NOW!"

Theo's eyes glowed bright amber in the darkness, his deep command causing the very air around them to tremble. The moment the driver felt this intensity, he hurriedly entered the vehicle and started it.

Two of the three of them entered—Liyah seated in front, while Kaycee entered the back, with Theo hurriedly closing the door as soon as the two of them got in.

"What are you doing, Theo? Get in!"

Theo vehemently shook his head. "I have to find answers to the things I heard. I'll shake them off on my own somehow and interrogate this guy once I get somewhere safe."

"But—!"

"There's no time." He interrupted. "Hand over the blade. I can at least use that if push comes to shove."

Liyah sighed, hurriedly giving Theo the weapon while he squarely stared at the driver and signaled for him to drive full-speed ahead. The driver gulped and nodded, sweat covering his face as he pressed his foot against the 'Accelerate' pedal.

"Let's meet up at our usual spot tomorrow! Stay safe!" He yelled as the car zoomed off, leaving only a trail of smoke and dust in its wake.

Inhaling some of the thick mist, Theo coughed and spat, hurriedly taking a careful examination of his surroundings. His eyes sharply looked for any sign of pursuit, and his ears worked in overdrive—seeking the slightest sound from any enemy.

Upon detecting nothing of the sort around him, he crept into the shadows and vanished into the night. As he did so, Theo couldn't help but stare into the night sky and wonder if the Divine Ones had also seen the brief chaos that had just ensued.

'What do you think?' A fearless smile formed on his face. 'Pretty crazy, right?'

***********

"Kayso… Lilia… um… was that what he said? Does anyone here remember their names?" The man with the scarred face asked, glancing at all his comrades who slowly shook their heads after hearing the question.

"That so? What a bummer…"

Not only were they unable to kill or capture the intruders, but they couldn't even keep up with them and had to let them escape. 

It was an embarrassing display of incompetence from them.

However, the scarred man was not fazed.

He simply shrugged and let out a disappointed sigh, itching his unruly hair as he sat and stared at the pocket watch in his hand. His eyes narrowed as soon as he noticed something glow from within it, but before he could say anything a voice emerged from the tense silence.

"You let someone sneak up on you?"

Everyone in the group instantly shuddered, feeling the strong pressure from the huge man who suddenly appeared from nowhere. He wore a pitch-black trench coat, with a gentleman's hat matching his ominous outfit.

Crunching sounds echoed behind the workshop as the thick boots of the man pressed against the ground and he approached the group. He had shaded glasses that obscured his eyes, with strands of dark hair filtering out of his hat.

"I-intermediary… you're finally here!" One of the men nervously said. "We've been expecting you!"

"…."

The man in the trenchcoat said nothing—instead choosing to glance at everyone in the group while a low growl echoed from his obscured lips.

"One of you is absent."

"A-about that… well… it seems the intruders took him with them…"

"…." He frowned.

"B-but we're working on it! We're trying to track them down as we speak. If you could help us with an Armament that we can use to track our comrade, we'd be forever grateful to the Mercenary King, and—"

"Do not speak of him so casually… unless you are prepared for the consequences." The intermediary warned sternly.

"S-sorry…" 

An intense moment of silence echoed in the space, as everyone in the group seemed downcast and nervous… except one. The scarred man walked from where he stood and approached the intermediary.

"So are you going to help us or not? We did everything you asked and participated in the orientation—which turned out to be a series of tests. Nearly half of us passed, which means we've advanced the plan." He spoke brazenly, an irreverent smile etched on his deformed face. "We've advanced the plan of the Mercenary Crew, which means we deserve a seat at the table. At the very least… I do."

"What you're asking for…"

"Yes! I want to meet the King. I've earned the right to be an intermediary too."

"Even after you nearly compromised the mission by acting suspiciously in the orientation and drawing attention to yourself? Not only did you ask if murder was allowed, but you also asked about our target, Shen Ak'ashi."

"This again…" He clicked his tongue as he glared at the intermediary.

"Did you ever stop to consider the possibility that those intruders only managed to spot you and follow you here because of your suspicious behavior at the Preliminary Rounds? And not only did you fail to kill them, but you also let one of your members get captured." The intermediary growled. "Such incompetence… what did I expect from a bunch of low-level mercenaries…"

"Hey! What the hell did you just—"

SPLAT!

Before the scarred man could even finish his sentence, his body exploded into meaty paste.

Entrails scattered all around, with blood splashing all around the onlookers whose bulging eyes took in the gory sight—unable to believe what had just happened despite seeing it take place right in front of them.

"Captain—!"

Before they could even protest or reach out to the pasty remains of their deceased leader, each of them began to explode. One after the other, they turned into chunks of meat, with viscous red liquid painting their pinkish flesh like jelly.

Within only a few seconds, the entire scene had transformed into a grotesque landscape of blood and death. Only two people remained to appreciate the twisted beauty of the horrific canvas tainted by bloodshed.

—The intermediary, and one low-level mercenary.

"P-please don't kill me…. I don't wanna die…" He cried, trembling as he knelt before the intermediary. 

He didn't care that his shaking hands pressed against the squishy remains of his comrades. Even as he felt pieces of their innards cling to his skin and saw his distorted reflection in the river of blood beneath him, he pressed his body lower—taking in the nauseating stench of blood and gore.

"You don't have to die if you tell me what I want to know." The intermediary smiled, crouching slowly; revealing how his dark trench coat remained completely free of any bloodstain 

"W-what do you want to know?" 

He drew closer, a cruel smile forming on his darkened face. "Who among you passed? Tell me their names, numbers, and everything else you know."