Encounter

It really, really hurts now.

"It's rejecting my interference. I can't treat him like that!"

No one was willing to give an ear to the ward man.

Except Facade—who was continuously forced to hear his complaints for two hours.

He wished that he had something to block his ears.

"Shit. No one is giving me a break!"

There was frustration coursing through the man's nerves, and—being just an orderly in the hierarchical Forces—he couldn't help but talk to himself.

Facade was first relieved that he got minutes to let out his exhaustion, but his weariness had just shot the skies.

And to add more odds to his worn-out day, he had never experienced being more than fifty minutes inside the Forces—not even once.

It had never been a part of his mission to spend hours inside the same ground, and the Forces weren't an exception.

Not to mention the 'Treatment Ward' where he had already exceeded his calculated amount of time—still waiting for someone to bandage his almost drying wound.

"Why the hell is he asleep?"

Wait!?

What!! I'm asleep?

Facade's eyes widened at the false statement he had just heard.

Before he could function himself, he was pushed to think something.

About himself. From others' perspective.

Does it seem like I'm asleep when I don't move? Well, I did scratch my chin moments ago, but still?

He wasn't aware that his movements could give a false meaning to others.

Facade was about to speak up to release the man from his delusions—but instantly got an idea much better than that.

Something drawn from his intrusive thoughts.

Facade smirked.

The man again repeated the same lines to an officer who was nearly asleep on a nearby couch, and yet again, the statement was interpreted by Facade's unconscious ears.

Facade started sensing the attendant's position.

He was searching the surgical instruments laid flat on the overbed table—not finding the right one.

"Damn! Where is it?"

Facade heard rattling and clinking of metal—raising higher and higher with the orderly's agitation.

Facade waited for the man to repeat the same method he was doing—poking his arm with either long needles or sharp tools.

Now… crouch for me…

His smile kept widening while he locked his almost-crouched target.

The moment the man did what Facade desired, he yanked to his side.

BOO!

He flung open his arms with a jolt, startling the man to let out a scream.

Just when a second passed, the door burst open.

Facade and the terrified man both paused—looking at the opened door.

"What the…"

Although Facade's eyes were on the door, he could only tell that those slowly flowingwaves wasn't of a man.

"Maaaaaaam!" The orderly rushed to her side, hiding behind her back like a scared child—while Facade just froze at his place.

Finally! Somebody came!

The appearance of someone from the Forces made him pleased for once.

"What's happening here?"

The girl narrowed her eyes on the silent man.

His pointed finger was all that he could do before entirely leaving the ward.

Facade realized by the girl's reaction that he was placed on one of the beds that was visible when entering.

Not that he tried to sense it before.

"Wait…" she marched near his bed. "So, you are the one? The Black Beast?" She eyed Facade.

From his veiled face to his odd fashion style, there was one thing standing out the most.

His hair.

It wasn't usual to see dove grey hair—especially one with long layered shag, curtain bangs, and a modern mullet influence.

Not forgetting his outdated cloak over his cool attire amidst the process.

"Humph… what the heck?"

The reaction was normal from officer's view.

A man that fashioned with a tag of criminal on his head was a walking contradiction.

The difference was, she had the guts to expose it right to Facade's face while others hadn't.

Heh? What do you mean by 'What the heck?'

Facade slightly squirmed in his bed, checking if something was wrong with him without giving much impression.

"What have you done to that man?"

The lady finally took her eyes off Facade and got to the point. But Facade remained shut—examining the figure standing beside his bed first.

A rigid mixture of blue and green analogue waves—a calm flow showcasing that she was a woman.

In Facade's early days of his strange sensing experience, he was more distracted than being able to see the world with colorful wave concepts—some being way into sync while others with distorted sharp edges.

Understanding all those features disturbed his other senses back then. He could recall pouring hot tea on a ceramic saucer, wrongly interpreting it to be a cup.

Still, it wasn't worse than grabbing someone's hair as a rope.

Facade was embarrassed just thinking about the moment.

Anyhow, he clearly understands how his sight works. The waves from human beings generally follow the DISC chart—in other words, their individual personalities trapped inside the waves in the form of colors.

The figure—including both the living and non-living—was generally interpreted by the wave's flow.

Compression is for rigidness, sharpness is for hardness, boldness is for softness.

Line is for death.

Humph...Green is for stableness, while blue is for logic and cautiousness. I don't want to know any further about her.

"Nurse! Yes, you!" After waiting too long for Facade's response, she redirected her gaze to another busy orderly—who was assembling the data of a nearby bed.

"Yes, Officer D.A." She dropped the clipboard on the patient's table and went for Facade's.

D.A? So that's her name.

"What's the matter here?" the officer inquired, knowing that she would get her answers this time.

The nurse assured her safety by taking a few steps back from Facade's reach—fearing that he could pull his uncertain stunt anytime on her too—and began to inform the events that happened in the officer's absence.

After hearing enough from the nurse, Officer D.A slowly turned her face to the half-laid Facade—stunned at the recent disclosure.

"O...kay, you may—"

"Treat my wound." Facade finally opened his mouth—interrupting the farewell between the two ladies without worrying about his first impression.

"But how can I treat it when it's rejecting the—"

"Oh, shut up already!" He again intruded with his growl. The nurse, bending to observe his arm, stood straight—enough to resemble the wall.

Okay, that's enough coming from people.

Facade finally made his mind to return in action, functioning his train of thoughts to plan his next move.

But before he began sampling the steps to leave the building, it was necessary to shoot a response which his tongue held for too long.

Facade darted to where the nurse was standing. "First of all. Your intel was invalid. I wasn't asleep." His head then swung in the direction of the newcomer.

"The second thing, why can't you just give me the stuff? I'll wrap up myself."

Facade's voice was hoarse as always.

"And why is that?" Officer D.A eyed the nearly-leaving nurse, which made her freeze.

"I don't know, Miss D.A. His veil… it's unbreakable."

"Veil? What's about that, mister?"

Finally taking a sitting position, Facade's finger passed through his grey hair—converting his shaggy bangs into a slight puff.

He wasn't bothered by his messy mullet; instead, he gave priority to tie them up in a loose ponytail.

However, his fabric clip slipped somewhere, and the sharp edges of his hair made his skin tickle now and then.

"We don't know either," the nurse answered on Facade's behalf, while he was busy scratching his temple. Officer D.A sighed, acknowledging that the task she had been given was hard.

A task to investigate the Black Beast.

Well, how in the world am I going to make him speak? He's… stern.

She pondered—dragging the chair within her reach. All she could do was observe the behavior of the man, not overseeing the information that despite his grim aura, he can be mischievous sometimes.

"Can you give me a quick detail about him?"

The nurse nodded in response.

Five minutes passed by, and the ladies continued their meeting about how they finally laid hands on Facade.

At some point, he heard them arguing about how to kill him if he tried to escape, and what hospitality should be given if he didn't open his mouth.

Really, they know no shame. I mean, I'm right in front of them.

Whatever.

While they were talking, Facade had opened his metal cuff by using his old trick—shrugging the handcuffs continuously in one place and the veil would just persistently repel the action, breaking it into half at some point.

Facade just walked between them and finally grabbed the bandage laying on the tray—leaving their mouths hanging in surprise.

The seated officer was abruptly forced to take a fighting stance, ready to overpower an invincible man.

The moment the nurse sensed danger, she sprang for the door and left the ward.

"How did you open the cuffs?" the officer calmly inspected the situation. Even though the exit of the ward room was swarming with officers on high alert, Officer D.A never considered her opponent lower in any terms.

Instead, she expected the outcome coming from the well-known Black Beast.

"Tell me. Right now." She stood firmly, her hands reaching the grip of her pistol tucked inside her tactical pants—well-hidden with her military-styled leather overcoat.

"Mind your own business. It's not your area. It's a Treatment Ward. Only an orderly can argue with me." Facade didn't mind sensing Officer D.A's current expression and again went for his bed—seating himself at the edge.

D.A was first confused to see the scene—a criminal not willing to escape the law even if he had the chance to do so.

"You should be thankful that we are letting you live, mister." D.A sized up the situation, not willing to let down her guard.

Tsk… where have I stuck myself? What is he doing?

What does he want??

"I would thank you people if I think you did the right thing. Letting me live is all that you could do." Facade pushed his cloak to one side and started rolling his arm with the bandage.

That is when he realized he hadn't applied the antibacterial solution first.

"There ware thousand ways to die, you know?" D.A was unsure if what she was saying, was even the truth.

She had heard it several times from her colleagues, that the Black Beast's mysterious veil could be destroyed. She even caught a wind of Officer Benson mentioning something about that at the council hall.

Even though it was a whisper, she made the meaning out of it.

Facade ignored the fluid and focused on continuing the wraps. "In how many ways exactly?"

"Poison, drowning, or making your insides up and down. There is a room for your choice." The officer mocked his inevitability of death but, her remark left Facade with a chuckle.

He was finally enjoying the talk.

"Let's say, you gave me poison. Well, unlucky you, my veil doesn't allow things that harm me in any way." He continued to roll the bandage. "And secondly, drowning me would be a good idea but unlucky you that I sense the water just as easy as air to breathe. And lastly, Miss D.A, making things upside down is similar to poisons." He finally finished—both the patching and his sentence.

D.A frowned in her place, wondering what kind of fantasy she was experiencing.

Things like Facade's black veil were a shock to everyone in and out of the continent. These things weren't common.

And it shouldn't be.

"Better not to treat a barking dog, right?" Facade finally tossed the tangled bandage to the side table which unfortunately landed on the artificial fruit basket.

"Well, you're right. There really is no need to treat barking dogs." The officer smirked in disbelief, crossing her arms as an authority of her attitude.

She couldn't comprehend what kind of criminal Facade was.

"People who see humans and animals as equal are less humane, you see?"

"Oh, you know what? I didn't know. Thanks for feeding me." She spoofed his commentary. "Well… you're going to be executed right here. You better remember that. I'll make sure that happens." A gush of wind passed through when she moved a bit from the window.

"I don't even care." Facade shot back.

"..."

"You're a total trash can, you know that?" She exhaled sharply, avoiding a conflict between an investigator and a criminal.

"Pretty useful here." But Facade resisted and followed the sync, breaking D.A's reluctant smile into tight lips.

She resisted the urge to argue further and left without a word.

A nearby orderly—seeing that the entertainer was gone—retreated and started his checkups on other patients.

Location: The haunted mansion—sixth floor, seventh door.

"Where is he?" an eerie voice bounced through the spacious office—a glorious chandelier illuminating the carved golden linings of his lavish seating.

"He had been deployed to retrieve the 'gutter rats', master."

The man in his fifties stood beside the exquisitely detailed ornate table—a serving cloth draped over his forearm.

"And?" The man's face was covered by an ornate golden masquerade mask with intricate lace patterns—exuding mystery and elegance while concealing the face in shadows.

He demanded more information—his tone ominous yet full of elegance.

"Edmund, I asked something. Give me the details."

The butler sighed—fearing his advancement would add to his master's circumstances.

"Master, will you promise not to proceed with impulse?"

"Edmund."

Whenever Hood takes his butler's name once, it usually means that he was serious and didn't want to listen more.

No one could know it better than Edmund. He gulped his anxiety—taking a deep breath before informing.

"Facade was last seen at Orwave Street, late night at about three, with the same car my master had assigned to him."

Hood clicked his tongue—letting out an uncomfortable sigh. "What about up-to-date intel? Was no one positioned at the locations?"

"Crimson was. But, unfortunately, it's hard to trace him at a single point, master."

There was a silent knock on the polished door—a man with a full-coverage white mask emerged from behind the door.

"Anything the matter, houseman?" Edmund was the one to receive the papers in his hands. After the houseman whispered something in Edmund's ear, he bowed a little in respect before leaving Hood's office.

"Master." Edmund hesitated while marching back to his position. "It's not valid but..."

"But what?"

Hood eyed Edmund and slowly stood from his seat.

"Forces. They had Facade in their custody."

His eyes widened behind his mask and without wasting a single second, he rushed out of his office.

Edmund instantly put the cloth and signed papers on the gleaming table and followed him out.