Creatures Lurking in the Dark

"Hey, where are the guys going on patrol!? I haven't heard anything from them!"  A man barged into the room and shouted angrily.

 

He was called Stid, Oris's right-hand man.

 

There were around a dozen men gathered inside this room. Despite the large number, this room was designed as a longue, so it had no problem with this many people.

 

All of these men stared at the ground, trying to avoid making eye contact with Stid.

 

"I asked you a question. Are you all deaf or something? Where are they!?"  (Stid)

 

"U-Um... I-I'm here."  A man timidly stood up and raised his hand.

 

"Why are you the only one here? Where are the others?"  Stid glared at the man.

 

"W-When we were on patrol, we heard a loud noise from an alley and went to check. There, we found a man and a woman. A-And..."  The man looked at the floor.

 

"And then what? I did tell you to catch any women wandering into this area. I don't care about the man. Did you kill him or something?"  (Stid)

 

"A-Actually, we did as you said and tried to capture the woman. But they beat us up."  The man said stutteringly.

 

"What...? How many of you were there?"  (Stid)

 

"W-We had eight people."

 

"So you are telling me, even with eight against two, you got your asses kicked and ran away?"  (Stid)

 

"N-No, it was the man who singlehandedly defeated us."

 

"FUCKING TRASH!!"  Stid punched the man.

 

"Aargh!"

 

The man fell to the ground, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

 

"Fucking eight men lost a fight against a single man. Are you all fucking pussies or something!?"  Stid continued to stomp on the man with his feet.

 

"Sir, please stop. You're gonna kill him."  Another man grabbed Stid's shoulder from behind.

 

"Fucking useless piece of trash."  He kicked the man on the ground one more time and continued, "I want you all to find that man and bring him to me. I don't care what it takes or how many men you need. Find that man and woman. I will let the one who brought them to me have a taste of the woman after the boss and me."  (Stid)

 

*Slam*

 

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!"  Suddenly, the door slammed open, and a man rushed into the room.

 

"Now what!?"  (Stid)

 

"S-Sir! I'm not sure who, but a group of men armed with weapons are coming toward the front gate!"  The man said. His ragged breathing was the result of his rushing to report the news.

 

"What the actual fuck is going on!? Those guys are from Bruno's gang!"  Stid ran toward the nearest window and peeked out. What he saw was a swarm of men coming in this direction. "You guys, gear up and intercept them! And you stop whining on the ground and go tell the boss!"

 

"Y-Yes!"  The man who was hit stood up and ran toward Oris's room. His face was in pain, and he could taste blood in his mouth. No doubt he had a cut inside his mouth.

 

He was hit for no reason. He wasn't even the first person who made contact with those two unidentified people. The five who went ahead of him started it all. He was just a small-time villain one could find anywhere. He couldn't survive on his own; hence he chose to work for Oris's gang. Despite the way he treated his men like trash, there were perks working for that man. He could fuck any woman he wanted in their captive. And recently, he took a liking to a girl named Yuri. The boss seemed to get sick of her and had been passing her around to his men. He couldn't forget how tight her holes were after the first time, and since then, he had been completely hooked on the girl.

 

"Hehehe, wait for me, little Yuri. I'll give you my love after this."  The man muttered with a lecherous smile on his face. He imagined how tight her snatch wrapped around his manhood and managed to get an erection while running.

 

He completely forgot that he was hurt unjustified. But none of that mattered. Right now, he had to inform the boss about this emergency. Then after that, it's fun time.

 

The pain made him out of breath, but he could see the destination up ahead. Since it was an emergency, he didn't need to knock. So he turned the knob and slammed the door open.

 

"Boss! It's an emergency! Bruno's gang is atta– Guuorrgh!" 

 

It happened so fast. By the time he realized what had just happened, it was already too late. As the door was opened, he saw his boss, Oris, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Then he saw the woman he had thought about ravaging. Next, he saw a strange cat girl who he had no idea of. She quickly pulled his shirt to make him lose his balance, then she jumped up, and a sharp pain assaulted his neck. He fell to the floor and realized that he could no longer breathe. The pain in his neck made him reflexively reach out to hold it. It felt strange. His neck was caved in. Instead of his apple's Adam, it was a concave part that replaced it. The lack of oxygen started to take place. He stared up and saw the two girls saying something to each other as they looked at him scornfully, but he couldn't make out what they were talking about.

 

Slowly, his vision turned dark as the two's voices grew distant.

 

Meanwhile, down at the longue area, Sid, along with the men in the room, ran outside and saw that the group that was attacking them had already knocked down the gate and swarmed into the courtyard. He noticed Bruno himself was the one leading his men to attack them.

 

The boss of their rival gang had his halberd resting on his shoulder, and his arms and legs were covered in gauntlets. He was clearly here not to talk but to fight.

 

"Bruno, what is the meaning of this!? Didn't you and my boss agree to the non-aggressive pact?"  Stid shouted loudly.

 

"Heh~ And you have the ball to tell me that when it was your side who violated it first? Are you taking me for a fool!?"  Bruno bellowed angrily to answer him.

 

"What nonsense are you talking about? Moreover, as a man of cautious character like yourself, did you not consider drawing the attention of the knight? Have you lost your mind? Withdraw your man, and I promise I will explain to my boss that what happened today was just a misunderstanding."  (Stid)

 

"Ahahahahaha!"  Bruno laughed arrogantly.

 

"What's so funny?"  Stid raised his eyebrow.

 

"I am laughing at your stupidity."  Bruno pointed his finger right at his face.

 

"Are you making fun of me?"  Stid drew his weapon.

 

"Listen carefully. I don't know who did you piss off, but there is an official notice from the government. It comes with a nice portrait of your boss's, Oris's face, and some pretty penny attached to it. It also says that you all are to be captured, dead or alive. You all are just wanted criminals. Gahahahaha!"  Bruno raised his halberd and roared. "Men, look at their boss. A pussy who enjoys his little confine and lets his men protect him. We will show them the might of Bruno's gang! Brothers, sisters, get them!"

 

"Tsk, It seems talking is useless! You all! Push them back, and do not let a single one of them enter the building!"

 

The two groups shouted and rushed straight at each other's throats.

 

Bruno was an active man. His height was almost two meters tall, his muscles were packed and bulged from underneath his clothes, and the length of his weapon gave him an intimidating look. Each time he swung his weapon, his enemies were knocked away despite blocking the strike. Lucky for them, he didn't go for the kill as he tried to avoid attacking any vital points. A gang boss he was, there were standards and rules he followed. If he could help it, then he wouldn't spill unnecessary blood.

 

"Ggaark!"  One of Bruno's men cried out in pain. His right arm was bleeding badly from a large wound.

 

The one who caused such an injury was none other than Stid. He was a dual dagger wielder. Blood of its victims was dripping down from the blade of the daggers in his hands. His clothes and weapon of choice indicated that he was an agile fighter—the complete opposite of Bruno, whose forte was powerful strikes.

 

Stid's and Bruno's eyes met. They acknowledged each other as a worthy opponent and silently readied their weapon.

 

"Retreat and have your wound treated. I'll take care of him."  Bruno ordered his men to retreat.

 

"I'm sorry, boss. I couldn't be of use."  The man bowed and retreated.

 

"Don't mention it. He's not someone you can easily take on."  Bruno said without turning his eyes away from Stid.

 

He had seen the man fight before, and he knew that he was an opportunist fighter. He would resort to all kinds of tricks to get the upper hand. In that regard, he could be said to be the strongest fighter in Oris's gang, even stronger than the boss himself. It was a puzzle as to why a man of his caliber would become a gangster.

 

But a fight was a fight; you only had yourself to blame if you fell for the traps. Only idiots would fight fair and square. The winner would decide the fate of the loser. That was the law of this slum.

 

"I've always wanted to crossblade with you, Bruno. How good will your blood taste when I draw it out with my daggers."  Stid flicked his dagger to clear the blood away.

 

"Good, we share the same sentiment. Come!"  (Bruno)

 

"You don't have to tell me twice!"  (Stid)

 

Stid rushed forward as he bent his body low to the ground. Bruno raised his halberd and slammed it down to where he expected Stid's trajectory toward him. The blade missed a mere inches away from Stid's head and crashed into the ground, creating a large crevice.

 

He didn't miss because he calculated the trajectory wrong; he missed because Stid moved his head backward at the last second. With his weapon lodged into the ground, it created an opening. Bruno needed a second to lift his halberd again, but that one second was enough for Stid, who was already in range of attack, to strike. He released his hands from the handle just a split second before Stid's daggers slashed through where his wrists were.

 

Realizing he was at a disadvantage in close-quarter combat, Bruno created a gap by stomping down on his halberd, creating a shockwave in a meter radius around him and sending dirt and rocks to fly away.

 

Stid was faster as he had already retreated outside of the impact zone. He ignored the pieces of rocks flying at him and rushed in to close the distance once again. He knew Bruno's weapon was useless against him, who was a dagger user, in close combat.

 

But he was being kept at bay. Bruno clearly knew the weakness of his weapon, so he swung it in half a circle to stop his advance. With his momentum, he couldn't stop in time and was forced to deflect the strike. Blocking the attack was foolish since even he could not match Bruno in strength.

 

He deflected the strike upward with his right dagger and slipped in between the gap of Bruno's defense with his left dagger. He thought he could deal a fatal strike to his opponent, but his dagger was punched to the side and put a minor scratch on Bruno's armor.

 

Bruno had gotten used to his beloved weapon, so, of course, he knew all about its weaknesses. That was why he didn't restrain himself in fighting with the halberd but also with his fist. He was also a capable unarmed fighter. The moment his weapon was deflected upward, he released his right hand from the handle and punched the incoming blade aiming at his chest to the side, causing it to miss its mark. He put strength in his leg and swung a kick at Stid, who was caught off guard after the failed attempt attack.

 

"Goohoogh!"  Stid rolled on the ground a distance away from where he was. It was a clean hit into his stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs. It wasn't a fatal strike, but it cleanly damaged his innards as blood dripped out from the corner of his mouth. His daggers had already left his hands when he was kicked.

 

"Still want to continue?"  Bruno placed the halberd on his shoulder and cautiously approached Stid, who was dragging his body up on his feet.

 

"F-Fuck you!"  Back on his feet, he drew a few smaller, hidden daggers from his belt and threw them, aiming for his eyes

 

"Hnnh! Cheap tricks."  Bruno effortlessly blocked it with his gauntlets raised. But when he put his hand down, Stid had already retreated to the backline, running into the mansion.

 

"Heh~ I expected much more from you. I guess birds of feathers do flock together. They are a bunch of pussies."  Bruno snorted and turned his gaze toward the ongoing fight around him.

 

Probably due to how fierce their fight was, the men had kept a distance, and no one dared to get closer.

 

"Their leader has run with a tail between his legs. Let's finish this quick, boys!"  Bruno shouted out to his men.

 

The men's fighting spirit was rousted, knowing their boss had just defeated their leader singlehandedly. As for their opponents, their will to fight hit rock bottom. Some even dropped their weapons and surrendered to Bruno's men. With how little Oris's members' fighting force became, along with Bruno's might mowing them down like flies, the fight quickly came to an end.

 

While Bruno helped his men in clearing out the enemies, Stid retreated back into the mansion and closed the main entrance. He also reinforced the door with barricades.

 

(Fuck Fuck Fuck!!! Where the fuck is the reinforcement!? Where the fuck are you, Oris???)  Stid screamed in his mind.

 

Two men from inside saw his doing. One of them asked. "S-Sir, what are you doing?"

 

"Are you fucking blind!? We are retreating. They have more numbers than us! And where is the boss!?"  Stid yelled at the man.

 

"I'm sorry. I don't know. We haven't seen him."

 

"Fucking hell. Useless shit. Even if Oris came, we wouldn't be able to turn the table. It's too late now. Put a blockade on this door."  Stid stomped his feet angrily.

 

"B-But we still have men outside. We have to help them."  The man said.

 

"You go help them then!"  (Stid)

 

"B-But..."

 

"What!? If you can't help them, then shut up and help me block the door! This gang is over. We will escape through the sewage in the basement. We can get the slaves along the way too. Follow me, and I'll give each of you a slave or two to enjoy however you want."  (Stid)

 

"U-Understood."  The men nodded and stacked tables, chairs, and anything they could find to block the door.

 

"Good! Now follow me to the basement. We'll escape this shit hole."  (Stid)

 

Stid led the men and headed to the basement, where they held the captive girls and their hidden escape route.

 

Meanwhile, the commotion in the courtyard of this abandoned mansion had come to an end. They had subdued all members of Oris's gang.

 

Those with injuries were given first aid.

 

Those without injury were tied up and interrogated for the mansion's layout by Bruno personally.

 

Those fallen in the battle were carefully moved to a side.

 

After getting all the information he needed, Bruno left a few people to guard the captive and proceeded to enter the mansion with the rest of his men.

 

"Boss, it's locked. We can't open the door at all!"  The men tried to force their way into the mansion but were unable to.

 

"That bastard Stid must have barricaded it. Let me; you guys stand to the side."  Bruno raised his halberd and slammed the blade into the door with all of his strength.

 

Similar to the fight just now, it generated a shockwave and blasted the door away, along with various objects that were used to block the entrance.

 

"Let's go. You guys split up and search all the rooms. I need a group of three to head to the top floor and help me search for Oris. Be careful, and make sure you do not bring harm to the captives."  (Oris)

 

"""Yes, sir!"""

 

Bruno, along with three men, went up to the floor where Oris's office was located.

 

"Still, what happened to Oris? We haven't seen him the whole time."  One of the men asked.

 

"Who knows? But we should find out soon enough."  (Bruno)

 

"Boss, you think he fled the moment he saw us coming?"  Another man asked.

 

"I doubt so. He hated losing without a fight. As far as I know, with how greedy he is, he would fight to the death to protect what he owns." Bruno continued. "It should be this floor. You guys check his office; I'll check his bedroom. Be careful."

 

"""Roger!"""  The three men walked over to where Oris's office was located.

 

As for Bruno, he stopped in front of the door that led to Oris's bedroom. Taking a deep breath, he kicked down the door and entered with his weapon.

 

It was an empty room. His room was excessively decorated with naked paintings of beautiful women. Pieces of paper were scattered on the floor. Next to the bed was a glass cabinet that housed various types and sizes of adult toys. In one particular corner of the room, there was even a wooden horse and an X-shaped wooden plate with handcuffs. Around them was a table with half-burnt candles and whips. They were no doubt the bastard's sick hobby to torture women.

 

He lowered his weapon and looked around. But he couldn't find anything else important. There was no sign of Oris in this room.

 

"Boss, you might want to see this."  One of his men called out to him from the entrance.

 

Following him, Bruno was led to Oris's office, where the other two men stood and stared silently at the floor.

 

"Did you find him?"  Bruno asked.

 

"Ah! Boss, we've found him. But..."  The man stepped to the side and pointed at the floor.

 

It was Oris, lying motionlessly on top of the carpet that was painted red with his blood.

 

Bruno walked closer and checked the body.

 

"The wound is still fresh. His blood is still dripping."  He rolled the body around to check the wound on the neck.

 

"Boss, look at this."  One of the men picked up a broken pen and showed it to him.

 

The pen was still covered in blood.

 

"Who could have done this...?"  The man asked.

 

"You reckon it's Stid?"  Another hypothesized.

 

"It's not him. I know that bastard Stid. The reason why he followed Oris was because he was easy to manipulate. Besides, if he wanted to kill him, he could have used his weapons instead. It's highly likely that there is a third, unknown force in this place... Wait, there was that anonymous letter that was sent to us to inform us about the wanted notice of Oris. Don't tell me! No... impossible... but..."  (Bruno)

 

"What's wrong, boss?"  One of the men asked worriedly.

 

"This is bad! You two, go find our men and tell them not to antagonize any suspicious person who does not look like Oris's men. Hurry up."  Bruno turned to his men and sent his order.

 

"Y-Yes. Understood!"  Two of them rushed out of the room, leaving behind Bruno and the third man.

 

"What's wrong, boss? You look anxious."  The man asked.

 

"N-No, it might just be my imagination. Anyway, help me search this room. I want the records of Oris's transactions, the names of the buyers, and details of their shipments.

 

"Roger!"

 

While Bruno's men were performing a sweep in the mansion, Stid and two other men made their way to the basement.

 

"Wait, why is the door to the basement open? Did someone leave without closing it?"  Stid asked.

 

"I don't know, sir. We were upstairs the entire time."  The man replied; both looked at each other and shook their heads.

 

"Tsk, let's go."  (Stid)

 

They walked down a couple of stairs and reached the cell they used to hold the slaves. But what was bizarre to them was that instead of being inside the cell, all the slaves were standing outside, hugging and crying to each other.

 

"Oi! Who allow you bitches to be outside!?"  Stid grabbed the hand of the girl closest to him and shouted.

 

"""Kkyaah!!!"""

 

……

 

…

 

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