A cloaked figure moved around the streets of the capital swiftly. A full-length dark coat hid his appearance from the exterior. Underneath the hood, one could barely notice the blue hair of the man that hid beneath it. With steady pace, he turned right in a corner and into a narrow dark corridor. The alley was a known spot for low-lives, and one more had just joined the lot. It was late in the afternoon, and the last rays of the sun crossed the sky. Night had come to Crocus.

Kenzo had been contacted by a man known as Xen in the streets. He was a thief in the complete sense of the word. According to some rumors in the underground, he was planning a hit on a noble mansion near the outskirts of the villa. Kenzo had come to know him through his contacts in the underground fights circuit. As such, he was now part of the plan to strike his mansion and steal him dry. As word went, this noble was a corrupt and despicable official. Just the perfect target for a little payback.

The mercenary walked towards the main gate. It’s iron works could be appreciated even by people who were ignorant on the topic. One could notice it was exquisite. Certainly, the noble was rotting in money. Kenzo was glad he’d be able to help him ease that burden. Carrying his armor and weapons, he slowly made his way to the main gate were a pair of guards were stationed. His task tonight was to be a decoy. As the two large men guarding the place noticed his presence, they yelled from afar as they rose their own weapons. ”You there! Freeze!” The man at the right was the first one to talk. Alerted, they positioned themselves in a triangular formation with Kenzo as one of its tips. They were certainly experienced in their work. Sadly, not enough. Before they could contact the main building for reinforcements, the rest of the team sprung from their hidden locations and dispatched the guards. As Xen came closer to Kenzo, he handed the man one of the ID tags from the guards. As the blue haired man changed clothes with the now unconscious guard, he spoke with a smile on his face ”Let’s drain the fucker.”

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By this moment, Kenzo had already memorized the building’s blueprints. He had a really definite idea in his head of the layout of the mansion. However, there was one small room that didn’t quite make sense. It was hidden between the treasure room and the kitchen grounds. However, it was place with the easiest access to the treasure. As the rest of the team took their positions, Xen and Kenzo infiltrated the main building. Knocking another guard unconscious on their way, Kenzo found himself finally at the entrance of the secret room. There was no intel on what was inside though, so this was the riskiest part of the mission. However, it was obvious when they arrived that the owner really tried to hide the place. Looking superficially, it looked like a storage room with a couple of bookshelves. Knowing instantly that the lever would be one of the books in the shelves, Kenzo thought to himself as he begun taking out every book, one by one. ”How original.”


Only a minute at most had happened, but a slight “Click” was heard as he pulled out a book titled “History of Crocus: A revised study of geopolitical formations in Fiore”. Certainly, a boring enough title to turn away any unwanted and unknowing passerby. In an instant, the metallic sounds of a mechanism in motion were fired up, revealing an opening in one of the walls. The fine tapestry in the room contrasted strongly with the nude rocks of the secret dark corridor. A wind current blew from the inside and past the mercenary’s face. With a silent nod, both him and Xen entered the place as they steeled their weapons.

In the darkness of the alley, Kenzo could faintly hear muffled voices. The words were indistinguishable, but loud enough for one to know that a human made the noise. As they got closer to the end of the corridor, the warm light of candles dispelled the darkness. Carefully, Kenzo peeked his head to see what was inside the room. What his eyes saw, brought a light chill down his spine.

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A dungeon. Completely fitted with torture devices and chains to spare. Breast rippers, wooden horses, metallic stocks and even an iron maiden. Kenzo would have been surprised by finding these torture devices inside an otherwise perfectly kept and noble manor. However, it was the fact that all of the devices were in use what made him disgusted. The man was not a stranger to torture. He’d partaken in it in the past when scouting for information. However, the common denominator here was that the tortured people were women of all ages. From children to old aged, women were being held by chains as blood ran across their naked bodies. Some of them were missing limbs, flesh rot off their skin and bodily fluids had dried over them. However, Kenzo had no time to spare for them. Walking through the corridor as he tried to ignore the gruesome sight, he found the door that connected to the treasure room. ”What a sick fuck…”. The only thing he could do was give a young woman a knife. Tears rolled down her eyes as he cut the ropes that held her prisoner. Instinctively gathering the blade, she began breaking free the rest of the women. They’d have to take care for themselves now.

Ignoring the pleas of help of the hostages, he got out the dungeon as he opened the old wooden door into the chamber. It was filled to the brim with treasure and gold. Kenzo and Xen began loading their bags with as much as they could. The man found some comfort knowing that he’d steal dry from a psychopath. Suddenly, the main entrance door opened slowly. A fat, bald man with a heinous moustache entered the place with a cup of wine in one hand. Kenzo had seen the drawing, he was unmistakably the owner of the place. ”Y-yoou!!! St-stop. What are you doing h-here???” As the man trembled in fear, Kenzo dashed towards him and slammed his hand on his throat. Gripping with strength, he dragged the fat man back to the dungeon as he squirmed and fought to gather some air. With a strong thud, the blue haired man threw the royal at the dungeon, slamming his head with the ground. As he tried to recover, the noble noticed that his prisoners were now all untied. Kenzo slowly walked at him as he pierced the fat man’s belly with his sword. With a smile, he muttered some farewell words. ”See you in hell.”

Kenzo walked away the place as he carried as many bags full of gold as he could. Taking one last glance back, he saw as the bleeding man screamed for mercy. Dozens of women had gathered the tools of torture they had been subjected to, stabbing the man multiple times all across his body. ”PL-PLEAASE!!!! H-HEL-HEELP! STOP!! NO-NOOO… MERCY!!

The mercenary disappeared in the middle of the night with the money. He was once again reminded of the gruesome nature of humankind that day.

-EXIT-
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