Back In Action

Night arrived, darkness falling upon the streets of Oie, the dreadful piles of snow that had once seemed like ever-regenerating foes had been cleared away just a little while after the weather calmed down, demonstrating just how efficient the city's caretaker were, this great efficiency was most certainly why the city lord was burdened with little criticism, he or his family rarely showed themselves, and as far as everyone was concerned, Oie was admirably managed.

And as shadows turned to dark, a figure garbed in black decided to come out and play once again.

Since the killing of Golden Teeth and his subordinates, time had passed and where the charred remains of his dwelling once stood, there was now only empty space some street vendors would sometime appropriate to sell their goods, the general population had been agitated a slight bit, but in the end, no one really cared that much, the authorities continued their investigation with the assistance of the one who was perhaps the most brilliant and invested prosecutor this kingdom had ever seen.

But it was not like people actually felt bad about the wicked loan sharks and his hired helpers, people died all the time, those who lived in luxury might not realise it, but death was a common guest even in well-off cities, children often died at birth, infected cuts would almost always lead to death, and medicine was expensive, when one grew a bit too old and became vulnerable, they would just die on the first few bumps encountered.

So extending sympathy for those who had only preyed upon others their entire lives was simply a waste of energy, most had simply forgotten about it, their minds more preoccupied by the present and near future.

Swift and stealthy, a silhouette moved through the quiet streets, looking around at the closed dwellings of the residents, looking for something.

'Mmh… Which one to pick?' there was a very subtle balance to enjoyment, on one hand, uncertainty and the quality of something possibly catching you off guard was most refreshing, but by deliberately choosing such situations, it made the entire thing feel superficial, so there needed to be a certain hint of control and knowledge, but that too, in excess, made things lose their colours and sweetness, but in the end, trying to control those two aspects would simply end up ruining the fun, so it was best to go along, simply be good enough to face unexpected events, and quick witted enough to gather information on the go.

There were exceptions, naturally, but the basics of hunting the greatest game of all was just as described…

'Why not this one?' and there he stood, Edrick, dressed in such dark clothing that he seemed to be embraced by the very darkness, he was before a small habitation similar to many others, stuck to move to either sides, and even to the back.

Thankfully, the houses and stores of Oie were all painted in a wide array of colours, so it prevented the whole place from looking identical and lifeless, not that every architecture was the same either, it was just messy enough to provoke a sensation of nostalgia within Anoteros, reminding him of his humble beginnings in the countryside, where every single houses, farm and the likes were multiple centuries old.

Old places always felt worth exploring.

He looked around the streets, the dim light provided by the moon wasn't much, but his cultivation allowed him to pick up on the light more easily and see better than the regular person.

Confirming that no one was around, he reached for the handle, pushing it down with just his index.

'No luck I guess' the door was locked.

So he crouched down and looked at the lock, it was a crude thing, the door could probably be kicked open by just about anyone with a bit of insistence, not because the wood was weak, but because the locking mechanism was.

Edrick seemed to consider something for a few moments, his face concealed by not only a hood, but a simple mask as well, the eye holes were rather big however, and the mask itself wasn't even close to being a tight fit, just like the whole attire.

After a few moments, he just knocked.

No one responded, he didn't hear any noise inside, so he pulled out a few tools, and soon enough, the door was opened, and like the well-behaved person that he was, Anoteros closed the door behind him.

The inside was far darker than the outside, and even he could barely see a thing, he walked around to make sure before beginning to quietly open doors, one by one, but the place was rather small and compact, so he eventually headed up the cramped stairs, leading him to the floor above, where there was only a single room.

Moonlight peered into the room into a single ray, revealing two figures sleeping soundly upon the bed.

Edrick noticed a chair in one corner, and stepped into the room itself, once again shutting the door behind him, looming over the unsuspecting couple as he took a good look at them.

'You've must have had a rather nice life' without making the slightest of sound, he checked the closest and retrieved some clothes that seemed sturdy enough, grabbed the chair and put it next to the bed, and poked the man's forehead, once, twice, thrice… And only on the sixth did his eyes start to move.

He muttered something incomprehensible, most certainly believing that it was his wife, fiancee or girlfriend that was waking him, he didn't even register that the mass of darkness he looked at was a person before Anoteros punched him in the face, sending him right back to sleep whilst the girl didn't even seem to react.

Edrick took the man out of the bed, sat him on the chair, and tied him up to it using the clothing he had sourced directly from here.

Turning his head to the woman, he silently walked to her side of the bed, and just leaned over her, tilting his head to the side.

"I know you're awake"

The reaction was instantaneous, but only the soft sound of her limbs dragging and striking against the bed were heard as he put his hand onto her mouth, using the other to pin both her wrists above her head, taking a minute or so to delight in the expression of pure terror.

'Look at me, I must have missed this, such simple stuff hasn't made me this hard in decades… Perhaps I should have taken pauses back then as well'

He spoke again, his voice guttural and sickening, utterly different from his natural way of speech, Edrick sounded more like a beast impersonating a human than anything else.

"You can scream if you want, but I'll kill you and him the moment your voice gets too loud for my liking, understood?" she did not know a thing about the infamous serial killer that was Edrick Lucien Anoteros, but a threat of this kind coming from someone with the blood of countless on his hands was more than just a little convincing, it was a promise.

He removed his hand and waited a few seconds.

"Good girl" his glove finger brushed against her lips.

"Pl-"

"Shhh, you want to beg for your life? You can do that by staying quiet and doing what I tell you to, nod if you understand"

She nodded.

"Very good, take off your clothes… And then undress him as well- The three of us, we are going to make acquaintances…"