Kapitel 30: Reunion!
"Is the person inside?" Hampton asked as he descended the creaky wooden stairs. He moved with a slow, deliberate confidence, flanked by four imposing men with broad shoulders and arms like tree trunks.
The old drunkard led the way, pushing open the door to a small, dimly lit reception room at the back of the house. Inside, a young boy leaned back precariously on a chair, its two legs teetering under his weight as he balanced against the table.
Hamilton followed Hampton hesitantly, his nerves betraying him. This was unfamiliar territory; walking into a shady deal in a place like this. A heavy sense of guilt gnawed at him.
'If Angelina knew what I was doing, she'd be furious,' he thought grimly. She had always believed in his integrity, in his refusal to harm others or stoop to this level. His muscular frame had drawn recruiters before, but Hamilton had always turned them away. Yet here he was, following Golden Tooth into a murky underworld for the first time.
Hamilton kept his head low as they entered, avoiding eye contact with anyone inside.
----
"Golden Tooth? I need your help to find someone—" Leonard began, stopping mid-sentence as his gaze shifted to the man standing behind, tge information dealer, it was his fater Hampton. A look of astonishment flickered across his face. 'Could it really be…?'
Leonard blinked, taking a moment to confirm what he was seeing. His suspicions crystallized into certainty: it was Hamilton. After all this time, the man from his past stood there, stooped and uneasy. The strange twist of fate made Leonard suppress a laugh, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards despite himself.
"What are you laughing at?" Golden Tooth snapped, irritation flashing in his eyes. He despised being mocked, especially by someone as composed as Leonard.
"Nothing," Leonard replied smoothly, his voice calm. "Just remembered something amusing."
The man, clearly irritated, ignored it. He dropped onto a stool, crossed one leg over the other, and grinned, his yellowed teeth flashing. "Everyone in the dock knows me as the man with the most up-to-date information. You want someone found? I can do it, for a price."
Hamilton, still standing stiffly behind him, heard Leonard's familiar voice. His head shot up, his eyes widening like saucers. Disbelief and surprise danced across his face, but they were quickly overtaken by guilt. 'How could this be the way we meet again?' he thought bitterly, knowing the kind of man Hampton was and what it implied about his presence here.
Golden Tooth man gaze locked with Leonard's, his emotions spilling out in the intensity of his stare. But Leonard simply raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
'Shh…'
Hamilton's chest tightened, his surprise replaced by a tense anticipation. How could he navigate this situation without making things worse?
Unfazed, Leonard turned back from Hampton to the Golden Tooth. "So, Golden Tooth, how much would it cost me to find someone?" he asked, his tone as measured as ever.
"Depends," the man said with a smirk, exhaling a thick plume of cigar smoke. "If they're a local, easy. Outsiders? That's trickier, people come and go at Bangor Harbor all the time. I can find them, sure, but it'll cost you extra."
"It's just a civilian," Leonard replied, his voice steady. "How much are we talking?"
"Looking for a commoner?" Golden Tooth sneered, giving Leonard a long, appraising look. His clothes weren't extravagant, and the drunkard had already mentioned he arrived in a rented hotel carriage. 'No powerful figure would ever rely on that,' Golden Tooth thought, growing more confident in his assumptions. His expression darkened as he decided Leonard wasn't worth much trouble.
Golden Tooth leaned back, puffing on his cigar. "The speed of finding someone depends entirely on how deep your pockets are," he said with a predatory gleam in his eye. Smoke curled around his face as he added, "You pay more, I find them faster. Your choice."
"But," he added, a malicious grin creeping across his face, "if you're strapped for cash, I know a way you can make some quick money." He stepped closer, his large hand reaching out to clamp down on Leonard's shoulder.
Leonard didn't flinch. Instead, he calmly placed his own hand over Big Gold Tooth's wrist.
'Hmm?' Golden Tooth felt a sudden jolt of resistance, followed by an overwhelming force.
Snap!
Big Gold Tooth let out a scream as his wrist bent unnaturally, pain radiating up his arm. "Help me! Restrain him!" he bellowed.
The room erupted into chaos.
Hamilton, who had been standing nearby, acted instinctively. With a quick backhanded elbow, he struck one of the men in the waist, sending him to the ground, gasping for breath. In the same motion, he swung a powerful punch into the back of another man's head.
The second thug stumbled, dazed but still standing, and turned to engage Hamilton. Meanwhile, the third man froze momentarily, glancing between Leonard and Hamilton before choosing to assist Golden Tooth.
Hamilton grappled with one of the men, shouting over his shoulder, "Run, Leonard! Get out of here!"
Hamilton, clumsy and honest by nature, didn't think through the logistics of escape. He didn't question how Leonard might evade the men outside the yard or survive in such a dangerous area. All he cared about was giving Leonard a chance to escape.
But Leonard didn't move.
Instead, the ground beneath one of the charging thugs suddenly collapsed. With a guttural 'click,' the man's lower half disappeared into a massive, gaping mouth that had erupted from the soil. Blood and viscera spilled onto the ground as the iron earthworm emerged, its three-meter-long body rising to tower over the room like a terrifying sentinel.
The metallic creature's head gleamed in the dim light, its segmented, rust-colored jaws spread wide in a grotesque display of sharp, circular fangs. A sickly, viscous liquid dripped from its mouth, mixing with the blood on the floor as it hovered menacingly close to Golden Tooth's head.
Golden Tooth froze, the faint sound of liquid splattering on his shoulder making him swallow hard. His legs felt like jelly. "Y-you're a superhuman," he stammered, barely able to get the words out. "Let's not be hasty, alright? Surely… surely we can work something out?"
Leonard's voice was cold and unyielding. "That depends on you, Mr. Golden Tooth."
With a subtle gesture, Leonard released his hold. The iron earthworm tilted its head, slamming Golden Tooth to the ground with a forceful nudge. The once-confident thug scrambled to his feet, his face pale and drenched in sweat.
He forced a shaky smile, his earlier bravado completely gone. He had underestimated Leonard, mistaking him for an easy mark. 'A superhuman? How did I miss this?' If he'd known, he never would have crossed Leonard.
Glaring briefly at the drunkard who had brought Leonard in, Golden Tooth seethed internally. 'That damned drunk! This is all his fault!'
Humbled and furious, he forced his most agreeable tone. "Alright, alright. Tell me what you need, and we'll sort it out. No need for things to escalate further…"
"I came here in good faith," Leonard said calmly, though his tone carried an unmistakable edge. "But some of your actions have deeply disappointed me."
Golden Tooth's face paled further as he nodded hastily. "I-I'm willing to compensate you, honorable sir," he stammered, desperate to save his life.
Leonard glanced around the chaotic room. "I think this place is a bit too noisy."
The message was clear. Golden Tooth immediately barked at the door, "Everyone stay outside! Don't come in!"
The muffled sound of movement outside the room quieted as his lackeys froze in confusion. Turning to two of his personal guards who had just been scuffling with Hamilton, Golden Tooth added sharply, "Pantheon, Ford, guard the door. Don't let anyone in."
The two men stepped back from Hamilton, exchanged uncertain glances, and obediently moved to block the entrance. They seemed relieved to avoid further confrontation with either Hamilton or the towering iron earthworm.
With the immediate chaos settled, Golden Tooth's thoughts began racing. His eyes darted between Leonard and Hamilton. The tension in the room had momentarily eased, and his survival instincts kicked in.
'This Hamilton knows Leonard,' he realized. 'But Leonard isn't here to kill me outright. If he were, he wouldn't have hesitated.'
A flicker of hope formed in Golden Tooth's mind. 'If I can forge a connection with someone like Leonard, I might gain protection or even power. A superhuman ally could change everything.'
Golden Tooth had heard whispers of extraordinary beings before. As a dock rat, he prided himself on knowing more than most. The kingdom held its secrets: mysterious figures with powers that defied logic. Most of them were tied to the nobility; knights, for instance, who were far more than mere swordsmen. The truly extraordinary knights were as strong as bears, faster than leopards, and their skin seemed harder than iron.
Beyond knights, he had heard rumors of bards whose deadly chants could kill anyone who listened, or water ghosts, sea god-blessed individuals who could breathe underwater for hours. What most people dismissed as ghost stories, Golden Tooth knew to be closer to the truth than they dared believe.
And now, standing before him, was proof. The iron earthworm coiled at Leonard's feet, its grotesque jaws now hidden, looked almost docile, like a loyal hound. Yet Golden Tooth had witnessed it devour a man whole. This was no ordinary beast; this was power.
Hamilton, still shaken, looked between Leonard and the creature. He couldn't reconcile the boy he knew with the figure standing here now. "Leonard," he murmured, his voice tinged with disbelief.
"Yeah," Leonard replied with a slight nod, catching Hamilton's eye. His gaze carried a silent warning: 'Don't say too much.'
Hamilton understood. Now wasn't the time for questions or explanations, especially not in front of Golden Tooth and his men. Any slip could reveal more than they intended.
Originally, Leonard had planned to eliminate Golden Tooth on the spot. It would have been simple and effective, cutting off the problem at its root. But as he studied the man's desperate, calculating expression, another idea took hold.
'Killing him might be too easy. There's a better way to handle this.'
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein