Chương 112: Fate or Choice (II)
"You're horrible," Eve stated with disgust in her voice. She was furious at what he was saying. Yet, it was like Eve had lost her fear when the masked man spoke to them for a moment.
"Me horrible?" The masked man chuckled. "This is art. If you were to see how humanity truly is, would you be able to say that? The mind of a man is broken. Our envy and greed spread like poison. Those so-called kindness and love are overridden in an instant. Would you like to test this, the so-called heart of humanity?" With quick steps, the masked man appeared before Eve, and he raised her chin with his gloved hands.
Kiyro could not believe how fast the masked man came up to them. In reality, he was not expecting such a close encounter so quickly. He wasn't even ready for it.
Eve held in her breath but glared back at him with a ferocity that Kiyro thought she could fire lasers out through her eyes and burn through the mask.
"What interesting eyes," the masked man said. "People say that the eyes are the window to one's soul. And so it is true that one can see the truth by gazing into one's eyes."
The masked man examined her face closer, almost to the point of touching. Kiyro could not step in nor move. His instinct screamed that one false move; they were both goners, especially him.
"I have never seen such a soul." The masked man's voice started to rise in pleasure. "Should I say false purity or a dark angel with a perfect balance of dark and light? A strong will, or maybe should I say stubbornness like a mule. It seems you have a hidden gift ready to be bloomed."
Eve swallowed, trying not to show her fear to the masked man. Fear kept her still.
"I wonder how far I can push you till you break." The masked man rang deep, "but I'll savor this another day. My goal was never you nor him in the first place. Would you like to see the true mind of people change when they see death and seek revenge? Especially what they might do?"
The masked man leaned in close to her ear and whispered. "Aren't you curious how you might change?" He inhaled her scent and chuckled.
Eve paled and pushed him roughly back. "You monster." She spat onto his mask.
Kiyro couldn't believe what she had done. He wasn't sure either if she was brave or a complete fool.
The masked man wiped his mask with his gloved hand and flicked it away. He sighed as if what she did was insignificant and that it was not worth his trouble. "I was not expecting such a reaction, but it's a different reaction than I actually approve of. The death of all my victims always ended up begging, crying, hysteria, and complete fear. But you are the rare few that would spit at death's door as if it was nothing."
Kiyro noticed something strange about the masked man. He could see something behind him like a transparent black shadow with red eyes that followed the masked man like a plague. This was not a typical scene he would see often or ever see. Yet, whatever was behind the man stepped out from his shadow and walked over to the two dead students. The obnoxious smell of sulfur and a strange smell drifted into his nose.
Covering his nose, he looked for the source of the smell. The more the black shadows moved, the stronger the smell wafted from the direction of the black shadow.
What he saw next startled him; two more shadows lighter than the black shadow seemed to appear from the body like they were standing up. At that moment, the black shadow viciously attacked the two lighter shadows. It was an attack that even made Kiyro cringe at sight. Holes appeared from the two lighter shadows, and the darker shadows seemed to cut through them like butter.
Kiyro thought he could hear the screams of the two lighter shadows. Instead, they disappeared like smoke from thin air and never returned. The only shadow left behind was the black shadow with red eyes, which melded back into the masked man's shadow.
With a heavy heart, Kiyro instinctively knew that the two lighter shadows were dead. If second death was possible, their existence was gone entirely from this world this time. A static message flashed from his Alive gear.
Easter Egg has been activated.
Angel's Quest override has been initiated.
This Quest is a priority before all the other Quest.
Save your friends. Pickpocket the stone in the masked man's pocket. Ten seconds till an opportunity arises.
Reward: unknown
Failure: Possible death by the masked man
Kiyro quickly scanned the message that he had received. This was not the time to have a game quest initiating a life and death situation. He already had a big dilemma where death was knocking on their door. They could be the next victim of the masked man's hands. What was worse was that this Quest asked him to pickpocket a killer. The thought mind boggled him.
Where were these quests coming from, and how was it possible that such a quest even started. These thoughts ran through his head like a lightning bolt, but no answer could be found.
5 seconds left
4 seconds left
"Damn it," Kiyro silently cursed. There was no time to make a decision that could help them at this moment. But, being trapped, unable to move, the Quest asks him to do something crazy. He noticed in the right pocket of the masked man's white jacket that there was a faint black glow. He knew what he needed to get, but the problem was how.
3 seconds left
2 seconds left
1 second left
The trap is a LIE.
A loud female scream burst out loud as it rang through the hallway. Everyone turned towards the scream and that moment, startling everyone with the unexpected guest. A young female student who stumbled upon them saw the death of the two students.
Kiyro bolted forward towards the masked man with his hidden dagger that he had hidden in his sleeves. This gave him a split opportunity for Kiyro to attack. But, after reading the message, he knew the trap was a lie. The masked man stepped backward with ease with each swing and dodged each attack.
"Get to Jack!" Kiyro yelled for Agnis to snap out of it.
Eve was startled awake from the shock, "What about the trap?" She asked nervously.
"It was a lie. Hurry, move!" Kiyro was having difficulties keeping the man in the mask back. Each swing was not able to even put a scratch on the masked man.
"How do you know?"
"Don't ask, go!"
Eve ran over to Jack. She reached over and checked if he was okay. With her head close to his mouth, she noticed he was fine. "He's breathing." She whispered and shook him awake. "Jack. Jack. Get up!" She hoped she could awaken him.
Jack's eyes fluttered awake slowly. "Eve?" He was staring at her, confused at where he was.
"Get up. We don't have time." Eve helped him up from the floor as he stumbled forward. She was having trouble balancing his whole weight on herself. They hobbled away from the crime scene as fast as they could.
Kiyro knew that his life was on the line, and he needed to buy time for everyone to escape. He could already tell this masked man was a professional because his light steps toward him, avoiding his every deadly strike. Every strike he aimed for was meant to break, immobilize, and kill in one hit if possible. His instincts were in overdrive, and there was no kindness in his strikes.
Once again, the female's scream broke, and the masked man's concentration broke for a split second. At that moment, Kiyro struck the masked man in the face, knocking the mask off. His hands whipped towards the masked man's pocket and quickly pulled out the stone hidden away. He pocketed it as best as possible without the masked man noticing it. Then, like a bolt of lightning, the masked man ran towards the female. He slit her throat in one swing, and she crumpled onto the ground. Blood dripped down her throat and onto the floor, creating another pool of blood.
"What a horrible voice. It's like nails running down a chalkboard.." The man covered his face and ran away towards the fire exit. He disappeared in the blink of an eye.
What happened next surprised him. The dead female student that just momentarily had her neck split open was gone. There was no blood on the floor nor any presence that there was even the girl there.
Kiyro did not go after him and instead went over to check the mask. There was an eye embedded in the middle of the mask. He noticed small blood marks on the bottom right side of the mask, and his knuckles were bleeding. A snapshot of the mask was taken; he, too, bolted towards where his friends went. Already he could hear the sound of running footsteps heading in his direction.
"Damn," Kiyro cursed, slowing down to find another way to hide. Turning a sharp corner, he saw and slipped into the men's bathroom, where a couple of other students were washing their hands.
A strong odor of disinfectant could be smelled, making him queasy.
Walking towards the sink, he steadied his breath, trying to control his unsteady heart. It was already difficult enough when he was winded from the run. Then, with confident steps, trying not to look out of place, he walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands.
Loud running footsteps of a large group of people passed by.
"What's going on?" One of the male students peeked over to see what was happening outside. Others followed pursuit, curious of what the commotion could be.
"Did something happen?" Another stated as he walked towards the exit.
Kiyro straightened his hair using the mirror and snuck glances around the bathroom. He looked around and saw college books on the side of the sink. Peeking out from the corner of his eyes, and turning his head to check if anybody was nearby. Inching towards the books, he glanced around and picked up the books with one hand. Tucking it under his arms, he walked casually towards the exit.
Blending in with the hurried footsteps of professors and students, he quickly walked past them. He wasn't sure if the rest of the group had finished their task of placing the runes stones. What happened today truly worried him, especially what had happened a moment ago.
To have a murder case in bright daylight, especially in the middle of the school day. It was unheard of. His mind raced with thousands of different scenarios and thoughts on why the masked man was killed during the bright daylight.
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