Jenkin’s blood collected around Silver’s boots, before expanding and flowing into the shape of a dead tree, following the cracks in the stone tiles. The slight slope made the blood tree branch out in the direction of the gangsters. It wouldn’t reach them normally, but with the falling rain fueling the tree’s growth, it quickly reached the gangsters’ feet before rooting them in place.
“Ah…”
“No…”
“Uuh..”
In the wake of their leader’s gruesome execution, the gangsters collectively broke down. They stared at the youth in total shock as fear gripped every inch of their being. Most had their auras and guns out, however, no one dared to try anything, not even escape. Silver’s quick disposal of their leader left them frozen.
Jenkin wasn’t just a random nobody. He was regarded as one of Ganurg’s top three fighters, with most considering him to be the strongest of the trio.
For him to be killed in what amounted to just over a second of ‘fighting’, shook them to their very cores. Dark clouds loomed over the gangsters’ heads and hearts. Pit pat pit pat, the droplets fell, faster and faster, striking and stirring. The group was drenched with the dreaded waters of fear and despair.
‘H-He’s a m-monster…’
This sentiment was one all 24 gangsters shared at this moment.
It wasn’t just his shocking strength, but everything about him. Continuing to stand atop Jenkin’s corpse was unnerving enough, but what really stroked the group’s fear was the expression on the young man’s face.
Despite carrying out such a brutal act, Silver’s face remained unchanged from what it had been before. It was still calm and aloof. No joy or sense of accomplishment could be found in his gaze, making it apparent that killing Jenkin meant little to him.
It was a trivial task he simply carried out, not anything to feel any strong emotions over. This sort of indifference to death especially coming from someone so young, disturbed the group to no end. Even those who had taken lives before couldn’t help but tremble in place.
It was clear to the gangsters, that what stood in front of them was an aberrant in human form, not something they should dare oppose. All thoughts of fighting against it, dissipated into thin air.
“Now, to deal with you guys.”
At Silver’s start, the group collectively jolted. The desire to flee was strong, but no one wanted to be the first. With the swiftness Silver displayed, that person would undoubtedly be killed. And so, they were forced to wait with bated breath.
As soon as Silver moved, everyone would make a break for it. Trading glances with their fellow gangsters, all were made aware of this plan of action. It was a gamble now, with all hoping that they weren’t one of the unlucky few that were fated to die.
“Relax, your death isn’t certain.”
The gangsters’ eyes flickered at this remark.
Despite the increasing pour, his sonorous voice rang clearly in the minds of the gangsters.
“When dealing with the unsavoury, I’ll never speak any longer than I absolutely need to,” Silver said, eyeing the blood tree. “So, the fact I’m still speaking at all means that there’s still something that needs to be said. Listen closely, this concerns your future.”
Silver’s words were akin to a speck of light in the abyss. Believing/ hoping that it led out, irrelevant thoughts and concerns were suppressed; the gangsters directed their full attention towards the young man, awaiting what would come out of his mouth next.
After a pause, Silver spoke again. “What happens next depends on your decision. You have two roads before you. The first allows you to live with a few conditions, and the second,” he paused, glanced down then did a tapping action with his boot, “leads to a similar fate as your leader here.”
The group cringed.
The speckles of blood that splashed up and the squishy sounds that accompanied them turned stomachs and twisted expressions.
Doing a few more taps, Silver ceased then raised his gaze until the gangsters were once again in his scope.
“I’m sure everyone here wants to avoid such a fate, so let’s go over the conditions. The first is to cast aside the despicable lifestyle you’ve been living until now. Treat this event as a watershed moment, a chance to turn a new leaf and be a better person than you were before, a much better person,” he added for emphasis.
Silver’s words visibly stunned the crowd. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Were they to hear this normally, they’d respond with mocking or jeers, but on this occasion, they dared not.
“Besides those I’ve run into, I’m unaware of the despicable acts you all committed. But given the number of rumours, I’m sure that the group I ran into couldn’t be responsible for them all. I could investigate further into each of you and get an accurate picture of where everyone stands…but I won’t.”
At these words, many breathed a sigh of relief. Very few could say that they were safe from the rumours’ implications.
“Now, for the second condition: leave Zudrad.”
“Leave Zudrad!”
Silver turned to Dryon, who had exclaimed. “Yes, leave Zudrad. All of you must leave this country. Any other place will do, I don’t care. Anchor down wherever, and as new better people, affect the world in a positive direction, not a negative one. Now,” Silver hovered his gaze across the faces present with a warning look in his eyes, “I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumours by now. Not all of them are true, but I can assure you that those about my perfect memory and sharp senses are hundred percent true. Your face, your scent, the rhythm of your heartbeat, your minute gestures, gait and mannerisms; everything’s been recorded perfectly in my mind,” Silver paused as he shut his eyelids slowly, “ I’ll never mistake you for anyone else, and you’ll never be able to escape my detection.”
The gangsters gulped hard at the notion.
After several seconds of letting his words marinate, Silver continued running through the condition’s details.
“By noon, so in just under four hours, all of you must have left Ganurg. Use this time well and responsibly. Should you cause problems in this period, your death won’t be pleasant. Say your goodbyes and pack up for the journey that lay ahead. As mentioned, you must be out by noon. Should I catch sight of you in Ganurg or anywhere else in Zudrad after that time rolls around, or anytime past that point; no matter the reason,” Silver opened his eyelids and a deadly light flashed as he said, “I’ll immediately move to kill you.”
Taking in the group’s response -or lack of, Silver showed an approving look.
“Now, of course, I won’t go out of my to abuse my conditions. I’m not leaving Ganurg today or in the coming days, so you’ll have more than enough time to leave the country. I won’t go out of my way to hunt you down….but there are exceptions. Should it come to my attention that any of you haven’t turned a new leaf and are repeating your current actions elsewhere, wherever that be, I’ll hunt you down. The other exception is that if I learned you’ve committed some heinous crime. Right now, I’m ignorant of many things, but should I later learn that one of you standing here is a psychotic killer, rapist, paedophile, torturer or something equivalent, I’ll hunt you down myself and kill you.”
Saying this, Silver paid close attention to the group’s heartbeats, looking for an anomaly, but nothing stood out. All without exception had their heart beat at ribcage-breaking rates.
“Those are your options. Which one will you choose, the first road or the second?”
A bout of silence followed before Lennon stepped forward and spoke up.
“You’ll just let us go, really?” he asked with a weary look.
“As I said, I’m not just letting you go. You have to turn to a new good leaf. No more terrorizing others. A repeat of this will bring a fate worse than death. The Silver Path’s information network is the largest in the world. Now that you’ve run into me, nothing you do in the future will remain hidden from it; even your thoughts, emotions and desires buried in the deepest recesses of your mind aren’t safe from its observation.”
Mention of the Silver Path and their apparent capabilities brought troubled looks to the gangsters’ faces. At this moment, they took everything Silver said as true.
“The first road, we’ll take the first road.”
At Lennon’s words, the others echoed the same sentiment until everyone had voiced their choice.
“An excellent choice,” Silver said with a clap.
The gangsters’ hearts began filling with relief and joy at the notion of being let free. They wanted nothing more than to escape this nerve-wracking situation.
Lennon beamed. “Thank you. We promise we won’t go back on our word. From now on, we’ll live as changed men and woman, all of us,” he glanced both ways and said, “right?”
“Right!” The gangsters repeated with the same level of coordination as a practised choir.
Silver’s showed approval at the display. “Good, this is what I like to hear. At least...” As his voice fell, his aura suddenly turned stormy, instantly scattering the air of complacency that had been settling over the gangsters’ side, “...if it turned out to be true.”
“We’re not lying to you, I promis-”
Lennon’s words died in his throat as he caught the young man’s silencing squint. The sound of rain filled the next few seconds before Silver’s words once again showered them.
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“The massacre of the Red Star, I’m sure many of you have heard about it already, right.”
“Y-Yes, we have,” Lennon answered.
“Good, what I’m about to tell you concerns how that came to be, listen well.”
Lennon and the others nodded hard. Aside from the matter of their own survival, they were also very curious about the incident.
“The story starts in Lagner, a few weeks back. I had just woken up from my years’ long coma and was adjusting to the world five years into the future. It was then that I first encountered the Red Star. One member came to my house and harnessed my mother. I took issue with it, and a big fuss was raised. After some unpleasantness, I managed to settle it by proposing a deal to pay them five gold in a certain time frame. I came to Ganurg for precisely this purpose, to earn money. I didn’t have to look long and won big at the Money Pouch.”
Taking in his words, the gangsters’ eyes flickered repeatedly as they connected the dots to what they knew previously. The more he spoke, the clearer everything became.
“With a boatload of money won, I headed to the Red Star. True to my word, I paid them the agreed-upon amount. And then I walked out and never ran into any problem with them again…at least, that would be the case if they were reasonable, but they weren’t. Instead, they pushed me to the floor and forced me into another deal. At the time, I was still in my Consolidation Phase and was practically powerless, so I ended up agreeing. I was to pay them thirty gold in one month. The weeks pass by and again true my word, I keep paying them.”
Silver retrieved a coin from his pouch and began flipping it. “Paying them, paying them and paying them. I showed no resistance, never stalled or delayed, and yet things still went pear-shaped in the end. It came from out of nowhere. I had already paid them twenty-five gold, and all signs pointed to the direction that I would pay them the remaining five gold. However, here’s where I messed up. While I can perfectly predict the rational…the foolish and mad are beyond my calculations. In what I assume was a combination of both, the Red Star decided to kidnap my mother and me.”
The gangsters’ visibly cringed at the notion.
“Now, before I get to the incident in question, let’s talk about another thing that happened two days ago. It was a regular day for me. I decided to do a daily adventure, and while there, I happened to run into a pair in dire straits...”
As he was telling the story, Dryon and the five that were there with him began turtling up.
“...and then, I ran into the one with the scar, the four around him and five others.”
Immediately knowing who Silver was referring to, the other gangsters shifted their gaze toward Dryon and his group.
“I and the pair with me were robbed by them. I then headed back to Ganurg and rearmed myself. Moving through the streets, I decided I would destroy the Wild Dogs. I was pretty angry at the time, so it’s very likely that I’d just burst in and slaughter you all without a word or warning.”
The revelation and Silver’s matter of fact manner of conveying it chilled the gangsters’ hearts. Anger filled the stares directed towards Dryon and his group at the fact that they nearly got all of them killed.
“Of course, this didn’t happen. Luckily for you, the Red Star shifted my attention. One group kidnapped my mother while the other went for me. Things didn’t go as planned though; I was stronger than they realised and ended up killing them all. I then flew towards the Red Star base, and as you’ve heard, killed them all and returned to Ganurg with my mother.” Silver paused for a few seconds before continuing. “Now, what was the point of this story, you may ask…”
Silver let his question linger in the air as he again glanced off into the distance.
“I don’t want any future troubles due to any foolish notions that might be swirling in one, a few or maybe all of your heads right now,” he returned his gaze to the gangsters and said.
“It’s not myself I’m worried about, but those around me. In fact, should you indeed leave here harbouring malicious intentions, or such intentions begin building in you over time; at the very least, target me and me alone.”
Making the request, Silver’s voice rang with a clear sincerity that stirred something in the very depths of their hearts. The look they directed towards Silver shifted, from one of mostly fear and caution to that of admiration.
The young man was different from any they had come across in their lifetime. In his presence, they could feel themselves changing - their souls ripping. It was a strangely liberating feeling. Instead of feeling heavier from getting soaked, they felt themselves getting lighter as though the raindrops were washing off their wrongdoings and past transgressions in real-time. Hearts were flooded with emotion and soon this flood materialised on the gangsters’ faces.
“Ah?”
Confused utterances sounded one after the other as many realised that the liquid that slid down their cheeks originated from themselves. Silver shut his eyes and allowed the group to bathe in these emotions. He abandoned his next words; more warnings were pointless at this point. If they hadn’t got it by now, they would never get it.
Several seconds later, Silver’s loud clap broke the former gangsters out of their reverie.
“I’ve said all I wanted to, don’t make me regret my decision,” Silver turned around and began striding off, but four steps later, he paused and glanced back. “One last thing. On your way out, spread the news of this incident and the ultimatum I gave you to those of similar ilk. Ganurg…this entire region is now under the Silver Path’s domain and we won’t allow any acts against humanity to go unpunished.”
Ending his words, Silver resumed his stride. All eyes focused on his backside. In the plethora of thoughts that passed through the group’s heads, none entertained the idea of attacking him. It wasn’t just out of fear but also respect.
“We will spread it well.”
Silver’s eyes shone in approval as Lennon’s words reached his ears. “Good, Do so then. Also, you can leave.”
Despite his words, the group didn’t - or rather, they couldn’t. They were rooted to the spot. Only once he disappeared completely could they free themselves from the spell they were under. Alone, glances were traded between themselves, ending in a collective sigh.
“Boys, consider today your rebirth. Wild Dogs we are no more - no, from now on…we’re humans.”
***
In the distance, Silver’s eyes flickered. ‘Looks like I’ve made the right choice… though, only time will tell. At least, I feel better about it.’
The Red Star Massacre incident and its handling had troubled him, but that wasn’t to say that his current handling of the gangsters was an attempt to swing the pendulum all the way to the other side. When he didn’t have to kill, Silver wouldn’t. He wasn’t a pacifist by any means, but he wasn’t someone who could kill for fun either.
Silver wasn’t so foolish nor arrogant that he believed one speech could change the hearts and minds of others, however, he also wasn’t so cynical as to believe that it couldn’t get the ball rolling.
In his mind, the number of people that were truly irredeemable, hopeless beyond repair, whose nature was so twisted that they were incapable of fruitful coexistence with others, accounted for an extremely small percentage of humanity.
The rest, even those who engaged in unsavoury and despicable acts could still be set back on the right path with enough time and effort. He believed that the overwhelming majority were good at their core.
These ideas strongly influenced his decision, but there was more to the picture. His decision took into consideration several more factors. The most important being his inability to kill them all. The wiping out of so many people two days ago was due to very special circumstances. For instance, he had previously entered the tavern and knew its internal structure.
The same couldn’t be said of the Wild Dogs’ base or any other base. He couldn’t swoop in as he did. Were he unlucky, an automatic turret would be waiting for him as soon as he entered…
Leaving aside far-fetched scenarios and focusing on ones that likely existed, Silver knew that diving into the crowd would cause everyone to split up in different directions.
He was sure no one would dare fight him one-on-one after seeing their much stronger leader trounced so easily. With his speed, Silver could kill quite a few, but there was no way he would be able to kill all 24 people.
The act of trying would cause a lot of mayhem and result in many casualties and possible deaths. Innocent Ganurgians would be caught up in it, and this wasn’t something he wanted. He understood how dangerous people were when they were pushed into a corner.
Taking hostages or firing out hail mary attacks that would end up hitting random people; Silver wanted none of this. Also, even if he could kill them all without causing any damage or injury, that would be a problem as well. Going out of his way to mass murder, especially just after the Red Star incident would tank his reputation.
If Silver believed his actions justified, he wouldn’t care usually, but he had to be on his best behaviour. Not too long from now, he would get a visit from Micheal. He understood that the other was cautious about the direction they would head in due to them being a Unique.
Silver wanted to avoid the possibility of Micheal believing him to be mad or overly destructive, for a clash against the strongest man in the world, as they currently were, would mean certain death.
And so, with these considerations in mind, Silver decided to take this route which avoided the previous problems and lessened the possibility of the gangsters enacting revenge against him at a later point.
‘Wild Dogs put down, onto the next.’
Things would continue moving according to plan, in fact, even better than he expected. His request was taken to heart, and the former Wild Dogs members moved vigorously to spread his message and declaration.
Their frenzy was quickly picked up by the local populace. When they heard ‘Ralf’ was involved and his intention, they aided the spread of information. It hadn’t even taken thirty minutes for word to spread to the entire town. This resulted in most of the places Silver stopped at next being empty, with gangsters having long fled the town. It was a bit surprising to see just how influential he had become.
Still, Silver welcomed it; the less bloodshed, the better.
When the next day arrived and the sun rays passed over the region, they would greet a Ganurg more pleasant and peaceful than it had ever been.