A quiet tavern located somewhere in the middle of the sands.
In a booth, a man wearing a black cloak — his hood was unequipped, although his entire body was covered by a black suit, even his head — drank from a straw without removing his mask.
Behind him, a man quietly approached. He was quite tall, with a lean build and long hair; the most noticeable feature of him was the scar over his left eye. He wore a black cloak over a sleeveless shirt and pants, leaning onto the chair not facing the man but looking in the direction of his back.
The man with long hair handed him a paper, pushing it onto the table. It had a label: A wanted man — a bald man, most noticeable feature is a scar on his left forehead.
The man in the suit put down his drink onto the table and grabbed the paper.
Wanted Dead or Alive
100,000
(Preferred Alive)
Ali Alduv
"A Monk?" the man in the suit asked.
"Indeed he is," the man replied.
"What did he do?" he asked.
"Based on the client's information, they explained he was a disciple of Sun Cezu of Mount Vernon."
"Hm... That's why he has a large bounty on him..." The man tilted his head toward the other man. A full black mask covered his face — the only visible features were his black eyes, patches on both sides of his mask, and an embedded symbol of a chain circling it.
"What did he do, Anon?" he said in a terrifying voice.
"Chill, I'll get into it. He killed that man Sun Cezu — the client are his other disciples."
"Hah...hah." He laughed menacingly.
"How pathetic. You can't even take revenge on your own."
Anon smiled.
"Aren't you the same?" As Anon finished speaking, a blade was drawn to his neck in a single second.
"DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT THAT THING!" the man said. Even though his whole mask covered his face, it was clear Anon could sense that killing intent.
Anon pulled his head back, stood up.
"Tsk. I'll get going now — the place of your next destination is on the back of that paper."
He started to walk, then looked back.
"Also, take your medicine. We can't have you going around in public if you can't even fix that temper."
"Black." As Anon left,
Black raised his hand. "Hey mister, could I get a refill?" When no one responded, he looked up and saw a fat middle-aged man hanging on the wall in front of him — only supported by a broken wine glass through his neck.
As Black stood up, he began to stretch. When he pulled his hood over his head and started to walk, the entire tavern was revealed to be slaughtered. Every person inside was a mess, filled with blood and human body parts — as if no ordinary person had done all this.
As Black opened the door, he threw a cold coin. "Keep the change."
Black pushed through the small wooden door, leaving the tavern. As he stepped outside, three men were waiting.
On the side of the tavern door stood a massive muscular man in a black suit, wearing a mask with only slits for eyes. Near a carriage, a man wore a suit similar to Black's but in white, waving his hands. On the carriage's horse, a man sat resting — he wore a sleeveless black suit, his arms covered in scars, and a black cloth mask that left only his closed eyes visible.
"Let's go," Black said calmly.
The massive muscular man began to crack his fingers and flex his head.
The man resting on the carriage moved, waking the black horse from its rest.
As they began to move, they all walked together guarding the carriage.
"Hey Black, why did you have all the fun huh?" the man dressed in white asked.
Black stayed silent.
"Staying silent huh? Did you already take your meds?... But it doesn't look like it."
"I find no pleasure in killing the weak," Black replied.
"Especially people like you, White."
White raised both his hands.
"Woah... Did you just call me weak?..." He put his hands down, shrugging his shoulders and leaning forward in disappointment.
"That really hurt, y'know." He raised his hands, pointing a single finger at his eyes before slowly lowering it.
Black handed something to him. "Instead of using that mouth to annoy me, why don't you use it to make a plan?"
He handed the bounty poster to White.
Wanted Dead or Alive
100,000
(Preferred Alive)
Ali Alduv
"He's bald huh — is he part of the Bulldoze Crew?" White asked.
"No. He's a monk at Mount Vernon, a disciple of Sun Cezu."
"Didn't that old man die a few weeks ago? Even the cyber-punks gave their respects," White said.
"I didn't ask for that information."
"The man on that poster is our target. The client is the other disciples who wanted revenge — or probably just justice, considering they want him alive."
"Hm." White looked intensely at the bounty poster.
After a few minutes.
"Ali Alduv... I remember him. I think he was one of the talented individuals who was sponsored to get out of this hellhole," White said, putting his hands on his chin, thinking hard.
When Black heard this, he aggressively looked back at White — though he kept his composure.
What's with this guy... White thought.
"I think he was kicked out due to his temper."
White looked at Black, who was far ahead now.
He isn't even listening.
White flipped the bounty paper over — an address was written on the back.
[Last seen: Pop Girls' Territory]
[2 days old info]
Hm...
White rushed toward the man controlling the carriage.
"Hey Silent! Change our destination to Pop Girls'!" he shouted.
In a flash, multiple armed assassins appeared out of the dark. Two came at White, stabbing at his head and side — one strike continuing into his torso.
Two spears shot out of nowhere targeting Silent, but he jumped out of the way just in time; the spears collided, damaging the carriage seats.
Four assassins holding knives and daggers attacked the massive muscular man from behind. When their blades touched his bare flesh, they twisted — but not a drop of blood came out.
The other two assassins made a sign, using a technique that let them communicate without sound or speech.
Hey, where the hell is that last guy!
When he looked back at his comrade,
the only thing he saw was his comrade's head snapped back — and eyes filled with bloodlust.