Chapter 1
Footsteps echoed into the hallway and came to a stop at the sight of three serpentine hebi warriors. They quickly surrounded the white cloaked figure and pulled out their knives. The cloaked figure took no stance at all and simply observed them through her pearl white mask with a single eyehole, splashed with purple. She tilted her head a little, as if acknowledging their threat and nothing more.
They could barely trace any emotion past the past at all. Just an air of confidence in her stance.
She was taller than any of the snake men. Obviously a different species to them, but there was unsure what behind her tight clothing. A rather shapely woman, not thin at all, but not reaching thick. Outside of the purple there was a maroon red scarf, otherwise her attire was completely pure white.
“Why are you here?!” They demanded. She kept silence, not answering a single word, instead, looking over each of them with her lone eye, seemingly analyzing them. She only kept that pose for a couple of moments before suddenly turning on her heels to the door they were guarding.
They immediately blocked her path, brandishing their knives, as well as their sharp fangs. However, this brought out the strangest moment yet. Her head tilted back and forth, her hand raised to her mouth. It was like she was laughing but not a sound escaped the mask.
One of the hebi reached their limit of annoyance and rushed forward. Her foot came up, kicking the warrior in the face before spinning over top of him and landing on the ground. Before he could even see it, a barrel flipping out her cloak, landing squarely on his heart. He froze and slowly raised his hands. Leering at his allies, hinting to them to save him rather then surrender.
The rest of them joined, tackling her to the ground with kicks, scratches and punches. They didn’t stop as the blast tore a hole through one of their own. Instead, they kept going until she stopped moving. Blood flowing over her body as they kicked her off their dead friend.
Her head fell forward, her hands on the floor, showing no signs of life. They panted and heaved, holding their heads in hopes that they killed her. The door opening revealed another hebi in fancier attire. He had heard everything but apparently arrived too late. “Move you fools!! She’s not dead!”
They groaned but followed his orders, dragging her through the halls. Bumping and crashing, despite the fancy one’s words until they reached the main room where the boss was waiting. They threw the cloaked figure over into a chair and stabbed her hands in place. She didn’t scream once, in fact, she made not a single noise at all. It was truly unnerving as she sat back up and strung her head about the room.
“No more weapons on her.” The fancy one dropped his head in shame. “Maybe if I had stood gaurd we wouldn’t have lost--
The lead hebi slammed her hand on the table. “Silence, boy!” She then turned to the captured woman. “Who are you?!” She demanded, but there was no response. “Why would you send this warning?” The figure tilted her head once more before looking back up. The blood smeared over the mask giving the appearance of a smile.
“Tatsu thinks you can be a useful ally in our dark times...” The lead hebi stood from her chair and traced her fingers over her son’s chin. “However, before he could even make a call to your masters,” She reached into her bag and placed a severed head on the table. “You sent his father’s head on a platter!”
The hebi froze as the figure simply tilted their head again, like they were chuckling. Again, no sounds escapes the mask at all. The leader then looked back to her son, who shivered in place. “This boy is not fit to rule in his father’s place! And White Rook hasn’t sent me replacement at all!!” She got right in front of the white mask and bashed it hard into the table.
"Lady Shaft please--” Tatsu was stopped as slapped her belt down like talking to a child.
“You are truly a pitiful grandson. I’m running one of the biggest whore house in this country!!” Lady Shaft pointed at the figure. “This piece of meat is no different from others under my stock. She just needs to be tenderized.” Lady Shaft turned her attention back to the prisoner. “Stop playing around. We know you can’t talk or scream so don’t even try to comminated with reactions alone. You are here to listen and be punished for your master’s actions.”
The cloaked figure waved her head in disappointment before turning to the grandson. He backed away at her glare but could have sworn she smiled at him. Lady Shaft began to prattle on, but the figure gave no care anymore. Instead, her mind wandered to the grandson and a few ideas on what she could do with him.
“Hey! I said don’t look away from me!!” Lady Shaft pulled her attention back to her. “Listen to me!!” She clapped her belt louder. “You have no sense of respect. I am Lady Shaft, who are you. One of Lupan’s bitches. Some punk Ziel survivor!” She huffed at every comment. “None of that matters now. First, my boys are going to beat you until you’re nothing but bloody mash. Then smear your name on every street corner of the Abbey.”
“Lady Shaft, are you sure that is wise?” Tatsu questioned, backing away from the cloaked figure.
She ignored him, still prattling. “She has no friends, nothing at all but the cunts she fucks.” She turned away walked back to her chair and sat back down, kicking up her feet. “Bring her closer so I can see every tear she keeps hiding.”
“No wait--” He was stopped a bang echoed throughout the room. The other guards hit the ground with the sounds of banging and splatter. Lady Shaft froze at the sight of all her soldiers falling like flies right in the room. Behind them a faint glow of purple splashed out of the very space behind them and vanished just as quickly.
More bodyguards rushed in only to be caught off point as the barrels seemed to appear out of nowhere. A purple flash and suddenly there was weapons against their throats, quickly blasting their brains over the table. One by one, more guards came through until the door was a pile of rubble and bodies.
Lady Shaft panted and dropped her hands to the table, unable to process what just happened. All was left were herself and her grandson. She then slowly turned her head back to the figure, who had been observing all this calmly. Much to their confusion all the blood covering her cloak had been cleaned in the same instant they were distracted by the entire massacre.
The cloak figure somehow stood up from the chair like she was never tied down at all. She danced over the corpses, and made her way to Lady Shaft, completely ignoring Tatsu. Her cloak opened and revealed all the barrels she used to kill each of Lady Shaft’s soldiers. All of them spread around, completely spent and smoking.
The white figure lifted her hands and made several hand gestures at quick pace. These left to two puzzled for a soldi two seconds until it became clear. A silent killer whom can kill from every direction, not making a single noise as they do so. The horror hit them so fast of who this really was.
“You’re not mere servant of Crimson Mortuus...” Tatsu echoed the truth.
“Not just some random cunt...” Lady Shaft’s eyes widened. “Lupan’s main bitch!! Tanzer, the Panther Queen.”
The other half of his ego, where he was kind, she was forceful, when he was wrathful, she was the ultimatum to end all of it. There was no greater sin and no greater crime than to mess with someone who was in their inner circle, that was a lesson all of Lupan’s enemies knew by heart. Even the ones that were foolish to oppose him openly, knew the legend of the loudest as could be Wolf King shining in the light and the absolute utter silence of Panther Queen voiding in the shadows.
Tanzer leaned back and pulled out a strange device. Waving it back and forth with her hand gestures spoke words with a robotic voice. “Not a fully test product, but since you are brain dead stupid, this will be enough.” Her head shook and laughter echoed from the device. “You’ll make a call and transfer over your entire stock to Lupan’s shares in the Noapte company. Afterward, I’ll be taking all your soldiers teeth so as the mark their honor and present them to Crimson Mortuus as decreed by my clan.”
Lady Shaft was speechless, she could not utter a single word in response. However, Tatsu walked over to the phone and made the calls. Tanzer turned him and gestured more words for the speaker. “Thank you." She jumped off the table and spun around in joy, her laughter echoed out of the machinery. However, it was bluntly stopped as she shoved the speaker into Lady Shaft’s ear and turned the volume all the way up.
The now former crime boss was left convulsing as endless screeching sounds tore through her skull. Tanzer then bashed the speaker harder into her ear over and over, ignoring how Tatsu watched in horror. The masked figure pushed Lady Shaft’s head onto the table and kept going until the piece was firmly jammed into her brain.
Turning back to Tatsu, she walked over silence once more. Her head bouncing with voice laughter. Approaching as he finished she wrapped her arms around him and press her mask over his lips. He could feel the wetness of blood and sickened at the taste of his grandmother’s brains.
Breaking the ‘kiss’ she leaned over to his ear and whispered with her real and raspy voice. “Lady Shaft is dead, just yesterday, White Rook was confirmed dead. Looks like there is a power vacuum.” She stopped before saying anymore. Separating from him and leaving with that thought alone as she took her leave.
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