Chapter 4 – The Hag of District 16, Part 1

  A shaking awakens Damien, rudely and abruptly.

  “Wake up, little guy! We're gonna be late!” Elmer urged him.

  His eyes shot awake. Seeing Elmer in front of him in such a hurried state made him realize it without even checking his pocket watch. He overslept.

  “Oh! Sorry! I'll get dressed and —”

  “No need, I brought you this. Here.”

  Elmer handed Damien a set of clean clothing. It was grey in color, although he had no clue what kind of clothes they were. He only saw them folded, and a pair of boots on top.

  “You have three minutes to get dressed, then we're leaving without you.”

  A sense of urgency overcame Damien. As soon as Elmer exited the room, he jumped out of his bed and began doing whatever he needed to be doing at a rapid pace. He cleaned his face in a basin. He fixed his hair very haphazardly. Then, he glanced at the normal clothes he had before. It took one self-inflicted slap in the face to make him remember that he just received a new set of clothes.

  After three days' worth of training, his usual clothes were torn, shredded, and dirty beyond belief. His gaze focused on the new apparel, and he quickly unfolded it. There was a gray, well-studded leather coat that fitted him perfectly, a white shirt with a collar, and similar gray leather pants with a belt. Along with that, a pair of strong black boots and the Sinner emblem was included. With two minutes to spare, he put on the entire set, not even glancing at the mirror.

  With the clothing equipped and worn, he looked considerably more gallant and dashing than before. The leather coat extended to his boots, but not enough to be uncomfortable. It was all fitting perfectly, and movement was rather easy. Compared to his casual attire, this one was much more suited for combat and rapid movement.

  Everything finished, Damien bolted out of his room, meeting eyes with every other sinner ready to leave.

  Rita looked at him with a pleasant smile, like a friend.

  Elmer watched him like a comrade in arms.

  The rest was still mostly indifferent towards him, but he was sure that that would change over time.

  The group headed out of Hermes, exiting right in the middle of a busy street of District 16. From the quality of the infrastructure and surroundings, they were located near the center of the District.

  Damien was surprised to see zero threats nearby, “Did we go to the wrong place?”

  Avidia clarified, “Hermes cannot bring us to restricted areas, such as District centers and authorized buildings of Associations. That is why we must set off on foot.”

  “Restricted? How do you restrict an entire spatial dimension?” The boy asked, seemingly puzzled.

  “The rift plane is not only used by us. Therefore, it is natural that there are certain travel restrictions to avoid trespassing.”

  Rita exclaimed, “At least we'll get some steps in!”

  The whole group strode through the streets of District 16. It was apparent that this District was in no way a luxurious one, as most of it is covered in simple housing. However, the center of a District is always considerably different from its outskirts. The buildings here were taller, more sleek-looking, and more utile. The architecture resembled a mix of taller glass buildings and more concrete structures in various shapes and sizes. Nonetheless, they still lacked the modernity of the other Districts.

  Several inhabitants were exhibiting their Ichor abilities while working. An open-kitchen restaurant had a mustached chef who roasted a farm pig with flames from his hands. A lady was carrying a bucket of water with a ghost-like flying hand. A clerk at a market stand was handling multiple customers at once with a body double. A builder was fixing a part of a roof support with what could only be Resonance.

  As the group went, they only saw more and more busy people going along with their daily lives. Damien looked around like a gleeful child, and the team noticed.

  “Oh, right! Damien is having one hell of a field day today!” Elmer shouted.

  Some passersby bestowed them with concerning looks, as the Sinners were carrying their weapons out in the open. Rita with her spear, Null with his sniper rifle, and Damien with his Driftblade. They were also relatively unknown as an Association, so no one acknowledged them as such.

  As they passed the city square, they heard some kind of merchant advertising his product.

  “Listen up, people of District 16! Do you start feeling tired halfway through the day? Do you struggle to keep up your Manifest throughout your working time? If so, then this product is for you!”

  Out of sheer curiosity, the group gravitated towards the man, who was demonstrating his speech on the podium.

  “Allow me to introduce to you the Revitalizer! You only need to take one tablet a day, and the potassium levels in your blood will be boosted tenfold! You will feel like a brand-new person, and your energy will be nigh limitless!”

  As they listened to the man babble on, Avidia approached the podium.

  “Tenfold increased levels of potassium in blood would be, at minimum, seven times the lethal dose, leading to inevitable cardiac arrest. Your supposed product is a sham,” she accused the seller with a blank face.

  The man looked disgruntled, not expecting such a reaction from the crowd, “Look, lady, I'm trying to run a business here! Can't you just buzz off if you're not going to buy anything?”

  The Sinners were not looking for needless trouble, and Rita pulled Avidia back before she could go on a tangent about the false advertising.

  Elmer complained, “50 Phara for a bottle of death pills — what a steal!”

  They continued through the busy streets when the topic of the mission came up.

  Damien asked modestly, “So... where is this mission taking place?”

  Avidia was the quickest to reply, “The contract was given by the city council of District 16 itself. They require assistance with an unusual Angel that nested itself in the city's monument.”

  “Unusual Angel?”

  “According to the records, the contract refers to a specific Angel known as the Hag. It is highly territorial and any visitors of the monument have gone missing. I assume a physical description is unnecessary, given the obvious name of the subject.”

  Sumi added, “So we're just going to beat up some random lady?”

  “Be forewarned — according to the possessed information, this Angel controls a Manifest of its own. Chances are that we might have to endure the Angel's whims in its own territory,” Avidia clarified.

  “Really nice that we got picked out of all the different Associations!” Rita celebrated.

  “That's because we're the cheapest,” Elmer uttered.

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  Avidia added her input, “My theory is the overqualification of other Associations. The reward is not linear to the effort.”

  Each Sinner had their own thoughts about the mission, and it was apparent that this one was more serious than the last. Not only were the stakes on the rise, but also the reputation of the Sinners. From what Damien learned, their missions mostly consisted of tasks such as these, while also having their own agenda. For him, however, today was the test of his skill.

  “That's one massive structure!” Exclaimed Rita.

  The Sinners were looking at a monument that could only be described as a complex, marble white cube with various indents and protrusions. The whole building was around thirty meters tall. Around the monument lay a crossed-off perimeter with various signs saying, 'Angel Alert!', and 'Do Not Enter!'

  “I guess this is our location,” Elmer stated.

  They navigated past the black and yellow tape and approached the structure. There were no signs of an Angel just yet, and the group managed to get all the way to the base of the structure.

  A doorway stood in front of them, leading into the base of the monument. As they were about to enter, Sumi noticed something peeking at them from above and making strange grumbling noises. The battle was on.

  “Null, shoot,” she commanded the sniper.

  He immediately takes a shot, blowing off a part of the monument, but ultimately missing the target. The Angel retreated into hiding.

  “Well, that does it — we actually have to go in now,” Rita sighed.

  Sumi instantly approached the entrance, “It's been three days since I killed something. I've been getting withdrawals.”

  She took the first steps inside. Everyone watched as she went in alone, and shortly after, she seemingly blipped out of existence!

  The team was shocked. Was this the Angel's doing?

  Unsure, Elmer questioned the genius, “Avi, what do we do?”

  Avidia stopped to reassess the situation, “...An Angel of this caliber should not have the capacity to kill as we just saw. My theory is a teleportation Manifest that moved Sumi into the lower maintenance sections below the monument.”

  “Do we follow her, then?” Rita pondered.

  “That would be the best course of action — yes.”

  The rest of the group agreed to follow Sumi into the monument. Still watching around for the Angel on the loose, they carefully trod forward. When they reached the point where Sumi was, Avidia noticed a thin translucent veil covering the entrance. She surmised that this was the source of the teleportation and that it was harmless. Without any further delay, each of the remaining Sinners ventured into the vast structure.

  However, someone was watching them.

  A group of formally suited men in black tailcoats peered at them, each one holding a certain weapon by their side.

  The gray-haired sly one spoke first, “You sure that's them?”

  A man with shorter brown hair and glasses responded, taking a puff from a cigarette, “If a group called the Sinners wasn't walking around wearing pentagrams, then you can officially consider me a teapot.”

  Back over inside the monument, Damien quickly found out that they were separated during the teleportation. Not only that, but he also fell a great height after coming across to the other side. As soon as he recuperated, he drew his Driftblade and scanned the area.

  The whole place were dark and seemingly empty corridors like some kind of labyrinth. The only light source provided were dim blue lamps that barely provide any illumination. From the place where he landed, there was only one direction forward, and he pressed on.

  “Hey! Anyone? Anyone there?” He yelled out but to no avail.

  Blade in hand, he walked through the corridors, taking whichever turn felt right. There was no set direction to follow, and so Damien relied on his instinct.

  Soon after, a vicious crawling noise was heard from behind a corner. A shadow of the incoming threat was projected by the blue lamp, revealing that it is a medium-sized Husk. When it came from behind a corner, it spotted Damien. It was built like a fridge with two tiny legs, a gigantic sideways mouth across its whole body, and a set of four arms. Compared to the boy, it was marginally taller.

  The creature gurgled and frothed at the mouth before waddling over to Damien. He analyzed it as it approached, finding out that it was essentially defenseless from behind. He assumed a ready stance and accelerated himself using the Speed trigger behind the Angel.

  His judgment was right — its tiny legs could not turn fast enough, and the arms did not reach him there. In one fast, swiping motion, he cleaved the Husk from behind, splattering its gore over himself.

  It squealed in pain, and Damien realized what he had just done. He attacked a being that was once human and fully able to feel pain. As he prepared a second strike, he tried to not let his conscience get in the way. These are only Husks now, after all, and they have no sense of self left. They only wish to consume and grow.

  The second strike was aimed right at the previously inflicted wound, as the body of the Angel was too thick to sever in one swipe. The boy split the creature in half, ending its suffering.

  He watched it intently for a moment, but something else caught his attention. The corpse's Ichor that landed on his clothes, it was dissipating away. Damien was wholly clean in a matter of seconds, as if there never was gore all over him. 'Neat!', he thought. He assumed that this was the natural behavior of his new clothing. Regardless, he pressed on further through a few twists and turns, and into a slightly more open room.

  There, he saw a strange man he had never seen before. He wore a pair of glasses on his glum-looking eyes. He had ordinary brown hair and a bit of stubble. Before Damien made himself known, he watched him from behind a corner, observing the unknown individual. 'This man is not part of the mission', he thought.

  The man spoke to himself in the silence, “Man, this sucks. I really hoped that this wouldn't get so complicated. Now I'm stuck in a labyrinth with no way out...”

  Subsequently, he lit a cigarette, standing on the spot and not going anywhere.

  Meanwhile, Sumi's plight had led her to a circular room that could be interpreted as the center of the labyrinth. What caught her attention more than an ordinary-looking room, however, was an unknown armed man descending from the ceiling, screaming in the process.

  The man fell to the floor, aching and grumbling. He gathered himself after a few seconds, and only then did Sumi acknowledge him as a stranger.

  “Who the hell are you?” She asked, somewhat irritated.

  “Huff, puff, who the hell am I? Girl, you've got some nerve not knowing who we are...” He spoke full of arrogance, still short of breath.

  It was the same gray-haired man who watched them enter the premises of the monument.

  Sumi scoffed, “Tch — Kira Association.”

  “Well done, missy! So, you do know who we are!” He spoke, sarcastically clapping.

  The lady immediately marked the man as an enemy. However, as much as she wanted to kill him on the spot, the contract binding them to only fulfill the mission forbids them from causing unnecessary casualties to outsiders. She had to wait for the man's intentions to be revealed before she could legally cut him in half.

  The man cleared his throat and then performed a formal bow, “Anyway, the pleasure is mine, and the name's Jan, if you will.”

  Sumi responded, now completely agitated, “What the hell do you want?”

  “We are bound by our contract to deliver upon you — a demise worthy of Kira Association!”

  The rest of the Sinners came out in one group consisting of Elmer, Rita, and Avidia. Their landing site resembled some sort of feeding grounds, as the floor was littered with carcasses and bones.

  “Where is Null? Or Damien?” Elmer queried.

  Avidia, not paying attention to Elmer, scribbled away at her notepad.

  Rita asked her, “What are you doing?”

  “I am creating a detailed map of our surroundings. It appears that we are in a labyrinth, and getting outside might prove to be difficult. As for the situation of the three other Sinners, they have most likely been transported to different places somewhere within the lair of the Angel.”

  The three ventured ahead, carefully examining all possible paths due to Avidia's idea. However, after wandering about for some time, they abandoned their method as something else caught their attention.

  They crossed paths with four swordsmen of Kira Association.

  The three Sinners came to a halt upon this sight. Avidia put away her notebook, mumbling 'Kira Association'.

  Elmer asked her, “Kira? What do those do?”

  “This Association excels in assassination 'hits', as they call them. It appears that we are one of their targets.”

  One of the well-dressed men responded, “Hey, you forgot one thing. We are the fifth branch of Kira — the best one of the six!”

  “Everything else was in order? Such as our assassination request being true?”

  The second thug smirked, “Heh, of course!”

  Almost in unison, they unsheathed their weapons. Each of the four was carrying a Driftblade, eager to use them any second now.

  In response, the three Sinners got ready. Elmer manifested Heist. Rita readied her spear. And as for Avidia, she was equipped with a set of her inventions — the Plasmatic Arsenal. Similarly to a Manifest, she can make certain weapons appear in her hands using special gloves that she wears. For the situation, she created a glowing cyan halberd, wielding it with both hands.

  Each of the groups had an opponent to defeat in order to progress. This was not going to be an easy battle.