Three gunshots rang out, two from the operator on the right and one from the operator on the left, but they hit nothing but shadows.
"COME OUT, YOU BASTARD AND STOP THIS THEATRICAL BULLSHIT!" Fredrick howled, followed by two rounds from his Glock nine-millimeter handgun.
BANG BANG!
♪Chaos reigns where I set foot,
Fredrick’s fear roots deeper than soot,
I am the legend they dread to speak,
My words cut sharp, makin’ him weak. ♪
"Sir, the music is coming from multiple points, but I can’t track down their source. This guy is either using small speakers that are easy to hide, or he’s good at throwing his voice around." Operator Left stated in a hushed whisper.
"This shop isn’t that big; find him," Crouching low to the ground, Fredrick growled while scanning his surroundings and expanding his perception.
"Right away," Operator Left sounded off before sweeping across and moving to the far side of the shop, looking for the source of the music or, better yet, me.
’Can’t have you guys finding me before I finish my little game now, can I,’ I thought while pushing off the wall and dashing around the room silently. There was no way I was going to allow them to take over the narrative I was building.
Between the music and lyrics, I was setting the scene for a fun face-to-face introduction between Fredrick and myself.
Thus, like a specter, I appeared behind the rightmost operator, jumped up, and with a flash of shadows…
"Sir, I think I see…GLUggghh, cough,"
THUD
Operator Right, who was about to say his findings, suddenly let out a gurgled, moist sound from his mouth before coughing once and collapsing to the ground.
I had Slit his throat with my left-hand arm-mounted claw before vanishing into the shadows again.
Operator left, and Fredrick spun on his location and rushed over only to watch the light leave Operator Right’s eyes.
"Fuck….hes fast…," kneeling and checking for a pulse from the downed man, Fredrick’s eyes flicked around the room, looking for any sign of movement only to come up empty.
♪Red head skippin’, trippin’ into doom,
Xipher’s realm, this ain’t no cartoon,
Dark symphony playin’, shadows on the wall,
Fredrick Colt tremblin’, about to fall.♪
Feeling it was time to drop a HARD hint at my identity, I went ahead and slipped my Alias into the song, and the reaction from Fredrick was priceless.
"No…it can’t be…that name…" Fredrick, who had been carefully listening to the lyrics in hopes of figuring out my identity, froze instantly upon me mentioning "Xipher’s Realm," as my Alias, as the song stated, was practically legendary.
"Xipher…you…were supposed to be dead…" From where I hid, I could see Fredrick’s pupils completely dilated as his carotid artery pumped fiercely, showing off how the simple name drop was enough to cause him a level of fright he had never known before this evening.
"Sir, who’s Xipher GAHH, UGH…"
THUD
And then there was only one; as like before, I stealthily executed the last operator, leaving Fredrick alone, frightened, and frantic as he rushed over to the second corpse.
Only instead of checking his pulse, he went for the man’s gun and ammo.
♪Xipher, my name’s a chillin’ curse,
Darkness creepin’, makin’ it worse,
Legends they quiver, shiver at the sound,
Fredrick Colt wishin’ he ain’t around.♪
With the two obstacles out of the way, that meant it was time for me to make a final move, so, willing particles to course through my body, I flared my aura, then appeared directly in front of Fredrick, scaring the living shit out of him as I seemed like a ghost while directly singing the lyrics and brandishing my exceedingly sharp arm mounted claws.
♪Chaos reigns where I set foot,
Fredrick’s fear roots deeper than soot,
I am the legend they dread to speak,
My words cut sharp, makin’ him weak.♪
"Xipher, there is no animosity between you and our Stillwater. Why are you doing this?" Trembling in fright due to a combination of the chilling song I wrapped up and the immense pressure I exerted on his body thanks to my Particle Strength and Racial Classification, Fredrick cried.
Unlike the previous returners I had encountered, Fredrick didn’t take me lightly for even a split second upon finding out my name. Still, he got even more serious upon seeing the weapons I wielded and my icy blue, glowing eyes.
He knew deep down that I was who I said I was, and he wasn’t taking any chances. People…no Armies significantly stronger than him alone had tried taking me down before; even if this was a different time, and I was nowhere close to my peak strength, he knew better than to attack without using his head first.
"Hmmm~ Why indeed, what would bring me out of the shadows but for some fool to take my prey…you tell me, young pony *Young male horses are called Colts*
"Your…prey…you don’t mean the p*Kemon cards, right? If that’s all, then you can have them, hell you can take everything I have on me, too…" Hastily, Fredrick dumped out every case and several loose boxes of cards he had in his inventory onto the floor beside him in hopes that it would get him out of this situation.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
"Hmmm, it seems you aren’t stupid, a far cry from some of your other siblings who would have stupidly attacked me instead of using words; this tribute is a start for now…." Scooping up everything he had dropped on the ground, I allowed the music to continue until it finally reached the end of the track before looking Fredrick in the eyes and speaking.
"What to do….oh what to do~, hmm, come along then, Young pony, shall we have a conversation about what happens next." Tilting my head to the side, I pointed at Fredrick’s chest with my right claw, then used my left to motion to the opposite side of the store, where I had laid out the table and chairs for us to speak.