Shadow Slave

The assailants studied the detective with grim expressions. One of them threw a furtive look at the broken body laying on the wet asphalt;the other showed no concern for the fate of their fallen comrade whatsoever.

Instead, he grinned.

”Look at that. A prince on a white horse appeared to save the damsel.”

Detective Sunless shook his head as he walked in their direction.

”Are you colorblind or something? My car is obviously black. And I am not a prince.”

He smiled darkly.

”I am a king. Well… a sovereign, to be precise.”

The assailant laughed.

”Did you hear that? That was way too funny, man. We have an actual psycho on our hands! One of her patients, I guess.”

Detective Sunless passed by Saint, who had stood frozen throughout the entire exchange. Now, finally, she shook off her daze and called out to him in a subdued tone:

”They are armed.”

He glanced at her briefly.

”Of course they are.”

There was not a hint of concern in his voice.

The detective walked past Saint and continued on his way toward the two attackers. She considered whether she was supposed to help him… it seemed only natural to do so, for some reason, to the point that she almost took a step to follow him.

But then, Saint reminded herself of what she was doing. Fighting armed bandits in the rain was not something an ordinary person like herself was supposed to engage in. She had accepted the frightening situation with an abnormal level of calmness, but actually, a normal person would be terrified and in a panic right now, doing their best to escape.

’Should I escape? No… should I try to find help? Police! Should I call the police?”

But the police was already here…

Before Saint could decide on a course of action, Detective Sunless and the two bandits lunged at each other.

Then, things happened swiftly.

The one with the knife slashed at the detective’s neck, aiming to slit his throat open. The other had produced a telescopic baton out of somewhere and attacked from the other side, bringing it down on the detective’s head. They worked well with each other, moving with a shared purpose to leave the victim no way to escape.

Detective Sunless did not try to escape, though.

Instead, he caught the first assailant’s wrist and pushed it aside, making the knife miss his neck. At the same time, he lowered his torso and kicked the second assailant in the chest, sending him staggering back.

”Pathetic… now I am less offended about only warranting one assassin while Saint gets three. My guy was a professional, at least.”

The ensuing brawl was short, violent, and bloody. Despite what Detective Sunless had said, the two men fighting him were not amateurs — they were trained, vicious, and clearly accustomed to hurting people.

Nevertheless, he handled them with such a chilling level of cruel, nonchalant ruthlessness that it was hard to tell which side of the conflict was the criminal, and which side was the victim. Saint had extensive martial training, but she had never witnessed such startling brutality.

Detective Sunless was not a brute, though. She had enough skill to recognize just how impressive his technique and combat intelligence were. Every movement was precise and purposeful, every step was taken with calculated intent. ṟ𝐚₦Ồ𝖇Ěś

He tore through the heavy streams of rain with fierce momentum, always a step ahead of his opponents. It was almost as if he was controlling the two assailants like marionettes, dictating their every move — his own attacks, meanwhile, were vicious and devastating, but also elegant in their economic efficiency. There was a cadence to it all, a strange melody…

Almost like a dance.

’I was… meaning to call the police…’

Saint had forgotten what she was meant to do.

A pained wail drowned out the rustling of the rain.

There was a revolting squelch of tearing flesh, and the crack of breaking bone. One of the assailants reeled back, his arm mangled terribly and bent at an unnatural angle. Before the second one could react, his own knife plunged between his ribs, and then a crushing blow landed on his face. As he fell to his knees with a groan, a vicious kick landed on his head.

Detective Sunless leaned down and picked up the telescopic baton that had fallen to the ground. When the assailant with the broken arm turned around to flee, he brandished it with startling speed, striking the man on the temple — the bandit fell like a toppled tree and remained laying on the asphalt, motionless.

”Argh… you… bastard… I’ll kill you…”

The one with the knife in his chest grabbed the hilt with a shaking hand, straining to pull it out.

The detective looked at him and said evenly, in a matter-of-fact tone:

”I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That knife is the only thing keeping you alive.”

But the assailant did not listen. He pulled the knife out, letting out a torrent of blood, then gripped it tightly and staggered to his feet.

As he took an unsteady step forward, Detective Sunless took an unhurried step back.

One, two, three, four…

By the fourth step, he was suddenly side by side with Saint.

She observed the harrowing scene with an strange indifference, as if seeing several men die in a violent confrontation was not worthy of riling up her emotions. The detective’s presence was oddly soothing.

This reaction… was definitely not normal.

’I am probably in shock.’

The assailant pursued Detective Sunless with slow, swaying steps. Blood was flowing down his body, mixing with the rainwater on the ground.

One, two, three…

On the fourth step, his legs buckled, and he fell down. The knife rattled as it fell from his grip.

He did not move after that.

”You… killed them.”

Saint’s voice was calm. She was calm.

Why was she so calm?

Detective Sunless looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and smiled.

”Why, yes. I promised to, after all. Haven’t I told you? I’m the most honest person in the world.”

’Three worlds, even.’

That was what he had said.

’Extreme case of delusion of grandeur, no doubt.’

Detective Sunless studied her for a few moments, then frowned.

”You’re thinking something strange, aren’t you? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

’Is that what’s important right now?’

Saint took a deep breath.

Then, she answered evenly:

”I was off the clock. My sleep schedule is very important... so, I don’t take calls from patients outside the designated hours.”