"Two bottles of water and a loaf of bread. Thank you."
New York, Hell's Kitchen, it was evening.
Wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a cloak, Merlin puts his hands into his pockets.
In this store by the streets, if Merlin looks back, he could see dozens of homeless people curled up on the sides of the bustling streets. And not 10 meters from them, were dozens of dolled-up gals attracting customers.
The scenes of debauchery cast a seemingly prosperous coat on this most chaotic part of New York. Merlin would not be surprised if a few masked robbers with guns this very moment.
This was Hell's Kitchen, a place where New Yorkers avoid, and a place where violence and darkness reign supreme.
He had been living here for about 5 months already, and he was used to the dangers that could appear out of the darkness anytime. Be it turf wars between gangsters, fights between punks, or even mad speedsters high on drugs, you could find them all here.
Oh, for the record, there were 7 other supernatural victims in this block alone.
They're living quite the life in this chaotic street using the powers they borrowed from the demons or whatever other unholy existences.
Yet they never discovered Merlin, first was due to his good hiding skills; the second was that Trigon's powers, even if it's just a small trace of it, were far more powerful than measly phantoms and low-ranking demons.
Merlin had been secretly searching for 'kin' Mephisto had told him about, the true 'sons' of Trigon; he had confirmed several suspects, yet he did not make his move.
He had not the determination to kill them...or that he never planned to do so.
Even with what little amount of Trigon's power affecting him had made his life miserable, let alone gather more...Merlin knew that he could not possibly remain sane after collecting too much of Trigon's powers.
He did not wish to fall into the darkness once more.
"Here's your stuff, take it."
The store clerk keeps Merlin's food and water using a plastic bag, Merlin pays and takes the bag.
Merlin walks out of the store and heads for his residence, but after turning the corner, Merlin could sense quite a few ill-willed punks following behind him.
All these tail robberies were making Merlin sick, but this was the situation he had to deal with for living in Hell's Kitchen.
"I should move out, this place is not for a long stay."
As he mumbles to himself, he presses his cap down, quickens his pace, and turns the corner. The punks behind him quickly followed behind him, they turned the corner and were dumbfounded to see nothing there; what's eerie was that this was a dead-end with no second exit.
"Where'd he go?"
The leader was a muscular black man with tattoos over both his arms, he looked around as he was certain Merlin turned into this alleyway; however, the alleyway was only so wide and it was impossible to hide.
"Maybe we saw wrong?"
The thin man beside him said so while placing his baseball bat onto the barrel next to him, to light a cigar. But the next moment, the baseball bat mysteriously disappears.
"Have you gone high?"
The black man scolded:
"There's no way all of us saw wrong?"
The thin man who was scolded shrugs, the other oddly dressed punks around him laugh with gloat.
From their looks, they aren't even professional robbers; their lack of firearm proves that they are punks of the lowest grade even by Hell Kitchen standards.
Having lost Merlin's trail, the punks prepare to leave; yet as the black man turns around, a baseball bat suddenly flies at the back of his head and heavily whacks him.
The black man didn't even flinch and falls to the ground, the blood splattered onto his clothes from the hit made him look as if he were dead...
This strange scene terrifies the four; the least courageous thin man turns and runs, but the baseball bat appears in front of him and directly strikes him directly in the chest.
Under Shadow Cloak, Merlin had used full force on this hit, it sent the thin man rolling into the air, howling as he fell. He was probably luckier than the black man in terms of wound, but surely a few ribs were broken.
The remaining three stood there horrified, they felt as though there was a phantom lurking in the alleyway; the fear of being attacked yet not being able to see the attacker freezes them.
In the darkness, Merlin sneers and throws the blood-soaked bat onto the ground
"Bong"
The noise surprises the three, who then begin running.
How smart of them to run in three different directions.
The one closest to Merlin was tripped over by him just as he began to run, he falls onto the ground and slams his face onto it. Merlin who stood beside him then kicks his ugly face.
"Bam"
The man howls holding his broken nose, but his howling was too ugly, so Merlin silenced him by kicking him between the legs.
Merlin, still in his Shadow Cloak, picks up a pocket knife from the ground and flings it in his hand.
He slowly approaches the panicking punk who ran into the alleyway.
The guy was terrified.
He looks at the dead-end in front of him, behind him was nothing, yet he knew that the phantom was right there...he dared not to go there, he could only lean close to the wall like a little girl; gasping for air, he prayed.
But it was futile.
The man's eyes were widened, he would turn at every little noise; sweat rolls down his forehead, but he didn't even bother to wipe it.
The scene just now was too frightening.
As the man takes his breath, before his very eyes, the person wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and cloak, along with a bag of food and water, appears abruptly.
He was standing just 2 metres from him!
"Kyaaaa!!!"
A girly scream resounds, the man's legs shook and a pungent smell came from under him. Merlin covered his nose in disgust and took a step back.
The guy was so scared he had peed his pants.
"Robbing people with those guts?"
Merlin deliberately lowered his voice and ridiculed, he moved his wrist and threw the pocket knife into the wall behind him; the knife barely scratches his face as it flew, causing him to kneel and cower on the floor.
"Be a good person from here on, got it?"
Merlin says so and turns around, his figure disappears as he steps into the shadows, like a phantom.
The poor bastard just knelt there, he dared not move and only raised his head to look; the ghost-like person reappears under the lights beside the dropped dead leader.
He left the poor bastard an indifferent back.
With one hand in his pocket and a bag of food on the other, he walks into the darkness and disappears.
After Merlin had left, it took the poor bastard nearly ten minutes to get back on his feet, the leans against the wall and moves slowly to his boss; he shudders after seeing the pool of blood under him...
He suddenly realized...that being a punk may not be the best job for him, maybe he should go back and help his dad with the supermarket.
He'll have lesser freedom, but at least he won't encounter terrifying stuff like this again.
"Pa"
Merlin throws the empty bottle into the nearby trash can, he stands on the remote riverbank of the Hudson River; behind him was a forest of trees, it was very quiet.
Under the night, Merlin gazes onto the cold surface of the Hudson River.
He holds his forehead with his finger, he felt invigorated after the act of violence, but he was mentally exhausted.
"After misfortune, is violence?"
"Are you beginning to affect me in another way?"
He looks at his other hand, on it was stains on blood. Just now, Merlin had used the Shadow Cloak he deemed useless to easily kill 4 people; if he was faster and more ruthless, the 5th one would also be dead.
What is this.
This is just an insignificant speck of Trigon's powers!
Yet it allowed him an overwhelming advantage in front of average humans, what if he had more power? What if Merlin could truly master his ability?
Would that mean he would become invincible in front of weak humans?
The thought was terrifying, it was like a key towards the darkness; just by grabbing it, he would become a god in the eyes of mortals...
To be frank, Merlin was shaken.
In the world, who would resist the temptation of solving any and all problems through the use of violence?
"Crash"
As Merlin's heart shook, a loud sound resounded behind him; through Merlin's senses, he could hear the screeching sound of wheel friction, and the weak cries of help of a woman.
This interrupted Merlin's random thinking and he ran towards the crash site.
Someone was hurt, he could smell the scent of blood; someone needed help.
Merlin rushes into the forest, he could see a luxurious car crashed onto a nearby tree trunk; the front cover of the car was flipped upwards, and dangerous sparks could be seen. In the car, was a struggling couple, they were both elderly and had both been hurt.
"Don't move, I'm here to help."
Merlin runs towards the car door and opens it with difficulty, he tries to carry the old man who had hit his head on the steering wheel out; but the white-haired elderly struggled, he grabbed Merlin with his hand and grits his teeth:
"Go, save her. Save my wife!"
"There's something in the trunk...take it, take them both and run! They're...they're coming!"
"Hmm?"
Merlin widens his eyes, the elderly's words gave him a bad feeling; he pulls him out of the car and lays him onto the ground. He then rushes to the other side and carries the half-dead elderly woman out of the car.
As the elderly man requested, Merlin opens the car's trunk; in it was a grey suitcase, but just as Merlin took it out of the trunk, the hears the buzz of a motorcycle resound from behind him.
He instinctively looks back, the motorcycle lights were blinding, but Merlin could see the rider on the motorcycle; he had messy hair and was wearing a black military uniform, he held something dangerous on the other hand.
It was a military-grade assault rifle!
At this moment, Merlin felt danger, danger equal to the danger he felt back in Chicago when he first encountered the bell.
Danger! Danger!
Merlin instinctively opens his Shadow Cloak and rolls to the side; then, he heard gunshots similar to popping beans. The bullets hit the trunk above Merlin's head, which sends sparks flying in all directions like thunder strikes in the night.
Exploding in dead silence!
