[Zenil's POV]

I didn't know where I was.

I was tied to a chair, all of my limbs were restrained, and even my mouth was covered up with tape. Furthermore, a cloth was also put on my head, to block my vision. I was pretty sure that my hands were handcuffed and not tied with a rope, while my legs were indeed tied up with a rope. They must think I am pretty hardcore.

I was drenched in sweat, and felt dirty. It was probably due to the foul stench around, it was a noxious blend of blood and decaying matter. Also, my back hurt like anything. 

This situation seemed as if it was ripped straight outta low-budget thriller.

Though I had no idea about my exact location, I could sense the presence of at least five individuals nearby. Strangely, no discernible movement or sound was emanating from them. This alone indicated that these individuals were trained professionals and not the local hooligans who were present at the other camps in the vicinity. All 5 of them were placed a few meters apart from each other and had me surrounded from all directions.

Trained or not, they were still the weak henchmen obeying their master. I was here to confront the master.

"Where's that rat?" A shrill voice came, "Going around attacking us?"

Suddenly I sensed a presence that was stronger, far stronger than the henchmen around. Maybe this is it. After a week of fucking around and blowing up their warehouses, the boss finally appeared.

"The one in the center" A feminine voice came from the same direction

There was another presence, which was far superior to everyone else in this room, except me, of course. This person was why I found this place, and how I even got detained, voluntarily so.

Behind the cloth on my head, a wide smile appeared on my face without me even realizing

I could hear the footsteps drawing nearer and nearer until they were almost right beside me, and then they abruptly ceased.

Suddenly, the cloth covering my head was removed, and the sudden transition from darkness to glaring brightness left me blinded for a few seconds. I blinked, squinted, and blinked again until my eyes adjusted to the light and I could see comfortably.

Then, I confidently looked up at my kidnappers, with a smirk on my face.

***

[About an hour ago]

[Ceerigaabo, Somalia]

[Zenil's POV]

I stood in front of a deserted warehouse, in the middle of nowhere. The closest town was at least 100Km away. Yet, I stood here, about to get my hands dirty. 

A few weeks back, my organization got a request from a drug cartel situated in Uruguay, that a new organization, based in Somalia-Ethiopia has suddenly popped up out of nowhere, and is stealing their customers from South Africa and Nigeria.

Following this discovery, my team delved deeper into the investigation, and before long, I uncovered that the rising mafia boss was receiving funding from an organization based in Bangkok known as "Bronze Buddha." Adding to the intrigue, this group operated under the behemoth Chinese organization, "Golden Buddha". 

If this had not been the case, I myself would've never kept my foot here. However, this situation was unique, and I had no choice but to come. After all, the Chinese had ties to the "Red Spirit".

Without hesitation, I swiftly donned a black face mask to conceal my identity before crashing into the warehouse.

It was dirty and bloody. I could easily see the dust particles floating around in the radiant sunlight.

There were about 20 goons situated in this very facility, but none was any good. Just local youths armed with weapons, capital, and drugs, but lacking any formal training in their use.

They were all grouped in clusters of 4-5 individuals, each engaged in various activities. The group situated right by the main entrance, the one through which I had just entered, appeared to be counting and packaging drugs into boxes, presumably for shipment.

As soon as I entered the building, all of them looked at me with a puzzled looks on their faces, looking at me as if I was an alien or a zoo animal. Noticing this, I too looked at them with that same expression. This locked us in a mutual standoff.

"Who the fuck is this bastard?" One of them said in his native language, arrogance and annoyance evident in his question. He was part of the group tallying the drugs.

I approached this person and stood in front of the group. "I told you not to do drugs, man. See, you forgot who your dad was?" I said with a worried expression on my face, in a satirical manner, obviously.

"You Bas-" He bellowed, but I interrupted him with a punch to the face, sending him off balance. Seizing the opportunity, I swiftly delivered an uppercut with my other hand, efficiently making him lose consciousness.

After witnessing what had happened to their buddy, within a second or so, the goons were left stunned for a few good seconds, soon they came to their senses and looked at me with rage in their eyes. 

'A bunch of Ignorant fools'

I looked at the group which was tallying the drugs with a smile on my face. About 10 seconds were remaining before the other goons reached me. Using this opportunity I quickly landed a few punches, and a few kicks to the goons, rendering 4 of the 5 members unconscious. 

The last man standing held a pistol in his hands, he looked at me with fear in his eyes and hesitation on his face.

"D-Don't you come near me, or-or else I'll shoot!" He said, barely managing to control his shivering body

"Shoot" I said while walking towards him. He stood barely a meter and a half away from me

He tightly closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. He felt the vibrations, he heard the thundering sound of the muzzle blast, albeit it was somewhat muffled. 

He then slowly opened his eyes, and to his horror, I was standing right in front of him. 

He looked at me and then at the gun in his hands, his hands shivering with fear. At the end of the barrel, the tube through which the bullet exits, an obsidian substance, with black flames covering it was blocking the path of the bullet.

Before the man could realize what happened, I slapped him. 

'Never point a gun towards me, bitch!'

Before long, the other members of the cartel arrived, some held knives, while some were equipped with pistols or rifles. I took care of them all, not finding it particularly challenging, yet undeniably tedious.

"Nothing here either!" I cursed

There weren't any Empowered, or even any trained individuals here. This place was also one of their relatively less useful locations. Ugh!

I let out a sigh and gazed at the rays of sunlight infiltrating the darkness of the warehouse through the small crevices and openings in the tin ceiling. I don't know why but such sights give me hope and make me remember my childhood. I feel relaxed looking at the sunlight.

I sat down on the hood of one of the cars parked in the warehouse, looking at the peaceful sunlight, and a little less peaceful sight of a few dozen men lying down on the floor, covered in blood and dirt.

In the frustration of the battle, I had forgotten to keep one of them conscious to interrogate. So now I had to wait for one of them to wake up.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a car approaching the location. The car soon stopped right in front of the building.

After that a figure entered the warehouse. 

It was a girl.

She looked at me. I looked at her.

She looked at the pile of men laying on the ground. I still looked at her.

She then turned her gaze towards me, and took a defensive stance. There wasn't fear, or rage in her eyes, or any other emotion in her dark eyes. Only the clear intent to kill.

I sighed and swiftly left my seat and stood on the ground. 

The girl in front of me was of Asian descent, and was in fact very beautiful, like breathtaking levels of beauty. Her attire consisted of a casually unzipped leather jacket paired with blue jeans. Inside the jacket, she was wearing a short, white crop top, which not only showcased her toned abs but also revealed her slim waist. 

"Who are you, pretty lady?" I asked with a sincere smile on my face. I could sense that she was way more deadly than the useless goons. After all, she was an Empowered. 

She shot me a glare, keeping quiet. I also took my stance. 

One second we were looking at each other, calculating, and trying to predict what the opponent might do.

The next second we were already at each other's throats. 

We clashed, bridging the gap between us with lightning speed. Launching a barrage of punches and kicks towards each other. She threw a punch at me. I dodged it by swaying myself to the other direction. Her follow-up swift kick, met with my forearm in a solid block. 

This pattern of attacks, dodges, and blocks continued for a few seconds. That is until I stopped dodging and blocking, instead, I poured my attention towards one good attack, a decisive punch. 

As the familiar pattern repeated, I suddenly ducked, and with precision, I unleashed an uppercut to her chin, sending her flying a meter or two. 

She wasted no time, rising to her feet with a determined gaze fixed on me. She took an offensive stance and shut her eyes for a moment. Then, an incandescent aura surrounded her, a cloak of brightness. She opened her eyes, and they were glowing brightly, it was as if the white hue was radiating from somewhere deep inside her soul.

'The Swiftwind clan?' 

Suddenly, she lunged towards me, delivering a lightning-fast strike to my face, rendering me unconscious in an instant.

That's what I wanted her to believe. I ended up a meter away, lying on top of the car's windshield where I had been sitting a few minutes before. Blood streamed down my face, and glass shards made themselves at home in my back. Yet, I remained still.

I waited, playing the role of the unconscious heroine, no, the hero.

Soon the woman came to see if I was truly unconscious or not. This was my chance. If she attempted to kill me, I'd play the "Call an ambulance, but not for me!" card, but if not, she'd likely take me to her boss, and that's precisely what I wanted. She took off my face mask, and just stood there staring my face. She probably got lost in my handsome face. 

She bought the whole "I'm out cold" act and made a call.

"I have caught the intruder."

***

[Present]

[Zenil's POV]

Looking at my kidnappers, only one thought ran through my head, 'Got you bitch!'

In front of me stood the Swiftwind woman, looking hot as usual. Beside her stood a bald man.

He was clad in one of those green exotic shirts you wear on a beach, and complementing sun shades. A wide grin lit up his face. Dude looked like a character straight out of some anime.

As soon as he looked at me, the grin on his face disappeared, and instead, he knitted his eyebrows as if he was perplexed or lost in thought. After about half a minute he finally spoke:

"Have met before?"

I shook my head sideways, as my mouth was taped off. 

"Oh," he mumbled before carefully peeling the tape from my mouth.

"I don't think so" I replied confidently, "I don't go around having meetings with low lives like you."

"Is that so?" He said, with a smile on his face. He kept his hand on my shoulder and started exerting pressure on me. "Well, could you at least reveal who your owner is, my furry friend?"

The pressure was so gentle that it resembled a relaxing massage. As I yawned, I remarked, "Well, at least my owner doesn't keep me on a leash, unlike yours."

The man let out a chuckle and followed it up with a punch to my stomach.

His punch did hurt a little bit, but nothing I couldn't handle. 

"If that's all you have to say, then let's proceed with the interrogation," He said.

"Indeed!" I replied.

A loud clang echoed through the building as I broke the weak handcuffs with ease. In that split second when no one comprehended what had occurred or the origin of the sound, I punched the baldie with all my might, returning the favor. 

He flew away crashing into the wall behind him.

The woman acted swiftly, launching a push-kick that sent me flying several meters away along with the wooden chair I had been sitting on. The chair was the first one to succumb to death.

The broken wood pierced into my back, and the pain from the shattered glasses resurfaced, this made the already excruciating pain, far worse. 

While on the ground, I quickly got rid of the rope tied up in my legs. Now I was truly unchained.

Before long, the 5 trained rascals ganged up on me, while the girl went to check on her boss.

I sighed, and looked at the 5 of them, with nothing but pity in my eyes, and a calm smile on my face. 

A dark, black glow appeared in my eyes, erasing all reflections within them, leaving only a profound abyss, it was as if nothing and everything existed deep within my soul. 

Out of nowhere, the shadows of the 5 men started shaking, it was as if they were afraid of something. After that, the shadows formed a third dimension, manifesting themselves into tangible, three-dimensional entities. The dark shadows took on the form of a sharp, spear-like tentacle of darkness, and swiftly impaled their owners. The inky shadows quickly twisted themselves before disappearing into nothing, granting their victims a swift demise.

'Sorry, but I can't let anyone who has seen my face stay alive. May you find your peace.'

After making sure that her boss was in fact alive, the girl looked at me, and then at the corpses surrounding me. Her eyes widened. 

I twisted and cracked my neck, and stretched my limbs, all the while the pain in my back still affecting me.

"Swiftwind?" I asked nonchalantly

She nodded in agreement, then proceeded to take her stance. She gulped before her eyes started to shimmer in white radiance again.

I let out a sigh as my shadow began its ascent up my body. Swiftly, it crept towards my right hand, moving with the grace of a serpent, and soon transformed into a curved blade, dark as obsidian.