A Horrifying Visit

Michael was awoken early in the morning by loud knocking at his door. The kind that could only mean trouble.

"This is the state police, open this door right now!" Said the voice, it sounded like a young man, but a very aggressive one nonetheless, one who meant business.

"Relax, this isn't a shakedown," another, much older and much calmer voice stated, "there's no need for violence."

"Yes, All-powerful Kain." replied the younger man.

Kain? This name almost made Michael reach for the rifle right under his bed, the one he neglected to lock up last night in light of the thief destroying his locker. So that clerk had called the police. But why was Calliston Kain here? The very man who Michael naively believed he could kill weeks ago, the one who executed people on a moments notice, the very reason this country was so terrifying. Why would he be here, of all places?

"Young man," the older voice, Kain's voice, spoke softly, "we know your in there. Oh, I'm sorry, that sounded like a threat, I was simply speaking as a matter of fact. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm only with my men for a little protection. Trust me, I only want to talk to you."

He paused for a moment, perhaps waiting for a response that didn't come. "You must be tired from the shock of last night, not every night you hear a gunshot in this city. I understand, young man. We can come back later, or you could come to the council building, the very tall one in the center. Let's say when the sun is highest for when I come back, is that a good time?"

He didn't sound so threatening as Michael had imagined. He felt some force guiding him away from his weapons at his bedside and towards the door. Perhaps it was fear, maybe Kain was lying and would bust the door down at any second. Perhaps he just wanted to get this over and done with before it became a problem. Regardless, Michael found himself unlocking the door and opening it slowly, and he'd soon see this vile man.

"Or now, I could do now if you really want." Kain said with a slight smugness in his tone as he slowly came into view. "May I come in?"

He looked exactly like he did in his pictures on the paper Phale, a middle aged man with authority, one with his long, black hair tied back in a ponytail. Though he was smiling, his scowl remained, almost as of scarred into his face. "Yeah." Michael said rather impassively. He acted as if under a spell, but though such spells existed in this world (as he read in some books), he recognized that he was not under one. Perhaps it was because though he saw the evil this man had wrought, Calliston Kain seemed strangely courteous in person.

"Why are you here?" Michael asked, making no attempt to hide his fear and disdain for this man.

"You've made quite the name for yourself in recent days." Kain started. "Of course, nobody knows your real name, they all just call you the 'Gun-Toting Monster Slayer'. A rather lazy name if I do say so myself. Word is, you've been taking on higher and higher monster ranks, taking on plenty of contracts every day, and always coming back with energy to spare. People rarely see you in the city anymore."

"I just do it to make a living." Michael replied. "I didn't ask for any sort of title."

"Well, whether you ask for it or not, it's there." Kain stated. "I notice you have a sword and gun in your room. You should know that isn't permitted."

At the mention of this detail, Michael felt a strange sort of fear coming over him. Perhaps Kain was only acting courteous and vulnerable to make his ultimate execution much more fun for him, seeing someone let their guard down so completely and then killing them, after all, he already executed people for much less. He didn't seem all that concerned when he mentioned the gun and had one of his guards check the weapon.

"My locker was broken into." Michael replied, perhaps a bit too quickly, showing off his newfound desperation to stay alive. "The thief smashed my lock up, I couldn't get a replacement in time."

"Sir, this weapon has been fired recently." The guard checking the gun stated afterwards. "Possibly within about six hours."

"So, that gunshot in the city was you?" Calliston Kain stated, with a more stern tone than before, clearly trying to invoke a more desperate response from Michael this time. "That's also not allowed."

"Even in self-defense?" Michael replied.

"You're lying." Calliston Kain said, now with his clear facade of courtesy fading entirely. How did he know? Michael thought. "I have eyes blessed with the ability to see the truth." Kain continued, almost as if sensing the question Michael was thinking. "You didn't shoot that man out of self-defense. Your life wasn't in danger. So why did you really shoot him?"

Michael felt no desire to lie any further, thinking it would only make the situation far worse than it already was. "He stole my money and gun." Michael continued. "He would've left me completely powerless. Maybe I also wanted to send a message to anyone else who thought of robbing me."

"Well, alright then." Calliston Kain replied, he no longer seemed angry. "Then I'll let it go just this one time."

Of course, the guard nearby objected to this action. "But sir, he..."

"I've made my decision." Kain interrupted him, then turned back to Michael. "Next time, if you want to kill someone, make sure to use magically charged bullets. That guy you shot was never gonna die by that gunshot, not when we had magic to heal him. By the way, I still never got your name."

"It's Michael."

"Michael?" Said Kain. "I never saw your name in the census. Know why that would be?"

Michael didn't know how to answer that question. No matter what he said, it would seem suspicious. "I'm from abroad." He stated simply.

"Is that so?" Replied Kain, with the exact suspicious tone that had to be expected from such a response. "Well, anyway, I also came to offer a sort of job opportunity. Like I said, you've been making a name for yourself, and I'm recruiting some new people to act as new soldiers. If you start now, you could immediately become a corporal without any training or tests, command your own group into the further reaches of the world within a year, and, of course, it comes with a lot more freedom. You could do almost anything you want without punishment, within reason, of course. Interested?"

Was he seriously offering him a place in his military? Michael could barely wrap his head around this thought. He thought Calliston Kain would've come to threaten him, see him as a threat to his dominance over this entire country. But this man was offering him a job, and more strangely, offering him freedom. Was this his own way of saying 'work with me, or I'll kill you and no one in this world will ever know'? Perhaps, but he didn't seem like he was quite willing to kill him just yet, more like he really wanted to use him. Though he would never work with this man willingly, though days ago he would've been ready to die, Michael was afraid to deny this request, if only for but a minute.

"I'm sorry." He began, starting out courteous to hopefully avoid a death penalty. "But I'm just trying to make a living, nothing more. I'm sure you've got plenty of much better people than me already. Also, I don't really have any interest."

Kain seemed to take the news quite well, though a bit of disappointment and a little bit of anger still lingered in his expression. "Very well." He said. "If you ever change your mind, you can find me, or rather, a recruiting officer at the capital building. Have a pleasant and productive day, Mr. Michael."

Almost as soon as they entered, Calliston Kain and the guards cleared out.

Michael had just come across the very man he wanted to kill, the first he ever felt that way about, and his visit reiterated the futility of this plan. Even without his guards, Calliston Kain looked like a man who could fight off an entire army and live. From a physical standpoint, Michael was far inferior. The whole rest of the day, as he took contract after contract, Michael couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just made a very powerful enemy.