[85.9] The Bad Guy

A woman was at her desk, doing paperwork as she hummed in a carefree manner. 

A pair of eyes in the shadows, one orange and the other sandy brown, watched her without her realizing it.

Felix spoke telepathically: <<This lady is the one selling orphans? She doesn't look evil.>>

A low voice spoke back: <<The real villains never do.>>

<<O-Oh… >>

The air slowly grew stiff and rigid making the woman's throat feel uncomfortable. She knitted her brows in confusion as she cleared her throat. She itched at it in bewilderment as she tried to figure out what the cause was behind her discomfort. Her face dropped when she realized the room was slowly getting darker despite the lights illuminating the room. She jumped up from her desk in a panic.

A deep voice spoke from the shadows, "Are you pleased with yourself?" 

Miss Dean felt her legs give out and crashed to the floor. She looked toward the sound of the voice with a look of sheer terror. She managed to stutter out, "Y-Your E-Excellence!"

The voice called back, "Answer me. Are you pleased?"

Her body trembled as she looked down, "I-I don't understand…"

A pure black hand shot out of the darkness, clamping tightly around her throat. Miss Dean struggled as she was lifted into the air by the black hand with no obvious owner. The voice grew darker and more threatening, "You ruined everything. Now, I have no children and no sustenance. Even those pesky flies are on my case now due to your negligence. I won't be able to harvest my precious mana with them flying around."

She choked out, "F-Forgive me!"

He laughed as if he had heard a hilarious joke. If one wouldn't know any better, they would think the owner was only playing a prank. However, his grip grew tighter as his voice grew sweeter, "I was almost back to power. That girl you sold us ruined everything…. However… I suppose if I just take everyone here… It could make up for what I lost."

She panicked, "P-Please! S-Spare me!"

The owner of the voice sneered, "The least you can do is offer me your mana in return for your failure."

His dark hand dug into her neck. Her veins bulged as something crawled through turning the blue veins black. Dark smoke coursed through her body. It began to consume her mana and drain her of her vitality. Her eyes rolled back as she began to convulse. Her skin turned a ghostly white color before she stopped twitching.

Her neck snapped as the hand withdrew, tossing her to the floor like she was garbage. The voice chuckled, "Well, I suppose you didn't ruin everything. After all, you did find me a perfect candidate to help me achieve my ultimate goal."

A file slipped off the table and landed on the floor. The name Reika was drawn in large letters with a red 'adopted' stamped over it. Moni stared at that page with a genuine smile crawling across his lips.

<<Finally. I've finally found her.>>

Felix was confused as he watched Moni stare at that page.

Moni called out in a sing-songy voice, "Little Reika… I look forward to the entertainment you will bring me."

The body of the shadowy hands suddenly morphed back to that of a small child. The child had sandy brown hair with one eye being orange while the other was brown. A childish voice spoke, "You sounded really scary just now."

Using the same mouth as the child, a deep voice spoke, "I thought it would be better for her to die thinking karma caught up to her."

"But… It made you sound like the bad guy."

"...I am the bad guy."

"But you never ordered her to-"

"-No, but I employed the man who did. Take this as an important lesson, Felix. The boss is responsible for the people in his employ. If they commit crimes, the boss must also take responsibility."

"O-Oh… I see…" Felix thought for a moment and asked, "But who is Reika? It sounds like you know her."

"It's a long story."

Felix didn't speak, but inside he felt something churning in his chest.

Moni quickly spoke, "There's nothing to be jealous about. I merely want her for her magic. She was the girl whose mana barely managed to sustain my life. If I hadn't gotten my hand on those vials, I wouldn't have met you."

"So… I'm still your favorite?"

"...Yes."

"Hehe! Good! You can only use my body too! Okay?"

"Sure."

"Promise!!"

"...I promise."

*creeeeeeak*

The boy looked to the door that had creaked open, only to see a girl around the age of 14 staring with a wide open mouth. She was so shocked to see one body with two separate voices that she didn't even notice the dead body on the floor.

The boy casually kicked the dead body to the desk to hide it and forced on a smile, "I lost my mama."

"You… You… Who are you?!"

"Just a lost boy~"

"Liar!"

Her shout was so loud, it caused the boy to burst out into tears, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

As he covered his eyes, his trembling slowly ceased and his eyes reopened revealing both of them to be orange.

The expression on his face changed along with it, "You made him cry."

The girl gulped, "I… I didn't mean to."

"He's easily frightened. How could you just yell at a little child like that?! Don't you have any decency!? You're nearly an adult! You should know better!"

The girl looked at him so confused by the sudden change that she was speechless.

The little boy sighed and gave her a look, "What's your name?"

"B-Beatrice."

"Oh. Hello, Beatrice. My name is Moni. Say, have you seen this girl?"

He held up a file that the girl read, "You mean Reika?"

"Yes. Her. Where did she go?"

Beatrice was suddenly reminded of her original goal to find out what happened to Reika and lit up, "She got sold! I don't know where to. A few nights ago, she completely disappeared in the middle of the night. Miss Dean said she got adopted, but I know it's a lie. She must have been sold to mana traffickers."

He clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, "So the girl going around destroying all those camps really is her… I didn't think she was the type to care."

Beatrice's eyes lit up, "Oh! I have her wa- Um… I have something very important I need to give back to her. Do you think I should go tell an officer? I'm just… Scared something will happen to me if I do."

He smiled warmly and walked over to her. Standing on the tops of his toes, he reached up to pat her head, "You're such a good girl."

Beatrice stared back at him in confusion as she tried to figure out why a young child could act so much like an adult.

The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out an insignia with the heads of three predators, "I like your bravery. If you need any work, come to the Newman household. We always need new maids and we offer room and board along with payment."

 Her eyes lit up as she took it, "Do you really mean it!?"

He nodded, "As long as you promise to remain loyal."

"I will! Thank you! Thank you so much!" 

The boy took a step back into the shadows still holding the file in his hands and gave her a wink, "Don't keep me waiting."

Using the shadows, he appeared behind the building.

"Hank."

Another man appeared beside him, "Yes, Master?"

"Did you see her when you visited?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes! Although she didn't pay much attention to me. I don't think she even saw me."

"What was she like?"

"She was very…" He awkwardly cleared his throat, "Offstandish."

"Perfect." He handed her the file, "Go find her. The woman said she was taken to one of Shafer's farms."

"Yes sir."

Before the two could disappear, a chilling voice reached Moni's ears.

"You're the arriver, aren't you?"

Beatrice's confused voice answered, "W-What do you-"

The smell of fresh metallic blood hit their nose.

Moni instantly jumped out of Felix's body and shoved him into Hank's arms, "Go! Hide!"