The butcher at the tunnel!

He successfully stored the dead dwarf's body after taking the essentials from him. There wasn't much on him. An identification card and a small device which was used for alarming, or at least that is what the system had told him. The device had a huge red button on it. He then examined the whole interior of the tunnel.

It was huge and long with illuminated insides. The entrance was rather empty apart from the desk and chair near the end, which might be used by the guard.

He went over to the desk and investigated it.

The desk only contained a ledger and a radio. Yes, an old radio, which had a static sound coming from it.

He examined the ledger. It was used to register the ones who venture outside the tunnel.

He played with the radio channel button but was unsuccessful in getting any sound other than the statics from it. Just before he was about to give up, suddenly the radio played a sound.

It was a distant one. A low voice coupled with some statics still was audible.

He listened to it. It spoke;

["Control room to gate one, control room to gate one.

The Guardian has vanished from the radar. I repeat, the guardian has vanished from the radar. The higher-ups want to investigate it quickly as possible. Sent a team to investigate it as quickly as you receive this transmission.

We can't afford to take any risk at this stage of development. Move the prisoner to the glass dome until the investigation completes and all perimeters are cleared.

I repeat, control to..."]

He turned the radio off.

"Prisoner? Development? This is going to be fun." He smacked his hands and was about to turn away from the desk when something under the table sheet caught his attention. The table sheet on that particular area was bulging a little, not too much, but a little revealing something was under the sheets.

He removed the sheets from the side to find an envelope. It was already open. But the envelope and the letter inside were neatly in place, almost like this was something precious to someone.

He looked at the ground where the dead dwarf lay before he stored him inside the inventory. He took out the letter from the envelope, but before he could read, he heard system's warning.

[Don't open it! It's for your own good.]

Even though he had a hunch what was on the letter, he was ready to face the consequence. The system's warning only increased the pressure.

"I gotta face my consequences, don't I?" He chuckled and opened the letter.

["Dear Chavi,

I know you're hardworking, and that is the reason you got the job. I know you'll climb higher in the ranks cause that is the type of person you're. If you can't stay there, then come home. I'll cook you your favourite food and you can stay here as long as you want to.

I just want you to know that I'm extremely proud of you and I love you. Your father and little sister also said their regards. We'll wait for you till your next visit. So, until then, take care.

Love,

Ma"]

There were tear marks on the letters, possibly from the dead dwarf. He folded the letter neatly and encased it in the envelope before putting it to his inventory.

He took a deep breath.

[Ready to move?]

"...Yeah." He jogged through the tunnel.

He was not a soft person to be affected by something like this. In fact, he'll be happy to tear anyone if that meant peace. Because that is what heroes do. They defeat enemies who threaten the peace of the world and ensure no evil exists. They won't rest until every evil is perished from this world. He knew some sacrifices are necessary for the greater goods.

Desmond often used to remember these exact words, something his father told him long ago. It kept him sane.

After jogging for a little, he came to a junction. The straight road up ahead was long and unending, the same as the right one too. On the other hands, a huge steel structure locked the left one.

He decided to take the left one as it might have something on it if they were locking it.

He used the identification card, which he took from the dwarven guard, which proved to be useless as the card reader rejected it.

At the same moment, he heard a sound from the entrance of the tunnel. It was a ruffling and shuffling sound. He was sure it was the investigators. He decided to hide on the side of the platform until they come as they might have a key card which is useful.

They took some time at the entrance, and soon Desmond heard footsteps of the 3 dwarves.

"Ay, where is that fool, Chavialle?" One of the grumpy one asked. "The situation is bad as it is and now he is leaving the entrance unattended? How irresponsible can he become?"

"Give him some time, captain. He just joined today just like this greenhorn here." another one chimed in defending the guard.

"Err, Alexy might be new, but look at the performance he showed as today. Didn't he found out about the foreign mana signature?"

"That is true, but whoever came must be dead, as no one that weak can even withstand against the guardian."

"But what happened to our guardian? That is something we should find out quickly?" said Alexy.

"Ay, don't be hasty. We should report about the intruder to the higher ups, firstly. God damn radio signal. We've got to walk all the way to the lab for a single report." The grumpy one grumped.

'Report? They've already found about me? Even though they are weaker than me, these guys are very talented. I gotta make my move quickly.' Like a tiger hiding for its prey to approach, Desmond waited for his prey to arrive.

The three researchers turned left from the junction. Not even giving a glance at the other side. That was a severe mistake that they will pay using their lives.

The three researchers suddenly halted their steps. No, they didn't stop themselves. Something else was glueing them to the ground. They can't even move their fingers, let alone turn their head to look at the proprietor.

"Mhmm" Only groans escaped their mouths.

The researchers were very frightened. They knew they were fucked up.

As the dreadful silence continued, they heard a whoosh sound in the air followed by flesh and bone being torn sound.

Blood splashed on the other two researchers as the grumpy one fell to the ground with a crimson-black blade on his neck.

The other two were so frightened that they pissed themselves, even though they were wearing a full body armour.

They wanted to scream, but no sound came. They wanted to run away, but their muscles were so frightened to even move a little.

And then the same sound of flesh and bone being torn came again.

Alexy knew what the fuck had just happened, and he also knew the base was infiltrated. He felt a coldness in his neck. His hair stood up as goosebumps crept all over him. Whatever it is in his neck has already penetrated his armour. He felt hot breaths on his neck and a whisper came after that.

"Alright, Alexy boy, let's talk about business, now, aye."