The Archmage of Sin

Klaus was on his way to his home from the office. He usually took the bus between his home and office. He would have been at home by this time but today was groceries day. He had to stop by the local grocery stop to buy some.

He quickly picked up the groceries and walked out of the shop.

Rumble!

Klaus jolted because of the sudden sound. He patted himself, 'Idiot, it was just the sound of thunder. Get a grip. Hmm, looks like it's about to rain. Need to reach home quick or get drenched in the rain.'

The groceries were usually placed in a paper bag and Klaus had a bad incident when the bag got torn near a sewer and all items were dropped into it. The sewer would normally be closed but it was opened that day to clear blockage in the canal.

From that day he would bring his bag to carry the groceries. This is also a protection against rain.

He started to walk faster, the groceries had a cover that shielded them from the rain but not him. His house is not far away but the rain started, so he took a shortcut instead of the usual route. He took the path in between buildings rather than the usual main road.

The choice changed his life path.

While he was walking minding his own business, he saw two assailants harassing a young woman beside a dumpster. They had a knife to her throat threatening her. They started to slowly cut off her clothes. A rainy day is a good day for people like that in places like this.

Not many people would be outside because of the rain. Moreover, this path is not recommended for traffic. They could do anything without being afraid of someone coming to rescue their prey.

When Klaus saw what was happening, he had a choice to save the woman or ignore her and turn back. Though he liked superhero stories, Klaus never saw himself as a hero but also couldn't ignore what was happening right in front of him.

He needed a plan to successfully save the woman. He knows his limits, he can't fight both assailants at the same time. What he needed was now to create a distraction good enough for the woman to slip away.

Lucky for him both were distracted enough with the woman to not see him approach. He silently hid behind the dumpster. It perfectly gave him cover from them but had a chance for the woman to see him. It would be better if she saw him, she ran away without wasting a second when she got the chance and saw she did.

Klaus quickly pressed his finger on his lips to indicate that she should keep her calm. If those goons saw him, everything would be ruined. Luckily the woman understood.

Klaus placed the grocery bag down and opened it. As an orphan and a bachelor he didn't have anyone back at home. He didn't have much time or energy to cook from the beginning. So he usually buys pre-made food and a few fruits to keep him healthy.

He pulled out two of the cans with food, placed them on the ground and placed the grocery bag on his back.

If he perfectly aim at their heads they would be in pain and look for who threw the cans at them. It could give the woman enough to run away.

He didn't forget that he had to run away too or else he would become their victim. He positioned himself so that the moment they come chasing him, he would be at an advantage.

He stood up, holding a can in each hand. He needed to be quick.

Bang! Bang!

The two cans hit the goons perfectly. The force caused pain to their heads. They turned around and saw me.

"Get that bastard", shouted one of the goons, and both rushed towards Klaus.

'It's time for me to go.'

I ran with those goons on my tail. The woman took the chance and ran in the opposite direction.

Klaus kept an eye while running. When he saw that the woman had escaped successfully, he increased his pace. At first, he ran as if the goons could catch him. He did only to keep the distance between them and the woman.

He was almost nearing the main road. Even if it is raining those goons wouldn't risk being seen, even though the chance is slim.

This is when it changed. One of the goons saw that they couldn't catch him, so he threw the knife in his hands at Klaus. He felt this as a payback for hitting them with food cans and making them lose their prey.

The lucky thing was the goon is not good at aiming and striking. The knife only sliced Klaus's forehead right above his eye, causing a minor injury. The slice was not deep enough to cause damage but blood dripped from the wound into the eyes with the help of the rain.

The blood caused a temporary blockage of sight. In addition to that, the adrenaline spike caused by the chase made him lose sight of what was around.

He missed a step and placed his leg into a crack, which caused him to stumble into the oncoming traffic.

Crash!

Before he knew what happened, darkness invaded.