Crime Scene (4)

Nafisa then heard an amused voice inside of her head.

- Is that right? Anything?

"Please, anything." She gasped as her vision began to turn black due to the lack of oxygen.

Almost immediately, she felt her energy drain and her body began heating up. She began to smell the disgusting smell of flesh cooking before the thing holding onto her was blasted away with a howl of pain.

"Cough cough cough!" She dropped to her knees clutching her throat as she struggled to take in a deep breath.

As she looked up, she saw smoke rising from the hands and body of the monster as it crouched on the ground whimpering in pain.

"Hah Hah." Nafisa continued panting as she tried to drag in large amounts of air. 

"Well, rather than asking me for help, shouldn't you have done that in the first place? After all, you almost died" An amused voice asked.

She turned to glare at the man who smiled sardonically at her.

"And please, turn the brightness down. It's the middle of the night and I don't have my sunglasses."

"Brightness? What do you cough cough" She quickly held her neck as a sharp throbbing pain shot through her throat.

"You currently look like a human flashlight. Turn it off or you'll agitate the beast here."

Shocked Nafisa looked down at her body, noticing that the light that illuminated the surroundings wasn't coming from the street lights turning back on, but from the bright glow coming from her body.

Every part of her body glowed, even from within her clothes. What was happening? Had she finally gained powers? What exactly was it? And who was the voice in her head?

"Grrrrrrr!" The beast began growling, looking between her and Vincent. Seeing that she was the weakest, it howled before leaping at her again, grabbing her body, and slamming her repeatedly into the wall.

"Mr Grace. Please help me!" She pleaded once more.

"Oh, you know me? Then you should know that I don't believe in charity. What can you do for  me?"

"My name is Nafisa Radi! The youngest daughter of Aaron and Arianna Radi! I have my government ID and press pass to prove it! If you save my life my parents will greatly reward you!" She shrieked as she repeatedly kicked the beast while trying to protect her face. Although she could hear its skin sizzling from the light emanating from her, it wasn't enough as it slammed her into the wall once more turning her vision blurry.

"Ah, a Radi hmmm. Well, having your dear father and mother owe me a favor is an acceptable reason to save your life." Vincent laughed lightly before turning to the beast.

"Levi, release her."

Howllllll!

The beast howled again before repeatedly slamming the girl into the wall once more. It was as if it were crazed.

Vincent looked coldly on before shaking his head in disappointment. He closed his umbrella before gently tapping it on the ground.

"Shadow. Devour." 

The spot that he tapped with his umbrella suddenly turned into an ink-black circle that quickly spread on the ground, covering every visible inch in a sheet of swirling black.

Dark black tendrils quickly rose and began wrapping around the beast, pulling it down into the black ground. The beast struggled against the tendrils, ripping them off but more and more tendrils formed, restricting it and dragging it further down until it lay prone on the floor.

A wide mouth suddenly opened on the ground, jagged white teeth glinting in the light before it swallowed the entire beast whole. A black tongue appeared, tasting the air before it disappeared.

  The black shadows covering the floor then rippled before contracting into a compact black dot that latched onto the umbrella.

Then the area became silent. The only sound was the labored breathing of the woman lying on the ground.

Vincent looked down at the prone girl lying on the ground. She looked peaceful except for the ugly bleeding marks around her face and neck and the torn sleeves of her shirt.

Lifting his umbrella, he whacked her side with it but she didn't move.

"I suppose after that beating you might have a concussion." He lightly chuckled to himself.

"Aira."

"Boss." A soft voice replied as a woman dressed in all black appeared kneeling before him.

"Status?"

"There's a sound barrier in place but we didn't get it up in time so the first howl was heard. The heroes and cops should be here soon. Additionally, Police Commissioner Falkor is on the ground."

"Is he now? What about the remaining bodies?"

"Under police control sir."

"Hmmm. That's fine then. Scrub this area and make sure nothing is left behind. I'll go be a Good Samaritan and return this package to our friendly neighborhood heroes."

"Should I call Jason to come and heal her? After all, she was injured by…"

"No. I want to see how they treat her. Stick someone to observe them while doing a thorough investigation as to why she was here. And have our people clear out. Make sure they're not seen."

"Yes sir." Aira immediately disappeared.

Once Aira left, Vincent turned to the girl lying on the ground. Looking at the body covered in unidentified liquid in disgust, he sighed once more before putting on his leather gloves and heaving her onto his shoulders. Opening his umbrella once more, he slowly walked out of the alleyway.

Before he got too far, a familiar face stopped in front of him with multiple officers pointing their guns at him. Smiling, he greeted the man.

"Commissioner Falkor. It's been long since I've seen you."

"Not long enough Vincent. What are you doing here." The commissioner's green eyes flashed angrily as he took in the man before him. Commissioner Falkor's eyes glanced at the body being held before turning his full attention to Vincent.

"Well, It's a nice night and I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I took a stroll." Vincent lightly replied.

"This is a locked down zone due to a crime scene. You're not allowed on the premises. " Commissioner Falkor retorted.

"Actually it's not. Your crime scene is currently marked by tape is it not? Anything else is public property which I'm allowed to be on. And..." Vincent smiled in a way he knew the commissioner found irritating

"If your people were capable of doing their job, I wouldn't have had to rescue this poor civilian I have in my hands. I believe her name was Radi?"

"Vincent!"

Smirking at the enraged look on the commissioner's face, Vincent continued unperturbed, "Shouldn't you be thanking me for doing a good deed rather than pointing your weapons at me, Commissioner Falkor? I even ruined one of my favorite suits by being a good person."