The First Victim: Wiebe

"Please wait here,"

In the quiet and shady street of Laadlandstraat which was surrounded by tall cliffs, Graham had ordered 'his driver' to pull over and waited in front of a small, sketchy restaurant.

Having no choice, Wiebe van Houten obeyed his trusted employer's command and waited inside the motor carriage while the 'mayor' got out. Wiebe sat tensely while his attention was fixated on the building that Graham was about to enter.

Before entering the building, Graham turned to a secluded alley near there to do a quick switch with Valentine before quickly switching back. The pattern on the leather belt that he was wearing changed as a result.

Once he was ready, Graham entered the restaurant and was greeted by a surprised look from the chef that was standing behind the counter that also worked as a cooking station. The chef quickly ran towards Graham and greeted him.

"Mr. Krammer, long time no see. How can we help you?" asked the chef with a high-pitched, nasalized voice.

It was a fat man wearing an apron that was all greasy. Even the yellow shirt he was wearing was full of grease, despite the fact that there was no customer around and he hadn't seemed to be cooking the whole time; there was no smell of food and no heat coming from the kitchen.

"I need your boys," Graham disregarded the chef and continued on walking towards the back door.

He was letting out an aura of dominance to make his act more believable, which made the chef not dare look at him in the eyes.

Going through the back door, Graham found himself in a room that was much livelier than the restaurant itself. There were a total of twelve people there, four of whom were playing a kind of card game. The rest were just chilling or watching something on the small television that showed more static than the actual program. The yellow light from the light bulb in the ceiling was the only source of illumination in the room.

Besides the door where he had just come through, there was another door there that probably led to the back alley. Graham observed the door for a while and then turned his attention to the denizens of the room.

The moment the fake mayor walked in, all the attention was directed at him, and some of them quickly returned to what they were doing while the rest kept staring at him. There were a total of nine men and three women, and all the women were part of the ones ignoring Graham.

"You dog! Mr. Krammer is here! Be respectful!" shouted the chef in anger. His double chins moved up and down as he opened his mouth.

Even after the chef blared at them, their attitude didn't change. Some of them even had a look of disdain in their eyes.

Graham sighed and then a sinister smile surfaced on his face.

Without anyone noticing, he slit his finger and let the blood drop down to the floor. He then chanted very quietly and an illusory orange curtain befell the area.

Suddenly, there was fear in the people's faces, including the chef's. Graham, or the mayor, had suddenly become an all-dark figure with a suffocating aura that felt like it pierced right through their hearts. The dark figure also got bigger and bigger and its red eyes were staring at them, even if they closed theirs. The eyes that were full of anger and malice were staring right into their souls.

Pearls of cold sweat began forming on their foreheads. They suddenly regretted ignoring the mayor despite knowing how powerful the man was. They felt stupid, and their stupidity had probably cost them their lives. Seeing as he was now, there was no way the mayor wasn't angry, and if he didn't stop the suffocating aura, they would choke to death soon enough.

Although everything was just an illusion. Graham was enjoying the show with amusement, standing right by the door. Even the fat chef looked like he was dying.

"Val, your Mass Illusion ability is so fun to use. Although, the blood consumption is just too much," the blood kept on dripping unnaturally from the wound on his finger, and the moment it touched the floor, the blood evaporated into a cloud of crimson mist. "Luckily, they're just normal people, so I can maintain it for long enough,"

Grunting, choking, and begging noises filled the room, as well as cries of pain and despair. People were writhing, struggling, and kicking about on the floor, while the illusory curtain remained above them as if it was a grand stage for a play.

Graham covered his wound once he thought it was enough, effectively ending the blood supply to maintain the illusion. The orange curtain dispersed and his victim's sense returned to normal. They no longer saw the monstrous dark mayor and his soul-sucking aura. However, they were still weakened nonetheless.

"Are you now willing to listen to me or do you need me to teach you another lesson?" Graham's voice was shrill and domineering. The sinister smile was still adorning his face, showing his sincerity in inflicting harm upon them should they misbehave.

Nobody dared to answer. They were looking at him with eyes that looked as if they were begging for mercy.

With a swing of his cane, he commanded the people to get up from the floor.

"Then let's get down to business. I need you guys to punish your old friend," he said mysteriously.

Without him even explaining, there was a look of understanding on their faces.

According to his divination, Wiebe was once a member of the gang, along with these people, working under the chef. They were notorious for doing dirty jobs that the higher-ups were unwilling to do until one day there was a mission gone wrong. It was caused by Wiebe's sudden deserting of the mission because of the news that his mother had suddenly fallen ill.

Wiebe's action caused the mission to fail and one of their men to be killed. In retaliation, the gang kidnapped his mother and tortured her, making her illness much worse and leaving her in her current condition. It was thanks to the mayor that she was saved, and after working for the mayor, the gang didn't dare to touch Wiebe's family anymore.

Because of the incident, Wiebe's hatred towards the gang only grew with each passing day, especially when he looked at his frail mother. The gang was the same. The wound from the man's betrayal hadn't healed, and the hatred hadn't been quenched. It was the reason why the driver had been avoiding the street like a plague.

"Now, get up you dog! We have a job to do!" shouted Graham authoritatively, "And don't do anything unless I tell you to!"

The men and women all tried to get up with what remaining strength that they had. They seemed to be emitting an old, resurfacing anger that could no longer be contained.

After issuing his command, he left the room to fetch his unsuspecting driver. He walked past the empty restaurant and out to the street where the man was waiting for him tensely.

The fresh, cold air hit his face once he was out, showing a total contrast to the musty, damp room inside.

"Mr. Krammer, can we leave now?" persuaded Wiebe politely. His voice was wavering as he repressed his emotion.

Graham could see that the man was rather anxious, or perhaps, holding back his anger. The incident happened long ago but he seemed to have not forgotten all about it-- the guilt of causing one of them to be killed, the anger for them for causing his mother's worsening condition, and for himself for being too weak to do anything-- they were all reflected on his face.

"Not yet. It's now time to settle the old debt and I'm here to help you do that," Graham said, not in an explanatory tone, but a coercive one. His eyes pierced right through Wiebe's soul.

Doubt arose in the driver's expression as he was unsure what to do. However, he was forever indebted to the mayor, so he couldn't help but comply. With a slow nod, he got out of his motor carriage and followed the fake mayor inside the restaurant.

The two men walked back to the room in the back of the restaurant, where the twelve people plus the chef had been waiting. Their faces looked like a clan of hyenas welcoming their prey. The atmosphere in the room was very heavy and the ensuing silence was enough to split a rock in two.

"Mr. Krammer, what's the meaning of this?!" asked Wiebe in confusion and anger since judging from the people's looks, it's not him who was about to settle the debt, but the other party.

Slam!

Graham kicked the door shut and slit his finger again, letting his blood flow down to the floor. An illusory orange curtain returned to the room, enveloping everyone there. However, this time, there was no dark figure of the mayor whose aura was killing them.

Without giving the anxious and angered Wiebe any explanation, Graham walked towards the other door in the room and opened it. He then grabbed something that was revealed to be Wiebe's sick mother!

Graham carried her on his shoulder and then dropped her on the floor just like an insignificant bag of wheat.

"Mr. Krammer!! What are you doing!!" Wiebe shouted worriedly and then tried to run towards his unconscious mother. However, the fat chef and another person were holding him tightly. "Mom! Mom! Why are you here?! Mom!" he shouted and kicked and punched, but nothing worked. He was held back against his will.

Hahahahaaa!

Bursts of amused laughter filled the small room. It seemed that they were enjoying the show with Wiebe as the main character.

"Oh, poor Wiebe. You are so naive..." the mayor's voice came out of Graham's mouth. It was a voice full of mockery and pity.

"Do you want to hug your mother? Then come here and hug her," added Graham and then gestured at the two men to release him.

Wiebe came running as fast as he could and once he was near his mother, Graham muttered something inaudible.

Whack!

Wiebe punched his mother right in the face!

"Mother! No! I-I didn't... Mom!" he quickly got away from her and looked at the mayor, "Mr. Krammer! What did you make me do!"

He looked at his hands and at his mother who was still unconscious on the floor. Her face was bruised and her nose bleeding. Wiebe's heart was broken into pieces at the sight of his pitiful mother. His hatred of the situation grew stronger, but he was quickly held back again by the chef and the other guy.

"Wiebe. Do you know why these lowlives could easily reach your mother?" asked Graham while pointing at the gang members with his cane.

A sudden realization came into the driver, enraging him even further.

"Aaarrghh!!! You!! Hank Krammer!! It's you!!" shouted Wiebe from the top of his lungs.

A smile surfaced on the fake mayor's face.

"It seems your brain is still working. Yes, that is correct. I let them do that. Why? So that I can get myself a cheap driver who will take me anywhere without question. Is it worth all the trouble, you ask? Of course. But now I'm rather sick of you and your dying mother,"

Wiebe wanted to vomit because of the mayor's pretentious voice. The smug smile on the big man's face made him want to stuff burning coals into the mayor's mouth.

Graham approached Wiebe slowly and snatched the locket that he was wearing, which made the poor man opened his eyes wide.

"No!! Give it back you bastard!! No!!" he struggled and was kicking the air, but to no avail.

With a wide smile, Graham dropped the locket and crushed it with his cane.

Crack!

The sounds of laughter were getting louder and louder as Wiebe's rage increased. His face was red with anger and his breathing was very heavy.

"FUCK YOU KRAMMER!! FUCK YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

His frantic screaming only made the laughter go wilder and louder. After that, Graham squatted and slapped the face of Wiebe's mother, seemingly trying to wake her up.

"Look at your son. You failed as a mother. Look how dirty his mouth is."

The mockery in his words was unbearable to Wiebe. However, he still couldn't get away from the restrain despite struggling as hard as he could.

Graham picked up Wiebe's mother and carried her on his shoulder.

"You guys have fun with him, but remember, don't kill him or do anything that will put me in trouble. If you do that, I'll make sure to gut you all of you personally and force your families to eat whatever left of you!" he threatened with a voice colder than a hailstorm.

"Oh, and Wiebe, I might still need you to go to work after this. If you have no dignity, that is," he said warmly to the enraged man, which only served to fuel his anger even more.

Wiebe was looking at him with eyes full of disdain as he was struggling to break free and gouged the man's eyes out.

Graham then left the room through the other door and once he closed the door behind him, he covered the wound on his finger. As soon as he did that, Wiebe's mother on his shoulder disappeared.

"So, van Houten, any words you'd like to say to us?" asked a big man with a smug smile on his face. He gestured at the two behind Wiebe to let him go.

"FUCK ALL OF YOU!! YOU CAN ALL GO TO HELL WITH KRAMMER BASTARD!!" he charged at the man.

Smack!!

Crash!

The man punched Wiebe in his stomach, sending him flying and hit the wall.

Wiebe quickly got up and ran towards the door where the fake mayor had left through but he was stopped by the people in the room. They were grinning and laughing. After that, the sounds of punching, smashing, and cries of pain filled the room.