Chapter 9

"So, I'll ask again. How much do I owe you for my guns?" I asked, leaning into the counter. Kroul's wild eyes finally settled back onto me. He bowed deeply.

"If I had known—Please accept the guns as a gift. A token of respect."

I nearly broke out in a wild laugh. It was strange seeing him so unbalanced. I couldn't give him time to think, however.

I folded my arms. "Time is of the essence, Mr. Kroul. No one can know I was ever here."

"Say less," the man nodded and disappeared into the backroom, reappearing with an exquisite Mahogany chest he must've commissioned. He must've planned on selling my guns to some fat cat. Too bad I came back.

Still, it was surprising that he was willing to let the guns go so easily. I reached to open the case, but Kroul spoke up before I could, presenting a second box.

"Before you leave, I was wondering if I could trouble you with a favor." His slender fingers eased open the box, revealing the remaining five kunai belonging to the Fingers of Orochi set I'd seen earlier.

The blades were black as night, yet they glistened with unnatural light like obsidian.

Fingers of Orochi

10 of 10

Demonic Kunai laced with poison that burns the body and mind. Favored torturing tools of Iwari, a 17th-century hand general.

Restored and enhanced by Kroul Dougal, Master craftsman.

"Would you mind delivering these to your Master for me?" Kroul said. "Seeing as you're going to be reporting to him once this mission is done."

I saw the trap coming from a mile away. Kroul was calling my bluff.

"I'm leaving town, actually," I said. "Sensei has assigned me an important task outside the city."

"By yourself?" he asked.

"Yeah…"I narrowed my eyes.

"I see, but surely you could call for another disciple. Master Meachum has been eager to get his hands on these."

"I'm afraid you'll have to deliver them yourself," I said, and Kroul fixed me with an expectant look that slowly turned confident as the seconds passed.

Fuck me. He knows.

Two of the five Kunai fanned out, stabbing deep into my shoulder and chest, and I screamed as pain consumed my spirit and body. I felt a headache coming on.

-50 HP.

You've been inflicted by the Black Dragon's breath. Reduces Clarity of the mind and makes you more susceptible to questioning.

I reached for the case containing Ebony and Ivory, despite the pain, but Kroul's hand lashed out, beating mine back. I pulled a pistol and aimed it at the spindly man's head before he had the chance to fuck me up even more, but it was then I tracked his second hand and noticed he was holding something under his desk.

My first guess was an alarm, but then I thought about the people Kroul dealt with.

"What do you got under there, a shotgun?"

"12-guage sewn-off shotgun, actually. I keep it in case somebody is actually stupid enough to try and rob me," Kroul said. "It doesn't happen very often, but every once in a while, riff-raff like you stumble into my store, thinking they're hot shit."

"Ouch," I said as I pulled the dagger stuck in my left shoulder and the other piece stuck in my chest. "What gave me away."

"There is no Master Meachum."

That'll do it. "But what if you'd been wrong? You could've just pissed off an important member of the hand."

"Any true member would've not overlooked such a blatant mistake," Kroul snorted, somehow managing to look down on me despite being several inches shorter.

"You're no Assassin. Although, I'm intrigued as to how you possess the knowledge that you do. No doubt the hand shares my curiosity. I'll be sure to tell them everything when they arrive."

"Try to alert the Hand, and I'll scream till my lungs turn blue. It doesn't matter if you shoot; I'll bring this place more attention than you've seen in years. Something tells me you don't want the police looking into this quaint store of yours too closely."

"What makes you think I've not already called them?" Kroul squinty eyes narrowed.

"Pfft. There's no way you have a panic button specifically programmed to alert the hand, and if you did, I'd be worried about you. The Hand has a nasty habit of using people and tossing them to the side."

Kroul frowned slightly before he slowly let go of the knife he'd been clutching.

"Take your guns and go."

I raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

"Isn't that what you wanted? You're not worth the trouble."

"Huh." I did not believe Kroul was really going to let me go for a single second, but I couldn't very well tell him to shoot me. I took a precautionary step forward, and his face gave him away. He looked like he was fighting back a smirk, and I dove to the left just as the shotgun went off, shattering the glass behind me and announcing my presence to the whole neighborhood.

I fired my gun, placing one, two shots into Kroul's chest before he had the chance to recover. I came up a second later, stunned that I'd been that easy to take him down.

You've earned 2 Red orbs.

A scream from outside yanked me back into the moment, though. A woman ran for her life while another dude rapidly dialed 911.

Welp, there went by anonymity.

I got moving. First, I fetched Ebony and Ivory, which earned me a new notification.

You've reclaimed Ebony & Ivory. Upgrade the weapon to improve the damage per bullet. All skills associated with each Devil Arm can either be learned or bought from the store.

You've killed an enemy of significance. Claim their weapons.

Fingers of Orochi

Why the fuck not. I gave the mental go-ahead and received a new notification.

You've unlocked a subskill of Devil arms – Weapon Vault

Huh?

With a mental command, I made the poisoned daggers disappear, as did Ebony & Ivory.

The AK in the bloody bag, the pistol, and the last knife I still had on me disappeared as well.

The new and previously lost weapons appeared under my Devil Arms skills.

Rebellion (Unlocked) Upgrade to First Stage for 500 red orbs

Arbiter(locked.) Unlock for 100 red orbs

Osiris(locked) Unlock for 350 red orbs

Aquila(locked) Unlock for 500 red orbs

Eryx (locked) Unlock for 500 red orbs

Ophion(locked) Unlock for 200 red orbs

Ebony & Ivory

Weapon Vault

The shotgun went into my Weapon Summon subskill as well.

Crossing the threshold, I dipped into the back of Kroul's store and headed for the rear exit. I walked up to an old car at the end of the street that was abandoned and bashed the window in with my jacket covering my fist. It took me some time to hotwire the oldest car I found-- -seeing as it had been quite some time since I had done that. I made my way towards the highway and punched it.

Congratulations: You've unlocked Automobile Mastery: Basic

In the distance, I heard police sirens and chatter. My heart was in my throat the entire time I drove. My foot finally came off the gas when I was miles away from the city, with my fuel gauge halfway to E and my stomach rumbling.