The Phantom Man 2 - The Book of the Dead

VIII - The Black Death

The beast turned into smoke and circled the soldiers as if he was caressing their faces before killing them with mortal strikes. The guards tried to attack the thing with their swords, but the blades were useless. They could only cut the air.

The Doppelgänger placed himself at the side of one of the soldiers and then materialized into the horrendous hooded creature. His pointed teeth distilled the bitter poison of death. He held the soldier and passed his sharp claws slowly across his neck. The thing delighted at the pulse of the man's carotid; he enjoyed feeling it beat for a few seconds before slashing it. He counted the beats down until they completely ceased. He liked to kill his victims slowly; he felt pleasure in smelling the scent of fear running through their veins.

The other soldiers tried to save their fellow, but it was too late; he fell on the ground as his head rolled along the alley's darkness.

The Doppelgänger smiled at the horrific scene. That terrible death had gotten the soldiers scared. They ran away in desperation to save their lives while they still could.

However, the monster wouldn't lose a chance to slash more fresh meat. He went after the soldiers and beheaded them all; one by one, he saw the blood gushing out of their necks. It delighted him to watch the beheaded bodies falling lifeless on the ground. It was his cruel pleasure.

His master was also quite satisfied. He was having some beer in a tavern while he watched the horrific scenes through his twin's eyes. That kind of job could only be performed by an errand spirit such as Fratello.

People followed the beast to see where it was taking the bodies to, but it became invisible, and so did the bodies. For this reason, no one could know their final destiny. It was the perfect way to accomplish the mission.

The bodies were left inside the basement where those that the warlock wanted to wipe out used to gather. The stinking bodies began to rot, spreading the most feared disease at the time: The Black Death.

Rats walked among the pile of corpses; its fleas were infected with the bacteria that caused the illness. Dozens of piled corpses began to spread the plague through which Klaus had planned to kill his enemies. He got out of the tavern and walked to the front of the headquarters, where he met his ally. By his side, he watched the elite of inquisitors being infected by the plague. Everyone knew that the Black Death spread quicker than the tragic news that it caused.

"It's time to go, Fratello. Within a few days, or weeks, everyone in this city will be dead. And I will finally have beaten again those that caused me so much pain."

He recalled the eyes of the child that had nothing but anger in his heart as he saw his mother being burned alive. He could still hear her screams of terror while he hid himself from the executioners, fearing to die. The image of his father being pierced through by the blade of a sword could not be erased from his mind. It was so painful that it marked his soul for the eternity.

A few weeks later, Klaus went to one of his fortress's walls. He moved his finger in the air in circles and then went back to the headquarters in Rome where the massacre had happened. He was followed by the creature.

"Get in there and check if anyone has survived."

"There are no humans alive in that castle, master. Just corpses covered with pustules," answered the creature with a cavernous voice, smiling.

Klaus lifted his staff and said in loud voice some magical words.

"Fire of Hell! Burn everything and take the souls to your place, so that each suffer for all eternity."

And then the place where so many torture sessions and plotting against freedom of thinking used to happen burned in flames. People saw terrified that scene of horror, while Klaus was the greatest spectator. He was feeling an immeasurable pleasure: The sweet taste of revenge.

But in his mind, that was not enough to pay for all his suffering. His revenge wasn't quite complete yet.  

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