Author's note: It is exactly 2300 hours. Sorry if this came out late, i was busy playing Honkai: Star Rail and i actually got Seele! Now we wait for Kafka.
And as usual, see the notes below!
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Valor's office//1300 hours.
You know, in times like this is when I realized... that I have no enemies. I am in complete peace of mind...
And also... I moved out of the hotel!
Well, I just moved to the highest floor of my armoury and installed a bedroom, an office, and a small kitchen and called it a day.
Laying back in my chair, legs on the table, vodka on one hand and cigarette on the other. With the window behind me opened to let in fresh air and the view of the rundown neighbourhood of Victoria. I can hear a gang war happening.
The tv that was hanging in the corner from the ceiling switched to a Central News Network (CNN) broadcast about... yesterday's explosion.
"... An explosion rocked the Victorian Broadcasting Company headquarters at 7 PM yesterday, prompting a police investigation. Sources suggest that it may have been a Reunion attempt to instil fear and create chaos among the populace.
In a separate development, reports have surfaced of a nobleman..."
I shut off the tv.
Yep, today is very peaceful. I am in a tranquil piece of mind. Definitely. I took a final drag of the cigarette and put it out.
Damn it. out of cigarettes... shit...
BUURP
Oh damn. I straighten up and put the vodka bottle down hard on the table.
I think I've been drinking too much... and thinking too much...
Maybe I should do something else... something to take my mind off things...
... How about walking around in the city? That sounds nice. It could calm me down a little bit.
Should I bring a gun though? Nah, I wouldn't need it today.
Today, I am not Valor, the criminal, as they say. Today, I am merely, Alter Valero, the citizen
Let's see, going around the city and taking in the sights. Yes, that could work. Maybe some shopping, eating out, and overall enjoying things the world have to offer.
That could work.
My office telephone rang, catching me off guard.
Should I pick it up? I don't wanna deal with these types of things right now... who cares?! It's not important anyways. Probably just Fantasma or some other local drug lord wanting to acquire weapons.
Ha. I'm on vacation today suckers.
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VBC Headquarters complex.
As the firefighter worked to extinguish the flames and the police secured the perimeter, one Draco was standing quietly in the burnt studio where the VBC used to broadcast their news segments. All the way in floor five.
The once state-of-the-art studio, all funded by the Victorian government, was now a twisted and melted mess. The walls were blackened, the ceiling collapsed, and half of the studio was blown open, revealing the parking lot outside.
The man scanned the room with his silver-white eyes, looking indifferent and serious.
Unbeknownst to anyone, except his assistant, he was blind. His silver-white eyes were a side effect of his blindness caused by his Oripathy he contracted more than twenty years ago. But people shouldn't know that.
Despite this, thanks to his Oripathy he can somewhat see people around him. Literally.
His eyes can see the outlines of any living beings. People, animals, you name it. He can see through walls and solid objects. Of course, he also can't see those walls. He can only see the outlines of living beings. Which is why he has an assistant to help him navigate the environment around him, along with his cane.
The man was wearing the iconic dark blue Victorian police uniform, consisting of a tunic, trousers of the same colour, a leather belt, and an open coat of the same colour.
He heard footsteps approach him from behind, before hearing, "Sir, we've secured the complex, and seven blocks more." the voice, belonging to a woman said.
"Is it Reunion, superintendent?" he asked as he turned towards her.
The woman shakes her head, "Unlikely. Reunion activities in Victoria, especially in downtown Londonium is minimal at best."
"Mmm." He nods, before walking away to exit the building. He was walking towards a wall.
"Sir! Watch out! And you dropped your cap!" The woman pulled him back and puts on his peaked cap, proudly displaying the coat of arms of the Victorian empire.
"Thank you, superintendent." The man thanks her and turns to leave, "Find out." He spoke, before disappearing out of sight.
"...Yes, High commissioner Rex."
...
"Wait hold up! Don't go down the stairs!"
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Downtown Londonium.
Woah. Look at that. Police helicopters in formation above. Neat.
Anyways. I'm in line for a high-end restaurant. It's quite a long line, a long fucking line. Heck, I've been standing in this line for the past forty minute, outside, with a bunch of clowns known as street vendors.
"Mister! Mister! Fresh fish for 11.99! Cheap Fresh dish!" "Mineral water for the mister and little miss behind over there!" "Extra, extra, read all about it! Breaking news! VBC Headquarters exploded!"
"Alright can you all fucking scram?!" I stomped my feet catching the attention of the street vendors and people in the line. "Except you, give me that newspaper."
Grumbling, I snatched the newspaper and paid the guy. I immediately pulled open the newspaper to try and act busy.
This worked, as the street vendors moved away from me and continued to bother other people. Even the people in front of me tried their best to keep their distance from me.
Great. Means I won't have to deal with these annoying people.
Flipping through the newspaper, I didn't fine anything that catches my eye, except for that thing about the VBC headquarters. Whatever.
Suddenly, while I was skimming along the newspaper for some actual news, some hooligan cut in front of me while whistling innocently!
Who does this guy thinks he is?!
"Excuse me. You can't cut lines. Wait in line." I called out to him in a slightly irritated voice.
...
He didn't even turn back.
"Excuse me, sir?" I'm beginning to become a lot more irritated now. Should I just shoot him?
No, you can't. Calm down, Valor, there are people all around you. Plus, you didn't even bring a gun. Today, you are just a civilian. Nothing more, nothing less.
Deep breaths... Deep breaths... there you go. Calm...
I tapped the man's shoulder to get his attention politely, "Excuse me, sir."
Finally, the man turned around and seemed surprised, "What?" He said acting so innocently.
Upon hearing that, I punched him as hard as I can in his face. Go to hell!! Your face looks like a gremlin and looks annoying!
He fell down and I, in a very respectable and honourable manner, continued to kick him in the stomach.
Nobody's stopping me, might as well transfer all my stress via the kinetic motion on this guy.
Eventually, after kicking him exactly 63 times, a waiter from the restaurant came and offered me a table. Great, I can skip the line.
But nooo, I have to share with another person to compensate for the lack of tables available.
What happened to privacy?
Fuck. Well, whatever. Whoever It is should get intimidated enough to leave.
The waiter guided me inside and to a two-seat table beside the large aquarium filled with goldfishes.
The person seated Infront of me is a blue haired... fallen angel, right? Yeah, I bet she is.
The halo and wings of a Sankta, but blackened. And the horns of a Sarkaz. Pretty unusual clothing too, but who am I to judge?
She looked at me with an unsettling face, as she gives off a radiant smile.
She was about to open her mouth to speak, before a waiter came up and handed me the menu. "Would you like to look at today's special?"
"No. Can I get..." oh, I hadn't thought about what I'll eat, actually. Hmm, I'll go with a steak. "Can I get this Ribeye? Medium well, barbeque sauce- no, make it black pepper. Add some extra vegetables, uhm... also add both French fries and mashed potatoes. Oh, make sure to use a high-quality ribeye steak, with enough marbling so it tastes good in my mouth. Can I also get some thin-cut French fries, actually, half it with some crinkle-cut fries. As for the drink... I'll get a............................... fresh milk, make it cold. And also a bottle of wine of the highest quality available here, and a wine glass, of course, can't forget that. Aaaaaaannnd.... Oh! I'll get the waffle with a single scoop of strawberry ice cream, a big scoop, for the appetizer." I finished.
The waiter was diligently writing down all my orders, I glanced at her neck and saw black crystals resulting from oripathy infection.
Now I now that this is a place that doesn't discriminate against the infected.
Time to leave.
I was joking, obviously.
"And what about the miss?" the waiter looks to the fallen Sankta.
"I'll get a blueberry milkshake." She simply said.
"that's it?" the waiter repeated.
"that's it."
The waiter left with our orders, leaving the both of us to awkwardly stare at each other before she decided to break the ice and spoke to me.
"So... why order so many?" she asks.
"I'm hungry, simple as." I answered very honestly, "Anyways, if you don't mind me asking. What are you?"
I saw her frowning a bit before smiling and asked me, "Why do you want to know?"
"Curiosity." I state, "In my line of work, I usually meet a lot of people. Your appearance is quite new to me."
"Don't you look a little bit similar?" She grins.
Crap. Fucking Sankta, or Sarkaz, or whatever. Both are fundamentally the same anyways.
"W- What makes you think that?"
"Hmm~... I don't know~... but I've seen you somewhere." She giggles. Okay, this is unnerving me a little bit.
"Probably not important then. And there's our order."
The waiter showed up just in time to deliver my waffle and milk, along with the wine bottle and wine glass. Along with her blueberry milkshake
"You know what, you can have the waffle." I pushed the plate to her.
"Really? Why?"
"I'm suddenly not in the mood." Better to keep her fed and talk less. Is there by any chance she is working for Laterano? The Pope?!
"Well Thank you! Hehe." She smiles as she took the plate with glee.
"What's your name?" She suddenly asks while chewing on the waffle.
"I-" before I can perform my master skill in deception and trickery, my phone rang. I took a glance at it and it was Fantasma. My savior!
"Sorry I need to answer this." I said as I got up and headed to the bathroom.
I could see a slight disappointment in her face, but otherwise, she's all smiles.
I am now sitting in a toilet stall taking a call from one of my clients, my dear Fantasma. Who, by the way, is graciously lending me his men for yesterday's... business.
"Hola." I answered the call.
"Look, Valor, you're my most important benefactor to date, and I need you to listen very carefully now..."
"Alright, alright, I'm listening. But make it quick. I have this good looking fallen angel waiting for me."
"... You're on a date?"
"Yeah. Obviously. You don't have a woman?" I chuckled internally.
"Shut the fuck up. Listen. Valor, you're being targeted."
"Who? Laterano? The inquisition? The bounty hunters? Reunion?"
"The Victorian Constabulary. A lot of them."
"... Oh..." I simply replied.
"Honestly, what were you thinking? Yeah sure, we help you kill that journo who should have been killed much earlier. But to also bomb the VBC headquarters? Are you insane?"
"Look, it's not about the revenge killing. It's about sending a message. I gotta frame the murder you know? Alfred Cordell was trapped and burnt alive in there as far as I'm concerned."
"But bombing a government institution?! That's asking to be investigated by the police! You could just ask us to car bomb him."
"... That could also work." Not really, I want to kill him myself.
"Seriously?! You didn't even thought about that?! We now have the entire Victorian police force on us! My mafiosos are getting slaughtered and I am forced to cease all activities on Victoria! They're on to you." He warns.
"Well damn... Wait. isn't this serious?!"
"IT GODDAMN IS YOU IBERIAN AVIANIC FUCK."
"NO NEED TO RAISE YOURE FUCKING VOICE. Let me think of something..." I tapped my foot on the floor, this is stressing me out. "Alright, do they know where I live?"
"You goddamn bet they do! They interrogated my men into spilling the details between us! You. Are. Compromised in Victoria."
"Shit... Alright, can you send some of your guys to my armoury? I need to evacuate my stockpile."
"Why should I do that?"
"I'll give you a 20% discount on your next bulk purchase of ammunition."
"Deal."
"Bring in a fleet of trucks too. I have very important stuff that I would rather not lose to the authorities. Wait! What about Sir James?" I remembered that one nobleman who agreed to help me stay under the radar all this time. In exchange for my services to him, of course. Nothing of note, I hand out some of my earnings to him.
"Earl Alexander Jaimes the eight? Didn't you watch the news this morning? He got caught and executed for corruption and other offenses. I'm sure you know what that means."
"Are your guys in Lungmen?"
"Yeah. Why?" He paused, "You're not seriously coming here are you?" he asks in realization to what I'm about to say.
"You're goddamn right. Make it so that I can stay there legally and indefinitely."
"VALOR YOU SON OF A BI-"
I hung up. Not sure what he was about to say there.
Alright, think of a plan...
As I was thinking of a plan, I exited the toilet and was about to go to my seat.
Grabbing the chair and preparing to sit down and noticed the steak, "Hey the steak's arrived."
"..."
"You suddenly became so quiet, heh?" I joked to the fallen angel. She just points towards the restaurant entrance and my face dropped.
Outside were possibly hundreds of police officers with their weapons drawn and ready to barge in.
Uh oh.
I looked to the fallen angel, then to the police officers, then to her again.
"Heh. What could they possibly wa-"
"THIS IS THE POLICE, WE DEMAND THAT THE TERRORIST KNOWN AS 'V' TO SURRENDER THEMSELVES AND TO NOT HARM THE HOSTAGES. YOU ARE ENDANGERING CIVILIAN LIFE AND IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED."
What slander is this?! I don't even have a hostage! I just wanted to eat a steak goddamnit!
Fuck I didn't bring any weapon too.
I took a quick glance at my phone, then to the fallen angel, then to the other customers at the restaurant and finally the police.
Then I looked at the fallen angel again. Yeah, I'm sorry about this.
I took a knife from the table and grabbed her shoulders and locked her neck in my arms, while I point the knife at anyone who dares to go near me.
"I have a hostage! And I will not hesitate to slice her up!" This made the customers back away nervously.
To be honest, I'm also nervous, very nervous.
I am outnumbered, outgunned, and outclassed.
I backed into the kitchen and into the back alley. Where surprisingly there were no police cars around.
I let go of her but kept a tight grip on her forearm as I ran towards the street.
"Taxi! Taxi! Hey!" I ran towards a taxi on the side of the road and knocked on the driver's seat window.
"Huh?" The driver, who was sleeping, was startled by my voice and quickly opens the window.
"I'll pay you twenty thousand to fuck off." I said as I handed him a cheque for twenty grand.
"Ah, o- okay?"
And just like that we acquired a car. A taxi car.
"I apologise for the way I handled you back there, it had to be done." I said to the fallen angel as we got into the car. She was seating in the front passenger's seat.
"Who are you?" She asks.
"Uhh, call me Valor." I said as I checked and adjusted the rear-view mirror, where police cars were approaching.
"Hehe, and I'm Mostima." I swear I could hear her giggling as I stepped on the gas.
Full speed ahead!
Oh wait, what is that? A blockade?! People with riot shields?! Oh no they won't.
As I pushed the pedal down, I could feel the car revving up and accelerating quickly. The engine roared as I shifted into overdrive, and the car surged forward with a burst of power.
I saw the blockade coming up fast but of course, I didn't slow down. The police held their ground, and as I closed the gap, I realized one crucial thing.
I didn't use the seatbelt.
The impact was brutal. I felt a sickening jolt as the car smashed through the shield and sent people flying, I jolted forwards and hit my head on the steering wheel as the windows shattered and blood splattering into the car.
The car kept going, though, as it collied with other obstacles in its path.
We made it though. We got pass the blockade.
And now, destination home base. Which wouldn't be home base any longer at this point to be completely honest.
The drive was fairly peaceful.
To me, obviously. Other people saw my speeding car being chased down by multiple police cars and me violating several traffic laws. If only I had a gun right now...
Eventually, the police stopped chasing me when I entered the slums. Odd, but okay.
To be honest, I was expecting a more intense chase scene, you know? Like those in action movies and the likes.
Police ramming my vehicle, helicopters circling me, and me pulling off great stunts and drifts.
But alas, just like I always said to myself, 'life is surprising'. I'm pretty sure I just plagiarized it from someone else, but eh, who gives a damn?
Approaching my home base, I could see a convoy of trucks leaving in groups of two or threes. Clearly dispersing so as to not getting caught by the police. I see Fantasma and his boys have gotten things done already.
I pulled over to my armoury and got out. At this point, there are only one truck left, the one carrying my actual furniture and not just a crate of the 25th modified assault rifle and explosives.
"And here's my... house, you could say." I motioned to Mostima to the front door.
"And these guys are...?" She eyed the Lupo mafiosos carrying crates and furnitures.
"They are... house movers." I felt like a sharp gaze had stricken me, someone's not happy being called that huh?
We moved inside the armoury that is now strip barren of all furnitures, including the paintings, every weapon, and... even the sprinkler in the ceiling?!
"You seem busy"
"Believe me, I am." I replied and walked to a wall where there was once a painting.
Unbeknownst to everyone, this was actually a secret safe I put in case of emergencies. Well, I wouldn't call it a safe, as the method of opening it involves...
I punched the wall with my right hand and came back with a handgun. A Tec 9, to be specific, a modified automatic Tec 9 to suit my needs.
Rummaging to the 'safe' once again, I pulled back a modified AK-74.
"... Is that..." Mostima asks with a complicated face.
"Tools that will help us later." I interrupted her as I checked the ammo of the AK-74.
A mafioso suddenly barged in and in a serious voice, he said, "Signore Valor, there is a convoy of law enforcement coming here. We are ready to leave." He states.
"Good. Leave me here. I still have things to do."
"... very well. I will pass this to Il Capo." He nods before going out. Moments later, I could hear the engine of the truck roaring and eventually, the trucks leaving.
"Right then... Miss Mostima, are you staying here or are you going to go away? I advise you to run." I looked to the blue haired fallen angel as I crossed my arms.
"Oh? What will you do to me if I don't?"
"Back breaking labour." I simply state.
"..."
"Point is, I'm rigging this place with explosives, I ain't going to exit Victoria without a blast." I said as I cracked my neck and destroyed the walls leftover covering the safe. Revealing several high-grade explosives.
"You in?"
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Author's note: Valors leaving for Lungmen, the most prosperous and definitely very stable. How will this affect the local economy and Yan's Fiscal budget for this year? Nevertheless, thank you for all the comments! (Especially you, bdCrums, I woke up at 3am and checked my phone only to find you commenting something with a skull emoji at the end, which made my day (I fell asleep)) I really appreciate it.
I'm still continuing this fic purely because i am interested on Terra which i find is full of potential. I mean, i rarely see any fics where the mc isn't regularly involved with either penguin logistics, Lungmen, or Rhodes Island. And i rarely see fics about Aegir (not a spoiler for things to come).