Alpha Instinct-Chapter 61: "The Broken Puppeteer"

The owl hooted alone, an ominous sound echoing in the cold night around Lake Zafir. It was like a harbinger of the approaching death.

Leonard, with silent steps, approached the bridge of Besen but hesitated before crossing it. He remained in the shadows, observing the intense movement in the village.

The bandits were there, desecrating the ruins of Besen in force.

Seeing them, Leonard’s heart raced. A cold, almost cruel smile touched his lips.

"Time for a cleanup..." he whispered, a mere thread of a voice.

Despite the words, there was no remorse or guilt. Only an icy, murderous intent, an unusual desire. "I have to take out the trash," he thought.

Seeking to control his powers in the best way, he crossed the ruined bridge. Walking carefully, using his advanced cognition to avoid any misstep.

Board by board, he calculated.

Perfect.

Neither the wind nor the creaking of the ropes betrayed him. "Temporal cognition is truly something out of this world," he ascertained.

On the other side, Leonard crept behind the ruins of cabins and remnants of constructions. He entered the village’s old warehouse. From there, he had a clear view of some bandits.

He wanted to get closer, analyze, and see the faces of his tormentors before cleaning up his village.

Leonard thought, "I destroyed a tree with a punch. What else could I do?" He looked around and saw small metal spheres, commonly used for transporting cargo on rollers.

He picked up one of the spheres and activated his temporal cognition. His ELEV pulsed at maximum power.

He planned a distraction, a game. He wanted to throw a bait, lure them, and make them suffer. One by one.

Then he threw the first sphere that cut through the air, creating a thin sonic wave.

A sharp whistle echoed throughout the village.

It was obvious that the bandits would hear. One of the Neumonds turned in the direction of the sound.

Apparently, Leonard’s plans didn’t work. The noise was loud.

And then… "Sploosh!"

The sphere hit the Neumond henchman’s head squarely.

Leonard blinked, confused. When the brutal reality of what had happened hit him, a dark sense of pleasure grew in his chest.

The shot had been so strong that it exploded the bandit’s head like rotten fruit. A rain of brain matter fell that night.

The sphere only stopped when it hit a pile of debris with a metallic thud.

The bandit’s body didn’t even move. It fell like a mannequin knocked down by the wind. A thick pool of blood formed.

"One down..." Leonard whispered.

"It’s an attack!" The Neumonds shouted around.

"Take cover! Find that rat!" The leader ordered.

Leonard acted quickly. He jumped through the back window of the warehouse and entered one of the nearby houses.

A woman, a neumond thug, approached Leonard. She was trembling slightly, making noises; her fear was visible.

"A newbie?" Leo wondered.

She walked slowly, hesitantly. She carried a battle dagger in one of her hands, which dangled loosely between her fingers. When she passed close to Leonard, he had an idea.

Leonard grabbed the woman from behind with the speed of a predator, locking her arms and disarming her. With a quick arm lock, he took the girl’s dagger, placing it against her neck.

"Make a sound, and I’ll slit your throat," Leonard said, his voice low and menacing.

The cold dagger touched the girl’s skin, and a thin line of dark blood appeared.

"I’m going to ask you questions. Answer only yes or no. Are you a new Neumond in the gang?"

The girl nodded.

Leonard remembered that the leader controlled minds and asked, "Did he force you?"

The girl nodded again.

"I’m going to let you go, but you have to promise to help me for a moment…"

Silent tears began to stream from the girl’s eyes. Her body trembled, her legs almost giving way.

She nodded one last time.

Leonard emerged from the shadows with the hostage in his hands, placing himself in the middle of the area.

"Mister Leaaader," Leonard said in a drawn-out tone, almost singing. "I’m heeere...".

Furious, the leader took a few steps and arrived in the middle of the central square, where Leonard was.

"Well, well, the little toy didn’t break from the fall. Hahaha!" The leader laughed. "And he even came back for more. Isn’t that funny?"

"Boss Kaiser, let’s dismember him this time so he doesn’t come back," said one bandit.

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"Yeah! He killed Jeff!" exclaimed another.

Gesturing with his hands for them to be quiet, Kaiser approached Leonard.

"Come on, kid, let her go. Do you think I’d care about a hostage?" said the leader.

"So you don’t care about her?" Leonard asked, his eyes hard as stone.

"Lucy is just a newbie. I blackmailed her by threatening her family. She’s nothing but a little lamb." Kaiser scoffed.

"I see..." Leo turned to Lucy. "Do you want redemption? Do you want to get rid of him?"

The girl nodded, crying softly, without stopping.

"I’m going to let you go then... And I promise revenge," Leonard said, his voice firm.

Despite everything around him, his heart was calm—strangely calm, like a graveyard.

"Come on, girl, I promise the punishment for getting caught will be light... Hahahaha!" Kaiser laughed sarcastically.

With one hand, Leonard released the girl’s arms. "Go, be at peace… Lucy…"

He made a quick, but almost gentle and soft, movement. Leonard pulled the dagger, cutting Lucy’s throat.

The blood flowed quickly; she barely choked. Her eyes widened, a dull glaze taking over as life left her body, which fell to the ground.

Everyone looked at the scene in shock. A heavy silence fell over the village of Besen.

"I have freed her…" Leonard said, breaking the silence.

"Y-you’re crazy?" Stammered one of the bandits.

Leader Kaiser stared at the Neumond girl’s body, her eyes locked on his. Unable to look away, he scratched his head.

"What the hell was that, kid?" he asked, his voice lacking its previous arrogance.

"She is free. She has no more family to worry about and no you to torture her. She is at peace now," Leo said, wiping the blade of the dagger with a cloth, an almost casual gesture.

He looked at the leader directly in the eyes. He let the leader into his mind to see the void that was there.

"Madness..." said Kaiser, blinking, his mouth slightly open.