The bald oldster nervously walked around the room, twisting his skinny lips and pouring one cup of lava after another into himself. Screams could be heard from behind the wall:
"My poor baby! O Supreme One! This shimarnutaya… Oh, Supreme, for what?! For what?!! My boy was so young! He... Why-u-u?!!"
The screams turned into crying, crying - into screams, screams - into prayers for justice.
The white pearl on the table beeped. The elder picked it up.
"Where is she?" the oldster squeezed his fingers, and the beloved mug cracked, and the pearl slightly flattened.
"We've found the killer. Two feet were killed, one shin was wounded. Our group is on the trail of the killer, unfortunately, it is faster than us, but we managed to mark it with the Ashes of Revenge."
The old man rubbed the bridge of his nose:
"Are you suggesting that I, a disabled person and a veteran of the Flame-Ice campaign, look for it myself? Okay, I understand you, Keons! I'm moving out!
I am Meng Shi, the leader of not the least of the gangs of the Shining City, I will become shimare, I will break an egg, but I will ensure that that one-eyed reptile with a charred face gets what she deserves.
My son's death will be redeemed with blood."
The commander of the search party remained silent.
The elder ended the communication session and crushed the communication pearl. He had about ten of them: it wasn't a big loss.
"Hey, Noseless! Bring my trinkets!"
The elder sat down in a chair.
A sad guy with no nose came to the call:
"No nose... do you believe in justice?" the old man sounded hoarse.
"Justice is our retribution. I won't get my friend back, but I will turn the last seconds of his killer into hell!"
"Ha-ha-ha! We will kill her, as we were killed by a competitor, as competitors once killed us. In the entire history of this shimarnut world, how many people have been killed by humans? Ha-ha-ha!
You know, Noseless, as a child, I never understood why people do evil and how you can kill another person. Over the years, my naivety has passed.
After the bloody war, I realized, I realized everything, your shimare!" the old man's fingers trembled.
"People are simply unable not to kill, otherwise they will be killed themselves. We kill, they kill, they are killed, it can't be any other way, you know?"
The guy nodded.
Mad laughter was heard. The old Man and the Noseless One looked at the wall, from behind which the screams and guffaws of the distraught mother could be heard.
"I do not know how to comfort my wife. I am afraid to even go to her, I am afraid that this will be the last straw and I will decide to end my existence."
My poor Lee will never be the same again.
The old man raised his reddened eyes to the guy and wiped a tear:
"Did you bring it?"
The guy silently handed a green berry – the elder put it in his pockets.
"In any case, you can't bring back the past, you're right, Noseless.
We will never hear my son laugh again, never get angry at his grumbling again, and even more so, we will never see him achieve success and become my worthy successor.
The only thing that remains is "to walk-while there are legs, to crawl-while the heart is beating."
Noseless, take care of Lee and the gang during my absence. I didn't want to leave the headquarters, but these Keons are unlikely to cope without me, even if they crack!"
The leader stood up, and the whole room was filled with heat. With quick steps, knocking out sparks, the elder went to meet nemesis.