Kumojiro freed his katana, flicking blood from the blade before hanging it smoothly back onto his utility belt.
'They're only thugs. I shouldn't have expected anything impressive from them, even if they were a little tougher than the usual rabble.'
He stepped toward the grand double doors, the final barrier between him and his target. His hand found the sickle and chain he'd just taken from his last opponent, feeling the cold metal links rattle as he secured it to his belt.
He never understood the purpose of such massive doors. It made you an easy target if anyone held a grudge… just like this boss was for him. With a subtle push, he cracked the heavy doors open, their weight nothing to him as they creaked to reveal a glimpse of the room inside.
The space beyond was opulent, flaunting the wealth the gang had amassed. Gleaming marble floors caught the faint light of an ornate chandelier above, its brass arms curling like serpents. Paintings lined the walls, one showing a massive viper coiling around a helpless victim, others filled with scenes of excess and violence. At the center sat a grand black marble desk with golden inlays, polished to a blinding sheen.
Through the narrow crack, he saw him: the leader of the Steel Vipers, standing behind the desk.
The man was stocky, his muscles bulging beneath a fitted suit. He wore a deep tan and a twisted grin, eyes alive with a blend of fear and aggression. As soon as Kumojiro spotted the gleam in the leader's eye, he fired.
Kumojiro's instincts reacted instantly. He twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the bullet, though it left a thin cut on his cheek. The shot was fast, too fast for a semi-automatic. A revolver?
'So, the boss doesn't even trust his own guards guarding him. He predicted I'd beat them.'
"Stay the fuck back, mate! I'm not afraid to blow yer fuckin' head off. You're nothin' but a trophy now, gonna mount you up as a warning to anyone who thinks of crossing the Steel Vipers!"
The large, gold-plated revolver gleamed under the chandelier's dull light. A wild look lit the leader's eyes, the kind of frantic energy only a cornered predator shows when it knows its time is up.
Kumojiro glanced at the bullet lodged in the wall. Gold-plated. If one of those hit him, it would slice through flesh easier than a standard round. A .357 magnum, probably.
He remained impassive, blood trickling down his cheek, fingers brushing over the sickle and chain. His eerie calm made the leader's hand tremble even more.
Taking hold of the chain, he spun it into tight circles, the metal links whistling like a war drum in the confined space of the hallway. Peeking around the edge of the door, he assessed the leader's stance and position.
The leader fired again, aiming for Kumojiro's head.
Kumojiro jerked back just in time, the bullet missing him by a hair. His breathing slowed, his mind calculating the distance, the angle of the leader's hand, the rhythm of his trigger finger. Timing was everything.
In one fluid motion, Kumojiro leapt into the room, twisting mid-air as he threw the chain with deadly precision.
The gunshot cracked like thunder, and pain erupted in his abdomen as the bullet sank deep. His jaw clenched, nearly staggering him in mid-air, but he held his focus. The chain whipped through the air, coiling around the revolver's barrel. With a brutal yank, he tore it from the man's grasp, sending it clattering to the floor.
"Oi- You fuckin'-"
The leader scrambled toward the desk, his hand fumbling for a second weapon, any edge he could find.
But Kumojiro was on him in an instant. He closed the distance, seizing the leader's head in a crushing grip. With iron fingers digging into the man's skull, he slammed his face into the marble desk with a bone-cracking impact.
The polished surface fractured beneath the force. Decorative items, a gold-plated pen holder, a glass paperweight, and a snake-shaped sculpture, shattered on the floor. Blood smeared across the marble as the leader groaned, his vision blurring, his head throbbing from the brutal assault.
Kumojiro grabbed the man by his leg and dragged him toward the grand window that stretched across the far wall of the office.
Outside, the sprawling compound lay beneath the sky, its manicured gardens hiding deadly secrets in the shadows. The thin glass window vibrated in the breeze, ruffling the silk curtains framing its edges.
The leader struggled, coughing up blood.
"Wait- WAIT! What the hell do ya want, huh?! I can give ya anything! Money, power, anything you want, mate!"
Kumojiro didn't reply. Instead, he kicked the glass, shattering it into a thousand shards. The wind roared through the room as he dangled the Steel Viper leader upside down by his leg over the deadly iron fence below.
"WAIT! Wait, mate, please!"
The leader screamed, his hands clawing at the window ledge.
"I can make you rich! The Steel Vipers, we got more fuckin' money than we know what to do with! You'll be set for life! Just let me go, and I'll cover all your tracks! No one'll know a thing!"
Kumojiro's gaze was adamant. He leaned down, his voice low, deadly.
"Who hired you?"
The leader's face went blank, terror flickering in his eyes.
"What? I-I don't know what you're talkin' about, mate!"
Kumojiro's grip loosened, and the leader's body slipped closer to the spikes below.
"No! No, please, wait! I swear, I don't know! I don't know what you mean, I-"
"I don't like liars." Kumojiro's tone was hollow, carrying an undertone of menace that cut through the leader's panicked pleas.
With a subtle shift of his grip, the leader dangled precariously, hanging by a thread.
"Alright, alright! We didn't know he was the Oswin Wynstan! But yeah, maybe we killed him. But the tech, the cybernetics! You must've seen it, right? It all comes from Sable Industries! They funded everything, the enhancements, the gear, all of it!"
"Sable Industries?" Kumojiro's eyes narrowed, processing this unexpected twist. He didn't even ask for all this.
"Yes! They've been payin' us! They fund our operations. So let me go! You can have the money! No one has to know about any of this, I'll forgive you for all my men you-"
"Thanks." Kumojiro said softly, his voice tinged with dark finality.
The leader exhaled in confusion, relief flickering in his eyes, just as Kumojiro released him.
"Good luck surviving the fall."
The leader's scream tore through the air as he plummeted. His body met the iron fence below with a sickening crunch, impaled on the spikes. Blood pooled at the base, his face frozen in terror. He was dead.