From the corner of the alleyway, Maitho peeked out. He saw Raiden standing behind an expensive-looking coupe. The man's hands were holding his coat lapels, a posture of someone who was not concerned for himself, as though he thought that there was no one who could threaten him. His head was tilted to one side, a look of bemusement smeared across his face. Here was a man who thought he was in control of the situation. And perhaps he was. Whatever he had planned, he wouldn't reveal it just yet. Not until he had the perfect opportunity to spring a surprise.
Perhaps the woman who had attacked Maitho was part of the surprise. He looked back the way he had come from. The woman was slowly getting to her feet.
Maitho knew that he had no choice other than to return and ensure the woman was not conscious for a while. Her powers could do considerable damage. He shot one last look at the scene in front of him.
Brigid was standing atop the front steps, expressing a calm and collected demeanor. Her hands were clasped behind her back, as though she was displaying how unfazed she was. But her attempts to appear bold was marred by the clenching and unclenching of her hands.
Maitho realized that the woman was discharging the stress from her body without letting anyone see her do it, or else they might think she was weak. It was a smart move.
He realized that he should take care of the attacker first before he could do anything else. He removed his shoes, remembering his previous encounter with her, and walked towards his attacker. The woman was on her hands and knees, spitting blood onto the asphalt. She wiped her mouth, leaving blood trails on her shirt. Maitho approached her noiselessly, and she only realized his presence at the last moment. Her reaction was exemplary, as she quickly swiveled her head towards Maitho to use her paralysis-inducing word.
She only managed to enunciate the first two letters, "St-," before a strong fist connected with the side of her face. When she hit the ground, Maitho leaped over her and walked towards her revolver, which was lying a dozen paces away. After he had pocketed the weapon, he put on his shoes and looked at both ends of the alleyway.
If he was going to escape, he had only one chance to make a move. He knew that if he decided to stay, then he would do so until the situation came to a conclusion.
Having made up his mind, Maitho returned to the scene of the confrontation between Brigid and Raiden. When he neared the corner of the alleyway, he slapped his back against the wall. He wasn't about to reveal himself just yet. He had a feeling they did not know about him. The fact that the woman had not recognized him when she first laid her eyes on him was proof of that.
"...and perhaps, just perhaps, we can have a decent conversation." Brigid had apparently completed a response. Maitho had missed an exchange of words between the two godlike when he had left to take care of the attacker.
He peeked out of the corner. Raiden was still standing in the same position, holding his suit lapels. The limited sunlight that filtered through the leaves made the blonde man's hair shine, which was slicked sideways on top and closely cropped on one side of the head. His piercing blue eyes were like bright sapphires on a face the color of white sand. If there was ever a perfect time to use the phrase 'male supermodel,' now would be it.
"Do you know what a quasar is Brigid?" said Raiden, his smile reducing by a few watts, the crinkles at the corner of his eyes disappearing.
The red-haired woman on the stairs said nothing at first. She looked like she was pondering how best to respond. "What does that have to do with anything Raiden?"
"It's this really bright light of incredible energy in space," said Raiden, completely ignoring Brigid's question. "So bright, that you can witness it shine from a million light-years away. It can drown the brightness of an entire galaxy. But guess what is at the center of that quasar?"
A supermassive black hole, thought Maitho.
"A suppermassive black hole," said Raiden.
Brigid looked like she was growing impatient. "I asked for a conversation, not to show off whatever intellect you think you have."
Raiden continued undeterred. "Imagine something so bright having something so dark within it. A darkness that can suck any matter or energy that comes close to it, as though it does not want anything or any light, to exist." Raiden's eyes became cold, and it was not because of their color. "Don't you think people are like that Brigid? They appear, bright, in a manner of speaking. But deep down, there is a black hole just waiting to consume that light."
"Some people choose light. They dispel the darkness."
Raiden clicked his tongue and shook his head, as though he was a schoolteacher disappointed in his argumentative student. "The black hole itself creates the bright quasar Brigid. It is as though the brightness is a mask created by the monster hiding within. You see, there is not true light. It is a mask. There is only the darkness that is hidden and darkness that is revealed."
Menace oozed out of Raiden, even though he hadn't done anything to show a threatening outlook. Brigid must have sensed something. Or perhaps she understood some hidden meaning in the man's words because of her past interactions with Raiden. Whatever reason lay buried within her mind, Maitho saw that it caused her to clench her hands tight. He wouldn't be surprised if he discovered that her nails had dug into her skin. "What kind of darkness are you?" said Brigid, appearing surprisingly calm.
"I am the darkness that spreads Brigid," said Raiden.
He made a small movement, a single lift of his forefinger. The action was performed so casually that one might think it was just a character trait, an involuntary response. The air around him began to shimmer, as though a big heatwave had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was subtle at first but grew in intensity within a few seconds. Maitho could still see Raiden through the shimmer, but the man appeared slightly wobbled and distorted. It was like looking at an object at the bottom of a pool that had ripples disturbing its surface.
Brigid took a small step forward, as though she was hoping to stop whatever was about to come. "People live around here Raiden. This is between you and me."
"I am not a quasar Brigid," said Raiden, his smile completely leaving his face and a look of sadness replacing it. "I am an exposed dark vortex. And I think everyone should expose their darkness. That way, we won't have anything to hide. No reason to mistrust each other. Like how you are hiding your teammates."
"You want me," said Brigid, a sense of desperation creeping into her voice, but her face a forced mask of bravado. "Not my teammates. Without me, they don't have any direction."
Maitho knew that Brigid was simply trying to tune Raiden's focus on herself. She wanted to protect her teammates, even if it meant putting herself in harm's way.
Up until that moment, Maitho had been hesitant about leaving his hiding spot. If Raiden had sent one person after the Scottish team, who was now lying unconscious in the alleyway, then chances are that there were others scattered around the area. If Brigid could place Epona in a sniping position, then chances are that Raiden might have a watcher or sniper of his own. That meant that if Maitho left his position, and if someone spotted him, then he would be giving away his element of surprise.
Without the element of surprise, there would be no chance of stopping Raiden. Maitho realized that there was no time to hold on to tactics. It was time to act, damned if he was discovered. He wasn't ready to find out what his inaction would lead to.
In front of Raiden was a line of cars occupying various parking spots. Maitho examined each car until his eyes settled on a gray convertible. The vehicle wasn't positioned too close to Raiden, but it would allow Maitho to narrow the gap between him and the blonde-haired man considerably. What grabbed Maitho's attention, however, wasn't the proximity of the vehicle to Raiden, but its current position. Above the vehicle, the branches of a tree had parted wide enough to allow sunlight to pass through, which shone down and bounced off the vehicle's windshield. If Maitho could position himself next to the passenger side door of the vehicle, then he could peek through the windshield. Raiden, on the other hand, would not be able to see through, owing to the reflection of the sunlight on the glass.
Maitho realized that Raiden was not someone to underestimate. The man was calculating. The way he was standing confidently and the fact that he had sent someone else to sneak into the building showed that he was a planner. It was pure luck that Maitho was in the right spot at the right time to take care of one of Raiden's team members.
Maitho bent down until he was below the level of the roof of the car closest to him, a blue sedan, and crawled towards it. When he reached the vehicle, he pressed himself against the rear passenger-side door softly. He wanted to pull out the handgun from its current holstered position, but he was worried that a passerby might notice it, which could only complicate the situation. It was also odd for him to be crawling along the sides of cars, but he placed it at a lower level on the list of suspicious things that a person would see in the morning.
"Forgive me for the darkness I am about to let go Brigid," said Raiden, a look of genuine displeasure on his face. "I shall be fair, however. I am going to count to eleven. If your teammates value your life, they will reveal themselves. So I say, one."
Brigid blinked rapidly, her composure of calmness slipping momentarily. "You are godlike Raiden. You are one of us."
"Was one of you. Two."
"You are not a tool for someone to control and order. There is more to you. Your whole mission-"
"Three."
-is to save people. Don't do this." The sentence came out as a hiss.
Since the hood of the blue sedan was barely two feet above the ground, Maitho had to crawl on his arms until he reached the protection of the next vehicle, a black four-wheel drive. There were just two more cars to cross before he could reach his destination, the gray convertible.
"I am not here to talk to you Brigid. I am here to capture you. Four."
Brigid looked like she was steadying herself. "Is this about Jonathan Cray? Are you working for him?"
"Five."
"I can walk back inside."
"Try it. Six."
Maitho had reached the next vehicle. It was tempting for him to try and get Brigid's attention, but he didn't want her to look his way. Perhaps the woman must have already noticed him from the corner of her eye and was pretending to not notice. It was difficult to tell, but Maitho wouldn't entirely dismiss the idea that Brigid was aware of his presence.
"Seven," said Raiden, continuing his chant towards the final number.
"Won't you even consider the possibility that we can stand together against Jonathan?"
"There is no stand to make Brigid. I will take you and the other two. Eight."
Maitho was now beside the final car. Brigid held her forehead between thumb and forefinger, as though she was trying to control the stress building up in her head. Maitho saw her surreptitiously look at him, indicating that she knew he was there.
"Please stop this," said Brigid, pretending to show Raiden that she was someone who was at her mental limit.
"Then bring your teammates out. Nine."
Maitho pulled out the handgun and revolver, making sure he showed them to Brigid. He wanted to let her know that he would be throwing one of them to her. The woman must have understood. She moved closer to the stairway railing that faced Maitho, her hands coming to a rest on top of it. She was positioning herself to easily grab the weapon that would be thrown towards her.
Without waiting for the countdown to continue, Maitho crawled towards the next vehicle, which was the gray convertible he was aiming for. He pushed himself up slightly until his eye was just above the bottom of the passenger-side window.
He saw tears filling Raiden's eyes. A single drop made its way down the man's cheek. His face was filled with anguish, as though he had just witnessed unspeakable horror. "You are my kin. Naive, but you are still my kin. So much light surrounds you. I do not wish to inflict this pain upon you, but darkness always prevails in the end. Ten."
Within a blink of the eye, lines of shimmering air extended outwards from Raiden's shell, shooting itself towards Brigid. A few sparks popped and sizzled at uneven intervals along the lines. It was like watching a bunch of invisible wires grow longer. Except that it happened so quickly, it was difficult to discern what happened.
When the invisible cables touched Brigid, her eyes went wide and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her whole body began vibrating, as though she was gripped by seizures. She suffered in agony for a couple of seconds before the lines withdrew from her and returned to the shell.
Brigid fell forward. If it wasn't for the fact that her hand was on the railing, she would have suffered serious injuries to her face. Her hand automatically gripped the metal beam, preventing her from falling forward. She crouched on the stairs, panting heavily. A think stream of spittle escaped her mouth. The only thing preventing her from falling forwards was her hold on the railing, but Maitho could see her hand quivering.
He heard a sob from the other side of the vehicle he was hiding behind. When he looked through the windshield, he saw that Raiden was openly weeping, trails of tears running down his face like small rivulets.
"Forgive me, my light bearing kin. I see no pleasure in this. Eleve-"
A pop rang out, like the sound of a tire being punctured in the distance. A split-second later, Maitho saw a single bullet floating in front of Raiden's face near his forehead. The angle of the bullet showed that it was shot from an elevated location.
Epona, thought Maitho.
Raiden didn't so much as flinch. Rather, he looked at the bullet with so much sadness, it was as though he was witnessing the death of a loved one. "I see more light trying to escape the inevitable darkness. Please don't make me hurt more people." He turned his attention suddenly towards Maitho.
"Please do not make me hurt you too Maitho."554Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP11seENRGZ
