As Afton was making his way back to Novac, he was thoroughly confused and conflicted with the situation concerning his father... This, among other things, had him acting rather erratically when his danger sense started warning him of something.

He gives a small sigh and rubs the bridge of his nose exasperatedly, "Nyx? Are there any hostiles nearby?" ​​

"None in the immediate vicinity, but I am detecting three men watching us from nearby..." she explains and Afton looks over at the two-story building, almost immediately spotting a shadowed figure watching from the window.

Afton growls under his breath and cracks his knuckles before striding towards them. The figure ducks away, but he has Nyx track their position to prevent them escaping.

He ignores the salutations from the Novac residents as he marches through the town, following straight out the otherwise where the three people seem to be running. "You aren't getting away from me that easily." he mutters, breaking into a sprint that would make any athlete from his old world pale.

Elsewhere :

Jonas Vita breathes heavily as he and his two companions continue retreating from their previous position... They'd been tasked by Vulpes Inculta to spy on the man known as Afton Parker, otherwise known as the Butcher, the Sheriff, and a few others he isn't in the mood to mention as of right now...

The reason for his dour mood? Their target seems to have spotted them and is chasing them right now... The man known for his brutality and body count is after this... This very notion alone freezes the blood in his body, were he a lesser man he didn't think he'd be able to move a finger due to the overwhelming fear that's overtaking his body.

"T-think we lost him?" Hestus asks with a slight huff from jogging for so long.

"I hope so... I don't want to consider what he would do to us if he caught us... You've all heard the stories. I think I'd rather challenge the Blade of the East to a fistfight than go near that man..." Peter mutters.

Jonas shakes his head, "You remember our task... Even if he catches us we may have some leverage against him."

Hestus nods, "I'd rather not be caught in the first place, let's keep-" he pauses as he glances over his shoulder behind them, "What is that?"

The other two looks over and spot a rather large cloud of dust approaching them at a rapid pace... Once it gets close enough they're able to spot the lone figure of the Butcher sprinting towards them like a man possessed.

...

All of their breaths are caught in their throats at the sight, it was simply unbelievable for someone to run so fast. Fortunately or not, it doesn't take long for them to recognise the trouble they were in. "RUN!" Hestus exclaims, breaking into a sprint back towards Nelson where they'd been deployed from.

All three start sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them, but it was somehow not enough as the Butcher rapidly shortened the distance between them. Even now Jonas could see the ground beneath the man cracking with every powerful step as if he were splitting the earth with his strength alone.

*CRASH*

The Butcher, sparing them or otherwise, chooses not to barrel straight into the group of three, instead electing to slam into a nearby boulder with his shoulder to stop his momentum. Jonas feels his mouth go dry as the fact the large rock acquires thousands of spiderweb-like crack marks in its surface from the force of the man, as if it'd been shot with a tank shell...

The cloud of dust overtake the group, but neither of the three spies could force themselves to move... They knew they had been caught, so running was a pointless endeavour... They weren't even close to reaching Nelson, and the Butcher could pop their heads like cherries if he wanted to with the strength he'd just displayed.

A hand reaches out from the dust cloud and grabs Jonas around his throat, dragging him away as the man ties something around his arms and legs before tossing him against someone... Most likely one of his fellow spies.

Once the dust clears, the three spies find themselves tied up and sitting against the splintered boulder the man had just run into. The Butcher was standing over them without even a bead of sweat on his brow, as if the running he'd just done was less than a slow morning job.

"I'm not in the mood for this shit right now, so you'll tell me what you were doing, or I'll have to acquire the information some other way." he states, igniting a strange energy axe and slashing it at the boulder, causing half of it to slide off with an incredibly smooth-cut surface. "Go ahead and lie. I think I'll start with the legs this time, so you can't try to run... Or maybe the tongue, so you can't scream for help? No, then you wouldn't be able to talk..." the Butcher mutters to himself, seemingly contemplating the various tortures he intended to put them through.

"I'll never-" Hestus begins but is interrupted by the Butchers contemplative thoughts.

"Eh, castration always works?"

...

Indeed, the thought of losing the most essential part of being a man is enough to shut Hestus up. Jonas was already willing to betray everything he stood for just to gain some degree of mercy... A swift death would be a boon at this point.

He glances between his two companions, both looking ashen with cold sweat beginning to form. Their skin was clammy, and Jonas swore he could smell the faint aroma of urine... It was embarrassing at the fact he had to check that it was not himself that was the cause... The spies spoke to one another with their eyes, quickly agreeing to give whatever the man wanted, in exchange for mercy.

"S-stop... We'll speak... Just don't hurt us!" Jonas stutters out, as a brutal and sadistic grin forms on the Butcher's face.