I started skipping off into the red-light district. Some time has passed since we left the Imperial City. Naturally my first order of business upon returning was to start my gang.

Turns out such a thing wasn't too hard. I already made several connections in the red-light district. I knew exactly who I could trust.

Of course, when I mentioned that my Master would naturally protect anyone who joined his gang, they all accepted my offer with excited eyes.

I've come to realize that my villain, The Black Death, is loved by those who are familiar with him, but hated by outsiders. The one's who know me, claim my master truly helps the less fortunate, while outsiders claim he is a monster.

Either way, I feel pretty proud of myself. I had only invented this villain up on a whim. I didn't know I would one day have a gang under his name.

Bertram trailed after me and noticed my excited steps, "Why are you so excited?"

I giggled, "I never thought I would be such a great mob boss or anything. I feel so accomplished!"

He frowned, "You really should be more careful. It wouldn't take much for people to make the connection from the Black Death to you."

I chuckled lightly and pointed to my face which now had a mask on it, "I am being careful. See? I'm wearing a mask. So I'm hiding my identity and using a fake name! It's flawless!"

He sighed, "But you've only just started doing that. Besides… That outfit you are in…" He glanced at me with a worried expression.

The mask was in fact, personally made by Seri. And you could tell she did it herself. The materials were made from clay and paper. It turned out lopsided and lumpy, making the wearer look as if their body was twisted and contorted unnaturally.

Then it was painted over crudely and finished with a symbol that she stole from a car brand in her previous world. The symbol itself looked horrendous. She had no skill for drawing or crafting, so it took on a distorted and terrifying shape.

Wearing that mask, she looked more like a wandering malevolent ghost.

But that wasn't the problem with her mask. It only covered half of her face and even with a cloak on, her hair still bellowed out from under it as it was nearly impossible to tame.

Bertram wanted to point out it didn't hide her identity at all. There was only one person in the entire kingdom that had brown hair that flipped out so obnoxiously. Not to mention she maintained that awful- I mean- unique personality of hers.

Despite her small body, each step she took was confident and domineering. She also maintained a smile that looked as if she found an easy target to con. Everyone knew at once who it was walking.

In short, she looked the exact same in this outfit as she did when she wasn't wearing it.

Bertram rubbed his face in exhaustion. He had no idea how she had not been caught by the authorities yet. Surely, they were not that stupid. Did they really not know? Or did she really have connections that prevented the authorities from charging her with a crime?

I noticed Bertram frowning as he looked at me. "What's wrong? You don't like it? Is there something wrong with this attire?"

Bertram quickly swapped out his pessimistic face for a reassuring one, "No no! It's quite nice. You look like someone who belongs under the Black Death. It's very powerful and intimidating."

He silently cursed himself for being weak to that charm of hers.

I smiled widely and started walking again, "I think so too! I look so mysterious and alluring. I just know I will be able to get more henchmen looking like this! And no one will know it's me. Perfect~"

Bertram sighed in defeat, "Yes… Perfect…"

He silently held out hope that I would one day give up this hobby of mine.

However, that day would never come. Strolling down the street made me feel powerful. Everyone noticed me and quickly got out of my way.

I chuckled darkly, "They don't even know who I am, yet they still shrink away from me. Is this what it feels like to be on top?"

Bertram had a sinking feeling in his stomach when he heard those words.

"Fifi! (Seri)"

I looked over and noticed Mama O motioning me over. I hesitated in my steps and took a deep gulp. She's not going to give me another child, is she?

I walked over, "Mama O? How did you know it was me? I'm wearing a mask today."

She glanced at me with a clueless expression. Seeing me point cheerfully to my mask, she glanced up at Bertram. Noticing his despondent face, she realized at once what the situation was.

She forced out a chuckle, "Well that's because you have Bertram with you."

"Ah!" I snapped my fingers together, "Of course!"

Of course she could recognize me! I didn't even think about hiding Bertram's identity. Phew. Good thing she told me.

I glanced at Bertram, "I think we will have to give you a fake name and a mask. Later I will make you one that looks like mine."

Bertram wanted to cry at these words.

I looked at Mama O, "Now what's the matter? It's not another baby is it?"

She shook her head then looked at me with a stern expression, "No! I needed to talk to you about that nasty man your Master just took in."

My face fell, "Nasty man?"

She nodded quickly, "Yes. Usually your master has good tastes in his underlings, but this new guy is atrocious!"

I felt my irritation stirring. I forced a smile briming with anger, "Please tell me about this man."

"He's been wreaking havoc in this city for days now! He's always going on about how he's the Black Death's most trusted underling and that everyone should bow to him. He's been stealing and bullying the other store owners. Of course, we wouldn't do anything to stop him. It's the Black Death after all. We would never risk angering the great master. So, we stepped aside and let his tyranny go unchecked."

She threw her hands up in anger and stomped her foot, "But I draw the line when this man hurts one of my girls! Not paying is one thing, but leaving bruises on their beautiful skin is going too far! I might actually strangle the man the next time I see him!"

She caught herself and gave a weak smile, "Of course… I wouldn't want to overstep my bounds with your master…"

I patted her arm to placate her, "Don't worry, Mama O. I will personally solve this issue. My master doesn't tolerate such dirty actions to sully his name. I promise that he will be dealt with swiftly and cruelly."

She sighed in relief, "Oh good… I was worried I would be putting a price on my head by saying this."

"I've already told you. My Master is kind to those who listen to him. But if you go against his orders or act out… Well... Then he's not so kind."

Hearing my ghastly tone, Mama O couldn't help but feel a bit afraid. Even Bertram had a wave of fear rush over him. He knew his young miss was generally a happy person. Sure she would get irritated, but never genuinely angry.

He noticed that whenever she was truly angry, nothing good came after. It's not that she would kill the person… Well maybe not directly… But she would toy with them like a cat with a mouse, all while laughing maliciously and deriving pleasure from it.

Yes… It was in this way that she resembled a villain.

I chuckled lightly, "But please tell me if someone acts out of place."

Mama O nodded quickly, "I will. I will. And don't worry, the rest of us will loyally follow the Black Death without question. We never forget for a second how much he has helped us."

I smiled, "My master will be pleased to hear that."

I started walking away with my fists clenched. Under my mask I was gritting my teeth with anger. "This f*cking bastard is going to pay for his crimes. How dare he pose as someone from my gang! Does he really think he will get away with it?!"

Bertram glanced with me with a sense of foreboding, "What do you plan to do?"

I stopped and turned to him with a chilling smile. Under my mask, it looked even more disturbing.

"Naturally I'm going to make him regret the day his mouth uttered the words 'Black Death'."

I started walking again hastily and Bertram followed behind me, "Are you going to kill him?"

I threw my head back and gave a laugh, "Kill him? Oh no. I'm going to do something much worse."

Bertram thought for a moment, "What's worse than killing him?"

I gave him a wry smile, "Humiliation of course."

Bertram just blinked at me, "Humiliation?"

I nodded, "If you think about it, this situation isn't necessarily a bad thing for us. If we teach him a lesson publicly, everyone will know not to mess with us. People forget about death over time, but humiliation is painfully etched into everyone's mind."

I turned to him with anticipation in my eyes, "Bertram. I need you to do some reconnaissance for me."

"And what will you do?"

I chuckled darkly and rubbed my hands together menacingly.

"I'm going to do some science."

____

I sat in the graveyard bringing my contraptions together and ensuring that they would work. Bertram watched me with a worried expression, "Are you sure this will work?"

"Oh yeah. By the time I'm done, he's going to be pissing his pants and crying. Then he surely won't show his face again."

Previously I had Bertram look more into the instances and even hired someone to tail the man. Sure enough he was an uncultured brute that needed to be taught a lesson.

I chuckled, "The bigger the man, the more I like to make him smaller."

"What was that?" Bertram asked.

"Oh... Nothing." I quickly pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him, "This is your script. I'd say talk in a terrifying and authoritative voice, but you pretty much have that covered."

He read it, "You really want me to say this?" I handed him a cone like object. He looked at it, "What's this for?"

"It will make your voice sound more eerie. Just talk into it like this." I showed him how to use it and he nodded. I started setting out my concoctions.

He bent down by me, "Why are we in a graveyard?"

"He lives in a shack past here. He always walks by at night drunk out of his mind. Plus it's the perfect place to reveal my Master for the first time."

"Your master?"

I giggled in excitement, "That's right. Let me ask you this, what's more terrifying than a super strong crime lord?"

"A lion?"

I frowned, "No. Please stop thinking about the lion."

He looked around nervously, "But it's still on the loose…"

I rolled my eyes, "Pay attention. One thing that has always terrified people is ghosts. Thus, what if the Master wasn't a human at all? What if he was a phantom?"

"Huh…" Bertram didn't know if this was cunning or idiotic. Either way he still didn't get it.

"Now come on, let's get into position. He should be coming by at any moment now."

We sat covered behind some bushes in the dark night. There was a full moon, adding to its eeriness. A man strolled down the empty road with a carefree attitude. He was drunker than the night was dark. I recognized this man to be my prey.

I quickly added some flasks of liquid into a pot, grabbed a fan, and started waving the smoke towards the man. The smoke spread through the graveyard like a slowly crawling fog. The spookiness of it made him hesitate in his walk.

I nodded at Bertram who spoke through the cone, "You… Son of Lawrence… Samuel Kennedy…"

Bertram's deep voice echoed off the trees. The conelike object projected his voice and gave it a hollow sound. The man looked around in a panic unable to determine where the voice was coming from, "W-Who is there?! How do you know my name?!"

Bertram continued after I gave him the signal, "You have angered me greatly… Nobody survives my anger…"

I gave a nod to PoonPoon who had been waiting up in a tree. He opened his mouth and let out shrieks that would make anyone's blood turn cold. It sounded as if a banshee had descended and was screaming out for blood.

The man was so frightened and confused he didn't know what to do.

I grabbed a rope in one hand and my homemade science project in another. I looked at Bertram.

He bellowed out, "I AM THE BLACK DEATH! YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE WITH YOUR LIFE!"

He dropped the cone and pulled out a metal sheet. He began to move it, causing what sounded like thunder to reverberate throughout the graveyard.

I threw out the firecrackers that exploded into bright lights and pulled on the rope in my hands. A black cloak with a ghastly white mask flew at the man from a pulley system I had set up prior. Luckily it was dark, so the rope wasn't able to be seen.

To him, it actually seemed like a ghost flying towards him.

The man screamed at the incoming phantom like creature and jumped out of the way. I dropped the rope and the previous phantom disappeared into the dark. The man turned to run towards his shack and I pulled another rope. Another phantom jumped out in front of him, making him scream in shock before turning around. Every step he took, another phantom appeared before him. The only way left for him to run was back into town.

Bertram shouted again over the thunder, screams, and lights. "IN THREE DAYS TIME I SHALL COME FOR YOUR LIFE."

His face went pale as a ghost when he heard these words. His knees shook and a wet spot began to form on his pants. He abruptly turned around and ran back into town.

"HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME! THE BLACK DEATH IS GOING TO KILL ME! HE'S NO MAN! HE'S A PHANTOM! A GHOST!"

I chuckled and gave Bertram a high five. As he ran through the town, he began to shriek about the phantom Black Death and how he was coming to kill him. He looked as if he was a man who had lost all his sanity.

Seeing him as a marked man, everyone quickly closed their doors to him. As if they would incur this phantom's ire!

No one even laughed at his shameful state in fear that they would also be cursed by this almighty phantom.

After that day, my villain was no longer a human in their eyes. He was something much worse…

A malevolent phantom.