"But before all that, I'd like to see the person who I'm making a deal with. You know my face, but I don't know yours,"

"Oh, how rude of me," said the master before standing up from his throne and walking into the little tendrils of light that made it into the hall through the cracked windows.

"I'm not very pretty am I?" asked the master as he removed his hood, revealing his disfigured face.

It was truly a face only a mother could love. His nose had been reduced to two holes into which air flowed, and his facial features were obscured by a deep red scar that extended from his chin, all the way to his head, causing a bald spot.

"They say that beauty is within," replied Gray as he shook the master's hands.

"Indeed they do," said the master, his smile fading as Gray looked at him with an almost expressionless face.

"Anyway, if you'll excuse me. I have other matters to attend to," said the master before walking back to his seat.

Gray and Tesse walked out of the hall after one of the master's subordinates handed them a document containing what was expected of them.

"Master, I don't mean to question your reasoning, however, was it really wise to only employ him on a mercenary basis?" asked one of the two subordinates behind him.

"My dear Amos, I thought at least you would've noticed," replied the master, his tone distant.

"W-what do you mean master?"

"That boy, couldn't you tell? He has no interest in material things, he's a brutish beast who only seeks violence. And I have no use for subordinates who can not be reasoned with, it's better to keep him as a mercenary and cut him off once he has served his purpose."

"I-I see. How smart of you master," said Amos, as he realized what the master was talking about.

'Now that I think about it, that kid didn't hesitate to show hostility once he noticed the hidden guards. Usually, people would try to find a way to talk themselves out of that situation. It's almost as if,... he wanted it to turn bloody,' thought Amos as he pondered on the master's words.

***

"Here is the information on the E-difficulty dungeon you requested," said one of the master's subordinates as he handed Gray a yellow envelope.

"What about the information on the ruin I requested?"

"Master has warned that ruins are currently too difficult for you to handle alone. Once the guild's attack force is ready you will be informed of the ruin raid,"

"Pfft, whatever. I'll be off then," said Gray before turning around to leave.

"Don't forget to tune the walkie-talkie we gave you. Notifications will be sent to you through the private frequency," said the subordinate before Gray and Tesse left the room they were in.

"Hmm, not that bad. They even have information on the possible threats I might face," said Gray as he looked through the documents while he walked down the street.

*Crack*

"What was that?" asked Gray as Tesse quickly got into a battle stance.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here," said Bill's comrade as he and his group slowly surrounded Gray. Some of them had approached them from behind, carrying out a pincer maneuver.

"What do you guys want?" asked Gray, as he counted the number of enemies around him. He noticed that a few others were hiding in an alleyway on the right.

"I told you this wasn't over, didn't I? Now hand over your Arcanian points and the bitch beside you, and we'll at least let you go with just a few injuries," said the leader of the group with a smile on his face.

"I see, so this is what it's about," laughed Gray, his heart racing at the prospect of a bloody battle.

"You don't seem to understand the situation you're in, do you? Hand over your Arcanian points, before we stop asking nicely," said the man as he pulled out a gun.

"Master!" shouted Tesse as she charged at the man with a spear, which caused him to panic. He pulled the trigger, blood dripping to the floor.

"Look what you've gone and made me do. I darn broke the doll," laughed the leader of the group, beads of sweat dripping down his bald scalp.

"Did you just injure my toy?" asked Gray in a dangerous tone, his eyes flashing red.

"H-hey, don't think about doing anything stupid," said the leader of the group as he pointed the gun at Gray.

'It seems he's the only one with a gun.' thought Gray as he looked at all the other thugs and realized none of them had a firearm. Most of them were equipped with baseball bats or knives.

The sound of chains moving disrupted the silence that had come over the group.

"What's tha-" the leader was about to ask, before a dagger with chains attached to its hilt punctured his throat, causing him to cough out blood and fall dead to the ground.

"Wha the h-" another member was about to say, but Gray swung the chain, causing the danger to move in a wide arc and slice the gang member's face.

"G-get him" shouted the other gang members as their comrade fell to the ground screaming in pain, but Gray was already on them.

Gray used the chains to absorb the blood from the gang member he had attacked and used it as a blood sacrifice to use the blood lust mode.

He turned the dagger back into a long sword, swinging it at the closest enemy. The sword slashed the man's stomach, causing his innards to fall to the ground. The sword absorbed the dead man's blood, causing Gray's hair to turn pale.

"T-the gun," shouted one of the thugs.

Gray attached blood chains to the hilt of the long sword and threw it, turning it into a shuriken mid-air.

*Splosh* The sound of one of the gang member's necks being slashed off echoed through the street.

"H-he's the devil," whispered one of the thugs after realizing his mistake. There were still a few gang members left however most of them had already fallen to their knees in despair.

Blood, guts, and the piss of a few frightened gang members covered the tarred road. Seeing that there was no movement Gray dragged back the shuriken using the chains and turned it into a katana.

"Hey, are you still alive?" asked Gray as he kicked Tesse's body.

"Y-yes," struggled Tesse, luckily the bullet only entered her stomach.

"Heal yourself and stand up while I deal with these mice," said Gray, blood covering half his face. A few pieces of human flesh littered his clothes, and his katana had a constant stream of blood dripping onto the floor.

"St-stay away from me!" shouted one of the gang members as Gray approached him with a smile on his face.

The gang member held out his knife, his hands shaking out of fear.

"P-please," cried the gang member, his trousers becoming stained as he urinated on the floor.

Gray stroked his hair, like one would a dog.

"But someone's got to pay for damages, isn't that right?" said Gray, repeating what the thugs had said to him before.

Gray put his free hand on the man's chin, gesturing for him to open his mouth, out of fear the gang member obliged. The pure insanity of this situation causing his thinking to be impaired.

Gray then slowly inserted his blade into the man's mouth, puncturing a hole straight into him.

"Rejoice, you are my nutrients," said Gray, his voice almost like an echo, as if something else was speaking behind it.

Gray's hair had become fully white, and his eyes were glowing a deep red color.

He walked towards the gun, and picked it up, dismantling it once he was done studying its surface.

"Like this?" asked Gray, his voice still an echo as he created a blood gun.

Several of the gang members had regained their sanity and realized that if they wanted to live they had to run, however, Gray shot the first person who stood up.

"Doesn't feel intimate enough, but it will have to do," said Gray as he shot another gang member.

"L-look, I told them it was a bad idea, please man, spare me," said Bill, the smell of excreta radiating from where he was kneeling,

"Did you just shit yourself?" laughed Gray, a tinge of sanity coming back to him

Bill joined in the laughter, feeling a bit of relief once he saw that the thing in front of him was still human.

Gray put the barrel of the gun in Bil's mouth, smiling at him as he cocked it.

"Hmfdp, prff" muffled Bill, the sound of a gunshot bringing an end to the squeals and pleads for mercy.