Migai and Vrinda reach the latter's door. Right outside the door is a pile of garbage and next to it a three-wheel cart. As Vrinda unlocks the door, Migai inspects the garbage dump and the wagon. He inspects the front and back wheel of the wagon closely observing them and then touching the inside of the wagon he scrubs at its edges. He finds them to be wet, he leans even more inside of the wagon to smell it properly. Vrinda had unlocked the door and was looking at Migai with curiosity.

"Sir?"

"Ah yes...", he pulls himself out of the wagon and walks inside the house. As soon as he entered a house a strong smell of a chemical used as a room-freshener invades his nose. The house was a very small apartment, with a joint hall and dining space and two rooms. There were no tiles on the floor it was made of cement and stone, even the walls were worn out and damp with the white plaster falling off but even after that, the room smelt pleasant because of the chemical.

Migai walks around looking at everything inside the house, he carefully examines everything, frequently picking up the pictures decorated on the centre table. Taking a picture in his hand he asks Vrinda, "Who is this lady here?"

With her head bowed, Vrinda answers in a soft voice, "That's my mother, she's no more."

"I'm sorry", He puts the picture back in its place

After looking around for some more time, he finally comes to a halt. Stopping near the entrance he takes a long breath.

"Thank you for your time Vrinda, we're done here."

Then without wasting a second he twists the doorknob and leaves the house. He walks at a casual pace his careful eyes observing everything. He heads to where they had discovered the body. Vrinda meanwhile locks the house door behind her, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead.

"No need to do that, we'll be returning shortly," Migai announces without turning back.

Vrinda simply nods.

Walking towards where he found the boy, Migai keeps scrubbing at the path walk the entire time with his shoes and examining them carefully. Vrinda follows behind him closely.

A few meters before the body he finally stops scrubbing, a faint smile appears on his face. He shouts out to Martin, who comes running and they speak about something in whispers. Martin then calls the photographer, who takes pictures of what Migai had been scrubbing at.

"Let's head back for a cup of coffee maybe?", Migai turns to Vrinda with a professional smile on his face.

"I...I don't have coffee"

"Then let's just head back."

Inside the house, Migai occupies the seat closest to the exit, whereas Martin chooses to stand next to him. Vrinda stands on the opposite end of the room from them, after Migai gestures her to she sits on the chair next to her.

"Vrinda, you've told us that you saw the body in the morning right?", Martin makes the opening statement.

"Yes"

"But why did you wait till the morning when you were informed that your father is drunk and not able to come back home on his own?" Martin further enquires.

"Sorry I don't understand", a startled Vrinda begins to fumble.

"One of the local residents had informed you that your father is not in any state to walk back home on his own just before the curfew was starting right?"

"I...I'm not aware of this", she begins to scratch her wrists aggressively.

There was silence in the room, Martin and Vrinda both at deadlocks on how to proceed ahead.

Migai pats both his arms down on the couch, catching both Martin's and Vrinda's attention, "Vrinda...It's okay. We know you murdered him. You can confess, it's absolutely fine." Migai puts this forward very gently.

"What...what did you...", She presses her nails against her wrists almost piercing her skin.

Migai continues to speak in a deep calm voice, "Vrinda you're clearly shaken, I don't want to interrogate you, just confess."

Tears fall down her cheeks, her legs shivering, "But I didn't do it, I swear I didn't do it"

Migai doesn't speak immediately, he observes her trembling body then taking a long breath he spoke with an expression of pity, almost as if he felt sorry for what he was about to do.

"I smelled alcohol off your father's body, mixed with his body odour it gives off a unique smell. Traces of that scent can be found in that wagon outside. I also found fresh wheel tracks of the wagon and confirmed it with Martin."

"This place here is where the murder took place. Everything hints towards it, in the photos the house is always messy but when you and I came in, it was spick and span. Obviously, you were not attending to guests and only the owner of the house knows where everything in this house should be."

"Also in a house with dampened walls and broken tiles, there is supposed to be a pungent smell but the house smells fresh especially in this dining place. This isn't the smell of a chemical used as fresheners but actually a strong cleaning chemical and most importantly the murder weapon, it wasn't a knife, you used this to kill him." Migai takes out a piece of broken floor tile from his pocket.

Her body stops trembling, but her eyes were now dead. Tears rolled down her cheeks and with trembling lips she spoke, "I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't mean to."

[Migai picks up his files from the desk, biting a carrot stick he enters the largest room in his house. A large hall with hardly any furniture, just one couch and a centre table. Covering the wooden floor in a huge carpet, grey walls on all four corners of the room. The only bright contrast to an otherwise dull room is the drawings on the wall. Rough sketches of rainbows and trees etched all over the wall. When he walks into the living space, he hears a young girl sobbing. On walking up to where the only couch in the room was, he finds his daughter standing still like a scarecrow, her face flushed with tears. She was staring at a broken mug on the floor. Seeing that her father had arrived, she begins sobbing even more aggressively, "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry Papa, I didn't mean to break your favourite mug."

Migai rushes to her side, finding the entire thing foolish and sweet, he hugs his daughter tightly. A large smile flashing clearly on his face.]

Migai leaves his seat and walks up to Vrinda, he bends down on his knees and holds her cold hands, "Tell me why?" He clears his throat and speaks again, "Tell me why? and I might be able to help you."

"Sir!"

"It's okay I know you're not a killer if there is something I pride myself with is being a good judge of character, tell me" He speaks with a bitter smile.

"When I was younger, my mother would always lock me up in the room before he came home."

"She always told me she did this to protect me but I never understood why"

Clearing her hoarse throat, "He was always nice to me. I saw him every day before he left for work."

"Mother told me there were two sides to him, she was trying to save me from the other side."

"My mother was strong, but for some reason, her health was constantly deteriorating. She looked like she was always under a lot of pressure but she never spoke to me about it. Sometimes I felt like she was embarrassed to talk about it. After a few months, she had almost lost half her body-weight and would remain sick most of the time but she would still make sure to lock my room at night before my dad comes."

"One day she told me that she wanted to end her marriage. I didn't understand anything then but I knew she was suffering and supported her. She made appeals to many civil agencies, she even sought the help of political workers."

"She told me that they can't help her because what she was going through was not wrong, It was her duty as a wife. I was thirteen and couldn't understand why my mother was feeling tormented. Somewhere down the line even I stopped paying attention to her, she was all alone and scared."

"I can't even fathom what she went through, what she must have been feeling. Not being able to find any hope she took things into her hands. The next morning I found her dead lying naked inside the toilet, she had slit her own throat."

" I blamed my father and couldn't look at him the same way anymore but I am also to blame, I was stupid to not understand what she was going through. But I understood everything in time."

"My father hardly spent time with me but I didn't hate him, how could I, he was my father. He would come home drunk every day and I had to care for him. I had to care for the man who drove my mother to her grave. But I had to, he was my....father."

"Yesterday when I heard he was drunk I went to the site to fetch him. We walked back home as fast as possible before the curfew started. When we reached home I tried to put him to bed but..." Her sobbing intensifies, "He started saying unreasonable things. He told me that I looked like my mother that I reminded him of her. He then tried to pull me in, I thought he was too drunk and walked out of the room but he came after me, he pinned me to the ground and tried to rape me! My own father!"

"Your mother never suffered any visible physical injuries?" Martin enquires clearly shaken.

"No" Vrinda replies, tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Marital rape is not a crime in Merram. Your father...he was a cunning man. Nevertheless"Migai rise up, "I believe you. You might be the killer but you're not a killer."

"He was murdered by a rogue trying to enter the 'Society' all clues hint towards that based on Martin's deductions. So we're done here?" Migai announces confidently.

"Yes, yes sir." Martin immediately agrees.

"But...but what about the law? the justice? I...I am a murderer." Vrinda speaks, traces of fear easily discoverable in her voice.

"There are no laws anymore, no upholders of justice, we live in a very ugly world. And in this world, we are just people trying to make sense of things around us. Justice is also what one can make sense of, consider this my brand of justice." Migai takes a last look at the family picture on the centre table. The image of a young girl with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, a father who clearly doesn't want to be in the picture and a mother who is trying her best to look happy.

He taps Martin's shoulder and heads to the exit.

"How did you find the tiles, sir?" Vrinda asks her final question innocently.

"They're obviously not the tiles you used to kill him; I just picked them up from the floor and broke them how you would when trying to hide it." He throws the tile at her. She catches it and takes a long look at it. When she looks up Migai and Martin had already left the house. She rushes to the door but before she could reach the door, Migai's head pops out of the door.

"If you ever need help feel free to reach out to me".

He closes the door behind him and whispers to Martin. "Don't let them investigate further; she'll break if they interview her. Close the case tell them I've ordered it."

"Right away sir."

Vrinda wipes her tears and hurriedly rushes towards Migai to thank him one last time. She steps out of the door and finds Migai and Martin just standing outside, beyond them she sees an army of people standing on the opposite side of the lane. The police officer who was at the opening is lying on the floor bloody and battered. Two men and a woman come out from the crowd and stand in front-facing Migai and Martin.

" What is the Society doing here? I'll call for backup immediately sir." Martin mutters softly.

"No need, I'll finish this faster." Turning his head, "You should go back in the house." He warns Vrinda who was standing behind him.

Migai takes a few steps forward, to ensure some distance between him and Martin.

"So, will you please oblige me with the reason for why you're wreaking havoc?" Migai taunts the crowd in front of him.

The muscular- bald man who had walked to the front with two others replies, "Shut up Impostor!"

"Impostor?"

The muscular man then further enquires, "Are you the one who goes by the name, Migai Swuro?"

"That would be me," Migai answers calmly with his hands in his pocket.

"Then there is not much left to discuss...Shanti, Ali make the call." The muscular man asserts his command.

The woman and man who had come to the front with him nod, they wave their arms to give the signal. Immediately the entire force of about twenty-five odd men and women rush at Migai.

The lane was not as thin as an alleyway but it was still a lane. There were two humongous buildings constructed on both sides, parallel to the lane. Leaving only the two ends in the beginning and at the end as an entry-exit point. Twenty-five people couldn't rush all at once given the width of the lane therefore they rushed at Migai behind one another. Migai calmly stood on the other end with his hands still in his pocket. The first person to approach him was a man with a machete in hand, the others also followed with weapons such as long knives and swords. They didn't use guns because they didn't want to attract attention or alert the other policemen. Given, a police faction was already dispatched in this area for a murder investigation, they knew there would be no patrols. Also Migai had refused to call for backup which only made things easier for them, either way, the muscular man would have immediately attacked if they had tried calling for backup, he and Ali were Kusokans while Shanti was a human. The three of them were leaders of the Society, they had been assigned the role to capture the man who goes by the name Migai Swuro.

When the muscular man heard this he was greatly troubled. He was a learned man and knew this country's history well. Henceforth when he heard this name it troubled him greatly. He was almost sure the man was an imposter. On the other hand, Shanti and Ali were of the idea that the rumours are over-exaggerated stories of the past. There was no way a human could achieve the feats that this man was told to have. Both Shanti and Ali were also experienced in battle and from experience they knew, that the past usually exaggerated stuff about people. But all that thought was put to rest when the first man swung his machete at Migai.

The man's machete didn't even reach close to Migai but Migai's palm had already delivered a fatal blow to the man's chin. Blood poured from his mouth and nose and he fell to the ground, unable to battle after just one blow. The others followed the man's attack, Migai slithered like a snake and easily dodged all of them, with a calm expression and one hand still in his pockets. After dodging most of those attacks he turned and started knocking people down with one blow each. A woman dashed from behind him and swung her knife, Migai just slightly turned to dodge the attack and kicked her laterally causing her to crash into her mates. There were no unnecessary movements and the force of the kick was so strong that it could rival that of Strenght-type Kusokan. A minute had passed and more than half their forces were down. Migai was holding back, no, he was just fooling around. In just that minute the Muscular man knew they had encountered the real deal, so he didn't waste any more time. He himself rushed at Migai, seeing their senior the other two also rushed along with him. Shanti and Ali had also by now got an idea that this is not going to be easy. The muscular man dashed straight at Migai and just before colliding with him red markings appeared all over his body, he clubbed both his fists together and brought it down on Migai like an axe. The entire ground gave away and there was a huge explosion. Debris scattered in various directions, his own people were knocked out by the attack but this surprise attack was necessary to outmanoeuvre Migai.

When the dust settled there was a huge crater where Migai stood. But there were no signs of him.

"Going all-out from the very beginning?" A voice came from above.

Everyone in the lane almost simultaneously raised their head looking at the source of the voice. Migai stood at the top of the building, paralleling the lane, absolutely unscathed.

The muscular man clicks his tongue, red markings appear on his body again, his legs penetrate the ground and he postures himself as if he's squatting. He lets go of this posture at once and like a rocket he ejects himself off the ground and reaches the top of the building in a flash. Shanti and Ali also began climbing up and reach the top a few seconds after. The other people who had come with them and were still conscious also started to attempt climbing the building while the others rushed to the building's entrance to take the stairs. Migai stood at the edge, keeping an eye below till each and every individual had head to the building's entrance to take the stairs leaving Martin alone in the lane. Only when he was sure that Martin would be safe, did he turn his complete attention to the three individuals standing in front of him.

The muscular man and Ali had red-markings all over their body and the three of them had their swords in hand. The swords resembled the blades of a fan, only thinner and made a buzzing sound with sparks of electricity forming around the edges.

In response, Migai finally took out his hand from his pocket and brought it to his waist. He pulled out a black-baton-like object attached to the buckle. The faces of the three individuals froze. The baton was pitch black in colour, Migai extended his right arm carrying the baton, and with a jolt, the baton extended and became as long as a sword. It looked like a stick but the blade that had just popped out of the baton was hexagonal with sharp edges at all four ends. It was cylindrical but the edges were sharper than a normal sword. There was also a hole at the mouth of the sword which was previously a baton.

"A....A...' Black Pendulic'", Shanti stammers.

The people who had followed their leaders to battle had arrived at the rooftop, but when they set their eyes on Migai their soul left their body. Every living soul in this country knew what that black hexagonal sword signified. They rushed back down the stairs faster than they had come up. The society was a very loyal group, leaving a member behind was considered taboo, but here the situation was such that every ideology that was imprinted on them evaporated the moment they set their gaze on the sword. The Black Pendulic was a symbol of fear and death for humans and kusokans alike. There was only one thing more dangerous than a black Pendulic and that was the wielder who holds the sword. The leaders who had been abandoned didn't even flinch. They didn't blame their soldiers; the situation was just that bad.

"I'm impressed, the three of you didn't run. Usually this much is enough but I guess..."

Before Migai could finish, Shanti pulled out a gun and fired shots after shots, the idea of being discreet was abandoned long back. Ali also gathered energy in his palms and shot it at Migai like a laser beam. Migai started rotating the Pendulic like a helicopter blade, the bullets, and energy beam both were easily deflected. The three leaders then dashed at Migai with their swords. Shanti and Ali dashed in from the sides while the muscular dashed in from the front; all at the same time. Migai calmly stood there and uttered these words, "Ion sphere" while the three dashed at him, but before collision a protective blue sphere surrounded Migai and all three of their swords were deflected by the sphere. The sphere lasted for only two seconds but that was enough time for Migai. The Sphere collapsed and a kick was embraced by the muscular man while Migai's palms hit Shanti on the chin and his other palm hit Ali on his neck. Ali began to choke and crumbled to his knees while Shanti fell flat to the ground with a bleeding nose and ears. The muscular man flew back from the kick and rolled many times on the terrace ground before he stopped. The muscular slowly got up, he raised his head, and in front of him, at his neck was a black-hexagonal blade. In a flash, Migai had covered the distance between them and was standing in front of the muscular man, his sword at his neck. "It was my error in judgment that caused this...you are the real thing...Migai Swuro...An Irya...The strongest human"

"Isn't it a little too late for introductions?" Migai responds cheekily.

The sword which was pointed at the muscular man's neck pierced through, killing him on the spot. The muscular man fell to the ground, dead. Migai tilted his neck at an angle looking at the muscular man, a laser-like beam passed where his neck was, from behind. Migai stretched his arms backwards and threw the sword at Ali who had shot the beam. Like an arrow shot with perfection, the sword pierced Ali's chest. Shanti who had now regained her consciousness began to shiver. Migai started walking towards Shanti, who was shivering like a leaf in the wind. He stretched his arm, red light the size of a dot flickered once on the glove that Migai was wearing, the 'Pendulic' that was pierced inside Ali's chest flew back right into Migai's hand.

"Please...please...let me go...I have a little child...please...this was a mistake..."

A second later her head flew off and her lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud.

"This is my brand of justice", He wipes the blood off his blade.

Story By: Four Eighty One

(The story, character, and art are all original pieces of work, kindly do not use without permission)

Chapter 12: Resurface, Releases next week

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