218 The Storm That Brought Darkness

The loud roar of thunder broke Valentine's reverie. He looked outside his window with the help of his night vision and noticed that rain had begun pouring down heavily, sparing no patch of the land from its cold embrace.

Lighting accompanied the downpour, highlighting the drops of water and the thick, dark clouds in the sky. The rumbling of thunder came shortly after the lighting, adding more dynamic to the patters that the rain created in the cold night.

Zwoop!

The electricity suddenly went out in unison. The numerous artificial lights outside that had been glimmering and twinkling before suddenly went dark, as did the room where Valentine was staying.

There was now pitch blackness covering the Mountain City of Hoorn, with a blanket of stormy rain and flashes of lighting as companions.

Looking around, Valentine's guard was heightened. It was not something that would commonly happen in Sloten, and it shouldn't be common either in Hoorn. Especially since it was a heavily industrial city. Losing production could cost many companies millions of guilders.

Rumble...

Valentine felt like he was surrounded and had nowhere to go from all the noises happening around him. The thunder, the storm, and the silence from having no electrical appliances running.

Suddenly, his sense of secret was triggered, as well as his sense of danger. Something was approaching!

"I hereby declare my presence a secret!"

"I hereby declare the sounds I make a secret!"

"I hereby declare my face a secret!"

Thin, yellowish mists descended and enveloped the tall detective's whole body. He was suddenly like an entity that both existed and didn't at the same time, hidden underneath the thin layer of mysterious mist.

The presence that Valentine felt was looming closer. The loud splattering of the rain drowned the nonexistent sound of footsteps that the presence was making, but his strong detection sense allowed the detective to feel it.

Knock! Knock!

The wooden door of his hotel was hit rhythmically by something from outside.

Having heard a related story in passing while he was out in the street, Valentine had no interest in answering the door. People said that during a stormy night, when someone knocked on the door, whoever was inside should never open it or something terrible would happen.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The sounds of knocking became harder and more pressing. It was as if whoever it was was in urgent need of getting inside.

Knock!! Knock!! Knock!! Knock!!

An unsettling feeling came creeping into the room and crawled up Valentine's heart as he was standing in a defensive stance. The knocking was incessant and oppressive.

BANG!! BANG!! BANG!!!

The door shook with each banging. Whoever was outside wanted to come in really badly.

After a while, the banging finally receded and he felt that the presence was moving away from his room. Strangely, it didn't seem to be knocking on anyone else's door besides his. If anything, it should be the other way around since his presence was hidden.

"What the fuck was that..." he mumbled.

He stood on his spot motionlessly while still maintaining a defensive posture. Valentine was watching the door intently, ready to strike in case something decided to barge in.

However, he didn't notice the two glowing eyes in the valley outside his window, eyeing him sinisterly.

Amidst the downpour, Valentine could faintly hear something that seemed to be coming from downstairs.

It was the sound of a gunshot!

"Someone's fighting, G. Let's go take a look,"

He concentrated and tried to feel any presence from outside his door. After he was sure that it was safe, Valentine unlocked the door and went outside, carrying the cane and dagger. He had taken off the Gloom's Redress because it had become too cold for him to wear.

The corridor was dark and empty, and all the doors were firmly closed. The detective then closed his door, and at that moment, he noticed something.

There was a scratch mark on the door!

However, strangely, the deep mark that looked like it had been done by a huge bear was slowly 'healing'. The gaps were closing in, returning the hard wooden door to its initial condition gradually.

"That thing caused this... Just what was that?" his voice that was muffled by the mist was brimming with confusion and curiosity.

Leaving the door behind, he made his way downstairs carefully, observing his surroundings as he went. The third below also seemed safe; all the doors were securely closed and there didn't seem to be any signs of clawing as far as he could see. However, Valentine could smell iron in the air.

Upon arriving on the second floor, he saw a trail of blood. The periodic red stain on the carpeted corridor was coming all the way from the fifth room on the left and headed downstairs to the lobby, judging from its direction. The blood that had seeped into the carpet still looked fresh, and when he touched the surface of the soft carpet, his fingers were stained red.

Valentine's curiosity was piqued. He went to the room where the blood came from and found the same scratching mark on the open door. The room itself was empty and showed no abnormality. The blood only started on the doorway, where the room owner had most likely been attacked the moment they opened the door.

Roar!!

More thunder came amidst the loud patters of the rain.

Quickly leaving the room, Valentine made his way downstairs where the sound of the gunshot had come earlier. There hadn't been any more gunshot sound, but there were the sounds of crashing and doors opening just as he was about to reach the first floor.

In the dark lobby, neither Stefan nor the other receptionist was anywhere to be seen. The trail of blood also stopped in the middle of the lobby, near where the sofas were placed.

Thud! Thud!

The main hotel doors were open, allowing the stormy wind and rain to come peeking through. The doors were making a repeated banging noise as the wind blew them against the wall.

Hidden under his Concealment, Valentine cautiously walked outside the hotel to try and see what was happening. His dagger and cane were ready to intercept any sudden attack aimed at him-- if there was any.

Outside the hotel, in the heavy rain was an injured man wearing a peach-colored sweater and a pair of denim pants that were all soaking wet. There was a hole on his sweater on the man's stomach that was the size of a basketball, and the man's skin showed signs of injuries that were still healing. The man's right arm, whose hand was holding a small-caliber gun, was badly wounded, while his left hand was seemingly reaching into something under his pants.

The man then quickly took out a small vial containing a green liquid, which he drank without hesitation. The injury on his right arm began healing at once the moment the liquid entered his body, while the one on his stomach healed completely and disappeared as if he had never been injured there in the first place. He then shook his head, causing water to splash away from his soaked auburn hair that looked yellowish in Valentine's eyes.

Valentine then observed the figure that the sweater-wearing man was fighting. It looked like a man-- a very tall man, probably about two and a half meters in height. The tall man was very thin and boney, which was emphasized by the oversized black suit that he was wearing. His skin was very pale, and on his hands, there were sharp, long claws-- much longer than those of Eveline Herrick's. On his head was a black top hat that seemed to be covering no hair.

Since he was behind the tall man, Valentine couldn't see his face. He could feel the danger coming from the man, however. His Illusion Substitutes had been in effect, so he was not that worried.

The two parties hadn't seemed to notice Valentine, who crept closer to the tall figure. Once the suited tall man was in range, he quickly opened his mouth.

"I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"

Bzzzzt...

No text appeared! Instead, there was a buzzing sound ringing in his ears that sounded like Television static. Valentine quickly took a step back from the tall figure, and at the same time, he turned his head around.

His head completely turned around! He was now staring at Valentine with his two black, hollow eyes that looked like they could swallow him whole.

The tall figure had no mouth nor nose. Besides the two deep, dark holes for eyes, his face was featureless. There was no expression that could be interpreted from the tall creature's face. However, Valentine could strangely feel that the monstrous figure was smiling at him.

Seeing as the tall man was looking at nothing behind him, the man with the sweater quickly loaded his gun and aimed at the tall figure.

Bang!

He shot the figure and hit him right on the back of his head. The tall creature, seemingly unaffected by the gunshot, simply turned around and gorged his sharp right claw into the back of his head, taking the bullet out. He flicked the bullet away like it was nothing.

"Shit. Do I have to die here..." the man with the gun muttered quietly. The sound of the rain drowned his voice, but Valentine's boosted hearing could still pick up what he was saying.

Weighing his options, Valentine decided to lend the man a hand.

"That thing must be the one clawing on our door. He has seen us, so if we don't finish him now, he will surely come after us after killing that guy," he decided.

Even after deciding that, Valentine didn't know how to actually kill the towering man. His offensive abilities were lackluster, and even if he switched with Graham, the heavy rain would only render his flame ineffective. Luring the creature back to the hotel and burning it would risk burning the hotel down together with it, especially since it was mostly all wooden. Even Graham would not be able to control a fire that big.

Since he had decided to help out the man with the gun, the least he could do was see what the man was capable of. Valentine ran towards the man, splattering the water on the paved sidewalk everywhere. Thankfully, his mist covered the water splashes he created as well, masking his presence from those around him.

"I ask that you reveal your secrets to me!"

An illusory text began to form from the letters that appeared above the man.

'Florin Baciu, aka Konijn. A member of the Police Contractbound Division from Rijssen. He is a family man who will put his wife and children above everything. He is straightforward and honest, and he tends to find himself in trouble a lot. He is currently in a contract with the Deity of Potions and Medicines and in possession of one piece of enhanced equipment.'

"A Tincture? I wonder if they possess a strong offensive ability..."

The towering man was now walking slowly towards Florin. His steps, strangely, didn't cause any splatter on the puddle on the pavement despite his steps looking heavy.

Valentine quickly dashed behind the tall man and swung his cane around with all his strength.

Bash!

He hit the creature's waist. There was also the sound of bone cracking accompanying the impact. Valentine's hand hurt from the vibration that the cane created after making contact with the thin man's surprisingly hard body.

The tall man turned around and lashed his long arms around, trying to hit his attacker in anger. The fast detective had retreated to a safe distance, so he was unharmed.

Seeing the abnormality that was happening to the creature in front of him, Florin seized the opportunity and took out something from his pants pocket. He looked to be mixing something, protecting the vials with his body from the rain.

Valentine decided to buy the man some time, so he dashed towards the creature and hit him with his cane again, aiming for his right leg. Valentine wanted to hit his head, but the creature was too tall and he couldn't do so without jumping, which was too risky.

Smack!

The tall figure was angered again by the detective's constant pestering, so it turned around and chased him. He strangely moved slowly despite his tall and slender body. It seemed that only his upper body was capable of moving fast enough to almost reach Valentine.

Roar!!

Thunder came again, following a flash of lighting that outlined the tall figure's sharp claws. The menacing storm clouds up in the sky seemed to be watching their fight below.

Once done, in Florin's hand was now a red liquid inside a small vial. In the pitch blackness of the night, the red liquid glowed mysteriously.

Florin threw the small vial at the tall man that was chasing nothing. Once the vial was above his faceless head, Florin shot it, causing all the liquid to splash onto the suited figure. The rainwater appeared to be diluting the red glowing liquid, helping it spread all over the creature.

The moment the red liquid made contact with the figure wearing a top hat, it began corroding anything the liquid touched. The suit, slowly disintegrated, revealed the figure's pale skin, which was not spared by the dangerous liquid either.

Roar!!

It wasn't thunder that just roared, but the creature! In pain, its face had ripped apart a bloody mouth. Its roar was almost as loud as the thunder in the sky, deafening the people nearby.

The roar was the last thing that the creature did. It completely disintegrated into a puddle of red liquid shortly after and got washed away by the rain.

Florin's face showed relief as he chugged another vial of green liquid, completely healing himself.

Valentine, however, was still feeling uneasy. Even with his night vision, the darkness surrounding him felt suffocating.