Chapter 158: Abnormality (2)

Gaines pushed open the door to his carriage and stepped out onto the cobblestone pavement of Sprim Row. His personal carriage had ushered him to the doorstep of his own personal chapel, Memento Mori. With him was his right hand man, Zipher Einrei, a dark skinned and white haired young man who delighted in anything sadistic.

In addition to this, Gaines was also followed by a young woman. She stepped out of the carriage and for anyone watching, it was obvious to see her will was shattered. The chains around her were not visible, yet surely they existed. She was a particularly attractive Beastman, of the canis lupus type. Her hair was bluish with white frosted tips in various places. Her long hair trailed down to her middle back, she was also quite fit. Her abdomen was chiseled and muscular, as were her thighs, calves and biceps.

And yet she had the demeanor of a tamed housepet. She dared not lift her eyes, or offer any resistance. She followed meekly, a somewhat blank look in her eyes as she moved. The three entered the chapel and made their way from the nightclub at the front to the hidden bar at the back. Soon they were all in Gaines personal office on the second floor of the structure.

"Where are we with that other task?" Gaines asked as he sat down behind the only desk within the room.

"It's nearly time." Zipher responded as he eyed the Beast girl next to him. The discomfort was apparent from just a glance, but both men didn't register it in the least. Loathing was a sensation both had come to understand well. Neither cared when faced with it, nor did they have a use for directing said emotion to anyone else. Such was the right of the strong.

"I see. Good." Gaines said as he leaned back in his chair. He picked up two small metal balls from the nearby desk and began to work them in the palm of his large hand. There was silence in the room, apparently this was something Zipher was used to, for he didn't seem bothered in the least. Even the wolf-girl dared not speak, though her motivations were completely different.

"Bring in the squad. I think we can kill two birds with one stone." Gaines finally said as the sound of revolving balls came to a stop.

Zipher smirked and nodded his head, though his gaze was firmly trained on the wolf-girl. His eyes were overflowing with a strange mix of interest and anticipation. Anyone who knew Zipher well enough could surmise his intentions. Experimentation, torture and anything else his demented mind felt like participating in. In the end though,he left the room as Gaines instructed, leaving the two alone.

Although she hated the man before her, she absolutely loathed Zipher. Simply being around him was enough to make every danger sense in her body tingle. Of the two, even though he was just as terrible in many aspects, Enzo Gaines was more preferable. She sighed to herself, lamenting at her current predicament and in this mindset she stayed until several other people entered the room. One of them was Zipher and he was closely accompanied by a hooded, cloaked figure.

One whiff revealed the person to be a monster-type adventurer, female -- if the wolf girl's nose was to be relied upon. The other five were men, various adventurers, all of them Striker types. More than half of the men had a blank expression and dead eyes. Only two of them seemed to show signs of life, yet what she noticed was not any normal emotion within their gazes.

The tension could easily be sliced with a butterknife, something the wolf-girl picked up on almost instantly. It was aggression, the sheer and unrepressed will to murder. It was coming from the men who entered the room. She cast a nervous glance towards Gaines, studying his face as she did so. For the briefest of moments she thought that a fight might break out. This faint hope was all she could cling onto, that perhaps in the confusion she would have time to escape or cut down her captor. Yet no such thing occurred. Gaines sat in his chair calmly, and for the briefest of moments, she could have sworn she saw a smirk flit across his lips.

"Kneel." Gaines said as the five men assembled. One by one the men were forced to their knees under an invisible weight. This was surprising to the wolf-girl, but what was even more alarming was that she was also subjected to the command. A dull aching began in her chest as a purplish mana circulated from the strange symbol on her chest. Soon her body felt hot and uncomfortable, only by acquiescing to the command could she find relief. She sank down to one knee, half bewildered and half relieved when the pain began to subside.

Once again, she was sure she saw a smirk on Gaines' face.

"This is your new sixth. Show her the ropes, then hit the streets again. Your quotas need to be met and I won't accept excuses or setbacks. Next time you fail, all of you will turn to black ash." And that was it. Gaines' matter of fact demeanor gave them pause, for they weren't sure if the "meeting" was over. Afterall, he spoke the words like a boss giving out paperwork to employees. Finally, a dark skinned man bowed his head and replied "As you wish Master Gaines." through intensely pursed lips.

The men all rose to their feet, with one in particular making her way towards the wolf-girl.

"Come. We'll fill you in on your duties down below." The husky, bald man said. His face seemed rugged yet she didn't sense any hostility from him. If she had to guess, she felt...a sense of overwhelming pity emanating from the man.

She was confused, but the earlier pain from resisting a command made her think thrice about causing a scene. In the end, she followed the men out of the office. Zipher took his time admiring her figure as the wolf-girl left. The other six people left the office, leaving Gaines, Zipher and the presumed Slime girl alone.

"Now then." Gaines said as his eyes flashed with ambition. He neatly interlocked his hands and rested his elbows on the desk as he gazed across the office at the cloaked young woman. The wolf girl's observations had, indeed, been correct. A green-skinned monster girl was beneath the hood. For the most part, her other features were concealed by her full body hooded cloak. Gaines could almost hear the wheels turning inside his own mind as he ran through his plan once more. A smile quivered on his lip at the thought of acquiring even more power.

Finally, after some time, he snapped back to reality and directed his focus towards the young woman who silently awaited some sort of correspondence. Her head was bent downwards slightly, she averted her gaze and stood stock still.

"Zipher. Make sure she fully understands what is to be done. I won't tolerate failure--even from you." Gaines said, his voice growing more menacing as he spoke. The woman shuddered, while Zipher smiled as his sadistic lunacy began to show. The threat was nothing more than motivation and excitement for him, Gaines knew as much before he issued the words.

"As you wish Gaines." Zipher said as he bowed his head slightly. He couldn't help but grimace as the sensation of agony began to issue forth from the purple seal on his chest. And yet, he enjoyed every moment of the brief searing pain. He turned and walked towards the door, summoning the stock still adventurer with a snap of his fingers, before exiting together with her.

Gaines simply shook his head. One of the conditions of his Slave Contract was to always be addressed with respect. Zipher was the only one who purposely avoided this rule whenever possible. He also got off on it. Gaines recalled a slight bulge at the front of Zipher's pants as he turned to leave.

"Creepy fuck. I'll definitely have to get rid of him when he's served his purpose." Gaines said with a sigh as he spun around in his chair. He felt good, optimistic. This could work, and then he would have the city of Grenvale at his beck and call.