Within the speeding crimson Toyota, Otto tapped his finger on the rim of the window and asked,
"Yoshihide...if we're going to stay together, can you tell me about yourself?"
She stood in the comfortable silence of the humming car before answering,
"The viscosity of blood splashing is S.A.N.G.R.I.A to my ears." Her eyes started to turn crimson as she spoke more about herself,
"Married to a good for nothing #$#$##%#% who I divorced and #%^$%#^$# I cut his #$*##*$^#*# till there was nothing. I will #$#%#^# then will #%###%#^#^#."
Otto was horrified at the amount of graphic and vivid details of Ryoshu's horrific acts of mutilation and murder. Though he didn't stop her because a good friend would listen to one's venting, even if it's as violent as this one.
Ryoshu stopped herself and glanced sideways, "Surprised you aren't bothered."
"Well, I just think as a good Samaritan, I should listen to your worries without any judgment."
"Why?"
He answered with a heartfelt smile, "I felt like it, plus you're a good person, Yoshihide."
She looked at him with an unreadable expression, "You're a weirdo...Muse."
He chuckled at that notation and beamed happily, "Why, thank you."
Ryoshu stood quietly before breaking the silence with an oddly specific question, "Magician, what do you think about widows?"
"They're as beautiful and strong as a bloomed Scabiosa. Despite their mourning, the dewdrops of their petals still draw a scent of thrill."
"When did you start becoming a Poetaster?"
Otto rubbed his head in embarrassment, "Sorry, sorry, your question just reminded me of an old flame that I used to have."
Through his words, Ryoshu gripped her steering wheel tightly, and her breath hitched for a bit. Her crimson eyes glowed with a sinister hue.
Otto soon noticed the sudden reaction and quickly diverted her attention.
"Well, she's long gone now, off to a place where past reveries lingered into bitter sweetness. Why the sudden question?"
"D.W.A.I. What's your deal?"
"You want to know more about me? Well, there's not much to say. I am just a simple Wandering Magician. I don't particularly stay in one place, and I indulge a bit in trying new foods wherever I go. I heard Milan is a beautiful place, so I made my way here. What about you, Yoshihide? Why are you?"
"Art. There's a contest. Attend to show how S.A.N.G.R.I.A is the pinnacle."
"Oh, that's why you decided to hire me? So, are you doing the contest for the love of the game!?"
"Yes. No need for money. S.T.F.W.U. Now answer, about Magic." She asked with a sense of curiosity.
Otto's face turned into a sly, secretive expression, "Secret, of course."
She clicked her tongue in displeasure, "Keep your secrets, I'll S.S.Y.N.C you."
"You can try, but I might give you a little trouble after all, a Magician is never unprepared." He clasped his hands as a shower of disappearing confetti covered him.
Ryoshu didn't reply as she was starting to get used to his Magical nonsense.
After a few moments, the car stopped itself as it parked in front of a gated villa. The house was a fairly moderate-sized home with all arched windows, decorative balconies, and carved stone details.
"Damn, I didn't think you were this stacked, Yoshihide...What type of art are you selling?" Otto asked.
She looked at him with a cocky smile, "Trade secret." It was payback.
Her finger lifted onto a button on the upper side interior of the car. Upon doing so, the metal gate slid to the side and opened the Path forward.
Making past the checkpoint, Ryoshu parked the car in front of the villa. Both of them got out and made their way to the front door.
As the artist pulled out her key and twisted in, Otto asked, "Are you renting or did you flat out buy the whole thing?"
"4 Million Euro, plan to make my money's worth with you." She answered, then opened the door into a spacious room where sunlight poured in through the tall, sleek windows.
In the middle, a sectional sofa, upholstered in gray linen, sat at the center, accented with velvet cushions. A low marble coffee table that held numerous art supplies and a small canvas.
Against one wall was a grand fireplace carved into a stone wall, and held together with minimalistic black steel.
Otto pulled out his suitcase from within his inner cloak as if he were performing a magic trick and beamed brightly towards her.
"So when are we getting started?"
Ryoshou couldn't help but pull out a cig and light it aflame at his attics, "W.T.F."
...
Throughout Otto's lifespan, he would have never thought of being put in the situation of being taught the ways of art (In Ryoshu's words, 'SANGRIA') through the teachings of a borderline menace of a woman.
Here he was painting in her living room while she locked onto him like a Mama Bird and guiding him through the process.
"P.I.L.S.O.N.," Ryoshu instructed him with gleaming eyes. She guided him with stern but cutting words.
Sitting in front of a canvas, Otto stopped his painting strokes and replied, "Is it necessary to describe you're way of art in the form of all torture?"
"Succinct bloodshed naturally germinates rather immaculate art." She soon lit another cigarette in her mouth.
Otto clicked his tongue and started moving the brush as if he were butchering a corpse. Though he didn't like the method as her student, he was inclined to follow her unorthodox method.
Ryoshou unnatural beamed at the sight since it was quite pleasing for her to see this fascinating young muse being slowly tainted by her colors.
It wasn't first love at sight, more like a yearning of inspiration.
Whenever that Magician was in her line of sight, all she saw was a cesspool of infinite possibilities, and that sort of interest attracted her.
Several ideas were roaming around in her mind, and her brain simply clicked at the mere presence of the Magician.
It had been a long time since she felt this way, the sensation of happiness, of being able to relax and teach someone the way of her craft or...Have someone paint with her instead of being stuck in a hellish screen.
Those words sent past lingering memories through her mind, and made her hands tighten till the point of turning white.
A burning fire of regret engulfed her face as she reminisced about her one fatal mistake. Oh, how she dreamed of plunging a blade into herself and letting her body burn itself to a crisp. To be embraced by that Magician as she was torn apart.
"Yoshihide...I am done."
A cheerful voice knocked her out of her nihilistic thoughts back into the warm living room. Her eyes focused back into reality as The Magician presented his finished product of a painting and aimed it at her gaze.
The canvas was fully painted with Ryoshu as the main focus. It was her in a whimsical fisherman's outfit with an orange fish head on her and spraying a bucket of Well Cheers Soda everywhere.
Although the concept of the picture was utterly idiotic, the composition was that of a talented newbie. Though in her eyes,
'Draw S.S. get S.S.'
Ryoshu picked up the painting in her hands and lifted it to see the whole picture. She stood quiet at the sight of it...It reminded her of the drawing of a child...One that she would never get back.
She quickly handed back the canvas and said her remarks about the painting with a begrudging tone.
"B.S.I.W.K.Y. Don't do it again, otherwise I am snapping your neck." It was quick, ruthless, and clean like her cuts.
"What about the framework and paint. I put my whole idiotic and creative ideas into that work. Please, Sensei, I am begging you, my home is kinda homeless and..." Otto whined at his failure of a work.
She took a hit of her cig and started gripping the Magician's head like a parent doting on their child.
"We're gonna do this for a straight 6 hours..."
Otto suddenly gulped at his words, for as long as he knew, going through an 8-hour lecture truly was the definition of Hell itself.
...
After hours of grueling paint brushing, Otto laid himself onto a comfy bed. Even with the comfy surface of the sheets, he still felt his back and fingers aching from stress.
Though the pain was immense, he felt these lessons would be fruitful since his potion had significantly digested to 40%. It brought up the question of whether Ryoshu was a mercenary, an assassin, or just a normal artist with an obsession with blood splattering.
'In Limbus Company, she had a high affiliation with a Syndicate, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had dealings with the Mafia, Yakuza, or World Serpent.'
Done with his thoughts, Otto decided to take one potion before going out to scout the workshop of the Shepherd.
[Sequence 9 Assassin of the Demoness Pathway is ready. Would you like to advance?]
The reason he chose this option was simple: it provided him with more stealth options, plus it allowed him to silently take down his target if he intended to do so.
As he accepted the potion, a dull, inconspicuous liquid washed down into his throat. Its texture and taste made his throat dry as the desert and inexplicably induced thirst.
His sight turned into an array of feminine-looking shadows. They hid in the depths of several kaldoscopic mirrors.
Shadowy tendrils started to form in a cluster of a mass of darkness that was seemingly covered in sharp spikes.
Those same appendages wrapped around his figure to dull him into the abyss. A sudden sharp pain quickly itched itself into his Soul, but the man fought through it as he always did before.
Otto quickly used Cogination to focus his thoughts and reined in his sanity through this trial. His mind fought off the allure of darkness until that sudden sensation of stabbing pain stopped.
After a moment of passing, reality started to fix itself as his sight turned back to the high ceiling of the room.
The high sensation of the universe cracking and murmurs digesting till no return. The Assassian Potion was instantly digested, and a sudden prompt corrected this notation.
[Sequence 8 Instigator of the Demoness Pathway is ready. Would you like to advance?]
Otto wasn't surprised that the potion completed itself; after all, he was heavily involved in getting his hands dirty.
'Assassination is a matter of risking one's life. It is the ultimate form of punishment, a calamity for those criminals...That is one of the main principles of an Assassin, but it's quite twisted for my situation. I am the criminal.'
The abilities he gained from it were the common tropes for an Assassin.
Shadows started to wrap around Otto as he hid himself from the darkness. He was blinded to the point that normal human eyes couldn't see.
After walking out of the darkness, Otto jumped onto the ceiling of the room and clung to it. His physical capabilities have also been enhanced, granting him excellent footwork, nimble limbs, and extraordinary speed, among other traits.
Along with that, an Assassin is also able to modify their bodily functions slightly for short periods.
As he leapt off onto the floor, he modified his body to be as light as a feather and gently descended back onto the ground.
For his next action, Otto posed his right hand in a stabbing motion and performed a Mighty Blow.
The air cracked as all of his physical strength was released in a single blow. The room slightly shook from the pressure, and the furinate moved a few inches away from their original spot.
'So this is what it's like to have a physique beyond human limits. Most of my Sequences provide a Physical Boost, so I wouldn't be surprised if I could pierce through Honkai Beasts, and adding Mang onto the equation, most would die from being donuted.'
Done with viewing the changes from within himself, Otto started to prepare. He took out the suitcase he had brought with him from under the bed and started unpacking the various props he had brought along.
A fake handgun, black, unassuming clothes, and a dark, shady shiesty. Otto was going to "rob and shoot up the place."
Why go through this act? Don't worry, Otto wouldn't spoil the show!
But before he could act, someone was knocking on his door.
"Oi! No M.A.G.I.C. in my rooms." Ryoshu screamed at him like a nagging mother.
Otto wasn't surprised as he punched a sonic boom into his room, so he came up with a simple excuse.
"Sorry, Sensei, I was testing up a new formula that deals with uranium! I'll be more careful."
"Haha...Better be joking." She let out a sigh and headed back to her room, but he heard her mumble the words 'Stupid Magician.'
Though he was tempted to bring Ryoshu along, he had a feeling it would bring a lot of unnecessary problems.
Before he went out to commit his crime, Otto did a quick pendant Divination to see how high the danger was, and the answer was quite extreme as it went counterclockwise exceedingly fast.
Another reason not to bring Ryoshu, Otto clicked his tongue, who knew the Church of Monsters would have Powercreep in their ranks. Well, he wouldn't complain since he was in a Mihoyo game.
He dug into the suitcase and pulled out several charms that were covered in numerous mysterious symbols and shoved them gently into his pockets.
Lastly, he did one quick ritual to sacrifice his Monocle and Staff down into reality. Was this overkill? Yes, it was, but he would rather be thoroughly wasteful in killing a cannibal.
Done with his preparations, Otto lifted the window, put on the robber outfit, and jumped out into the dead of the night. Today would mark the first appearance of Mr. Shiesty, the Worst Robber who existed throughout the Cosmos.
...
It was the peak of the night inside a fancy dress boutique, where the inside felt as if the place was like walking into a private gallery. Where those who enter were dressed like the stars shining brightly in the cosmos.
A woman with blonde, blackish hair was examining her dresses. Though the fabric she was currently wearing was leagues beyond the show of display. A dress colored in gold that shone ruby red from the various gemstones adorned on it
Sanguine Night was Elena's joy and pride. A shop that was created from her display of lust. Each piece of clothing was made from her victims of inspiration and definitely not an innuendo for murder.
Though the moon had started to shine, its light contrasted perfectly with the shadows of her outfits.
Walking back to the counter, her nose twitched violently as she smelled the most delicious scent she had ever had. It was like ambrosia, a sweet, delicate treat that was ripe for the taking. She felt her saliva go down her throat from salivating, but she reined in those thoughts and focused.
Her eyes focused on the sights of the store as she reined back her sanity. Her body trembled from the sweet thoughts of blood, the longing she once had for just a single taste.
NO!
She stopped herself...She was just a simple dress designer whose life was behind her.
'I am a human...I do normal stuff like drink hot coffee in one sip and eat the flowers that grow in my garden.'
Her focus drifted as the bell of the shop rang a crisp toll, as a dear, delicious-smelling customer came in.
"Welcome! How may I help!"
Elena soon stopped herself as a rough-looking man held up a black handgun to her figure. She tilted her head.
"Are you robbing me, good sir?"
"Why does it look like! This is a stick-up up I am f*cking robbing you. Put the money in the bag before I start blowing your brains out like a Capri Sun." He started shoving the gun near her head.
Elena gulped in hunger as she realized that the delicious and sweet addictive smell was coming from that rough-looking man. She started to rapidly bite her nails to rein in that instinctive hunger of hers.
'F*ck, F*ck, F*ck!'
She could only pray to her Lord and Savior for what she was about to do.
"Good sir...Instead of money? What if I can offer you an alternative method of payment for a night-"
Bloody threads started to appear right beneath her feet and were ready to wrap around the legs of the man.
Before she could say or do anything else, she suddenly felt a sharp and dizzying pain stemming from her head. Her body soon collapsed onto the ground, and as her consciousness started to fade, she saw the object that put her down.
It was a brick...She was knocked out with a brick.
A/N: I am going on a month-long hiatus. The reason is that college is ramping up in work, midterms, exams, and final projects. So I don't want to get dogged on, so see you in one month or two when Cyrene becomes playable.