He moved through thick darkness, teetering on the edge of consciousness, his mind unable to formulate complete thoughts. Numb. The world felt numb, unreal. His body swung in the air and slammed onto a metal table with a clang. His arms flopped off and hung off to the side. It was so… distant, so confusing.

  What was happening? Where was he? Who was he? Thinking was so hard. Wh—

  “That fucker was so heavy!” a distant voice resounded out into the darkness.

  “Don’t you go complaining, he made things so easy.” another voice answered, slightly sharper this time. “It’s not every day a mark kills himself before we get to him.”

  “So what? If the idiot stayed into the house, we could just have shot him and dragged him out straight into the trunk of the car.”

  “Fine. Next time, you’ll clean up the blood alone. I still say it was mighty nice of him.” the voice chuckled. “Plus Oroshi paid a million upfront. I expected something way more dangerous than this.”

  Ma?l listened in silence. Nothing made sense, except one word. Oroshi. He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. His mind just wouldn’t work right. Oroshi paid a million. He felt the cold of a metal slab under his naked body. He was naked. He was… alive?

  Memories flooded back in as he returned to consciousness. The sunset and its glorious colors and… Kaori. Still here, burrowed in deep his mind. He relaxed as her face appeared, floating in front of him, her features waving as a flag swollen by a light breeze. Death didn’t work, he still missed her so bad.

  “Ma?l…” she whispered in his mind. Her voice carried a sense of terror, an urgency, a need. He jolted wide awake. Steps in the corridor. He laid back down. All the pieces snapped together. Killers, paid by Oroshi. Why? Jealousy against a former rival? He already had Kaori and that wasn’t enough? Could he—was Kaori…?

  The door opened, letting a ray of light in. Two men entered. One of them turned on the lights. Ma?l felt blinded for an instant as brightness pierced through his eyelids. Keeping still, he peered at the men. A large Japanese man and a blond westerner. They were wearing butcher aprons. The Gaijin wielded a bone saw, the other a scalpel.

  “Thank God for crazy customers,” the blond man said, approaching Ma?l. He placed a large hand on Ma?l’s shoulder to secure it and lifted the saw.

  Ma?l threw himself off the table, catching the man’s wrist and rolling him over his back. The man fell forward and spun through the air, crashing hard into the concrete floor. Ma?l jammed his thumb into his windpipe, crushing it with all his weight and the power of his hulking forearms.

  He’d always protected his opponents, made sure they were ok in training and even in fights. Not this time though. He’d never felt such rage. There was no restraint, no half-measure, no limit to what he would do now. His nails dug in, then flesh turned to pulp as his thumb pierced the windpipe. He ripped at the throat, lifting the man up above his head and slamming him back down, head first into the concrete. The skull cracked. He stood back and faced the second man, his hands dripping with crimson blood, an incarnation of primal rage.

  The man dropped his scalpel and rushed for the door.

  He did not make it. Ma?l lifted the metal table like a shield and rushed forward, crashing into the man and smashing him against the wall. The man howled with pain and collapsed as Ma?l swept his legs from under him.

  Behind Ma?l, the first man thrashed, uselessly clutching his throat. Ma?l ignored him. He would bleed out soon. Instead, he concentrated on the man struggling under him. The table pinned him to the ground and he was frantically trying to free his arms.

  “Good luck with that.” Ma?l said wickedly as he pressed his knee on the table and rammed his forehead into his opponent’s nose. It broke with a spurt of blood and gore. Ma?l lifted his head again and slammed it once more. The man went limp.

  Ma?l turned to inspect his previous opponent. His gurgling, whizzing sounds were getting weaker. He was dying, already beyond recovery. The only question was whether he would bleed out first or choke out due to the lack of oxygen.

  Probably both but it would take several minutes. The man stared at him in agony, clenching his throat and desperately trying to suck some air in. Ma?l slammed his fist into the man’s jaw, knocking him out instantly. No point letting him suffer longer than necessary. He returned to the crumpled form lying under the table. He yanked the table off the man and searched for weapons. The apron contained all kinds of surgical tools. He removed it, and checked the man’s pockets. The man also had a concealed gun and a switchblade. Old school.

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  He stripped him naked and tied him up to the table. It seemed to have been made for that very purpose. Satisfied both threats were neutralized, he searched the room for his clothes. It didn’t take long, his captors were organized men and they had folded everything neatly on top of a chair. He dressed up. The Japanese man didn’t move. He should be recovering by now.

  Was he faking? Probably.

  “Would you care to open your eyes now, or should I help you?” He asked, flicking at the man’s scrotum with his finger.

  The man’s eyes opened wide, letting out a yelp. He looked up at Ma?l.

  “Who are you really?” he asked.

  “That’s irrelevant, I already know that. How about you tell me what I want to know, instead?” His tone was casual, but his finger still rested on the man’s genitals, leaving no doubt about the consequences.

  The man clenched his jaw, determined not to talk.

  “I already know that you were hired by Oroshi for one million dollars and I’ll find the rest one way or another so you might as well talk.”

  “How do I know you won’t kill me after I talk?”

  “I will kill you either way.” Ma?l said, matter-of-factly. “The only question is how you will face your end. Will your final act in this world be to defend a crazy client? Or are you going to help me make things right and face the beyond in peace?”

  The man stared back in surprise. He had prepared for torture and death or perhaps for a deal. Instead, death was guaranteed and Ma?l was giving him an ethical dilemma.

  Ma?l waited in silence for his decision, his hand was no longer looming over the man’s crotch.

  After a long pause, the man whispered, “What is it like, beyond—”

  Ma?l could feel a trace of fear and resignation in the man’s voice.

  “It depends. Will you help?”

  The man paused, thinking.

  “Yes. What do you want to know?”

  “Let’s start with your name.” Ma?l said.

  “Hiroaki.”

  “Ok, Hiroaki-san. Who is Oroshi?”

  “A monster,” he began. “He is the son of a yakuza boss, Matsuko Masamune and a key player in the Japanese underworld…”

  Ma?l listened with growing horror. This was Kaori’s “husband”? He had surrendered her into the clutches of a crime lord—she was running from him and he had delivered her right into his arms! He struggled to control himself. He couldn’t jump to conclusions just yet.

  “And this man married Mashiro Kaori, the famous actress?”

  The yakuza chuckled, spurting blood from his nose.

  “So that’s what you’re about? A pretty girl?”

  “Of course, I am here for Kaori. Why else? Do you think I would return from the beyond for money?”

  The man raised his eyes at Ma?l in surprise. He hadn’t expected a confession. Love? From that killer? What a joke! He swallowed some of the blood flooding his mouth. He’d die soon, by the hand of that love struck fool.

  He paused, considering. He had taken hundred of girls, killed hundreds of men, made millions, he was one of the best… where did that get him? Did any of it matter now? He sighed.

  “I suppose you’re right. No, he’s not her husband. The marriage was planned but it didn’t go through, she escaped and now she’s been declared dead.” he coughed blood, smiling at Ma?l’s obvious relief. “You’ll also want to know that Oroshi doesn’t have her. His father, Matsuko Masamune took her. Are you going to challenge the entire yakuza?”

  “I am going to rescue Kaori.”

  “That’s the same thing. They—”

  “They’ll die then.” Ma?l completed his sentence.

  Hiroaki’s smile disappeared as he stared at Ma?l, his chiseled physique soaked in blood, the purple burn of the rope around his neck and the unnatural fire in his eyes. The man had died on that hill.

  This… was a demon.

  Unleashed, and I'llpost chapters here as I go along, so go ahead and click on to the next page!

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