Don't wear a plague mask for corona I ONC 2021

Chapter 2 - Part 3: Don't let them poke fun at you

Anger visible in the posture of his body, Kuolema found his way back to Mostro Verde.

Saru greeted him in the small foyer before the seating area started and instantly took him to the side doors.

"I'm assuming you've stumbled over obstacles," she commented idly as they took a turn to the left.

Kuolema snarled in reply, then after a moment remembered to use words. "More like I've been played."

Saru did cower slightly after his more than stellar reaction at first, but soon realized he was currently all bark and no bite.

"What do you mean and can we help in any way?" The tone of her words indicated she genuinely wanted to aid him.

Kuolema side-eyed her for a moment, realizing he'd started walking with less stomping. This might be what he needed.

"We'll see," he replied as they entered the room he'd been in the first time here. "But be prepared to act swiftly."

-.. . .- - ....

"Lilith, contact all our posts on Earth and tell them to be on stand-by to open portals."

"What, already in trouble, boss? It's only been a day and a half."

"Oh, bite me."

Her gleeful cackling seemed to follow him even after he had terminated the connection.

-.. . .- - ....

A few hours passed during which Kuolema explained most of his mission with emphasis on how much he hated the culprit and with a few too many threats in between. Talon, who'd joined them after some time, and Saru trembled each time his voice raised but remained sharp throughout the whole explanation.

"Don't you worry," Saru promised. "We'll help you establish the fastest route to wherever needed. We have resources, and Talon is our expert on humans."

"Good," Kuolema said, staring at them. "I'll hold you to that."

The two reapers shivered at that, eyes wide as saucers, and gulped air greedily when he turned to observe the live-dead map on his gadget.

Not only he had no idea where the signal would appear, but he also realized he couldn't achieve his goal alone.

"When we find out the location, I'll have you contact the nearest mini-quarters to arrange help from them."

"Um, Master," Talon started. "They may not be interested to acknowledge our calls."

Kuolema snapped his eyes on the cowering reaper. "And why's that?"

"Well, you see..." Talon trailed off as he seemed to try to merge with a slight chair he was perched on.

"Out with it!" Kuolema ordered, fed up with the male's cowardice.

"Most mini-quartershavethisrivalrygoingon," Talon spit out, sounding like he would choke on air. Kuolema was sure reapers didn't need to fear death by choking. Except when he was the one responsible for it.

"Now, a bit slower attempt," Kuolema prompted dryly.

Talon looked close to crying.

"Most of the reapers like to compete," Saru chimed in. She seemed the more reasonable one of the bunch with less dramatics. "So any other mini-quarters except the one in Paris will reject regular calls if we don't make it through the urgent line."

So only the urgent line, not something that was used without dire situations at hand. Kuolema would've rolled his eyes if he had them. He'd seen humans doing it when exasperated and it seemed like a nice way to express some emotions.

"I authorize you to use the urgent line."

They appeared surprised at that. And he understood where it came from. But he really needed to get this over with. His power still wasn't as replenished. He needed the damn portals if the signal came from across the world again, but there weren't many mini-quarters that had the appropriate magitech for it. The only good thing about Milan was the fact they possessed both a power source and tools to send him to his next destination. The bad thing was they also required someone from the other side to accept the portal. Meaning, contacting the other reapers was of uttermost importance.

"Heck," he added almost in an afterthought. "If needed I'll even sign an order so no one bothers you about it."

-.. . .- - ....

Kuolema slapped a large ornate enchantment over his chest and closed the shirt when it took into his skin. A necessity for portal travel since his body was, to quote, "a badly done artificial. Don't you have underlings who know how to make a body?"

As Saru had gotten more and more used to him her sharp tongue made an appearance. It took just one half-hearted glare from him to make her zip. He did keep silent on who made the body for him. No one needed to know he had fucked up while assembling it.

The signal had appeared somewhere in Germany, lasting for a fleeting moment. After half a dozen minutes, it had appeared again, some distance away though not much.

Talon had been the one to calculate where it was going, using something called the internet service to pinpoint the most probable flight in that direction.

Sweden. That was the place where he needed to go. Luckily for the mini-quarters there, the reapers stationed there had answered the urgent line immediately. Otherwise, all would've been sent to re-training sessions. Kuolema wanted this to pass without obstacles in his way.

"All you need to do is pass through specified space and all will be alright," Anders, Andors, or whatever the hell his name was, explained for the third time. He seemed to like hearing his own voice to the point of repeating everything, and Kuolema meant everything.

Talon had been nice enough to connect him directly to the Swedish line so he could talk to them. Kuolema, who really didn't have time for their shit, in a moment of formerly lacking insight, decided all reapers stationed on Earth needed to get back to the Underworld for re-training. Too many eccentricities in one place were never a good thing.

"And Master, remember-"

Kuolema stopped him with a loud growl before the guy could launch into a monologue and drain whatever patience Kuolema had left. It would be bad if Kuolema started decapitating his underlings. He still required more aid through this shitty centennial visit.

"Um, we are ready whenever you are, Master."

Oh, he was ready. He was ready to destroy anyone in his way, but well, it wasn't like he could act on it.

"I'm ready. And be vigilant with your Dead Reports. Assign someone to guard it, and if you already have, get more guards."

"On it. Pardon me for asking but why?"

"Just a hunch."

-.. . .- - ....

Filippo enjoyed the animated series on the screen. The flashy fights were his favorite and this one had it more and beyond. Humans undoubtedly had clever ideas about how to pass time.

He prevented another cough before it could alert anyone. While the body had seemed healthy enough in the beginning, he realized it was faulty before he boarded the plane. It was just like the few he'd discarded during the last week. This realization didn't stop him. No, it just urged him to get to his destination faster.

What better place to go to than where temperatures were low, and he could choose among an ample variety of specimens? Well, it would've been the best if he wasn't in this situation at all, but beggars could not be choosers.