Chapter 2 "Because"

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Just who is this man?

Perhaps a murderer disguising as a guardian but Knox is no hypocrite. Himself had taken lives before but for a reason. It is such a shame for his partners do die so early. Don't they have a family to feed back at home?

The cop soon realizes Knox's lack of cooperation and shakes the criminal out of his thoughts. "I give you my condolences but I'm afraid we have to reach the car first and then you can continue on questioning your life decisions." By how thick his accent can have him pronouncing the words properly, Knox couldn't hear even a tad of of sympathy in that officer's cold voice.

The criminal's eyes lit up for a moment, he had thought of a plan. Knox bites his tongue hard, blood dripping out of his mouth and to his mask. The cop's tight grip on his arm suddenly loosens up because of something sharp in-between his fingers. Knox had escaped the man's grasp. With no time to waste, Knox breaks into a sprint. The cop clicks his tongue as the other subordinates watches the criminal escapes into the woods.

The cop's about to yell at all of them to start moving but then suddenly, an even muscular and taller officer comes out of nowhere. He started walking towards the scattered police men with a stern expression. All men straightens their postures and salutes him but the superior man only had his eyes on the russian officer. "I want Officer Adair to go get the criminal alone, the others stay here." He commands, the other police men looks at Adair almost sympathetically but said officer mentally rolls his eyes. Why does he always get the job done alone?

The russian officer, Adair, faces the direction where Knox had fled. With a single nod he says "I will bring him back, alive."
In position, he breaks into a dash. Leaving a destroyed and crumbled ground where he first stood on.

# The Woods

Adair reaches the woods and observes his surroundings. Making use of his sharp hearing, he hears Knox's footsteps nearby.

Knox soon realizes he wasn't alone in the woods anymore. Then he does something he's also best at, confusing the chaser. He quickly changes direction, in attempt to get loose from the cop's pursuit. But to no avail, the officer is always three steps ahead and appears right in front of Knox.

"You're experienced but this chase ends now." The cop says as he carefully unsheathes his shashka. 'A sword. Since when did police officers carries swords.. What happened to the guns!' Knox has many questions with little to no answers but what's important to him right now is to get far away from the police officer. Knox internally screams. 'The hell is going on right now..' He hides behind a tree and sits there in a fetal position. Trying to catch his breath. He's tired of everything and anything for the first time in forever. First, the death of his partners in crime. Second, the fact he's being chased by a lunatic with a sword is already enough to drive himself insane.

Just when Knox thought he lost the police officer, a sharp sound is heard right after that. Trees around him falls down to the ground just by a single flick of that damned sabre.
Knox's eyes shot open, his mouth agape. He just then realizes from that moment this officer must definitely came from special military forces outside of London. Knox is not only dealing with foreign military but with the real deal, that's a really nerve-racking ordeal. Just what mess has he gotten himself into this time?

The officer sheathes his sabre back to its scabbard, a satisfying click is heard right after. The way those skilled hands performs a simple act, completely bewitches him. Enough to convince he's doomed.

'These supersoldiers are actually cracked!' Knox gulps as he snaps his head back to place.

Knox knows he's got no way to run after seeing such a blow from one person. If more of them starts chasing after him, he's a dead man.

Knox could hear the cop slowly approaching him from behind. Is he purposely trying to make his heart race? Knox looks like he succumbed. He looked like he had given up in Adair's eyes.

Knox stands up slowly.
Adair notices this and thought the criminal was buying time to think of a plan to flee again and lets out an exasperated sigh. Criminals like Knox are challenging and almost fun to capture but this specific criminal is going a bit too far with this cat and mouse game. Adair gets it. When someone is backed up to a wall, they will do anything to not feel or look vulnerable. To Adair, he is no stranger to that feeling as well. Though, running away from our problems is exhausting for anyone. Even the best runners gets tired too.

But that's what both of them wants the other to feel. To make him feel exhausted. It doesn't matter if the other's mentally or physically exhausted, both men are unconsciously showing their own weak points.

"Walk to me." Adair's stern expression and voice didn't make Knox tremble like before. Not at all. Knox is showing his rebellious side. Fighting with himself to refrain from running away again. "No." Knox refuses.

Adair wishes he could punch the man so hard but refrains himself from doing so. "It's either you walk towards me or I'll make sure you'll never walk again."

Seeing no movement made by the criminal, clear indication Knox wouldn't want to follow his word. Adair sighs and unsheathes his sabre again. Positioned himself into a rear swordsmanship stance. Adair knows he promised his commander to bring back the criminal alive but this man is pushing him too far.

The armed police officer swings his blade towards the criminal but immediately stops as he watches Knox having no intention to dodge the incoming blow.

His grip on the shashka's handle tightens. His void eyes narrows as the sabre's sharp edge is placed firmly in front of the criminal's chest and yet said criminal did nothing at all. He clenches his jaw and calms himself down. "If death is what you desire, this blade is not for taking lives." Death is too great for a criminal like you. The words left unsaid left a bitter taste in his throat.

"Then why take their lives instead?" Knox grins under his mask as he pushes himself forward into the sabre's blade. Adair's eyes shot wide, his hand quickly pulls out the sabre from Knox's bloodied chest. That damned man stabbed himself with the shashka. Why on earth would he have done that?

As Knox is about to fall, Adair caught him just in time. The police officer tries to stop Knox's bleeding by pushing his unoccupied hand against the wound. "Knox-" He says before being stabbed in the stomach by something sharp. Adair then falls to his knees, tightly clenching the stab wound. He curses in his native tongue as blood begins to flow out of his mouth. His body never fails to tank a hit before. He could even handle a bullet running through his abdomen! What the hell is going on..?

Knox rises from his position and unmasked himself. Under that mask reveals his sharp teeth morphed into a satisfied grin. He plays around with the sharp and red object in his hand. The same one Knox used to stab him. "I see.. My ability can harm you instead and it isn't even a light injury!" He says as he flicks his wrist to get a better look at the weapon. "Even got to surprise myself with my own strength. This has answered most of my questions from earlier, thanks man." Knox's occupied hand, which had the bizarre weapon, clenches into a fist. Both men watches as the weapon-like object in Knox's hand slowly liquefies into..

Blood. Fresh warm blood.

Adair's eyes threatened to close as he tries to understand everything unfolding before him.
Knox is no ordinary criminal. He is one of the wanted conjurors that his commander had told him before. The one whose ability specializes in manipulating blood, The Cultist.

Those 'partners' of his.. Were not even pawns to him but sacrifices to give him extra blood to use.

The criminal, Knox, dips his finger to the pool of blood and creates a key to unlock the handcuffs. Then he mutters something that Adair could barely hear while he falls to the ground. Dizzy from all the blood he has lost.

"Find me at Carnaby Street."

Adair lays on the ground. It irks him how he could feel his green uniform being stained in his own crimson blood. He helplessly watches Knox disappears into the deep woods. His eyelids feels so heavy now.

For the first time in ages, he finally got to see how dark the world can be.

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