Mr. & Mrs Meropide

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Vengeance in the Forest

Clorinde was a shadow among shadows, dressed in black from head to toe. The fabric of her cloak blended seamlessly with the night, her movements silent and deliberate. Her trusted Absolution was left behind for this act of vengeance; instead, she wielded a standard sword—plain, unremarkable, yet deadly in her skilled hands. Her hair was tied back and hidden beneath a hood, and a mask covered the lower half of her face, concealing her identity from those she hunted.

The criminals had no warning. To them, she was nothing more than a ghost, an unseen force that struck without mercy. They never saw her coming, only felt the cold steel of her blade as it cut through the air. The group of treasure hunters barely had time to react before she was upon them. Her sword slashed through the darkness, and by the time they realized they were under attack, it was already over.

Clorinde moved through the forest like a wraith, systematically hunting down the scattered groups of criminals. Each one met the same fate—swift, brutal, and efficient. The meks they had brought with them were nothing more than metal carcasses by the time she was done. She used her vision to send precise electrical pulses, short-circuiting the meks and rendering them completely inoperable. Her calculated precision left no trace of their original function, reducing them to nothing more than lifeless metal shells.

Once her work was complete, and the last of the criminals was subdued and tied to trees near the riverbank with their own ropes, Clorinde took a moment to survey the scene. The night was still, the only sound the gentle flow of the river nearby. Satisfied, she pulled out an old typewriter from her pack. Setting it up on a flat rock, she began to type, her gloved fingers moving quickly over the keys.

To the Officers of Fontaine,

Several groups of criminals have been apprehended and are located near the river in the Beryl region. The meks they used have been destroyed. They are tied and ready for collection.

She simply sealed the letter and tucked it into an envelope, making sure it was secure. Clorinde made her way to a small, inconspicuous mailbox she knew would be cleared early that morning. Dropping the envelope inside, she ensured it would reach the officers without drawing too much attention or delay.

Chevreuse arrived with her crew. The early morning light cast long shadows over the forest, giving the scene an eerie quality. The officers moved quickly and efficiently, spreading out to apprehend the criminals that Clorinde had left tied to the trees. The silence of the early morning was broken only by the sounds of boots crunching on leaves and the occasional grunt as an officer hauled a subdued criminal to their feet.

Chevreuse watched with narrowed eyes as her team worked. She had received an anonymous tip about the location of these criminals, and while it made her job easier, it also left a bitter taste in her mouth. She wasn't one to turn away from a successful mission, but this was the third time this week that someone had done her job for her. The criminals were already captured and subdued, the meks destroyed, and all she had to do was collect them like packages left on her doorstep. It was efficient, but it wasn't how things were supposed to be done. She wasn't about to let some vigilante—or whatever this was—meddle in official affairs.

As the criminals were loaded into a secure transport, Chevreuse began taking statements from them, though she already expected them to be less than helpful. Her frustration grew as each one gave her the same vague, useless descriptions.

"I didn't see anything, I swear!" one man exclaimed, his voice trembling with fear. "It was like... like a monster! Came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, I was on the ground!"

Another criminal, his face pale and eyes wide with terror, stammered, "It... it wasn't human. It was a ghost, I tell you! It moved so fast, like a shadow—no, like a living shadow! I couldn't even see where it was coming from!"