Wonders of Technology

Chapter 3: A Knife in the Night

Blake knew one thing. Humanity was stronger than it seemed. If he was to appear as a surprise, he'd need to create an illusion. He settled on making humanity look very weak by rushing in and killing a monster, which would raise the hopes of humans. Then, if it went according to plan, they'd try to rise up, only to be crushed almost instantly. While this would be brutal, it would be necessary if he wanted to keep some element of surprise.

Activating both his stealth and speed technology, he moved at speeds faster than thought possible for a human without assistance from a vehicle or another being. Appearing near what used to be a beach that was quite popular in his youth. He remembered so many of his old friends invited him here, and the times he went, he always had a blast. So, seeing what appeared to be mermaids occupying the beach and turning it into yet another place of cruelty and oppression made him understandably angry. Rushing into the castle, specifically where human slaves were kept. Finding what looked to be the strongest one in the room, grabbing several plasma daggers and embedding them into her back. Many of the mermaids were shocked, and he was especially surprised that this didn't backfire, despite his highly increased speed and stealth.

Forces were dispatched throughout the castle, closing and locking all exits before he could escape, causing him to slam right into the door. Guh, shit! He screamed internally as several mermaid guards sent torrents of water towards him. Managing to just barely recompose himself and roll out of the way, observing the area around him while looking at what the mermaids were armed with. Staring up at what he assumed to be the leader of the guards, who stared right back down at him.

"You're going to regret that, human!" She shouted threateningly, the guards quickly surrounding him. Panic beginning to run through his body, he attempted to rush through them. While they formed a guard, his sheer speed caused him to break through it, much to their surprise.

How am I going to get out of this...? Hm... I should make my way to the top. I doubt they'd follow me if I appeared to jump out the window. I'd basically be committing suicide. He thought to himself while running, beginning to advance higher into the castle. What he saw made him almost regret coming here. He continued making his way to the top, while the guards were hot on his tail. He just left a bit of his technology at the top, which was a pre-recorded message. Seeing the guards all rushing towards him made him quickly break through the window, jumping out.

The guards stopped, watching cautiously, expecting the strange man to die from the long fall. What they didn't expect were two metallic wings to unfold from his back, with boosters attached to them. Before they could cast any magic, he flew away at speeds that no average monster could track. Thus, Blake escaped from the mermaid guards...

...

Meanwhile, an old man was toiling away, overhearing all the commotion. A small smirk crossed his face. He knew someone would get sick of all this "Mamono Supremacy" bullshit eventually...

He chuckled slightly, still pretending to struggle and act frail as he looked around. Surely most of the guards that had been patrolling the area were gone now, right?...

Ahahahaha... It seems I have the run of the place, the old man thought, breaking off his chains quite easily. Now, to just find some mermaid to strangle and kill... It had been a while since his last helping to a mermaid's blood, and he needed that in order to stave off his true age. A man in his nineties' can't exactly be much of a killer now can he?...

Prowling about, the elderly man soon came upon a hapless mermaid guard trying to catch up with the others and figure out what was going on.

Mhm... Reeks of a freshly monsterized human. Ah well. Can't be too picky. Mermaid Blood is Mermaid Blood after all... he thought, creeping along the shadows, before soon catching his prey, and quickly snapping her neck. As much as he would've loved to have taken his time raping and torturing her, he had to get things done quickly, nor could he afford to lose any of her blood.

Licking his lips as he smiled from eye to eye, the seemingly innocent elder feasted on his prey, tossing aside bones and teeth aside into a gory mess.

In time, he had finished... Well, he personally didn't believe it done, there were still bits and pieces of the mermaid that hadn't been properly eaten yet, nor did he get a chance to boil and drink down the marrow of her bones... But, it's not really important right now. He got what he wanted, and that was to have gorged himself on mermaid blood and get just a bit younger... Sure, he was still physically in his sixties', but that was enough. He could work with a body like that.

Slightly twitching his finger around, the old man snapped off one of the mermaid's ribs, and simply carved into her skull the shape of a deer's skull.

Tittering quietly to himself, the man soon vanished, his gray, wrinkled, almost haunting person fading away into the fogs over the forests not too far off... if one were to look closely... it seemed that others were awaiting him, almost eagerly...

Later, the mermaid's corpse... Or, well, the pile that was supposed to be her corpse was left, flies buzzing around it. Horrified, one of the other mermaids saw the symbol drawn onto the skull, and everyone quivered.

"Sh-shit... he's out... the Gray Man's out..."

"Who gave anyone permission to leave him alone!? He should've been kept into solitary confinement!" the Guard-Captain shouted.

"We-We're sorry! It was just-just the boy, and his invasion, and--"

"Shut up! Notify the entire Royal Makai, immediately! Everyone must know that the Gray Man is free! We cannot let him go on another spree, or else we'll lose everything! We mermaids were trusted by the Demon Lord herself to keep this man bound and locked up! I want patrols out to find him, now!" the Captain ordered, practically screaming at her guards for their failure.

"Ri-right away Captain! We obey!" the Mermaids squealed, jumping into a nearby water duct and swimming as quickly as possible to spread the terrible news...