The Deceitful One

Bryan had a long chat with Grace. He agreed to meet her this Sunday at her villa and help guide her to carve the first mind rune. By the time he bid her farewell, it was already 4 pm in the evening.

Since Bryan had almost run out of groceries at home, he decided to visit the farmer's market and buy some meat and vegetables. Over the last two months, he had been truly living a good life as compared to before.

Three meals a day, good clothes to wear, studying and training with Detective Watson, fooling around with Leah, and enjoying the wonderful company of his new friend, Grace.

Bryan looked at the clear blue skies above and smiled. He was happy. He was grateful. Before, he didn't even have the luxury to think about such matters. But now that he had it, he cherished it.

After he finished buying all the groceries he needed, he called for a public carriage. While he was waiting for the public carriage to arrive, Bryan noticed that a few children wearing ragged and dirty clothes were standing not too far from him and eyeing the big bags of groceries he was carrying.

Looking at their pitiful faces, Bryan sighed in sorrow, 'To think that I was just like them when I was young.' He took out two long baguettes from one of the bags and handed them to the kids.

"Here, have it." Bryan smiled gently.

The poor children looked at Bryan warily. After a few seconds, the eldest of the bunch who appeared to be an 11-12-year-old boy, came forth and took the food from his hand.

"Finish it right here or hide it properly. Or else the adults will snatch them from you." Bryan instructed them. After all, he knew exactly the mentality of such people in the slums. They would kill to get a share of the food.

After the boy received the baguettes, he distributed them evenly to the rest of the kids around him. Some ate it with relish, while others hid it in their clothes, probably trying to give it to their loved ones at home.

Bryan looked at their faces filled with joy and smiled. 'Perhaps one day when I am able, I can help you all.' He thought in his heart.

His carriage had already arrived. He stepped inside and instructed the driver, "7 Robinson Street."

The carriage slowly sped along the stoned-paved streets. It was already close to sunset by the time the carriage arrived in front of his apartment.

Bryan got off the carriage, thanked the driver, and paid him 2 pence. He turned around and entered his apartment building. His apartment was on the ground floor so thankfully he didn't have to climb the stairs with so many heavy grocery bags in hand.

He walked to the door of his apartment and slid the key into the lock. He was slightly surprised, 'Huh? The door is unlocked? Did I forget to lock it when I left?' Bryan didn't think too much about it and stepped inside.

After entering his apartment, he turned around to lock the door. But right then, his spiritual force was triggered and his survival instinct kicked in. Bryan dropped the grocery bags to the floor and immediately ducked.

Right after he ducked, a 12 inches long, black dagger flew over his head and lodged itself against the door.

"Oh?" A surprised voice was heard from within the apartment. Bryan turned around and a 6 feet tall burly figure was outlined by the light of the sunset that seeped into the room through the window.

The burly figure had short black curly hair. He was wearing brown pants and a white tunic that could barely cover his torso. The man was extremely muscular and he was looking at Bryan with a sinister gaze.

"Who are you?" Bryan maintained a distance from him and asked warily. His heartbeat rose with each second that passed.

"You don't need to know who I am. You're gonna die anyway." The burly figure, who was naturally Johnny, smiled coldly.

With that said, he slowly walked towards Bryan, cracking his knuckles on the way. Bryan looked around the room, trying to look for anything he could use as a weapon against this burly man. But before long, Johnny rushed towards him and swung his right fist.

Bryan saw the incoming fist coming towards his face, and in his state of panic, instead of redirecting the blow like he was taught by Detective Watson, he blocked the punch with his forearms positioned in front of his face.

The punch landed on his forearms and with a crack, the bones in Bryan's left forearm were fractured. With a loud groan, Bryan took three steps back and cursed loudly, "FUCK!"

Firstly, it really hurt. Secondly and most importantly, he wanted to attract others' attention to his apartment.

Bryan's left arm fell limply to the side of his body as he thought, 'Fuck fuck fuck. Stay calm. Stay calm. Remember your training. Deep breaths. Steady breaths.'

Bryan had already calculated. He couldn't rush out of his apartment. Before he could leave, the burly man would catch up to him. He could only fight! Bryan took deep breaths and steadied himself again.

He faced the burly man with a steady posture, his knees slightly bent and his only good right arm positioned in front of him with the palm open, the inside of the palm facing himself, and fingers pointing to the ceiling.

Johnny took another step and launched a jab with his right arm again. But this time, Bryan was calm. Instead of retreating, he took a step forward. He swatted the incoming jab with his right palm and changed the trajectory of the jab to his left. Then he curled his arm and pointed his right elbow at Johnny's throat.

The elbow landed ferociously on Jonny's throat. Or to be more precise, Johnny's throat landed ferociously on Bryan's elbow. Bryan didn't have to apply any strength. All he did was redirect the opponent's own strength and let him hit his elbow.

Johnny was taken by surprise. He held his throat and coughed violently. He struggled hard to breathe. But Bryan couldn't allow him this moment of respite. He rushed toward Johnny and aimed the index and middle finger on his right hand straight at Johnny's eyes.

Bryan was attempting to blind him! This could be considered a very ruthless move but it was very efficient. In a fight to the death, anything goes!

Seeing the two fingers enlarge in his vision, Johnny instinctively leaned back and kicked Bryan in the stomach. The kick sent Bryan three steps back again. He dropped to one knee while holding his stomach.

'Fuck, that one really hurt.' Bryan thought as he gritted his teeth. Now both sides had reached a stalemate. One side was coughing violently and gasping for air. While the other side was clutching his stomach trying to overcome the pain.

Johnny recovered faster than Bryan. He approached Bryan and kicked him in the face. Bryan was almost knocked out unconscious by that kick as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling. His nose was broken and large amounts of blood gushed out of his nostrils.

"You fucking bastard, I'll give you a miserable death." Johnny bent down and grabbed Bryan by his hair. He then lifted him up over his head with both hands and threw him towards the kitchen.

Bryan landed on the wall cabinet in the kitchen and fell to the floor listlessly. The cabinet broke after Bryan crashed into it and all sorts of plates, bowls, and cutlery fell from it and dropped to the floor.

In his blurred vision, Bryan saw a fork land next to his left hand. He covertly grabbed it and hid it beneath his hand, obscuring it from Johnny's vision. Johnny approached him slowly and stamped on his right knee, instantly breaking it.

"Aaarghhhh!" Bryan screamed in agony. The pain jolted him wide awake.

Johnny walked around Bryan and did the same to his left knee.

"Aaaagghhh ffffuck!!" Bryan had never felt so much pain before. But he endured it and waited for the right opportunity. If he wasn't patient, he would literally die.

"I told you, you little fucker. I'll make your death very miserable." Johnny grabbed Bryan by the head. He lifted him up and slammed him against the wall. Then he used the same hand to choke him to death.

At this point, tears started streaming from Bryan's eyes as he struggled to breathe. His nose was broken and half his face was covered in blood. Both his kneecaps were shattered and his left forearm was fractured. There was a concussion on the back of his head and his internal organs were damaged from that first kick.

Looking at Bryan's face and eyes that were filled with hopelessness, Johnny was filled with ecstasy. But he had to finish things up soon. The fight right now had made a lot of commotion.

Johnny smiled diabolically. He inched closer to Bryan and whispered, "Young Master Jack sends his regards."

Hearing the name of the person behind this attack, Bryan's eyes focused and he grinned from ear to ear. He looked extremely evil, grinning with his face and teeth covered in blood. Seeing the sudden change in Bryan's expression, Johnny was instantly on guard.

He instinctively looked at Bryan's only functioning right arm in order to intercept any last-ditch attempt he made. But instead of moving his right arm, Bryan moved his fractured left arm at lightning speed and stabbed the fork in Johnny's left ear.

The fork penetrated his left ear drum and directly stabbed into Johnny's brain. Before he could realize what had transpired, he had died!

Johnny slumped to the ground along with Bryan. The only difference was, Bryan was still alive. He looked at Johnny's lifeless body and sneered, "Who said I couldn't use my left arm, bitch?"

And then he lost consciousness. In a dark corner of the apartment, a shadowy figure with red eyes who was about to intervene stopped in his tracks. He silently stared at Bryan for while and then vanished without a trace.