The officer lay unconscious. His arms were bent and disjointed, fingers deformed into inhumane angles. Blood soaked his face and masked the painted terror that lay beneath it. Even the few surviving officers wished they hadn't survived, for they sat in puddles of piss and vomit, their wounded bodies pressed against any stable object they could find.

  Rhys was unbothered by their reactions, for he got what he needed to get from the pig. It took some trouble, but he had enough time to wade through troubled waters.

  He slammed his foot down on the unconscious cop's face, bludgeoning it into the pavement. Then, he turned toward the others. But before he approached them, the whirling blades of helicopters sounded out, nearing swiftly from afar.

  Rhys looked around the scene, taking in the destroyed cars and billowing smoke. If there was anything he could use to get rid of the helicopter, he would, but there wasn't anything immediately noticeable. Rhys clicked his tongue and carved the officers' faces into his memory. 'Consider yourselves lucky, for now.'

  He took off through the smoke and flame, fleeing without a second thought as the whirring came ever so close.

  Soon after, two large helicopters came, and at both sides of them were armed men staring down at the destruction underneath. It hovered overhead, and then a flurry of gunshots echoed across the road.

  Several streets away, Rhys looked back and coldly smiled before pushing onward. "There's no loyalty among hyenas," He muttered, clenching his fist.

  ...

  Within the police headquarters, the Chief sat at his desk, shuffling through papers. The frown plastered on his face deepened with each one he read. "Damned bastard. How the hell can one man make such a mess of my city? Explain it to me, Elias. How does this situation make sense?"

  "Relax, Marcus. They'll capture him before long, I'm sure. Nobody can run around so freely for long when the entire police force and the Ouroboros Eye are searching for him." Deputy Chief Elias replied with his arms crossed and back leaning against the wall.

  "No, screw that. Have you read the last report? Stark's barely holding on to life by a thread. Thirteen of my finest have burned to ash. And the rest? They're too damn traumatized to even take a piss unattended." Marcus slammed his hand down on the table, causing several of the stacks of files to spread across the floor. "I can't tolerate this asshole. If the trash from Ouroboros can't take care of their own problems, then we will."

  The Chief pulled out his phone and dialed a number. After several moments of ringing, it finally connected.

  "This is Police Chief Marcus Vance, head of Cadwyn Metropolis' Police Force. I need you to connect me to General Raymond Shaw. It's an emergency."

  "..." Moments of silence passed, and a woman's voice replied. "Please stand by. The General is not one for late-night calls like this, so be careful what you say, Marcus."

  More silence, and then a gruff man's voice chimed in. "What is it? Do you know what fucking time it is?"

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "Apologies, General Shaw. I'm the Chief of Cadwyn's police, I have a brutal, cruel, vicious man on the loose, and his files are redacted by the military. I need clearance, sir." Marcus said.

  "Someone that problematic is running amok in Cadwyn? Since when are you so soft. What's the story behind it? Which former soldier is it?" The General asked, the sound of a lighter going off following it.

  "It's nothing, sir. There's just a mental patient on the loose, a few screws too many loose after finding out the local gangs killed his brother. The name's Rhys Trefor, sir." Marcus said with a chuckle.

  The Chief only heard a strong inhale and a cough before the line disconnected.

  On the other side, within a plainly adorned room, a large ginger-haired man sat upright in his bed, sweat rolling down his face. He coughed as smoke filled his lungs.

  "Holy shit! Are they fucking crazy?" General Shaw's eyes bulged with disbelief. He threw himself out of bed and grabbed a pair of pants. "Is he coming out of retirement? What about the rest? Dammit, this can end up an international conflict."

  General Shaw rushed out of his accommodation bare-chested and got into his humvee, driving it recklessly toward a building in the back of the base. "Melanie, are you there? MELANIE!" He screamed out as he barged into the building.

  "I'm here, Shaw. Why are you screaming like a madman all of a sudden?" A sultry woman replied, her wavy blonde hair flowing down her shoulders.

  "It's an emergency. Tell me if the Shadows are still monitoring the movements of the Obsidian Knives?"

  "Them? I haven't checked in on the reports since they went into retirement. You told me not to be so heavy-handed with it..." Melanie replied, confused about the sudden questioning.

  "Dammit, Melanie! Since when do you listen to orders?" General Shaw cursed, "Quickly, pull the reports up."

  They moved to a different room, and Melanie clicked away on the keyboard, clearing through several security checks before pulling up the files for the Obsidian Knives.

  [MISSING]

  The word blinked repeatedly on the screen. "Shit." Melanie cursed, shuffling through the files at a hastened pace. Behind her, General Shaw stared silently, the anxiousness in his chest boiling over.

  "It's not good! The Shadows lost them. Greyson got a call, and then his shadow was silenced. All the others went off the radar not long after. What the hell's going on, Shaw?" Melanie gasped in disbelief. The Shadows were some of their most skilled reconnaissance operatives. It was unheard of for them to lose so many targets at once.

  "All of them?" General Shaw muttered, his hands clenched against the desk.

  "This is terrible, Melanie."

  "You're scaring me, Shaw. What happened?"

  "The Specter, Banshee, Phoenix, Bulwark, and Viper... They all answered the Abattoir's call."

  "W-what?" Melanie stuttered, stepping back and knocking down her chair. "The butcher is active?"

  "How can that be? It's been years since he went off the radar, and the Obsidian Knives disbanded. Their leaving is the only reason Xantus agreed to peace talks in the first place! Shaw, if they find out... Why did this happen so suddenly?"

  "Calm down, Mel. It's still isolated, for now. They're heading to Cadwyn. As long as they complete their mission, we might not have any trouble with Xantus." General Shaw tried to reassure the frantic woman.

  "Cadwyn is messy with the inept police and the criminal syndicates running amok. Maybe it's a blessing to have the butcher clean it up, but you're right that it's risky. He's not a man that can be reasoned with when he's focused on the mission." General Shaw rubbed his temples, pondering his next step.

  "But, why, Shaw?" Melanie repeated her question. "Why has the butcher become active again suddenly?"

  "Cadwyn's Police Chief called." General Shaw replied, pausing momentarily.

  "The syndicates killed the butcher's brother."