2nd Bullet: So Absurd

Rosner grabbed the box-shaped device and turned the knob on the side. The machine blared and then a deep, Scottish voice emitted soon after.

"Rosner, how do you do?" asked the voice. "I hope the rookie ain't causing you too much trouble."

"Just fine Uvo," Rosner replied, relaxing himself on the bed. "The kid isn't as worse as before. Just whack him a couple of time and he'll straighten himself. Speaking of rookies, how's Janda?"

"Coping even better than most Killrights expected. You know, I still don't know why he was turned down despite being the best in the whole draft."

"You know the answer better than anyone. His attitude is just as bad as Vadars. Cocky and undisciplined."

"Almost like you."

Rosner frowned. "We are nothing alike."

"Ah," Uvo chuckled, "that denial. To say you don't act alike would be a great lie. Why don't you and the kid get along a bit more, warm up to him. That ol' "blunt and harsh" trick ain't gonna do you no justice."

Rosner stood up and grabbed his Magnum, eyeing it. "I'll prod at the possibility. For now, the boy will have to earn my trust."

"Better than nothing. Another thought is, how's the package delivery to the council?"

"We're getting on it. I got a message from them saying they won't arrive until the next day so hopefully none of the Desperados come in."

"You took a real dangerous job, Captain. You know our division is not made for handling Desperados."

"We're Killrights, Uvo. It's not whether we're ready or unfit, it's about getting it done."

Silence seeped through the speaker. "Just don't over do it," Uvo replied. "The Desperados are tracking Brinehook Mine because of that abundance of Death Matter. If you don't deliver that parcel in time and the Desperados get there, the whole town will become Soulless."

"I suggest you write the report as mission completed then," Rosner finished with before switching off the device with a turn of the knob. He held the Magnum in both hands. It had silver etchings and runic scribbles over the barrel and a cross on the handle. It was quite large, being able to cover his whole thigh but it was no issue for him. The weight was practically nothing and the power it held was just enough for the job to be accomplished.

His Death Arm's name was Seeker. And like all Death Arms, it was a gun. The standard.

He holstered the gun and looked at the large package from Death one last time before fitting on his cloak and leaving.

                                                                                      ♱♱♱

Vadars and Tilly walked through the quite bustling crowds of Brinehook's big cross section where most of the local trade took place. Vadars casually carried his ginormous black-cloth wrapped thing on his shoulders whilst Tilly stared in wonder. Vadars broke a smirk.

"What's that thing anyway?" she asked.

"It's my greatest partner."

"Looks like a hunk of junk."

Vadars glared and Tilly chuckled awkwardly before straightening up. "So what business does a Killright have in this half-dead town?"

"It's about that mine. Apparently there's something up with it and the council asked for some exclusive help."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense." She looked down, a bit solemn which caught Vadars' attention right off the bat. "Back when I was a little girl, this town used to be a storm of traders. Storms of traders used to huddle around this whole place, looking for the next big investment and hoping to get some materials. My mom used to be one of the operatives of the mine."

"And the manager of the inn is your pops?"

"Yeah. He didn't always look like a little troll though."

"I'm finding that kinda hard to believe."

"I don't blame ya, really. Back on topic, my mom, she died in the big accident that caused them to shut off the mine. After the ransacked all the valuables, they were desperate to find more but they ended up getting to greedy. They forced the workers to search deeper and they ended up hitting a bad spot that caused it collapse. Far back there, no one's been able to help them."

They continued their walk in a bit of silence before Vadars spoke up.

"Your mother, do you mind telling me about her?"

Tilly smiled. "Of course. She was a strong woman. Amazing, really. Apart of a huge gang called the Cattle Kates. They mainly stole livestock but they were a mean bunch of bandits. My ma was a lieutenant of 'em. After coming into Brinehook and going to the inn, she met a scrawny bellhop and fell head over his heels for him."

Vadars had a look of confusion on his face. "What?  Your mom was attracted to someone like that?"

Tilly sighed. "Adults are strange people, I tell ya."

"Right again."

"Tilly!" a shrilling voice called out before a tall, quite overweight fellow appeared. He had a beard that looked as if it was on the verge of death if it kept on growing and a hat that wanted sweet release from the land and a small pistol on his hip. Overall, he was a weird fellow that Tilly socked across the face.

"Not today, Cletus." Tilly wiped her bloody hand on her apron.

Cletus rose awkwardly before looking at her disappointedly. "C'mon. I heard you liked mature men so I grew out a beard. See?" He pointed at the follicles of hair.

"You should really shave that. That doesn't look too good."

He grumbled before seeing Vadars. They were almost the same height, Vadars being 6'1 and Cletus an inch or two taller than him. But Vadars wasn't in the slightest intimidated.

"Who's this moron?" Cletus asked. "Since when do you hang around barnyard-patch face jokes?"

"The hell you say you, piggy?" Vadars questioned.

"You heard me, patch face."

"Both of you," Tilly broke in, "shut up."

A stern, wild-look in Vadars' eyes appeared that Cletus only caught for a second. In that second, that singular, brief second, the eye of the Devil stabbed through him that caused his body to wash over in a chilling cold before returning to normal, as if the greatest wind and storm hurricane happened.

It was clear the person he just disrespected was not normal at all.

Cletus shuffled away before turning and leaving.

"Go and play with your little boys, Tilly. You'll recognize a real man soon."

Tilly muttered under her breath before looking at Vadars' face. A real man? Well, Vadars was a man alright. Sleek eyes, a good nose and lips sharp, like, razor sharp. She looked away and cursed at herself. Vadars looked at her before shrugging and legging off. 

"Hey! Come back!" She squealed.

"Catch up then, I wanna explore."  

The two then spent the sometime exploring the various stores and monuments. A duck flapped into Vadars' face and a beautiful flower grew in a bed in the local garden. Despite the Badlands being sand-dominated, it still had the beautiful and luscious green to show life. At the front of the town shouted an old man on a box. He yelled loud.

"Killrights have arrived in our town! Those high and mighty knights think we owe them everything! Our land, our crops, our loyalty but they do not! We all know the truth! The Desperados are caused by The End itself to tricking us into being loyal to it! We must drive them out and fend for ourselves. The End cares for nothing but ruining our eternal rest."

Few listened but most just passed on by, having their own issues to deal with.

Vadars eyed from afar and was pulled by Tilly.

"Don't listen to the old coot," Tilly murmured. "He blames The End and Killrights for everything. His son was also the incident."

Vadars hummed in acknowledgement. "So most of the people around here actually have a Killright agenda?"

"More than some."

As they were arriving at the Brinehook Mine, a group were already there. A sharp sting shot through Vadars and he instantly pulled Tilly away and hid away behind a large hill of rocks.

Tilly's eyes widened and she looked at him, his arm around her body like a vice. 

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Are those guys bad or something?"

"Maybe so." He took a peek around the rocks to find a man in a dirty brown cloak with long wild hair. His body was covered in words and scribbles, his face barely describable. Over his back was a nasty-bladed Scythe that reeked of Death and Souls. The eery feeling was so overwhelming that seemed to wash over the whole area.

"You feel that sick vibe?" Vadars asked.

"A bit. It's really awful now thinking about it."

"So it's that bad, huh?" Vadars muttered. This guy either was terrible at hiding his presence or was too strong that he didn't need to hide it all, that it was just natural and washed over everyone like a drizzle. 

Regardless, Vadars knew it was a Desperado.

 The lanky Desperado turned about, gazing over his minions. They were beings dressed in cloaks, their faces covered. They seemed to be conjured foot soldiers. The man suddenly grew an ugly smile. His teeth were rotting, jagged and vile. The more he smiled, the more Tilly grew sick.

"All of you," the tattooed Desperado said, grabbing his Scythe. "I hope you all are ready to put in the work. I want you to start tearing down those rocks inside the mine. Half of y'all are gonna stand guard and kill anybody that walks about here. Actually, call me so I can personally decapitate them." He ran a tongue over his teeth before laughing harshly. His shrilled and scratchy voice was unbearable. Tilly questioned how someone could even sound like that. She wanted to run. She wanted to get away from the Mine. But she couldn't. 

Not just because she was scared straight but because of her mother's grave. She planned on showing Vadars the site and praying but once she was here, she couldn't leave until she prayed.

Once the group split and the Desperado lead his copious amounts of soldiers, Vadars took his greatest partner off his shoulders and grabbed the smaller part of the wrapped thing. It seemed to be a handle.

"What're you gonna do?" Tilly asked. 

"To do my job, duh."

"Are you crazy? Did you not see that psycho? If you get caught, he'll gonna rip you to shreds."

"Then I'll beat his ass before he rips me to shreds." He chuckled to himself, his adrenaline rising. How could he feel so exhilarated in a time like this? Wasn't he a rookie too? There's no away he could...

But Tilly couldn't stop Vadars. He bounded into the air and smashed his greatest partner into the ground, causing the whole floor to crumble and crater. The soldiers flew back and grabbed their pistols and daggers. They eyed the threat carefully and saw the young man holding a something big. The wrappings flew into the air and what was revealed was a large cross guard that was the size of his forearm and a blade, if you could even call it that, the size of his whole body.

Vadars had a wild and exciting look in his eyes as if he had found a playground with his favourite games. He eyed the multiple soldiers, around twenty of them and chuckled. She had never seen so much life in his face before.

"Let's start this scene, right guys?" he asked before charging at the nearest group of foot soldiers and bashing the oversized sword right into them, causing them to tumble back. Others started firing their pistols and Vadars blocked with his Death Arm. It seemed so light in his hands, like a rapier in the hands of a master.

He leaped and tossed the sword but a chain flew out. Vadars grabbed the pommel and wrapped some of the chain around his forearm. The blade flew around as Vadars swung it around like a ventriloquist with a puppet. The ground turned into more rubble. 

A soldier got close enough to Vadars and the boy retaliated with a fast crossing punch. The soldier's head rocked back and Vadars let go the chain. He closed in the distance, firing punches that were equivalent to rocket launchers. A side punch to the ribs that was followed with a uppercut to the jaw with the same hand. He then chucked a bone crushing left that snapped the soldier's head off. Literally.

Vadars dodged the gunfire and grabbed two more soldiers for cover. The bullets rained onto the soldiers. They really didn't care for their own. They were lifeless after all. Their ammo ran out and Vadars gnashed at the opportunity. He dived over their covers and blasted out roundhouse kicks that took them out in an instant.

Tilly could only watch the hound of a Killright beatdown the soldiers. He ran over and grabbed his Death Arm, pulling it out the ground and holding it for a bolstering attack. The remaining soldiers realized confronting him head on was the only way to stop him. The soldiers held their line and sprinted forward.

Vadars gripped his sword and swirls of purple and black energy orbs jittered around his blade. It grew to a loud hum and Vadars stepped forward, raising the blade and shouted:

"VULSHOCK!"

With a primal roar and heaving strike, the energy flames exploded and tore through the entire site. Tilly hid behind the hill of rocks, violent winds and sand blowing around her. After the sands subsided, she looked over to see the Killright with a massive Death Arm tower over the rubble and debris as the lone victor. His messy look got even messier and the adrenaline hungry look was replaced with a satisfied mellow face, the regular expression of Vadars Keinricht. He heaved the Death Arm over his shoulder and chuckled.

"That felt good," he said before looking at the opening towards the Brinehook Mine. The face of the ugly Desperado flashed in his head and the smile returned to his lips. The cross-stitch on his face shifted. "Let's see who's head'll roll, Big Bad Desperado."