The sound of downfall tio pour into the dimly lit bar - within the ungroomed but young looking tender couldn’t help staring at the man sitting at the ter with a mixture between guilt & surprise.

  Still, the man didn’t notice, both tinued doing what they were meant to be doing there. That teeo the bartop in addition to ing a gss far lohan he reasonably should have. Oher hand; the lonely middle-man slumped down with eyes that revealed naught but the hopelessness as that he had no solution to.

  His drink erpetually being refilled with a bottle in front of him. He wasn’t even sure what he was drinkiheless he did at least know it helped numb the pain that was his owy. Scratg his scruffy beard that had been built over tless sleepless nights w over when they would knock.

  Only a couple years ago he had a bright future with a full head of ginger hair… Now his hair was so thin that it may as well have not been there. Sadly his hair wasn’t the only thing goher. As far as anyone was ed; he had no future. Remembering this caused his powerless hand to tighten around the gss while his teeth ched so hard it felt as if they would crack.

  *diling*

  Just as he was about to explode, the front door opened, a group of 6ft 6.6 crimson cloaked figures with rge ed “items” resting upon their backs. All but one shure. The foremost individual of the group - who didn’t choose a random seat to sit down like the rest - instead she stepped up to the ter before pulling her cloak down to cause the watg barteo widen his eyes. Clearly not expected such a beautiful young "girl" to enter a diablishment like the one he ran.

  With a mid-length hair that shouted “tomboy” that lit between being navy & indigo in colour (as were her eyes) except for a sich of white on her fringe.

  Her features were sharp to the point of absolute perfe; a literally peerless beauty that quickly made the tender narrow his eyes. Deg he didn’t want to let a ce like this go… Only to find the girl pletely ign him to instead hit the middle-aged man's shoulder in an overly friendly manner.

  “Care to share a song & drink with a poor old sinner, friend?” A weird phrase for someone who had nary a single wrinkle on her face. However, due to a sudden lightning strike outside, the single scar upon her body was a cat scratch that travelled down from the white poof of hair all the way down her face. Even crossing over one of her eyes at an awkward ao pletely ruin the symmetry of her face… But it was still the scratch of a literal kitten so it wasn’t partially big.

  It was big enough for the barteo frown but it wasn’t as if she was ugly even with the scratch all the way across her face. Because of that, he decided to go along with his pn, only to stop when one of the other cloaked figures threw their arm out. A throwing knife flying just past the tenders head to pierce right through the phone - a move that got the man to scream & fall on his butt.

  Strahe middle-aged man did not eve to the attack - her did the ‘leader’ girl - but iurned up to look toward his “friend” with those hollow eyes of his. Somehow he decided not to dissuade the girl from stig around a dead beat like him. “I suppose everyone has their own problems… But it is never easy to let go of your own.”

  “Mhm, an ho phrase from an ho man, you have my ear.” The girl didn’t say much; reag for that over-ed gss before presenting it to the middle-aged man who filled it with his bottle.

  heless the man couldn’t help sn. “What is ho about me? All I wanted was to take care of my ailing mother and maybe do something good - study really hard to bee a doctor. Help people, y’know?”

  Staring into his gss as tears began to form in his eyes - falling into his gss - as the hand holding his gss began to shake. Not finding his refle in the liquid; he closed his eyes as his body just silently trembled for a moment. That girl also didn’t rush him. Just silently sipping on her own drink while looking toward the scared tender who did not uand what was happening or rather why nothing else did.

  “I succeeded… Got my medical lid even put up with all the back-to-back shifts that were ‘expected of me’ as a newbie. As time went on I even mao get my own pothing big mind you, just a tle family ic where I could make a det living as well as tribute to my unity!” Raising his gss as if remembering how amazing everything was going; it may not have been a lot but it was enough for the man.

  heless, he smmed his gss back down, as if foretelling the way this story was going. “My mother as well as son ended up having the same dition - a geic disposition that must have skipped me leading to me overlooking it.”

  C his face as the tears tio flow.

  “I kly the medication as well as treatment they needed and so did the doctor I was seeing for the two of them, he was no quack, but that didn’t matter to them!” Smming down both of his fists onto the bartop - causing the ehing to shake - not just once. A repetitive motion that fully expressed the anguish he was going through.

  The bartender even had his fear turn from the crimson cloaked figures (who smelled like iron) to instead look toward the middle-aged man. “THAT DAMN FUG INSURANPANY, THAT SMUG KNOW IT ALL BASTARD OHER SIDE OF THE LIRULY THOUGHT HE KNEW BETTER THAN TWO DOCTORS!”

  *diling*

  Just then anroup of figures, this time in something akin to a bck military uniform with bubblegum pink highlights, opening the door for their leader to walk in. Most of them appeared to stay outside as the presumed leader oered with one of their ‘soldiers’ that held a sealed dot.

  Her being a strangely shirl at 5 foot despite having absolutely massive breasts with long hair that seemed to randomly switch between bck & silver. With her eyes also being bicolour switch between those same two colours. Horns atop of head made her seem like some kind of cospyer. A feat not helped by the swishing tail & wings that were present on her back

  Said leader didn’t even bother to hide the two rifles on their back. Adjusted the military cap upon their greyish-silver hair with pink highlights. The hat had some strange logo the bartender didn’t reise - a downward fag triah two sickles oher side - as did the uniform of all the irls. Arae being that all these militaristic “guests” were female… Even if their leader was androgynous.

  That leader also had a pair e round gsses with bubblegum pink lehat bined with their expression to make a surprisingly intimidating appearance.

  “Those fuckers decided that the two didn’t he medication… Refused to pay for it… I-I couldn’t let that happen so I decided to use my authority to get them what they hey were gettier like I thought, but oh now… That wasn’t enough for those FUCKERS!” Smming the tertop without paying attention to the sloroag figure of that ‘military ander’.

  The bartender could only shiver while watg, expeg that newer to get angry, waiting for a fight to break out at any time. Even if he wasn’t anywhere near a good person… He had never personally been involved in the ‘sequences’ of the information he sold - exactly the way he liked it.

  Fortuhe militia were far more traihaicipated; even if the one holding the dots frowhey didn’t do anything. Meanwhile the ander just sat down beside the blue-purple girl before pulling a cigar out from their jacket. Flig their fio gee a pink fme on the end of the cigar - letting them take a hard long drag of smoke as they mumbled “Hurry up Wolf”.

  An a that only got a sarcastic “So we’re using code names now, Smith?” from the girl as she waited for the middle-aged man to tinue (much to the relief of the bartender).

  “They reported me; got my lice revoked for what I did which meant I also was uo even run my own ic. Even spread rumours that I lost my lice due to selling drugs on the side. No one… Was willing to lend a helping hae all I did for the small unity I lived in. Had to move away while my wife decided to move ba with her own parents. Still, I needed money, had to sell everything I owned plus take any job I could while at the same time taking loan after loan with shady groups…”

  Patting the man's back - the girl helped with what little she could do while looking toward the barte the mention of ‘loan shark’ which made him sheepish as he tried to tinue washing up.

  “My body couldn’t keep up anymore so it turned out that I was terminal; my mother and son had recovered yet I couldn’t leave them with debt as my st gift… I just… I couldn’t let mom and Jesse deal with that - so I kept up with all that work. Those greedy bastards wouldn’t let me go though. Said that there was one way I could get a ton of moo pay them up while looking at me like a fug thing of gold…” His tears made it impossible to tialking.

  That girl nodded with a smile on her face, taking a long sip from her drink, before she filled in the bnks of what the man wao say. “They wanted your as well your family's ans to be sold to them. Nothing is quite as cushy as getting desperate people ihen using that t them in all they are worth… So you lost yourself and ended up killing the boss in addition to his underlings with his own on.”

  “I-Impossible!” Excimed the bartender in shock but was quiet when ahrowing knife pierced through the wall behind him along with a strange “Jehehe~” snicker.

  Meanwhile the middle-aged man got very cagey & defensive; bag away from the girl while raising his guard toward her. “Y-you aren’t here to-”

  “-kill you? No one kill you anymore, plus I don’t work for shitty little thugs like that, most of the time I just do my own thing while maybe getting paid for it when I .” Shaking her head while taking another shot before tinuing. “Although I do bet it was no ce that you stood up to a shady group only to be buried under a mountain of debt afterwards; you don’t o worry about your family Mr Harper.”

  the lost soul a big grin as she moved her gss up in an invitation to cheer with her.

  “I have a lot of tacts plus I like yumption as a mortal so I’ll make sure things work out well for both of them and maybe get some juicy revenge. Depending on what Smith has my precious little Death present to me… So how about you have a good old sleep, my friend, there is a new life waiting for you oher side my friend.” Closing her eyes with a soft grin.

  The girl standing with the dots even cut in. “Dory foretells good tidings about the 8 year old!” Only to be interrupted by the other multi-cirl who said “We’re meant to use ames acc to Smith, Death!” which got a snort from the person iion.

  “I am tired…” Hearing that made the man lift his gss up to meet that of the chaos sowing girl as he let out a long tired sigh - his body beginning to bee transparent. To that the girl just began to sing, pg her gss onto the ter, not seemingly surprised at all at the se happening beside her.

  “I am the righteous hand of God~?

  And I am the devil that you fot~?

  And I told you one day you will see~?

  That I'll be back I guarantee~?

  And that hell's ing, hell's ing~?

  Hell, hell's ing with me~?”

  “Yhteous?” That androgynous military ‘man’ questiohe singing girl as the st motes of light that made the middle-aged man vanished. Seemingly niough to wait till he passed. Although the bartender was somewhere between fused and scared. “her of us are anywhere close to what the world would call righteous… Although I suppose you are the only one who judge that.”

  With her job here done; she uhe final shot of hers down to the back of her throat and flipped over the gss onto the ter before p out the man's it where he slept. “I gave you what you wanted so give me the downlow on what I paid for, Smith.“

  Clearly not willing to discuss morality with a bck-hearted merary at the moment.

  Although the merary also didn’t seem to care enough to tiaking a puff of their cigar to build up until they soon did as requested. “You were right with what you told them but this shitty try still has as terrible of a healthcare system as ba my day. Plenty of other people get screwed over just because they don’t want to pay… As a demon I find myself disgusted with their ck of professionalism”

  “You would be; holy it’s amazing how demons stick closer to the tract than the crooks in this try of supposed freedom. Sorry, I fot, they teically aren’t criminals. They just decide to use their moo pay off politis instead of the medical debt of the people using their service.” Sn at how uhese states were in making sure the ‘little guy’ got fucked over.

  “Geht die Macht zu den M?chtigen *snort* makes me think they would get along with that.” Letting some of their inal nationality slip through before once again tinuing on. “From what my girls worked out; they get people desperate by rag up their prices and having their loan sharks swoop in. Those schaf the vio sell their ans to them only for those ans to then be sold back to the wealthier ts without anyone else knowing aer… But I would like for you to not get anymore involved.”

  “O~h~?”

  “It will prove to be a useful obstacle for my little perle….” Looking towards the barkeeper. “Although they did have a tact that would pass on possible ‘ts’ that you deal with.”

  “W???????i??????????t?????????????h??????? ??????????p?????????l???????e?????????a????????s??????????u???????r?????????e???????~??????????.”

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  “.. so we have no firmation from the FBI about what occurred st night, however it seems very likely to have been an atta order to steal some sensitive information which expins the sile has at least been firmed that the perpetrator of the assassination attempt of Alexis Porshi during the closing ceremony of the olympi our soil has been killed. In other news…”

  I had the HoloVision pying in the background of my room however it was hard not to focus on the bck fmes I was having bouwixt my palms. Although I had attempted to have them daween my fingers; it was clear I did not have enough proficy to achieve that.

  Still, I was certain, there would be far more I could do with these unique fmes of mine.

  “My rewards were useful heless this mission has also opened my eyes to the fact that this world is more magical than I ever would have believed in my first life… There are also these fmes of mihat I am sure could do far more. No way they are only able to disrupt teology or my parents would never have gifted them to me.” So I thought out loud while finally watg that s - only to cause it to build up static despite teically still w behind that.

  I didn’t want to break them.

  “But, while mom isn’t here, I should quickly look over the software of the hardlight shield…”