29 The Clown is next

Draven was chained to a steel chair behind a wooden table and The Black Knight sat on the other side. They were in a four-by-four room where King Richard, General Barton, and several nobles stood outside looking at The Black Knight and Draven through the glass set between. Among those nobles was Palmela Davis, the news reporter of Daily news. Using their wealth and connections, the Daily News was able to get exclusive rights to publish the interview between the killer who was terrorizing Veland and The Black Knight.

Despite the situation he was in, Draven seemed calm.

"Let's start with your name," The Black Knight asked Draven,

"Draven," Draven calmly answered The Black Knight as Palmela quickly wrote on the parchment in her hand. Unfortunately, for security reasons, they weren't allowed to bring in the sprocket to stream the interview live to the people outside.

(Sprocket = Camera)

So she had to write everything down and publish it afterward.

"What's your story Draven?" asked The Black Knight,

"Story?" Draven tilted his head,

"Every killer like you has a justification for what they do. So what's your justification?"

Draven remained silent,

"Revenge? Twisted justice? Or more simply, the kill gets you off?"

"Just kill them all Draven!" Margoth shouted in Draven's head,

"Can I ask you something?" Draven asked The Black Knight as he nodded,

"How many villains and criminals have you thrown in prison?"

"Lost the count a long time ago," The Black Knight answered without showing any emotion in his voice,

"Have you lost count of how many times they broke out of the prison too?"

The Black Knight remained silent as Draven continued,

"Let me tell you a story Black Knight. It'll help you understand my view,"

Draven drummed the table with his left hand as General Barton crushed his right hand. It was swollen beneath the dark gloves and hurt Draven like hell. But despite the pain in his arm and broken knee, Draven remained calm, surprising The Black Knight.

"Last month, you fought The Clown in Grayford and stopped him from robbing the vault," Draven slightly leaned forward but the iron chains around his chest prevented him from leaning more than a few inches.

Grayford was Kingdom Veland's military city. The barracks, the vault which contained the kingdom's gold, valuable artifacts and items, and weapon reserves were located in Grayford. However, many supervillains avoided Grayford because it was riddled with soldiers, and the magical arrays powered by etherian energy protected the vaults. So the risk of getting caught in Grayford was much higher than in the rest of the cities.

Still, last month The Clown tried to break into the vault, and he almost succeeded. To this day, King Richard is baffled by how The Clown managed to pass through the defense. He would have looted the entire vault if it wasn't for The Black Knight.

However, they all wondered why Draven was suddenly talking about the incident that happened a month ago.

"You battled The Clown and his brutes valiantly,"

"Get to the point," The Black Knight growled,

"Do you remember chasing the Clown and his brutes outside?" The Black Knight lost his patience as he leaped at Draven, grabbing Draven by his collar.

"While you were battling The Clown and his brutes, there was a girl and her brother on the street. The Clown threw a bomb at you, you deflected it, but they didn't," As soon as The Black Knight heard Draven's words, he let go of his grip around Draven's collar,

"The girl's father had to put bits and pieces of her in the ground. The boy lost both his legs and arms," Draven turned his head to the side to look at King Richard,

"They are poor but to that father, his daughter was his princess,"

King Richard may hate the freaks and Draven the most after everything that happened today, but his eyes showed a tinge of sadness.

"Every time you battled The Clown, an innocent man or woman going with their own life died. But you don't read that in the papers, only the headline about how you fought and apprehended The Clown for the millionth time,"

Draven looked at Palmela for a moment before turning his gaze back at The Black Knight,

"Hundreds of people lost their loved ones because of every single one of you. If you had killed The Clown, they would have been with us now," Palmela wrote everything without missing a single word that came out of his mouth,

"You called me a killer right? Just like that," Draven snapped his finger,

"But you'll feel it only if you are in my place or that father who lost his daughter. The cry of anguish, you will hear the wail of death. Your thighs will tremble. Your legs will stumble without listening to your mind. Look at my hand," The Black Knight noticed Draven's left arm and noticed it shivering,

"Your hands will shiver like this,"

"So it's revenge mixed with a twisted sense of justice?" The Black knight asked. What Draven told him about the girl started to drill into his heart. Still, there was also a possibility Draven was trying to get into his head. So until he could confirm the girl's death, The Black Knight decided to be calm and collected.

"There is nothing twisted. I kill those who deserve to be killed so someone who doesn't deserve death can live"

"So if you kill all criminals in Veland, do you call that quits? What if all the others who lost their loved ones act just like you? What will happen to Etheria or will it bring back the ones you loved to life?"

Bang!

Draven slammed the table as everyone outside jerked in shock,

"My family can't come to life. But the family of at least an innocent will get to live. Should innocent children have to become orphans just due to the dirt and incompetence in our system or the so-called heroes?" Draven questioned The Black Knight,

"To this day, a hundred and twenty-eight people died as collateral. All those lives could have been saved if you had put The Clown down when you had the chance,"

Draven's calm voice turned grave,

"I can't bring those back to life. But I can, and I will stop The Clown and every single piece of the scum of Veland from taking more lives,"

"You're not going anywhere, but to the prison specially designed for your kind, Draven," The Black Knight snickered,

"Do you really believe a prison could hold me…" Draven's voice trailed as he tried to lean forward,

"Magnum Layne," Draven whispered as none of those who stood outside heard him. However, the Black Knight heard him clearly, making The Black Knight's heart skip a beat. Although Draven couldn't see his reaction due to the black mask on his face, Draven knew The Black Knight was startled.

"I can reveal your identity,"

Bang!

The Black Knight slammed the table as he leaped at Draven and punched him a couple of times.

"Your Majesty," Palmela called for King Richard but he didn't even move a finger. If The Black Knight killed Daven, it would be like killing two birds with one stone. On one hand, Draven wouldn't kill anyone else. On the other hand, King Richard could imprison The Black Knight and destroy the image he had built over the past years.

Draven had already presented King Richard with a weapon to use against The Black Knight.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The Black Knight repeatedly punched Draven in the face. However, Draven kept laughing until The Black Knight had enough of his maniacal laughter.

He then picked up Draven with the steel chair and threw him onto the wall.

"Your Majesty," General Barton was stunned to see The Black Knight lose his calmness. He wanted to get into the room but King Richard raised his hand, stopping General Barton.

Bang!

Draven hit the wall with enough force to form cracks in the brick wall,

"What the fuck Draven? Kill them…Kill them all!" Margoth screamed with overflowing fury and rage,

"You damn bastard," Suddenly Margoth started to laugh,

The Black Knight and everyone could only see Draven's back after he hit the ground. Having no idea of what just happened, The Black Knight strolled toward Draven and picked him up by the chain around Draven's chest.

However, only the chains came with his hands but not Draven. The Black Knight was stunned but before he could react, Draven punched The Black Knight in the gut and followed with a jab to the jaw.

Pulch!

Draven stabbed The Black Knight with his hidden sword before slamming The Black Knight's head with the glass in between him and the people outside.

General Barton quickly shielded King Richard with his body.

"Follow me and I will let everyone in Veland know your real identity," Draven whispered into The Black Knight's ears,

Bang!

Draven slammed The Black Knight's head against the glass wall, shattering it into million tiny pieces.

"Your Majesty!" the soldiers quickly surrounded King Richard as Draven cracked his neck and jerked his legs and arms which were broken by General Barton just an hour ago.

"Miss Palmela," while the soldiers were in shock, Draven turned his gaze towards Palmela. She shivered and looked pale because nothing was standing in between her and the most feared killer in the whole Veland.

"The Clown is next,"

General Barton dashed into the room but in a blink of an eye, Draven vanished into thin air. Seeing Draven just disappear, every single one of them felt a chill running through their spines. Especially King Richard who knew the nature of the room. It was designed and built by Myriad, the home of sorcerers, including the Sorcerer King. Draven teleported away from the room despite the runes and magical arrays because he had something none of them in Etheria had, The System.