78 Chapter 78 Goblins
Bang!
The back door of a certain bar in the Gotham slums was kicked open. Two burly men with fierce scars on their faces and stern expressions stepped through the door in sync.
"You motherfucker, let me go right this instant, or I swear I'll...".
The man being held within their grasp swore wildly. His mouth moved at extremely fast speeds, shooting out cuss words like a barrage without a single repetition.
The fierce looking men paid him no heed not did his words elicit a reaction from them.
With smooth coordination and tacit understanding honed through many months of repetitive action, the man was thrown out through the back door of the bar, into the alleyway.
The night in Gotham wasn't peaceful. Dark and gloomy clouds had emerged earlier on signalling the city residents that tonight was going to have a heavy downpour. Today in particular was rather heavy.
The clouds cried and Gotham was drenched in heavy rain. The man who was thrown out into the alley under the bad weather just so happened to fall into a puddle.
Thud!
The thudding sound was particularly dull. Almost unnoticeable as it was covered up by the splash.
"Ptui! Bastards! Isn't it just a broken glass. I'll never patronize this shithole again". Ignoring his now drenched body that was stained with what could almost be deemed as sewer water, the man spat out a thick mouthful of phlegm and said with a vicious look.
Facts proved that in Gotham, no one gave a fuck.
"Fuck..... Lost my good drinking spot". He said to no one, visibly annoyed under the heavy rain. The man didn't look rich or well off to say the least.
His clothes were faded, sewed in multiple areas and had a few patches. His long, shaggy, unkempt hair fell to his back and his beard was as one would expect, untrimmed. The gray lines on both hair and beard were easily noticeable.
He was a middle-aged man, but looked like he was in his mind fifties.
The rain continued to pour incessantly. The man walked down the road, moving from one alley to another with clear familiarity.
The sight of a man walking under the rain was particularly conspicuous. Many people turned to give the drenched man a look.
The beggars, the homeless, the gangsters who were taking shelter under different coverings. They took one look at the scrawny man before ignoring him like he didn't exist.
Obviously, this person was no stranger to them. His poor dressing literally gave away the fact that he had no money to his name.
The man didn't mind. He continued to walk down the road usually guarded by gangsters that now granted free passage to all who were poorly dressed.
Thunder flashed and the man's shadow could be seen for a split second as he appeared near a dead end.
The wall in front of the man failed to dissuade him from going forward as he came to the side of the wall and pushed aside a rather large green garbage dumpster.
A hole in the wall leading downwards was revealed.
He made his way through the darkness and fumbled lower and lower. There was no surprise twist where he got to a certain point, flipped a switch or lever and the whole place suddenly powered up with electricity.
He wasn't Batman, nor was he a hidden master with a secret mission or an underground lair, special skills or even someone worth remembering.
He was just a plain, homeless guy who chanced upon this place about a week ago, not knowing that tonight might be his last.
"Well, looks like this will be my spot for the next couple of weeks". He said with a bit of irritability. This was due to the fact that he didn't have a drink with him to tide the time before he knocked himself unconscious with booze.
He slumped his back against a pillar with his head hung low. The whole place was dark, and the visibility was low. Without looking carefully, he would probably trip over something.
That's ok. He didn't plan to move anyway. Or at least that was what he was initially going for. However, a sudden glow sweeping over the entire place woke up the poor man who was about to doze off after leaning for six minutes.
"What the hell...". Opening his eyes, he was surprised to locate a light source coming from the distance.
"... That's...". Uncertainty clouded his heart as he stood up from his position. Hesitating slightly, his curiosity ultimately got the best of him as he made his way towards the direction of the light.
The whole place was reminiscent of an underground building. Walking down the hallway, he was about to take the bend to see what exactly was glowing when the light suddenly went off.
He hurriedly moved forward, turned and looked towards the other end. There was nothing. The illumination of this solace was terrible, and he had gone far away from the closest source of light.
Now that whatever gave off that glow was gone, the whole place was dreadfully dark.
"Crap. That's just perfect". Seeing that he had wasted his time, he was about to turn around and feel his way back to return the way he came.....
It happened then.
"Grrrghaaha".
His turning body suddenly froze for a second. The sound that seemed to be a mix between a laugh and a growl immediately caught his attention.
His body stood in place for two seconds before turning around once again to the place where he looked before.
Lo and behold, he saw something that immediately frightened his soul.
The place was still pitch black due to zero lighting in the area. However, right in the middle of the darkness, a pair of big, glowing yellow eyes could be seen in the place where there was originally nothing.
The unkempt man swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
The eyes were wide and bright, and he could swear that something was wrong with em. He felt goosebumps all over his skin.
Those eyes.... Looked like they were examining something interesting.
"..... Um... Hello?" He called out nervously but received no response.
At this point, he didn't even realize that he was already beginning to develop cold sweats.
Although he didn't have a house and a television to watch documentary shows, he still knew that creatures with yellow eyes were most likely carnivorous animals like Lions and leopards that ate human flesh.
But what was one of those things doing in this kind of place.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
And then.... The light came back on. And no, it wasn't the lighting but the yellow glow that had previously attracted him.
The hall space was suddenly illuminated and the big, yellow mass that appeared in the distance caused his eyes to widen.
Too bad, he didn't know what this stuff was but for those who did, they would definitely run without hesitation. Because this was a breach.
A portal that connected two worlds together.
Seeing the spherical yellow object that looked like it was constantly releasing fiery waves, the man was a little stunned.
Never before had he seen anything like this. It was also there and then that he made another outstanding discovery.
The light illuminated the whole place, meaning that the figure of the animal that he couldn't see before was shown clearly.
However, what astounded him was that what appeared in his sight.... Wasn't an animal.
At least... It didn't look like an animal at first glance.
After all, it stood on its two legs, had hands and feet, its ears were remarkably long, the head was shaped in a weird way and one hand was holding what looked to be a long blade of some kind. The creature tilted its head to the side, examining the poor homeless man closely before releasing a grin that showed off its pearly white teeth.
"Grrrghaaha".
Well, it would have been pearly white if it weren't black and red and had what looked to be bits and pieces of flesh in it.
The man was startled and took several steps back hurriedly.
The portal behind the creature suddenly began to fluctuate. It seemed as if it was releasing waves of energy in all directions... And then..... Something came out of it.
With wide eyes, the man watched as another creature stepped out of the portal. Almost completely identical to the first one, only this one wasn't holding a blade but carried a wooden club.
"What the fuck is happening?" The man hurried backward in panic. He didn't notice the obstacle that laid behind him causing him to trip and fall to the ground.
Each time something passed through, the portal would flash, and so it did. The first, second, third, twelfth.....
"Damn! My leg!" The homeless man exclaimed in pain as he felt the throbbing on his ankle. Upon trying to stand firm on his feet, he could feel a dull aching within.
The man's face turned dark. Was this a sprain?
He pushed himself off the ground while hopping on one foot, hopped towards the all to support himself and took out a pocket knife that he had hidden in his pocket and pointed it at the distance.
"Hey.... Whoever you are or, whatever you are ...". The man's words grew bolder and bolder as he began to lay excessive threats towards the creatures that were now outnumbering him.
"..... You hear me? I studied four years of taekwondo.....do…"
"Grghhh he!" At that moment, the first one that had appeared suddenly let out a shrill roar, startling the man who was cursing.
The portal was still open, but the number of..... Whatever these things were, as if on command suddenly screamed as well and ran forwards like warriors on a battle charge.
The man's face changed drastically as fear overwhelmed him. Where did he have the courage to continue his barrages?
He turned immediately and began hopping away as fast as he could with one hand supporting him against the wall.
It's just.... For someone with a sprained ankle..... How far away could they get?
He had barely moved a noticeable distance when he was swarmed by numerous creatures a little more than half his height.
"No... Argh! Arghhhhh.... Stop…. Please…. Squelch!.... Argghhhhhhh". The sounds of flesh being ripped off bones could.be heard, and the man's screams quickly died down when one of them bit into his throat.
The portal that was still flashing gave off a bright light.
Following which, another one came out.
"Thud!"
The sound of its two feet touching the floor caused the surroundings to tremble a little.
Unlike the others, he wasn't small. This creature stood many years higher than its companions, with its arms and chest filled with muscles.
A cold light flashing in its eyes, like a beast thirsty for blood. And when he took a deep sniff, he found the blood he was thirsting for.
...
The rain continued to fall in Gotham.
"I think that went rather well, don't you, Alice?" I said with a flat face while holding some signed documents in my left hand and an umbrella in my right.
I wore a black on black outfit with the upper clothing being long sleeved, the top unbuttoned, the parts reaching my wrists pushed back up a bit, and the collars flying. While the lower clothing was just standard black trousers.
"Perhaps.....". The AI replied. "But there are better payment methods than giving him a cure".
"Alice, you're the most advanced AI on the planet. You should see the point just like I do". I replied nonchalantly.
"Every other point can be forgotten. The fact is that if I didn't have him by the neck, he wouldn't have agreed to sell those shares for anything. Because that's the only way he can continue making research in a slim hope to perfect the Pheno Drug and save his life. Well, since that's the case, I'll just give him what he wants for what I want. It's a matter of principles, my dear".
Well..... That was mainly bullshit. It was more like half true and half false. Creating a cure for cancer cost me nothing, so why would I care what he wanted?
For him, a cure to his predicament was the best payment method.
If he asked for power beyond what his company was worth, then that was a different case. Besides, it would turn into good publicity later on.
"Walking like this in Gotham... Do you not fear getting robbed?" She asked sarcastically. I raised an eyebrow at her question.
The combination of clean appearance, good-looking clothes, attractive features and the capability to use an umbrella in the rain would be nothing anywhere else.
Not here though...
At that moment, I walked past an alley.
A creature hiding in its darkness examined me with its yellow eyes.
It watched as my figure stopped on the spot and turned to look at it, exactly where it was hiding.
And then, it let out a maniacal grin before it rushed out at a speed surpassing Usain Bolt.
The distance between us was a dozen meters away. Rushing forward, it held the spear in its hand and threw it towards me.
The monster watched as the weapon spun through the air towards the creature it had come across. However, when the spear was less than a foot away, the eyes of the "creature" changed color to a dazzling blue.
Following which, the spear was directly shattered to pieces. The force that acted on the spear did not stop, rushing towards the little green creature in less than a second and.....
Squelch!
The little monster had its body shredded to pieces, pieces of blood and flesh decorating the alleyway.
The night in the heavy rain had returned to calm. All that remained was more, looking at the stained alley with a raised eyebrow.
"What was that?"
.....
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