Chapter 613 (2/2)

“Ow. I’m sorr- Naffur?” She blinked at him. ”Oh wow, I can’t believe you got a ticket too.” Beaming, she gave him an impulsive hug. “Wah, I’m so nervous. It’s good to see a familiar face. Ah, where were you going?”

Naffur mumbled something about the bathroom and tried to forget the feeling of her warm hands. It wasn’t until elevator doors closed that he could breathe again.

Why… why did she have to be here? If the bank was robbed and he disappeared, would they know it was him? Could he sneak back somehow?

With a ding, the elevator doors opened. Because of his somewhat shocked state, it took Naffur a while to register what was going on in front of him. In the ornate hallway, across the tiled floor...There was a pool of blood, spreading from a man wearing a Red Cross robe: the healer. Above him, glowing with power, was a two-meter tall portal.

A temporary portal, Naffur recognized with a start. They cost a fortune and only persisted for 24 hours but for short jobs, they were-

Someone killed the healer. A voice seemed to whisper, and Naffur shivered. His feet seemed stuck to the floor. Slowly, the elevator doors closed with a soft click. What… what was he supposed to do-

If he was caught here-

How-

His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Naffur fumbled in his pack and removed a mask from the bag. There had been a lot of attempts to capture the Ghosthound in an image, and this was the one that he always preferred. The face was that of a cartoonish dog’s, but the fur was dark grey and the eyes were emerald green.

Originally, it would have been an ironic disguise for a robber. Now, it was a much-needed refuge from the reality of the situation.

His fingers were trembling as he pulled the mask over his face. It helped a lot to calm his hyperventilating breathing. There was a dead man on the other side of the elevator doors. Someone seemed to have the same idea as the Haveheights, and a lot more of a budget to accomplish it. And these criminals were willing to kill.

What if they weren’t here just for the robbing? Could they use it to attack Senator Firefly? Naffur had heard that he had been attacked by assassins in the past. And if they did attack-

Mareen.

It was then that Naffur heard the voices.

“Someone’s gonna have to clean this up.” A female voice said.

“There will be a lot to clean up after we’re done. Just try to keep the mission in mind, alright?”

“Yea, yea…” Came the tired reply. The voices seemed to trail off right in front of Naffur.

Then the elevator dinged. The doors slide slowly open.

When he first heard the noise, Naffur didn’t even realize what it would mean. But with dawning horror, he watched the body of a woman and a man in combat gear come into his vision as the door parted. Immediately, Naffur’s eyes went to their boots. They were stained with blood.

What should he do? What should he-

“The Ghosthound?” The woman said stupidly, looking at Naffur.

What would the Ghosthound do, if he were here? What would a hero do?

Naffur’s hand tightened into a fist. That spark that he had carried today after obtaining the Path of Cowardice hit his fear and ignited into an explosion of emotion that Naffur didn’t know he had possessed.

The Ghosthound would punch, obviously.

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Intrepid Hammer (Ru) Lvl 1.

Naffur’s fist caught the woman’s right cheekbone, moving so quickly that even he, as the attacker, was taken somewhat aback. The bone cracked and her body buckled underneath the excessive force.

Congratulations! Your Skill “Intrepid Hammer” has reached Level 2.

The impact made Naffur’s arm ache. Like a puppet with her strings cut, the woman spun across the ground and rolled through the pool of blood, screaming. The man seemed so shocked that he didn’t react for a second. Then he drew his plasma rifle, but not before Naffur thought better of his action and pressed the penthouse floor button on the elevator.

As the door closed and the elevator began to rise, Naffur threw himself to the side as a beam of plasma ripped through the silver and blue elevator. His heart was pounding. He wanted to vomit. His hand ached.

And Naffur Suite had no idea what to do next.