25 Years Ago...

  The man walked down the street in the quiet afternoon, the heels of his perfectly polished shoes clicking away. There were a few people, all heading home for the night. A few glanced at him with a slight look of horror on their faces whilst others avoided eye contact altogether. He struck fear and anxiety wherever he went, piercing sharp terror into the hearts of whoever was unfortunate enough to lay eyes upon him. How he loved that feeling. It gave him a tingling warmness in his chest, but that was still not enough to melt his solid heart of ice. The man suddenly stopped, something catching his eye. He entered the fencing club and hung up his long coat and hat. He stood by the small crowd of proud parents and observed the children duelling against one another, their dull rapiers clanking and clashing against each other. His eye caught sight of a young girl and he watched in interest as she countered every move that her opponent made with extraordinary skill. She did not allow any attack to get past her. She retaliated with her attacks, giving him no chance of survival if it was a real duel to the death. The man nodded. “She's good.”

  The other man next to him smiled. “She's my daughter.”

  “You must be proud to raise a child like that.”

  “I am.”

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  After observing for a little while more, the newcomer turned, making his way to the doors. He quickly and silently did the latches shut. No one paid any attention to him, not knowing the horror that was creeping up to them. Reaching into his coat, the man drew a samurai sword out and made his way over to the crowd. The gleaming blade took a head and the hall was filled with screams of horror and panic. The madman proceeded to slaughter anyone that tried to escape from his mad clutches of death. A child tripped and he brought the blade down onto their fragile little back with no remorse. Bodies fell onto one another and the floor became slick with blood. A few horrific moments went by and the hall was filled with silence. The man panted lightly, getting his breath back, and walked over to a mirror. He reached into his suit, taking out a handkerchief, and wiped his face clean of the blood splatters. Once he was done, he walked back over to his trench coat. He put it on, hiding his sword and blood splattered suit. He buttoned it up and put his wide-brimmed hat on, walked over to the whimpering little girl in the middle of the carnage. She looked up at him in abject fear, streams of tears rolling down her cheeks, her entire body trembling like a twig in a storm. The mass murderer stooped down in front of her. “Don't worry,” He told her gently. “you are safe now. They were bad people and it was wrong of you to trust them. I will take care of you. I shall raise you as my own.”

  The little girl wiped her tears and slowly got a hold of her nerves, stupidly deciding to trust the maniac. The man picked her up in his arms and began to walk out, leaving the stomach churning crime scene.

  “What is your name, my sweet child?”

  “Ellis.”

  The one-eyed man gave her a kind smile through his split lips. “Call me Artificis.”