The clear night sky, coupled with a full moon, gave off an eerie atmosphere.
Crouching and looking from behind the walls of an abandoned house, Sear commented on the decrepit state of the clinic further ahead. "Is this really a clinic?! Looks like a dump!!"
Though, Jango was quick to defend the place for some reason. "It only appears that way from the outside, inside is a different place. Houses in shady areas are like that."
"That so!!" Sear remarked, followed by silence.
Though Jango wasn't done speaking..
"What made me suspicious of Dr. Klad is his drastic change in attitude since those slasher events started happening. He was a good friend in the past, but nowadays, when I come here for treatment or just to hang out, he behaves and talks like a complete maniac with a creepy smile on top of that."
As he continued, Jango's voice briefly broke..
"Gulp!... It was somewhat like he was possessed."
Hearing the description of this "Klad," Sear became even surer in his belief that he had found Kuro.
And thereafter both men stopped talking as a quiet anticipation reigned.
Sear and Jango were patient enough, so they waited.
Although midnight had long passed and, except for them, the entire place had gone to sleep, they waited.
Thus more time passed.
.
.
.
Eventually, Jango couldn't take the suspense anymore. "It's already 3 AM, doesn't seem like much is gonna happen tonight. Isn't it about time we call it quits?"
Sear had to agree. "Yeah, seems like you are right. I am also feeling very sleepy myself."
But just as he had finished speaking, something changed about the air..
Sear could feel his senses heightening. Even Jango, just looking at his reaction, could tell that things were off.
tap!
Suddenly, Sear pulled Jango aside just as an ambush descended on the spot he had occupied.
kreeg!!
Having missed its target, the claws chipped the adjacent wall instead. The scratch marks were deep enough that the plaster was completely dug into, reaching the red bricks underneath.
Right after the failure, the attacker disappeared out of thin air exactly as he had appeared. It was hard to make out their identity in that time span.
Jango was safe and sound but "haaah!! haaaah!!" he was breathing heavily, wide-eyed and absolutely shocked.
"Be careful. If I had been a second late, it could have proved dire for you."
Sear advised his terrified partner, who kept nodding along.
And just as he said that, Sear sensed another strike, towards himself this time.
Moving just an inch before the sharp claws could land, he narrowly evaded death, while 'Fast!!' remarking on the increased speed.
Yet again the attacker retreated quickly.
Shortly another attempt would surely be made, so before things could get any worse, Sear unleashed his breathing technique.
The next strike was faster than the previous ones, but Sear's kukri was even faster. He blocked the claw, creating sparks as finally the Serial Slasher was revealed below the moonlit night.
"Captain Kuro!!" Sear exclaimed.
Captain Kuro, or more appropriately Klad, looked exactly as he did in the series. Slicked-back hair, wearing a suit along with glasses. The only difference was the choice of weapon..
What Sear had thought were hard iron blades turned out to be regular surgeon knives, three in between the fingers of each hand.
Right as Sear confirmed his doubts, the man disappeared from the spot in a zap!.
Still knowing the psycho was relentless, Sear was poised to counterattack, with the sharp end of his kukri aimed forward.
"Those eyes looked dull.. has he actually lost his mind?. He doesn't seem to have self-control right now."
Clang!
Sear repelled the enemy again as he wondered..
'But these attacks, they aren't random! He seems bloodthirsty—Sure—but also strategic.'
With every clash, the impact was more than before. It was also louder, due to which the fight hadn't gone unnoticed.
The commotion they caused had grabbed the attention of a number of people in the neighborhood, some looked out from their windows and others peeked from behind the walls of their roofs to see what was happening.
Meanwhile the battle was also about to come to a close.
Although it wasn't complete darkness, night was night, which made spotting the guy somewhat difficult. Though after clashing multiple times for a minute or two, Sear noticed Klad becoming significantly slower, a reversed trend of sorts.
His eyes would occasionally catch glimpses of the blades shining in the dark.
And so, right as Klad came close, Sear pounced and pursued, catching the serial slasher by the arms. He jerked the guy toward himself and threw a devastating slap to the face that could kill a person.
The earth shattered as Klad reeled from the overwhelming sensation of pain he felt in his throbbing face, all while his brain rang a static tinggggg!! the entire time..
The aftershock of the slap had caused him to stagger and trip onto the ground.
In a daze, he tried getting up, however his legs gave way and he fell face-flat yet again.
Before long he came to his senses. "Huh? Where am I?"
"So how do you feel, huh?, Mr. Serial Slasher!!" Sear asked, his tone somewhat amused.
"M-me??" Klad pointed at himself, wondering if he was meant to be the "Serial Slasher" being referred to by this horned guy, whom he didn't quite recognize.
Though reflecting on recent events, Klad did suspect as much. "Sure enough it was me all along."
Saying so, he stood up on his own two legs, still wobbling.
"Lately every night I felt an urge to do harm and sometimes, especially on full moons like this, I could feel myself becoming more erratic, then my memory went hazy."
Looking at his trembling palms, he continued.
"When I regained control over my body, I found myself collapsed and passed out in the entrance of my house."
He felt a rush of different emotions pressing on his mind.
"What is happening?! Losing control, going on a rampage; is not like me.."
Now with undeniable proof that he was the so-called Serial Slasher, the guy fell to his knees with a heavy thud!, as total helpless frustration washed over him.
It wasn't grief per se..
"My life's work... All that I have done to make things right, how can it all come crashing down?!!."
He couldn't bear the thought, the weight that without any notice, he might lose his sanity. "Who would want to be hunted for things they did unconsciously and spend the rest of their life looking over their shoulder?. There has to be a solution."
While the man was having a meltdown, lamenting over his situation, Jango too reflected, "That explains the change in attitude I noticed. All my visits at his clinic were always during the night, after all."
At the same time, Sear had found a clue through Klad's words, a theory forming in his head. 'Could this be connected to the Mink Tribe?'
Hence, to clear his doubts, he directly inquired, "Was one of your ancestors a Mink?"
With the gazes landing on him, Klad, still slightly light-headed, raised his head toward the two, then with some difficulty, he answered..
"Mink? I don't believe I understand your question..., Wha—What is a Mink?"
Sear nodded. "Makes sense somebody from East Blue wouldn't know about Minks.. Simply put, they are a race like us humans.. intelligent creatures that walk upright, but the difference is the animal-like features they have. Imagine a dog-man, cat-man and such."
"You mean hybrids between humans and animals, can something like that even exist?.."
Klad was doubtful. "Ah! W-wait.. What you said reminds me, in my family lineage, one of our ancestors indeed had cat-like features, but what does this supposed Mink ancestor have to do with my current situation?"
"You see, Minks are peaceful most of the time, but every full moon, those with no control over their powers could go crazy and attack anyone in sight... it's called a Sulong transformation.."
Klad thought about what he heard half convinced by the explanation. At the very least, he could be sure Jango's and this horned guy's intentions weren't to harm him.
"So I had a Mink ancestor, no wonder.. though there is still something I don't quite get, why do only I go crazy when my parents were both normal, and why now of all times.."
"Hmm..." even Sear was clueless in this regard..
"Could it be.." Klad spoke again, piquing the curiosity of the two men.
He then took out a small bottle from his coat pocket.
"What is that?" Jango asked.
"This.. it's a medicine I made.. The reason i became a doctor, focusing on surgeries was also this.. My father's side of the family suffered from a medical condition, headache that were so painful that it took the life of my father."
His voice shook as he recounted..
"i even performed autopsy on own father's remains and Like I suspected, the cause was a tumor in the head.. In time, I too started having those same symptoms. I did recover, after experimenting on myself for a cure, though to think it would awaken a different problem as a side effect."
Shortly after Klad had just finished speaking, Sear would observe some curious happenings in the surrounding, "See those lights flickering in quite a few houses around us. I don't think we should stick around here any longer." he said
To which Jango Suggested "You are right, come follow me to my place!"
Nod! Nod!