Lord of Mysteries: Sustainer of Salvation

Hearing the masked man's voice, Wilson felt his mind go blank. The gas he inhaled made his whole body weak and dizzy. Unable to react or do anything about the situation, his body convulsed uncontrollably on the ground as he tried to regain his strength. His breath became shallow as he inhaled more of the thick black gas.

As he was about to pass out, a sudden rush of adrenaline surged through his veins.

Using a strength Wilson didn't know he had, he got up, running faster than ever before to his room.

He wasn't conscious of his actions, acting purely on instinct to protect his family.

....

Inside the room, the masked man slowly approached Laura.

Even though he wore a mask that muffled most of his voice, she could still hear him giggling and laughing at her.

She also inhaled the thick black gas, which made her lose control of her body, causing her fall to to the ground.

As she breathed the gas, she realized who the masked man was: the Serial Killer.

She could still control certain parts of her body, such as her organs, which maintained their involuntary movements; her tongue, which could still produce saliva; and her eyes and eyelids, which kept blinking and moving.

Laura tried to open her mouth to scream, but felt as if her muscles had been cut off; no matter how much she tried, it was useless.

Throwing her to the ground, the masked man placed a hand on his chin, as if thinking.

"Since you're pregnant, would this count as two kills?" The Killer asked.

He chuckled, "It's basically killing two birds with one stone!"

He leaned closer to Laura, almost sitting on her belly.

"I wonder what will happen first: will you die by my hands like that Harrel boy, or will your body stop like the Elwes lady?"

He sat on her belly, with no regard for her or the baby.

"You know why Elwes's body smelled like ammonia?" He asked rhetorically.

"I took my sweet time with her and forgot about the gas. When I noticed, she had lost control of her bladder—" He paused, laughing at the memory. "She peed herself! Can you believe that?"

His laugh was muffled by his brown mask, making it even scarier for Laura.

He kept laughing before suddenly stopping.

His voice became cold, filled with rage, "You won't be like that, will you?" He paused, grabbing her throat, almost choking her. "Because I'd hate to clean your filthy fluids out of my shoe—"

He was interrupted by Wilson, who threw a punch at his ear, which was covered by his black cloak.

The punch made the Killer fall to the floor, getting off Laura's belly.

The Killer got up immediately.

"Mr. Tanner..." He paused, "You aren't supposed to be here; why aren't you working?"

Without answering, Wilson threw another punch, this time aiming at the Killer's stomach.

The Killer caught Wilson's punch with little effort, grabbing his wrist. "You caught me off guard the first time, but not this time..."

The Killer pulled Wilson by his wrist, grabbed his throat, before throwing him to the other side of the room.

"Mr. Tanner, I have no business with you; please be a good husband and wait outside," The Killer said, walking back to Laura.

Wilson got up immediately; he felt no pain due to the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Wilson tried to strike another punch to the Killer's back when he turned to Laura, but as he was about to hit the him, the Killer catched his fist and threw him to the floor.

"I told you to wait outside!" The Killer shouted, kicking Wilson's face after each word.

Wilson grabbed the Killer's feet using both of his hands. With all the strength he had left, he pushed the Killer's feet to the side, making him lose balance and fall to the ground.

Filled with rage, the Killer crawled over Wilson's chest, throwing punches back and forth while screaming loudly.

"You sh*thead! Im going to make sure you see that woman dying!" The killer shouted.

The Killer got up, grabbing Wilson by the hair and throwing him next to Laura, who had passed out while the Killer and Wilson fighted.

He opened his cloack, taking out a small dagger.

He threw the dagger at Wilson's stomach with great speed.

....

Gregor roamed around Wilson's house, ready to catch the killer when he tried to get in, when he noticed a black thick gas coming out of the house.

He slowly approached. Before entering the area affected by the gas, he inhaled all the air he could, holding his breath.

As he approached, he noticed sounds of fighting before hearing a man screaming death threats.

Wilson's house was only one story tall. Gregor could easily climb the open window and get in. But instead of entering through the window, Gregor quietly opened the entrance door, which for some reason was unlocked, slowly approaching the room.

Once inside, he quietly clenched his fist twice, activating his eye.

He stared at the killer's light, which had a blood-red color.

The vision showed a woman drinking wine with a man during the night.

The woman appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with brown hair and brown eyes, and about 1.60 meters tall.

The man had black hair and eyes; he wasn't particularly handsome, but he wasn't ugly either. He seemed to be in his early forties.

Gregor didn't know who the man was, but he recognized the woman—one of the few people he hadn't used his Eyes on—Matthew's mother.

He clenched his fist twice again, deactivating his Eye.

Gregor noticed Wilson looking at him.

He was clearly in pain, but his face showed a glimpse of hope.

His stomach was bleeding, and he clearly had difficulty breathing while the dagger remained stuck in place.

The killer turned his head toward the room's door, finally noticing Gregor.

"Great, another uninvited guest…" the killer said.

"How are you still standing after breathing the gas?" The killer asked.

"Not going to answer?" The killer asked. "Whatever, I'll find out myself…" As the killer said that, more black gas invaded the room, replacing the air.

Gregor could barely see what was in front of him.

What kind of gas is this? By the state Wilson and Laura are in, I can say it's toxic, but what does it do…

Gregor thought.

Using all his remaining strength, Wilson managed to scream, "Don't breathe it! It will make you weak!"

As Wilson finished speaking, the killer pulled the dagger from his stomach, opening the wound.

Shit… Did I miss something? Is he not from the Criminal Pathway?

Gregor thought, his mind raced, trying to understand the killer's abilities.

He was getting desperate for air after not breathing for so long.

Suddenly, as he tried to understand what was happening, the killer punched his stomach, forcing him to breathe some of the gas.

Gregor immediately coughed it out. Even though the gas didn't affect him, he lost all the air in his lungs. He couldn't last much longer before needing to breathe.

I can't see, I can't breathe, this motherf***er is took two of my five senses...

Gregor tried to see where the killer was, but all he could see was the black gas that formed a thick fog in the room.

He walked around the room, trying to understand his surroundings.

Since he only punched me once, I guess he can't see through the gas either.

He's trying to trap me before throwing the dagger…

For someone to be so careful with the dagger, he probably only has one.

He tried to not stay in one place too long to avoid revealing his position to the killer.

Wilson tapped Gregor's feet. "Take her..." His voice was weak; he clearly couldn't last much longer.

At that point, Gregor knew he couldn't save them both, and he also couldn't defeat the killer since he was caught off guard by his powers.

He took a step forward, stepping into Wilson's body.

He could now see Laura's body; he quickly took her in his arms, and as he was about to run with her, the killer spoke.

"I won't let that happen!" The killer said, throwing the small dagger with great speed in Gregor's direction.

The dagger was about to fall directly into Gregor's chest, piercing his skin.

Using his last strength, Wilson threw himself at the dagger; the dagger pierced his chest, directly into his lung.

Gregor didn't waste Wilson's last effort; he ran with Laura's body, jumping out of the window.

....

He ran to the street, finally catching his breath.

At that point, the street was full of people: police officers, passersby, people who had left what they were doing to see.

Eleanor ran towards them.

"Gregor, what happened?!" She asked loudly; she was clearly worried.

Gregor, who was still trying to catch his breath, gently placed Laura's body on the street before barely being able to mumble an answer.

"Killer... Acted again..." He took deep breaths after every word. Even though he didn't formulate the phrase correctly, she understood what he meant.

....

Noticing that Gregor fled with Laura, Wilson finally gave in; he lay on the floor, smiling, knowing that at least Laura and their baby would be safe.

Take good care of our baby, my love...

Wilson thought before finally losing consciousness.

The killer, on the other hand, was clearly angry.

He took off his mask, staring at Wilson's body.

"It's not what I planned, but it's better than nothing. The ritual needs to be completed quickly..."

Without wasting a second, the killer took Wilson's left arm and left the house.

Even though the street was full of people, they were distracted by Gregor and Laura; no one noticed him leaving.