Black Hood: Season Two by Nick Venom (management books to read txt) 📕

reached the last door of the hallway, a single red door at the end of the hallway, facing the entire hallway while the other ones faced each other. He was approaching the king’s door, passing by the nobles’ door.

He grabbed the door handle and threw it open. Waiting for him was Cherry, a redheaded woman with night-black skin and an hourglass shape. She beckoned him in. Spec, however, hesitated to enter the lion’s den, noticing armed street rats and men surrounding him.

“I’ve been expecting you, Black Hood.” She remarked, crossing her legs while sitting on her throne. “You’re after my head?”

“Yeah,” He grumbled. His cloak covered his face. “I’ll take it within ten minutes.”

“Ha! Try it!” She exclaimed, glancing at her armed men. “Get him!” 

The nearest street rat charged towards Spec, being sliced in half within an instant. Spec ripped Deathstriker out of the rat’s body, turning towards the next closest target---one of Cherry’s bodyguards. He charged headfirst towards the man, sidestepping to the right at the last second to confuse the man. He tried to turn around to face Spec but was sliced in half horizontally. 

Cherry glared at the other men, ordering them against Spec. “He can’t kill you all!”

They sprinted towards Spec, one of them piercing his cloak and another tearing off a piece of his cloak. Spec reacted by grabbing one of the rat’s face, holding him in front of an attack, and watching as he was sliced by one of his comrades, smiling to himself. He was slowly getting used to the bloodfest.

He ducked from an attack; it nicked his head. He laid low on the ground, raising himself high enough to sweep one of the closest men’s legs. He shot up, turning to face a charging tank---a muscular six-foot man---and held out Deathstriker in front of him. The men smashed into Deathstriker, throwing him back. Spec hit the ground harshly, his head nearly cracking on the cement floor. 

The six-foot man charged forward with a crew of street rats hoping to prove themselves in front of Cherry. However, only the six-foot man was experienced with warfare. Spec simply shot back up and disappeared into the shadows caused by the dim sunlight, disappearing from sight to then reappear behind them. He sliced their backs to hell, killing all but the six-foot man. He was left to a worse fate.

He grabbed the man’s head and jammed his thumbs into his eyes, listening to the beautiful sound of screaming. The man cried his lungs out as he tried to fight Spec off… to no avail. With his eyes pushed in, he picked his head up and slammed it into the cement a few times. He died after his skull cracked in half.

“Doubted me?” He asked Cherry, panting slightly.

Cherry’s nose flared up as she glared at him. She stood up, brandishing a few potions. She smiled wickedly as she threw the potions. Spec dodged all but one, holding a greenish-blue substance, that nicked his cloak.

“Of course,” She responded, chuckling to herself. Spec glanced at his cloak and noticed it was disintegrating. The potion turned out to be poison, crawling over his cloak and would soon make its way into his flesh.

He ripped off his cloak, one of his last reminders of his family. He was angry.

He sprinted towards Cherry, grabbing her and raising her high into the air. Fright entered her eyes for a moment before they calmed down. “It’s you, that little boy that messed with Wick. You were Black Hood? Should’ve guessed it by how much time he dedicated to you.” She brandished another potion, but Spec grabbed it and threw it on the concrete to the side of them. The hissing sound of the substance informed Spec it was acid.

“You don’t deserve mercy.” He told her.

“Your parent’s definitely didn’t. They died a dog’s death. Discarded in the nearby lake, right? What a funny way to die.” She scowled at him.

He didn’t think anything was funny, throwing her head into the acid. She screamed and shouted as the acid ripped off her flesh, tearing it piece by piece. Her screams echoed throughout the abandoned port, escaping through an open window. 

Spec stood up, satisfied to see a headless corpse laying in a puddle of blood and acid. He chuckled softly to himself. “Your death was funny.”

He turned away, leaving the room. “Goodbye, Blue Demons.”

 

TBC…

Chapter Ten "Not Even The God Can Topple Me"

Spec arrived at the broken house, seeing Rock and a person by her side. He approached her without his cloak, his face exposed. His messy hair covered his forehead, tempting to go further. Without the cloak to cover his body, it was on full display. His body was a mix of dangerously skinny and lean. He had been training for the last five years to fulfill his revenge, but rarely ate much. His body was deprived of its nutrients. 

He stared at Rock and the guy by her side. He looked around cautiously before locking eye contact with Spec, before quickly looking away. “Who’s my target?” His voice grumbled in a low tone. “The list’s almost done.”

“Good, you can read. Now-” She motioned towards the guy by her side. “-this is my personal assistant, Arlo. I found him in the White Guard’s base. I sent him to search for information.”

“What kind of information?” Spec asked, glancing around.

“The type of information that gets us closer to Raide than the Holy Grail team can supply us with. Arlo’s information makes their information worthless.”

“Holy Grail? That’s the one being led by the princess?” 

“Yup, they’ve been moving independently from us. They’re broken into two teams; Recon and Infantry. Recon surveys the Slums and the gang leaders.” She held up the Kill Order. “Every new gang that steps up is investigated and recorded by them and sent to us through the updated Kill Orders. As for the Infantry team, they’ve been tasked with cleaning out the massacres you’ve caused and retaking empty gang buildings. They’ve established multiple provinces within the Slums.” She explained.

“They’re waiting for us to complete the job, aren’t they?” Spec deducted. “Before they charge into the Slums, they need the current Ruler to be killed.”

“Yeah, they are. We’re disposable; the Holy Grail team is made up of knights and other pawns that the royal family doesn’t want to get rid of.” She mentioned, taking a few steps and pressing her back against the half-standing wall.

“And they threw all of those pawns under the leadership of a teenage girl? The king must be off his rocker.” Spec turned his attention onto Arlo. “Should we be telling him? Or are we killing him?”

Arlo’s eyes widened as he snapped from Spec’s face to Rock’s, his eyes pleading for a ‘no’. Fortunately, Rock gave him that mercy. “I told you, didn’t I? He’s my personal assistant, so he stays with me. You aren’t allowed to kill him. That’s final.”

“Fine, whatever, give me my target already.” He grumbled.

Rock smiled widely. “You want to go see your little sister already?” She asked in the tone you used when talking with a baby or when mocking a younger sibling. “Oh, is Specky longing for his family?”

Spec glared at her, getting no response from the assassin. Arlo, on the other hand, was frightened out of his mind. Unlike Rock, he couldn’t stand his glare, sweating bullets.

“Target!” He insisted. “Who is it?”

“We’re nearing the end. One more target before we hit Raide. His right-hand man, a dangerous man known as Owl. The Holy Grail team doesn’t know more than that. However-” She motioned to Arlo, whose knees collapsed on him and was now kneeling. “-Arlo knows where he’ll be.” She ordered him on his feet.

He stood up, his knees trembling, and stared at Spec. “H-He’ll be at a nearby restaurant, Pop & Mom’s Restaurant. From there, he’ll head into his office and remain there for most of the day before heading home.”

“Pop & Mom’s Restaurant?” Spec muttered to himself. He had visited the restaurant and reconnected with two street rats while there. He was fed inaccurate information by assassins X and Z which led to the duel between himself and Wick on the roof overlooking the port. 

“Owl runs on a schedule. He’s consistent in his activities.” Arlo added.

Rock nodded. “This time we’re both going in. A quick hit before we engage the final boss of the Slums, the current Ruler of the Slums. Once he’s dead, the Slums will be reorganized and fixed up by the royal family.”

“You actually believe that?” Spec asked her. “All that will happen is legal corruption. The royal family will send in or create their own gangs and soon they’ll become the Ruler of the Slums.”

“Speaking about legal corruption,” Arlo chimed in, “I found out that Raide has a few backers. Two of them are part of Congress. He has lawmakers on his side.”

“Who?” Rock asked, furrowing her brows. She didn’t know this piece of intel.

“Two guys named Alton and Sien. I don’t recognize the Sien guy, but Alton’s rather famous around here.” 

“How so?” Spec asked.

“Alton was here a few months ago. He wanted to buy out Wick’s ports but failed. Wick nearly killed him, kicking him out of the Slums afterward. Alton planned to rejuvenate the ports and bring more income to himself, a brilliant plan but lacked the funds to bribe Wick. He was kicked out without his dignity and money, instead.”

“So they’re corrupted nobles then? Okay, we keep this between us. Once the Slums are cleared, we investigate the nobles.” Rock said. Spec and Arlo agreed. “Good, now let’s make sure we make it to investigate the nobles. Arlo, you’ll stay with the Holy Grail team as protected contraband while Spec and I assassinate Owl and Raide.”

Arlo nodded, gripping a folder of papers tightly. “When do we start?” Spec asked, staring at Rock. She let out a small smile, directing it at him.

“Today. We have a few hours of light left.”

***

“Black Hood? He killed Wick, didn’t he?” Raide asked. The bulky man with tattoos covering most of his body approached the smaller-in-frame Owl - whose real name was Johnny Vix. With every step Raide took, Johnny could feel the vibrations of the floor.

“Y-Yeah, he did. Our boys found his body on the roof of that one building, recovering and incinerating his corpse.” Johnny told him, looking up at the oval-shaped head of Raide. The man, who resembled a professional wrestler like The Rock, had taken drugs to reach his current strength, able to pop a man’s head with ease. 

“What about him? Has he been sighted in the Slums again or has his identity been revealed?”

“No idea about his identity, but he’s been sighted multiple times. The Redbrights, White Guard, Blue Demons, Terrors, and every other competitor has been smashed in by him.”

“He took out every other gang in the Slums? We must be his final target then.

“I think so as well. I don’t understand his aim or why it took a month for him to reappear, but he’s back in full force.” Johnny said, staring at papers resting on his desk. “Do you think you could kill him?”

“You’re doubting my strength?” Raide asked, an eyebrow raised. 

Johnny shook his head. “I don’t, but… even Wick couldn’t kill him. He was the strongest in the Slums, but couldn’t