Contractor: The Legendary Contract of Vento

by Sai Prapanch A

  The next day as the surgery was being performed, Zack held Katie’s hand. Mr. Smith was on the edge as well. But soon, there was news by the end of the day. That the surgery was over... that it was a success... that Mrs. Smith was completely cured...

  And Mrs. Titania was dead.

  Sora had been to a few funerals when he was living in the orphanage. Some of the orphans living with him had died from diseases. It was pretty common. The bodies would be burnt and the ashes would be buried. Sora was never allowed to see the body. All he could do was weep next to the graves.

  But he had never been to a funeral such as this.

  He was dressed in black and sitting next to Jake, Conner and Sean in white chairs amongst the hundreds present in the Dragon Temple inside the Titania grounds. The temple was a big place with a huge idol of the dragon in front of them. And at his feet was the coffin containing the body of Laura Titania.

  The priest was chanting the last rites. But his words didn’t reach Sora. He started looking around the temple, mostly because he couldn’t bear seeing straight in front of him.

  The beautiful paintings of the dragon and his six paladins appeared drab to him. The ceiling seemed to stretch endlessly into the darkness. And there was an endless sobbing echoing from somewhere in the temple.

  After a few minutes, which felt like years, the priest finally stopped speaking. The people went up to pay their final respects. Sora and Jake didn’t move at all and observed the people, who were obviously from respected noble families from around the world. Sora wondered on seeing their impassive faces whether any of them felt true sorrow for the lady lying in the coffin. They just walked up to her and placed a bouquet next to the coffin, giving a disapproving glance at the crying staff of the Titania family, sitting at the far side of the hall. They were the ones who truly felt the loss.

  The crowd began to thin. Sean and Conner nudged Jake and Sora. “We should go as well.”

  They slowly got to their feet. Each step seemed to weigh Sora down. The path leading to the foot of the statue appeared to go on forever. He didn’t recognize any of the faces that he saw. Everything was hazy. But despite this, there was one face that brought him back to his senses.

  Zack was sitting with the rest of his family. He had a stony expression, not taking notice of anyone speaking to him. Elena leaned on her brother’s shoulder with tears dripping down her beautiful face. And Mr. Titania’s face was the most heart breaking one of all.

  He was a broken man, looking so old, so weak and so pathetic; you could never have imagined him to be the lord of the Titania family. His silent sobs were too much for Sora to handle. He was about to approach the group when Jake stopped him.

  “There’s nothing that we can say to make them feel better. This pain is something they should overcome on their own.”

  But in spite of what he said, he was shaking with helplessness. They finally reached the body. Laura Titania’s eyes were closed and her lips curved in a small smile. Sora might’ve thought that she was asleep if he didn’t know any better.

  Jake was the first to speak. “You were one of the kindest people I had ever known. You didn’t care about social status and the like. You were what others of your rank would’ve considered as unbecoming as a noble. But to us commoners, you were a true noble in all aspects. You were always worrying about us, always supporting us, and always caring for us. I will never forget you for as long as I live. For me, you are more than just a noble.”

  Saying this, Jake trembled and turned away, unable to go on.

  Sean was next, “I never got to know you. But seeing how people are crying at your death, I wish I had. Everything I heard about you from Jake and Sora made it hard to believe that you were really a noble. But now I know. You will always remain in my mind as the greatest woman I have ever heard of.”

  Sean stepped down, looking very grim.

  Conner spoke up next. “The time I came to know you might have been short, but you were a great person. You always thought of helping people. I always thought nobles were selfish and egoistic till I met you. You will live on in our memories.”

  It was now Sora’s turn. He placed his hands on the edge of the coffin and observed the peaceful expression of the lady lying inside it. Thoughts and memories rushed through his mind. He was supposed to speak out whatever came to his mind about her. But what did he really think of her?

  Yes, she was more than a noble. And yes, she was a great woman. But that was not what Sora thought of her. She was something much greater for him.

  She had found a place in his heart and mind that no one had ever stepped into. She was a source of love and caring that he had never experienced before. And the thought that he would never feel the warmth of her hug again was agony for him. What did all this say about what she really was for him?

  Sora wanted to say all this, but had begun choking. With all his might, he managed to say one thing; “Goodbye.” He could not bear to see the corpse anymore and averted his gaze.

  Katie was standing behind them along with her mother in a wheelchair and her father gently pushing it. Mrs. Smith was still in tears and Mr. Smith was very solemn. Katie’s eyes were also red and swollen.

  Sora was one of the few who stayed to see the body being buried in the cemetery beside the temple along with the other graves of the past generations of the Titania family. The gravestone was a huge slab of marble, with precious stones engraved on it. The words on the gravestone read;

  Laura Titania

  A Loving Wife…

  A beloved mother…

  A caring human…

  The ones you have changed,

  the ones you have saved,

  and the ones you have shown your love to,

  they will never forget you.

  Sora nodded. He was sure that he couldn’t forget her even if he wanted to. As the coffin was placed deep into the grave, there was a dark and empty feeling inside him.

  He didn’t know when he left the Titania mansion. He had no idea how he reached his home. Jake and Conner were already there in the living room, but they didn’t speak a word as he entered. Sora climbed up to his bedroom and locked himself there.

  Slowly, a month passed. Sora was returning from his B rank mission of being a bodyguard for some big shot from a big company. The attempted assassination had been a painful disappointment. Sora didn’t even feel challenged by the stinger missile used on them. A simple typhoon shield was enough to protect them from the blast and Sora needed only ten seconds to capture the assassins.

  He was back at the guild to collect his reward for the mission, a check of eight hundred thousand Zens. With his earnings tucked into his pocket, he was about to go to the cafeteria when someone called out to him.

  “Hey, Sora.”

  Sora turned to see Kira approaching him. Sora instinctively pinched Kira’s cheek.

  “Ouch! What was that for?”

  “Sorry, just checking something,” Sora said, convinced that it really was Kira. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Nothing much,” Kira replied. “Just catching up. Never got to talk to you after you became a B rank. Life tough?”

  Sora and Kira stepped into the cafeteria. “Not really. I’ve gotten used to being shot at,” Sora said as they looked for a seat. He caught sight of Zack sitting alone on a table. Sora had not been able to speak properly with Zack ever since the funeral. Zack continued to keep aloof, not encouraging any conversation. Sora did not give in to it.

  He approached Zack and said, “Hey, you okay?”

  Zack ignored him and just kept eating his food.

  Sora sat across him and said, “You could talk to me, you know. I can help you.”

  Zack said in a cold voice, “Help? You? What a joke.” He got up to leave. “Don’t talk to me as though you understand me.”

  Sora sat, transfixed at Zack’s change of attitude. Kira sat next to him, scowling. “That Zack is back to being the jerk he was before. He’s been mouthin
g off to everyone.”

  Sora shook his head. “Give him a break, Kira. He was really close to his mom. Her death came as quite a shock to him.”

  “But it’s been a month!” Kira retorted. “He’s got to learn to accept it, hasn’t he?”

  “That’s easier said than done.” Jake had arrived with his tray of dinner. “The doctors in charge of his mother’s treatment said that she had some kind of disease the likes of which they had never seen before. They had tried everything possible but nothing seemed to work. It affected her body functioning and she had to come regularly to the hospital.”

  Sora was startled. “But she seemed alright till the day before her death. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with her.”

  Jake answered, “It seemed that the anomaly in her body starts acting up without warning. She could be healthy one second and in the brink of death the next.”

  There was silence. None of them felt too comfortable discussing the matter. Kira grumbled that he had something to do and left. Jake and Sora chewed on their dinner.

  After a few minutes, Jake spoke. “You know, there is something I have to confirm. Come with me.”

  Sora followed Jake out of the cafeteria to the infirmary on the third floor. Sora asked, “Why do we have to meet Dr. Reed?”

  Jake replied, “Dr. Reed was one of the doctors called by the hospital to find the cause of death.”

  “What!”

  “I don’t know much about medicine, but if there was any sign of illness or disease, Dr. Reed would’ve found it.”

  Jake knocked on Dr. Reed’s office door and said, “It’s me, Jake.”

  The door creaked open and Dr. Reed’s green eyes peered at them. He then let them in.

  Sora had never been inside the young doctor’s office. It was a posh and neat place with a large number of medical equipment and files. The doctor bolted his door and said, “I was expecting you two to turn up. Is this about Mrs. Titania?”

  They nodded. Jake said, “The doctors at the hospital said that it was an unknown disease that killed her. But she had been going there for a few years. The chances that the disease could not be identified and cured even with all those skilled doctors, including yourself, and the advanced technology are very slim.”

  Dr. Reed fell into his seat with a sigh. He seemed very disturbed.

  “Look, guys. This is a classified matter. The higher ups in the Titania family wanted to put a lid on it. Even Mrs. Titania didn’t want her children to be told.”

  He paused for a moment.

  “You’re right. We did find the cause. With all those examinations, we were able to confirm it. But it was hard to believe. We had seen nothing like it before.”

  Sora and Jake looked at each other and then stared at the doctor wiping sweat off his forehead.

  “Her body had signs of being experimented on.”

  “WHAT!”

  Dr. Reed gestured them to be quiet. But they were too shocked to not react to what they had just heard.

  “Experimented on? Are you serious?” Sora asked, baffled.

  Jake said quietly, “Are you telling us that Mrs. Titania was subjected to human experimentation?”

  Dr. Reed nodded grimly. “I’m sure you guys know about the ki channels and the ki centre.”

  Every human being in Gara has an organ in the abdomen region known as the ki centre. A large number of ducts arise from the ki centre known as ki channels. These ki channels are connected to various parts of the body.

  Ki is generated in the ki centre and the ki channels supply it to the body. But a vast majority of the population’s ki centre does not have the ability to generate ki. So these organs do not have any value for those humans. But those who are born with a working ki centre have the ability to generate ki.

  Jake and Sora already knew this.

  Dr. Reed said, “During our examinations, we discovered that there were signs of tampering with Mrs. Titania’s ki centre. And she has a dormant ki centre.”

  Dr. Reed took out a file and showed it to them. There were scans and X-rays of Mrs. Titania’s ki centre. Sora could see that the blue organ had a number of scars on it.

  “We realized that the ki centre had been opened externally and had been resealed after foreign objects had been placed into it.”

  Sora spluttered, “Why? Why would anyone do such a thing?”

  “There’s only one possible reason,” Jake said as he bit his lip. “Artificial activation of the ki centre.”

  Dr. Reed nodded. “We came to the same conclusion as well. Though we were not able to identify the foreign object inserted into the ki centre, we knew that was the cause for her body functioning dropping. The object starts acting up and sends small charges of ki through the ki channels. This affected her health, and finally, her body could not handle it.”

  Nobody spoke for a while. Jake gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. Sora clenched his fist and then asked in revulsion, “Who did this? Who the hell would do such a thing?”

  The doctor shook his head. “We’re as clueless as you are. At first, we wondered if it was the Titania family itself.”

  “WHAT!”

  “Think about it. For technology with the ability to create objects that could generate ki, you need lots of money. A noble family could afford such a thing.”

  Sora was furious. He held the doctor by his collar and said, “That is not possible. They would never do such a thing. Don’t you accuse them without any hard evidence!”

  Dr. Reed said, “I know. Mrs. Titania herself mentioned that it wasn’t the Titania family when we asked her about it. But she wouldn’t tell us who did it to her.”

  Sora slackened his grip and Dr. Reed fell into his chair again. Sora gulped and said, “Someone has to tell Zack.”

  But Zack was nowhere to be found in the guild for the rest of the day. Jake suggested that they try to find him later.

  They didn’t have to look for him hard the next day. As they entered the guild HQ, there seemed to be a commotion in the lobby. Raised voices could be heard from the centre of the room.

  “Bill, what’s happening?”

  The tall and black-headed Bill Clow turned to see Sora and Jake behind him. He said, “Guys, good timing. You guys need to step in before it becomes serious.”

  “What do you mean?” Sora asked.

  He and Jake pushed past him to see Zack shouting at Jeff Brown. Jeff was a respected A rank contractor in his late twenties; a well-built brunette with hawk-like eyes. He usually had a cool, calm and cheerful personality. But now, he was anything but that.

  “What is wrong with you? Is this the way you do your missions?” Jeff shouted.

  “What do you care? Mind your own business! I’ll do what I want to!” Zack retorted.

  Sora was perplexed. “What did Zack do?”

  Bill said, “Zack was sent on a job to be a noble’s bodyguard. But he almost got him killed while fighting away the people, who were ambushing them. He was too careless about using his power and nearly burned the noble to death. A formal complaint was sent to the guild.”

  “That isn’t like Zack at all!” Jake said.

  Bill shrugged. “That’s why Jeff is so pissed. But Zack is being a total jerk.”

  Sora shook his head. “We’ve got to stop this.”

  Jeff continued shouting, “You are a disgrace to this guild. Who do you think you are?”

  Zack bellowed, “I am the heir to the Titania family! And I couldn’t care less about what happens to this guild!”

  “You piece of–”

  “Cool down guys.”

  Sora came in between them just in time. “No need to start a fight over this.”

  Jeff was still fuming. “Sora, this punk has crossed the line. How do you just expect me to sit there and watch him do that?”

  Sora said, “I’ll take care of him. Leave it to me.”

  Jake also stepped in. “Nothing else to see, people,” he said out to the crowd gathered to wa
tch the shouting match. “Keep moving.”

  People started to disperse slowly. Sora approached Zack and muttered, “Come on, Zack. Cool down. This isn’t you. You’ve got to stop acting like this.”

  “Shut up,” Zack snapped. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”

  “I’m your friend, of course.”

  Zack spat, “Friend? Don’t make me laugh.”

  Sora said, “Zack, you’ve got to stop taking your anger out on others. There’s something important I’ve got to tell you about your mother.”

  Sora realized that his approach had been too direct. Zack glared at him and barked, “Don’t you talk about my mother as if you know her… as if you really care about her! You’re just like the other hypocrites; acting like you shared our pain. I saw those people in the funeral. You’re all just like them!”

  Sora gaped. “Zack! How could you think that? You know well enough that Jake and I really did care about her. We both want to help you.”

  “Help, is it?” Zack snarled. “Well, I don’t need help from people who don’t understand me at all!”

  “Zack, we understand how you feel. We know the pain of losing those precious to you.”

  “WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?”

  The whole place went quiet. Everyone stared at them again. Sora was wide-eyed, as Zack seemed like he was about to blow.

  “YOU ARE AN ORPHAN! YOU NEVER EVEN KNEW YOUR PARENTS! YOU NEVER HAD SOMEONE YOU COULD CALL YOUR FAMILY!”

  Sora was breathing deeply. He said, “Zack, please, don’t do this–”

  “YOU SHOULD JUST GO BACK TO THAT SHITTY ORPHANAGE OF YOURS AND SKIP AND DANCE WITH ALL THOSE OTHER HOMELESS MAGGOTS!”

  “SHUT THE HELL UP!”

  Zack froze. Everyone gasped. Jake held his breath. The Sora in front of them was not one they had ever seen before. He was so furious that his eyes seemed red. He was gritting his teeth and looked so ferocious that Zack actually took a step back.

  Sora’s growl made cold sweat run down everyone’s spines.

  “You think you can mouth off anything you want about them and expect to get away with it? I WILL TEAR YOU APART, YOU SCUMBAG!” Sora growled.