Maohden Vol. 1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

And you?”

    The man on the far left sported a ghastly white face. “This morning—a guy arrived—the secretary told me—that’s all—I know—”
    Setsura nodded, apparently taking them at their word. “What sort of person was this guy?”
    Like a teacher quizzing his students. Or more like the students quizzing their teachers. And seemingly equally unaware of how the tables had turned, the murderers’ mouths again moved.
    “Twenty or so—pale—thin—a mole next to his mouth—”
    Setsura’s reaction was a flicker in the depths of those endless dark eyes. “Fifteen years,” he murmured. His voice sounded no less far away. “This game of hide and go seek has gone on way too long. There’s hardly enough time to tie up all the loose ends. We’re really going to have to shutter the business for a while.”
    He cast a glance at the men. They stood there like statues. “Disposing of you like this would hardly tax my wiles. I’ll give you a fair shot. I’m going to take the customary ten paces down this street. Ten paces. After that, feel free to fire away. Or not. Whether I turn around. Or not. You’ll be able to move soon enough.”
    With that, he turned his back to them and started walking. At the same time, the binding cords immobilizing them dissolved away. Mutual glances of disbelief gave way to white-hot anger coursing through their limbs to their trigger fingers.
    Setsura hadn’t gone five steps.
    But their fingers didn’t move. That something in the cold had seeped down to the bone and muscle. They’d spent too much time in the shade.
    They all closed their eyes. Not out of fear. They entered a state of autohypnosis, the mind separated from the body. No longer under the conscious control of the shooter, the finger pressed the trigger by sheer force.
    Despite a caliber of 2.5 mm, the high explosive and fuses meant the lead projectiles would penetrate the body before exploding, leaving a hole behind the size of a cat’s paw. The muscles, bones and organs shattered, the body bent back, a fusillade of buckshot came next.
    The inertia recoil auto shotgun spat out a stream of double-ought buckshot, nine pellets per shell, shredding the flesh like a torn rag. Any vestiges of humanity still left were soon devoured by the six thousand degrees of fire.
    And they all missed.
    The lines of fire split the air, scorched the asphalt, and lit up the empty sky. The target wasn’t even twenty feet away. Looking down at their hands, as if trying to ascertain the cause of the ineffectual assault, the black angel of death in front of them turned around.
    With that same comely countenance. But the face of another.
    “No. I said ten paces. You may execute your own penalties.”
    He raised his right hand. The five fingers spread out. Like a maestro conducting a string ensemble of death, the guns of his assailants again spat fire.
    At each other.
    Torsos cut in two by the exploding rounds, heads blown apart by the shotgun, and turned into flaming scarecrows—these were the assassins. The blood and flesh and smoke and flame danced along the cruel streets while Setsura Aki stared up at the sky, like a fresh-faced college student contemplating the mysteries of the universe.
    The “Government Freezer” knew as well that this young man was an exception to its rules. He alone couldn’t be frozen.

Chapter Three
    The middle of the night.
    Not far from the Seibu Shinjuku Nakai Station, in front of the Sanbo Group building, the darkness congealed into the form of a handsome young man.
    Setsura Aki.
    His mist-shrouded countenance shone in the moonlight. Only what was inside was different.
    He’d been told the Sanbo Group had put out a hit on him. It wasn’t clear whether they were ones that wanted him erased, but considering what the Shiragi Syndicate had been up to that evening already, it was a safe bet.
    The building reached into the black like a dark castle. The first four floors of the seven-story building were