Sebastian stands on his toes, trying to have a better look inside the house. But no one can be seen, and no sound can be heard. It almost feels like a deserted place.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Blaze crawls out of the car in the black shadow strip and turns back to his shadow figure outside.
"Yes. I double-checked the information. This should be where Norman Reddington is."
"Want to take a look inside?"
"We don’t have any other choices, do we?"
Sebastian kicks open the gate. He draws out his revolver and holds it in his hand.
"Aren’t you overreacting?"
"We don’t know what’s inside. It is better to be cautious."
"Wait here."
Blaze finds a shade to turn into the shadow again. He slips under the crevice of the door to go inside the house.
The place is dusty and filthy. Even as a shadow, Blaze can sll so nasty things. It almost feels like sothing’s dead in here.
Blaze runs around the house to check for any living soul. He doesn’t find any. He finds a dying soul instead.
Blaze and Sebastian stand in front of the corpse in silence.
Opposite them, a fat corpse that has begun to decompose for a few days. The horrible stench filled the air.
Blaze is so familiar with death that he doesn’t get revolted by it. Sebastian was an SID detective, he is very familiar with this kind of scene also.
"What now?" Sebastian looks over to Blaze.
"Are you sure that is Norman?"
"He is much fatter, but I can still recognize him. That’s the forr Commissioner all right."
"Well. Let’s talk to him first."
"What do you an?"
The Lantern of the Damned materializes inside Blaze’s hand. Its yellowish power flows into him. Blaze reaches out his hand and opens his palm over Norman’s decomposing corpse.
The yellow energy envelops the forr Commissioner and with one swift pull, Blaze gets his soul out of his forr physical shell.
Norman’s transparent body falls down on the floor. He opens his eyes for the first ti after death.
The first thing he does is to touch his glowing body. Sothing feels wrong. He is definitely dead. He rembers it. So what exactly happened?
Norman turns back to see Blaze and Sebastian.
Blaze’s shadowy figure and his otherworldly aura cause Norman to misunderstand imdiately.
"So you’re Death? You co a bit late, do you? I have been decomposing for a week already!
And you. Why do you look a little familiar?
Wait a minute! Aren’t you that Herrera kid? You’re dead, too?
What a pity! You’re still so young."
Sebastian laughs out loud.
"Long ti no see, Commissioner Reddington."
"Ah! Call Norman. I’m no longer the Police Chief."
"And I’m not Death either." Blaze finally speaks up.
"Oh? Sorry for my ignorance. So who do I owe the pleasure of eting?"
"Let introduce to you, Norman. This is the Wraith.
You may not have heard of him previously, but you must know about The Roof, yeah?" Sebastian says.
Norman snorts with contempt in his eyes.
"Of course I know the Roof. It’s the whorehouse opened by that arrogant billionaire. I believe there is sothing very fishy happening there.
If I were still the Police Chief, I’d tear that place down."
"No need to. I already did it," Blaze says.
Norman raises his eyebrows and looks over to Sebastian. He is obviously in disbelief.
Sebastian nods, admitting that whatever Blaze is saying is true.
"So... you told that you’re not Death. Then what are you? Or, more precisely, who are you?
And more importantly, what did you do to ?"
"Well. What I am and who I am aren’t what’s important here. What’s important is my goal to co looking for you."
Blaze walks over to Norman’s corpse. He takes out an ordinary-looking matchbox and lights a matchstick on fire.
In front of the other two’s puzzled looks, Blaze drops the fiery matchstick onto the corpse. Fire takes over the dying flesh and consus it in seconds. The filth goes with it and disappears, clearing the air a bit more.
"You died, that is for sure, Commissioner Reddington. But I pulled your soul out of your dying shell.
Now, I have a proposal for you.
I destroyed the Roof because they are criminals. They kidnapped innocent girls around the city to be their rchandise.
So I kill them all.
I attacked the Police Headquarters also. Why, you may ask? The current Police Chief has been working with Giancarlo Cavalcante to make sure this evil act can continue flawlessly.
The Roof was only one of them. Gulliver is in partnership with many other criminals.
Needless to say, I killed the bastard."
"Ha ha ha! You killed him good!" Norman interrupts.
"Yes. As I was saying.
The bastard is dead, but as you can understand. Without a Police Chief to maintain order, this city can surely go to hell. So I resurrected the guy for him to temporarily hold the Police Chief position.
That is until I can find a better replacent."
"And you need to take over this position, am I right?"
Blaze nods.
"Well. If I were you, I would definitely find as well.
Resurrected, huh? I have always been thinking soone may hold this type of power. I can’t believe that I t one in my lifeti.
Well, my lifeti is a stretch. I did die.
I can tell you that I don’t like dying. But wouldn’t you need my body or sothing to revive ? You just burned my corpse."
"The body won’t be a problem. I will make a new one for you." Blaze says.
"I see. Then tell . What’s the catch? I need to know if I’m going to sell my soul to the devil here."
"Selling your soul is a bit exaggerated but is very fitting for this situation."
A golden scroll appears in Blaze’s hand.
"This is the Celestial Contract. We can work out the details for the clauses later, but I can tell you right now what I want from you.
I don’t need the police to be freshly pure like a clean sheet of paper. But I need them to do exactly what they are paid to do. To maintain order and get rid of the criminals.
No compromise! Under any circumstances!
If you can do this, I grant you a second life that you can do whatever you want with. No other strings attached.
What do you say?"
Norman’s yellowish body flickers, representing his emotions going up and down.
"Let get this straight. As long as I can keep the Police Departnt doing exactly what they are supposed to do, you will grant the second life for free?"
"That’s exactly it. Tell your choice."
Blaze brings the golden scroll forward.
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