"Hurry up and kill him already," shouted Sodom.
"Triple what you owe me," said the Phantom.
While they talked, Rectos looked frustrated, on the verge of letting loose. He decided to try something new for the first time in years. He started to generate a small amount of electricity in his body. Then before the Phantom realised what was happening, he shot out the electricity from all over his body.
It was weak but it was just enough.
The Phantom was shot back while Rectos jumped forward to put distance between them. Rectos started to laugh at both the Phantom and Sodom.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Rectos said. "You're both dead now I swear!"
The Phantom quickly turned to Sodom. "Can you use your divine power."
"No…not right now." he replied.
"Interesting." Phantom said.
Lightning crawled over Rectos' skin as he stomped, ripping stone from the earth. Throwing a kick at the rocks, they flew towards the Phantom. He swiftly dodged some the rocks and jumped over the remaining ones. However, Rectos came in behind the rocks and came in with an uppercut. The Phantom parried the strike with his knife, then as soon as he landed on the ground blocked a kick aimed at his abdomen. Rectos threw more kicks aimed all over the Phantom's body. The Phantom managed to block all the blows once again while Rectos jumped back.
"You finally realising, every time I hit you your limbs slowly become paralysed. Do you see Your life is over! You've lost!"
Sodom watched the Phantom's arms go stiff. For the first time he wondered if he'd made a mistake calling him in.
The Phantom's face was covered so Sodom couldn't see what he could be thinking.
Rectos screaming with excitement lunged again at the Phantom.
"Didn't want to do this…what a pain" muttered the Phantom.
The Phantom activated his divine power, A mirage appeared behind him. She stood in the dim space like a figure carved from shadow and stone, tall and wrapped in dark, layered garments that hung heavy as burial cloth. Her pale face was calm and unreadable, and her eyes were deep and still, holding the quiet certainty of an ending already decided. The light around her seemed to fade rather than vanish, and the air pressed down gently, making it clear, without threat or movement, that nothing here was meant to leave unchanged.
Sodom had never been able to identify the mirage behind the Phantom. He wasn't sure anyone had.
Rectos kept charging forward uncaring about the Phantom's ability. He believed that the Phantom could not move anymore, that victory was his to take.
Sodom had heard about the Phantom's ability. The mark meant the end. Whatever it touched, the Phantom could bring to himself — or himself to it. There was no running from it.
A mark burned on Rectos' forehead. For a second nothing happened. Then the Phantom moved. A breath later Rectos was impaled on his knife.
Rectos started to cough up blood immediately, the mirage behind rectos started to disappear slowly.
"My pay" the Phantom turned to Sodom. "Triple it or I let him live".
"Whatever you want, just end him now." Sodom responded.
The Phantom pulled out another knife he had kept hidden this whole time. Though his arms felt heavy he drove another knife into Rectos' chest.
Rectos spluttered again, blood pouring out of his mouth. He fell backwards crashing into the ground.
"This can't be…I lost…" whispered Rectos. "Chairman's going to come for your head and when he does…"
Rectos couldn't finish his sentence. A crackle of dying electricity filled the air. The electricity that had crawled over his skin all fight finally went quiet. Like a storm that had simply run out of sky.
A brief silence followed.
"Make sure to send the money by tomorrow. If I don't receive it, I'll come back and kill you," the Phantom said.
Sodom hesitated then nodded and the Phantom walked away. Sodom had seen men die before. This felt different. Rectos was Syndicate. The Chairman would know by morning.
Sodom looked back at Rectos' body. He needed this resolved before the Syndicate sent someone else. He needed Astrea faster than planned.