#killer pedro

MATTHIAS

reader needed to buy a new light bulb.

the one in her bedroom had burned out the night before, and despite the growing unease she had been feeling lately, she decided to go out alone.

for the past few days, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been following her.

still, it was broad daylight. there were plenty of people outside. surely no one would try anything in public, right?

unfortunately, a man with a twisted mind could do anything. even in broad daylight.

at first, Reader tried to convince herself she was imagining things but when she glanced behind her and saw the same man from earlier walking in her direction, her stomach dropped.

he wasn't running.

he wasn't even calling out to her.

he was simply walking.

yet his strides were so large that the distance between them kept shrinking.

reader immediately turned away, to look for a crowded area.

the problem was that she had already wandered farther from home than intended.

worse she had left her phone behind, assuming she would only be out for a few minutes.

now she was alone and being followed.

panic clawed at her chest then she saw him.

a blond man sat alone at an outdoor café table, casually drinking coffee.

without thinking, Reader hurried over and sat beside him.

her eyes darted around nervously.

the stalker was getting closer.

acting purely on instinct, she grabbed the sleeve of the blond man's cardigan.

"please... h-help me. there's someone who's been following me."

as she turned to look at the man she had just begged for help from, she momentarily forgot about the stalker entirely.

because the man beside her was somehow even more intimidating.

his expression was completely blank.

tattoos decorated his face.

combined with his piercing gaze, he looked terrifying.

reader's mouth fell open.

slowly, she released his sleeve.

"sorry."

she was about to stand and leave when a voice shouted from behind her.

"hey, you bitch! i was just being friendly! why are you running away?"

the stalker pointed aggressively at her as he approached.

reader immediately sat back down.

her body froze.

the stalker was standing directly in front of her now.

her hands trembled.

cold sweat gathered on her palms.

she wanted to ask the blond man for help again.

but when she looked beside her

he was already standing.

the blond man stared directly at the stalker.

his expression remained blank, yet there was a faint smirk on his lips.

the movement revealed his braces and tongue piercing.

both hands remained tucked inside his pockets.

"what do you want with my girlfriend?"

the stalker clicked his tongue.

"your girlfriend? who the hell are you?"

"matthias."

the blond man tilted his head slightly.

"her boyfriend."

the smile on his face widened.

"and the thing is... i get jealous very easily."

he raised his hand and formed a finger gun.

"leave her alone if you still want to..."

the stalker froze.

completely froze.

as if he had suddenly recognized exactly who matthias was.

reader remained seated.

head lowered, she hear her own heart pounding.

her entire body shook from anxiety.

what if a fight broke out? what if someone got hurt?

she took several deep breaths before finally gathering enough courage to step between them.

but when she looked up—

the stalker was gone.

completely gone.

as if he had vanished into thin air.

matthias was sitting again, one leg crossed over the other while casually sipping his coffee.

he was smirking at her.

"do we have a problem here, girlfriend?"

he tilted his head.

reader blinked.

matthias stood.

"be more careful next time."

he reached over and ruffled her hair.

"see you around."

and then he simply walked away.

reader sat frozen in place.

flustered and confused. still nervous.

but not nearly as terrified as earlier.

what the hell just happened?

and why was there a calling card sitting on top of her head?

slowly, she picked it up.

a phone number was written on it.

reader kept the card.

who knows?

maybe someday she would call the number just to say thank you.

because ever since the day Matthias helped her

she never saw, heard from, or encountered her stalker again.

THADDEUS

reader was at a club with her friends, enjoying a long-overdue girls' night out.the music was loud, the lights flashed across the dance floor, and after a few drinks, reader was feeling pleasantly tipsy.

not drunk. just tipsy enough to fully enjoy dancing. her confidence was higher than usual, and she moved freely to the music, laughing with her friends.

unfortunately, confidence and beauty tended to attract attention. most of the glances directed at her were harmless. some people admired from afar. others simply watched but there was always that one person who decided to cross the line.

reader felt someone move closer behind her. too close even through the haze of alcohol, her instincts immediately kicked in.

when a hand reached toward her waist, she slapped it away without hesitation. the sharp sound cut through the music.

reader turned around.

"what the hell? get lost, you creep."

she immediately stepped away from the man.

the creep merely smirked.

"come on," he said, following her. "ive been watching you since the moment you walked into the club."

reader's expression twisted in disgust.

"leave me alone, you fucking creep."

she turned and hurried away. the man followed.

"hey, why are you so angry? just show me some moves and ill leave you al—"

he never got to finish because suddenly there was a foot directly in front of his face. the man stumbled backward in shock. standing between him and reader was another man.

a huge grin stretched across his face. his arms were crossed casually over his chest while one leg remained raised, balanced perfectly on the other.

the kick hadn't actually landed but it had come close enough. close enough that the creep could still feel the impact of the air brushing past his cheek. he was almost certain a bruise would appear anyway.

"how about my move?" the newcomer asked cheerfully.

his grin widened.

"can you rate it, xiongdi? if you want, i can show you a few more."

the creep immediately took another step back. reader stared. she had absolutely no idea where this guy came from but she wasn't complaining. the man still had his leg raised, completely prepared to plant his foot directly into the creep's face if necessary.

"hey, xiongdi! say sorry to the gorgeous lady right there."

the stranger pointed his chin toward reader. reader blinked. she was confused. a little impressed and admittedly fascinated by the ridiculously confident man who had suddenly appeared to save her.

the creep nervously looked at reader. she raised an eyebrow.

"s-sorry. i won't force myself on you."

the man protecting reader shifted slightly. the creep immediately panicked.

"sorry!" he repeated. "i won't invade your personal space again or any other woman's personal space!"

reader rolled her eyes.

"you better not." she crossed her arms. "now get lost. your presence is ruining my night."

the creep wasted no time. he practically sprinted away. only after he disappeared into the crowd did the stranger finally lower his leg. reader walked over to him.

"thank you."

she smiled warmly. the man smiled back just as brightly.

"my pleasure, gorgeous."

he casually brushed his clothes straight.

"i merely did what any real man should do."

reader laughed.

"bare minimum btw."

"facts." the man nodded seriously.

then immediately ruined the serious atmosphere by grinning again.reader couldn't help laughing. the stranger suddenly bowed dramatically. one hand rested behind his back while the other extended toward her.

"may I request this dance, my lady?"

reader looked at his outstretched hand. then at his face. then back at his hand.

"sorry. i don't dance with strangers." she paused. "at least give me your name first."

the man placed a hand over his chest as if wounded.

"my deepest apologies, my lady." he straightened. "thaddeus is the name."

reader smiled. this time, she accepted his hand.

"okay, thaddeus."

a playful challenge appeared in her eyes.

"show me some of your moves."

the grin that spread across thaddeus' face was downright dangerous.

"oh, trust me."

He gently pulled her toward the dance floor.

"i've got plenty of moves."

ALIPEDE

alipede had been taking a late-night walk to clear his mind. the streets were quiet, illuminated only by scattered streetlights and the occasional glow from nearby buildings. the peaceful atmosphere was exactly what he needed.

or at least, it had been. then he heard running. judging by the uneven footsteps, labored breathing, and frantic pace, it was a woman. she sounded exhausted, as if she had been running for a long time.

a moment later, alipede sensed another person behind her. someone chasing her. someone with bad intentions.

"HELP! HELP!"

reader's voice echoed through the street as she ran toward him. her face was pale. sweat dripped down her forehead. fear was written all over her expression. alipede glance at the reader's way. then turn away again and continued walking. he had no intention of getting involved. not his problem.

reader ran past him, her heart sinking when she realized the intimidating stranger wasn't stopping to help but just as the man chasing her reached alipede.he slammed directly into him.

"MOVE ASIDE, ASSHOLE!"

the man shoved him aggressively as he tried to continue the pursuit.

alipede stopped walking.

the peaceful night walk he had been enjoying was officially ruined.

without warning, he grabbed the man's arm.

the stalker's eyes widened.

a sharp twist on stalker's hand with a violent takedown.

the man hit the pavement hard.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" he screamed.

meanwhile, reader finally had a chance to catch her breath.

seeing the opportunity, she immediately pulled out her phone and called the police.

she quickly reported the harassment and gave them her location to stop the situation before it escalated further.

she glance at the two men, they were already exchanging punches.

the stalker scrambled to his feet and swung first.

alipede responded without hesitation.

the fight was brutal. one-sided, but brutal.

the officers arrived within minutes.

by the time they reached the scene, the stalker had been beaten badly enough that resisting arrest was no longer an option.

the police immediately handcuffed him.

reader let out a shaky sigh of relief.

finally, it was over but then one of the officers frowned.

"miss, where's the other man?"

reader blinked.

"the other man?"

the officer nodded.

"the one who helped you."

reader turned around.

the street behind her was empty.

completely empty.

the man who had saved her was gone.

no trace that he had ever been there.

he had vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

reader stared at the empty street for several moments before finally relaxing.

at least the stalker had been caught.

that was all that mattered.

as the police led the battered man toward their vehicle, reader couldn't help glancing one last time at the place where the mysterious stranger had stood.

she never even got the chance to thank him.

still...

Life had never been easy, which was probably why Matthias found himself sitting alone on a bench in the park near his new home like an old man enjoying retirement.

After they defeated Raphael and the Glory, life had slowly begun returning to normal. The chaos had faded away little by little, replaced by peaceful days and uneventful routines. For the first time in a long while, there were no urgent battles to fight, no enemies lurking in the shadows, and no constant threat hanging over their heads.

Matthias still worked at the Daeha Group as their top researcher. His work remained demanding, but it was familiar. Meanwhile, his comrades—better known as Peter's group, especially Thaddeus—still found ways to bother him whenever they had the chance.

Some things never changed.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Matthias leaned back against the bench and gazed at the peaceful scenery before him. Children ran across the grassy field, couples strolled along the pathways, and the warm afternoon breeze rustled through the trees.

Then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

What if I had lived a normal life? A happy family. A peaceful childhood. Would my life have turned out like this too?

A dry chuckle escaped his lips.

A normal life, my ass.

The idea was impossible.

Someone like him was never meant to have a normal life.

Before he could sink deeper into his thoughts, they were abruptly interrupted by the loud singing voices of several children nearby.

Not far from where he was sitting, Matthias spotted a group of children.

Each of them wore duck-themed headbands on their heads. They were singing a nursery rhyme that Matthias didn't recognize while waddling around like baby ducks.

What made the scene even stranger in his eyes was the woman leading them.

She looked to be around the same age as him and was also wearing a duck headband. With far more enthusiasm than the children, she sang the song at the top of her lungs while guiding the little group across the park.

Matthias snorted.

What is this?

Unfortunately for him, the group of ducks—the mother duck and her little ducklings—heard him.

One of the ducklings immediately pointed at him.

"Teacher! There's a bad guy laughing at us!"

That single accusation made all the other ducklings turn toward him.

Matthias looked back at them.

Then he smirked.

The effect was immediate.

Another duckling, whose eyes were already filling with tears, trembled and asked,

"Oh no... are we going to die now?"

That was the beginning of the disaster.

The other children instantly burst into tears.

They cried, wailed, and hurried behind their mother duck—their teacher—for protection.

"Teacher, are we going to die now?"

"I don't want to die! I still want to see my family!"

"I haven't married my crush yet!"

Hearing their dramatic cries, Matthias threw his head back and laughed even harder.

A loud, villainous laugh.

He rose from the bench and began walking toward the group.

[Name] had no idea what she was supposed to do.

Should she comfort the children?

Pick them up?

Or stop the terrifying man who was laughing at them like a movie villain?

The man kept getting closer and closer.

Instinctively, she gently pushed the children behind her, trying to urge them to run away.

But the little ducklings refused to move.

They continued sobbing loudly, clinging to one another and crying their hearts out.

With no other choice, [Name] stepped forward and positioned herself in front of the children, shielding her little ducklings behind her.

The children immediately huddled together behind her back.

As Matthias finally reached them, he lowered himself and bent forward until they were at eye level.

The crying ducklings collectively gasped.

The terrifying villain had arrived.

Then he flashed her a grin.

But [Name] was nervous for an entirely different reason.

The man was ridiculously handsome.

The tattoo on his face immediately caught her attention, especially the word Trinity. Somehow, it suited him perfectly. It was also the first time she had ever seen a man with long blond hair and bangs that actually looked good with a blue striking eyes. The hairstyle and his eye color fit him surprisingly well.

And then she noticed something else.

He had braces. And a tongue piercing???

Matthias noticed the way the woman was staring at him. Clicking his tongue, he smirked again.

Well, the woman herself was beautiful too.

"Hey, Mother Chick. You enjoy checking me out?"

The words came from a man who had been checking her out as well.

[Name] immediately shook her head.

Unfortunately, that only made the children cry harder.

"Oh no! The bad guy is going to eat our teacher, guys!"

"Yes, I'm going to eat all of you," Matthias threatened dramatically. "I'll eat your Mother Duck first."

He burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, [Name] became even more flustered.

For some reason, when Matthias said eat, the word seemed to carry an entirely different meaning.

Her head was beginning to hurt from everything happening around her.

Looking back at Matthias, she saw him busy teasing the children.

Then an idea suddenly struck her.

His blond hair did kind of resemble a duck.

"Baby chicks, listen up," [Name] announced.

Both the children and Matthias turned toward her.

"This man is your Father Duck!"

The children gasped again.

Several immediately stopped crying.

Others jumped up and down in excitement.

Finally!

They had a Father Duck!

Meanwhile, Matthias frowned.

"What is this?" he asked.

Instead of answering, [Name] took off her duck headband and placed it on his head.

"Congratulations," she said with a smile. "You're a father now."

Matthias was dumbfounded.

He had only approached them because making children cry was unexpectedly entertaining.

He certainly hadn't expected his plan to backfire so spectacularly.

Now he was Father Duck.

He wanted to complain.

He really did.

But it was already too late.

The baby chicks had surrounded him.

Some tugged at his sleeves.

Some asked endless questions.

Others demanded he play with them.

Matthias looked toward the mastermind responsible for all of this, hoping for help.

Instead, he found [Name] smiling far too happily.

Judging from the look on her face, she was thoroughly enjoying his suffering.

He cursed a hundred times inside his head.

Unfortunately, the whining children were louder than his thoughts.

In the end, he had no choice but to play with them.

Honestly, completing missions for Glory back when he was still an Apostle had been easier than babysitting children.

From time to time, he looked toward [Name], silently begging for rescue.

There was no way he could keep up with the endless energy of these kids.

But every time he looked at her, she was busy playing with another group of children, laughing and smiling just as brightly as they were.

Without realizing it, his occasional glances slowly turned into prolonged observation.

He thought yellow suited her.

It suited her very well.

Her smile was warm and bright, almost as if it had been painted with sunlight itself.

He never thought the color he hated most could look so beautiful on someone.

"Our teacher is pretty, right?" a little girl suddenly asked.

"Yeah."

He wasn't going to deny it.

The teacher was genuinely beautiful.

"Do you want to marry her?" the child innocently asked.

Matthias blinked.

"Why would I marry someone I only met today?"

Hell.

He didn't even know the woman's name yet.

And they were already talking about marriage.

"Don't you know?" another boy interrupted. "If you think a girl is pretty, you have to marry her."

"That's why when I grow up, I'm going to marry Teacher [Name] because she's pretty and kind."

Matthias smirked.

Kids.

They were so simple.

It always fascinated him how children came up with ideas like that.

Their thoughts seemed to come straight from fairy tales.

A world he had never known.

His eyes had been opened to the ugliness of reality far too early because of his family circumstances.

"Too bad," Matthias said.

"When you grow up, she'll be older too. By then, she might already be married and have children. Maybe she'll even have grandchildren."

The boy looked horrified.

"No way! Then who will marry her?"

"Me."

The answer came out before he could stop it.

He never actually meant it.

Considering his past and his current work, he had never imagined himself as a husband or a father.

A part of him feared becoming like the man he had once called father.

Or perhaps something even worse.

The boy didn't argue.

Soon, everyone returned to playing.

Time passed quickly.

Before any of them realized it, evening had arrived.

One by one, parents began arriving to pick up their children.

Every child hugged their teacher goodbye.

To Matthias' surprise, they started hugging him too.

The last child to leave was the little boy he had been talking to earlier.

The boy hugged Teacher [Name] before walking over to Matthias.

"Take care of Teacher [Name]," he said seriously. "I'm leaving her to you."

Matthias smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Sure."

"Good. But in exchange, you still have to be our Father Duck tomorrow. And forever."

The boy wrapped his arms around Matthias.

Matthias sighed.

Then he returned the hug.

After the boy finally left, only Matthias and [Name] remained in the park.

The two of them sat on the same bench Matthias had occupied earlier.

[Name] immediately became nervous again.

Apparently, Matthias wasn't just handsome and patient.

He smelled really good too.

Swallowing nervously, she tried to focus on what she wanted to say.

"U-Uh..."

"What?"

Matthias turned to look at her.

"Thank you for being their Father Duck today. They've been bothering me about finding one for days now."

Matthias remained silent.

"And thank you for being so patient and understanding with the children. Sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Still no response.

Suddenly, Matthias stood.

Panicking, [Name] immediately stood as well.

Without thinking, she grabbed his arm.

"Please," she said. "Can you be their Father Duck again tomorrow?"

Matthias looked down at her.

Then he stepped closer.

Much closer than before.

"Do you think I'm just going to let what happened earlier slide?"

"Wait! I already apologized!" [Name] protested.

Matthias grinned.

Then he leaned even closer.

"It's not enough."

His face was only inches away from hers now.

"If you want me to be Father Duck again tomorrow, you'll have to pay me."

"Pay you?"

[Name] nearly choked.

"I don't even make that much money as a teacher!"

Good grief.

What was she supposed to pay him with?

Maybe the children didn't need a Father Duck after all.

"I don't need money. I have plenty of that."

[Name] scratched the back of her head.

"Then what am I supposed to pay you with?"

Matthias' grin widened.

"Your number, perhaps?"

Before she could respond, he turned around and started walking away.

But not before throwing one last comment over his shoulder.

"Tomorrow."

He glanced back briefly.

"I'll collect my payment tomorrow."

Then he left.

Leaving [Name] frozen in place.

Her knees suddenly felt weak, forcing her to sit back down on the bench.

He wants my number as payment? We're going to see each other again tomorrow?

Meanwhile, Matthias walked home.

He didn't know why he was in such a good mood despite being physically exhausted from spending the entire afternoon playing with children.

Maybe...

Maybe he was finally open to dating.

Who knew?

Maybe he was even beginning to reconsider those thoughts he'd had earlier about marriage.

About building a family.

About having a normal life.