Koenig

The night air was thick with the scent of cheap tobacco and fear. You quickened your pace, but the heavy footsteps behind you only grew more frequent. Three of them. They had you pinned against the wall between the garages, and one of them was already reaching out to grab the strap of your bag, showering you with lewd comments.

"Where are we rushing off to, beauty?" the one standing closest drawled cloyingly.

And suddenly... the light from the lantern above your head seemed to be blocked by an eclipse. A shadow fell on the wall. Enormous. Unnaturally wide. The guys froze, looking over your shoulder, and their faces instantly transformed from insolent to pale masks of horror.

You turned around. Behind you, literally half a meter away, stood Koenig. In the darkness, he seemed less human than some kind of titanic monster. Two meters of sheer weight, shoulders that wouldn't fit through a standard doorway, and that black mask, from the slits of which icy, unblinking eyes stared at the thugs.

He didn't take a fighting stance. He didn't draw his knife. He simply took one step forward, entering their personal space and forcing them to literally press themselves into the concrete. Koenig was silent. The deathly, oppressive silence was far more terrifying than any scream. Only his heavy, even breathing could be heard through the fabric of his mask.

“Uh... man, we're just... we're leaving now,” the leader stuttered, backing away and tripping over his own feet.

Koenig slowly tilted his head to the side—this birdlike, mechanical gesture was so eerie that the boys vanished as if by the wind. They didn't just leave, they ran so fast their soles sparkled.

When their footsteps died down, the giant finally turned his gaze to you. He was still silent, towering over you like a rock. Koenig shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, and you heard a quiet voice, unusually soft for such a monster, coming from beneath his mask:

— Are you okay?.. Sorry if I scared you. I was just... going to get some chips.