Chapter 21 — Kill or Be Killed
Gunfire roared through the smoke.
Five mercenaries moved through the gray haze, rifles raised as they searched for targets.
"Hey! Shoot that redhead down!" one of them shouted.
Bullets exploded from their rifles.
Across the ruined street, Tokita burst forward.
Instead of running away, he ran straight toward them.
Gunfire screamed through the air. Concrete shattered around him as bullets struck the ground and walls.
Tokita twisted his body mid-run, his reaction speed kicking in. One bullet tore past his cheek. Another whizzed past his shoulder.
Then he was suddenly inside their formation.
The closest mercenary barely had time to widen his eyes before Tokita grabbed him by the head and smashed his skull into the concrete.
CRACK!
The ground shattered.
Another mercenary swung his rifle toward Tokita, but Tokita grabbed the barrel and bent the metal like it was paper.
His elbow slammed into the man's jaw.
The mercenary flew backward through the air and crashed into a parked car before going limp.
The remaining three fired wildly.
Tokita rushed them.
He jumped and drove a brutal kick into one soldier's chest.
The impact launched the man backward into the other two. All three of them smashed through the glass entrance of a nearby building and collapsed inside.
More gunfire erupted from deeper within the smoke.
Tokita sprinted again, weaving between bullets as mercenaries chased him through broken buildings.
Inside the structure, gunfire echoed violently.
Meanwhile
Nearby, Natsuki ducked behind a concrete pillar while bullets hammered the wall beside him.
"Watch out!" Tokita shouted toward Natsuki.
But Tokita didn't even look back.
"I know how to fight, dumba*ss."Natsuki muttered.
Then a mercenary on the street raised a missile launcher.
The missile roared forward.
It passed through the building entrance directly towards Natsuki.
Natsuki sprinted sideways at the last moment.
The missile shot past him—
And suddenly a hand grabbed it out of the air.
Lightning sparked.
Natsuki.
He flipped his body backward and hurled the missile straight back toward the mercenaries.
The mercenary holding the launcher barely had time to react.
The missile struck the car beside them.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Flames swallowed the street as the blast wiped out dozens of mercenaries instantly.
The Battlefield Expands
Electricity crackled around Natsuki's fingers.
He grabbed the rifle of a nearby mercenary and sent a violent surge of lightning through the metal.
The electricity raced through the weapon and into the soldier's body.
The mercenary screamed as his muscles locked and smoke rose from his armor.
Natsuki kicked him aside and rushed forward again.
Aoi's Move
Across the battlefield, Aoi stepped out of the smoke.
Gunfire rattled the walls around her.
She calmly placed her hand against the side of a nearby building.
The concrete surface shimmered.
Then it began to change.
The structure groaned as its material transformed.
Concrete turned to sand.
Half of the building collapsed instantly.
A massive wave of sand poured outward, burying dozens of mercenaries beneath it.
Nearly thirty soldiers were crushed or trapped under the sudden collapse.
From the rooftop above, Hoshina watched the destruction with a smile.
"…holy sh*t," he murmured.
Nezuko's Moment
Hidden behind a broken wall nearby, Nezuko crouched in silence.
Earlier, Natsuki had told her to hide and stay out of danger.
She wasn't a fighter.
She didn't want to slow the team down.
But as the battle raged, her eyes caught something.
A sniper aiming directly at Aoi.
Nezuko spotted a rifle lying on the ground.
She grabbed it.
Her hands trembled slightly as she raised the weapon.
Then she fired.
Multiple shots rang out.
The sniper dropped instantly.
Five mercenaries turned toward her.
"There! Grab the girl!"
Gunfire erupted.
Nezuko ducked behind cover and fired back until she ran out of bullets.
The mercenaries stopped shooting.
"Don't kill her!" one shouted. "Boss wants her alive!"
They tossed a stun grenade toward her hiding spot.
BOOM!
Light exploded outward.
When the smoke cleared, the soldiers approached with electric batons, preparing to capture her.
Two grabbed each sides of her wrist.
Another raised his metal baton.
"But first,we need to avenge our fallen comrades,The Boss ordered us to bring her alive,but...he never said anything about roughing her up a little."The mercenary with the metal baton smirked as he swung his baton towards Nezuko.
"Damnit,why me,why am I the one always getting saved...I HATE FEELING THIS WAY..."
Nezuko's eyes glowed crimson red all of a sudden, almost resembling that of an infected.
As the mercenary's about to hit her with the metal baton-
CRACK!
The three mercenaries where shocked... Nezuko had already used her teeth to bite the arm of the mercenary with the metal baton, crushing the baton and the mercenary's bones on his arm, making him scream in pain."AAAHHHHH!!?!"
Nezuko lifted her right arm up, the feet of the mercenary holding her right arm wasn't touching the floor, then she moved.
The mercenary shouted"What the fu--"
His head slammed with one of his comrades.
CRACK!
She smashed the two mercenaries' skulls together.
Both men collapsed instantly.
The third soldier tried to pull out his gun—
Nezuko punched him.
The force launched him backward across the street. His body smashed into a wall so hard the concrete cracked.
His head stuck halfway into the building before he went unconscious.
Nezuko stared at her own hands in shock.
"…What?...how did I just do that!?"
From across the battlefield, Kaito saw it happen.
Was she always that strong? he wondered.
Tokita's Rampage
A mercenary suddenly jumped from a balcony and attacked Tokita.
Tokita barely looked up.
He kicked the man mid-air.
The mercenary flew backward into a building wall, which cracked from the impact.
Another soldier drove a truck directly toward Tokita.
The vehicle slammed into him.
Instead of Tokita moving—
The truck flipped.
It rolled across the street before exploding in flames.
Tokita stood in the middle of the fire, completely unharmed.
"What a dumbass," he muttered.
The Final Ten
The battlefield fell silent.
Bodies of mercenaries were scattered everywhere.
Only ten soldiers remained.
They slowly stepped backward, fear visible in their eyes.
Then lightning flashed.
One soldier's ankle exploded as Natsuki blasted him.
Tokita dropped down from a car roof and landed in front of them.
"So this is the best your group has to offer?" he said coldly.
Behind them, gravity suddenly crushed downward.
Kaito raised his hand.
The remaining mercenaries were forced to their knees as rubble floated around him.
Aoi approached with her katana drawn.
Nezuko stepped forward holding a rifle.
The mercenaries were completely surrounded.
Their weapons fell to the ground.
They raised their hands.
But Then…
Natsuki stepped forward to grab one of them.
Suddenly—
A hand caught his wrist.
Before anyone could react, the figure grabbed Natsuki and threw him through the air.
He crashed violently across the street.
The group turned.
Slow clapping echoed through the battlefield.
"Well done," a voice said.
Standing there was Hoshina.
He smiled calmly as he looked over the destroyed battlefield.
"For a group of teenagers… you're quite impressive."
Aoi stepped forward.
"first of all I'm pretty sure were about the same age, second You've already lost," she said coldly.
"Your army is gone."
She gestured toward the wreckage.
"What can you do now?"
Hoshina chuckled softly.
"Is that so?"
Kaito suddenly screamed.
A spear made of water had pierced straight through his leg.
Blood hit the ground.
Kaito dropped to one knee.
The others stared in shock.
Hoshina slowly raised his hand.
Water gathered in the air around him.
Then his eyes glowed bright blue.
"You have no idea how powerful I really am… do you?"