"Van... Van?"
Somewhere in the haze, Van thought he heard someone calling his name.
Little by little, his awareness returned. His senses came back with it, and then the pain hit all at once. Every joint in his body seemed to creak, every muscle screaming in protest.
Through the blur, he felt a hand reaching toward his face. He jolted a little more awake and grabbed the wrist at once.
"Van?! You're awake!"
"Huh...?"
Van shook his head. The overlapping shadows in front of his eyes slowly merged into the shape of a dark-skinned boy with white hair.
"Little man?"
Only after recognizing him did Van finally let go. He tried to shift, but splintered wood had torn up his back, and the sharp pain made him suck in a breath.
"Ptui."
Van turned his head and spat a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva onto the floor.
"How long was I out?"
"Not long..."
Only after forcing himself upright did Van realize he had been moved from where he had fallen.
And the storage-room door he had smashed to pieces when he crashed into it was now standing wide open.
"Where's Vi?!"
"While you were out... she went... she went after Vander..."
"What?!"
Van grabbed Ekko by the collar and shouted in panic.
"You opened the door? You—"
That was when he noticed Ekko's swollen eyes, the tears still trembling in them.
Van froze as if someone had clamped a hand around his throat, and the rest of his anger died there.
He turned his head away. Through the open front door of Benzo's shop, he could just make out the wreckage in the street outside. Glass shards and blood were everywhere.
"Don't cry, little man..."
Van cupped Ekko's face and gently wiped the tears away.
"Tell me where they went."
...
...
"How's Van?"
"He's still alive. Tough as nails. I left him with Ekko."
"He's not awake yet?"
"No. He should still be unconscious right now."
"No wonder..."
One of Vander's eyes was already swollen dark, leaving him able to open it only halfway as he looked helplessly at the three kids in front of him, especially Vi, who was frantically trying to get his cuffs off.
"You shouldn't have come... At the very least, you should've asked Van. He would've handled this more carefully."
"I don't have fucking time for that! Mylo! I can't get this thing open!"
Vi had already failed to break the lock by force. Irritated, she flung the iron restraint aside, and Mylo hurriedly took over, fumbling out his tools and getting to work.
"Hah—stay calm, Mylo! You can do this!"
Mylo's hands shook as he pulled out his lockpicks.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Welcome."
Just as all four of them were stretched tight with nerves, a low, hoarse voice cut through the room.
Silco had arrived at some point with his people and was now standing not far from Vander's cell, separated from them only by a narrow iron walkway.
"A crude trap," he said, "but more than enough to catch a few little rats who don't know any better."
"Silco! This is between you and me! They've got nothing to do with it!"
"Didn't I just tell you?" Silco said flatly, his voice cold and indifferent. "I don't hate you anymore."
Then he gave a look to the men beside him.
"Kill them."
At the order, Silco's thugs stepped onto the iron bridge with weapons in hand and advanced on Vander and the others.
Seeing that, Vi rose to her feet and pulled on Vander's famous cast-iron gauntlets.
"There's too many of them. We need the terrain."
Her fists slammed together again and again, each impact ringing out like iron striking iron, as she planted herself at the end of the bridge.
"Mylo, hurry up and get that lock open! Claggor, find another exit... I'll hold them here!"
...
...
Skrrrk—
The harsh scrape of a blade dragging across stone drew closer and closer until a figure emerged and stopped in front of the abandoned old cannery.
...
...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Vi was only fourteen, but she was gifted, hardworking, and now armed with Vander's signature gear. She was like a tiger with wings. Silco's half-baked goons could barely last more than a round or two against her.
Across from her, Silco remained expressionless. He only watched the way Vi fought, and his gaze slowly drifted out of focus.
It was not until only two or three of his men were left standing that his pupils sharpened again.
He turned to look at the blond punk beside him.
The boy clearly did not want to, but under Silco's gaze, he still tipped back his head and drank the entire vial of Shimmer.
"Graaah!!"
Vi, who had been throwing punch after punch, was startled by the inhuman roar.
The skinny blond brat had transformed into a hulking monster over two meters tall, muscles bulging, purple liquid racing through the veins beneath his skin.
"So he's the monster..."
This was not Vi's first time hearing about him, but seeing an ordinary person turn into something like this with her own eyes was something else entirely.
This thing had torn Benzo apart in an instant.
Vi swallowed hard and glanced behind her. Mylo had only just managed to free one of Vander's hands. Seeing the worry in Vander's eyes, her own expression only grew more determined.
"Come on, then, you mon—"
She had only just raised her stance when purple flashed in front of her eyes.
The monster moved at a speed no normal person could track, lunging straight at her and wrapping one huge hand around her throat.
"Ghk—"
Its strength was overwhelming. Vi's vision blackened at once, her feet lifting off the ground as she was hoisted into the air.
This was no longer a matter of whether she would suffocate. She felt as if her neck might snap under the pressure.
"Vi!"
Vander's eyes went wide with fury as he urgently shouted at Mylo, who was still working on the cuffs around his legs.
"Hurry up, Mylo!"
"I... I..."
He had no idea what was happening behind him, but Vander's voice alone told him it was bad. That only made him panic more.
And the more he panicked, the harder it became to control the shaking in his fingers. Sweat poured down his face.
Damn it! Hold still!
Meanwhile, Vi's sight had already gone fuzzy. Her struggling was growing weaker, and her consciousness was beginning to slip away.
And in that haze, she thought she saw Van.
Still as restless as ever. Still leaping all over the place. Still showing off with that massive axe of his—
An axe?
Crash!
The sound of shattered glass exploded from above the factory. Countless shards rained down from the sky as a figure holding a giant axe dropped from above and, with unstoppable force, brought it smashing down onto the purple monster's shoulder.
"RAAAH!"
[End of chapter]