The twilight of dusk was settling over the city and the docks amid a chilly breeze and a sprinkling of snowflakes. The fresh, salty scent of the sea was still just as strong. The multicoloured beams of the sunset filtering through the cracks and windows of the multi-level camp, created rows of dust particles in and around the wooden and rusty rooms cluttered with odds and ends.

In the mob boss's hand, a walkie-talkie crackled with panic-stricken voices—those of his subordinates reporting the various casualties they had just suffered so suddenly. “Boss!! Boss!! Mercenaries have shown up for the prisoners!! We've lost men!! We have to—”

Cut.

The stocky man with the rifle had no time to take charge of a bunch of incompetents, because standing before him was an extraordinary being, far more than just an ordinary hired gun. Liberi spun his knife around with little effort, and during that silence—lulled, more or less, by the growing commotion on the lower platforms—he slipped his hand under the collar of his hoodie and pulled out a small device attached to his collarbone. “Koncel. You can go.”

The boss watched him tuck the earpiece back into the hollow of his skeleton frame as if that was the most natural thing in the world. Upon closer inspection, this freak of nature doesn’t even have ears...

Liberi: “I’m satisfied with my day, you know. I got to savor the last moments of quite a few of your fellow human beings. And some of them shared with me the chaos invading their little minds as their deaths approached.”

Liberi: “I heard reinforcements are arriving in about fifteen minutes, so let’s try to get this done quickly.”

The man tapped the sticky, dusty floor with the muzzle of his rifle, which he continued to hold aloft like a cane. “You’re one of those monsters the Alchemists conjured up. Are you getting in the way of their dealings to get revenge?”

Liberi: “What? Nah, not at all.”

Boss: “Oh? And this power outage—you need to move around in the dark. Do you have powers that let you mess with the system?

Liberi sighed softly but kept his eyes fixed on his opponent, taking a menacing step forward, clearly ready to slice flesh once more. “Yeah, well, that’s all fine and dandy, but unless you’ve got some interesting trick to show me, your babbling doesn’t do much for me, boss.”

Boss: “Don’t make a single move.”

Liberi: “Huh?”

The boss didn’t flinch an inch; instead, he pulled a rectangular remote controller with a large button out of his jacket and rested his thumb on it. “You might think I’m in the same boat as those rats, but I don't plan on kicking the bucket. I’m not just some random guy, kid. I’m the closest associate of one of the capos of the Graleman clan, the most notorious mafia in this country. I’ve worked under the orders of the most ruthless killers of our time, and I’ve always known that one day I’d be sitting at the same table as them.”

Liberi: Damn it. I told you I could care less—"

“This button triggers 350 kg of TNT attached to the foundations holding this part of the docks above sea level.” He interrupted him with a snicker. Liberi tilted his head to one side, looking curious. “Well, why didn’t you start with that?”

The remote control and its button lay idle in the criminal’s hand. “Even if it means dying, I was entrusted with this thing. The Alchemists know who you and your partner are. And they know that these captives are just as valuable to them as they are to your employers."

That statement only piqued the artificial being’s interest even more, but this time his gaze betrayed suspicion and wariness. So they’re aware that him and Koncel are doing this kind of work now?

Boss: “If you don’t want to get blown up along with these poor people, surrender without making a fuss.”

Liberi’s eyes narrowed with even greater disdain. “Don’t tell me it’s because these prisoners are so valuable, you’re convinced you won’t press that button and that you’ll survive?”

The man with the rifle let out a mocking snort, his shoulders jerking with satisfaction. “You have to admit there’s no need to think twice about it, right?”

Liberi: “Think...?”

In a slow tilt of his head, his gaze shifted behind him, toward the locked door of the chamber where the victims were waiting.

He closed his eyes.

“Of course, there’s no need.”

Liberi let his knife and pistol fall to the floor. The metal clattered at his feet, a sound that caught the boss off guard—he didn’t seem to have expected that—but after a fleeting moment of realization, a devilish grin spread from ear to ear across his rugged face. “Good, you get it. In the end, the difference between you and me is that you’re just following orders, while I’m building my own empire from the ashes of this world~ GAHAHAHA!”

He points his rifle at Liberi, leaving him no chance to respond. The sadistic smirk on his face doesn’t fade, and he flips the safety off, ready to take down his target right away. “What a pity...~ You’re about to join the damned in hell, you cursed puppet.”

Bang...!

A puff of smoke emanates from the barrel after the thunderous sound. The man looks upwards, struck by incomprehension as he finds that Liberi's body is taking its own sweet time to collapse after that supposed shot straight through the skull, but the truth was that the latter had simply, with utter audacity, nudged his head a few centimeters out of the way, and his foe gaped, “You could just dodge?!”

A furious gust of wind then rose behind the swift Essoculus as he rushed forward, disarmed the boss, and pinned him face-down on the ground, easily locking him in an armbar, wearing a neutral expression while the man blew through his nose like a buffalo.

Liberi: “Good! Good...”

Boss: “Rrgh...! Damn it...!”

Liberi: “Hey now, hey now, don’t struggle too much or I’ll make your arm rotate in an unfavorable direction. I don’t see what’s making you so unpleasant! I did what you told me to do, and you had your chance to take me out!”

Boss: “Let me go right now, you freak!!”

His arm was on the line; the mercenary tightened his grip on his joint, making him groan in pain. There was no way for him to free himself.

“Relax, it’s not broken yet. However...” " Still speaking to him with a sinister calm that boded nothing good, he showed him, in front of his face red with rage and pressed against the floor—

Boss: “Wh-what are you...?”

The remote control. “Let’s see together if you can really handle the weight of something like this.”

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     Meanwhile, the situation at ground level wasn't playing in the mob's favor either. Acting on the signal, Koncel took action quickly, sweeping the area clean, riddling his targets with bullets from twin Glock 20 pistols, using their butts to deliver devastating blows with such skill and agility it seemed he was invincible.

There was no chance for the thugs; one after another, their screams were cut short by the blows that knocked them out. Their numbers dwindled rapidly. Koncel wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his cheek, a flash of defiance in his eyes. But the last few enemies left standing in the central area of the platform were armed with heavy firepower, instantly forcing him to take cover as they ruthlessly machine-gunned his way.

Koncel: "Ah... Well, I guess... I'll probably need to use this..."

"Hey, you bastard!! You're going to surrender—we've got your buddy!!"

Koncel: "Wh-..."

The gunfire stopped the moment that big guy appeared alongside his other teammates. This guy... was grabbing Enarky by the hair and dragging him across the floor roughly, without the slightest shred of consideration, and Enarky didn't look like he was in any conscious condition to fight back or even lift a finger. Koncel, crouched behind cover, stared wide-eyed at the boy being tossed around like common trash.

"If ya don't want us to off him, you're gonna throw away your fucking weapons right now, got it?!"

Koncel couldn't believe how foolish someone had to be for getting themselves into such a spot. This boy must have had nothing but a few brain cells left—or simply a desperate death wish. What on earth had driven him all the way out here, only to end up unconscious for the second time and have his hair yanked?

Nevertheless, these questions wouldn’t bring Koncel any closer to a resolution where he saves him, even if he had been courting his own doom. The merc with the silver streaks still had a few tricks up his sleeve; this case was just routine. But...

“H-huh?! Wait, you’re conscious, you son of a bitch?!”

Koncel: “Hm?”

Enarky opened his eyes. Both of them.

Fully cognizant of his pain, of that awful electricity coursing through his veins and making his nerves pulsate, an overwhelming rage swelled in the bottom of his gut. His body quivered on the ground.

I've just taken another round of fucking hits. I can't stand it anymore. But... at least, now I know my reality.

He reached up above his head and fiercely grabbed his torturer’s forearm, his nails tearing open wounds in his skin. He didn't appreciate it, and yelled, "I'll kill you!!" But just before being able to use his weapon, a blinding and unexpected bullet pierced his shoulder, disarming him at once and sending him reeling back in shock. "Where...?! Where the hell did that come from?!"

                             

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     The mob leader began spitting out breathless warnings at the sight of the remote control Liberi was handling recklessly. "What the hell are you doing with that?! It's not a toy!” But Liberi heard only his own words: “You said you were building an empire, right…? So your dream is to become some kind of emperor. That’s beautiful… it fascinates me, dreaming so big while being so small and insignificant. Only humans are capable of such folly."

The boss couldn’t hold back any longer, but lacking the courage to move, he could only huff and puff through his nose, grinding his teeth, until he heard Liberi say, “I’m going to press this button."

Boss: "W-WHAT…?!"

The artificial being suddenly brought his face up close to the man's, his gaze marked by a terrifying lunacy. "I'm going to press the button. Just as planned. You were ready to die, so personally, I don't see any problem with it."

Boss: "NO, STOP, DON'T BE STUPID!! ANYTHING BUT THAT!!"

Liberi: "I don’t intend to go back on my word. Because, you see, I’m not human, and I have no intention of acting like one."

Liberi: "I’m going to count to three and press it... An emperor must learn to make difficult choices, and I’m just trying to help you avoid looking like a wimp."

Boss: "No, no, no, no!! I take it back!! Don't do that—you'll die too!!"

Liberi snorted, "Seriously, you're not even trying. One..."

The man struggled harder than he ever had in his life, but Liberi held him down even tighter, "I beg you!! Stop!!-"

"Two..."

"No, listen! I can give you anything you want! You can have the bounty! Anything you want! Don’t press that button!!"

"Three."

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Liberi puts the controller right in front of the leader's eyes and presses the button.

The poor man's eyes roll back in terror, his mouth gaping and foaming with complete abandonment of hope.

But long, surreal seconds passed, then the mercenary’s weight on his body lightened, and he was suddenly free to move again. Liberi straightened up and rolled his shoulders indifferently, pressing the button a second time, then a third, “Yep, I wasn’t sure, but it worked in the end.”

The boss pressed his hand against the floor, staggering to his feet and finding it hard to believe he was still alive, "...What did you do...?"

“Huh? Have you already forgotten?” He glanced at the device in his hand. “Just like the power outage, my ability allowed me to jam this remote control before I even had to pin you to the ground.”

Boss: "..."

Liberi’s footsteps reverberated in the boss’s skull like church bells; the humanoid walked toward him, then passed him without so much as a glimmer of recognition.

After a few more steps, however, he stopped, facing away from him and said, “I’m done with you; you should leave… However, before I threatened to press the button, you seemed much calmer, even pinned to the ground. Your situation was the same, and you were just as likely to die.”

The man’s mouth dried up, and he turned deathly pale.

                             

to be continued...