Chapter 405: X [1]

"Dammit you bastards!"

A man roared with all his might as he ran through the alley, his body bleeding profoundly.

His right shoulder was punctured by a bullet that had now been lodged deep into the flesh of his body.

By sheer luck, the bullet hadn’t pierced through his shoulder bone, which was why he was still able to maintain some hints of sanity.

Taking a right turn, the man ran with all his might, fearing his pursuers may soon catch up to him.

Using his left hand, the man took out his phone, before dialling a number—

"Pick up... pick up the damn call! Tsk!"

Seeing there being no response on the other end of the phone, the man tried another contact, then another... but none responded.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed from behind, prompting the man to run with even greater speed.

"How long are you going to run, Stephen?"

"Huh?"

Stephen’s body stopped in its tracks, as a very familiar voice called out to him from the alley on his left side.

He didn’t want to stop, but somehow his body had involuntarily frozen, unable to move an inch on its own.

"This feels kind of cinematic, doesn’t it."

The man from the left alley walked forward, moving towards where Stephen had frozen in place.

His grey hair was the first thing that Stephen saw, quickly followed by a pair of black eyes staring at him.

"Michael... I—"

"Here... take it easy."

Interrupting Stephen, Michael threw a bottle of water in his direction, and motioned the guy to drink it.

Stephen didn’t move, though he lowered his eyes to stare at the bottle that had now rolled towards his feet.

"I... I will hand over everything to you... just let me live."

Thud!

Uttering the words, Stephen dropped down to his knees, as he pleaded with desperate eyes.

There was a moment’s silence as the man named Michael simply observed his... victim with a slight smirk plastered across his face.

"Bold of you to think that you have anything that would entice me."

Michael chuckled before taking a step further... his black eyes reflecting the darkness of the long night.

"Honestly I would have let you go, but... my boss thinks otherwise."

"..."

Stephen opened his mouth to respond... to plead further, but the mere mention of Michael’s boss was enough for him to swallow all of the words that he had desperately wanted to say.

"He should be arriving soon—oh... there he is."

Michael raised his voice in a childlike excitement before pointing towards a deserted path with no light illuminating its vicinity whatsoever.

But—

Stephen could see it—

No.

It was more like his body could feel it, and within a moment or two, his eyes were able to spot the outline of a person walking towards them.

A second passed, then another and soon... Stephen was clearly able to see the man, who was staring at him in return.

The light of the moon reflected his hair, which, being white as the snow... were the perfect match for the lonely night.

A pair of ocean blue eyes pierced through the darkness, as the boss observed Stephen with indifference.

"Boss... you are late."

Michael broke the silence with his rough yet cheerful voice, but before he could say anything else, more figures emerged from the darkness, as their faint outlines became visible to the naked eye.

Each of them wore white shirts and formal pants... an attire that was complimented by their dark blazers.

The men moved in complete synchronisation, as they followed their boss in silence.

As a few seconds had already passed, Stephen was able to see everything with crystal clarity, and maybe... that was more of a curse than a boon, as along with the men in black, Stephen’s eyes fell on the shiny black guns in their hands... all of them being assault rifles made using the most advanced technology out there.

"We meet again... Stephen L. Delvic."

Standing at around a few feet away from Stephen, the man... who Michael had just referred to as his boss, spoke up... his voice soothing to the ears, but for Stephen... it only amplified the shivers in his spine.

"X—"

"Give him a chair."

Even before Stephen could say his words, X ordered, as one of the men standing behind him quickly got two chairs out of nowhere, while placing one near to his boss and the other for... the dead man.

Stephen just observed the chair in silence, while X made himself comfortable while elegantly crossing one leg over the other.

"Your wound seems quite deep."

X commented as he focused his gaze on Stephen’s right shoulder, which was visibly bleeding, with his entire shirt having turned red.

Stephen lowered his head to observe the wound on his shoulder, which at the moment had grown a little numb—

"Stephen... are you in pain?"

The question was asked in a voice that was closer to a whisper, yet for Stephen it felt like the hell’s judgment.

"This... n-no... why would it pain... I mean, it’s just a scratch."

Forcing a smile, Stephen chuckled to himself as he silently counted all the men that were currently surrounding him.

He wanted to escape, and his brain was trying to find the most optimal route, but... deep down Stephen already knew it.

His fate... it was sealed the moment—

"Hm? If it’s not painful, then... that’s quite unfortunate."

"..."

"Treat him."

Shifting his gaze to Michael, X gave the order, and within a moment Michael was already beside Stephen, a dark bottle in his hand, as he removed its cap.

Stephen’s eyes narrowed in surprise as he couldn’t understand why they were treating him—

"Humans... they suffer from pain the moment they are born and the pain... it remains by their side for the entirety of their pitiful lives."

"..."

"This might be the last time we would be having such a wonderful chat, and I... don’t want you to die a dog’s death."

"..."

"After all, without enough pain to accompany you... your death wouldn’t be human, would it?"

"No—"

"I want you to die as a human, Stephen... that’s my mercy for you."

"Huh? Just what the fucking— AARRRGGHHH!"

Stephen couldn’t complete his sentence, as within a swift motion, Michael tore down the shirt covering his shoulder before pouring the entire bottle of Iodine on the former’s wound—

"You bastard—"

Slap!

Just as Stephen was about to curse, another man appeared right before him, as he slapped the former with the full force of his might.

Slap!

Slap!

Slap!

But the slaps didn’t end there as two other men held Stephen down, preventing him from resisting, while the third man continued his work... changing the entire structure of Stephen’s face.

Michael, on the other hand, forcefully applied the entire bottle of Iodine to the wound on Stephen’s shoulder with an innocent smile on his face, as if what he was currently doing was an act of charity.

Stephen’s screams were drowned by the repeated slaps across his face—

"Should I give an invitation to the rest?"

X’s voice interrupted the drama, as he slightly turned his head to look at the rest of the men standing behind him.

"No, Sir!"

Everyone shouted in unison, before a few amongst the group stepped forward with knives in their hands.

These knives were indeed meant to cut open the flesh of humans and animals alike, with the only difference being, the edges of their blades were uneven, as if they were specifically made as such for some particular purpose.

"Uh... can I get more of it?"

Michael, seeing the next part of the drama being enacted, raised the bottle of antiseptic in his hand, with the smirk on his face stretching till his ears.