Chapter 83: Slaughtered [1]

"What the hell is going on here?!"

As the commotion outside finally died down, burly men began pouring out of the mansion. Some carried weapons, while others hurried toward the entrance, shouting at their subordinates and demanding to know what had happened.

But the moment they stepped outside, their voices died in their throats.

The entrance to the Hiroshi House had been reduced to a wreck. Smoke drifted through the air, shattered concrete covered the ground, and the bodies of their men lay scattered across the courtyard.

They had barely managed to understand the situation when Lorenzo stepped forward.

"I am Lorenzo Riina. Stand down, and you get to live."

His voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

For a moment, fear spread through the crowd. After witnessing the destruction around them, even the most hotheaded men hesitated to approach the boy standing before them.

However, their fear didn’t last long.

Once they realized their mansion was under attack, anger began to replace their initial shock. Several men tightened their grips on their weapons, glaring at Lorenzo as though they wanted to tear him apart.

"That bastard...!"

"Don’t be scared, you bastards! He’s just a kid!"

One man stepped forward, attempting to rally the others. Unlike his companions, he seemed to understand that panicking would only make the situation worse. His eyes darted around the courtyard, searching for hidden attackers.

Unfortunately for him, Lorenzo had already noticed.

"How disappointing. Do you really think I came here alone?"

"...What?"

Lorenzo raised his hand and pointed his index finger at the man.

"You. First."

The man barely had time to react.

A tiny hole suddenly appeared in his forehead.

He froze, his expression caught somewhere between confusion and disbelief, as though he couldn’t understand what had just happened.

Then his knees gave way.

Thud!

His body struck the ground.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

"What the hell was that?!"

"He just died out of nowhere!"

"Was that a sniper?! I didn’t hear a gunshot!"

Lorenzo watched their confusion with an indifferent expression.

"Correct. There’s a sniper behind me."

He paused, allowing the realization to sink in.

"Now, everyone who lies down and surrenders will be spared."

The men exchanged uneasy glances. Some instinctively looked toward the surrounding buildings, trying to locate the sniper. Others stared at Lorenzo, struggling to decide whether they should attack or retreat.

The sniper had already proven that he could kill them without warning. And if Lorenzo wasn’t alone, there was no telling how many enemies were waiting beyond the ruined entrance.

This was precisely why Lorenzo preferred handling things personally.

He enjoyed hunting his targets himself, watching their expressions change as they realized they had no chance of escaping.

But his father hadn’t permitted him to carry out this operation alone.

Instead, Aldric had sent the Riina Family’s executioners to surround the mansion while Lorenzo confronted the Hiroshi Family’s main force.

It wasn’t Lorenzo’s preferred method of hunting.

It was the Riina Family’s way of doing things.

And as the heir, he had little choice but to follow his father’s orders.

"Anyone who hasn’t surrendered by now has made their decision."

Lorenzo removed his black suit jacket and folded it neatly before placing it on a relatively clean patch of broken concrete.

He then rolled up his sleeves and straightened his tie.

His movements were unhurried, almost casual, as though he were preparing for an ordinary sparring match rather than a fight to the death.

When he looked up again, the faint trace of patience had disappeared from his face.

"From this moment onward, the Hiroshi Family will be executed."

For a brief moment, the courtyard fell silent.

Perhaps the men finally understood what his words meant.

Whatever the reason, the result was the same.

"ATTACK!"

A man at the front charged toward Lorenzo, raising a massive war hammer above his head. The others followed, brandishing maces, iron clubs, swords, daggers, and whatever other weapons they could get their hands on.

They came at him from several directions, hoping to overwhelm him with numbers.

Lorenzo merely observed them.

Their auras were weak.

The man wielding the war hammer was F+ rank at best, while most of the others were F or F- rank. Even if they were Awakeners, their abilities were nothing impressive.

Against an ordinary person, they might have been terrifying.

Against Lorenzo, they were little more than obstacles.

"Hmph."

He took a deep breath.

His muscles tightened, and his thoughts became unnervingly clear. The world seemed to slow as he watched the first attacker close the distance.

"DIE!"

The war hammer came crashing down toward his head.

Lorenzo clenched his fist and struck.

BAM!

The impact resounded through the courtyard.

The hammer’s metal head buckled under the force of his punch, and Lorenzo’s fist continued forward, smashing directly into the attacker’s face.

The man’s head snapped backward. His body flew off the ground before crashing several meters away.

Lorenzo glanced at his fist.

It barely hurt.

The next attacker approached from his right, swinging a heavy mace toward his ribs.

Lorenzo twisted his body and knocked the weapon aside with his elbow.

Before the man could recover, Lorenzo’s left fist slammed into his chest.

The attacker was sent flying, tumbling across the ground until he came to a stop among the rubble.

"D-Damn monster!"

The remaining men hesitated, their confidence beginning to crumble.

How could a seventeen-year-old boy possess such ridiculous strength?

Worse, he didn’t even look as though he were struggling.

"Don’t just stand there, you idiots!" someone shouted from the back. "Awakeners can withstand mana bullets if they put mana barrier around their body! If you want to kill these bastards, you need to focus on their weak points!"

His judgment wasn’t entirely wrong.

As an Awakener’s rank increased, their physical durability and mana reinforcement could make mana bullets far less effective. Against sufficiently powerful opponents, conventional firearms alone weren’t always enough.

But the man had overlooked one crucial detail.

The people surrounding Lorenzo weren’t ordinary gangsters.

They were the executioners of the Riina Family.

Their entire profession revolved around dealing with enemies who couldn’t be killed by ordinary means. They knew how to restrain powerful Awakeners, exploit weaknesses, and bring down opponents whose strength surpassed their own.

And Lorenzo was about to show the Hiroshi Family exactly what that meant.

A flicker of light appeared beside him.

His twin axes materialized from his storage space, their blades catching the light as he wrapped his fingers around their handles.

Lorenzo lowered his stance and stared at the men rushing toward him.

"Axe of Slaughter—activate."

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A/N :- Happy Diwali, y’all!

Wishing you all a fantastic Festival of Lights! May your holiday be filled with endless good vibes, killer food comas, and way too many sweets.

May your diyas stay lit, your graphics cards stay cool, and your Wi-Fi stay strong!

Plus give me some gifts for Diwali!