Chapter 80: Chapter 80 : Red Star Massacre

With more time to mentally adjust, those on the first floor fared better than those on the second floor…though only slightly. It was still a one-sided massacre.

*Spurt!* *Spurt!* *Spurts!*

Like a whirlwind of death, Silver reaped life after life with effortless ease. The bullets and Psi attacks the gangsters’ desperately fired his way saw no success. He was just too quick, his movements too deft. To the gangsters, it appeared as though their attacks phased right through him. To many, this notion would be the last one they’d have as Silver’s next action would end their lives.

Swoosh!

Zigzagging through erratic gunfire, Silver closed in and slashed, decapitating the gangster. Decapitation via Psi blades ended three more, but at the sight of his next enemy, Silver dematerialised his swords. Slipping past the other’s downward slash, Silver’s hands snaked their way to the back and front of the gangster’s Psi helmet… then twisted.

In comical fashion, Turner’s head plopped off his body. A fear coloured expression was etched onto his face as it span through the air. Noting it, Silver’s eyes flickered a moment before returning to the frigid lake it was previously.

With his mother’s state weighing heavily on him, Silver prioritised speed and efficiency. Never pausing, he dispatched the gangsters like a killing machine. He had no time to waste; his mother was waiting for him after all.

“Agh-”

“Ga-”

“Aa-”

Death throes continued to sound out until only a single gangster remained.

“Wai-”

Silver didn’t slow an iota at the other’s plea and mercilessly decapitated the middle-aged gangster with a swing of his Psi blade. Dematerializing the sword, he took a second to confirm that all enemies were truly dead. Confirming this, his attention rushed upward, and a moment later, so did he. Using the openings he made, he zoomed to the third floor.

Arriving in a heartbeat, Silver captured a panicky Tucker, revolver drawn and aimed his way. Tilting his head, he avoided the bullet. The gangster moved to fire another shot however this wasn’t to be. Silver’s Psi smothered his figure, bringing him to his knees then locking him in place.

‘Telekinesis, damn it!’ Tucker tried breaking free but with his meagre physical strength, he couldn’t even make his bindings wiggle. The gangster’s face twisted up with indignation as he realised his helplessness.

“My mother… where is she,” Silver asked with a passive madness burning in his eyes.

Forced to look up at him, Tucker’s gaze was set alight. “Fuck you, tha- argh!”

The Red Star Head’s non-cooperation stroked Silver’s fury, who immediately moved to punitive actions. Horrid noises rang out as all of the fingers on Tucker’s right hand snapped and bent beyond their usual limits. The revolver previously in its clasp fell to the floor with a thonk.

“Aaaah aaah aaah…”

Tucker’s sweat coated face contorted harshly. He took quick short breathes as he endured the painful aftermath. More than anger or fear, the emotion that dominated Tucker’s heart was incredulity.

Everything had happened way too quickly for his mind to process. However, in this sea of confusion, he understood one thing, in this tavern, there existed two living souls, him and the young man before him. The eerie silence and the familiar scent of blood assaulting his senses solidified this fact in his mind.

‘Ah, no no, this can’t be happening right now, this must be a nightma-aarrgh, fuck fuck damn!’ The throbbing pain sent from his crippled hand quickly dispelled the notion. ‘He was this powerful? Then those rumours were…fuck,’ Tucker cursed as he grit his teeth.

“Unnecessary words will bring great pain,” Silver said while squinting; a cruel light swirled in his eyes.

*Gulp*

Seeing the look in the other’s eyes, Tucker’s heart quaked.

The look was one he knew well. It belonged to the type of person, who had no reservations about their methods, one who would stoop to the depths of hell, should it be needed to achieve their goal.

When imagining the ridiculous pain the youth would subject him to next, fear surged in him and his whole body began vibrating no different than a leaf amidst a thunderstorm.

“Now, answer my question. Where’s my mom,” Silver reiterated.

“Aar,” Tucker took a moment to groan before answering, “your mom’s whereabouts? How would I know that.”

Silver’s eyes twitched at the answer. “Your gang kidnapped her. Are you saying you’re ignorant of this?” Asking, his Psi moved to Tucker’s unbroken left hand.

Tucker’s face paled at the happening. Desperate to evade a repeat, he rushed to speak. “I’m not lying. Why would we even kidnap your mother, we have no reason to. You’ve been paying us, so why would we do it?”

Silver’s brows furrowed.

It wasn’t that he didn’t question the truth of Charlie’s words. When he thought about it, it didn’t make sense either.

Tucker saw the flicker of confusion passing through the young man’s eyes and continued. “Take a look around, she’s not here and she never was.”

Again, Silver couldn’t help but agree. He had already confirmed that she wasn’t present with his Psi Scan earlier, and even now, senses spread, he picked up no trace of her existence.

He shut off his sight, taste, touch, hearing and diverted his brainpower to smell. Hana’s scent was one naturally registered in his database. Sniffing, his enhanced nose sought out the familiar scent. Silver’s consciousness roamed the entire building, taking in every smell there was, the blood, the gun powder residue, the urine staining many pants, the spilt alcohol…

Five seconds later, he ended his search. ‘She really wasn’t here,’ he thought, confirming Tucker’s claim.

Seeing the light of realisation dawn on Silver’s face, Tucker nodded. “I told you. She’s not here. We haven’t kidnapped her. Whoever told you that was lying!”

“Lying,” Silver repeated with a squint. “The person who told me this was the person who stood beside you last time, the bald one with the red star tattoo on his head.”

“Charlie told you,” Tucker said, his volume spiked. Shock reverberated through him at the revelation.

“Yes. He and three others attacked me in the streets of Ganurg. I killed them all, but not before learning from them that you’ve kidnapped my mother. He said Stuart’s group kidnapped her long ago and that she was here.”

“Bullshit. That’s all bullshit!” Tucker vehemently denied. “We did no such thing. He was just spouting off like he always does. Everything he and those other three did or said was done of their own accord, the Red Star has nothing to do with it.”

Silver fell silent at the spittle-filled rant.

As he did, Tucker’s heart thumped with hope. ‘Come on come on come on come come on…’ Powerless to free himself, he sought the aid of his strongest fighter, Stuart. His denial and lies were all done to buy him time, in hopes that Stuart would show up and save him. He didn’t know if Stuart was on his way or in Ganurg, still, at this moment, all he could do was hope.

‘Those were just random words back then? Was he just putting on an act out of desperation to survive?’ Asking these questions, Silver’s mind delved back in time. Instead of relying on his nigh perfect memory, he chose the more perfect Record of Everything (Outer).

Peeking inside the Mental Space, he dialled back to the exact moment Charlie made the claim and let it play. Thanks to his enhanced vision, everything was crystal clear, allowing Silver to capture every minute detail on the gangster’s face. Not even three seconds later, Silver ceased his investigation. He had his answer.

‘No…that was no act. Something’s amiss.’

Thinking this, Silver refocused on Tucker. “Where is Stuart, answer quickly.”

“Stuart isn’t here. He went on a trip to Lycra and he isn’t set to return for another month,” Tucker explained, sweat dripping from every pore.

“So that’s all you know, I see. Then…farewell.” Silver had the fallen revolver float to his hand. Doing a quick inspection and finding nothing amiss, the fused being gripped the gun firmly and aimed at his target.

Destroying the Red Star was something he and his other selves would always do. Things had gone awry. Still, while the circumstances that led to this point wasn’t ideal, Silver would see his goals through to the end.

“I know where he is! I’ll tell you!” Sensing his imminent death, Tucker buckled under the mental pressure. “I lied, I’ll tell you everything!”

“Then tell me, where is Stua-”

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Silver need not complete the question, for the answer he sought, suddenly arrived before him.

*Crash*

Through the third-story window, an armoured Stuart came barreling in.

‘There you are!’ Locating his target, Stuart zoomed forth.

Taking in his speedy approach, Silver’s eyes flickered. ‘This is him, definitely.’ Having the thought, he immediately entered battle mode.

Swoosh!

Closing in, Stuart fired off a right straight towards Silver’s face. Seeing his opponent move to duck, Stuart scoffed internally. It was a bad move. With the current trajectory, his fist would clip the other’s forehead, and with his opponent’s ultra-thin Psi membrane as defence, Stuart foresaw an instant kill.

However…

*Bang*

‘Huh?!’ By the next moment, Stuart watched with incredulity as his fist now sailed cleanly over the youth’s head. While ducking, Silver had aimed the gun upwards, then timing it perfectly, fired the shot. The projectile collided with Stuart’s armoured arm and pushed it upwards, allowing Silver to slip under the attack without issue.

Recognizing this sequence of events, Stuart was stunned silly. ‘That just happened…it must be luck.’ Pulling himself together with this notion, Stuart continued his blitz attack.

Whereas Charlie was a defensive type, Stuart was an offensive speedster, who excelled in delivering speedy attacks in rapid succession. Chasing the zigzagging Silver, he let his fists fly.

*Punch* *Punch* *Punch*…

The room rattled as booms were let off at his flurry. However, speedy as they were, none had connected to his target.

‘It’s not just luck, but how…’ Stuart watched in amazement as Silver deftly deflected his attacks with bullet after bullet.

Indeed, it wasn’t luck. The method being employed was known as Projectile Deflecting System. This method was thought up to combat those noticeably faster than themselves and had both real bullet and Psi bullet versions. Right now, the former was allowing Silver to deal with his opponent’s frenzy.

Firing projectiles in such a way that it redirects your opponent’s attacks wasn’t a new idea by any means. Still, while it wasn’t novel, those who could successfully pull it off were very rare. The insane calculation skills, daring and composure needed to achieve this feat wasn’t something anyone could do, thankfully, Silver wasn’t just anyone.

*Bang*

Down to two bullets, Silver mentally frowned. ‘I can’t stay in here,’ he assessed. He could see himself unravelling in a matter of seconds. Dealing with Stuart’s speed and skill in this confined space was too troublesome.

Searching for a solution, his eyes caught the hole leading outside and immediately thought of an idea. Not wasting any time, he moved to enact it. Dodging, Silver slid across the floor, then in one motion, took aim and fired. The target wasn’t Stuart but Tucker who had rushed to the hole in the floor. The bullet raced towards Tucker, but thankfully for him, Stuart was quick enough. Rushing in, the lanky gangster used his armoured figure to tank the bullet.

Silver didn’t care for it, he had accomplished what he wanted to. With a moment’s respite, he turned to the window and bolted out.

Seeing him escape, Stuart boiled with anger. With several seconds to soak up everything, the lanky gangster was able to understand well enough what had transpired here. Knowing that the fleeing youth was responsible for it, a fire was lit in Stuart’s belly, one that could only be extinguished by the youth’s death.

‘Escaping? Like hell you will!’ Roaring internally, Stuart leaned forward then blasted off like a cannonball. Streaking through the air at high speed, the distance between him and Silver’s figure quickly shrunk. However, this was exactly what Silver wanted.

‘Ah?!’ Stuart exclaimed internally as his mind suddenly shook.

From zero to a hundred, Silver’s mental signal went. The sharp EM surge caused all minds to briefly shortcircuit, Stuart’s included. Silver didn’t waste the window of opportunity. While the gangster was frazzled, he performed his planned aerial manoeuvre. A Psi rope whipped out ahead; the tip latched itself onto the ‘air’, then Silver performed an Air Flicker to accelerate forward.

*Swoosh*

Swinging speedily with the rope, Silver’s figure did a vertical revolution. In the blink of an eye, he found himself above and slightly behind Stuart’s lunging form, then before the gangster could mentally recover, Silver accelerated again.

Diving down, he slammed into the other’s back and wrapped Stuart up in a tight embrace. Like this, the two plummeted to the ground at breakneck…and everything else, speed.

Stuart tried to change direction at the last moment, but Silver’s timely Chaotic Disruption killed all hopes of that.

‘Noo-’

*Boom*

Dirt and stone exploded up as the pair crash-landed and subsequently skidded across the tiled road. A dark brown smoke cloud blew over the area.

Having recovered from the mental signal spike, Tucker and a few gathered onlookers looked towards the smoke with widened and expectation-filled eyes.

Fwooosh!

The cloud was blown away and for all eyes to see, Silver stood. Next to him, Stuart lay headless, blood oozing out of his neck region.

Silver had angled the lanky gangster in such a way that he would hit the ground head-first. Stuart’s Psi Helmet couldn’t tank the blow and was obliterated along with his head, which now took the forms of chunks of flesh, bone fragments, blood and spinal fluids.

The Fallen Meteor tactic was a devastating one, and not just for their opponent. Silver hadn’t come out unscathed. Stuart’s armour and body had tanked most of it, but a lot of force had still reached him.

Silver had prioritised his head, neck and abdomen, so just before impact, he used all his Psi to protect these regions while leaving his tough body to tank the rest of the force. The result was a heavily aching body with a dozen or so red snakes now adorning his flesh.

Usually, he wouldn’t resort to such a self-destructive method, but the circumstances had called for it - or rather, the circumstances were such that the tactic was used.

In the crash’s aftermath, Silver remained stationary, inspecting his body with his Psi and repairing any problematic areas. While he was doing this, dozens of pairs of eyes focused on him. Amidst this lot, one pair was different from the rest.

‘Ah…Stuart, he…no, this can’t be.’

Standing at the window opening, Tucker’s face was completely drained of colour and hope.

The last ten seconds had been a roller coaster of emotions. When Stuart showed up a few seconds ago, his heart surged with delight. He felt as if the heavens had smiled on him, however, only seconds later, he’d find out that said smile was crooked.

Stuart, his strongest ally, who he had seen defeat many strong foes with effortless ease had been killed in a matter of seconds. The despair that had been beaten back at Stuart’s arrival returned and was even greater than before. Heart heavy with this emotion, Tucker collapsed to his knees.

‘It’s all over…’

Eyeing the young man’s side profile, the swaying of his coat and the dust that swirled around him, thoughts of the end - his end filled Tucker’s mind.

‘This is where I die, to him, ha ha,’ a bitter chuckle escaped his lips at the thought. ‘And to think this could have all been avoided. Drey…he was right all along. I should have listened.’ Dejected, deflated and demoralised, Tucker eyed Silver, waiting with trepidation and expectation for the young man to turn his way and subject him to that piercing blue gaze of his.

However, Silver wouldn’t grant him the courtesy. To Silver, the other was insignificant trash, unworthy of trading parting words or gestures with. Without turning to him, Silver raised the revolver and freed the last bullet from its metal prison.

Bang!

Flying true, the bullet struck the unmoving Tucker between his eyes, instantly killing him. The impact sent his corpse into a wobble; his figure went back and forth for a few seconds before plopping forward. With him being at the edge of the opening, Tucker’s corpse slipped off and fell from the third story floor, landing heavily on the stone-tiled street below.

The cracks of bone-breaking and the sound of blood splatting rang out, much to the dismay of the crowd who collectively winced. As for Silver, he was ignorant of this happening, having immediately left after firing the bullet.

Now, his speedy figure raced towards the target of his desire.

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