READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 160
Mr. Powerful’s rough fist came crashing in. It was a crude punch. But that didn’t mean it was any less effective. After countless eons, it was the punch of a relentless killer, honed for efficiency. In that punch lay enough strength to take down a human.
However—.
Thud.
“Ugh-!”
Eight easily dodged the punch as if it were the most predictable thing ever. After sidestepping, with the grace of flowing water, a ghost-like fist flew out and slammed into Mr. Powerful’s stomach.
Crush Punch. The overwhelming blow delivered every ounce of weight Mr. Powerful had, disturbing his insides.
“Oaaah-!”
With a signature battle cry, Eight sent Mr. Powerful flying and waved his hand, inviting him to come at him again. Seeing that, Mr. Powerful spat out a chunk of his insides and rushed at Eight.
He swung his fist. A punch that had never been blocked before. Yet, it was as if Eight could see the future; before he could even put his force into the swing, he was already suppressed. After getting a few hits in, he realized he couldn’t land a proper blow.
He swung his leg. Eight elegantly dodged the kick and, as if waiting for the moment, tripped Mr. Powerful, sending him tumbling. Mr. Powerful could only get up after taking a few soccer kicks while rolling on the floor.
Even in this one-sided beatdown, it was clear they weren’t going to engage in ground fighting, probably knowing that they were outmatched. Mr. Powerful, despite thinking so, scowled at the elusive Eight.
“Raise! Get in on this!”
“…You’re up against someone stronger. I don’t think my joining would change anything now.”
“Aaaah-! Damn it!”
Mr. Powerful scratched the back of his head at Raise’s words. He was right. Raise’s role was merely to normalize the situation. Nothing more. Contrary to appearances, that guy wasn’t much of a fighter. Even if he tried, he couldn’t match the battlefield prowess of Mr. Powerful.
In other words, even if Raise jumped into the fray against an opponent Mr. Powerful couldn’t beat, it wouldn’t change a thing.
“If I had known this would happen, I should have learned martial arts…”
Countless eons.
Many had wished to be his mentor.
Countless humans had noted his abilities and offered their guidance, lamenting the waste of his strength.
Though Mr. Powerful had turned down all those countless offers, he had never regretted that decision until now, even considering that all those boasting humans ended up with cracked skulls from a single slap from him.…
“Kui Kui.”
“What the hell is that…”
“The strongest martial arts of Earth.”
Eight threw out another absurd tagline and waved his hand once more. Seeing that, Mr. Powerful sighed and charged at him.
Honestly. I really wish this was a dream.
If it were a dream, it would be a terrible nightmare.
* * *
Cough-!
As I watched Mr. Powerful being hurled away, spitting blood, I realized my guess had been right.
‘That ability called normalization. Seems it doesn’t reach the Fourth Dimension…’
The suit I was wearing was powered by an internal Fourth Dimension source, making its engine output a notch higher than what’s found in the real world. Even though the difference seems slight, the greater the engine’s output, the more astronomically the difference escalates.
For someone with such an absurd ability, it was obvious there was a weakness. It was said that Mr. Clear and the other three guardians were artificially created life forms.
‘They must have deliberately created such a weakness to maintain control over themselves.’
And that implied that the beings who created those four guardians either belonged to a civilization that understood Fourth Dimensional technology or were Fourth Dimensional beings themselves. A civilization like that existed in this universe? Now that’s chilling.
A civilization that developed such technology would never just disappear overnight. So where the heck did they go? Why are they hiding, not showing themselves?
“Damn… You fight really well…”
“It’s not me. It’s all the power of artificial intelligence.”
“Is that so… So, born as tools, only to be used as tools?”
Seeing Mr. Powerful crack a smile, I couldn’t help but also let out a laugh.
“You never intended to go about this properly, did you?”
“Caught me?”
“Of course. If it were me, I wouldn’t target you directly. I would slowly chip away at your sanity by taking out Ayle or other citizens. You didn’t even glance at Ayle throughout the fight, did you?”
I was a bit anxious. I was confident I could protect Ayle, but one can’t be too careful. However, those two showed no interest in Ayle or anyone else at all. Well, they did neutralize the villainous organization’s member who threw the first punch.
Other than Galm, everyone looked fine, so that’s good.
“…I didn’t want that to happen.”
“Why?”
“I told you. I’m tired— I was just celebrating being liberated, and I got dragged into this? That damn leader had a direct control command or something… Hardly sounds genuine.”
Mr. Powerful looked up at me as he said that. His eyes were filled with the emptiness characteristic of those who had given up on life. To be precise, it was like those elderly folks who have lived fully and now found life itself a bore.
Seeing that look, I quietly approached him. Then I met his gaze and spoke.
“Do you want to die?”
“Yeah. I’m tired now. I’ve lived enough and done plenty. I have no regrets left in life. Let me go.”
“Alright. Then I’ll take that life.”
“…What? What did you just say— cough!”
After knocking out the life-weary Mr. Powerful, I glanced at Mr. Raise. He had long since raised both hands and assumed a surrender position.
I gestured for Raise to follow me and picked up the fallen Galm, Vira, and Six one by one. I couldn’t carry all four of them by myself, so I ordered the big guys to hold Raise to help.
As we made our way to the laboratory, connecting IV drips with red fluid to the three of them, I turned to Raise and asked,
“Do you share the same view as Mr. Powerful?”
“…I want to live a bit longer.”
“Great. I’ll take that life too.”
In a corner of the lab. Pointing at the long cylinder that had been prepared— I smiled brightly.
“Go on in. Over there.”
“…I just said I want to live.”
“I will let you live.”
Glurp-.
Swallowing hard, Raise started trembling in fear, looking at the long cylinder as if it were some medieval torture device. But I wasn’t the kind to wait around.
I forcibly shoved the two of them into the apparatus and activated it. Moments later, I began to loosen my hands as I watched the two of them disintegrate at the cellular level.
‘They did say something about a direct control command… That means I’ll need to completely overhaul their bodies.’
It seemed it would be a long process. Still, it couldn’t be helped. It would be a waste to just let beings with those abilities roam free, but killing them outright seemed just as foolish.
Recycling was a must.
Even if they were human.
* * *
“Hmm… so that’s what happened.”
In the president’s office of Evilus Corporation.
After the treatment wrapped up, Regalia summoned the members of the Evil Organization to debrief about what had transpired. The Boss trembled for a moment at the news of an attack linked to Mr. Clear, who she had been desperately searching for, but she quickly regained her composure.
“Alright, got it. Good work, everyone. You can rest now.”
“—Boss.”
“What is it, Scientist?”
Did she have something to say?
As Regalia opened the floor, she noticed the serious gaze of Eight looking back at her. It wasn’t like Eight at all, usually filled with jest and casualness; he was now enveloped in a solemn aura.
With sincerity directed at Regalia, Eight scanned the surrounding executives before speaking up.
“Um… Can we finally hear what really happened?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“About the past, what you’ve been through, and why you brought us all together.”
In response to Eight’s words, Regalia looked at him as if assessing his seriousness. Those were words she had never once uttered aloud. How could the Scientist possibly know about that?
As she questioned herself, Regalia realized that the very question was rather foolish. Most of the information she had learned came from the Scientist’s assistance.
Yet, despite that, Regalia couldn’t reveal the truth.
“…This is purely my matter. I can’t drag you into it—.”
“Hey, Boss. Why not just say it? What’s the point of keeping it a secret when we’re all here?”
“Galm. But….”
“Are you worried that we would leave you if we heard it? Don’t worry, Boss.”
Galm chuckled at the worried expression on Regalia’s face, lightening the mood.
“We’re your guardians, after all.”
At that, Regalia looked at the members of the Evil Organization one by one. As her gaze met with theirs, they all slowly nodded in agreement. Seeing that, Regalia choked back the emotional surge welling up inside her and carefully spoke.
“…Yeah, that’s a good point.”
Thus, Regalia—
This delicate Boss—
Shared the secret she had held for nearly half her life.
The reason for establishing the Evil Organization and the seed of revenge.