The leader of the base approached the guards gathered around Johnny’s lifeless body. Judging by Miller’s body language alone, it was already clear he was furious. The bandits he passed by appeared to physically feel the dangerous energy radiating from him, shrinking back and visibly trembling in fear.
Miller shoved aside two guards who weren’t quick enough to get out of his way and stopped beside Johnny’s dead body. He stared down at it for a mont before shifting his gaze to the gathering of bandits. All of them imdiately averted their gazes, looking down, too afraid to et his blazing glare.
“What the fuck happened here?” he shouted, loud enough for Jake to hear him as if he were standing right next to him.
None of the guards replied. Those who had been firing at Johnny kept their mouths shut. Everyone was too terrified of him to speak up.
“Who am I talking to? Have you all gone deaf all of a sudden?”
A few guards shot furtive glances at Dominic and Patrick, who stood nearby, clearly hoping to shift the responsibility of explaining the situation onto the leader’s closest subordinates. Unsurprisingly, the two of them looked just as scared as the regular guards.
Dominic cast a quick glance at Patrick, who responded with a barely visible shake of his head, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible by hunching his back and lowering his head. Dominic looked around but couldn’t see Minh anywhere—he was standing far behind, watching the unfolding scene from a distance.
Dominic let out a sigh, fully aware that the burden of explaining what had happened rested on him. He moved a bit closer to Miller, as if to demonstrate that, unlike the others, he wasn’t intimidated by him. Then, he started to recount the events that had taken place at the base during the leader’s absence. Speaking in a low voice, he occasionally pointed to the ammo-producing machine and then to the tent where Johnny had been hiding.
At so point, as he neared the end of his recounting, Dominic nodded toward the two guards who had been escorting Johnny to HQ. The two wounded guards still lay on the ground, squirming and moaning in pain. Until now, nobody had paid them any attention, having seemingly forgotten about them the mont Miller returned to the base.
“For fuck’s sake, soone help them already!” he yelled angrily at the bunch of guards standing nearby.
Nearly all of them imdiately ran toward their wounded comrades to administer first aid. It was clear that the guards were afraid to move without permission, and now that they had an excuse to act, they seized the opportunity to create as much distance as possible from the furious leader.
So Dominic and Patrick suddenly found themselves standing opposite Miller by themselves. Patrick was visibly trembling, unable to contain his fear. Dominic managed to hold himself together a bit better, but he was still scared, uncertain of how Miller would respond now that he was aware of the entire situation.
The leader of the base stood motionlessly, watching the guards administer stims to their wounded comrades. They busied themselves around the two injured guards, as if they genuinely cared for them like brothers. To Jake, it was clear they only wanted to keep their distance from Miller. Two of the guards helped the wounded to their feet and guided them toward the tents. Wanting to distance themselves from Miller, the rest of the guards followed suit. So even took hold of the injured comrades, trying to lift and carry them as if they were so sort of royalty.
“For fuck’s sake,” Miller yelled at them. “They’re not that badly hurt. Just one man helping one wounded is more than enough. Two of you go with them. As for the rest of you, get your lazy asses back here right now.”
The guards who weren’t actually helping but only pretending to had no choice but to comply. Each of the two wounded guards now had only one companion assisting them as they walked to the tents. The rest of the guards returned to where the leader of the base stood, albeit reluctantly.
Miller instructed Dominic and Patrick to remain where they were, then signaled for the two guards he had arrived with to follow him. With the two n at his side, he walked confidently toward HQ and vanished inside. Dominic and Patrick shared a few quiet words between them as they watched him go.
Dominic then scanned the area and finally noticed Minh far behind him. He called out for Minh to co closer, but Minh remained where he was. It seed he had decided it was much safer to keep his distance from the furious leader of the base.
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He clearly wasn’t pleased with Minh’s refusal to comply. He even started to walk toward him but then rembered Miller’s order to stay put and stopped imdiately. Terrified of his boss, he was unwilling to disobey and chose to remain where he was.
It wasn’t long before Miller and his two n burst out of HQ. He took a few steps before coming to a halt, staring at Dominic and Patrick from a distance. They stared back at him. From Miller’s behavior alone, they realized sothing was terribly wrong. He stared silently at them for a few seconds, and to those around him, his silence was more terrifying than his usual outbursts of rage.
He said sothing to the group, but since he was no longer yelling, Jake couldn’t make out the words. The guards appeared taken aback by whatever their leader had just said. Miller had to repeat the order before they finally complied, pointing their weapons at Dominic and Patrick, who instinctively raised their hands in the air.
Dominic tried to speak to the leader, probably asking what was happening, but Miller ignored him. He walked over to where his power suit was and climbed in. The suit sealed around him, encasing Miller completely. While he wasn’t yet sure who had killed all the guards inside HQ, it was obvious he suspected his sub-bosses, just as Jake had anticipated. Since Miller didn’t know what might happen when he revealed what he saw in HQ, he clearly wanted the protection of the suit’s armor in case a shootout erupted in the base. Even though he was high-leveled, he wasn’t invincible. Even a single bullet to the head could easily end his life.
He then walked toward the group of guards who were aiming their weapons at the two sub-bosses. He spoke to the guards, and this ti, they obeyed without hesitation. Most of them continued to aim at Dominic and Patrick, while a few others positioned themselves behind the two n.
The two of them were genuinely scared now. Although they didn’t know what Miller had uncovered in HQ, they could tell sothing was seriously wrong, and Miller obviously believed they had sothing to do with it. Patrick broke down in tears, collapsing to his knees. Dominic attempted to speak, but Miller cut him off. The guards secured the sub-bosses’ hands behind their backs, and at Miller’s order, they began to escort them back to HQ.
Miller then spotted Minh watching the scene from a distance. He yelled at him to co over, but Minh did sothing else instead. He wheeled around and sprinted across the base. Miller barked orders at his n to apprehend him, his voice amplified by the suit’s loudspeakers. So of the guards opened fire on the runner.
“Don’t fire, you idiots!” Miller imdiately yelled at them. “I need him alive! Catch him!”
Unfortunately for them, Minh was incredibly fast and agile. He made a beeline for the pickup truck Miller had arrived in. Luckily for Minh, Miller had jumped out of the vehicle as soon as he pulled into the base, leaving the engine running and the doors wide open. So Minh slid behind the wheel and imdiately backed out of the base through the opening where the gates once stood. He whipped the car around and hit the gas, quickly moving away from the base. Miller yelled at his n to give chase, but by the ti they got into another vehicle and drove out, Minh was already nowhere to be seen.
It was great. Just like Dominic and Patrick, Minh had no idea what Miller had witnessed in HQ. However, upon noticing Miller’s changed deanor and the capture of the other two sub-bosses, Minh’s instinct for survival kicked in. Whatever was happening, it was clearly bad, so he decided to make a quick escape. Unlike the workers, the guards were allowed to leave the base, which was why the turrets hadn’t opened fire on him while he escaped. Wherever he was now, it was clear he wasn’t returning anyti soon.
By making his escape, Minh inadvertently painted himself as the pri suspect in the massacre that had unfolded at HQ. Sure, Miller would eventually start to wonder why Minh hadn’t fled right after killing the guards and stealing the Skeleton Key, only opting to escape after Miller discovered the aftermath. However, at first glance, it certainly seed like Minh was behind the horrific events.
The guards had already escorted the restrained Dominic and Patrick into HQ. Yet Miller stayed outside for a few monts longer. He instructed the remaining guards to resu their duties, and after they complied, he popped open his power suit and stepped out. He walked toward HQ and disappeared inside a few monts later, likely to interrogate Dominic and Patrick. Whatever was in store for them was bound to be anything but pleasant.
Before moving away, Jake cast one last glance at Johnny’s lifeless body, still lying in the sa spot. A wave of sadness washed over him, mingling with the anger that bubbled up inside. Johnny had seen Jake as so sort of hero, the one destined to take down Los Demonios and protect the ordinary survivors. But Jake was no hero, that was for damn sure. Yet it was a good thing because it ant he would have no reservations. No moral constraints would hold him back. Nothing would stop him from completely eradicating Los Demonios, leaving behind nothing but a damp stain where the gang once was.
However, before launching a full-blown war against Los Demonios, he needed to evolve into the next stage. Before doing it, though, he wanted to spend the night searching for mana, as he was running low on it. So he wheeled around and dashed across the rooftop. When he was sure he couldn’t be seen from the base below, he deactivated Cloak, knowing there was no reason to waste mana unnecessarily. Reaching the edge of the roof, he leaped toward another building.
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