Chapter 43
Dane looked different compared to the last ti he had been seen. His hair was ssy, with loose strands stretching out in sharp, pointy waves. His pupils flared a dark red color that seed to radiate off him. It was strange, unsettling even.
Rick was stunned and did not know what to do. He shivered on the spot Axel had shoved him to earlier in a bid to protect him. When he looked up at Axel, he could not tell what was swirling in his mind.
[Kill Dane Cornwall...]
[Penalty for failure: Death]
Axel could not quite comprehend the severity of the new mission he had been given.
’Kill him?’
The thought of taking soone’s life had never crossed Axel’s mind. He never imagined himself in a position where he would need to kill soone... until today.
"Ti to die, Axel!" Dane threatened and charged forward.
It was very obvious to Axel now that Dane had cornered him with every intent to kill. That was probably why the system had given him no alternative but to kill Dane.
Dane’s movents were fast. Too fast. He appeared in front of Axel with a raised fist and drove it straight toward Axel’s side.
Axel, however, had expected the strike. He quickly used his elbow to knock Dane’s fist off course while maintaining distance.
’I can’t let him get close to . That venom is dangerous.’
"You ruined my life!" Dane scread as his mouth bubbled and a wave of hot, green venom shot out toward Axel, who narrowly moved out of the way.
The venom crashed onto the ground and, unlike last ti, it sizzled ferociously and lted the floor completely.
’Shit!’ Axel panicked inwardly. ’He’s gotten stronger.’
Axel focused on Dane more closely and began to notice a few things. The twitching. The unstable breathing. The dark red color in his eyes. He looked unhinged, and that was when it clicked in Axel’s mind.
’He’s on Overdrive Serum.’
Overdrive Serum was a military-grade ability enhancer used in combat. It was designed to amplify a person’s powers and double their speed, stamina, reaction ti, and attack output. It was not available to the public. Only top-tier organizations had access to it.
So how did Dane Cornwall get his hands on it?
Axel did not have ti to think further as Dane thrust both fists forward and began spraying bullets of venom across the alleyway. Axel moved swiftly, dodging as best as he could, but more attacks kept coming.
Dane had not used this technique last ti, which ant only one thing.
He had truly gotten stronger.
However, Dane was not the only one who had grown stronger.
With the Godrend sword in his possession, Axel’s Infernal Slash carried far more potency than he had predicted.
---
*SLASH* *SLASH*
The Infernal Core dropped to 80% as two waves of Infernal energy ripped out of the Godrend sword as Axel swung it twice. The air rippled as both Infernal Slashes shot straight toward Dane.
Dane reacted instantly. He twisted his body and barely dodged the first one, feeling the heat brushing past his shoulder. His eyes widened when the second slash followed right behind it.
It struck him square in the chest.
The force sent Dane flying backward. His body slamd against the ground and rolled several tis before finally stopping. Dust and broken concrete scattered around him.
Dane coughed and pushed himself up slightly, staring at his chest in disbelief. The burn mark across his torso smoked faintly.
"How...?" he muttered.
Before Dane could recover or launch another attack, Axel dashed forward. He closed the distance in seconds and slamd the hilt of the Godrend sword straight into Dane’s head.
The impact cracked loudly.
Dane collapsed again, his body bounced once against the ground and Axel stood over him, breathing hard. But for so reason, the sword was trembling in his grip.
He could have ended it right there.
The blade was already raised and one clean thrust into Dane’s ribs was all it would take.
But Axel hesitated.
His hands tightened around the hilt as his chest rose and fell rapidly. He stared down at Dane’s face as blood ran down from the corner of his mouth.
"Stop," Axel semi-leaded. "This doesn’t have to end like this. Just stay down."
"Ha!" Dane laughed regardless of his pain.
"You think you get to decide that?" he spat.
Green venom bubbled up from Dane’s mouth as he suddenly twisted his body and launched another attack straight to Axel.
Venom sprayed wildly from his fists and lips, streaking through the air. The venom took the shape of small bullets.
Axel was standing too close to but he managed to raise the Godrend sword on ti and blocked all the bullets with it.
Axel expected the sword to lt but it didn’t.
Instead, the blade glowed faintly as the venom was pulled into it. The liquid hissed, then vanished, as if it had been swallowed whole.
Axel paused for half a second when he realised that the sword had absorbed it.
His eyes widened as an idea ford in his mind.
*SLASH*
[Infernal Core: 70%]
Another Infernal Slash ripped from the blade, but this one was different. The wave was larger, thicker, and coated in a glowing layer of green venom. It burned through the air with a terrifying force.
Dane barely had ti to react when the attack smashed into him head on.
The explosion sent him crashing into the ground, so hard enough to crack the concrete beneath him.
"Arggg! Dane scread once before going silent.
When the dust cleared, he lay flat on the floor, coughing violently as blood spilled from his mouth. He was defeated.
Axel stood still, waiting. Seconds passed and nothing happened.
No notification from the system was received
’Does it really want to kill him?’
He swallowed and activated his skill.
[ID]
[Na: Dane Cornwall]
[Race: Human Mutant]
[Age: 16]
[Ability: Venom spit]
[Rank: Spectra 1]
[HP: 5/15]
Axel lowered the sword slightly.
"Stay down," he warned. "You can still live. I already defeated you."
Dane’s lips twitched a little, then he smiled.
"That’s what you think..."
Slowly, Dane reached into his pocket and Axel noticed too late.
Dane pulled out a small pill and shoved it into his mouth.
"No—!" Axel shouted.
His body jerked violently. His muscles tightened even more as veins bulged underneath his skin. His eyes snapped open to reveal glowing bright red as the flare pulsed stronger than before.
Another Overdrive Serum.
Dane stood up looking energetic.
The damage on his body seed to fade as his posture straightened. He cracked his neck once and revealed a wide sinister smile.
Using his feet, he swung and kicked. The impact was brutal.
Axel was lifted off the ground and thrown backward like a rag doll. His body slamd into the wall with a sickening crash.
[-4 HP]
That one strike tool out 4 of his health.
"Damn!"
Before Axel could even gasp for air, Dane vanished.
He reappeared in front of Axel and drove his fist straight into Axel’s face.
*CRACK*
[-4 HP]
Axel collapsed to the ground as his vision spinned.
Dane stepped back and didn’t follow up.
Instead, he laughed.
"Killing you now would be boring," Dane said calmly. "I want you to suffer first."
"Suffering is simple, I’ll make you hate yourself. And the fastest way to do that... is to kill soone you care about. And you delivered him straight to ."
Dane turned his head slowly and his eyes locked onto Rick.
Rick flinched.
Dane walked toward Rick at a slow, deliberate pace. Each step echoed loudly. Rick stood frozen and his body shook. He knew he couldn’t run and he certainly couldn’t fight.
Dane lood over him.
"Look at you. So soft and so weak. Lumina 1? That’s very pathetic. Let unburden you of your pathetic existence."
Rick squeezed his eyes shut as Dane lifted his boot, ready to smash his head, when—
The air was ripped by the sound of skin tearing.
Rick opened his eyes, stunned.
A sword was sticking out of Dane’s chest.
Blood spilled down the blade as Dane froze in place.
The Godrend sword had pierced straight through him.
***
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