"I told you, you fool! Some risks are not worth taking. Now suffer." Pix spat in Max’s mind as pain shredded through him.
Electricity ran through his body. His hair fizzed, veins bulged, and every limb throbbed with a white-hot ache. He was on his knees, grinding his teeth while glaring up at the man who walked toward him with slow, casual steps. The vice leader kept his grip tight on the crossbow. The remaining men watched in stunned silence.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Pride comes before a fall. Your arrogance led to this." The vice leader scoffed as he stopped a metre away from Max.
"I told you, our leader need not come down here to handle a pest like you. All we needed," the man said as he loaded the crossbow again, "was this." He fired another bolt. It slammed into Max and doubled his torment.
The pain burned like acid moving through his veins. His blood felt hot, prickling from the inside out. He clenched his fists until his knuckles went white. He could taste metal on the back of his tongue. The world narrowed to light and noise and the sting of the weapon’s effect.
"Some risks are worth taking," the vice leader bragged. "We risked everything. We pooled our protection to buy this weapon and a hybrid serum for our leader. It strapped us down, but it might be worth it." Get full chapters from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
Max’s body sizzled. He forced air through his teeth and struggled to think. Pix screamed protests in his head, a frantic voice drowned by the heat and shock.
"Now, say your last words." The vice leader put the crossbow inches from Max’s head, fingers resting on the string.
"My last words?" Max managed, voice low and ragged.
"My last words are, do not fucking underestimate me!" Max roared. A system screen flickered in his sight.
[Ruler’s hand Activated]
The vice leader had already started to pull the string when Max’s hand flared fierce yellow. In an instant, the man’s arms glowed too and he rose from the floor, suspended in the air. Max gritted his teeth, forcing himself up despite the spasms and burning sensation that made each breath a knife.
The string slipped from the man’s fingers. He dropped the crossbow as his limbs spread uselessly apart. "Let me go!" he thundered, fury and fear mixing in his voice.
Max did not speak. He breathed, slow and steady, letting the heat within him ease. The weapon’s effect faded, leaving him raw but upright and furious. He stared at the man hovering helplessly above the floor.
"Test completed," Max muttered, voice tight. "Conclusion: these weapons are dangerous to me."
He snapped his fingers.
[Draconic Ability activated]
[Flame skill: Fireball!]
"And I have also decided," Max said, "that you are of no use to me. You can die."
A ball of flame roared into being above his palm. It was not merely heat. It was a living orb, coalescing from orange and white, breathing like a thing of will. Max hurled it forward at full speed.
The fireball struck the vice leader like a meteor. Heat ripped through the room. The man’s clothes combusted, shredded away by the inferno. He was hurled backward, crashing into the balcony on the upper floor. The railing exploded into splinters, showers of dust and metal raining down.
Screams erupted. Men scrambled, some blinded by smoke, others coughing as the acrid smell of burnt cloth filled the air. The warehouse shuddered.
Ceiling tiles fractured and fell. Max stood in the center of the chaos, the mask on his face reflecting the orange light. His chest heaved, blood still at the corners of his mouth, veins still throbbing, but his eyes were cold and clear.
The man was still twitching, which meant he was alive, but he was unable to do anything anymore. Damian walked calmly toward the weapon that had been dropped on the ground.
Bending down, he picked it up and stared at it intently, his eyes narrowing with curiosity.
’I could destroy it right now, but I won’t. It’ll be useful to me since our gang might end up facing hybrids too,’ Max thought. ’Let me not forget that the Black Veil still has hybrids under them, with Zach and his remaining brother being one.’
He glanced around the room, observing the mix of fear and hesitation that lingered in the air, then walked to a nearby table and placed the weapon on it carefully before turning to shoot the men a deadly glare.
"You can see how I’m placing it openly. That alone should tell you I’m not scared of any of you trying to pick it up," Max said in a cold, firm tone, his voice echoing across the room. "But let me make something clear to whoever’s foolish enough to even think about using this against me."
He glared at the hundred remaining men, his aura heavy, his presence almost suffocating.
"The moment you pick this up, just know that you’re signing your death warrant. Prepare your mind for it, because I will show no mercy. That’s a promise."
The second he said it, he turned around and began walking away from the table where the weapon sat, his boots echoing loudly on the ground.
They all stared at the Anti-Hybrid weapon that could’ve given them leverage against this monster. Its glow and faint pulse were mesmerizing, almost tempting, but none dared take a single step toward it. The threat hanging over them was too intense, and everyone there knew that this stranger had the strength to back up his words.
"Okay then," Max muttered, his patience thinning. His voice suddenly rose into a thunderous roar. "How is your leader not down here yet despite all this commotion? Where the hell is he? Does he want me to come up there myself?!"
Before anyone could answer, a deep, booming voice echoed from above. "No need. I’m here already."
Everyone turned. Walking down the stairs was a lean, sharp-looking figure. He had no shirt on, and veins bulged across his skin, snaking around his body like some sort of demonic tattoo that glowed faintly under the dim light.
"I must say," the man spoke, his grin dark and amused, "you’ve caused quite a mess. Tell me, what does a hybrid like you seek here? No, not just a hybrid." His grin widened. "Something more. A dragon. What does a mythical creature like you want in my territory?"
Max froze for a moment, his heart skipping a beat as his eyes narrowed sharply behind his mask.
’What the hell?! He knows what I am?!’ he thought, utterly shocked.