Chapter 17

Marxia was a witness to the small fragment of Esecleus' endless potential. She was the first one to get swept by the ravaging tidal wave Esecleus had thrown toward all of them.

He did not care who the tidal waves drowned because, in his mind, she was just showing Marxia the seamless abilities he possessed. The power he garnered throughout the entire five years since he started hunting monsters. His very encounter with otherworldly dimensional creatures changed his life forever. However, his lifestyle stays the same and his heart still has a void that he ought to fill with something he does not know.

And when Marxia went back to where she started to space out, her lungs and whole body felt brimming with the water she was forced to drink because she was dying through it.

"Hah! Hah!"

She was excessively gagging from the drowning feeling she was in, trying to force herself to vomit what she had inside her. Yet nothing came out but her sticky spit.

"What the hell just happened?!"

In the dark and gloomy warehouse, Marxia finds herself. She was peeking through the peephole they made from the metallic walls of the warehouse to look over at the deal just like earlier.

"Was that a simulation?!"

Now, Marxia does not know what was real and what was not. She could not put her head into it. Doubting even her existence at some point.

"I am not dreaming. But I have no idea if this is reality or not. I am sure that I was drowning and on the verge of death, but then I found myself back here again."

The only difference from the last time was that everyone seemed to move after she finished choking on herself.

"Are you okay, Marxia?" Plexi said, sensing the disturbance in Marxia's heart.

"Yes... Honestly, no. I have no clue what is going on right now."

"What's the matter?"

When Marxia was about to explain what she just went through. What Esecleus did. The guy appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the deal.

A loud crash occurred in front of everyone. Esecleus came falling from a height, destroying one of the SUVs the underground group of illegal smugglers was using.

They were all startled, clearly unaware of what just fell out of the sky.

"Our car is mashed!"

"Fuck! What was that?!"

Kuku. A mocking laughter echoed as the silhouette gets clearer in front of everyone. But before they could get a proper look at Esecleus' face, the latter arduously got off on top of the car, stepping on their faces to get away.

"Ow!"

"Aw!"

"Fucker!"

Although Marxia could not get a clear vision of Esecleus' face, she was sure that it was the guy. Just sensing the overwhelming aura coming from this man-made Marxia feel lightheaded.

"I think that's the signal! Go, go, go! Subdue the suspects! Don't let anyone get away!"

In an instant, the dock became the battlefield for a much wider and bigger fight. It was not just a normal buy-bust operation where the police are included.

Out of nowhere, people wearing black bandanas to cover their faces appeared from the darkness. Never had the police thought that such a virulent ambush was waiting for them?

Blood was immediately shed when police used their guns to shoot at the group and the squad of underground hunters working for people that hired them.

But will a bunch of hunters be owned by some mere weapons created by men? No. These are the hunters we are talking about. Although not all of them can defend themselves from the bullets, surely others could and would help each other to finish the job.

"It has become chaotic outside!"

Vice Chief Wright and the two girls came out of the warehouse to help the policemen. But Plexi suddenly disappeared when Marxia tried reaching out for her.

"She was just here."

Marxia was surprised when Vice Chief Wright tackled her. She did not notice the ability thrown in her direction by one of the hunters from their enemies.

Esecleus, on the other hand, was enjoying the rumble happening on the dock, playing with his enemies like they are some kids looking to fight.

"Is he for real?! I am 100 percent sure my bullet hit him!"

While in the air, gazing down at the men shooting at him at a rapid rate, Esecleus formed a pistol hand. He had his left eye closed, properly aiming at his target, then uttered the word "bang!"

Bullets were flying everywhere and the underground hunters stood their ground against the policemen. It was not that long until they were slowly pushing the policemen onto the edge. Numbers began to pile from the police's side and they were not able to take down a single hunter.

"Sir! We are losing our men!"

"This was the reason why they did not cancel their operation even though they have been tipped!"

"Buwahahaha! Fucking men in blue uniforms are getting bodied! Keep them coming! I will kill all of them!"

The first to shut up was those that Esecleus deemed noisy. He could freely float in the air while maneuvering himself away from the bullets. His pistol hand kept shooting at the enemies until there was no longer an enemy that was using guns.

"That guy is a hunter too! We must take him out first!"

The group of illegal hunters shifted their focus to Esecleus since he was the most troublesome of them all. While Marxia and Vice Chief Wright tended to the injured policemen, Plexi on the other hand was still missing until Marxia and Vice Chief Wright felt the cold blade pierce their bodies.

"Isn't he Esecleus? That rising individual who recently got his guild wiped out."

"Now that you've mentioned he does look like him."

"So what?! He is just another hunter like us. He is below me!"

As soon as Esecleus heard the words "he is below me," the guy that spoke such insulting words abruptly forced himself onto the ground. He was lying on his stomach, drowning in the pool of blood from all of the people that died tonight.

"Why... can't I... move my... body?!"

In a flash, five of his fellow hunters drop dead. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his friend with his throat slit and blood gushing out as his eyes were still wide open.

"No! This can't be happening!"

Vice Chief Wright and Marxia's location was not that far from where Esecleus was, yet he did not notice that Plexi backstabbed the two—literally.

Plexi pulled the blade out of Marxia's and Vice Chief Wright's bodies. And she watched as they weakly dropped to the ground. Blood soon leaks out of the wound.

Angry, Plexi looked at Esecleus from afar.

"So the rumors are true? He really is someone not to be underestimated."

Her focus went back to the two injured people on the ground and did the deed. Plexi dealt the finishing strike to the two of them, thus Marxia and Vice Chief Wright met their demise.

At that moment, Esecleus' eyes fell on Plexi's shoulders like a heavy burden he passed onto her. Her body felt heavy like something was sitting on her shoulders and she could not move at all. She sensed danger coming her way. And when she looked in Esecleus' direction, he was so close to her face that he was literally an inch away from her.

"The light Marxia and Vice Chief Wright had suddenly gone off. And here you are, Plexi, doing what you were told and what you really wanted to do. Killing the two of them was an act of your own volition."

He grabbed her by the hair and raised a hand against her.

"If you think I am a person that can't hurt a woman, you're quite correct. But in my eyes, Plexi, you don't belong in the same gender as Marxia."

As Esecleus' words end, his left hand descended on Plexi's right cheek. He did not hesitate in smiting Plexi's face nor showed her mercy after betraying Hunter's Organization.

The sound of her cheek getting slapped was something Esecleus needed to hear. Plexi got weak from the slap and her cheek instantly turned red.

"You fucking misogynistic bastard! How can you hit a woman?!"

"Huh? A woman? Who, you? As I said, you don't count as a woman in my eyes, so I get to hit you whenever I want."

And thus, a series of loud and painful smite transpired to everyone's eyes. They stood there watching Esecleus relentlessly slap Plexi's cheeks until they became all swollen.

"Now, now. Don't cry. Crying won't stop me from what is about to come."

"Please... Hic," Plexi sobbed, "no more. It--It hurts. Please."

Even the policemen felt sympathetic towards Plexi. They could not continue watching Esecleus hit Plexi. Therefore, averting their gaze and turned a blind eye. No matter how pitiful she may seem, Plexi still killed two people on their side.

"Look at all these men, Plexi! No one dared to help you. What does that mean? You're no more than a piece of shit that does not deserve anyone's help."

~