Chapter 10

Comparison is the thief of joy. We are all unique.

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Baron has no intention of shielding them from a mere few arrows shot at them when they can dodge them. Moreover, the aim of their enemies would not be that accurate, considering the flashing light being used at them. So, the three of them hid behind the trees and heard the arrows stuck to the trunks.

"?!"

The wasted arrow would not go to waste, for Baron would make use of it as his weapon. The arrowhead will serve as an impaling material against the brothers. With his kinetic shield and sharp arrowhead made of iron, Baron will fight them and survive.

Against two marksmen, highly skilled hunters, Baron took up the challenge while the two enemies were still being flashed by the bright light. The distraction proved to be a good hindrance to the two brothers because the light was facing the way they were going, so it would be hard not to get blinded by it.

"Grrr! Take out that damn fly!"

"It's too bright! Kriee!"

Not everyone has the balls of steel to fight, like the student who cowers behind the tree and the geezer who didn't even try to help Baron. The latter, with the arrowhead in his hand, charged forward and knocked down one of them.

[Activating Kineshield]

His kinetic shield that formed a small barrier-like shield was used when the other brother, who tried to help his brother who got knocked down fired an arrow at Baron. It deflected the arrow-like like it's supposed to, and it didn't go down just like that. The shield will be usable for three straight minutes, so Baron had the time to defend himself while the struggling and squirming ugly and disfigured brother fought back.

"Hah! Ain't no way I'm dying here with you motherfuckers!"

Not only did Baron use his kinetic shield as his defense but he also utilized it for his gain as he used the shield to pin on the ugly bastard's neck upon raising the arrowhead in the air for a swift and sudden kill. Mercilessly, Baron struck his enemy on its neck, roughly and slowly cutting through its flesh as the man gargled and wriggled in pain.

"Grrrr! No!!! Brother!!!"

Enraged at the devastating turn of events, the other brother completely ignored the bright light. Everything turned black upon seeing his blood brother get murdered in front of him while he struggled against a mere bright light. He tackled Baron on his side, rolling away as the bright light followed the both of them.

"Grughh! Die!"

Trying to reach Baron with his small knife, the desperate brother chased the man who killed his brother through the dry land rolling and crawling away. But as soon as Baron got the perfect stance to defend himself with his kinetic shield, he raised his defense, fending off his enemy's knife. It was deflected with his hand jolting towards the air. Right then and there, Baron took his opportunity to strike and struck where it seemed the most necessary. At his enemy's legs since the man relies on speed.

"Argh! My legs!"

"Hell yeah!"

Even after getting his legs damaged, which would hinder his movements, the disfigured human crazily pulled a stunt against Baron. He hopped back and quickly placed an arrow to his bow and landed a hit on Baron's right flank. The man did not expect it, and because it happened so fast he could not react to it.

"Fuck! You're done!"

While his teammates were fighting against their enemies, Greg thought to himself how unhelpful and useless he was.

"Because I'm so afraid to get hurt... I wasn't even made for this! I was just an office man until I died!"

Conflicted if he should help Baron or just cower in fear, Greg the geezer would take one or two steps forward, encouraging and manipulating himself that he was brave.

"Have physical courage! Be brave!"

"Oh no. You're not gonna be helping that bitch-ass gangster."

A cold sharp metal penetrated Greg from behind. He looked down where it felt cold and painful, and he saw a bloody blade sticking out of his stomach.

"I got stabbed? No, no, no, I gotta activate my wristband."

[Activating...]

"Oops, I'm not gonna let you do as you please, old man. We can't have more enemies now that our numbers are decreasing."

The sudden flash of light behind him as he was looking back showed Greg a glimpse of who it was. Well, he already knew who it was just based on his voice. It was the high school student that they were with this whole time.

20 minutes earlier...

"Ugh! What the hell is this gloomy forest? There's no sign of life here!"

At the start, it was Baron and Greg who spawned at the same location. Only after a few minutes did the high school student pop up with a slightly forced smile on his face. They did not really think much about it since the kid might just be trying to be friendly and trying to lighten up the mood after the whole dying thing.

Going back to the present time, Greg was shocked and surprised at the big revelation. He did not expect any of it from the high school student because he seemed too naive to do anything like that. However, it all made sense to him when suddenly the high school student took off the face skin he was wearing to disguise himself.

What was revealed was the ugly and radiation-cooked face of a human that got swollen and fried mixed with the face's blood he was wearing. Basically, it turned out that the high school student was murdered by one of their enemies, and his identity was stolen to blend in among them.

"Quite nifty, isn't it? It's my specialty, flaying people's faces then wearing them."

Greg fell on the ground after his wristband was destroyed, disabling him from healing using nanotechnology. He was bleeding and losing all the strength his body once had.

"Ah, I'm not gonna survive."

Greg easily accepted his fate. Ever since he was a child, he had been a coward, always being swayed by people's words, and could not make a decision for himself. All his life, he had been told what to do. He didn't want to rise to the position because he did not like the idea of giving out orders. He would rather receive orders that ought to be done. He wants someone dictating his life.

"I would love to take my sweet time torturing you, but I have matters to finish."

Another set of sharp pains occurred in his back as he was reaching out with his right hand to Baron, who was now struggling against a nearly incapacitated enemy.

"I've enjoyed your company, old man."