Chapter 115

Both men felt an instinctual dread wash over them. They took a step back in perfect sync—their survival instincts were screaming at them to run for their lives, but it was too late.

"This is how a real punch looks, Julia," Kaiden decreed before lunging at the left one. He aimed at the exact same spot where Julia had hit him previously, namely in the jaws.

While Julia didn't even manage to make him feel an ounce of pain, the same couldn't be said for the recipient of Kaiden's strike. His fist shot forward like a cannonball, connecting with the man's jaw.

*CRACK!*

A loud crack echoed through the room—the force of the blow sent the man's head snapping to the side. His jaw dislocated instantly, and his teeth flew out like the shrapnel of a grenade, accompanied by a mouthful of blood that splattered across the walls.

The man let out a single cry of pure agony before collapsing to his knees, clutching at his ruined face. The sheer brutality of the strike had turned his lower jaw into an unrecognizable mass of flesh and bone that hung loosely. It barely managed to remain attached to his skull.

On the bright side, the man's agony soon ceased.

He was breathing no longer.

"Eeeek!" the other enforcer allowed a rather girly cry to escape his lips. "A-a-awakened!!!" he shouted with utter shock while backing out of the room for a few seconds, after which his nerves could take it no longer—he turned on his heels and started running for his life.

Kaiden couldn't let the man run away and notify the others, who could gear up in preparation for him. A single leap was enough to close the distance. His 17 Agility stat was already on the level of a top-tier athlete who specialized in a field that predominantly required speed to have a successful career in.

He put his arms around the man's neck, holding him in a chokehold that didn't allow him to scream for help. It didn't take Kaiden more than a couple of seconds to win their struggle—his enemy's head limply fell to the side.

Kaiden then grabbed onto his hair, dragging him back to the room so no one would find the corpse before he could make his next move.

He closed the door behind them. The room now housed Kaiden, two corpses, and a so shocked Julia she couldn't help but gawk at him.

As Kaiden examined his brutal handiwork, he couldn't help but sigh. "Shit… I don't feel even an ounce of remorse. That woman truly is my mother; her cruel blood runs in my veins."

"W-w-what?!" Julia's sudden shout took him out of his musings.

"Where's this Andre fellow located at? I'll finish the job."

"W-wait! I-I-" the mother's panicked stuttering was silenced when Kaiden moved close to her and gave her a big warm hug. Once this poor woman was in his arms, and he could feel once again just how thin and fragile she was, his determination reached new heights.

They could most likely sneak out of the building and make a run for it, but he didn't want to do that—not at all. He wanted to settle this affair with his own two hands, not call the police nor run for their lives. Kaiden tightened his embrace around Julia until she calmed down enough to give him the information he needed.

"At the top floor… That's where his office is, but I think a few more men are there with him. They're likely armed," she managed to relay the words to him with great concern.

"Alright. Stay here, or better yet, leave this place while I wreak havoc."

"No!" Julia shouted with more strength than she had intended to. "I want to see how this ends… Whether I'm freed or die alongside you… but please notify my daughter to escape in case we fall."

"Sure," Kaiden nodded and set a timed message that would be sent in fifteen minutes.

He then reached down for the two knives and left the room with a skittish Julia following him. This was quite likely the most nervous moment of her life, yet Kaiden felt eerily calm about it all. Well, beyond the extreme bloodlust he felt toward his enemy.

He would fight, and he would kill. That's all that it was. There was no reason to overthink things.

They soon reached the door that should lead into Andre's office.

Kaiden bluntly opened the door.

"Oh, is it done? Who was the-" a man's voice spoke up, but the speaker froze before he could finish his question. It was not his two lackeys coming back but an unknown man with horribly scary red eyes. They shone with an entirely unnatural brightness.

"Get him!" the man seated at the desk shouted. Three men dashed at him.

Both of Kaiden's hands were occupied with the knives he held, but that didn't stop him from being able to aim his at the men who charged at him.

Two men were hit and instantly became living torches who were screaming for their lives amidst the greatest agony they'd ever felt and ever would feel since they died almost immediately.

The last man who charged at him was speed-blitzed due to the great disparity between their Agility stats, which allowed Kaiden to easily deflect his strike and shove one of his blades deep into his chest. He followed it up by stabbing his prey with the other knife as well for good measure. Due to the great force behind his stabs, thanks to his Strength stat, the wounds were deep and lethal.

*Bang!*

The sound of a pistol shot sounded, and Kaiden felt incredible pain in his side. Andre wasn't a stupid man who would begin his epic villain speech right now, evidenced by the fact that he followed up the initial shot with multiple other ones.

Kaiden gritted his teeth and then spat when blood began pouring from his mouth in concerning quantities. He wasn't ready to just keel over and die, however—he grabbed his blade from the man's chest and put every ounce of strength he had left into his next move: throwing the blade at Andre, knowing his life was on the line.