Chapter 55

“What a mess.”

“Of course. Thirty people barged in… I didn’t expect it to be this many.”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“Did you?”

“I’m confused.”

I glared at Ina, who was flipping over a corpse with her foot to check the face.

“The front yard’s gonna reek of blood for a while.”

“You don’t seem bothered after killing so many.”

“Not really.”

Who in their right mind enjoys killing people?

This is a world where half the moral compass of early 21st-century civilization has collapsed, and if it’s lawless people, what else can I do?

I have things to protect, and I want to live, so I’ve learned to enjoy it out of necessity.

I’m not like Quaker, who’s completely fallen into the abyss.

Though I’m close to someone desperately clawing to avoid falling into that abyss.

But really, what else can I do?

Yeah, what else can I do?

I can’t run away.

This world isn’t kind to those who run.

From the moment I opened my eyes in prison, running was never an option.

So now… I’m just struggling to hold onto the position I’ve been given.

I sighed at the lingering smell of blood and got up.

After roughly cleaning up the bodies, I’ll have to finish everything by tonight to rest easy.

“You, do you know where that Mamba guy and the lizard are?”

“Of course.”

Good.

“I’ll clean up the bodies, so get ready to guide me.”

“I’ll be drinking coffee, so take your time.”

“Don’t act like my coffee is yours—ugh, fine. Do whatever.”

I left the coffee addict alone and started using my ability to gather the bodies beyond the Crocodile Bird’s territory.

The Security Chief will probably freak out when he sees this tomorrow. Even I think it’s a bit much after doing it.

“…A mountain of corpses. Looking at it makes me feel like I’m losing my mind.”

I turned my gaze from the pile of bodies I’d created and looked up at the moon.

Just needed something to distract myself from reality, even if just a little.

“…Coffee really wakes you up.”

“You shouldn’t get addicted.”

“I wish I could drink enough to get addicted.”

Yeah.

That’s the kind of world it is.

“Let’s go.”

“The Viper’s Den is gonna be a bloodbath too. Well, it’s always like that. The snakes are always circling each other, biting tails—that’s their daily life.”

She stepped lightly toward the Viper’s Domain.

A somewhat cheerful stride.

I casually stuck a piece of metal to my back and followed her.

—————–

“Why no news? Damn it—”

Mamba, who had been drinking straight from a bottle, suddenly felt uneasy and put it down, turning to his subordinates drinking nearby.

“Guys, grab your tools.”

The way to prepare for bad omens is simple.

Just arm yourself.

There’s hardly anything violence can’t solve.

Mamba, who believes in violence more than anyone, picked up his favorite shotgun.

Shotgun shells are expensive, but not compared to his life.

As the leader of a faction, he had plenty of resources, so he always kept a good stock of ammo.

Even in a world where ability users run rampant, few can stop a shotgun shell.

‘Damn, it’s about time they should’ve returned.’

No news is good news, but in this case, it definitely wasn’t.

Mamba, feeling uneasy, started loading shells into his shotgun.

One.

Two.

Three.

The bad omen revealed itself as he loaded the fourth.

“Lucky you.”

“Who’s there?”

“Who do you think? The guy you tried to assassinate.”

A man appeared in the hideout.

With brown skin and ashen hair, the man scanned the interior with cold eyes.

A decently large space, filled with furniture.

For Isaac, it was the perfect battlefield.

Since he fought by manipulating objects around him, more stuff meant more weapons.

“I didn’t have any plans, but if you’re picking a fight… I’ll just have to return the favor.”

Those who are ready to kill must also be ready to be killed.

In a room full of hostile gazes, Isaac declared, leaning a spear on his shoulder.

“Mamba. Hand over your head, and I’ll spare the rest.”

He’s not a murderer.

So, he wanted to minimize unnecessary casualties.

But it was obvious how his words sounded to them.

“Crazy bastard…”

“Damn, you think we’re pushovers just because you took out those guys?”

“Boss, let’s just take him down!”

‘This guy’s got guts. Barging into our hideout and saying that?’

It was practically a taunt to everyone.

He couldn’t decide whether to be baffled or impressed by the sheer audacity.

The guy seemed insane, but the fact that he took out Salmusa and his handpicked men without a scratch—

Meant he was the real deal.

‘From the moment he took down Salmusa, he was no pushover.’

In the Viper faction, Salmusa was the most feared in terms of combat prowess, not Mamba.

‘Amateurs getting in the way will just be a hindrance. The problem is…’

Would the guy be too embarrassed to run away?

In a world where outlaws live by pride and bravado, no one would back down without a fight unless defeat was certain.

“Looks like no one’s running.”

Then…

Isaac blinked.

A motion no one noticed.

And everything in the hideout was pushed against the walls.

Furniture, people, miscellaneous items.

The space was large, but within the range Isaac could control with his ability.

Mamba resisted Isaac’s repulsion with sheer strength.

“Hah…! You’ve got the power to back up your big mouth!”

While this repulsion was active, no one else could join the fight.

‘His strength is monstrous. I can’t tell if I’ll win or lose.’

His ability was body enhancement, specializing in speed through leg strength, but against someone who could deny close combat, it was tricky.

Especially in a space like this, neither too big nor too small.

‘A body enhancement user, huh.’

The guy who got sliced by Quaker’s gesture in the original story.

Sadly, Isaac didn’t have that kind of power, so he’d have to wrestle.

‘Good thing I brought the spear.’

The limitation of Isaac’s ability was that it could be easily neutralized by someone who could withstand his repulsion.

Until now, he’d used the environment and objects to fight, but in a space like this, there were few objects that could meaningfully harm a body enhancement user.

So, the spear in his hand was the most efficient way to solve the inherent problem of his ability.

Just like how ancient humans hunted mammoths with spears, even a body enhancement user couldn’t block a high-speed steel spearhead without taking damage.

“Looks like the distractions are sidelined. Shall we get serious?”

Isaac moved smoothly and thrust the spear forward.

A simple stab, no explanation needed.

But Mamba instinctively fired a shotgun shell and twisted his body to the side.

“Damn, what’s this?”

“Shoot to kill, huh?”

He recalled a line from a popular manga and used gravity to retrieve the spear.

A technique where he used repulsion to push the spear for a high-speed thrust.

Even a body enhancement user couldn’t withstand a steel spear tearing through the air at such speed.

It wasn’t as small as a bullet—it was a vicious weapon with a blade nearly a span wide.

“Ha, you think I haven’t seen guys like you before?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. Muscle-brain.”

“…You’re as annoying as they say.”

Mamba pumped the shotgun, which only had three shells left.

‘I need to grab that spear somehow.’

The spear shot out and retrieved at high speed.

The weapon itself didn’t extend, but in this space, it might as well have.

‘Damn, of all times, I had to run out of ammo while cleaning the gun…’

Without the active support of his men, he’d have to take this guy down alone.

The man who took down Salmusa.

‘Damn, fine, let’s do this.’

He might be weaker than Salmusa, but it was a matter of compatibility, not outright inferiority.

Pumping himself up, Mamba stomped the ground with his enhanced legs.

A threatening charge.

Seeing him closing in at terrifying speed even within the repulsion field, Isaac withdrew the repulsion and activated gravity.

Objects began to slowly drift toward him, centered around his body.

‘Could he pull things too?’

Mamba quickly pulled the trigger.

But the shotgun shell was deflected uselessly by the repulsion field Isaac created in front of him.

‘Still, shotgun shells hurt.’

They packed more punch than handguns.

Isaac felt the need to increase the output of his repulsion field and swung the spear.

A move to keep Mamba at bay.

And his spear sliced through the air.

‘An opening!’

But Isaac remained calm.

He hadn’t swung to hit in the first place.

Gravity emanated from the spear’s tip, aimed at the ground.

Mamba, who had been charging straight, tilted downward.

Even ability users couldn’t ignore the laws of physics, so the slight shift in the force’s direction threw him off balance.

At this rate, he might fall embarrassingly.

Mamba, a seasoned veteran, fired two shotgun shells in his tilted position and threw the shotgun at Isaac’s face.

A trick to obscure his vision slightly.

And—he stretched both hands forward.

In his half-leaning position, all he could do was grab the waist or punch the stomach.

‘I’m not into hugging guys.’

Isaac used repulsion to push himself back, avoiding Mamba’s reach.

And immediately shot the spear at the defenseless Mamba.

A spear rushing in at a speed barely perceptible even with enhanced vision.

Mamba dodged by lying flat.

‘There’s a slight opening when he shoots and retrieves the spear. If I exploit that—’

Mamba continued his thoughts, narrowly dodging the rapidly fired spears.

It was possible because the attacks were straightforward.

The problem was, the more Isaac shot and retrieved the spear, the more accustomed he became to this method.

“Mamba, huh? More like a rabbit.”

“Don’t get cocky, rookie.”

“Can’t hear you over your premature ejaculation.”

Each word grated on Mamba’s nerves, veins bulging on his temples.

“You’ve got some nerve, you little—”

Who even talks this much during a fight?

Mamba suppressed his irritation and focused on dodging the relentless spear strikes.

No ability user can use their power indefinitely.

Eventually, he’ll tire out.

And when he does… it’ll be my turn.

Mamba, a seasoned fighter, moved nimbly, waiting for Isaac to exhaust himself.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Four times.

…A hundred times.

After enduring for what felt like an eternity, Mamba noticed Isaac’s spear slowing down.

‘Tired already?’

“How long are you gonna cower and do nothing?”

The frequency of his taunts was decreasing too.

From his tone, Mamba sensed his turn was coming.

‘Should I hold out or wait?’

A fierce mental battle.

Should he seize the initiative?

Or keep waiting?

Two scenarios clashed fiercely in Mamba’s mind.

Either way, he needed to get close to deal meaningful damage.

‘I think I can catch him now—’

The 103rd spear.

As it flew toward his heart, Mamba tilted his body slightly, narrowly dodging the blade.

And he managed to grab the shaft.

“Ha, you little— Now you’re—”

At that moment, a powerful gravitational force erupted from Isaac’s feet.

A force pulling people downward.

Mamba, who had stepped forward to close the distance, leaned forward.

And in that instant, Isaac dropped the spear and closed the gap in a flash.

A distance where a punch could reach his face.

But at this range, Mamba had the overwhelming advantage.

Mamba watched the fist flying toward him, enhanced by repulsion.

‘A mistake?’

A clumsy punch. Whether it was due to exhaustion or intentional.

Even the distance was slightly off.

After so many feints, it was hard to tell, but he leaned toward the former.

If he didn’t end this soon, it’d get messy.

“Bite down hard.”

“That’s my line, you idiot.”

The metal pieces on Isaac’s back fell to the ground. Then, drawn by the gravity emanating from his fist, they clung to his hand.

In an instant, his hand was surrounded by sharp metal shards.

And—

The metal shards exploded like a grenade in front of Mamba’s face.

Isaac retrieved his injured hand and looked at Mamba, who was screaming in agony.

Metal shards embedded all over his face.

Indescribable pain must have overwhelmed him. Isaac retrieved the fallen spear and aimed it at Mamba, whose eyes were pierced by the shards.

“Goodbye.”

The spear shot out, piercing Mamba’s heart.