Chapter 157: Chapter 157: The Baby Crew vs. The Dark Millennium (1)
"Pft..."
The sound of Warslugger’s laughter whispered in the air. He tried to contain it, but it was replaced by a snort that was probably louder than the laugh that he tried to stifle. He stared at Riley, the amusement almost bursting out from his already moist eyes.
"When they told me about you, I knew I was going to like you, kid," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "It’s really too bad your name isn’t on the list. I mean, I could just take you—but they told me the two of you were off-limits. For good reason, of course."
He pointed at Hannah and then back to Riley.
"Even we don’t want to incur the wrath of the wealthiest normie on the entire planet...well, more than we already have, that is. So..."
Warslugger clapped his hands, causing Hannah to stand in front of Riley and release a heat in front of her that could dissipate shockwaves. But she didn’t need to do that, as Warslugger truly only clapped his hands and nothing else.
But Hannah was right to be nervous; the rest of the Baby Crew were too.
Warslugger might just only be listed as a Rank C villain, but that was because most of the crimes he had committed could be considered petty for a supervillain—robbery, public disturbance, attempted assault, and threats.
But in reality, Warslugger was capable of doing city-wide damage if he wanted to, and he had just proven it to all of them by killing the unfortunate kidnappers who couldn’t even say their demands.
The only thing they could do was stand there menacingly like they were some sort of elite group, but now the only elite thing about them was how they turned into a messy pulp.
Never once was Warslugger reported to have killed anyone, and now the Baby Crew just witnessed him do it indiscriminately and so casually.
Of course, they would be on high alert.
He alone, could be considered a national-level threat. And right now, they have shown him that he wasn’t adverse to killing at all.
Gracey, in particular, couldn’t calm herself down. Her eyes, darting back and forth from the bloody mess, Warslugger, and then to his friends. A million thoughts circled in her mind, but not for long, as she quickly made the decision to step forward.
"Ignore him," she said, nervously chuckling as she glanced at Riley. "He just likes to say the most outlandish things sometimes. If you’re here for me, then just take me and promise you won’t involve them."
"G?!" Bella wanted to grab her, but Gracey immediately yanked her hand away and continued to move forward. Hannah dragged Riley while still making sure she had her eyes on Warslugger while blocking Gracey’s path at the same time.
"What are you fucking doing?" she asked Gracey. "You’re not seriously thinking of going with him, right? We can fucking take him if we do this right."
"Hannah..." Gracey sighed, gazing down at Hannah’s hand, which was placed on her chest. "You’re the most trained out of all of us; you can’t seriously believe that we won’t come out of this unscathed if we fight him."
"I’m the most trained, and that’s why I know that we will," she whispered, and Riley naturally nodded and quietly agreed with her on the side. "You—"
"Listen to your friend," Warslugger interrupted them, reaching his hand out to Gracey. "And you, the file said you were a man. But looking at you now, that’s not the case at all."
"What’s that got to do with anything?" Gracey gently pushed Hannah to the side, but Hannah grabbed her by the wrist. Gracey stared Hannah in the eyes for a moment before shaking her head and sighing once more.
"Just let me be a fucking hero for once," Gracey whispered. "If you don’t want me to come with him, you’re gonna have to hurt me."
"You think I won’t?" Hannah lowered her voice. "I’ll break your leg if I fucking have to."
"I’m doing this for all of you, please." Gracey stared Hannah in the eyes, and Hannah returned her gaze. They both squinted, but subtly enough that only the two of them understood what it meant.
Hannah gritted her teeth, clicking her tongue before hesitantly letting go of Gracey’s arm. Gracey quickly pulled away, and she looked at Warslugger with disdain in her eyes as she strided toward him.
The setting sun was behind Warslugger, and it was probably one of the most beautiful things that the Baby Crew would ever see in their life—not just them, any people, really. But right now, they weren’t even paying attention to it. The only thing in their sights was Gracey’s silhouette as she slowly walked toward Warslugger.
She stopped right in front of him, the two of them standing at the same height.
"You’re... quite a big girl." Warslugger blinked, raising his cap so that he could see Gracey’s entire frame and her face. "W—"
"Enough talk, I’m here." Gracey scoffed, shaking her head as she reached her hand out toward Warslugger. "Just take my hand and let’s go."
"Oh?" Warslugger whistled. He gazed at Gracey’s open palm and then back at her face. He slowly raised his hand, and Gracey stretched hers even further to meet it—she couldn’t, however, as Warslugger’s hand went straight to scratch one of the band-aids on his face.
"You really think I’d take your hand after the stunt you pulled back on Phoenix’s Wrath?" He chuckled. "That’s not going to happen, little girl. Stop playing games."
"Ha..." Gracey once again scoffed. "Can’t hurt to try, right? Let’s go."
Gracey lowered her hand and casually stood beside Warslugger. "Take me to your base or whatever, I’m willing to talk with your boss. If you really want me there, then I want the same position as those month guys. Wait, are you higher or lower than the months? We can talk about my salary once we’re there. I—"
"Do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do, kid?" Warslugger shook his head, sighing in disappointment before turning his focus back to the rest of the Baby Crew, who were not huddled together. Or rather, he was only focusing on Tomoe.
"I needed two of you. We—"
Before Warslugger could finish his words, Gracey suddenly crouched down and swung her leg straight toward the back of Warslugger’s knee. Warslugger, however, waved his hand down and snapped his fingers at the same time, and when he did so, a loud shockwave burst forth from his fingers and completely blew Gracey away toward the horizon.
"Kh!" Gracey gritted her teeth from the pain that wrapped throughout her entire body, but she quickly recovered in the air; her eyes, already glowing red as she stared down at Warslugger. She didn’t even hesitate to release the blast at full force.
Warslugger moved to the side to dodge,
"!!!"
But he felt a scalding heat brush his arm—no. Not only his arm, but almost half his body and his entire skin. The heat caused him to back away, right back into the path of Gracey’s energy blast.
"Sh—"
That was the only thing he could utter before the blast completely decimated him. Gracey raised her hand in the air in victory, but she quickly lowered her hand as soon as she saw the aftermath of what happened to Warslugger.
Because nothing happened.
Instead, there was another figure there with him, who seemingly blocked her energy blast with just her bare palm.
"December..." Warslugger whispered, quickly adjusting himself and fixing his clothes as soon as he saw the beautiful woman.
The woman, on the other hand, didn’t seem as eager to speak to him.
"This is why I told you not to go alone," she said. "The students of Mega Academy this year are weird..."
The woman glanced at Riley,
"...Especially him."