As the powerful green liquid stimulant surged into his veins, David felt an overwhelming force rush through his body.
It was as if a cracked and dried-out wasteland had just been flooded by a raging river.
His once-exhausted mind suddenly sharpened to an almost painful degree, every nerve firing with heightened sensitivity. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, his skin tingled, and his pupils dilated like a predator spotting its prey.
It was exhilarating—like riding a rollercoaster without brakes.
"F
k... this feels amazing!"**
A wild grin spread across David's face. His previous exhaustion evaporated, replaced by an intoxicating rush of raw power.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Tiger Claw gang members didn't hesitate. With their weapons already locked and loaded, they opened fire.
Kinetic pistols. Heavy machine guns. Even a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.
A full-on barrage of high-caliber bullets and explosives rained down on David, swallowing him in a storm of destruction.
BOOM—!
The explosions tore through the third floor of the Tiger Claw compound, shaking the entire building to its core.
The impact was so intense that the traditional Japanese-style walls splintered apart. Sections of the ceiling collapsed, sending wooden beams crashing down into the courtyard below. Smoke and dust billowed out, obscuring everything.
Outside the Compound
Jack flinched as the shockwave reached the street. His wide eyes darted up to the third floor, where debris was still falling.
"What the hell was that?!"
he muttered in shock.
"That wasn't a normal firefight—something big just went down!"
Beside him, Lucy had already made up her mind.
"Jack, keep watch!"
she ordered.
"I'm going in!"
Jack's eyes widened.
"Wait—what?! You crazy, chica? We don't even know if he's still alive!"
Lucy didn't stop. Without another word, she sprinted toward the Tiger Claw headquarters, vanishing through the entrance.
"Damn it!"
Jack cursed. He wanted to go too, but if no one was on lookout, they'd all be screwed.
He crouched lower behind a street corner, gripping his pistol tightly.
"David, you better still be breathing in there..."
Back Inside—The Aftermath
As the smoke started to clear, the Tiger Claws smirked.
"Ha! That little s
t is probably dust by now!"**
"Yeah, thought he could take on the Tiger Claws? Dumbass didn't even last a minute!"
"Damn, I was hoping to cut him up myself!"
Yoko Taro, sitting inside his armored
Militech exo-frame
, sneered.
"You really thought you could f
k with us? Pathetic. I should've had more fun torturing you first."**
But then—
Yoko's smirk faltered.
Something was wrong.
The dust and smoke finally dissipated, revealing a figure standing completely unscathed.
David.
"...No. No f
king way."**
His lean frame was still upright, completely untouched by the chaos. Even more terrifying—
All of the fired bullets and rockets were suspended mid-air.
Every single one of them hovered
just inches away
from hitting him, locked in place by an invisible force.
A deep
silence
fell over the room.
The Tiger Claw members' triumphant sneers twisted into expressions of
horror
.
Yoko Taro's breath hitched.
"H-He caught them...?"
David slowly raised his head, eyes glowing with newfound intensity.
With a simple flick of his wrist—
BOOM!
The bullets and explosives were
flung back
at their original shooters.
Blood sprayed. Bodies were torn apart. Screams of agony echoed across the third floor as the same weapons that were meant to kill David
massacred their owners instead
.
"W-What the hell is he?!"
a gang member shrieked, scrambling backward.
David stepped forward. His entire
body had transformed
—his skin now coated in a deep
black and red metallic sheen
, like an iron statue forged in hellfire.
This was no ordinary armor.
It was the result of his
Armed Haki
, amplified to monstrous levels thanks to the stimulant.
The gang members trembled as they stared at him.
"He's a f
king demon!"**
"No! No way, this ain't possible! No human can do this!!"
David clenched his fists, feeling the sheer
power
coursing through him.
"Hah... this is unreal."
He flexed his fingers, his grin growing wider.
"Not only can I cover my entire body in Haki now..."
He took another step forward. The floorboards
splintered
beneath his weight.
"But it's even stronger than before!"
The stimulant had pushed his abilities past their previous limits. The black-and-red
full-body armor
he now wore could shrug off bullets like they were nothing. Even heavy artillery barely left a dent.
His heart pounded with exhilaration.
"F
k yeah—THIS is what power feels like!"**
Yoko Taro's Panic
Yoko Taro was
terrified
.
He had heard rumors of cyberpsychos, of people pushing their bodies beyond the brink with drugs and tech.
But this?
This was something else.
He swallowed hard.
"S-Shoot him! KILL HIM NOW!"
The gang members, despite their fear, obeyed. They aimed their weapons again, fingers trembling over the triggers.
But before they could fire—
Nothing happened.
Their fingers
wouldn't move.
"H-Huh?!"
"What the hell is going on?! I-I can't pull the trigger!"
David smirked.
"Oh? Can't shoot? Maybe you should try harder."
The gang members screamed as their weapons started vibrating violently.
KRRRK—CRACK!
Each gun
twisted and crumpled
, crushed by an unseen force. The metal warped like clay, trapping their users' hands in the process.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Their fingers shattered, bones snapping like twigs. Some were even yanked forward by their own cybernetic limbs, crashing face-first into the floor.
Blood pooled around their crushed hands.
Some screamed in agony. Others fell unconscious from the sheer pain.
David's Cybernetic Awakening
David exhaled sharply.
He could feel it. His
magnetic field
had evolved.
The stimulant had
unlocked a deeper level
of his ability—
Now, he could
influence non-metallic objects as well.
With a casual flick of his wrist, he watched as the gang members'
cyberbrains overloaded
. Their implants short-circuited under his control, sending electrical sparks bursting from their heads.
Some collapsed
instantly
, their eyes rolling back. Others clutched their skulls, screaming in pure agony before
their heads exploded like overripe melons.
Blood.
Everywhere.
David wiped his lips, eyes flickering with a
mix of insanity and thrill
.
"Damn... this is fun."
Lucy's Arrival
Lucy had finally reached the top floor.
She froze at the entrance, her eyes going wide as she took in the
carnage
before her.
Blood-soaked walls. Corpses
piled up
like discarded trash.
And in the middle of it all—
David, standing amidst the
slaughter
, his body gleaming black-and-red like a
demonic warlord.
Lucy's heart pounded.
"David—what the f
k happened to you?!"**
David turned toward her, his grin still lingering.
"Oh, hey Lucy."
He flexed his fingers.
"You're just in time for the fun."
Lucy took a shaky breath.
This... wasn't the David she knew.
Not anymore.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
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