Antonio confirmed as they all stared at the young man before them.
He certainly didn’t look normal, especially half-naked like this.
His upper body was bare, revealing a slim yet incredibly athletic frame, every muscle across his torso sharply defined.
His handsome, angular face, was covered in dirt, making him look more like a barbarian than a refined city dweller.
And, as if that wasn’t strange enough, the tip of a spear could be seen sticking over his shoulder.
"You know, in some way, I’ve always found you cleaners weird," Declan said as he slipped off the flying pod.
"I can’t put my finger on it, but your eyes..."
He looked at all four men.
"They just look dead, one way or another. Like they’re hiding some dark truth."
Declan’s lips curved slightly.
"And it seems like I wasn’t wrong."
"Mechnoheart Organization, one of the three most beloved Mech organizations in Frit City, disposing of corpses in a forest."
The men’s expressions tightened.
Those were words that could never be allowed to spread, as if they did, Frit City would be thrown into chaos.
"Even getting cleaners who are willing to do it themselves."
Declan clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. Talk about hypocrisy."
"This is an off-limits area, accessible only to those with special permits."
Zigno’s brows furrowed.
"How did you get here? And... why here?"
This was an independent off-limits zone, but what was truly mind-boggling was its size.
Over 30 miles in both length and width.
Running into someone here was beyond unlikely.
Maybe the young man had fallen from a pod and somehow survived the crash, but meeting him at their hidden disposal site?
That couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.
"There’s no need for dumb questions,"
Antonio’s sharp voice cut through the pressure, his helmet slipped from his hand along with the bag as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an object.
A gun.
It was sleek and elongated, but it wasn’t an ordinary firearm.
It was a Common grade Energy Ball Projector.
"This place is a Grade Zero Off-Limits Area, and the punishment for trespassing is death."
His eyes steeled.
"Even if he somehow makes it back to the organization, he’ll still end up dead."
"Besides, if we report that we found him here, and we’re the only ones who come and go from this place, they might think his presence was caused by a slip-up on our part."
"Who knows what kind of punishment we’d get for that?"
He said to the others who had lights gleam through their eyes.
He raised his weapon right after and aimed it directly at Declan.
"So, I say we kill him, toss his corpse into the pit, and forget we ever saw him."
Zignu and Sumo dropped their bags as well, pulling out their own energy pistols.
The only one who didn’t react was Duran.
Instead, he slowly began taking steps backward.
"You three should be enough. Imma take a step back."
The others paused and glanced at him.
"You really trying to dip right now, old man?" Sumo asked, and Duran chuckled nervously.
"Why would you need four grown-ass men to get rid of one kid? Have some shame, you dicks."
He tried to sound firm, but the others merely scoffed.
Then they turned back toward Declan...he was gone.
"Did he run awa..."
SLASH!
SPLATTER!
Antonio didn’t even finish the sentence.
Two severed fingers spun through the air; fingers still wrapped around energy guns.
Antonio rolled across the ground, falling on his knees, eyes widened as he looked down at his hand, noticing a deep cut along with missing fingers.
If he hadn’t reacted quickly enough, his hands would have been cleaved clean off.
But while he had reacted quickly enough, someone else had failed to do so, as
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
SPLATTER!
An entire right arm suddenly soared into the sky, sending blood spraying everywhere.
"AHHH—!"
A shrill scream, like a pig being slaughtered, rang through the forest, but it was abruptly cut short when a foot slammed into Sumo’s face, sending him tumbling backward and straight into the pit.
Declan turned toward the other kneeling man, Antonio, who was also looking up at him with his mouth wide open in disbelief.
"What? You think there was supposed to be a countdown or something?"
Declan snorted before kicking him in the face, sending him rolling into the pit as well.
"DIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"
THROOM!
THROOM!
THROOM!
The shout echoed behind Declan, followed by the rapid blasts of energy shots.
They came frighteningly fast, appearing before him in less than three seconds.
One tore through his head, another ripped through his chest, and the third struck his shoulder.
But when they landed...nothing happened, as Declan’s body scattered into fading wisps.
"An afterimage!?"
The realization struck Zignu, but his eyes widened in horror the very next moment as he realized an horrific truth.
While Declan had been able to dodge, someone else that had been standing right behind him had failed to do so:
Duran.
The old man who had backed away from the fight stood frozen as he watched the energy shots that had missed Declan fly straight toward him.
The thought of dodging flashed through his mind.
But then...
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
An energy ball tore straight through his neck, blasting a smooth, round hole through it and revealing the forest on the other side.
Another shot missed him entirely, while last slammed into his shoulder, its force sending him staggering backward.
His hand clutched desperately at his ruined throat as he looked toward Zignu in disbelief.
One final step, and he fell backward into the pit unable to muster a scream before the darkness swallowed him.
One thing was certain, with a hole that size through his neck, he was deader than dead.
Zignu’s eyes widened in disbelief, as his raised hand, still gripping the energy gun, trembled uncontrollably.
"What...What have I done?"