Chapter 151: Retaliation

Before Filmos ever knew what he was really doing, he was already standing directly in front of the giant entrance doors to the syndicate’s headquarters.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing here? Who are you?!"

"I know you! You’re the one who attacked our men earlier!"

"That’s the kid!"

"You really have the nerve to come here after what you did!"

For some strange reason, Filmos didn’t feel a single trace of fear. All he had in his mind was a single-minded urge to take action. Despite his filthy, dripping condition after crawling out of the dark sewage tunnels, he didn’t worry about his appearance at all.

However, from time to time, he kept scrunching his nose, thoroughly disgusted by his own horrible stench.

"Oh boy! Are you attacking us in a new form now?" one of the entrance guards mocked, holding his nose. "You sure smell bad, and it’s literally attacking our nose!"

Filmos stopped dead in his tracks, actually looking down to inspect his filthy clothes for a brief second.

Forget about it!

Filmos suddenly broke into a full sprint as the Green Anaconda, currently in its smaller form, slithered quickly up his body and coiled tightly around his right arm.

He extended his hand forward in a sharp, driving motion. In an instant, the serpent sprayed a thick jet of emerald toxic venom straight toward the guards.

The thugs were just about to raise their shields and prepare to defend themselves, but all their physical cover—and even their tactical gear—proved completely useless. The harsh chemical toxin simply melted through every piece of material standing in its path like hot water through paper.

Their eyes widened in sheer horror, staring back at Filmos, who was still sprinting relentlessly in their direction.

Panic surged through the remaining guards as they finally realized they were completely outmatched against a genuine tamer. They had only just returned to their base and still hadn’t managed to get their confiscated beasts back from the authorities.

"Good timing you have, kid! But that doesn’t mean we won’t fight you!"

Filmos ignored their shouts, continually firing sprays of toxic venom at each guard blocking the entrance.

"ARGH! IT BURNS!"

As Filmos put them down one by one, watching the intense toxicity dissolve their skin and armor, an open pathway to the headquarters finally presented itself.

He reached the heavy metal doors and barged right past them, stepping into a massive warehouse. A chaotic mix of broken and flickering industrial lights hung from the ceiling, casting dim illumination over everyone gathered inside the wide space.

Compared to a proper, organized syndicate, this place had nothing that could be called organized. Dozens of members were scattered everywhere, busy carrying out all sorts of dirty tasks.

In his rough estimate, there were at least fifty people in total inside the main hall. But Filmos knew this wasn’t the entire syndicate—some were likely out on missions, committing illegal acts away from the watchful eyes of the authorities.

Because Filmos had cleared the entrance guard so quickly, the people inside still hadn’t noticed his intrusion.

Honestly, he didn’t even have a clear plan. All he knew was that he could attack and defend with the help of his size-shifting Green Anaconda.

Sending a sharp pulse through their soul link, Filmos let go of his companion.

’Change size!’ he mentally commanded.

Obeying the order, the Green Anaconda expanded rapidly to its maximum size, swelling until its thick head reached at least the height of a one-story building.

The sudden appearance of the giant serpent immediately drew everyone’s attention, halting their activities as a loud alarm echoed through the hall.

"What’s a beast doing in here?!"

"Hey, draw your weapons! Prepare your beasts!"

Filmos didn’t know this detail yet, but the larger his Anaconda grew, the slower its physical movements became. Because of this brief delay, within just a few seconds, the giant serpent found itself completely surrounded by nearly fifty men, armed with blunt pipes, sharp blades, and their own low-tier beasts.

’Fuck. This is bad news. What should I do?’ Filmos thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.

It was entirely his fault for charging in without a solid strategy. However, he didn’t know that he didn’t need to worry at all, because the Green Anaconda was far more capable than he realized.

Activating its third skill—one that Filmos hadn’t even discovered yet—the Green Anaconda’s vibrant scales began to fade. Its green color rapidly dissolved, turning completely transparent until the massive creature vanished into thin air.

"What the hell?! Where did that snake go?!"

"It just turned invisible! Just attack forward!"

Convinced the beast was still in front of them, the entire crowd pressed forward, swinging their weapons at the center of the space where the snake had previously been positioned.

But as they all squeezed together into a tight pack, the invisible serpent was nowhere to be found. The thugs only ended up colliding clumsily into one another.

In their frantic, confused search for the beast, none of them realized that the invisible snake was actually positioned right above their heads. It had leaped into the air at the exact right moment, waiting for them to gather into a compact cluster for its primary attack.

SPRIIIT!

Far beyond their understanding, the Green Anaconda had executed a brilliant strategic maneuver. It had forced all fifty enemies into a tight circle that its venom could easily cover in a single blow.

Releasing a wide, raining mist of fine venomous droplets from above, the Anaconda blanketed the entire crowd. Everyone caught in the splash burned instantly under the intense chemical spray.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Agonized screams echoed across every corner of the massive warehouse as men collapsed to their knees, clutching their burning skin.

That deafening wave of screams was the exact sign Filmos had been waiting for. Filled with a new wave of absolute confidence, he stepped out of his hiding spot behind a metal container and walked straight toward the syndicate leader, who was standing near the back office, utterly confused and terrified by the sudden annihilation of his men.

Completely clueless as to how his forces had been wiped out in seconds, the leader turned around, desperate to scram away and regroup with the mercenaries he had sent out earlier.

But Filmos reached him first.

Reaching out, Filmos grabbed the fat leader by his collar and yanked him down onto the cold floor like a heavy rag doll. The syndicate leader, covered in expensive gold jewelry and expensive silk clothes, immediately pressed his forehead against the cemented floor in a desperate kowtow.

"Please! What do you want?!" the fat man whimpered, trembling uncontrollably. "We already cleared your debt! Why are you even doing this?!"

"Cleared?" Filmos spat, his eyes cold as he glared down at the groveling man. "I don’t care about any of that! This is pure retaliation!"

The fat man raised his sweaty head, his eyes wide with utter confusion.

"If this is retaliation, was injuring my men earlier not enough?! Do you want more?! Did you come here to get cash?! I can collect all the money for you right now, just please stop destroying everything!"

Filmos let out a breath of pure irritation, trying to make sense of the man’s terrified rambling.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Filmos growled. "I don’t stoop to your pathetic level. I just wanted you to leave me alone! Why did you have to send men to raid and destroy my house?!"

The fat leader blinked, shaking his head frantically. "I ordered my men not to destroy anything! I told them to just look around for anything valuable!"

Filmos paused, his brows knitting together tightly.

"You sent two men equipped with heavy tactical gear and military rifles!" Filmos shouted, stepping closer. "You ordered them to kill me and steal my beast! Thankfully, I didn’t surrender! But now both of my parents have completely disappeared, and I don’t know where the hell they are!"

The fat leader froze completely, looking even more bewildered than before.

"What on earth are you talking about?!" the leader cried out, his voice laced with genuine panic. "I didn’t order anyone to attack your house with guns! I specifically ordered my men never to bother you again after you attacked us to retrieve your necklace! I promise you on my life, whatever happened at your house was NOT our doing!"

Filmos opened his mouth to shout more, but the words died instantly in his throat.

A chilling realization struck him like a bucket of ice water, making him freeze on the spot as his mind raced to rethink everything that had happened over the last few hours.

The tactical gear. The military assault rifles. The silent execution style. None of it matched a low-level local collection syndicate.

As Filmos fell into a stunned silence, the fat leader slowly and quietly slipped his trembling hand toward his belt, reaching for his own Pocket Sanctuary Card to summon a beast while Filmos was distracted.

HISSS!

Before the fat man’s fingers could even touch his card, Filmos’s Green Anaconda suddenly reappeared, its compact body coiling securely around Filmos’s shoulders. With a quick flick of its jaws, the serpent sprayed a short burst of burning venom directly across the leader’s reaching hand and chest.

"ARGH!" the fat man shrieked, rolling across the floor in pain.

Filmos didn’t even bother to look back at him. Turning his heel, he walked out of the ruined warehouse, his mind spinning from the terrifying truth he had just uncovered.

The loan shark syndicate hadn’t sent those tactical killers.

Someone else was actively targeting him, someone far more dangerous, powerful, and lethal than the local syndicate he was indebted to.