Chapter 245: Fatality!

Chapter 245

Couldn’t his car rest for at least one damn moment without it getting targeted by some damn bastard? Was his car really cursed to always end up damaged, no matter how carefully he tried to keep it safe? First it had been totaled by those black Mambas or whatever, then Celine totaled it, and now this, a full-blown graffiti assault in broad daylight, right in the middle of a crowded college parking lot of all places.

Couldn’t someone with a bit of sense in this place have stopped them or at least called security, or even the cops for Christ sake?!

Alex’s jaw tightened as he stared at the four delinquents responsible for his precious car misfortune, and his earlier mood that had been very good evaporated immediately, and became replaced by a simmering, barely contained fury.

"What the hell are you damn punks doing?!" he shouted in a voice that was so loud it was enough to startle a few nearby students who quickly scattered out of the way, sensing the trouble brewing. "Do you freaking want to die?!"

One of the four dudes, a lanky guy with a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, froze mid-spray, and then snapped his head up toward Alex’s direction.

"Hey, boss, I think he’s coming!" he yelled frantically toward the others. "Let’s get the hell out of here fast!"

Without another word, all four of them dropped their spray cans and took off running, while laughing loudly amongst themselves as they fled. The sound of their stupid laughter was so annoying that it seemed to get on Alex’s already frayed nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

Alex chose to ignore them first and turned his attention toward his precious car. Then he swept his eyes over the extent of the damage done to his car. As he observed it closely, his fingers began to uncontrollably clench into a tight fists at his sides, and a vein practically began to show at his temple.

Dammit! Those bastards had drawn something that looked like what a kindergartener would draw! Did they know how expensive a paint job was for this kind of car?!!

"Think you can escape me after pulling something like this?" he muttered under his breath, as a cold and very dangerous edge began creeping into his tone. "You must be dreaming."

Without wasting another second, Alex took off after them. He didn’t need to run too fast so he just kept it at something human because thanks to his superhuman hearing he knew exactly which route they had followed. And he wanted them to think they were going to escape only for them to be caught off guard by him catching them.

Meanwhile, the group of four skidded to a stop behind the cover of a narrow alleyway a few blocks from the college ground. There each of them bent over, gasping for breath between fits of laughter from how easy it had been.

"That was very close," one of them wheezed out, with his hands braced against his knees. "But I think we should have lost him by now, guys."

Another one, sporting a green hair which definitely looked like it was dyed, straightened up with a wide and satisfied grin plastered across his face.

"I gotta admit, that was pretty fun spraying up a car like that," he said, chuckling. "But hey, big brother, you think he’s gonna call the cops on us or something?"

The person who apparently turned out to be the leader of the group, a lean, wiry man with sharp blue eyes and a cocky smirk permanently etched onto his long face, waved off the concern dismissively.

"Even if he did call the cops, there wasn’t a single security camera anywhere near that spot to catch our faces," he said confidently, cracking his knuckles. "And besides, even if by some miracle the cops actually managed to catch us, we’d just sit in the slammer for a couple days tops before walking right back out. It’s not like it’s our first rodeo."

Just then, an icy, almost deceptively calm voice cut through the alley’s shadows.

"Oh... is that so?"

All four of them froze instantly, and whipped their heads around in unison toward the source of the voice.

"Too bad," Alex continued, stepping casually into view at the mouth of the alley, hands tucked lazily into his pockets, "I’m not going to bother calling the cops at all. I’ll just teach you a lesson myself."

"It’s that punk!" one of them yelled, with his eyes now going wide in panic. "How the hell did he find us so fast?!"

The leader, who had already managed to recover quickly from his initial shock, scoffed loudly while puffing out his chest with bravado.

"So what if it’s him? What exactly is he going to do, huh? There’s four of us and only one of him. You really think he can take on all four of us at once?" He raised his fists, grinning smugly. "Especially when I happen to have a black belt in karate. Only someone like me could face like ten of him and still come out on top."

"Oh, I forgot about that, big brother!" the green-haired one chimed in eagerly, puffing his own chest out in solidarity.

The leader’s cocky grin widened further as he addressed Alex directly.

"Dude, wherever the hell you think you’re going with this, I’d seriously advise you just turn around and leave right now, if you know what’s good for you. If not, don’t go blaming us for whatever happens next."

Alex simply raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed at the man’s empty threat, and it was followed soon after by a faint mocking smile.

"Wow," he said dryly, shaking his head slowly. "After vandalizing my car, you people still have the balls to threaten me on top of it? You must really have balls of steel to tell me that." He let out a short, humorless chuckle. "But honestly, I don’t even blame you. With a brain that small, it’s no wonder your life’s turned out exactly like this."

The instant the word left his lip, the little gremlin chimed cheerfully inside his mind, clearly enjoying the show.

[Fatality,]

The leader’s face flushed red with indignant rage at the blatant insult.

"You’re really asking for it now, you little punk," he snarled, cracking his knuckles threateningly. "By the time we’re done with you today, I guarantee you’ll be eating every meal through your ass for the next couple of months."

Alex simply smirked, taking a slow, unhurried step forward.

"Oh really?" he said casually. "Well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?"

Like a wolf casually strolling into a pen full of oblivious sheep, Alex suddenly dashed forward, causing his movement to become a blur even as he consciously reined in his monstrous strength, still irritated about his car but not wanting to accidentally turn these idiots into red paste.

Then he connected his fist squarely with the gut of the nearest punk. The impact carried just the right amount of force that sent the man crumpling to his knees instantly, while retching all he had eaten before as all the air was forcibly driven from his lungs.

Without pausing, Alex pivoted smoothly and delivered a swift, precise kick to the second person’s chest, which made the sickening sound of ribs breaking to echo throughout the narrow alley as the man was sent sprawling backward into a stack of trash cans.

Barely a heartbeat later, his fist connected solidly with the third attacker’s jaw. And just the force alone was more than enough to send the man’s head snapping back from it.

But just as that punch landed, the leader, who having seen that the other side clearly knew how to fight too, hurriedly put on a pair of brass knuckles just in case, swung wildly and landed a direct hit against the back of Alex’s head.

As you can already guess how that turned out, what came out wasn’t the satisfying sound the leader had been expecting, but instead it sounded a little bit of something like metal striking against something unbreakable.

The backlash from hitting something that hard with all his strength, had the leader screaming in pain. He immediately clutched his now throbbing, and bleeding hand, of which several of the knuckles were now visibly swollen and likely fractured from the impact.

"What the fuck?!" he shrieked, staring down at his mangled hand in disbelief. "Is your head made of steel or something?! Why the hell is it so hard?!"

Alex slowly turned to face him, and an almost pitying expression crossed his handsome face.

"Did my head break your fist?" he asked, while sarcastically pretending to be concern. "Oh, I’m terribly sorry about that. How about, as compensation, you try hitting my face instead this time?"

"You’re insane!" the leader screamed, panic finally overriding whatever confidence he’d had left, and he turned to bolt.

He barely made it two steps before Alex’s foot lashed out, connecting cleanly with the back of the man’s leg. What came out next was the sickening crack of bone shattering, followed almost immediately by an ear-piercing, almost pig-like squeal of agony as the leader collapsed face-first onto the pavement, clutching his now mangled leg.

Alex surveyed the now groaning, thoroughly defeated punks scattered across the alley floor, with satisfaction showing in his face despite the fact that his anger over his car hadn’t yet fully subsided.

"Alright, enough jokes for now," he said, his tone shifting abruptly, the playful mockery draining away entirely, replaced by something much colder and serious. "I’m going to ask you all something, and I need you to be completely, and brutally honest with me about it."

His voice then dropped by several degrees, turning as icy and merciless as a cold winter night.

"Because if you’re not... trust me, you’re really not going to like what happens next."

All four of them, despite their injuries, nodded frantically and immediately, fear plain as day spread across their battered faces.

"Good," Alex said, crouching down slightly to meet the leader’s terrified gaze directly. "Now, I want to know who exactly sent you."