Chapter 358: [462] - Hawk Never Waits for Revenge

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In Arlington County, Virginia, right next to the Potomac River, there was a building finished in 1943 with a unique five-sided shape.

It was the permanent headquarters of the United States Department of Defense.

It was the nerve center of the Armed Forces.

This was—

The Pentagon!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

At night, high above the brightly lit Pentagon, a booming sonic boom broke the silence. Hawk's voice thundered across the whole complex.

"THADDEUS ROSS! COME OUT AND DIE!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk crashed straight into the concrete of the Pentagon's central courtyard, hitting with the force of a meteor. The ground shook from the impact, sending a shockwave in all directions, ripping up the lawns and tossing paving stones aside.

The piercing wail of alarm sirens immediately began to scream.

Security forces, already on high alert and ready to ambush, rushed out from every exit. In the harsh light of helicopter searchlights, they saw Hawk in his red tactical suit slowly stand up from the dust and broken ground.

Without a second of hesitation, they pulled their triggers.

Unfortunately for them, it was useless.

The bullets they banked their lives on couldn't even leave a scratch on Hawk.

But a single punch from Hawk was enough to kill them instantly.

Or even more than that.

He didn't even need to throw a punch. Hawk looked around, then disappeared. In an instant, a streak of red light shot through the courtyard corridors.

By the time he reappeared, a horrifying scene had unfolded.

The soldier closest to him, right behind him, started melting before everyone's eyes.

Yes!

Melting!

And it wasn't just him. Almost every soldier who had stepped into that corridor found their bodies disintegrating into bloody mist, exploding outward in a violent spray.

Once again, even though Hawk couldn't use his supernatural energy in this dimension, his basic life-form and physical strength were as powerful as a star.

Thus, when fragile mortal flesh collides with the mass of a star, what do you think happens?

Exactly what was happening right now.

Reduced to a mist of blood.

Hawk ignored the reinforced concrete walls in front of him and walked forward. The thick barriers fell apart as soon as he touched them, revealing the maze of corridors and offices inside.

And exposing even more soldiers!

The Special Forces teams stationed inside the building had been waiting in formation. Every weapon had been loaded with X-Gene Suppressant rounds. The exact second Hawk breached the wall, they opened fire.

"Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot..."

"You don't know your place!!" Hawk looked down as the blue-glowing energy rounds hit his chest.

They couldn't even get through his suit, much less his skin. He sneered coldly, his sharp voice rising above the gunfire and resounding down the corridor. Then he looked up, locking eyes with the soldiers in his way.

Then, he moved—

BOOM!

BANG!

THUD!

Hawk became a blur. He shot straight down the corridor, traveling from one end to the other in a fraction of a second. Wherever his afterimage passed, the soldiers standing directly in his way instantly vaporized into a bloody mist.

The soldiers on the flanks were caught in the violent slipstream. Swept up by the hurricane force of his movement, their bodies were ripped apart—slammed violently against the walls—or simply plastered into the concrete.

They didn't even have time to scream.

They were dead before they could even make a sound.

But... Hawk wasn't a bloodthirsty maniac. Killing was just a means to an end. It was never the goal.

He had a clear goal. Since General Thaddeus Ross didn't value the second chance Hawk gave him, Hawk was here to take it away.

As for where General Ross was hiding?

Hawk knew exactly where he was. He had been to Quantico and the Pentagon before. He knew every hiding spot in the building.

Hawk ignored the soldiers coming at him from the sides, as long as they didn't step directly into his path.

After all, they were just following orders.

But for the soldiers who stood in front of him or tried to slow him down, Hawk showed no mercy.

If they wanted to die, he was more than happy to oblige.

...

One by one, the soldiers blocking his path turned to bloody mist. Hawk smashed through reinforced concrete walls like they were made of wet tissue paper. He didn't stop until he reached a massive, multi-foot-thick alloy blast door.

Behind this door was the only corridor leading to the Pentagon's command center and the underground bunker.

The automated defense turrets mounted above the blast door activated the exact second Hawk smashed through the final wall. They immediately opened fire, filling the corridor with a storm of armor-piercing rounds.

"Is this supposed to do something?" Hawk's face was completely blank.

Like a man taking a casual stroll in the rain, he walked straight through the storm of armor-piercing metal. He casually approached the blast door, glanced up at the hidden camera mounted above it, and then lifted his right foot.

Hawk delivered a kick directly to the center of the massive alloy door.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The concrete walls anchoring the multi-ton blast door violently tore apart. The massive alloy door didn't just break—it was launched backward with terrifying speed, smashing deep into the corridor on the other side.

When the heavy door crashed to the floor, the concrete broke apart and the force of the impact made the ground shake.

Now that the blast door was gone, the way to the Pentagon's command center was open.

————————————————————

Right then.

Inside the command center, surrounded by glowing screens, the panicked staff stared in horror as the Demon God stepped through the smoke and into view.

Hawk stepped over the broken blast door and lifted off the ground. With everyone watching in fear, he floated to the center of the room. He looked around, meeting the pale, desperate faces of the staff.

A moment later.

Hawk spoke in a low voice.

"Open the bunker, and you live!"

"Or don't, and you die."

BEEP!

Almost as soon as Hawk finished speaking, a colonel who seemed to be in charge jolted as if shocked. Without hesitating, he shouted at his team, "Engage emergency power! Open the bunker access shaft! Now!"

The staff jumped and hurried to follow his orders.

A few seconds later.

Clunk!

The wall on the right side of the command center moved. With the sound of heavy gears, it slid open to reveal a secure elevator shaft going down to the underground bunker.

Hawk glanced at the open elevator shaft and gave a quiet laugh. He looked at the colonel, who had quickly chosen survival over loyalty.

"Get out."

"...God! Thank you!"

When he heard those words, the colonel shook, then shouted as he realized he would live. Suddenly, the command center, frozen with fear moments before, broke into chaos. The staff screamed and pushed past each other, racing for the exit.

Once more. Killing was just a means to an end. It was never the goal.

Hawk ignored the fleeing staff. He landed and walked into the open secure elevator, pressing the button to close the doors.

The elevator began to descend.

Quickly...

"..." Inside, Hawk noticed the elevator dropping at an unnatural speed. He felt nothing, and even found it a bit amusing.

"The desperate struggles of a cornered beast."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The elevator dropped down the shaft at top speed. With a crash, the impact at the bottom blew the heavy doors off their hinges.

Hawk stepped out through the dust and smoke, completely unharmed and spotless.

He had to admit that Wanda's custom tactical suit, made with Chaos Magic, was top quality.

Thinking that, Hawk's face went blank again. He walked down the underground corridor until he reached the bunker entrance, a fortress with fifteen meters of solid concrete.

Standing guard outside the bunker was a squad of elite soldiers. They watched Hawk walking straight toward them.

Their eyes met.

These soldiers were connected to the comms and knew what had happened upstairs. As Hawk approached and they felt his cold stare, they decided to surrender. They lowered their weapons and raised their hands.

Being assigned to guard the bunker meant they were supposed to be the generals' most trusted men.

But still... What does trust matter when you're about to die?

"Get out."

"...Thank you."

When he heard that, the squad leader's tension disappeared. He sighed in relief, quickly thanked Hawk, and hurried past him, leading his men toward the exit.

With the elevator destroyed, Hawk wondered how they would get out.

But that was not his problem.

Hawk looked over his shoulder and watched the soldiers disappear around the corner. He turned back to the huge bunker in front of him. It had fifteen meters of solid concrete and a ten-meter-thick alloy door that only heavy machinery could move.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk punched the alloy door. A huge dent appeared in the metal, and the force of the blow shook the whole underground corridor.

Another punch!

The dent grew deeper. The corridor shook even more.

He punched the door again and again.

With each hit, the dent in the alloy door got deeper.

Bzzzt...

"Mr. Phoenix. We can negotiate."

"..." Hawk looked up at the intercom speaker above him, his face showing contempt. He immediately punched the alloy door again.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

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