Chapter 364: A Multiplier?

His entire silhouette transformed into a streak of golden light, cracking the ground beneath his feet.

The driver looked into the rearview mirror as the vehicle sped down the road. "He's gone!"

The passenger glanced backward. "Keep driving!"

As the vehicle accelerated, a golden light suddenly streaked past them.

In the next instant, a glowing figure had appeared directly in front of them.

"What?!" The driver's eyes widened as West planted his foot firmly on the ground and pulled his arm back.

"Wait..."

BOOM!

He swung his fist forward, striking the vehicle and sending it lifting off the ground.

Its front end folded inward causing the vehicle to flip over three times in mid air.

West body shot upward as the vehicle passed above him, twisting in midair through one of the already shattered windows.

The entire world slowed down around him as he entered through the window with the car in mid air and grabbed Auntie Mirabel who was trapped between two occupants. "Got you."

His arm wrapped securely around her as he kicked off the interior of the vehicle and shot through the opposite window.

For a brief moment, West and Mirabel were suspended in the air while the car continously spun forward into the distance.

West proceeded to land smoothly afterwards with Mirabel safely held in his arms.

Behind them, the vehicle crashed into the street.

CRAAAAASH!

Metal twisted while smoke poured from the wreckage.

West looked down. "Aunt Mirabel, are you okay?"

She stared at him with a stunned expression. "West..."

"I'm here."

"You..." she looked toward the wrecked vehicle. "...you actually caught me."

West smiled faintly. "Of course I did."

"I haven't seen you in so long... and this is how our first reunion goes..." she held his cheeks in disbelief. "Thank you for saving me."

Several Shadow Reapers vehicles arrived moments later and members immediately jumped out. "Boss!"

"We'll catch up later, Aunt Mirabel," West turned before gently handing Mirabel to them. "Take her."

One of the men stepped forward. "Yes, sir."

West's eyes became cold. "Don't lose her this time."

The man's face paled. "No, sir."

West turned toward the burning wreckage and began to slowly walk towards it.

The remaining masked attackers were either unconscious or trying to crawl away as West approached the wrecked vehicle.

He reached through the twisted metal and grabbed one of the occupants.

The masked figure groaned with blood dripping from his mouth while West pulled him out.

West crouched beside him as the man collapsed against the ground. "Who are you?"

The figure didn't answer.

"What is your objective?"

"Who do you work for?"

The man coughed, spitting out more blood and staining the ground.

West grabbed his mask before ripping it away.

What laid before him was a quite horrid scene. Parts of his face appeared to be melting but this didn't look like it was caused by the car catching fire. One of his eyes was barely visible.

West's expression changed. "What the hell..."

The man looked at him without a single shred of fear.

His lips moved as he spoke. "Objective..."

He coughed again. "...failed."

West's eyes narrowed. "Wait."

The man's body suddenly began breaking apart. His skin liquefied and his clothes collapsed inward as he melted into a dark, smoking residue.

West stared in confoundment. "What?"

Behind him, someone shouted. "Boss!"

West turned and noticed that one of the other masked figures lying on the ground had begun convulsing... their body was also melting.

West's eyes narrowed. "Something is very off..."

He rushed forward but nothing he did could help. One after another, the masked attackers melted away with some dissolving before they could even regain consciousness.

The street became eerily quiet after they had all melted away.

The only sounds were the crackling flames from the wrecked vehicle and the distant sirens approaching.

West stood in the middle of the battlefield.

Every attacker had meltee and every possible clue had vanished with them.

Apparently, whoever had orchestrated this had made absolutely certain that none of their operatives could ever be interrogated.

West slowly raised his head, looking toward the city skyline with his glowing eyes.

"Aria..." his claws slowly curled into fists. "I'm coming for you."

He looked down at the residue one last time.

"And whoever did this..." a faint, dangerous smile appeared on his face. "...you'd better hope I don't find you first.

The street went eerily quiet after the shouts, explosions, screeching tires, shattered glass, and the battle...

Smoke drifted lazily through the air while several overturned vehicles remained scattered across the road, damaged from the confrontation.

The Shadow Reapers members tended to their wounded while others surrounded Aunt Mirabel, making absolutely certain nobody could get close to her again.

West clicked his tongue. "Annoying."

West had forgotten something that he wasn't human at the moment... he was the Voidfang Predator and his senses were far beyond what they had been in his normal state.

He suddenly felt a strange wavy feeling enveloping his figure...

His ears twitched as he turned towards a paticular direction.

His glowing eyes narrowed as his senses focused on a specific figure three streets away.

Apparently, someone had been watching and his senses were alerting him of it despite the figure being more than three streets away.

West's eyes narrowed. "Another one?"

---

Three streets away, a hooded figure stood on the rooftop of an abandoned building. He had been watching everything happen from the battle to the failed kidnapping to West rescuing aunt Mirabel.

The hooded figure stared toward the distant street. "...We failed."

Then the figure let out a sigh. "Looks like we'll have to try again."

"Try again?" a voice came from directly behind them.

The hooded figure entire body stiffened as he slowly turned around to spot two blue glowing eyes staring directly at him.

West stood there in his Void Fang Predator form, looking menacing.

The hooded figure instantly fled without hesitating.

West laughed. "Oh, come on."

Fwwwhiiii~

The figure leapt from the rooftop and West immediately followed.

They moved through the city at incredible speed.

The hooded figure jumped across buildings, slid beneath metal structures and even activated what appeared to be an ability that temporarily enhanced their physical capabilities.

Unfortunately for them, it didn't matter.... West was faster.

The figure glanced backward, spotting West already behind them.

"No!"

West hand grabbed their hood and yanked them backward.

The figure lifted into the air and crashed against the ground.

In the next moment, West landed on top of them. "Got you."

The figure struggled as he held them down. "Get off me!"

West grabbed the hood. "Let's see who you are."

He pulled the hood away and his eyes widened upon seeing the appearance of the figure.

The same face that was behind the mask which he peeled off minutes ago, stared back at him.

It was the exact same person he'd pulled from the wrecked vehicle.

West stared in disbelief. "Wait a minute..."

The figure smiled before their body began to tremble.

West immediately realized what was happening. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

The figure's skin began to liquefy. "There's no point..."

Their voice became distorted as they added while the body continued melting. "We'll just..."

"...try again."

Then they disappeared into a puddle of smoking residue.

West stared at the remains silently for several seconds.

"We?"

He turned looked toward the battlefield in the distance and suddenly it began to click...

The masked figures... the man he'd dragged out of the vehicle... the person standing before him... all had their physical features hidden but all had similar body structures.

West slowly put the pieces together. "You're a multiplier."

His expression became serious as he realized that this awakened was capable of creating copies of themselves.

The attackers hadn't been a team... it had been one person.

West looked at the residue. "So the original isn't even here."

It made sense now why they all melted like goo.

The person he'd fought was nothing more than a disposable copy... and if the original was somewhere else... then this entire operation had been planned from a distance.

West slowly exhaled. "Smart."

---

Hours later, the scene had become a massive investigation. Police had arrived and Shadow Reapers had secured the area.

The strange melted remains had been carefully collected and because there were no surviving attackers to question, investigators resorted to forensic analysis.

DNA samples were extracted from every remaining piece of biological material.

Just as West had expected, every sample belonged to the same person.

One investigator stared at the report in disbelief. "It truly is a multiplier. Fascinating... awakeners are truly fascinating..."

Although the original truly wasn't amongst the perpetrators and there was no one to question, West was still glad for two reasons...

One... the Multiplier Bloodline was extremely rare. Which meant now they had a clue on who they were dealing with.

Two... aunt Mirabel was now safe inside of Shadow Reapers headquarters.

She was shaken no doubt, since this was her first time getting attacked by an awakened, but generally unharmed.

West only relaxed for a few moments before something suddenly occurred to him...

He had been so focused on protecting everyone that he'd forgotten that one person remained unattended to on the list.

His eyes widened. "Liz."