Chapter 28: Amazing Regeneration

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Amazing Regeneration

Chapter 28: Amazing Regeneration

The moment Axel Vance collided with the towering cultist, the fight changed completely. The man was no longer testing him or trying to demonstrate his superiority with halfhearted attacks, and every punch now carried enough force to shatter bone. He deliberately avoided using weapons because he clearly wanted Axel to understand the difference between their raw physical strength.

Another heavy hook came toward Axel’s head, forcing him to cross both arms and block. The impact landed with a deep thud and drove him backward several steps across the concrete, leaving both forearms numb from wrist to elbow. Even with a Physique far beyond that of an ordinary man, Axel could feel how ridiculous his opponent’s strength had become.

The cultist did not immediately pursue him. Instead, he straightened and spread his back in another exaggerated bodybuilding pose, causing the muscles around his shoulders and lats to bulge like armored cables. "Officer Vance, after experiencing this kind of strength firsthand, don’t you envy what we’ve achieved?"

Axel shook the numbness from his arms and gave him a flat look. "Did all those muscles ever get you a girlfriend?" The insult immediately wiped some of the smug satisfaction from the cultist’s face, proving that supernatural regeneration apparently did nothing to strengthen a man’s ego.

"Hmph. You still don’t understand what our organization can give you." The cultist lowered his stance and prepared to attack again, but Axel had already noticed the one weakness his ridiculous body had not completely eliminated. He might be nearly bulletproof and capable of regenerating terrible wounds, but he still needed joints to move.

"Clarice!" Axel shouted toward the second-floor platform. "Joints!"

Clarice Starling understood immediately and brought the MP5 to her shoulder. A short burst cracked through the factory, placing several rounds around the cultist’s knees with disciplined precision. The bullets only tore shallow grooves through his reinforced tissue, but the impacts disrupted his balance enough to make one leg buckle.

The cultist stumbled forward and angrily turned toward the platform. "You little—" Whatever threat he intended to make against Clarice never had a chance to finish because the moment his attention shifted away, Axel exploded forward.

Axel crossed several yards in a sprint and jumped directly onto the man’s back. His legs wrapped around the cultist’s arms from behind and forced them inward while he used his entire body as a locking mechanism. The position put tremendous pressure through Axel’s thighs and knees, and he immediately felt muscles and connective tissue beginning to strain under the cultist’s attempts to break free.

The cultist roared and flexed both arms, nearly tearing Axel loose through sheer strength. Sharp pain ripped through Axel’s legs, but he clenched his teeth and tightened the hold instead of releasing it. If he gave the man even one free arm, the fight would immediately return to the cultist’s advantage.

Once Axel stabilized himself, his left hand shot forward and grabbed the cultist’s smooth head. He pulled the man’s chin upward and used his grip to keep the skull from moving while his right hand reached for the experimental handgun at his waist. The massive weapon came free, and Axel pressed its muzzle directly beneath the cultist’s chin.

"Let’s find out whether your brain evolved too," Axel said.

For the first time since the fight began, genuine fear appeared in the cultist’s eyes. He struggled violently and blurted, "Wait! You still haven’t heard all the benefits of joining us. We have medical coverage!"

Axel pulled the trigger.

The blast was deafening at point-blank range.

The cultist’s head disappeared almost instantly, and the tremendous recoil ripped the handgun from Axel’s grip. The shock wave and muzzle blast left Axel’s mind blank for several seconds while a violent ringing filled both ears, causing him and the headless body to collapse onto the factory floor together.

Axel lay there staring at a ceiling that seemed to be slowly spinning. His vision swayed from side to side, and every sound around him had been replaced by one high-pitched tone. Through the blur, he vaguely noticed someone running toward him and kneeling beside his body.

Clarice grabbed his shoulder and spoke urgently, but Axel could not understand a word. Her mouth moved while nothing useful reached his ears, so he shook his head hard and pressed one finger against the side of his ear. After several seconds, fragments of sound finally began breaking through the ringing.

"What?" Axel asked, leaning closer.

Clarice moved nearly against his ear and shouted, "That guy isn’t staying dead!"

Axel frowned.

He had just watched the cultist’s entire head disappear.

Axel forced himself onto his feet, but the damage from the grappling hold immediately made his legs protest. His thighs and knees throbbed with sharp pain, forcing him to limp toward the corpse while Clarice followed with her weapon ready.

The sight waiting for them made Axel’s scalp tighten.

Dozens of thin, flesh-colored strands were writhing from the cultist’s destroyed neck like worms searching for one another. The strands twisted together, formed thicker bundles, and slowly began creating the beginnings of new tissue where the head had once been.

Clarice stared at it. "He’s regenerating his head?"

"Looks like it."

Neither sounded pleased.

Axel’s first instinct was to use Holy Reading, but the regeneration was progressing far too quickly for comfort. Michael Myers had taken hours to purify, and even with Axel’s higher Psionic Power there was no guarantee this creature would remain helpless long enough. If a new head formed before the purification finished, Axel would have to fight him all over again.

"We destroy the body first," Axel said. "Then I’ll deal with whatever is inside it."

He limped toward the experimental handgun, picked it up, and loaded another enormous cartridge. Using both hands to steady his aim, Axel fired directly into the cultist’s abdomen, and the heavy round tore open a massive cavity through the regenerated muscle. The body still twitched, but now Axel had exactly the opening he needed.

He pulled a fragmentation grenade from one of the pouches on Marcus’s tactical vest. Clarice immediately realized what he was planning and stepped backward while Axel armed the grenade and shoved it deep into the bloody abdominal cavity. "Move!" he shouted before grabbing Clarice’s arm and dragging her toward the nearest concrete pillar.

They dove behind cover.

The grenade detonated.

A violent explosion shook the abandoned factory and sent dust raining from the ceiling. Shredded tissue, fragments of bone, and pieces of black clothing sprayed past both sides of the pillar before striking machinery and concrete with wet impacts. Axel waited until the debris stopped falling before cautiously leaning out.

The cultist was no longer a recognizable body.

Chunks of flesh covered the surrounding floor.

Yet even those pieces were moving.

Several fragments twitched independently while thin strands stretched toward nearby pieces as though the remains were attempting to assemble themselves again. Clarice slowly lowered her MP5 and whispered, "That is disgusting."

"And inconvenient."

Axel pulled out the Blessed Bible.

"Now we start."

He approached the largest cluster of remains, opened the Bible to the judgment passages that had worked before, and began reciting. The reaction was immediate as the writhing flesh hissed loudly and released black smoke, almost as if Axel had poured acid across it. More importantly, the regeneration slowed to a crawl.

Axel released a quiet breath of relief and continued reading. His increased Psionic Power seemed to make Holy Reading noticeably more effective than it had been against Michael Myers, and each passage caused more black vapor to escape from the scattered remains. Clarice remained nearby with her weapon ready in case anything managed to reassemble itself.

Minutes continued passing.

Axel’s throat gradually became dry.

The remains kept smoking.

Eventually, Axel decided there was no reason to remain standing for the entire process. He collected several relatively clean pieces of discarded black robe, spread them over an empty patch of concrete, and sat cross-legged while continuing to read like a priest conducting the world’s strangest funeral.

Clarice looked at him but decided not to comment.

Axel kept reciting.

The black smoke became thinner.

The twitching became weaker.

At last, the largest mass of flesh gave one final convulsion and released a dark plume that vanished into the air. Every remaining fragment became completely motionless at the same time.

The system immediately appeared before Axel.

[Distorted soul successfully purified.]

[Purified soul power detected.]

[Beginning absorption.]

[Physique +0.5]

[Holy Reading: EXP +600]

[Holy Reading has reached Lv.2.]

[Holy Reading Lv.2 — 0/1000]

[Effect: Psionic Power +0.2]

A refreshed status panel followed.

Name: Axel Vance

Physique: 2.6

Psionic Power: 1.3

Prisoner Fitness Lv.3 — MAX

Police Marksmanship Lv.3 — MAX

Holy Reading Lv.2 — 0/1000

A powerful warm current surged through Axel’s entire body as soon as the Physique reward settled in. The muscle strain in his legs disappeared almost instantly, the soreness in his arms faded, and even the lingering exhaustion from the battle washed away. At the same time, the increase in Holy Reading made his mind feel cleaner and more focused than before.

Axel almost sighed from how comfortable the sensation felt.

Then he remembered Clarice was standing only a few feet away.

If he jumped up looking completely healed after nearly tearing his legs apart and spending half the fight getting punched across the factory, she would have even more questions than she already did. Axel therefore stayed seated for several extra seconds and deliberately let his shoulders sag as though exhaustion had finally caught up with him.

When he tried to stand, Axel intentionally stumbled.

Clarice immediately moved forward and caught his arm. "Careful. You took a beating back there."

Axel leaned part of his weight against her and put on his best exhausted expression. "Yeah. I think I’m going to feel that tomorrow."

Clarice slipped his arm more securely over her shoulders and helped him toward the factory entrance. She was smaller than Axel, but years of training had given her enough strength and balance to support him without much difficulty. "We need medical personnel to look at you before you decide you’re invincible again."

Axel gave a tired smile. "First we call your people and have them collect these bodies before any of them decide to grow back."

Clarice glanced toward the scattered remains and immediately agreed.

"Good idea."

Her cheeks became slightly pink when Axel leaned closer for support, but she kept her expression professional and continued helping him forward. Together they left the ruined production floor behind and headed for the exit, while Axel quietly enjoyed the fact that beneath his performance of exhaustion, every injury from the battle had already completely disappeared.

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