The mystery man stood, pristine, untouched.

  Flesh and blood stained the room.

  "I could use a man of your talents," he said, smiling at Devil.

  Devil struggled with the gravity effect that was focused entirely on him now.

  The mafia men began to stand up.

  Just then Valiant rushed the mystery man out of nowhere.

  He'd been hiding behind his shield, waiting for the right time to strike.

  Mystery man grabbed Valiant by the throat.

  Almost as if he knew it was going to happen.

  He turned his head lazily to look at Valiant.

  Slowly, Valiant started gagging and thrashing.

  Blood splattered everywhere, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier preventing blood from touching the mystery man.

  Then reached into Valiant's mouth with his hands, one grabbing the bottom part of his jaw the other grabbing the top, and pulled them apart.

  Devil looked away.

  He heard Valiant's gagging cut short, followed by a loud squelch.

  Valiant's body parts plopped onto the floor.

  It became clear to Devil that there weren't multiple Bent users, but one.

  Devil had one.

  This guy had more than one Bent ability.

  Or a Bent ability that could do more than one thing.

  Both of which were rare.

  The man continued, "Bent users are rare aren't they."

  "My name is Aterrex. I'm the leader of the World Mafia. World ranked #7 Diver Devil. Join me."

  Devil had to stall, hoping Team B was on their way.

  He asked, "Why form the World Mafia?"

  Aterrex sighed, "Because I wanted to. And it's clear you don't want to join me."

  How did he know?!

  Devil launched a burst of red sparks at Aterrex but Aterrex countered with his own force.

  Devil's Bent: Red Hand

  A form of telekinesis manifesting as physical red sparks.

  Devil could feel the 2 forces clash.

  Devil was stronger — he could feel it. He pushed, and Aterrex felt it too.

  Aterrex ordered his men to back off.

  Then the imps came back.

  They screamed and cried out, mouths open.

  There was no resistance when Devil swatted them away with a wall of red sparks.

  They must've been an illusion.

  Aterrex already has more than one ability, there was no way he was able to have such a powerful Bent ability that allowed him to summon so many.

  It was a dangerous hunch, but that was what his gut told him.

  He ignored the imps and lunged towards Aterrex.

  Aterrex seemed to read his mind, so he did away with the imps.

  Devil raised a hand and thrust red sparks into him.

  Aterrex stumbled.

  Devil rushed in, pushing off the ground with Red Hand, red sparks flying.

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  A fist of red sparks slammed into Aterrex, who managed to shield it with an invisible force.

  The impact was still enough to push Aterrex back, which seemed to disorient him.

  A hand of red spark grabbed Aterrex's feet, then pulled, causing him to fall backwards.

  Aterrex's body disappeared when he hit the floor, poofing into thin air like a cloud.

  Another illusion.

  Devil gathered red sparks and swept an open palm of red sparks in a wide motion around him.

  He managed to graze a hidden Aterrex slightly, who wasn't fast enough to completely evade the attack.

  Aterrex had jumped up and now conjured an invisible platform to stand on.

  He brought his hand down, palm facing downwards — gravity snapping back into place.

  Devil resisted the pressure with his red sparks.

  Aterrex conjured balls of energy, then rained them down on Devil.

  Devil blocked them all with the sparks, but he was slowly pushed against a wall.

  Suddenly somebody grabbed him from behind, arms sprouting from the wall and grabbed his face and chest.

  Fuck—

  He red sparks gathered and he burst out of it—

  No resistance.

  An illusion—

  BAM.

  Aterrex lands a clean, powerful Heartlight enhanced right hook to Devil's face, sending Devil flying.

  Devil slammed through the wall.

  He panted.

  Bruised and injured, bullet wound still bleeding slowly.

  He managed to catch a glimpse of Aterrex, who was...

  Doing something to himself?

  Aterrex's arms went from shaking slightly to stable.

  What was that.

  What did he just do to himself.

  Aterrex was grinning.

  Was he enjoying this?

  Aterrex formed balls of energy and walked closer to Devil.

  Get up!

  Devil dragged himself to his feet.

  Aterrex fired the balls at Devil, who swatted them away with Red Hand.

  Aterrex's attacks were stronger.

  Shaky hands were a sign of Heartlight exhaustion.

  But Bents didn't usually use up Heartlight.

  Did Aterrex's Bent use up Heartlight, and did he just replenish it back?

  But that's not possible, is it?

  Devil was bleeding, battered.

  Drawing this out would be costly.

  He was no match for Aterrex now.

  Escape.

  Red sparks shimmered

  He launched himself at Aterrex headfirst

  A powerful left hook—

  Aterrex sidestepped it.

  A foresight skill?

  Aterrex formed a ball of energy behind Devil and detonated it.

  Devil blocked it, used the momentum from the explosion to close in on Aterrex.

  Aterrex put up an invisible barrier.

  But Devil poured a lot of his Heartlight into this attack at the last second.

  Aterrex seemed to foresee this, and leaped backward as the barrier shattered.

  Devil used this opening.

  He gathered his strength and red sparks shimmered.

  Then he launched himself out of there.

  He landed on the ground level.

  Suddenly the cashier was there blocking his exit.

  He made a barrier, similar to the one Aterrex made.

  Devil gathered Heartlight again and smashed it with the Red Hand, grabbing the cashier, then crushing him in his grasp as he leaped out of the shaft, cashier in tow.

  This cashier...

  He's linked to Aterrex somehow.

  Their barrier ability is the same.

  The comms crackled, "Krk rkkk Hello can anyone hear me."

  Crosshair.

  The comms were finally working.

  As he ran out towards Crosshair's position, the cashier smiled.

  An inhumanly big smile.

  What—

  Then he dissipated into the air

  Wha...

  He continued empty handed.

  Devil leaped up onto a building, boosted by red sparks.

  Crosshair and Team B was still here.

  Crosshair looked at Devil, "Yo what happened. You alright?"

  He looked at Crosshair dead in the eyes.

  Then he slammed a wall of red sparks into Crosshair's face.

  Crosshair doesn't talk like that.

  He heard a bone chilling cackle.

  Laughter?

  The cashier reappeared, then started transforming.

  An armored sentinel with a single hollow cavity in its chest — an open “gate” of infinite void. Its body is segmented with glowing seams, opening and closing like industrial shutters.

  What the—

  At the same time—

  Something else appeared where Crosshair was.

  A many-masked jester-like creature, each mask constantly shifting (smiling, crying, screaming, laughing). Its body rippled as if it’s made of oil in water — never stable, never real.

  It stood over Crosshair, who lay on the floor of the roof, his eyes glassed over.

  Its foot was on Crosshair's neck.

  The rest of Team B dead, in a bloody mess on the roof.

  Devil stood motionless.

  The sentinel-like creature suddenly created a box barrier that traps Devil and reinforced it.

  Devil still didn't move.

  He finally took a breath, as if remembering he could breathe.

  The jester-like creature spoke, multivoiced — every word layered with different tones, "These are the last of the rats. Once Laplace, Maxwell, Nietzsche and Szilard are done with the Domestic Wing HQ, we'll finally be rid of these pests."

  He giggled. It was that same laugh from earlier.

  Devil stiffened.

  There weren't any combatants at HQ.

  They'd exhausted all their combatants here to take down Aterrex.

  If these... whatever these are, are telling the truth, and one of them managed to defeat Crosshair.

  HQ doesn't stand a chance.

  He gathered Heartlight again and concentrated red sparks on one spot on his index finger.

  A technique he'd been honing for a while.

  He formed a gun shape with his fingers and concentrated hard.

  Red Bullet.

  He aimed.

  BANG.

  The box shattered.

  The sentinel-like creature staggered back.

  Devil boosted himself out of the box before they could react.

  He slams both creatures aside and launches himself into the direction of the HQ, his Heartlight already low.

  Cackles sounded in the background.

  When he reached, the HQ building ablaze.

  The heads of all Domestic Wing members were displayed on the spiked fence.