Year 2570
In a dark back alley was Kai, standing with his hands in his pockets.
His eyes were closed, which caused the two a few feet away from him to grit their teeth.
"Don't get too cocky, Kai."
"We've improved over the last three years. The ones you beat up are all in the past."
"That's right, the only reason we didn't come looking for you was because we had no reason to."
The two, Brandon and Tony, bullies of Prestige High, couldn't control themselves from saying a few words.
Kai, who heard the last part, couldn't help himself either.
"It wasn't because you were afraid of me?" he asked, his eyes still closed.
"Damn you, Kai!" the two shouted at the same time, but didn't deny his words.
Kai hummed and took a step.
The two quickly took a step back.
Kai took another step; they took another back.
Then he stopped.
They stopped at the same time.
Even with his eyes closed, Kai knew what they were doing.
He sighed and asked, "What did the Maxfield's say to force you two to approach me?"
Before they could say anything, Kai sighed again.
"Never mind, I don't care."
"However, I do care about my experiments a lot, so there's no way I'm letting you two run away after volunteering so openly."
"We didn't—"
"You didn't what?" a cold, unfamiliar yet familiar voice escaped Kai's mouth.
The two immediately felt like they were about to pass out.
"Nothing—nothing at all, big boss!" they uttered, their way of talking more respectful than before.
"Tsk, boring." Kai clicked his tongue while rolling his eyes.
When his pupils did a full circle, his expression was blank once more.
"Look, let's not waste any time," Kai said in a flat tone.
"I will make it easy for you two."
He closed his eyes once more and continued, "My eyes will be closed and my hands will stay in my pockets."
"If you still lose to me with these limitations, then you have no right to be calling yourselves the top 5 bullies of Prestige High."
The two's respectful attitude quickly changed.
"Damn you! Even with your hands in your pockets, you are still a slippery snake!"
"Even if it was Boss Ryker we were fighting, we would still lose!"
Kai couldn't believe his ears.
"You two said you improved a lot over the past three years, so show me."
"If not." His voice became murderous.
"Then your only option is to die."
The two sneered.
"Don't act like we don't know who you are, Kai."
"You might have dirt on our families, but killing us would just provoke their rage."
Kai nodded.
"Then let me see if they truly care."
He took a step.
Before the two could move back, he took three large steps in front of them.
With those three steps, he arrived right beside them like a ghost in the night.
Shocked, they paused.
Then they smirked.
"Got you!" Brandon threw a timed punch at Kai's face who was coming at him.
At the speed Kai was going, he would land right into his fist.
But who was Kai?
Even with his eyes closed, he felt the slightest shift in the air.
His feet came to a quick halt.
He stopped inches from the punch.
Brandon didn't expect him to react so quickly. Still, he was an expert fighter since his first year at Prestige High.
If it was before, he would definitely take time to process what just happened.
But the him of today was different. His instincts have been honed by his family to always expect the unpredictable.
So, instead of backing away, he raised his other hand, aimed at Kai's guts!
"Your hand is already close to my head—why use the other?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
He then raised his leg high.
The hand aiming for his gut came to a forced stop, his leg coming down with lightning speed that sent the hand into the ground.
Brandon's hand broke even before it hit the ground.
"F—AHHHHH!" Brandon let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Just like his hand, his entire body was sent to the ground.
"Where did you get that strength from! Don't tell me you let out, big boss?!" he shouted, disbelief written on his face.
"I wonder." Kai didn't answer.
What the hell just happened? At the same time, a confused look crossed his face as he exclaimed to himself.
That kick is even stronger than mine! Ryker shouted, just as confused.
It was a casual kick, though...
Little bro, that kick you just did would need my full strength, even with Daredevil!
Also, you were never this fast! I mean, yeah, you're fast when you go all out, but you're not even using 50% right...?
"I... don't know." Kai shook his head when a crazy idea came to mind.
Do you think our cards are combined together?
No way! Wait... right now we're two consciousnesses but share one body...
"You're breaking my hand further, you freak!" Brandon screamed with blood-shot eyes when he realized Kai had no intentions of lifting his leg from his hand.
"..."
Kai was so lost in thought he didn't even hear him.
"You devil..." Brandon noticed this, tried to scream again, but passed out from the pain.
"Don't forget about me!" At the same time, Tony shouted at Kai, who was deep in thought.
He jumped a few feet into the air and sent his fist flying down at Kai's head.
He felt rage, but also fear when he saw what happened to Brandon.
He realized Kai was serious about killing them.
He also noticed Brandon only lost because he didn't take Kai seriously. If he did, maybe he wouldn't be on the ground passed out with foam escaping his mouth.
So instead of taking this fight as a game, he got serious.
Still, no matter how serious these two become, how could they possibly defeat a Handler from the Spades Faction?
Kai, who had Parallel Madness activated, moved without his own knowledge.
Tony's fist missed him.
At the same time, Kai's closed eyes shifted to Tony's back.
"Wait—Kai!" As if sensing Kai's gaze on his back, he pleaded.
Kai ignored him and sent a kick into his back.
He was sent flying into a dumpster just five steps away.
He passed out before his body even hit the dumpster.
"You two call that improvement?" Kai opened his eyes and snorted.
"Pathetic little lab rats. I should probably go give the number one bully a greeting." He shook his head, disappointed.
"You two did let me discover something new, so you kind of fulfilled your purpose, so I will let you go free," he exclaimed before walking off.
"If you're dumb enough, you can go tell your parents and watch them be ruined overnight." He waved before he left the back alley.
Back on the main road, he stopped and called out, "When are you going to reveal yourself?"
"Fernando." He said, not even looking back to see a person coming out of the corner of the street.
"How long did you know?" Fernando, a student from Kai's class, wore a surprised look.
"Since after school," Kai replied and faced him.
What he saw made him see Fernando in a different light.
"You didn't kill them?"
"I thought about it," Fernando replied.
"But then I watched you beat them so easily, and it got me thinking maybe I can be just like you."
Pfft! Just like you? Anyone who tries to be like you will just end up going mad!
"Give up." Kai shook his head and started walking again.
Fernando, seeing this, began to grow nervous.
"You said something this morning that motivated me to improve!" he yelled as he followed Kai.
"You told the Maxfield's, 'Why would I challenge you when I can simply make you disappear,' and it was so cool!"
He said in the same voice as Kai's.
Pfft... HAHA! THIS KID IS FUNNY!
Kai, hearing someone impersonate him, cringed.
"Don't quote me," he told as he came to a halt.
Fernando also stopped and was confused.
"We are back at school?"
"This is perfect, actually," Kai suddenly said.
"I was going to use those two idiots, but they were useless, so I will just use you."
"What?" Fernando's confusion grew.
"You're from the Greyson Family, correct? #153 on the list," Kai suddenly asked.
"That's right..."
"Good, how about you get some assassination tools from your parents and I will teach you."
"Huh...? But how do—"
"A long dagger would be perfect. You know? The type that is very durable and extremely sharp."
"Wait a minute—"
"Your family is the biggest sellers of volcanic glass, so I'm sure you can get a dagger of such good quality."
"I—"
"We're in an agreement, right? Good. Alright, let's go rob some files." Kai finished while patting Fernando's shoulders.
"Of everyone in the school, you are the most observant and the sneakiest person I know, so I am sure you can avoid all the cameras Madam Principal Wright put up."