"DIE!"
Numerous deadly attacks converged on Stedhal's position as the mobsters tried to hit him unceasingly.
To no avail.
The assassin in his current frenzied state was as untouchable as a bird flying freely through the open sky, its home.
A natural advantage of this caliber allowed Stedhal to keep weaving and dodging between the lines of fire, until finally...
slash
He had targeted the weaker links first. Having dealt with Nucky from the beginning, he moved to the man and woman covering the entrance.
The man was tall and athletic, sporting a pair of sunglasses. His blonde hair was cut short and tactical. Currently, he had his right arm rigidly extended out like a pillar, while his left was held back next to his face as if pulling on an invisible bowstring. Despite the illogical absence of the actual bow, small arrow-shaped projectiles constantly shot out of his chest, raining down on Stedhal.
Next to the formidable stealth archer, a woman with short red hair in a formal black suit, also wearing a pair of glasses of her own, could be seen standing guard. She had taken a defensive stance, appearing to be calm and collected in the face of the incoming threat.
Blue lights flickered underneath the sleeves on both her arms. It was obvious she was preparing to strike at any moment using her trump card.
Unfortunately for them, their chance to shine never came.
Stedhal was on them before the rest of the room could even blink in surprise.
Staying close together and having your partner's back was usually the correct course of action when facing a stronger opponent. This time, lady luck played for the opposite side.
In one fell swoop, a single slash of the ninja's cold katana carved two equally terrible lines across their chests. Soon, a familiar red liquid started flowing out of both injuries.
Stedhal had jumped at the end of his sprint, boosting the force behind his swing while also managing to completely evade one of Tetsu's laser beam blasts.
Landing on the ground, he once again ran his tongue across the blade, sampling the freshly spilt blood.
"heheh."
Immediately, the two underlings collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed.
"argh, what have you done to us!!" the woman shouted helplessly as she was forced to bleed out on the floor, unable to move a single limb.
Taking notice of the strange act, Haruhisa pondered if there was more to this man than meets the eye.
"Watch out, he's doing something with the blood, it must be his quirk, don't get close to him." he voiced his concerns, warning his comrades to be careful, causing a pause in the flow of the fight.
"B-Boss, I can't move!" The blonde-haired man shouted, fear evident in his tone of voice.
"Hmm, I just need to not get cut then!" Tetsu, fairly confident in his armour protecting him, taunted the opponent who was standing over his most recent victims.
Weirdly enough, he wasn't yet eager to finish the job, as he simply stared at empty space, muttering what sounded like nonsense under his breath, ignoring and letting the gang leaders essentially regroup in front of him, the unimaginable pain he must have been in seemingly not the slightest hindrance.
His guttural breathing reminded everyone that he was still in his previous crazed state.
"How is he not dead yet?" Soji showed a deeply curious face as he stood next to Tetsu and Haruhisa. Allowing for a short break, with the fight temporarily devolving into an intimidation contest between the two sides, Rojiya went to check on his friend, now a lot more relaxed.
"Nucky's still alive, just unconscious." he said, a faint sense of relief emanating from his voice.
Walking back to his team, his signature weapon in hand, his gaze deepened with meaning, enlightened...
"A man's true test comes not from the number of victories but from the hardships he encounters along his arduous journey. If today I fall, tomorrow I will be reborn from the ashes of my phoenix heart. I am not defined by my circumstances. No matter the cost, I will keep moving forward."
Rojiya raised his manhole proudly.
"Follow me and gather behind this great shield, ASSEMBLE my A-
"Oi, oi, oi, what do you think you're doing, I'm the leader here, not y-
swish
!!
Before any more verbal arguing could erupt, four knives shot out with blinding speed, each one aiming for a vital spot.
The mobsters, forced to pause their conversation, each reacted by putting up their defenses.
Meanwhile, Stedhal didn't perform his usual mad dash. Instead, in the few moments he had bought, he rummaged around in one of his pockets before taking out four unlabeled blood vials.
"Kill him!"
The gang rushed at their bloody attacker. They had become more united and in sync in these last few minutes than they had ever been.
This time, they went in more focused and resolved, driven to overcome this hurdle by any means necessary and come out the other side reborn, more powerful than ever, taking hold of the future within the palms of their hands.
Unfortunately, reality was often disappointing, and even more often, deadly!
The mobsters could do nothing but watch as Stedhal brought the blood vials over his mouth before crushing them with raw strength alone.
Fragments of plastic, glass, and, of course, blood spilled all over his creepy tongue as he grunted in euphoria.
The effect was immediate. Four more-than-able-bodied individuals all tripped like newborn babies trying to walk for the first time. They lost the ability to move entirely, their expressions transformed by the horror of what was to follow.
!!
"IMPOSSIBLE!!"
"ARGGH!?"
"NOOOOOO!!??"
tap
tap
tap
Stedhal's calm and steady footsteps sounded more like the unstoppable, approaching horn of a freight train, and it was simply too late to pull the brakes.
"My conviction grows stronger, as the bloody river of judgment runs through my mortal veins. Only an honest death will cure you now and liberate you from your sinful path."
...
Among the broken shards of the room's window, a small insect could be seen buzzing around.
It was a bee.
Its behaviour was unnatural, as it had been there almost since the very start of the fight. It had witnessed everything, like an organic surveillance camera.
Now, it observed as Stedhal went up to each and every member of the Abegawa Tenchu Kai. No manner of shouting, threatening, begging, or bargaining made any difference.
Finally, it was the kid's turn.
The bee watched as Stedhal leaned down next to the unconscious boy, whispering something in his ear. Next, he raised his katana with both hands before plunging it straight through his neck.
Just when everything seemed to be over, Stedhal broke out in crazed cackles. He kept going for a whole minute.
Eventually, his laughter died down, being replaced by silence. Stedhal once again raised his sword as he proceeded to mutilate his own face.
The red of his life rained everywhere, painting the world crimson, changing his fate forever!
...
The scene of the massacre had become still, like a painting. Only empty human husks remained, scattered on the ground in an unintentionally ceremonial way.
Quite some time passed as the dark of the night deepened.
Suddenly, the mute space was once again filled with noise.
bzz
bzz
Bees!
A swarm of bees appeared. If one were to look closer, they would notice these bees were not ordinary. Each bee had a special abdomen. Almost like small containers, they served to transport various substances in small quantities. Their stingers acted as syringes.
One by one, the corpses in the room were stung, their blood extracted again and again in small doses, but as the bees swarmed Joey's body, one thing became apparent...
He was still alive!