Chapter 85: Hate for Taking Lives
"...Shit," he whispered wearily.
Moans and screams echoed behind him, and sirens could already be heard in the distance.
He spotted Super Marty a little over a hundred meters away and immediately gave chase.
Breathing caused excruciating pain, but that was secondary.
The open fracture in his left arm—that was what was truly terrible.
With every step, he felt his consciousness begin to fade, replaced by darkness.
’...It’s not over yet.’ With that thought, he tried to take a deep breath and broke into a run.
Along the way, he had to pass by onlookers gathering to see what had happened.
"He’s a criminal! Stop him!" he shouted, pointing ahead.
People began to look back at the limping figure.
"...!" Marty noticed this with horror on his face and decided on a desperate move.
He stepped off the sidewalk onto the road, intending to cross to the other side.
"Stop right there!" shouted Mr. Nobody.
Following him, he also stepped onto the road, but...
*Vroooom!!!* A sports car sped past him in a drift.
"What the...?"
Right behind it, in an uncontrolled skid, came another one, and then another...
"Damn it!" he shouted in anger.
Marty made it to the other side of the road and looked back in fear. Then his figure began to recede again.
Ten seconds later, a fourth drift car sped past, and Mr. Nobody finally began to cross the road.
*Beeeep!* The sounds of cars braking suddenly could be heard, but he kept walking forward anyway.
Finally, he crossed the road too and pushed forward after Marty.
There were already about 50 meters between them.
"...?!" Seeing this, Marty, barely able to stay on his feet, turned into an alley and disappeared completely from view.
Mr. Nobody quickened his pace, afraid of losing him.
’There’s almost no time left, and I still have to ask him... He has to name the ones
who he answered to.’ The thought raced through his foggy mind.
He leaned his hand against the wall, preparing to enter the alley as well... And then a strange feeling struck his consciousness.
"Déjà vu...?" he whispered, peering into the dark alley.
Then it happened.
*Boom!!!* An explosion rang out.
A dark purple flame filled his vision, and the shockwave knocked him onto his back.
The entire alley erupted in fire.
...
"..." A ringing echoed in his ears. It seemed as though the sound of sirens in the distance was right around him.
It felt like he’d lost consciousness for at least a minute.
Leaning against the wall, he staggered to his feet and finally peered into the alley.
All the walls were black and scorched from the explosion. Dark purple flames still flickered in some places... But the brightest source of light was something else.
"...Jesus." His whisper bounced off the empty space. There was no one here but Super Marty...
Or rather, what was left of Super Marty—a charred corpse.
The blackened body was still engulfed in dark purple flames. It was positioned in a sitting posture in the far corner.
Its head was thrown back, and an expression of horror was visible even on the scorched skull. Apparently, death had come to him as he looked up at her from below.
"..." Mr. Nobody took a couple of cautious steps toward the body.
With a puzzled look, he glanced at what lay in front of the corpse.
It was a cigarette.
Picking it up, he read what was written on it.
"Don’t like taking lives? Neither do I."
Next to the cigarette lay his silver dagger, not a single drop of blood staining it.
Looking around, he couldn’t find a single sign that anyone else was there. Only flames and scorched walls.
"..." Pulling off his bloodstained shirt and charred mask, he quickly threw everything into the raging flames. Without a single regret
Looking up, he saw only the empty rooftops of houses and the dark sky.
’Nobody was here...’
"...Ghost?"
...
Five minutes after the incident at the nightclub, the entire area was cordoned off.
About ten ambulances were parked near the nightclub building. The roof was occupied by helicopters with red sirens and the letters "KPD."
Hundreds of wealthy and influential people were crowding around the entrance. Each of them was being questioned.
"Don’t like taking lives? Neither do I."
*Click* With a snap of his fingers, the cigarette with the inscription was lit.
There were four bodies covered in black cloth by the ambulances. Corpses.
Several dozen people were injured when the balcony collapsed. All of them were receiving first aid in the ambulances.
It started to rain.
"Phew..." Exhaling smoke, he walked toward the victims.
Peering into their faces, he saw fear and memories of horror resting in their tears.
"...Neither do I."
Only that inscription remained on the nearly smoked-out cigarette. "...I wish I could say I’m making a difference. But I don’t know."
The burning cigarette butt fell into a small puddle of rainwater.
"...Maybe people have never needed vengeance. Maybe it’s something only I need... still. Even after all these years."
Sighing, he looked around for the nearest available ambulance.
He spotted a couple of familiar faces. A girl with blue hair and a girl with blue eyes were sitting on either side.
A young female doctor was shining a small flashlight into their eyes and asking them questions.
"Haah..." He sighed and struck a pose as if he were in terrible pain. He didn’t even have to act for this. "Hey. Excuse me..."
The doctor turned around and...
"Oh my God!!!"
Aside from the dead, he was the one who had suffered the most.
...
’I guess that wraps up the job... If nothing else happens, I can finally go back to my cat.’
"...How on earth can you even stand on your feet in this condition?" the doctor asked, stunned.
"Ha-ha, guess I’ve always had a high pain tolerance." he replied with a forced smile.
His arm was set and a splint applied. Now his entire bare chest was wrapped in white bandages.
"Excuse me, can I have a something strong? Neotabs."
With that pill, all his injuries would practically disappear overnight.
"Of course, if you have Diamond Insurance. Please send us your details."
"Of course... You know, it turns out it expired just yesterday, and I forgot to renew it."
"Then there’s nothing we can do."
"Oh, for heaven’s sake!" snapped the blue-haired girl sitting to his left. "Use my insurance."
"O-of course..." The doctor nodded and walked away to get the medication.
Mr. Nobody laughed exaggeratedly and turned to his left.
"Thank you so much, miss. You’re... Liliana, right? You were supposed to perform after Bengou. I’m sorry, but I’m only a fan of their..."
*Thud...* Her fist pressed against his rib.
"...Do you think it’s hard to recognize you with a different face?" she whispered in his ear. "In this town, you’re the only idiot with a lighter in his hand."
"Huh? Ha-ha-ha..." He laughed, trying to sound as natural as possible.
He needed to ask this girl about something important... But at that moment, a cold voice interrupted them.
"We need to ask you a few questions."