Halochassis

Chapter 53 - Get Even

Qinglong and his girlfriend, Sandy, had already changed into their beach clothes by the time the morning sun climbed high enough to bathe the coastline in a warm golden glow. The summer heat shimmered above the sand, and a gentle sea breeze carried the salty scent of the ocean mixed with the faint aroma of roasted coffee drifting from the beachside café they loved to visit.

It had become one of their favorite places—a cozy little café overlooking the waves, famous for its creamy iced coffee that locals and tourists alike swore was the best along the coast. With colorful umbrellas casting patches of shade over polished wooden tables, the café offered the perfect escape from the blazing heat.

The two sat comfortably beneath one of the umbrellas, savoring tall glasses of iced coffee crowned with thick whipped cream and ribbons of sweet condensed milk that slowly swirled into the dark brew. The glasses glistened with condensation, tiny droplets trickling down onto the wooden table as the ice cubes clinked softly whenever either of them lifted a drink. The rhythmic crashing of waves, the distant laughter of children building sandcastles, and the occasional cries of seagulls blended into a peaceful soundtrack. As always, Qinglong and Sandy slipped effortlessly into one of their long conversations, jumping from one random topic to another, enjoying each other's company as much as the refreshing drinks before them.

“What was the Untouchable Windwalker talking about earlier?” Sandy asked between sips through her heart-shaped straw, gently stirring the whipped cream with a playful smile. “Something about a conference?”

“Eh, nothing much,” Qinglong replied casually. He leaned back in his chair, stretching comfortably as the sunlight highlighted his bronze skin, sculpted abs, and lean, muscular arms. The confidence in his relaxed posture contrasted sharply with the seriousness of the topic. “Alex's just irritated because three of the Celestial Wardens have already been killed by the Iron Bandits. He's probably putting together another operation to wipe them out before things get any worse.”

Sandy's cheerful expression softened with concern. She rested her elbows on the table, absentmindedly tracing circles around the base of her glass while the ocean breeze gently brushed strands of hair across her face.

“Aren't you worried about your safety as well, my dear?” she asked quietly.

“Me? Worried?” Qinglong let out a loud scoff before laughing, the sound carrying over the crashing surf. “Unlike Cattleo, Zerova, and Garruk, I am invincible. I am immortal. I am eternal. The blood of the Eternal Dragon runs through my veins. There's no weapon, no assassin, and no battlefield capable of killing me. My Autonomous Regeneration makes sure of that.”

His unwavering confidence made Sandy laugh. She clapped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

“That's what I love about you, dear,” she said warmly. “Confidence.”

“You bet.”

Qinglong reached across the table and gently held both of Sandy's hands. Her fingers felt cool from the chilled glass she had been holding, contrasting with the warmth of the morning sun. For a brief moment, the noise of the café seemed to fade away, leaving only the quiet intimacy between them.

“Say,” Qinglong said with a grin, “want to have another beach date like this after the operation?”

“I'd love to.”

Sandy scooted her chair closer until they were only inches apart, gazing into Qinglong's vivid green eyes while the sunlight reflected softly across them. A warm breeze carried the scent of coconut sunscreen and saltwater between them.

“Where would you want to go next?” she asked. “The Tropical Islands?”

“I was thinking the Rocky Archipelago,” Qinglong replied. “I've got a penthouse overlooking the sea there. Huge balcony. Amazing sunsets. You'll love it.”

Sandy's face immediately lit up with excitement.

“Sweet! Then I—”

She never finished her sentence.

Everything happened in less than a heartbeat.

The peaceful rhythm of the waves was suddenly drowned out by an unnatural sound. Qinglong's enhanced senses reacted first. Somewhere far beyond the horizon, he heard the deafening crack of an energy beam being discharged. A split second later came the violent thunderclap of a broken sound barrier, followed almost instantly by the razor-sharp whistle of a high-caliber round slicing through the air faster than thought.

Instinct screamed at him to move.

He was already turning toward the source.

Too late.

The magnum round tore through Sandy's right shoulder with horrifying force.

For the briefest fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze. Then the bullet's overwhelming kinetic energy erupted outward like an invisible explosion. A devastating shockwave rippled through her body, instantly reducing flesh, bone, and organs into fragments. The café was engulfed by a crimson mist as Sandy's body was violently torn apart, chunks of flesh and shattered bone scattering across the wooden deck and the white sand beyond. Blood sprayed through the air in a warm, horrifying rain, splattering across Qinglong's face, chest, and arms while shattered glass and overturned chairs crashed around them.

The sweet aroma of iced coffee vanished beneath the overpowering metallic scent of fresh blood. Horrified screams erupted throughout the café as customers scrambled for cover, tables flipped over, drinks shattered against the floor, and frightened seagulls burst into the sky.

Qinglong remained frozen.

His mind refused to process what had happened.

He slowly lowered his gaze toward his trembling hands.

All that remained in his grasp were Sandy's severed hands.

Nothing else.

His breathing became shallow as disbelief overtook him. Every heartbeat pounded violently inside his chest while warm blood dripped between his fingers onto the sand below.

Unable to accept what he was seeing, Qinglong's eyes searched desperately across the ground.

Then he found it.

Half of Sandy's head slowly rolled across the bloodstained sand before coming to a stop only a few meters away. A trail of crimson marked its path, staining the once-pristine beach red beneath the brilliant morning sun.

Qinglong's emerald eyes widened until they almost seemed frozen open.

His entire world fell silent.

No waves. No screaming. No wind.

Only an unbearable emptiness.

Then he turned.

Standing several dozen meters away was a towering figure nearly three meters tall, encased in an imposing suit of black-and-gold power armor. The polished plating reflected the sunlight like obsidian edged with molten gold, while crimson eyes burned from within its helmet like twin embers. Behind the armored warrior, vast violet-crimson energy wings unfurled with a low, ominous hum, their radiant glow casting long shadows across the blood-soaked beach. The air around the figure shimmered with overwhelming power, distorting the heat itself, as though reality struggled to contain the immense energy emanating from the armored giant.

Gripped tightly in the hands of the towering black Halochassis were two oversized magnum pistols, their reinforced frames gleaming beneath the harsh morning sunlight. One of them remained steadily aimed at Qinglong, unwavering and almost unnaturally still. Wisps of gray smoke curled lazily from the barrel, twisting into the salty sea breeze before disappearing into the sky. The acrid smell of burnt gunpowder drifted across the devastated café, mixing with the metallic scent of blood and the lingering sweetness of spilled coffee. Around them, shattered furniture, broken glass, and fragments of Sandy's remains littered the once-peaceful beachfront, transforming the idyllic scenery into a gruesome battlefield.

For a brief moment, Qinglong stood frozen.

His blood-covered hands trembled violently as they still clutched the severed hands of the woman he loved. His heart pounded against his ribs with unbearable force, every beat fueling the inferno growing inside him. Grief rapidly gave way to something far more primal. His sorrow ignited into uncontrollable rage.

A deafening roar erupted from his lungs.

The sound exploded across the shoreline like a living storm.

"AZAZEEEEEL!!!"

The sheer force behind the scream generated visible shockwaves that rippled through the air, sending beach umbrellas tumbling, café windows shattering, and nearby palm trees bending violently under the pressure. The ocean itself seemed to recoil as concentric waves spread across its surface, while frightened birds scattered into the sky in chaotic flocks.

High above the bloodstained sand, Azazel remained suspended effortlessly in the air.

Not a single movement betrayed emotion.

The Halochassis hovered silently, its crimson eyes glowing beneath the helmet like twin stars burning in the darkness. Violet-crimson energy wings pulsed behind him, scattering glowing particles that dissolved before reaching the ground.

"My bad," Azazel's cybernetic voice replied with chilling indifference, its metallic tone utterly devoid of sympathy. "I missed."

A brief pause followed.

"I was aiming at you."

Inside the armored cockpit, Shin wore a smug grin that stretched across his face. He watched Qinglong's anguish through the Halochassis' tactical display with undisguised satisfaction. Every desperate expression, every trembling movement, and every horrified scream fed the bitterness he had carried for months.

To him, Sandy's death was nothing more than repayment.

A petty act of vengeance.

Months ago, his closest friend had been taken from him, and ever since that day, anger had slowly consumed him from within. Watching Qinglong lose someone precious felt, in Shin's eyes, like justice finally balancing the scales.

Now...

They were even.

Or so he believed.

Qinglong cared nothing for revenge or fairness.

There was only fury.

Green spiritual energy exploded outward from his body in violent torrents, whipping the surrounding sand into a swirling vortex. The ground beneath his feet cracked under the pressure as emerald lightning danced across his skin. In his right hand, brilliant streams of dragonic energy converged before solidifying into his legendary spear. The jade-colored weapon materialized with a thunderous burst of power, its blade radiating an ancient aura while emerald flames spiraled around its shaft.

A single massive dragonic wing erupted from Qinglong's back, its emerald scales shimmering beneath the blazing sunlight. The enormous wing unfurled with a powerful gust that blasted sand and debris in every direction.

"RAAAAAAH!"

Without hesitation, Qinglong launched himself forward.

The beach beneath him exploded as his feet pushed off the ground, leaving behind a crater while he accelerated like a living missile. His spear pointed directly toward Azazel's heart, trailing a brilliant stream of emerald light that carved through the air.

Azazel merely watched.

"Triple Accel."

The words were barely louder than a whisper.

Instantly, the world slowed.

From Shin's perspective inside the Halochassis, everything around him became agonizingly sluggish. Individual grains of sand floated lazily through the air. Tiny droplets of seawater hung like suspended crystals. Qinglong's lightning-fast charge now resembled little more than a slow-motion sprint.

Azazel shifted gracefully to the left.

The dragon spear sliced through empty air, missing by mere centimeters.

Before Qinglong could react, Azazel's armored leg blurred forward.

One kick.

A metallic impact slammed into Qinglong's ribs with explosive force.

A second kick followed almost instantly, striking his abdomen and folding his body inward.

The third connected squarely with his chest, sending cracks racing through his reinforced muscles and launching fragments of blood into the air.

Before Qinglong could even recover from the barrage, Azazel raised one magnum pistol directly against his torso.

The trigger clicked.

BOOM.

The point-blank blast detonated like a cannon.

The reinforced magnum round tore through Qinglong's body with overwhelming force, vaporizing the entire left half of his torso. Flesh, muscle, ribs, and his entire left arm vanished in an explosion of blood and shattered bone that scattered across the beach.

"GRAAH!"

Qinglong crashed violently into the sand, skidding dozens of meters before finally stopping near the shoreline. Crimson blood poured from the gaping wound, flowing into the incoming waves until the seawater itself turned scarlet around him.

Yet even such catastrophic injuries could not kill the Eternal Dragon.

His Autonomous Regeneration activated immediately.

Green dragonic energy surged throughout his remaining body as muscles began weaving themselves together with frightening speed. Torn organs reformed, shattered bones fused together, and fresh flesh rapidly expanded over the exposed ribs. His left arm regenerated almost entirely within seconds, muscles twisting and rebuilding themselves before tendons reconnected to newly formed bone.

Only the skin had yet to finish restoring, leaving crimson muscles exposed beneath the salty ocean breeze.

Ignoring the pain entirely, Qinglong transferred his grip on the spear into his newly regenerated left hand and lunged forward with a sweeping slash powerful enough to split the air itself.

Azazel reacted instantly.

A translucent energy shield materialized around his forearm, humming with concentrated power.

The emerald spear slammed against the barrier.

A blinding flash erupted upon impact.

The collision generated a violent shockwave that blasted sand outward in a massive ring while seawater exploded into towering walls of white spray.

Azazel never lost his balance. Instead, he flowed seamlessly into a counterattack. His armored body spun with machine-like precision.

One devastating roundhouse kick slammed into Qinglong's ribs.

Another crashed into his shoulder.

A third struck his temple, snapping his head sideways.

Each impact echoed like steel colliding against reinforced armor, accompanied by bursts of sand and blood.

Before Qinglong could regain his footing, Azazel's pistol was already aimed at his abdomen.

Another thunderous gunshot split the air.

The reinforced round punched completely through Qinglong's stomach, leaving behind a fist-sized cavity where flesh and organs had once existed. Blood erupted from both sides of his body as the sheer force lifted him partially off the ground before he stumbled backward, clutching the massive hole in disbelief.

Qinglong gasped painfully, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

His emerald eyes widened.

"Those movements…" he muttered, breathing heavily as regeneration once again began stitching together the ruined flesh around his abdomen. "It's just like Lireina's Gun Kata..."

His expression shifted from confusion to suspicion.

"Just who the fuck are you!?"

The Halochassis remained motionless.

"I am your worst nightmare, Qinglong Yin," Azazel answered coldly.

His glowing crimson eyes narrowed.

"I am the angel of your girlfriend's death."

"FUCK YOU!"

The wound in Qinglong's abdomen sealed shut with astonishing speed as emerald scales briefly flickered beneath his skin before disappearing. His muscles tensed, veins glowing with dragonic energy, and with another furious roar he thrust his spear forward in a desperate attempt to impale the armored warrior.

Azazel activated Triple Accel once again.

Time slowed to a crawl.

He effortlessly sidestepped the spear's deadly thrust before channeling every ounce of power stored within the Halochassis into a single attack.

Hydraulic systems roared. Energy conduits glowed crimson. Mechanical servos screamed under maximum output. Then came the kick.

Azazel's armored leg struck Qinglong squarely across the jaw with overwhelming force. The impact sounded like a cannon firing.

Qinglong's head snapped violently to the side as several teeth shattered into the air. The sheer kinetic energy launched his entire body upward like a projectile, tearing through the sky while trailing blood behind him.

He soared hundreds of meters above the coastline before disappearing over the vast blue ocean.

A heartbeat later, his body crashed into the distant sea with an earth-shaking explosion, sending a colossal pillar of water roaring toward the heavens before waves rolled endlessly across the horizon.

For good measure, Azazel raised both of his magnum pistols toward the sky. Far beyond the beach, Qinglong's body was still suspended in midair, his trajectory carrying him over the glittering ocean. From the ground, he looked almost insignificant against the enormous blue sky, but the black Halochassis tracked him effortlessly through its targeting system. Twin targeting markers locked onto his position, following his movement with inhuman precision.

Azazel squeezed both triggers at the same time.

BOOM! BOOM!

The two magnum rounds erupted from their barrels with deafening cracks, accompanied by flashes of orange muzzle fire. The bullets tore through the air so violently that the surrounding atmosphere seemed to ripple around them. A pair of enormous shockwaves expanded from their paths as they broke the sound barrier, producing thunderous blasts that rolled across the coastline.

The projectiles reached Qinglong almost instantly.

Then everything disappeared into a crimson explosion.

The combined force of the two magnum rounds did far more than simply pierce his body. The bullets detonated with such overwhelming kinetic force that the shockwaves pulverized Qinglong's already battered form, ripping apart flesh, snapping bones, and scattering him into countless fragments. Blood and pieces of bone burst outward across the sky like a gruesome cloud, with some fragments falling toward the distant waves while others were carried away by the wind.

For several seconds, nothing remained of Qinglong's body. Only droplets of blood drifted through the air.

Azazel stared at the gruesome aftermath without moving.

"Regenerate from that, you piece of shit!"

His cybernetic voice echoed across the empty stretch of coastline.

Satisfied that the attack had landed, Azazel spread his massive violet-crimson energy wings. The wings gave off a deep mechanical hum as their energy intensified, illuminating the beach with an eerie glow. He flapped them once.

WHOOOM!

The force blasted sand, shattered furniture, and loose debris away from him.

Azazel shot into the sky.

His armored figure rapidly became smaller as he climbed above the coastline, leaving behind the ruined beach café and the devastation he had caused. The roar of his energy wings gradually faded into the distance until it was swallowed by the steady sound of the waves.

Ten minutes later, Azazel descended into a thick forest near West Cape Village.

The area was quiet and shaded, with towering trees blocking most of the afternoon sunlight. Damp earth filled the air with a rich, mossy smell, while leaves rustled softly overhead whenever the wind passed through the branches. Birds chirped from the canopy, seemingly unaware of the battle that had taken place only a short distance away.

Azazel landed silently on a patch of soft soil.

Shin remained inside the cockpit for another moment, calmly listening to the Halochassis' internal systems hum around him. The red glow of its energy core gradually faded as the armor entered its standby state.

"Slumber, Azazel."

The words served as the deactivation code.

Immediately, the enormous Halochassis began to fold.

Armor plates retracted with a series of precise mechanical clicks. The energy wings collapsed into streams of crimson-violet particles before disappearing completely. The bulky torso compressed inward, while the armored limbs folded into themselves with astonishing efficiency. Layer after layer of black and gold plating contracted until the three-meter-tall killing machine was reduced to something small enough to fit around a human hand.

Within moments, Azazel had become a sleek black glove.

Shin reached down and removed it from his hand.

He slipped the folded Halochassis carefully into his satchel, making sure it was hidden beneath his other belongings. Once the glove was safely secured, he brushed the dirt from his clothes and straightened his appearance. Anyone who happened to see him leaving the forest would have seen nothing more than an ordinary young man taking a peaceful walk near the village.

Shin then reached into his satchel and pulled out his pocket watch.

The polished metal casing felt cool against his fingers. With a soft click, he opened it and examined the hands.

"Three minutes ahead of schedule."

A satisfied smile appeared across his face.

"I never thought it would be this fast and easy."

He closed the pocket watch and slipped it back into his satchel.

His thoughts immediately turned toward Lireina and Croft.

"They must still be looking for souvenirs in the market."

Shin glanced toward the direction of West Cape Village, where faint sounds of merchants and villagers could already be heard beyond the trees.

"Better reunite with them before the news about Azazel arrives."

With that, Shin walked out of the forest.

By the time he reached the crowded streets of West Cape Village, his expression had completely returned to normal. He casually moved between villagers, tourists, and merchants as if nothing unusual had happened. Vendors called out to passing customers, children ran between market stalls, and the smell of grilled meat, fresh fruit, and baked pastries filled the warm afternoon air.

No one looked twice at him.

And no one knew that the polite young man quietly walking through the market was responsible.

Shin simply disappeared into the crowd, as ordinary as everyone else.

As though he had not just killed someone in broad daylight.