Chapter 409 — Take Care Of Them

Damian ran as his boots hit pavement, cracked rubble and shattered glass across the roads. Above him, the protective spheres floated through the night air.

Blood kept running down his face, but he didn’t slow down.

’There should be more shadow council members... Only S ranks wouldn’t come...’

Macro Vision activated with a thought with his perception expanding outward.

The skill was quite taxing for his current mental capabilities, but stopping wasn’t an option.

Not when assassins could be anywhere.

Movements registered at the edge of his eyes, sharp against the chaos of fleeing civilians.

Three figures on a rooftop maybe four hundred meters away, their hands moving as they raised weapons.

’Snipers... B ranks based on the Aura signatures...’

Not powerful enough to threaten him directly, but–

’Their target is Elizabeth’s sphere...’

His hand shot out mid-stride as Telekinesis wrapped around concrete chunks scattered across the street, pieces rising into the air towards his hand.

His Aura flooded into them, coating the stones in crimson energy that compressed until they gleamed like polished metal.

The snipers were lining up shots, fingers tightening on triggers, completely focused on Elizabeth.

Damian’s arm launched all the stones simultaneously.

CRACK CRACK CRACK

The projectiles blurred across the distance, moving faster than the snipers could possibly react.

The first sniper felt pressure against his rifle barrel for a fraction of a second before the Aura-infused rock punched straight through the metal and continued into his face.

’What the–’

BAM

His skull exploded from the inside out, brain matter and bone spraying across the rooftop.

The second sniper’s head started to turn toward the sound–

’Wh–’

BAM

–And the stone entered through his open mouth, passed through the soft palate and brain stem, then emerged from the back of his skull with enough force to crater the building behind him.

BANG

The third sniper pulled the trigger, training overriding panic.

The rifle recoiled against his shoulder, then the Aura-coated stone arrived, punching through the barrel mid-fire.

BOOM

The weapon exploded in his hands, shrapnel tearing through his fingers.

’IMP–’

The stone continued its trajectory into his forehead, drilling through bone and grey matter before exiting the back of his head in a spray of blood and skull fragments.

His body toppled backward off the roof’s edge, hitting the street below with a wet crunch.

Damian didn’t break stride, his Telekinesis already gathering more projectiles as Macro Vision swept for additional threats.

More Movements appeared three blocks ahead, inside a building marked with Mafia symbols.

Low rank Shadow Council operatives were executing his people.

Sonic Blink

The world blurred as Damian appeared inside the safehouse mid-step, his momentum carrying him forward into the room where three black-robed figures stood over corpses.

Blood pooled across the floor, bodies scattered like discarded trash, and the air reeked of death.

His hand caught the first hostile by the throat before the man could turn, fingers digging into flesh hard enough to collapse the windpipe.

Gurgle... gurgle...

The operative’s eyes went wide behind his mask, hands coming up to claw at Damian’s wrist.

Damian’s other hand drove into the man’s chest, fingers punching through ribs like they were paper, wrapping around the still-beating heart.

He ripped it free in a spray of blood and torn muscle.

The body convulsed once, arterial spray painting Damian’s face, then went limp.

Thud

He dropped the corpse without looking, already turning toward the second hostile.

The second man raised his hand, his weapon clattering to the floor.

"Wait! I surrender! I–"

Damian closed the distance in one step, his hand shooting out to grab the man’s face.

’Die!’

His fingers dug into the operative’s skull, thumb and middle finger pressing against temples.

CRACK

He crushed inward with brutal force, the skull collapsing like an eggshell under his grip.

Brain matter and bone fragments squished between his fingers as the body went limp.

Thud

The corpse hit the floor.

The third operative was already moving, trying to slip toward a back entrance while Damian was distracted.

Damian’s hand shot out, Telekinesis wrapping around the man’s collar and yanking him backward.

The operative crashed into Damian’s grip, his momentum stopped cold.

"P-please–"

Damian slammed him against the wall hard enough to crack plaster, his forearm pressing across the man’s throat.

"Is the Mafia headquarters under attack?"

His voice came out flat and cold.

The operative’s eyes darted left and right, looking for escape routes that didn’t exist, his mouth staying clamped shut.

Damian leaned in closer, his crimson eyes locking onto the man’s face.

Blood from earlier kills dripped from his chin, painting him in gore, his voice coming out in a soft whisper.

"You’ve heard about me, right? You should know what I like to do."

The operative’s breathing quickened, panic bleeding through his training.

"I like to eat."

Slaughter Intent leaked from Damian’s eyes, a brief pulse of killing pressure that made the operative’s bladder release.

The man’s whole body went rigid, every survival instinct screaming that death was staring at him through crimson eyes.

"Y-yes!"

The word came out strangled and desperate.

"T-the main force is at the headquarters! M-multiple A ranks! W-we were just sent to attack other buildings! P-please, I don’t–"

Damian’s hand tightened on the operative’s throat.

CRUNCH

The body slumped to the floor and Damian turned away, stepping over corpses as he moved back toward the street.

The floating spheres continued their steady movement outside, Yara’s Sanctuary Spheres glowing faintly in the darkness.

’I can’t take them towards the headquarters.’

Damian angled away, toward the district where the Mafia core members’ families lived.

Suddenly, a memory hit him without warning, brutal and visceral.

Walking into that house months ago, finding Zavier’s father eaten...

That was the reason he had moved everyone to Tranquil City, but now...

’Please don’t let anything happen to them...’

He kept running, Macro Vision sweeping continuously for threats.

More movement appeared ahead, Mafia members fighting desperately against overwhelming numbers.

Some fell as he watched, cut down by blades or burned by Aura skills.

Others saw him approaching, saw the floating spheres above and saw the blood covering his face.

"IT’S THE BOSS!"

The shout came from a C rank enforcer bleeding from a dozen cuts, his eyes going wide with disbelief.

"HE’S ALIVE! THE BOSS IS ALIVE!"

Other voices picked it up, spreading through the chaos like wildfire.

"I TOLD YOU HE WOULDN’T DIE!"

"THE GODFATHER’S BACK!"

Damian passed them without slowing, his focus locked on keeping the spheres stable while maintaining Macro Vision.

Some Mafia members started following, their slower pace meaning they’d never keep up, but the hope in their voices chased him through burning streets.

The residential district came into view ahead, the cluster of houses where core members’ families lived.

Thump...thump...

Damian’s heart started hammering against his ribs.

The district was completely silent, despite the chaos throughout the city.

An oppressive quiet that made his skin crawl.

His steps slowed despite the urgency burning in his chest.

’Zavier’s house was quiet too... Right before I found them...’

His subconscious actively avoided using perception, terrified of what he might sense if he looked too closely.

Thud Thud Thud

Then he entered the district with his boots touching clean pavement.

And saw a figure standing in the center of the street fifty meters ahead, with his back turned and sword in hand dripping blood onto concrete.

At his feet lay a body in black robes, the mask cracked and broken.

More bodies were scattered around him, maybe a dozen in total, all wearing Shadow Council colors.

The figure turned slowly, making Damian realize who it was...

’James Kael!’

Edrin’s father stood covered in blood that wasn’t his own, sword still raised in a defensive position despite the threats already being eliminated.

His Aura radiated with intensity that made the air shimmer, the signature marking him solidly A- rank.

’He was a B ranker from what I remember... probably broke through during the red sky...’

Behind James, clustered near the houses with weapons drawn, stood more figures.

Ronan’s parents, both alive, his father’s massive frame blocking his mother from any potential threat.

Lysa’s parents, Donald and Elaine Morwen hiding behind a wall.

Ariana’s parents, Takeshi and Yuki Sterling, standing back-to-back holding guns.

And others, maybe two dozen more adults, all parents of Mafia members who’d joined the organization through their children’s involvement.

All alive and safe under James Kael’s protection.

"THE MONSTER’S ALIVE!"

Gerard Hale’s voice boomed across the distance, his excitement cutting through the tension.

"I TOLD YOU BASTARDS! I TOLD YOU HE WOULDN’T DIE!"

SMACK

Mira Hale’s hand connected with the back of his head hard enough to make him stumble.

"Stop calling him that, you idiot!" Her voice came out sharp despite the relief bleeding through. "And of course he’s alive... With his luck, he was probably in another portal."

"The parents turned toward Damian, their eyes tracking upward to the thousands of floating spheres.

"Woah!"

"It’s the orphanage children!"

"The biggest blast was from that area... thankfully they are safe!"

James Kael’s sword lowered slowly, his eyes moving from the spheres to Damian’s bloody face and back again.

His lips moved, the whisper somehow carrying perfectly in the silence.

"Did you... carry them all?"

Relief flooded through Damian so intensely his knees almost buckled.

’They are alive.’

The parents were safe, the district was intact and nobody else was dead.

His Telekinesis released all at once, the mental strain cutting off like a severed rope.

And the spheres descended in a controlled drop, settling onto pavement with soft thuds until all of them rested on solid ground.

Inside them, children pressed their faces against the translucent walls with tears streaming down their cheeks.

Staff members looked shell-shocked, their faces pale with exhaustion and terror.

Granny Helena sat, looking at Damian through her barrier with an expression too complex to name.

Elizabeth remained unconscious and Castor’s eyes remained closed, it was hard to know if he was unconscious or just trying to heal.

Thud

Damian’s legs gave out completely, dropping him to one knee on blood-stained concrete.

His breathing came in ragged gasps, exhaustion crashing over him in waves.

"Take care of them." His voice came out rough and raw. "I need to go to headquarters."

’Stupid Human, Let’s kill them all!’

Kuro materialized from his shadow without being called, expanding to his larger size with wings spreading wide.

Damian pulled himself onto the raven’s back with movements that felt like they belonged to someone else.

"WAIT!"

Gerard’s voice cracked across the distance.

"That’s where the main force is! We’ve been hearing explosions from that direction!" He took a step forward. "You can’t–"

Whoosh

Before he could finish, Kuro had already vanished into the night sky.

The parents stood in silence, watching the raven disappear.

"Is he going to be alright?"

Mira’s voice came out soft.

"Don’t underestimate him." James turned to face them fully. "That boy could probably kill ten of me without breaking a sweat."

Silence fell across the group.

The explosions in the distance grew louder, the night sky flashing with colors.