Rise of the Crusader
Chapter 71

71 Finale

Raphael’s eyebrows furrowed when he saw the tall man who had just appeared. And when he heard Aliyah, his mouth opened slightly.

“Don’t move.” It wasn’t just Raphael who reacted when he saw the tall man, but Gus also reacted. Gus was perhaps about to make a move when Raphael’s voice rang out.

Meanwhile, after the man appeared, a bone-chilling smile hung on his face. He didn’t stare at Gwendolyn or Ivy, instead, he had eyes fixed on Raphael and Aliyah.

“The S-rank wasn’t lurking around the area, he is inside the bunker,” Raphael muttered.

The tall man suddenly took a step forward, he cracked both his knuckles and then said, “I can tell that you have a relationship with these two over there. So, you have the two choices.”

“The first is you tell me where the briefcase is, and who sent you here, and I will reward you with a quick and not painful death.” He said, “Second, you still tell me who sent you here, and where the briefcase is, and I will grant you a slow, cruel as well as brutal end.”

“Before you answer, I want you to think very deeply because you won’t get any other chance to.”

When Raphael and Aliyah heard the man, the both of them couldn’t help but glance at one another. There was no exchange of words between the both of them, but the way they stared at one another, it was as though they were communicating telepathically.

Suddenly, Raphael nodded his head, and a second after, Aliyah waved her hand at the muscular man who was still on his knees.

.....

“Kill him!” Aliyah stated.

As the muscular man heard Aliyah, he stood from the ground. He turned around, and as he stared at the tall man, his eyes glowed with killing intent.

With his hands then clenched into tight fists, he dashed forward. In less than ten seconds, he had already appeared in front of the tall man and was about to strike a full-force blow to him when he suddenly fell to the ground.

“Hahaha!” As the muscular man collapsed to the floor, what followed after was a burst of laughter from the man in front of him.

As the tall man withdrew his hand which had just penetrated deeply into the muscular man, an intestine was pulled out as well. And despite having blood all over his hand, and a human organ in his hand, a smile still hung on the tall man’s face.

“I’m going to take that as you prefer the second choice.” The man said.

Before Raphael and Aliyah could even react, the man had already appeared in front of them. He bombarded Raphael’s body with a series of punches and gave an upper that had Raphael flying away, the finishing touch.

Aliyah had managed to move several steps backward, she was about to take another step when the man grabbed her by the neck and slammed her body to the ground.

“Pffftt!” Blood flew out from her mouth in an arc manner, and as the man tightened his grip on her neck, the sound of bones cracking could be heard from Aliyah.

Aliyah attempted to break free from the man’s hold, but all her effort were in vain, as he had her locked in tight. Aliyah’s eyes began to twitch, and her hands began to lose their strength.

Suddenly, the man pulled Aliyah from the ground, “I promised you a cruel, and brutal end. This isn’t it.” He said. “I’m just getting sta-” Before the man could finish his words, his body shook violently and his eyes widened.

With the man in that state, Aliyah didn’t wait for a second, and she immediately hurried backward.

Slowly, the tall man’s gaze went to his lower body, and as he saw the blood that was profusely oozing out of his lower body, he staggered several steps backward. He raised his head, staring at Aliyah, and his eyes glowed with a frightening amount of killing intent.

Earlier, when the tall man pulled Aliyah up, he didn’t realize it, but he had let his guards down slightly. And with a chance to attack him, even if it was little, Aliyah chose not to let it slip.

“I... I will kill you!!!” The man yelled. The attack he suffered from Aliyah wasn’t on the outer surface, but instead, she had rooted the dagger really deep into his groin.

He had to be the luckiest man alive as if Aliyah had moved her hand a little further she would have struck his jewels.

As he removed the dagger from his lower region, his body shook as though he were experiencing a seizure. During that moment, the killing intent he had around him didn’t lessen it, and instead, it increased a lot.

Aliyah frowned deeply, and she quickly assumed a battle stance.

“Ugh!” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Aliyah turned towards the direction that voice was coming from, and when she saw who it was that spoke, her mouth opened slightly. It wasn’t only Aliyah that reacted. The expression on the tall man’s face changed.

As Raphael stood from the floor, he stretched his body a little, before taking off the black trench coat he was wearing. After removing the black trench coat, the blacktop came off as well, leaving only a white vest.

“The vest.” The man mumbled in a low voice.

After those blows he struck, the tall man had believed that more than half of the bones in Raphael’s body would have broken if not destroyed. So, when Raphael stood without any uneasiness, he couldn’t help but be bewildered.

The concern was, however, quickly cleared when he saw that vest.

“It might have saved you last time, but I can assure you that you won’t be spared this time around.” The tall man exclaimed.

And in response, Raphael sneered. “I don’t intend on using it to deal with you.” With that said, and Raphael took the vest off.

Raphael then stared at Gus that just sat on his shoulder, “I know we agreed on not using that move again, but we really don’t have any other choice.” Raphael said.

Gus nodded its head, and a second after Raphael spoke, it immediately leaped onto Raphael’s head. “Let’s get this over with, we have wasted so much time.”

The tall man had no idea what it is Raphael wanted to do, but there was no way he would sit around, and wait for it to happen. He was about to move when a voice rang out.

“What do you think you’re doing!!”

Whether it was the tall man or Raphael, both of them paused when they heard that voice. The tall man moved his gaze to Gwendolyn and Ivy, and he took a step forward, appearing in front of them.

“I don’t know if I should call you foolish or brave, but you must be insane if you think you would win against an S-rank metahuman.” It was Gianna that spoke.

Raphael flashed a light smile when he heard Gianna, he shook his head, and Gus went back onto his shoulder. Raphael picked up his black trench coat and wore it with a rather relief smile on his face.

“Hmm, you can impress her some other way, but not while you’re working with me. I won’t have the academy punish me for your reckless behavior.” Gianna smirked, “Now let me take care of this.”

“Very good!” The tall man exclaimed, after which he threw the ice pack away.

“Killing the five of you will be more fun.”

“Oh really, you still think you’re the only S-rank metahuman here.” Gianna stared at the tall man with an expression of mockery. She showed the tall man the numbers which were on her wristwatch, and when he saw it, he staggered backward.

Gianna smiled and then moved toward Hector and Arturo. She placed a blue pill into both of them and had them swallow it, before moving away from them.

As for the tall man, he glanced at the surrounding. While he didn’t consider Aliyah and Raphael to be much of a threat, he had to rethink the situation now that he saw the massive figures on the wristwatch.

“What’s taking them so long.” The tall man mumbled. He stared at Gwendolyn and Ivy before saying, “I’m going to need the both of you to leave. When I say the word, you have to run like your life depends on it.”

While Gwendolyn’s eyebrows furrowed when she heard those words, she still nodded her head.

The tall man’s mouth opened slightly, he seemed to want to speak when Gianna’s voice rang out ahead of him. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“And if she is to move an inch from where she is, I can’t guarantee her safety. The only aspect we need from her is the power she possesses, after that, any other thing is irrelevant. She might lose her hands and legs, so long as she can use her powers it’s fine with us.”

“But I can’t say you would want a situation like that.” Gianna folded her hands across her chest, “It would definitely make the head news, the daughter of the chairman of guardian academy was incapacitated right in front of the academy.”

“That can never happen!” The tall man yelled.

Gianna shook her head, “If the both of us to fight it out, are you certain that you would be able to protect her from my friends?” Gianna asked.

“You shouldn’t have to think about any of these. I’m giving you a solution to this chaos that would befall her if we were to fight. The chairman wouldn’t be happy if he were to hear that you could have prevented his daughter from losing both hands and legs, but you didn’t.”

“Instead, you chose to fight with us. And also, I can tell that you’re trying to buy yourself some time, but I can as well inform you, that nobody is coming here.”

The tall man bit his lips hard and clenched his hands into a tight fist. He stared at Ivy before saying, “Fine, I agree. But, you better not lay a hand on her, or else I will shred you into pieces.”

“Hahaha!!! That’s the spirit.” Gianna blurted.

“Grab her and let’s go.”

Seeing, Dwayne who was walking toward Ivy, Gwendolyn quickly stood in front of Ivy, only for her to be pulled back by the tall man. The man glared at her, “Control yourself!”

When Dwayne appeared in front of Ivy, he tied her with a rope and pulled her forward.

“You see that wasn’t so bad. We shouldn’t have to spill blood all the time before we get what we want.” Gianna said and then began walking towards the exit door.

BANG!

A few seconds after Gianna and everyone left the bunker, Gwendolyn kicked one of the chairs in the bunker. “What the hell!!! Are you just going to let them get away with this? We can’t let them have her.” Gwendolyn exclaimed.

“Calm down, Gwendolyn. I have already informed the academy, that they won’t let them leave the city. I’m certain.”

If Gianna were here, she would have burst into laughter because of what the man said. As he had no idea that all the messages he had been sending didn’t get to the academy.

Every one of the messages he sent was intercepted and deleted halfway.