Chapter 160: Chapter 160: The Predator Under the Water
"Shit..."
Hannah knew these woods like it was the back of her hand. But it would seem, however, that their enemies knew it too. She made sure to lead the Baby Crew through a hidden path, and yet as soon as they stepped back out into the unpaved road... someone was waiting for them there.
And judging how similar the mask covering his face is to December’s, he was clearly one of the Months.
It was subtle, but there was a small insignia right between the brows of the mask. It was too small to discern, however.
...And this wasn’t exactly the time to be assessing the aesthetic choices of their enemy, but rather the situation.
They were completely in the dark about what their enemies were capable of, but the opposite couldn’t be said the same. These people have already studied them and even had inside information about when and where they would be.
Hannah was confident about being able to survive, and even win... but that was if there was only her and Riley here.
Admittedly, while the Baby Crew had some sort of weird synergy going on, even though they hadn’t trained together, it was far from being enough.
One wrong move, and someone would be badly hurt. Killed.
There was only one opponent in front of them—should... she just stop holding back and... kill someone? She—
"Sister."
"Huh?" Hannah blinked a couple of times, feeling her brother’s grip on her hand tightening. She looked at him, only to see the look of disappointment on his face.
"You are thinking too much, Sister," he said. "Do not."
Hannah stared at him for a few more moments before turning her focus back to the masked man in front of them. The man was about to speak, but Hannah’s loud voice interrupted him.
"Pauline, I need you to detect if there is anyone else within the area! Tomoe, form a wall behind us! Bella, metal. Gracey, V. Do whatever the fuck you guys want!"
And with those orders, Riley stepped away from Hannah—just in time for the air to distort around her. The robes and dress she was wearing, melting and burning away from the sheer heat seeping out from her skin. The muscles lining across her thighs revealed themselves, and her toned collar bones started to etch—but not for long.
Her entire body soon lit up, blocking everything there was to see. Well, it didn’t matter, as her swimsuit was fully intact due to the fact that it was specifically made for her by Bernard.
The man from the Dark Millennium couldn’t even utter a single word before Hannah flew toward her like a raging ball of fire. No, not like, she truly was a ball of fire.
"Two people! On your three and ten o’clock and approaching!"
Hannah halted in the air, and the fire surrounding her body flew outward just in time as two other figures jumped at her.
The heat she released was enough to completely scorch the ground, and the sand that was still on her from playing on the lagoon soon turned into clumps of glass that flew everywhere. The two shadows who joined in retreated as quickly as they arrived.
Before they could hide back into the trees, however, they found their path obstructed by Gracey and V.
Gracey quickly got a hold of both of them, while V squinted as she felt static electricity somewhere on their heads. She looked closer, only to see some sort of device attached to their temples. She didn’t even think twice, snapping her finger and releasing a small, precise bolt of electricity toward the small devices.
"Pauline?! Those were blockers, right?!" she shouted. Pauline was slightly confused at first, but she soon gasped, gritting her teeth as she delved into the minds of her enemies.
"Grah!"
The two masked men screamed in horror, causing Gracey to quickly let go of them before casually kicking them to the side.
"Y-you didn’t need to do that!" Pauline shouted, watching as the two villains slid across the rough and damp ground before slamming their backs into a large tree.
"That’s true," Gracey replied with a smirk. "But I wanted to."
The two villains began to struggle and clasped their heads in pain, but they weren’t the only ones struggling—Pauline was too.
After all, whatever visions she was sending to her enemies, she was seeing them too. It would’ve been alright if it were just that, but the main problem was...
"I... I can’t hold onto it anymore!" She hugged her arms tight, and her eyes began to redden—one of the downsides of her abilities. And no, she wasn’t straining physically.
But she was feeling what her target was feeling, and since she was controlling two of them, she felt both of their fears and pain.
"I got you!" Bella stood in front of her, waving her hands toward their enemies, and as she did so, a... rope of metal looped around the two villains. The other members of the Baby Crew wondered where it came from, but they soon saw the bits and pieces of the motorcycle they rented scattered everywhere on the ground.
And as if that wasn’t enough to restrain them, Tomoe placed her palm on the floor and summoned a cage of crystal to trap the two.
And now, once again, the Month was alone.
This all happened in the span of a few seconds. The Month hadn’t even introduced itself.
He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t do anything, however.
Riley was in the same position. He just stood there the entire time, watching everyone do their thing.
Well, not exactly.
He was standing, but he was doing so quite... menacingly.
But just for the Month. How could he not think Riley menacing when he recognized his voice from his earpiece?
The villain didn’t even care that his subordinates were taken care of instantly. In fact, they weren’t even in his vision.
All he could see was Riley Ross.
"You..." the Month finally whispered, his hand slowly pointing toward Riley. "...What—"
"What do you think you’re trying to do?!"
Before he could say what he wanted, Hannah grabbed him from behind, wrapping her arm around his neck. The sound of his flesh and skin being torched, whispering in the air.
Hannah then pressed a finger on the blocker on the man’s temples before glancing at Pauline, who quickly pierced through the villain’s mind to neutralize him.
She did, however, have to grit through the pain of also having her neck mentally scorched.
And just like that, the Month was defeated.
And while all of this happened, the other Month was already inside a completely metal room.
"I can’t contact June anymore," December said, her eyes reflecting the numerous screens in front of her, which showed a map of the island. "He’s gone. We need to go now, Captain."
She looked at the old man standing behind her, and the captain immediately nodded before stepping out of the room. She then glanced down at the still unconscious Warslugger, whom she had just carelessly placed down on the cold floor.
"Another operation has failed," she whispered, placing her slightly chubby hand on her chin before focusing on a single monitor. A monitor that had Riley’s profile displayed on it.
"Once again, because of you. Has this organization truly planned for this for years? It—"
[Ms. December! There’s something approaching us at high speed!]
A whistle broke through the room before December could finish talking to herself, followed by the sound of the captain’s voice.
[Ms. December! There’s something approaching us at high speed! Sending you the feed now!]
December quickly turned her eyes toward the feed they sent her. And while it was extremely blurry, due to the simple fact that the feed was... underwater, it was extremely clear to December what she was seeing.
To the captain and the rest of the crew, however, it wasn’t.
[Is that... a person? Zoom it in!] the captain hurriedly said. [But we’re... 900 meters?]
Yes. They were in a submarine, 900 meters below the surface.
And currently, there was someone swimming toward them.
[That... what is that? A kid?!]
December’s eyes widened as the feed zoomed in right onto Riley’s face.
And he still had the very same expression. He was smiling.
From the deep darkness of the ocean, only his white face could be seen.
Approaching them.
[What do we do, Ms. December?!]
"How fast can this submarine go, Captain?"
[Not fast enough to get away from whatever that is!]
"Okay..." December whispered, sighing as she nodded. She then once again glanced at Warslugger before closing her eyes and saying,
"Then may whatever god you pray to save you all."
[What do you—]
And without even any warning, December propelled herself forward.
Forward, into the monitors.
Forward, into the walls.
And forward, into the deep, dark ocean.
This deep, dark ocean, which violently entered through the submarine from the hole that December created.
Warslugger’s body was crumpled in an instant.
As for December, well, she didn’t even look back at the descending submarine behind her. Her body continued to propel forward and up. Not stopping at all, even as she reached the surface of the ocean—with only her head seen outside, like an alligator.
But she didn’t really need to look back at all...
...to know that the predator under the water was still stalking her.