CHAPTER 428: RED BULL.

It all happened too fast. In the dimly lit corridors of the Red Garden mansion, A hulking monster appeared. Its size surpassed that of anyone in Rose’s crew, even with the power suits they wore. What’s more, it lacked the sharp edges and solid surfaces of the conventional machine, taking on a more organic form.

Though humanoid in shape, its arms were disproportionately large, each one as thick as a human torso. Bulging muscles lined every part of it, tightly wrapped in dark skin that seemed to banish the dim light and red fabric that only hid some parts.

Ben was the first to fall. He was swatted like a fly, sent flying dozens of meters by a single swing of the monster’s arm. Rose was frozen in her spot, pierced by the creature’s glowing crimson eyes. Its visage was nothing short of demonic, an idea made all the more apparent by the curved horns crowning its head.

As she pleaded with her body to move, watching the monster reach out to grab her, a sudden jolt sent her hurtling to the side, slamming into the floor.

[Gahh!!!]

The pained groan snapped Rose out of her daze. Rolling to her knees, she aimed and fired without hesitation. Several of her bullets struck their target, but all they did was send a few sparks flying as they bounced off the monster’s skin. Though it caused no damage to speak of, it managed to draw the creature’s attention. Not that it was anything to be happy about.

[Tsk!]

Rose let go of her weapon and spread her arms just in time to catch the captive flung at her by the monster. The gunfire resumed as she skidded through the corridor, ripping the carpets before coming to a halt.

[Lu!? You okay!?]

[I’m... I’m fine...]

His suit didn’t seem that damaged, but his voice said otherwise. Grinding her teeth, Rose placed him down and raised her weapon once more. A short distance away, the monster was one of the rifles aimed at it before swatting its wilder away. Bending it in half, it flung it at another one of their crewmate before turning to the rest.

Having had the chance to get a second look, Rose finally understood what they were up against. She had already anticipated his involvement since the moment she decided on the operation, though it still boggled her mind that he showed up so fast.

"Slow down, will ya?" Jason said. "We still need some alive."

"Can’t you see I’ve been holding back?"

Without a care in the world, he took the man he held with one hand and tossed him at the others, scattering them like bowling pins. As the previous year reached its end, a great change swept Red Hill as it became the latest District to get its own superhero team. Not just one or two Genomes, but a team of five led by a Level 4 that overpowered everything that might come his name. In the span of a single month, the team managed to crush most of the violent gangs and clean the streets of their filth. The name Crimson Watch became something feared by all, and carrying that reputation was none other than their leader, Red Bull.

"What’s up with them anyway?" The hero gestured in Rose’s direction, his eyes hidden behind his bandanna-like mask. "You telling me you were having trouble with this cheap stuff?"

"More like they sprang up on us out of nowhere." Sighing, Jason turned his gaze upward. "Sorry, but can you handle things over here? We have important guests staying the night, and I need to check if they’re safe. "

As if it was no big deal, Jason strained his arms and snapped the handcuffs tying his arms. Seeing him free himself with such ease left Rose baffled, but only for a moment. Coming back to her senses, she aimed and pulled the trigger.

One of the main rules of the mission was to avoid shooting when the target was within the line of fire. Unfortunately, they no longer had the luxury to follow that rule anymore. It seemed unlikely that they would be able to capture him live, so even though it hurt her to do this, she decided that the best course of action would be to dispose of the enemy while she still had the chance.

Things kept progressing toward a path that defied everything she wished for. A barrier came between her and the skull-faced man, and even though it was made entirely from flesh, the bullets she fired seemed to bounce off it, leaving nothing but a scratch behind.

"That tickles."

As he chuckled, Red Bull retracted the hand he used to guard Jason and stepped toward Rose.

[Fire!] She yelled.[Don’t let him get away!]

No sooner had she issued that command than the hulking monster cut the distance between them. His right foot shot out, tracing an arc through where her head should have been before coming down in a stump. Rose shifted her body just in time, then rolled away, pushing herself up before emptying her weapon in the hero’s face.

At this point, it should have been more than clear that bullets were ineffective against the genetically enhanced monster. It was a fact most people were aware of at this point.

Red Bull, the raging superhero, was a juggernaut that couldn’t be stopped with physical force. Not only did he possess inhumane strength, but his skin was tough enough to withstand damage dealt by most conventional weapons.

"You don’t know when to give up, huh?" Jason said, passing by as if unconcerned by what was happening before him.. "Guess we have no choice but to get rid of you."

Just as she locked onto him again, Red Bull stepped into her line of fire once more, taking on every bullet she fired as if they were nothing but water droplets plashed over his face. He shifted his body to block the bullets fired by the rest of the crew. Lu was up once more, his rifle trained on Jason’s back. His pressing the trigger didn’t just launch the bullet. It also caused the hero to shift in his direction just in time to block it.

No matter who fired, Red Bull seemed to move just in time to stop the gunfire from harming the skull-faced gangster who continued to walk unperturbed. He made it past Rose and Lu, continuing toward the face of the unbreakable wall. Rose racked her mind, looking for a way past the impenetrable wall.

No matter how many bullets they fired, all of them simply bounced off the hero. That called for a change of strategy. Reaching behind her, she grabbed a handle and pulled the only weapon that came attached to her power suit: a reinforced carbon knife, made from the same material as the suit’s shell.

A part of her doubted its capabilities, but at this point, she had no choice. Straining her enhanced muscles, she lunged at the horned heru, the knife in her hand already cutting through the air. Holding it in a backgrip, she aimed for one of the arteries on his neck, intending to cause as much damage as she could with a single stab.

"Useless!"

Red Bull lowered his head and caught the knife with his left horn. Far from dealing any damage, Rose’s knife chipped at the edge. Not letting up, she pulled back and stabbed again, this time aiming for an eye. Her opponent easily evaded and then kicked the floor, headbutting her in the stomach.

Rose didn’t take it, however. At the last moment, she let go of the knife and swung her body upward, balancing herself on the hero’s head. As she fell behind him, she grabbed the rifle slung over her shoulder and aimed at the back of his head.

That was it. Level 4 or not, there was no surviving a point-blank shot at the base of one’s skull. It was a fatal shot, or it should have been. The bullet took off with a bang, but what it struck wasn’t the hero but the floor a few feet away.

The world around Rose suddenly shifted, blurring as it rotated several times. When she finally hit the floor and the jolt pain spread from her left flank, she realized that the hero had countered her move and delivered a strike of his own, swatting her midair as if she were an insect and nothing more.

The power suit absorbed most of the damage, and the nanofiber in her muscles took care of the rest. Nevertheless, that proved to be insufficient. When her body hit the wall a moment later, the shock spreading through her body rattled her innards, instantly flooding her nerves with blinding pain.

As her body slid down to the floor, the rattling of gunfire reached her from a dozen meters away. Her sight had lost its sharpness, giving her only blurry images from the carnage up ahead.

The hero went through her crew one by one, tanking their bullets and slamming them into the walls and floor. A moment of clarity gave her a glimpse of what lay beyond that chaos, and though her eyes didn’t see that far, she was somehow able to meet Jason’s eyes as he turned to take one last look at them.

"H-HELP!!!"

A shout echoed through the noise filling the corridor, bringing everything to a momentary halt. Drawn by it, Jason turned to look behind him just as a naked man rushed past him, only to tumble and fall. As the black faced man turned to look in the direction he came from, a faint orange glow painted his skull-like visage.