CHAPTER 429: FIRE.

Jason leaned back in his seat, the faint light cast by the fireplace illuminating his surroundings. In his hands, he held a small gray box. It was rectangular in shape, long, and flat, made from mundane materials that could be found anywhere. Looking at it, one could never guess that it contained one of the most powerful weapons the world has ever seen.

This was far from the first time Jason held such a box. In the past few months alone, a dozen or so found their way to his possession. His interest came and went, going from being impressed by the kind of powers a single capsule contained to being disappointed at the lack of choice and the short duration of each of the effects.

It was to be expected. A miracle drug that could turn one into a Genome was bound to have some drawbacks, and considering the other possibilities, a time limit was more than welcome.

As he continued to stare at the box, something else entered Jason’s sight. The maids he forgot to dismiss were still in the room, lined up a short distance away, their gaze pinned to the floor. Looking at them, then at the box, the idea of testing the drug on them came to mind. The result differed from one person to another, so he was a little curious about the kind of powers the little girls would get.

BAMM!

A tremor spread through the ceiling, shattering the thought occupying Jason’s mind. Looking up, he noticed the gentle swaying of the chandelier. Tonight was one of the rare occasions when the mansion was entirely booked. Each room on the upper floor was occupied, and considering the status of each occupant, sudden noise couldn’t possibly be a good sign.

The very instant he heard the commotion above, Jason knew that they were under attack. He didn’t make the mistake of thinking it wasn’t anything big, and because of that, he was quick to whip out his phone and send a message to his strongest backer. Nevertheless, even with him reacting almost immediately, it would still take that person a few minutes to arrive.

Realizing he needed time to buy some time, Jason was about to rush out of the room. That was when he recalled the gray box he had left on the chair. As he stared at it, another tremor ran through the ceiling, helping him make up his mind. He grabbed the box, popped it open, and took one of the blue capsules it stored. Hearing the sound of his swallowing, he pocketed the box and strode toward the exit with confident steps.

That confidence was put to the test when he was made to realize he had walked straight into an ambush. His guards were paralyzed, then executed, and before he knew it, he too was kicked to the floor.

It wasn’t long before he figured out that he was the target of the intruders, and realizing they had no intention of killing him on the spot, he decided to probe them for information. It didn’t go a well as he would have liked, but it didn’t matter. Once this mess was dealt with, he could take his sweet time interrogating whoever was left in one piece.

Red Bull arrived soon enough, and as expected, he dealt with the intruders in no time. Their power suits revealed that they weren’t a part of Daggers, so Jason figured they belonged to this third party that had been causing trouble for both them and their rival gang.

The intruders were persistent, that’s for sure. Even in the face of a Level 4 Genome, they still didn’t give in to despair and continued to fight, refusing to put down their weapons and plead for their lives.

Be that a it may, it was only a matter of time before they’re subdued. Jason had a more pressing matter to worry about. It wasn’t that the chaos upstairs had vanished when the intruders ambushed him. Quite the opposite, in fact. Not only did he hear multiple gunshots, but the fading screams told him that whoever was up there had already claimed more than one victim.

Jason knew he had to be careful. If the invader was who he suspected him to be, his end might come running the instant he climbed those stairs. Nevertheless, he couldn’t afford to cower while his guest’s lives were in danger. He also had the dolls to worry about.

"H-HELP ME!"

Just as he faced the stairs to the third floor, a panicked voice reached him from their end. He recognized the voice, and he recognized its owner. No sooner had a face flashed in his mind than he was flashed with something else. One could understand someone not having the chance to put on some pants in an emergency, but that didn’t make the sight any less disturbing.

Whether by luck or not, a bright light shone from behind the naked man, creating a shadow deep enough to hide his private parts. Just as he felt a hint of relief in his heart, Jason came to learn what the source of that light was and quickly jumped back into the corridor he had come from.

The next instant, a torrent of flames spilled from above, flooding the stairs and continuing down to the first floor.

"GHYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The naked man, having tumbled down the stairs, reached out with horror coloring his face. The flames swallowed him whole, drawing a tortured scream out of him as they devoured his flesh. In the orange wall created by the torrent, he appeared like nothing more than a dark silhouette; a messy scribble drawn by a child using a piece of charcoal.

"What in the world..."

The flames had brought the fighting to a stop, and both Red Bull and the intruders stopped moving, confusion apparent in the way they gazed at the incinerated corpse. Even as the fires stopped and the creaming was cut, they remained standing in their place, not daring to even twitch.

Having escaped the fire by a hair’s breadth, Jason wanted nothing more than to pull back and distance himself from the burning stairs. A sound other than the crackling of embers froze him in place. It was a faint clang—a metallic ring that seemed to reach the ear no matter the barrier. Another one followed, and when the third rang, it became clear that what they heard was footsteps. Heavy footsteps.

Each one was louder than the rest, signaling the arrival of their source. No one dared to move as it approached, all eyes pinned to the corner from which its form was bound to emerge.

A walking furnace, large and bulky with segmented plating overlayed on a charred frame that spewed flames from between the gaps. Its head was a sight to behold. Though clearly molded with human hands, its visage matched that of monsters from legends, with glowing golden eyes housing burning wrath and jaws made to crush anything and everything touched by the flames it spewed.

The creature was made from metal and was roughly shaped like a human. It being one seemed all the more unlikely a moment later as it raised its right arm to reveal a second head. With a glint in its eyes and embers spilling from between its fangs, the second head spread its jaws, casting a range glow over everything standing before it. Everyone who saw it knew the flames were about to come, but among them, only one knew how to react.

Red Bull kicked the floor with everything he got, blasting through the corridor like a speeding train. Braving the tongue of flame, he slammed head straight into the walking furnace and kept going, holding it with his log-like arms until they reached the window at the end of the corridor—the same window he had arrived from.