CHAPTER 195: CAUGHT

With the sound of tires screeching, the truck crashed halfway through the wooden fence and came to a halt.

"Ugh!" Kairos let out a strange sound as the sudden stop hurled him forward, his head smashing into the windshield with a dull thud before slumping back into his seat.

He instantly felt dizzy as a warm trickle of blood oozed down his brow into his eyes. His vision blurred, barely able to make out the unconscious body of the driver slumped to the side.

Groaning, he shoved the driver off the wheel and fumbled for the door handle.

No matter what, he had to get out of here! He couldn’t allow that monster to catch him.

Adrenaline pumped through the young boss’s veins as the image of Bai Young’s death replayed in his mind.

But right now, it seemed even the universe was against him. The door was jammed from the impact. He slammed his shoulder into it a couple of times before it finally gave way.

Stumbling out, Kairos spat a mouthful of blood and forced himself upright, ignoring the intense pain burning through his body.

"Dammit... my shoulder’s broken," he cursed loudly.

As the youngest of his family, Kairos had been shielded his entire life. He had never trained or fought monsters to grow stronger.

He always believed his brothers would bail him out. Until they sent him here.

’I promise, if I survive this, I’ll get serious with life and stop partying!’ he prayed desperately to any deity that might care to listen.

The fence gate was destroyed, and beyond it stretched the open wasteland. If he could slip away, maybe—just maybe—he could reach the Eastern camp in time.

Kairos limped forward. His right knee was damaged, every step sending bolts of pain up his leg.

"Just a little further," he muttered under his breath. The afternoon sun blazed on the horizon, bathing the wilderness in hues of gold.

Under any other circumstances, it would have been a beautiful scene. But for Kairos? It was just the countdown to his demise.

Suddenly, his scalp tingled and his blood ran cold. He sensed a presence behind him.

"Going somewhere?" A cold, ominous voice cut through the silence.

’That voice... it’s him!’ Kairos felt his heart skip a beat. A naive part of him even wished it was just his imagination.

When he turned around, all hope drained away.

Gabriel stood about ten meters away. He wasn’t even breathing hard, as if chasing a moving truck had been nothing. Aside from a few scuffs on his tattered clothes and a thin layer of dust, he looked composed as ever.

Kairos’s throat went dry. How? How could a single man be so relentless? Was he even human?

Gabriel began walking toward him, calm measured steps, piercing electric blue eyes fixed directly on him.

In a final act of desperation, Kairos raised his gun with trembling hands.

"Die, freak!" he shouted in a panicked voice, emptying the entire clip at the enemy.

BANG! Bang! Bang!

"Iron Skin! Guard Robe!" Gabriel secretly activated his defensive skill and treasure.

The muzzle flashes lit up Kairos’s terrified face, bullet casings clattering to the ground as his aim grew more erratic.

But every bullet either ricocheted off the Guard Robe or was nullified by Iron Skin.

His expression grew paler and paler with each wasted shot.

When the gun finally clicked empty, a low sound escaped his lips as the weapon slipped uselessly from his fingers.

The instant the storm of bullets ended, Gabriel moved, closing the distance in a blur. One moment Kairos was on his feet, the next his body dangled helplessly in the air.

"S-Sir Broken, wait—!" Kairos stuttered, hands clawing at the iron grip that lifted him off the ground.

He forced a grimace that was meant to be a smile, blood from his forehead streaming down his nose. "I-I surrender! Yes, I surrender! We can talk, right? Negotiate! I’m worth more alive than dead, I promise you!"

Gabriel’s face remained blank as his deep voice rumbled. "Negotiate?"

Kairos nodded eagerly. "Y-Yes. My brothers! Do you know who my brothers are?!"

Seeing a flicker of curiosity in Gabriel’s eyes, he seized on the only leverage he had.

"They’re powerful men. If you kill me, they’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth! But... but if you spare me, I can make them pay you. Ransom! Money, treasures, whatever you want. Name your price!"

"My eldest brother—he’s the leader of the Eastern camp. The other runs the Northern camp! They could be valuable allies instead of enemies. Cross them, and you’re as good as dead, you hear me?!"

Gabriel finally reacted—not in the way Kairos hoped. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Was he... amused?

"Are you done?" Gabriel asked softly.

Kairos blinked, stunned. This wasn’t the fear or hesitation he’d expected. The red-haired man looked at him almost with pity, as if a yapping puppy had tried to bite.

"My brothers...!" Kairos started again. "They’ll—"

CRACK!

His words turned into a bloodcurdling scream as Gabriel, with surgical precision, drove his knee into his right leg. The sickening crunch of snapping bone echoed, and the limb bent at an unnatural angle at the thigh.

"AAAAHHH—!" Kairos shrieked, veins bulging in his neck. His hands clawed helplessly at Gabriel’s arm. Tears streamed down his bloodied face as pain overwhelmed him.

Gabriel’s expression didn’t change. "That was for the old man you kicked and beat," he said icily.

Without pause, he shifted his grip on the sobbing bandit boss and grabbed his left leg.

"No! No, please—" Kairos’s eyes widened in horror as if he could sense exactly what Gabriel intended next.

"I have several questions for you," Gabriel spoke coldly. "And I want to know what you did to Lina that traumatized her."

***

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