Chapter 76: Chapter 76 - Gang Talk
The tension in the air was so thick that it was palpable— Lily didn't take any action because she wanted to see how the other group would react first, but they didn't take any action because they were cautious— panicked even.
They did not lower their guard for a second; their weapons pointed at the girl's body, waiting for just one wrong move to attack her— yet they were unaware that such weaponry would do little harm to her.
Some of the mutants within the group instinctively activated their abilities, ready to fight if the need arose— few of them had elemental-based abilities, their eyes glowing with the hue of their elemental powers.
Lily glanced around the room— watching as they slowly moved to try and surround her— a small smile forming on her lips as she did.
Quickly, her eyes shifted back to ahead of her, and there, a tall figure walked forward from the group, taking a stand.
This figure was much bigger than Lily— towering over her with a tall and muscular frame. His body was covered in what looked like dark scales, much like that of a reptile.
A low, guttural growl escaped his lips as he took the lead in this conversation; his eyes were locked onto the girl before him— staring down at her with his menacing height.
Yet, as Lily looked back up at him— locking eyes with the man— she was not the one who felt fear in the interaction. The man almost stepped back instinctively, his mutation screaming at him to run and flee.
It was as if his animalistic nature could feel that the being before him was much more dangerous than he could imagine— a bigger predator than he could be.
But he did not step back— he couldn't. It would have made him look weak before the group, and that was something he couldn't afford to do.
He held his ground, impressing Lily with his commitment, and he spoke to address her.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
The man asked— no, demanded— an answer from the girl. Obviously, having realized that someone who just suddenly appeared out of nowhere was anything but normal.
Lily felt no threat from the man before her— he may be tall, but she could tell he was not as strong as she was, be it in physical capabilities or otherwise.
Maintaining her calm demeanor, she meets the gaze of the reptilian man by glancing up at him— her redden eyes locking on to the man's slightly green eyes.
She could sense the internal conflict within him at the moment; she could hear the primal instincts of the man telling him to retreat, but his mind warring against the need to assert dominance in front of the group.
"If I said I was passing through, would you believe me?"
It was naturally a lie— one that Lily did not expect the man to believe— but she had some time to waste; maybe she could even get them to lower their guard and make the situation so much easier.
"I didn't mean to intrude on your territory. I was simply following someone who stole something from someone I knew, and I ended up here."
Lily lied once more— but this time, it was only half a lie. She did follow someone who stole something from someone she saw, but she didn't know the person and did mean to intrude on their territory.
"I am a mutant."
She added, thinking maybe this would get them to relate to her some more.
The reptilian leader remained skeptical, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized Lily. His eyes glanced her up and down, scanning her body for any weapons or threats.
He found nothing of the sort on her— she simply wore casual clothing. But this did not make him believe her, not even in the slightest.
'If this works, perhaps I can use them to find out the location of the other branches or even the leaders.'
As the man scrutinized her body, Lily's thoughts drifted to a plan that optimized the situation in her favor. Using them to find the other locations would drastically shorten the time needed to spend here, and finding the leaders would be even better.
The reptilian leader did not believe her, but he sensed that this might be an opportunity to assert control of the situation— maybe if he played his cards right, he could even gain an advantage over the girl.
"We don't take kindly to strangers, especially those that barge into our place and bring trouble. What makes you think we would possibly trust someone like you?"
Lily was aware that depending on what she said next, the course of the confrontation could greatly change, and she was unsure of which method she should take.
On the one hand, she could go for the aggressive method— this was more convenient as it allowed her to simply do what she wanted. Killing them and devouring them for their abilities rather than using the Hive to track down other locations.
On the other hand, she could play it peacefully— this method would allow her to join the group and gain information from them. It would take longer, but she may also be able to gain the location of their bases without the need for the Hive and maybe even learn about their leaders.
On the off chance that this group was being backed by another larger group, she could even use this method to get closer to them.
The only issue with this method was the uncertain time frame it would take.
It could take days to weeks, months, or even more. She didn't have that much time to waste here, and while the first method of searching with her Hive would take longer— in the more obvious sense— it was still a sure time frame.
With that in mind, she decided to go with the aggressive method.
Chapter 77: Chapter 77 - Dominance
The man's question lingered in the air for a few seconds, the silence that followed it ringing much louder than any words could— Lily thought her thought process moved much quicker than anything they could possibly achieve.
Within just a few seconds, her mind had already processed all the information she currently had at her disposal and the possible paths she could take to achieve her goal.
She also took note of all the mutants and armed individuals around her— their wariness made them stay on guard, but it also made them prone to mistakes.
From the group of 24 people that surrounded her, 10 of them were mutants, including the leader who spoke up; 2 of them were Inhumans, and the rest were normal people.
Lily shifted her focus back on the man before her, her eyes locking onto the man's green orbs, and he could almost see a slight glimmer of predatory instincts with her gaze.
Breaking the silence that had cloaked the room, she addressed the reptilian leader with a voice that no longer held its friendly tone— now, it was only laced with an uncaring distance.
"While gaining your trust and learning more about your group would have been pleasant, I simply do not have the time for that."
Her words were vague, but they echoed clearly in the silent room.
The leader wasn't smart, but even for someone like him, it took no longer than a few seconds for the realization of what she meant to set in— the dimly lit space suddenly broke out into chaos as he yelled.
"Capture her!"
The man's orders broke the people out from their dazed state and propelled them into action within a moment's notice— the mutants of the group that was more physically inclined dashed forward instantly with the intention of grabbing the girl.
They clearly did not think that Lily would possess great physical capabilities, but unfortunately for them, there were very few mutants on earth that could match Lily when it came to physical strength, at least that she knew of.
As the mutants drew close in an attempt to grab her, Lily wasted time on them, and as they attempted to grab her with their bodies, she would use her hands to glide them to the side, using their own force against them to send them tumbling down.
It was a very simple technique that used very little of her strength— but it was effective.
As they kept failing numerous times, the other mutants grew impatient and attempted to attack her with their abilities— one such mutant possessed the ability to throw flaming balls from his hands.
As the mutant threw the flaming balls— rather than dodging the attack or blocking it with her own body, she grabbed one of the physical mutants that were attacking her and held them up in front of the incoming attack.
Using them as a shield, she was able to not only block the fireball but also be perfectly unharmed from it. The man she used as a shield, however, was not so lucky.
His back was badly burnt, and the burnt smell of meat lingered in the air— causing the one that attacked to widen his gaze in the realization of his actions.
"You bastard, you killed my brother!"
Yell one of the normal humans from the crowd as they aimed their gun at her, firing it in an attempt to pump her body full of holes.
While Lily wasn't certain if she could tank the impact of a bullet, she knew that they wouldn't seriously hurt her even if they landed— at least normal bullets wouldn't. Armour piercing or specially made bullets were a different story.
But she didn't take that risk just yet; using the body of the man's brother as a shield, she was able to block most of the bullets that came her way— and those that ended up going through the man's body lost enough force that they could not pierce her hardened skin.
"Stop shooting, you idiots. Are you trying to attract everyone's attention!"
The reptilian leader yelled in anger, which caused the shooting to stop— leaving the group in silence.
It seemed, in his hysteria, the man had forgotten that they were currently in the middle of the city, merely underground in an abandoned building. If the gunshots were to be heard, then they would draw the attention of the authorities.
That would be bad for everyone here.
Lily decided to wrap this up quickly now that her time had been cut short— and before the people could get the chance to run away or attack once more, her abilities surged forth.
One particular ability— her eyes glowing with a purplish hue as she activated it and the air around her visible shaking with the force that erupted forth.
"Kneel."
As she spoke the single word aloud within the room, an invisible force seemingly came crashing down on everyone within it. It felt as if their body was being crushed by an invisible hand, the pressure visible causing their body to shake.
Those who were physically stronger than normal were able to hold out for a while, lasting a few seconds longer than those who weren't, but in the end, they were all forced to kneel around the girl.
Even the reptilian man who took the position of leader here.
'How useful.'
Lily commented in her head as she mused at the use of the ability she had just used for the first time— it was one of the abilities she was looking forward to using the most.
Lesser Demon Physiology, or to be more specific, one of the abilities that she was granted because of it— Lesser Eye of Suppression.
'It seems this ability has its limitations, but it works even on mutants with capabilities above that of normal humans.'
She took note of the fact that some mutants were able to fight against it for a few seconds, but she was pleased with how good it was for now— and as time went on, she could even improve it.
The mutants around her were unable to bear the weight of the pressure. Some of the humans had already passed out because of it, and others were barely holding on.
It was sufficient to say that they had all lost their will to fight, the weapons that they held having already been dropped on the floor, and their presence now diminishing before her dominance.
A small smile graced Lily's face as she noticed their clear surrender, or rather, their submission to the ultimate inevitable of the situation before them.
"I will make it painless; just don't fight it."
Her words rang true— and she kept to them as she made her way over to each and every single mutant in the room. First, she decided to kill them; to do this, she simply broke their necks.
With their inability to move, fighting back wasn't possible; this allowed her to break their necks with ease, ending their lives with as little pain as she could.
The only thing that remained in the room was the fear of the others, knowing they were next— and being next.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
stone 
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