章節 23: Lacerate

POV Hendrich Bascinet (Personally selected fake name...) :

The guys were making too light of things... We might just be going to teach some chinks a lesson, but this was their turf. We don't get in and out fast enough they'll be on us like a pack of rats to trash.

"Get your heads in the game! Go home if you wanna play around, we're here for business!" I growl at them as we make our way through an alleyway which should lead to a car park where some 'oriental' food stalls should be for most of the night.

"Right..." Markus bashfully responds. His first outing and already I was regretting having him along, what was Kaiser thinking recruiting these idiots? The sudden influx of 'sympathizers' due to the recent bombing should have meant they could select better candidates, instead of accepting anyone that showed their face.

"Remember, stick with the plan, try not to kill anyone, and shout if you see a cape." I remind them. If Lung or Lee turned up they were most certainly all dead, but Kaiser had other operations that'd would draw their attention... So, maybe they'd get through it without any deaths...

My group of fifteen jog out of the alley and come out at the far end of the car park, lots of squinty-eyed fucks already looking to run. My men quickly bar the exits however, leaving them to our mercy.

"Alright! Here's how this is going to go you damn vermin! You'll each present yourselves, and we'll break two limbs of your choosing!" I announce, causing whimpers of fear to sound out from our soon-to-be victims. "If you run we'll break every limb you have, and then some! So, start lining up! Or else!" I shout and my men ready their weapons, bats, hammers, and machetes menacingly.

The group of Asians, cowardly as they are, end up pushing a younger man forward. They squirm and plead, as Empire men hold them down and prepare to break his kneecaps, when the sound of choking echoes through the area.

My eyes shoot over to the disturbance just in time to catch an Empire teen falling to the ground while clutching his throat, a figure standing next to him. "Cape...?" I mutter, eyeing the person in mild confusion. The ABB only had two capes, so what the fuck is this!?

Wearing black jeans, a jacket matching the black and red of the ABB, and a metallic mask made to look like the chink's impression of a cat face... Behind that the white hair and organic cat-like ears were visible, only confusing me further.

"The hell are you!? ABB? PRT? Vigilante!?" I shout, unsure what I was hoping for.

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POV : 'Kaibyō'

I scowl and adjust the stupid metal mask on my face. My smug ABB handler assured me it was almost identical to the ones samurai wear, as if that was something I should care about... Regardless, I flex my claws which shakes off droplets of blood from my most recent victim and stare at the Nazi who'd addressed me.

"Kaibyo..." I state while deepening my voice... Despite my efforts, I sounded like a child emulating an adult's voice. Which I kinda was? I still had no idea what my 'Cape' alias meant, hopefully Nishihara wasn't announcing to the world the new ABB parahuman had a weird fetish or something. I could live without that.

"Well, 'Karibo', you just killed one of us." the Nazi gestures at his fallen buddy, "You know what that means right?"

I don't answer, electing to dash forward at him with claws bared. Either unsurprised by my inhuman sprint or experienced enough to ignore it, he makes a stab with his machete, presumably hoping I'd impale myself upon it.

Just before reaching him I kick the concrete and somehow manages to front flip over him, barely avoiding his blade as my heel comes down on his arm, sending the weapon clattering a few meters away.

He and I are equally shocked by how effective that move was, but I manage to keep my composure as I drag my claws down his face, leaving four deep wounds that were most likely fatal. The man shrieks as he drops and I turn to fight the Empire thugs who'd soon be charging me...

Or not?

Awe struck at my acrobatic maneuver the men seemed incredibly reluctant to move, let alone be the first to attack...

I stand there, taking a moment to process the swelling of mana within me, likely from spilling that Nazi's blood. "Well? I was expecting battle-hardened Nazis here, not some dick-less jews." I taunt.

The men take a moment to look at one another before nodding in silent agreement. A group of shouted screams later and I had twelve guys charging straight at me. I had my eyes peeled for any firearms, but it appeared that the group didn't have any... For whatever reason?

Unfortunately, my initial fluke attack hadn't suddenly transformed me into John Wick. I plunged into the crowd like a tornado of claws, but the Nazis gave just as good as they got. Blood pounded in my ears as I disembowelled one man and take a machete to my forearm. It goes through my flesh and gets stuck in the bone, giving me just enough time to rake my nails across my attacker's eyes, blinding him.

I'm seeing red at this point, not really aware of who I was looking at or what I was doing, merely acting on instinct like some feral animal...

A bat to my back sends me stumbling forwards, giving me momentum to shove my hand into another man's chest. He's ballsy though as he grabs my face to keep me still for his friends to act, in response I duck my head, bringing my mask up and allowing me to widen my jaws wide and sink my teeth into his jugular.

"T-this guy's fucking crazy!" a skinhead exclaims as he sees me tear out the machete from my arm and start using it against them, way more effective than my claws by far!

"T-to hell with this! No one said anything about fighting a cape!" the first one started to flee. I was about to pursue when I recalled Nishihara's word on the matter... He wanted survivors to speak of my existence.

Five minutes, that's all it took for these punks to shit their pants and run for the hills. Was I surprised by how weak they were? Or by how strong I was after I gained my powers?

"Kaibyō?" a voice brings me out of my thoughts, and the taste of iron in my mouth makes me realize I was subconsciously licking my claws clean... Weird but strangely not disgusting... I hate myself.

"Yes?"

"Nishihara-sama says, 'Good Job'."

Does he want me to feel happy for the praise? "Is that all?"

My handler shakes his head, "He wants you at this address by ten in the morning. Be there." he says while handing me a slip of paper.

"Yojosuki's Dojo...?"

He shrugs, "Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger." with that he departs, leaving me alone in the blood-covered parking lot. Before I head out however, I swipe a takeaway plastic cup from a nearby food stall and gather some blood for testing.

This had been easy, morbidly so.

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POV : 'Theresa'

"What do you mean you can't find him!?" Director Piggot shouts at her. "It was your case! How do you fuck up this severely!?"

"What could I have done!? I was checking on him routinely, then some ABB thugs raid his apartment and he vanished!" I hurriedly retort, trying to save at least a piece of my career.

"This boy was recorded insulting not only the PRT on international T.V, but the ABB too! Did you not think that they'd react to it!? What about the part where he said they had his mother!? Do you have a brain or did a simpleton master you!?"

"You had me investigating possible leaks of the Wards' identities!" I shout back.

"CAN YOU DO ONLY ONE THING AT ONCE!? DID YOU NOT THINK TO ORDER YOUR WORK BASED ON URGENCY!?" Piggot explodes from across the table. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR THIS BOY!?" she forces herself to calm and lets out a pained sigh, "I've already had to 'talk' with Armsmaster, Assault, and Battery for letting him leave. If I need to write up one more person so help me god. Find the kid or I'll be throwing you at this shit storm!"

"Y-yes, Director!" I exclaim and hurriedly make my way out of the office, unwilling to be on the receiving end of another tirade.

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POV : Kaiser

Kaiser's eyes squint at the news he was receiving from a man covered in deep, animalistic-looking wounds. He's rushed away to get medical aid once he's done, leaving the armoured cape deep in thought.

So that's why the ABB was bold enough to assault a PRT-protected event like that... They have a new cape. They didn't sound all that impressive, especially compared to Lung or Oni Lee, but from what he'd heard this 'Kaibyō' was likely still a child.

He'd thought this whole thing had been a windfall for the Empire, the newly stoked flames of animosity towards the ABB had done wonders for their recruitment efforts, along with the PR he'd gathered from having Medhall cover a percent of the medical costs of those injured in the bombing.

With Coil's group seemingly falling off the map, all he'd had left to deal with was the Merchants... Oh well. With how things were looking he might not even need to lift a finger for the ABB to fall, the PRT had been whipped up into a frenzy and the chances of them backing down now were slim to none.

Kaibyo hm?... Let's see how a cat matches up against a wolf.

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POV : Kieu

Consuming blood directly, unfortunately or not... Does not seem to drastically increase the BP I have. Apparently, it's more conceptual in nature, shedding blood instead of imbibing it. I did get a tiny boost from the cup I drank from, but whether it was due to its freshness or something else, I received almost nothing for it.

Alas, no raiding a blood bank for infinite power.

For my efforts last night though I did have enough to pick a skill. I'd already struck the mental defense skills 'Different Perspective' and 'Conceptual Rigidness' for the movement, which left me with four 'useful' ones.

I could either get 'Magic Circuits', 'Avalon', an upgrade to my stealth, or the ability to turn into an actual cat... Yeah, not even a question, I take Avalon and immediately wake up at the feeling of burning warmth in my chest.

I was technically half-demon, which I should've thought about beforehand, but luckily Avalon wasn't tearing my body apart, instead just integrating itself into my being. Magic Circuits would have been nice, but there wasn't an indication of they'd be activated or not... Plus the fact I'd not know any Magecraft and the option was easy.

Living longer to fight another day would always be better than risking magic... Unfortunately, the twinge at my backside meant the regenerative abilities of the Noble Phantasm were better than expected... Just how would it be if Artoria were present?

Wait a minute, did Shirou's abilities come with Artoria...? I got Avalon so logically a servant was no different, right?

...

I need more blood, some Excalibeams would make short work of these Marvel-reject capes. Excalasers...?

I glance at my clock and groan aloud, I needed to be at the dojo in thirty minutes...