Night Journey

Chapter 164 Death Fight
"Cough cough..."

De Karl cleared his throat, moved closer to the microphone, and began his speech, following the words from his memory.

"Citizens of Hel City, the shadow of the evil claws has been completely eradicated. The City Guard and the City Council have rebuilt order with blood..."

His voice transformed into a hoarse electric current, like a melody descending from the heavens, resounding in every corner of the rain-soaked city of Hull.

De Karl gazed affectionately at the blurred city, his focus gradually shifting back to the rain-washed glass curtain wall.

In this mirror-like surface woven with water, he no longer saw the city of Hull, but only his own reflection.

The two Decals looked at each other, smiled, and made their declaration.

"From this day forward, Hel City will enter a new era, an era unthreatened by the chaos and evils of time... time... hiss! click..."

Suddenly, De Karl's speech became distorted and dissipated, as if a ghost had invaded the broadcast, drowning out his voice with a terrifying shriek.

The piercing cry enveloped the entire city, penetrating the buildings and rooftops, and reaching back to Dekar's ears.

The buzzing continues endlessly.

He frowned, covered his stinging ears, and glared angrily at the congressman beside him.

"what happened!"

Before the congressman could explain anything, the shriek quickly faded into the distance, and a distant tranquility slowly descended.

For some reason, De Karl's heart sank as well, as if he had fallen into the bottom of an icy lake.

"Cuckoo..."

A clear, booming bird song shattered the frozen stillness.

For a moment, De Karl doubted he had heard correctly. The usually composed man now showed a hint of fear, and he saw similar unease in the eyes of the other councilors.

"Cuckoo..."

The sound rang out again, as if a falcon was hovering above the clouds, its wings covering the sky.

De Karl leaned close to the microphone, wanting to say something to salvage the precarious situation.

Suddenly, a bright flash pierced through the blurry city and entered his eyes. Then, more flashes appeared one after another, followed by a long, drawn-out roar.

De Karl opened his mouth as if to shout something, but the ground beneath his feet trembled violently and cracked.

The roaring sound swallowed up all other sounds.

……

In the misty shadows of the street corner, Bruce spoke in an extremely serious, solemn, even dignified tone.

Even today, I still have no understanding of my past; it's a complete blank.

Anya looked helplessly at the bald white dog in front of her. Its deep, somber expression made it seem like a sinner on an execution ground, and she was the priest listening to its confession.

"But just like how you can infer a person's character and behavior from the layout of the bedroom, the style of the furniture, the piles of dirty clothes, the plates placed in the corner, and other traces of life."

I can still vaguely glimpse the outline of my past from some subconscious habits.

Bruce completely ignored her impatient expression and, like a narcissist, continued talking to himself.

"For example, I've discovered that I really enjoy swearing, especially when we're in the heat of the moment. I guess I used to be someone with extremely poor manners, no, I should say someone who speaks their mind freely."

As for now…

Bruce looked down at the remote control in front of him, which was covered with red buttons.

It asked tentatively.

Anya, how are you feeling?

Anya explained her emotions, "I'm a little nervous... even a little scared, but there's nothing I can do, we're already here, there's no turning back."

"It's a normal reaction. Even with many beliefs, it can't change your fundamental psychology."

Bruce nodded, then shook his head, saying helplessly.

"But it's different for me. I just feel...excited."

After saying that, the big dog laughed eerily.

"Hehehe, does it mean I'm a dog and therefore don't have human ethics and morals? No, that's not right either. I still identify as a handsome, suave, and humorous man."

After some self-examination, Bruce only came to a vague conclusion.

"Damn it, could it be that in the past I was an antisocial psychopath like Cillian?!"

Anya watched Bruce struggle with his inner turmoil from the sidelines, wanting to say something but holding back.

At that moment, Bruce stared at her intently and asked a question.

"What do you think?"

Anya swallowed hard and replied, "Maybe. You know, this wasn't part of Cillian's original plan. You were the one who suggested it and insisted on doing it this way."

"That doesn't mean I'm an antisocial psychopath."

Bruce tried to justify himself, saying, "I had no choice but to do this so that you could defeat the forces of Chaos."

The hoarse static from the radio beside it interrupted its self-defense.

De Karl's voice rang out.

"Citizens of Hel..."

The man and the dog exchanged a glance, then looked together at the huge shadow hidden at the end of the alley.

It turned out to be a jagged and menacing armored vehicle.

Even though Bruce had sped up the process, the vehicle was still missing many modules, not to mention the external armor. Due to the situation, he had no choice but to make do with some waterproof tarpaulin to provide some basic protection from the wind and rain.

"It's time to act!"

It crawled into the armored vehicle, and Anya followed closely behind, also taking the remote control covered in buttons with her.

"Then let's do it as agreed, start with one, two, three, then four, five, six, and remember to take a few minutes between them."

Bruce calmly got into the driver's seat, which had been specially modified to fit his body perfectly.

"Then, first they hijacked the channel..."

He turned the knob, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

On the radio, De Karl's voice was distorted and warped.

At the same time, Bruce started the engine, and with a roar, the armored vehicle, like a ferocious beast unleashed, charged into the vast rain and fog.

The sudden acceleration pressed Anya firmly against the back of the chair.

She took a deep breath, the damp air carrying the smell of mud and rust filling her lungs, sending a chill down her spine—and in that instant, she pressed the first button.

Seconds later, a corner of the city was suddenly torn apart.

A fireball of crimson and orange roared up from the rain, like a crack in a hellish furnace, rapidly expanding and churning, devouring the surrounding gloom.

In the firelight, the raindrops were no longer gentle silver threads, but were torn apart, twisted, and evaporated into wisps of white vapor by the shockwave, turning to dust in the roar of the explosion. The sound was like a thunderclap, exploding from the narrow streets, the deep roar tearing through the air, the sharp echoes flying like shards of glass, sweeping across the wet streets, making the shop windows vibrate.

"Alas!"

Bruce roared in the driver's seat, and the bald white dog trembled with excitement.

It slammed its hand on the steering wheel, and the engine of the armored vehicle roared to life, like a ferocious beast awakened, as it jolted forward through the rain and fog.

Anya's face was pale, and she forced an ugly smile onto her lips. Without hesitation, she mechanically pressed down on the other buttons with her index and middle fingers.

In an instant, death flowers lit up one after another around the city of Hel.

The dock warehouse in the northeast corner exploded with a deafening roar. A fireball, carrying wood chips and oil, shot into the sky, burning a hole through the rain curtain. In the empty square in the west district, a second raging fire rolled and expanded, engulfing the echoes of Decal's speech broadcast. The center of the explosion was reduced to charcoal, and in the steaming heat, broken sculptures and rainwater scattered everywhere.

Fireballs rose and fell, forming a chain of fire under the leaden sky. The flashes of the explosions, like morbid lightning, sliced ​​the city into fragments of light and shadow.

The riots ensued, with the sounds of horses' hooves, cries, and shattering glass tearing away the last veil of pretense in the rain and raising high alert among all parties involved.

The city guards, who were on standby, rushed to the various explosion sites, while the superhumans from other factions were also on high alert, wary of the beings lurking in the rain and fog.

As Anya pressed the last button, a bright fireball slowly rose above the torch lighthouse.

Bruce hacked into the city’s radio channels and shouted.

"It's time to invite the record knight!"

……

De Karl had made extensive preparations for everything he was doing today. He had anticipated assassinations and ambushes from potential enemies, and even a bloody battle with all their forces mobilized.

But what he never expected was that his opponent was not seeking a life-or-death duel.

war.

What they crave is a war that will sweep across the entire city.

The bombs planted beforehand under the observation deck were detonated one after another at Decal's most glorious moment, as if to deliberately humiliate him.

The entire space trembled violently from the impact of the explosion, and the glass curtain wall creaked with a teeth-grinding sound, as if ice could no longer bear the weight.

In an instant, countless spiderweb-like white cracks spread wildly outwards from the point of explosion, intertwining and densely covering everything in sight, instantly engulfing Dekar's field of vision and cutting it into countless shattered fragments.

The next second, the support reached its limit.

The entire glass wall shattered with a deafening roar!
Millions of sharp-edged, translucent fragments, mixed with the icy rain pouring down from the sky, transformed into deadly waves that shot towards the crowd inside the observation deck.

They easily sliced ​​through Dekar's exposed skin, leaving fine bloodstains, and tore through fine clothing fabrics as if tearing paper. Sharper fragments even embedded themselves deeply into the hard ground or walls, making a dull thud.

The lawmakers screamed and wailed.

Rainwater poured in, and the deathly chill jolted Dekar out of his wits. His once aloof and dignified demeanor was dragged back into the mud, leaving him utterly disheveled.

But this is far from the end.

The deafening roar was not a one-time explosion, but rather the fuse that ignited the disaster.

Starting from Decal's feet, a series of explosions spread rapidly outwards along the structure of the observation deck.

Each explosion occurred precisely at critical structural nodes: the base of load-bearing columns, the connection points of cantilever beams, and weak points in the foundation.

The person who planted the explosives knew the weaknesses of the building structure inside and out. The explosion was like a precise surgical scalpel, efficiently severing the very structure of the observation deck.

The collapse has begun.

The sudden chaos and disorder caught De Karl off guard.

Before everything was about to spiral out of control, he turned and rushed toward a nearby employee, snatching the suitcase from his hand amidst the employee's horrified gaze.

roar--

The observation deck was ravaged by a chain of explosions, its structure groaning and cracking in despair. The massive floorboards twisted, broke, and collapsed, and the steel frame twisted and deformed.

Within seconds, the colossal structure disintegrated completely, turning into a massive, burning, and smoky ruin that plummeted downwards—along with Decal.

The burning fragments, like a meteor shower, tore through the rain curtain with brief, menacing streaks of light.

dark.

Decalc glimpsed that darkness again.

It was deep and eerie, a darkness that seemed to contain all the malice in the world.

The future of Hull, the future of the civilized world...

"No... we can't do this..."

"I do not accept this fate."

Dekar took a deep breath, the ash and smoke filling his lungs, triggering a violent cough and a tearing pain throughout his body, as if countless red-hot needles were piercing him at the same time.

The debris covering him was cold from the rain, but the inside of the remains clinging to his body still retained a scorching warmth.

Decal struggled to his feet from the ruins, his vision blurred, only able to see the charred outline of the twisted and deformed metal frame close at hand, and the flickering firelight shining through the gaps.

"Ha ha……"

Rainwater streamed down his forehead, cheeks, and neck, washing away the blood seeping from his wounds and bringing a brief, piercing clarity.

My ears were ringing; the aftershocks of the explosion and the deafening roar of the collapsing structure seemed to still echo inside my skull, but even clearer was the crackling sound of the torrential rain pounding against the metal wreckage.

And... the sound of a broadcast.

A subtle sense of absurdity arose in De Karl's mind.

This was a truly heartbreaking scene. The victory celebration came to an abrupt end, city councilors were attacked by bombs, the observation deck was reduced to ashes, and various districts were also attacked by bombs of varying degrees.

The ominous bird calls were gone, replaced by a cheerful dick music, as if someone had tuned to the wrong channel, echoing through the city.

Amid the panic and chaos, cheerful voices sang.

"Let's spin tonight!"

Someone couldn't resist dancing in the rain, taking light steps as they strode across the burning ruins.

Decal looked down at his battered hands and the suitcase he was still clutching tightly.

He opened the suitcase, took out a heavy flail, and with the injection of energy, wisps of thick smoke rose from the hole at the end, creating a swirling haze.

Dekar straightened his back and saw the pale six eyes that flickered at the end of the rain and mist.

"Reverse Falcon..."

He was stunned, and then, an unprecedented ecstasy appeared on his rain-soaked face.

Decal roared, gripped the yoke, and seized his destiny.

"bring it on!"

Cillian arrived as promised, his grey shawl fluttering in the wind like a ghost emerging from the rain and mist.

(End of this chapter)