CHAPTER 36 : BLACK & WHITE PART 2

Cigarette smoke exhaled, a man leaned against the wall while his friend wiped down an automatic rifle with a cloth. The man smoking turned to look at him, staring with a puzzled expression."What are you doing?""Can't you see? These weapons are dusty, so I'm wiping them down. I have asthma," his friend replied. The man smoking simply exhaled his cigarette smoke.Suddenly, black liquid appeared and stuck to both of them, quickly pulling them upwards. Mikael, who had grabbed them, smashed their heads together, knocking them out without a sound. Using his shadow power, he turned it into black liquid again and stuck both men to the ceiling.Mikael jumped down from the roof, kicking aside the automatic rifle that had fallen from the grip of one of the men he knocked out. He walked toward the door of the building the two men had been guarding."Let's get this over with quickly, so I can help the others in Klang," Mikael muttered to himself. He stretched his body, and as he stretched his neck, a strange cracking sound came out."Ouch...ouch..." he groaned. Mikael massaged his neck and shoulders before exhaling deeply.Mikael opened the door to the building. Inside, it was dark, and he proceeded forward. He saw several men guarding and packing firearms into wooden crates. Mikael descended toward them.At first, they ignored him, but when they noticed the man entering their base was dressed like a 'Plague Doctor,' all the thugs quickly grabbed nearby weapons and pulled out their pistols.Mikael swiftly created a black ring and launched it onto the floor, black liquid flowed out of the shadows of every thug there, slamming them into walls and ceilings, immobilizing them instantly."This... was easier than I expected," Mikael remarked. He walked a little further, realizing he had already defeated all the thugs in the room.Sometimes I forget. Being a Mutant makes troublesome tasks like dealing with armed men feel like child's play. Just with one move? No way...It's terrifying to think about the potential of other Mutants.Mikael looked around, trying to see if he had overlooked anyone, but the building was small, and no one else was in sight. He scratched the back of his head, and let out a long breath.This feels weird... I feel like I missed something, but I'm not sure what...Another Mutant? If there were one, they would've come out by now...Or did I already knock out a Mutant here? Ah... I don't know. I'm not used to problems like this being solved so quickly...Mikael remembered the time when he was still a police officer. He had been in a shootout with armed thugs, and one of the other officers had been shot in the shoulder, bleeding profusely.He also recalled his fight with Stray before he became a Mutant. Times when he had nearly died because of the ineffectiveness of human weapons against those creatures.It's scary... what Mutants can do...Seeing what I've done makes me think. It's not that far-fetched to believe that Mutants could control the underworld in no time at all.While Mikael was deep in thought, two extended hands were moving silently and cautiously. The fingers of the hands stretched like rubber, lifting several rifles off the floor.Those fingers aimed the rifles at Mikael's back. Footsteps echoed, and Mikael turned to face forward. A man wearing leather and fur descended the stairs."Are you the Masked Man? Changed costumes or something? You don't look like what that crazy scientist described... Hm? Or are you his friend?" The man looked curious, and Mikael noticed his elongated hands. The sound of pistols being cocked could be heard.A black wall appeared behind Mikael just as a volley of bullets was fired at him from behind. The man stared at Mikael with a blank expression as his bullets failed to penetrate the wall.After a moment, he stopped firing and looked around. All the thugs were unconscious. He looked back at Mikael and then retracted his hands, returning them to normal."Whoever you are... I'm going to have to kill you after what you've done here," the man sighed. Mikael immediately created two axes and rushed toward the man."Hahaha... Come on, try it." The man laughed. Mikael swung one of his axes toward the man's neck, but his attack couldn't penetrate the man's neck, as if he was striking soft rubber."Cute. You can't kill me even with those axes," the man mocked. He then shoved Mikael away, pinning him to the wall with his elongated arms wrapped around him.He's a Mutant!What kind of power is this?His body is like rubber?"Actually, they prefer I bring you in alive. Try not to resist too much," the man said. Mikael created spikes all around his body, forcing the rubbery hands to release him. Quickly, Mikael formed a long scythe and swung it, but the blade couldn't cut through the man's rubbery body."Don't make this difficult for me," the rubber man sighed. He threw a punch, then whipped Mikael from behind, forcing him to take the punch directly to his chest.I can't hit him, I can't pierce him with my weapons. But...Mikael raised his hand, black liquid surrounded the rubber man, binding him and solidifying. The rubber man tried to move parts of his body trapped in the hardened black substance but couldn't."You!" He realized what was happening, but it was too late. Mikael slammed him hard into the wall, causing the hardened black material encasing his body to shatter."Looks like I figured out a little about your power," Mikael said, noticing the rubber man's body showing signs of pain after Mikael had forced it to harden."Do you think this is enough?" asked the man, his stomach extending forward and striking Mikael's stomach like a punch. Mikael quickly recreated his scythe and swung it, deflecting several attacks from the rubber-like hands that stretched toward him.I can harden his body, that's the only way to hurt him. His body is like rubber, he can stretch it; I'm not sure how far he can extend...While dodging the attacks, Mikael erected barriers, forcing the rubber man to wrap around and stretch his arms. To speed up his movements, Mikael summoned some black liquid from the shadows, pulling him from behind. Gradually, the rubber man had to move his other limbs, and attacks came from every direction. Mikael got hit by a blow from the side, causing him to fall and drag along the floor."Got you!" The rubber man extended his finger toward Mikael, but it suddenly stopped before reaching him."W-what? Argh!" The man tried to stretch his finger further but still couldn't reach Mikael."Haha... I didn't expect it to work," Mikael muttered, slowly standing and dusting off his clothes. In front of him, the rubber man's entire body was now entangled in the barriers Mikael had set up.The key to fighting Mutants or Strays is understanding their powers and then figuring out their weaknesses."How did you!" The rubber man was trapped after Mikael had his barriers wrap around the man's whole body. Mikael approached the man's face."You've never faced an opponent stronger than you, have you?" Mikael asked."Huh? What are you talking about?""Powers like these are wasted on idiots like you..." Mikael said, placing his hand on the man's face. Black liquid covered his entire face and hardened. Mikael clenched his right fist tightly and punched the man's face with full force.The rubber man's entire stretched body recoiled back toward him, making him crash into the barriers and walls several times. The rubber man was dragged to the floor in front of Mikael, his eyes completely white, unconscious."Phew..." Mikael looked at the rubber man lying unconscious before him and sighed."Looks like the problem here is solved... It was a good thing I came alone. But I can't be too confident; I need to check everyone in this place before I leave. Who knows, I might have missed something... Better do it quickly and help them in Klang," Mikael monologued, hardening the rubber man's entire body with his shadow powers, leaving only the face uncovered so the man could breathe.Nasuha was flying high in the sky, observing a clothing company building. Below, Khairul and Kyoko were quietly approaching the building. Khairul glanced toward the sky for a moment, seeing Nasuha shining like a star in the air before continuing his approach."Detected anything?" asked Kyoko. Khairul focused his hearing, picking up footsteps and distant voices."There are definitely people inside the building. How are we going to attack them?" Khairul replied, turning toward Kyoko."Khai... Have you ever seen lightning strike without a sound?" Kyoko smirked slightly, and Khairul swallowed nervously.Inside the base, a woman with a large hat sat alone at a luxurious table. Several men guarded the entrance and the area around the room she occupied. The woman sipped the tea on the table, her eyes open, revealing irises of different colors—her right iris red, and her left green."Prepare yourselves... We have guests," said the woman.As soon as those words left her mouth, a beam of Star Light pierced and collapsed the roof and ceiling of the upper floor. The men inside scrambled to find weapons and flee. Purple lightning strikes then appeared, electrocuting the men nearby. Kyoko entered the building."Shoot her, what are you waiting for!?" yelled a thug. They fired nonstop at Kyoko once the dust and smoke cleared.Kyoko disappeared from view in the blink of an eye."Surrender. If you don't want to get hurt anymore, leave this place now. Don't... waste your lives on evil," Nasuha suddenly spoke as she hovered over the open roof of the building. She illuminated the darkness, revealing debris from the roof and ceiling below her, along with the bodies of the men who had been struck by Kyoko's lightning earlier. They were slightly burned but still moving, indicating they were alive, just unconscious."You think we didn't know we'd get attacked like this!? We'll drag your corpse to the boss!" The gangsters still aimed their weapons at Nasuha."Phew... I tried." Nasuha sighed. A flash of purple lightning struck the gangsters, defeating all those on the upper floor. Kyoko blew away the black smoke that formed in her palm."You didn't kill them, right?" Nasuha asked."Don't worry... The voltage from my lightning is the same as a police taser gun, so I didn't kill them," Kyoko replied.The building shook repeatedly, and the gangsters on the lower floor were confused about what was happening. Unbeknownst to them, Khairul burst through the door and quickly attacked the nearest man.He drew a blade only from his left arm, slashing through the first man's weapon and then landing a punch on his face, sending him crashing to the floor. Several other gangsters noticed his presence and aimed their weapons at Khairul.Khairul dodged the shots fired at him. The gangsters had to shoot carefully to avoid hitting their own, giving Khairul the opportunity to swiftly take them down one by one, thanks to his speed and reflexes.Weapons were destroyed with his left arm's blade, and the gangsters were knocked out by his right hand."Guns are useless against him! Just beat him up!" the gangsters shouted, realizing the situation. They gathered around Khairul, some armed with knives and machetes.Khairul parried the machete of a man trying to strike him. He punched the man square in the nose and threw him toward the other gangsters. Although they managed to punch and kick him, Khairul continued to fight, taking down anyone who approached.Amid the chaos, one of the gangsters managed to stab Khairul in the side. Only a few men remained, and they all retreated alongside the man who had stabbed Khairul. Blood splattered, and Khairul stopped moving, glaring at the man who had stabbed him.I'm supposed to feel pain. But all this time, I've fought monsters with extraordinary powers—blasting sound waves, growing spikes from every direction, attacks that burned me..."I don't even feel it anymore," Khairul said as he pulled out the knife that had stabbed him. The wound on his side immediately closed up. He slammed his head into the gangster who had stabbed him, knocking him unconscious with a bloody nose.The remaining gangsters hesitated to attack. Khairul drew the blade from his right arm, and the gangsters stepped back further."I don't like killing people... It's wrong. I know that. But all of you are involved in hurting others, working for bad people. Leave now... and I won't cut you down," Khairul warned, and the remaining gangsters fled. Khairul watched as they ran away."I hate... cowardly men," said a woman with a large hat. Suddenly, two giant three-eyed dogs appeared at the building's entrance and began biting and devouring the fleeing men.Khairul stood frozen, his face showing fear. The woman with the large hat stepped out from her room, accompanied by armed men. She sat atop a giant turtle with a monstrous head, holding a small cup and plate."You're wearing a mask, but you're not The Masked Man, are you?" the woman asked with a smile. Khairul only glared at her. The ceiling behind him collapsed, and Nasuha and Kyoko descended, facing the woman with the large hat."Oh, you've got friends too?""You're... a mutant," Khairul stated."Hmm, correct guess. How did you know?""Your smell," Khairul replied. Nasuha and Kyoko glanced at him, puzzled."Seriously?" Kyoko asked."Khai... you smelled her?" Nasuha looked disappointed."Hey... It's not like I can control my powers... She just smells weird, that's all.""It's rude to tell a woman she smells weird... So cruel," the woman said, placing a hand on her cheek with a sad expression."It's not just that... Your heartbeat, your goosebumps, your hair... No one else notices, but I can see, feel, hear, and smell everything," Khairul explained. The woman smiled again."You're strange, even for a mutant," she remarked."Why did you kill them earlier? There was no need for that," Khairul asked."You know nothing, huh? They had knowledge of what's going on here. If they escaped with information about our operations, they'd be a threat... And threats must be eliminated. Just like what you're doing now, right?" The woman stared at Khairul, her smile unwavering, making him feel uncomfortable."We're not here to kill anyone... Just to stop your illegal activities," Nasuha spoke up."If possible, I don't want to kill anyone either, but you attacked first, so I had no choice," the woman replied, extending her hand forward. The blood from the slain men and the three-eyed dogs moved toward her hand, passing by Khairul, Nasuha, and Kyoko."I don't think she's going to listen to us..." Kyoko said as lightning surrounded her. Nasuha began to float slightly above the ground."Looks like we don't have a choice," Khairul clenched his fists, raising both arms, revealing his blades.The woman moved her hand like a dog. The two blood-transformed dogs fused into a larger, six-eyed dog."Waaaurrrghhh!" The dog opened its mouth, revealing numerous sharp teeth and a forked tongue.