Ch. 60: Rain! (I)
**BOOM!!**
**CRASH!!**
The car tumbled, over and over, each impact rattling my bones as I struggled to stay conscious. My sense of time blurred— had it been seconds or minutes since the explosion? My body was tossed violently within the wreckage as the vehicle slammed into something hard and finally came to a halt, resting on its side.
Everything spun. I could barely see straight, my vision marred by blinding orange light and the suffocating haze of thick, acrid smoke. My lungs burned, the air too thick to breathe, and I could feel the heat crawling up my skin— fire. The car was burning.
No! Don’t panic, I told myself, forcing the rising terror down into the pit of my stomach. I gritted my teeth, drawing strength from somewhere deep within, from a well of power I had learned to access only recently. The searing pain in my body was a distraction, and I needed to focus on survival. There was no time for weakness.
Move!
React!
I stretched out my hand, trembling, and fumbled for the seatbelt. The heat made my movements sluggish, but I managed to unhook it with a sharp click. Gravity took over, and I fell, crashing into the door below me as the car lay tipped on its side. “Urgh!” I groaned, biting back the pain. I pushed the discomfort aside and glanced around, still trying to piece together what had just happened.
This wasn’t a mere accident. Someone had attacked us. But who? Poseidon’s Circle? No, this didn’t feel like Poseidon’s style— he was too precise, too deliberate. Whoever did this wanted me dead, fast. My mind raced with theories, but there was no time to dwell on them. I had to act.
“Hecate!”
I turned sharply toward the front seat. Hecate lay slumped against the dashboard, her face pale and still. A streak of blood trailed down her temple, disappearing into her hair. My heart dropped.
No response—!
“Dammit!” I cursed, shoving through the flames and reaching her side. The car was getting hotter by the second, the smoke thicker. “Hecate!” I called again, but she remained motionless.
The airbag hadn’t deployed, and the impact must have knocked her unconscious. Her chest still rose and fell with shallow breaths, so at least she was alive. But if we didn’t get out of here soon, the fire would finish what the crash hadn’t.
Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of rapid gunfire filled the air.
RA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA!
My blood ran cold. It wasn’t thunder, but the steady, relentless pounding of bullets striking metal. They were coming from above, bouncing off the car’s roof. Whoever attacked us wasn’t done. They were here to finish the job.
I clenched my jaw, scanning the scene. I could handle the bullets— they wouldn’t be enough to take me down— but Hecate was vulnerable. I needed to get her to safety, fast. My mind raced, calculating possible outcomes. Running out with her in my arms was risky—there were too many unknowns. But waiting here was even riskier. I didn’t know how long the car would hold up before becoming a fiery deathtrap.
Think, dammit!
“Shut up and move already,” a cold, melancholic voice whispered in my mind. It was the same voice that haunted me for a while now — the true voice of the black book. Hades, the god of the underworld, wouldn’t hesitate. He wouldn’t let doubt creep in. And yet, I hesitated.
“If you’re not going to be of any help, then shut the hell up,” I muttered, my voice barely above a growl. I was supposed to be a god, yet here I was, trapped in a burning car like a mortal. Act, don’t think!
I reached for Hecate, brushing away the blood on her forehead. “Hecate, if you can hear me, I need you to hold on. Just stay here while I take care of the insects outside.”
Her head lolled to the side, but there was no reaction. I sighed, placing her gently against the car seat, hoping her injuries weren’t severe. I knew she was a goddess, tough enough to endure, but I still felt a pang of worry.
With that, I shrugged off my coat and placed it over her, a futile attempt to shield her from the heat. From the look of things the fire was not progressing fast, I climbed up toward the roof of the car— or what was left of it. The door was gone, blown off by whatever projectile had hit us.
I emerged from the wreckage, and the moment I did, the bullets stopped. Silence. The air crackled with tension as I got my first clear look at the attackers.
They were everywhere— dozens of them, maybe even a hundred, all clad in black tactical gear, their faces hidden behind masks. They moved like a well-oiled machine, their rifles trained on me, fingers itching to pull the trigger. Behind them, I could see the hotel, its entrance thrown into chaos as civilians fled in panic. The smell of burning gasoline and gunpowder filled the air. I had to end this quickly.
**YOU HAVE ACTIVATED: DOMINATOR’S AURA [MID]**
I smirked, feeling a dark, simmering energy pulse through my veins, my eyes flickering with a dangerous light. “You sons of bitches,” I muttered, the power coursing through me like liquid fire. “Can’t an old man get a little peace and quiet?”
I leaped down from the wreckage, landing with a soft thud. Before my feet even touched the ground, the bullets were already flying toward me. I watched them in slow motion, tracking their trajectory. With my hands still tucked casually in my pockets, I sidestepped the first wave, then the next, moving through the onslaught as if it were a gentle breeze.
The world slowed around me. My senses sharpened. I could see the flicker of each muzzle flash, the path of every bullet. I moved effortlessly, weaving between the streams of gunfire, closing the distance between me and the attackers.
They didn’t stand a chance.
Before any of them could react, I was upon them. My first strike sent a shockwave through the air, my boot connecting with one of the masked men’s chest. WHAM! He flew backward, crashing into several others, the force of the impact sending them sprawling.
The ground cracked beneath me. “You dare to underestimate me?” I growled, my voice laced with menace. My eyes burned with dark power, black smoke hissing from them as I surveyed the men scrambling to regroup. “I won’t even need my hands to deal with scum like you.”
They hesitated, their fear palpable. But I didn’t give them time to react. I was already moving, a blur of motion as I tore through their ranks like a whirlwind. A kick here, a swift elbow there. Each strike was precise, devastating, leaving a trail of broken bodies in my wake.
One by one, they fell.
But as I fought, something gnawed at the edges of my mind. This was too organized, too deliberate. These weren’t mere mercenaries. Whoever sent them knew exactly who I was— and they had come prepared.
The world felt like it was ending around me. My world.
But why now?
What was really going on?
And then there was— a second wave!
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If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
