Chapter 101: Chapter 101 - Desecration of a Society
It was scorching. The heat was so intense that the very ground where they stood began to melt from the aura emanating from Delmar\'s hand. Yet, surprisingly, neither he nor his clothes bore any trace of the inferno\'s wrath; both of them stood unscathed, defying the blazing heat.
Nile was gravely wounded, more than ever before. He could feel the blistering heat radiating from the aura and knew his demise was imminent. He attempted to utter a few words but was hindered by his dislocated jaw and a tongue that had ruptured.
Delmar momentarily halted, observing the man\'s futile efforts to speak, but did not dissipate the lethal aura he had summoned to end him.
Delmar leaned closer, straining to catch the man\'s faltering words.
"If you ever encounter the man with the indestructible body, Run. But if you can then land a punch or two for me," Nile stammered, his voice barely a whisper, awaiting the monster\'s response.
Delmar pondered briefly. He knew precisely whom Nile was referring to: Apollo Degenetic, the formidable leader of the Goldstein Family\'s elite fighting force, known as the Indestructible Man.
Although he could have easily lied to the dying man, Delmar chose not to. Nile had earned his respect, a rare achievement, and for that he deserved the truth.
Delmar reflected for a moment before giving Nile a solemn nod. "I don\'t know if I will ever be able to fulfill your request, but I will certainly try my best if the right opportunity presents itself," he said earnestly, withholding false reassurances and delivering the unvarnished truth.
Nile believed every word that Delmar spoke. Despite the uncertainty of the future, he felt the sincerity in Delmar\'s voice. "Thank you," Nile whispered, his final words, as he lay there, awaiting his death.
Delmar heard the words, spoken so softly, but did not hesitate further. He was aware of the approaching sirens from the royal forces\' armed vehicles. Delmar nodded to Nile and readied his right arm, which now glowed like a bright flame. With a decisive strike, he delivered the fatal blow.
Nile felt nothing—not the punch nor anything thereafter. The moment Delmar\'s fist connected, the red aura ignited, exploding like a volcanic eruption.
The explosion was colossal, disintegrating Nile\'s body instantaneously, and continuing to obliterate twelve more buildings in its path before finally subsiding.
The aftermath was equally catastrophic, causing a massive earthquake that radiated twelve miles outward. The fleeing populace screamed in terror as their vehicles lost balance due to the tremors.
The earthquake even toppled the royal forces\' armored vehicles, flipping over several in front and causing a chain reaction of crashes among those following.
Delmar surveyed the devastation he caused. Two hundred meters ahead, where once stood apartment complexes, now lay a vast pool of lava. Surrounding it were the ruins of other buildings, slowly collapsing into the molten abyss.
Unconcerned about potential casualties, Delmar observed his handiwork with a detached air. He mused, "It\'s astonishing how creating something can be so arduous, yet destruction comes so effortlessly."
With a heavy sigh, Delmar glanced into the distance to gauge the royal forces\' proximity. Then, turning back, he jumped into the distance a few times until he reached his underground vault. He entered an elevator that automatically descended two hundred meters below ground to his vault, filled with his most prized possessions.
Delmar headed straight to his storage rings and began transferring their contents into the rings he currently wore. As he meticulously accounted for his belongings, a sound interrupted him.
He traced the noise to his old-fashioned telephone, a device he had retrofitted for private communication to elude royal surveillance. He approached the phone, curious about the caller.
\'Who could be contacting me now?\'
\'I\'m sure my face is all over the major telescreens, after all I was branded as one of the most wanted. Who would be brave enough to call me and risk getting caught?\' He picked up the phone, waiting for the caller to speak first.
After a few moments of silence, a young voice emerged from the receiver. "Hey, is this Delmar\'s number?"
"Who is calling?" Delmar responded tersely.
"Oh! I\'m the guy you helped with the ID card, remember?"
Assuming it was a client, Delmar replied, "I don\'t know if you\'re aware, but this is a really bad time for me. Why don\'t you f*ck off for a while, okay?"
The other end of the line fell silent for a moment before the caller spoke again. "Delmar, dude… I\'m the kid from this morning."
"What kid? What are you talking abou—" And suddenly it dawned on him that it was William who had called him.
Though angry at the kid, Delmar didn\'t let it affect him. As he sat down in his chair and spoke with a smile.
"Hey brat, so you finally decided to call me after causing such a massive problem for me."
The other end of the phone was filled with disbelief as William retorted, "What do you mean I created a huge problem for you? You were the one who decided to attack the assassin that was sent to kill me."
"And I wouldn\'t have had to do that if it weren\'t for trying to protect your sorry ass, which, by the way, should be thanking me immensely right now instead of complaining."
William, feeling defeated, sighed and conceded, "Alright, alright, I get it. You were kind enough to protect me, and I do thank you for that. But what on earth did you do to make the entire Goldstein house declare you their number one enemy so quickly?"
"Don\'t even ask, kid. I just made a little mockery of their agent, and now look at the mess I\'m in. They\'ve branded me as one of the most wanted in the whole Tudor Kingdom."
William burst out laughing on the other side, "Hahaha, Ahahah! Ahh, they actually made you one of the most wanted. Man, I\'m talking to someone really famous over here."
He paused for a moment as a realization hit him, "Wait a second... Doesn\'t that mean the royal forces and whatnot are monitoring you?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"Then that means me calling you right now is like committing a huge crime, right?"
"Well... yeah, but only if you get caught." Delmar advised the kid on criminal advice.
"But aren\'t they capable of tracing my location because I\'m calling you?... I think I should stop talking to you for a while."
"Well... you should have thought about that before you called me. The royal forces should have already traced your location by now." Delmar casually said to the kid on the other end with a mischievous smile.
The voice on the other end remained silent for a moment before a low voice finally emerged.