War on Crime #6

"Y-You–"

"As I said, you need to fix that habit of yours. You celebrate way too early, and that's why I always win."

"Damn you!"

Chaperone kicked the leg of the table upwards, flinging Arthur off of it and the cutlery at Alexander. The metal clamored against the ground while the glass items shattered into pieces.

Bending backward and landing on his feet, Arthur fling the blood of the bayonet.

"His skin is thick so it was a shallow cut."
"He's always been a thick-faced bastard, so don't be surprised.

Alexander punched the table in half to reveal Chaperone fleeing the scene with a hand over his bleeding neck, barking orders as he went.

"Shoot them!" He hollered, making his way to the emergency exit. His men complied, taking out their revolvers and shooting, taking refuge with turned-over tables and pillars.

"A bar gunfight, how cliché!" Arthur smirked, diving into cover as he took out his revolver from his pocket. "Alexander! Chase after Chaperone!"

Alexander nodded, taking a look at Vincent and Sabine handling their own against the gangster positioned behind them. "[ Body Reinforcement ]!"

Magic swirled on the surface of Alexander's body, like a layer of impenetrable armor. He stepped out of the cover provided by the table and began to run after Chaperone.

Four of his men covered the exit he just took, and they raised their guns to take aim at Alexander.

"There he is!"
"Shoot him!"

"Don't stop until you know he's dead!"

Bang! Bang!

The sound of concentrated gunfire was deafening in the enclosed space. The concentrated attention of thirty men and an unrelenting hail of lead bouncing from the giant man.

"Bloody hell!"

"It's bouncing off of 'em!"

bang! Bang!

Arthur followed behind Alexander as they shortened the distance between the men, returning fire with precision and taking out two of the;m.

Alexander burst through the blockaded door, leaving Arthur in the crowd of gunmen.

"Shite! I'm empty!"

Arthur returned the gun to his inventory, and he immediately changed into a martial artist's stance.

"[ Mixed Martial Arts ]--" Arthur thought, his left foot forward and right foot back, he kicked forward.

"--Taekwondo: Front kick!"

The heel of his foot stuck the gangster's hand, knocking the gun away from his hand.

"Argh!"

Arthur's right foot came back on the ground and he leaned forward. His left foot came up swiftly to strike the man's chin.

"Front High-Kick!"

Pang!

The cracking sound of bone and metal reverberated from the man's head. The man behind Arthur raises his right arm for a straight punch.

"Take this ya' cunt!"

Without looking, Arthur inched his head to the left, the arm crazing his hat. Grabbing hold of the man's wrist with his left hand, Arthur loops his right arm underneath the man's shoulder and leans forward forcefully.

"Aghh!-- umfp!"

Arthur took his revolver from his inventory and shot the man and his companion, in the head.

Bang! Bang!

"I should've stretched, the gunshot wound hurts a lot." Arthur grimaced. Turning around, Arthur saw Sabine and Vincent holding out their own, even whilst guarding the other gangsters with the magic barrier, while stealing kisses whenever they could. "Yeah, they're fine. I hope Alexander is doing okay."

Outside the building, Alexander clutched his side, which was bleeding from a gunshot wound. Eclipse Chaperone smirked with glee, in his hand the revolver responsible for the mortal wound.

The secluded alleyway was surrounded by brick, windowless buildings, with the only exit being blocked by an escape car Eclipse had prepared beforehand. The rain had begun to pour, the clouds darkening with a black-gray hue, washing the blood from Alexander's clothes.

"I learned from my mistakes, sharpened my fangs, and increased my intelligence for this day!" he said, releasing his hand from his neck to reveal the initial cut to have been healed. "I have prepared for every possible situation! Planned for every contingency for this day!"

Alexander frowned, glaring with murderous intent. "I was caught off guard," He chastised himself. "Not everything," he replied with a smug smirk.

Chaperone frowned. "Yeah, that's right. That heir of yours! He got a nick in, lucky bastard. Unluckily for him, I prepared a healing Artifact in advance– just in case for any pesky assassins."

"I'm bleeding too much…Shit, I'm really goddamn old." Alexander thought. "But– there's no way I'm going to go down without a fight!"

Alexander gathered the last of his magic power in secret, while Eclipse took a large cigarette from his pocket and lit it with the friction produced by his calluses. "Oh well, I'll kill him after I kill you–"

"[ Iron Will ]!"

"A skill? Futile." Eclipse pulled on the trigger, the double-action revolver repeatedly cycling and shooting the remaining five bullets loaded in the cylinder.

Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Bang!

Each bullet ricocheted off Alexzander's frame, nicking and grazing his flesh, not piercing it, before being deflected away. Inhuman strength surged through Alexander's body, and his speed and strength doubled.

Crack!

The ground he kicked off of cracked underneath the sheer power of his legs. Propelling himself forward, Alexander tackled Eclipse into the escape vehicle behind him, crushing it under their combined weight. The contact forced the gun from Eclipse's person to fall off, so he resorted to using his hands.

Pam! Pam! Bam! Bam! Pow!

Both giants exchanged blows powerful enough to make shockwaves of the pouring rain that collected on their bodies.

Boom! boom!

Eclipse internally winced. "Is this the strength of a dying man?!" he asked himself. "He does not feel pain, his eyes are void, and his face is contorted by anger– is he even human!?"

Arthur huffed, drinking from the glass of water provided by the courteous waiter, who had wet himself. "Thanks."

"N-No problem, c-customer…" he replied, his face as pale as a ghost.

"Vincent and Sabine are done taking care of the rest, and they're making out. What's Alexander doing?!"

Alexander threw a wide right hook and Eclipse dodged by ducking underneath it. Using his left leg, Eclipse kicked as hard as he could on Alexander's right knee.

Crunch!

The sound of bone-crunching, a joint clearly bending opposite of its intended purpose, would make any man wince– but not Alexander. Eclipse held onto the wall, clutching his side and spitting blood.

"How can you even stand!?" he yelled, looking at Alexander's pulverized right knee, which he had kicked with all his might. "I lost count of how many punches this man has taken! why isn't he going down!"

"That should be the last of it," Sabine huffed, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. "They're all useless, none of them have any useful information."

"Vincent briefly 'interviewed' the lackeys, but they're all useless." Arthur unplugged the impromptu earplugs made of torn napkin paper. "They have cash at least," he said, flipping through the bills.

It has been half an hour since Alexander took off on his own, and they were starting to get anxious.

"Alright, fuck it– I'm going after him," Arthur said. "I'm going after him!"

"Stay safe! Keep your eyes peeled!"

"Don't do anything stupid, Kiddo!"

Arthur scoffed, pushing through the exit and slipping the bills into his pocket. Jogging down the hallway, Arthur turned the corner for the exit to see Alexander on his back in the rain.

"Alex!" He screamed. "Alex!"

"What the hell happened!?" Arthur puzzled, sliding down to his side. "He's in rough shape– shit, old man– you got cocky. You're too damn old to do this shit."

"Vincent! Sabine!" He yelled out, calling for help. "He's breathing, but barely– shit!"

Alexander's heartbeat started to get weaker, so Arthur put his hands together and began to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, pumping thirty times. Arthur looked in the distance, to see the crashed vehicle, which probably was collateral damage to their fight. By this time, Sabine and Vincent have already arrived, both worried.

"What happened!?" Sabine shrieked, feeling Alexander for a pulse. Luckily it started to grow strong again.
"He's weak, but he's alive," Vincent said. "Chaperone must be nearby! Chase after him! I'll handle this, go after the bastard!"

Without a word, Arthur exited the alley and turned to his right, to see the man in question being respectfully assisted into a police car. "He even has the police in his pocket!"

Arthur rushed back into the alley. "The Feds' are coming! They're about to circle the place! We need to get him somewhere safe before they cover the block!"

The drive back to the bar was a quiet one, with neither of them speaking as their attention was solely on Alexander's wellbeing. With much care, Arthur and Vincent slowly carry him down to the hideout underneath the cellar.

"You're strong Alexander, I know you're going to make it…so don't die on me, old man." Arthur watched with worry, as Vincent put on sterile gloves and Sabine carried his medical tool kit. The operation continued, Vincent desperately trying to preserve Alexander's life, and it didn't end until the next day.

"Francis, come take a look at this," Ellis said, poking at her butler's shoulder as he drove the vehicle.

"This is not the time for me to read, as I am driving." The butler quipped. "But I suppose your ability to read whilst being in an open vehicle is incredibly impressive."

Ellis looked up from the paper. "Ah, my apologies, Francis." She said, "I would have been better if I told you specifically instead."

Francis chuckled lightly, "Perhaps."

Ellis took the large newspaper, which was longer than her total wingspan, and folded it in two so she could read it to Francis better.

"According to [ The Times ]'s Daily Newspaper: There was a half-block-wide fire in the Eastern residential Area, with over fifty casualties. Coincidentally, there was a skirmish of organized crime in the Western residential Area, In a secluded restaurant."

Francis gasped morbidly, "How unfortunate, so many lost lives."

Ellis nodded at his remark, completely sharing his opinion. "According to the police, both incidents were terrible coincidences. The skirmish between two different groups could've been prevented if it weren't for the already-overworked police force assisting the fire department in putting out the fire." She said, somewhat empathetic to the police. "How unfortunate, if they were funded more– then maybe perhaps, these kinds of incidents will never occur again."

Her eyes traveled down further on the page, "Oh my," Ellis hummed. "Francis, hear this! According to a [ People's Private Journalism Association ] column, the attacks weren't a coincidence!"

Francis raised an eyebrow. "How so? I have heard of these columns as of late, they publicly criticize key aspects of society– they're known to be particularly radical."

"Is that so?" Ellis asked, puzzled, "Then, I suppose these smaller columns filled with witness testimonies are all full of…junk."

"Milady, We both know what you were about to say." Francis hummed, "Be careful with your speech– we can't have you slipping up. I do miss that boy, Arthur, how much longer does his suspension have?"

Ellis sighed, folding the newspaper and holding her bag. Francis started to slow down at the drop-off at the parking lot. "Two weeks– he will come back after two more weeks."

Francis exited the vehicle and opened the door for Ellis, to escort her to the entrance. "Then you have two more weeks and then you can deliver to him his welcome-back gift!"

"Francis, there is no need to be this excited. He is just a friend, nothing more. Ellis frowned slightly at the older man as if he was insinuating something.

The butler fixed his collar and cuffs. "That may be true, but I have not met a boy that views you as you are and not a duchess."

"Perhaps, but he is quite impudent at times."

"Fair enough, young lady."

Vincent and Sabine kept continuing the operation, while Arthur busied himself with training even harder. Throughout the night, the punching bag and training equipment had no rest for the duration of the training period.