"Who are you?" Chrome asked nervously.Victor did not answer, but his fist found Chrome's gut a moment later. A loud crack resounded, and the armored skin shattered like glass. Chrome fell back with a bleeding abdomen. "How…?" he groaned. "My skin was impenetrable…"Victor loomed over him and took off his carnival mask. "You pathetic insects have no strength and have to depend on tricks. Now face retribution for all your sins, Titus Chrome. Your master will see it soon."Chrome sputtered blood from his mouth. His internal organs had been damaged. "Who are you…? Please answer my question before you kill me… It is my last wish… Even killers like you must have the honor to allow death wishes…"Victor took off his mask and cast it aside. "I am Caesar. The Emperor of the New World Order."Chrome's eyes widened. He remembered the much-feared name—the legendary man who ended the Pacific World War. The one touted to be peerless among assassins and fighters worldwide. His name was spoken in hu
Claire and Victor were ushered into the Ribald Corporation building with an entourage. Holt Industries was one of the top five companies in Springfield, comparable with Clive Baron's conglomerate. Therefore, Claire's arrival was eagerly awaited. The deal of the century was about to happen between the city's bigwigs, which would change the landscape of Springfield for years to come.Executives stared at the gorgeous Claire Holt as she cat-walked down the corridor with a tall bodyguard by her side. Her hips pressed lightly against her business suit, accenting her voluptuous figure. She was known as the billionaire goddess in corporate circles—beautiful and powerful like a goddess. Billionaires sought Claire's favor relentlessly, but she rejected them all. As she traipsed down the Ribald Corp. corridor, many Vice Presidents and top executives greeted her, but she ignored them."Do you see how every other man desires me?" Claire asked Victor boastfully. "This is not my company, but the em
Victor glared at his schoolmate. Since his promotion, the young man had developed a narcissistic personality, and even his subordinates hated him. He needed to be taught a lesson. Daphne spoke up. "Why is Dave's well-being so important to you, Victor? You're just a guard dog now. Stay in your place!"Lara piled on. "Yeah, go away, loser! Tell you what, I have an audition with Tristar Entertainment tomorrow. Once I become a famous actress, you can tell your bodyguard friends you were a classmate of mine. Or maybe don't. I don't want people to know I had a trash schoolmate like you. It will be bad for my celebrity status!"Victor ignored the insults and turned to Roger. "I had warned you of dire consequences if you didn't pay Dave his commission. Are you prepared to face them?""Shut the hell up, you peasant!" Roger fired back in anger. "I'm not paying a cent to your beggar friends! What will you do if I don't? Huh? Get on your knees and plead? Why don't you do that? Maybe I will consid
Gregory and Dale stepped back in shock. Victor Damone was a name they had never heard. Was such a bigwig hiding in plain sight? Was Victor the wealthiest man in the world? Why was he dressed in simple clothes and working as a bodyguard for Claire Holt?Roger looked as if he had seen a ghost. He felt as if he was dreaming. What the hell was going on? He just saw the two billionaires, Baron and Shannon, kneeling before Victor!Gregory nodded at Clive. "I see, so he is the boss you've been talking about. Mr. Damone… My apologies for failing to recognize you. You are welcome at my humble company, Ribald Corp."Dale Johnson bowed his head. "It is a privilege to meet you, sir."Victor acknowledged them both with curt nods. He never intended to reveal his identity to so many people. But perhaps Clive could no longer hold the secret under the present situation.Claire was awestruck. She wondered what Victor's real background was. Was he such a big deal that the entire city must bow to him? Cl
"Stop staring at her," Claire whispered to Victor. "Is she so much to your liking? Is Rose your type?""What? Is her name Rose?" Victor asked. "I thought she was somebody else."Gregory Ribald spoke up. "Mr. Damone and dear friends. Let me introduce our beautiful guest. She is none other than Rose Atelier, the President of Honey Resorts. Her company built most of Springfield's new resorts and inns over the past three years. They have worked reputably throughout the country as well. Rose has a proposal for the Springfield Rapids Project."The brunette turned to Victor but failed to recognize him. He raised an eyebrow. Rose Atelier? Was she related to Carol somehow? That would explain the resemblance. However, she looked so identical to his ex-wife that it was uncanny. If Rose was a relative of Carol, why had he never heard of her before? Was she a distant cousin? Even direct cousins didn't look that similar. The only difference between her and Carol was how she wore her hair; at five f
The duo were exiting the Ribald Corp premises in Claire Holt's Bugatti Chiron. Rose was intimidated by the expensive vehicle initially. She owned a few cars, but none were as expensive as a Bugatti Chiron. However, she was exhausted and needed to rest."Where do you live?" Victor asked as the vehicle swerved to the main road."Prince County…" she answered weakly. "I recently moved in."Now that Rose was inside the car and it gathered speed, she leaned back on the plush seats and closed her eyes. The beauty had worked tirelessly, developing an expansion plan over the last week. Once she learned about the Springfield Rapids Project, she had limited time before the triumvirate met for collaboration. Now that she accomplished her goal, fatigue caught up to her.Victor figured Rose had only recently become a billionaire after years of hard work. Her net worth was a small fraction of Clive Baron. However, considering her sharp business acumen, she had a bright future. After implementing the
Carol glanced at her ex-husband with melancholy. Part of her wanted to run into Victor's arms and plead with him to take her back. However, he seemed distant and unapproachable, as always. When Carol's eyes found Rose, she bit her lip in anguish. Seeing her twin sister after so long, and that too with her ex-husband, was a traumatic experience.'Is this your real self, Victor?' she thought. 'Few days have passed since our divorce. But you are already courting multiple partners. These are not normal women, but extraordinary ones, in both beauty and prosperity. First, you dated Sophia Baker, a gorgeous, renowned doctor. Then you developed intimacy with the billionaire goddess, Claire Holt. Now you've crossed a line by sleeping with my twin sister!'She gathered her thoughts and approached Victor. Peering into his dark, bottomless eyes, she decided to give him a piece of her mind."Victor… It appears our marriage had put shackles on your lifestyle. The divorce released you, and now you a
Carol wanted to show everyone that she didn't need protection or care. Part of her believed that if she earned well and cultivated enough clout, Victor would eventually come back to her. However, now she realized it was a pipe dream, and she had been delusional. Victor never loved her in the first place. He married her to fulfill Edgar Damone's wishes. Even after months of living together, they had failed to consummate their marriage or even develop feelings of true love. If they did, Victor wouldn't be frolicking with beautiful women every chance he got.Initially, Carol blamed herself and their financial situation for their marriage woes. But now she had more clarity. All the man wanted was the company of multiple women, and he did not even bother to hide his relationships. Now that he was liberated from marriage, his true colors had resurfaced."You have changed, Carol," Victor said, disrupting her thoughts. "Keep it up, and you may reach your full potential one day. The only obsta
Victor checked the time on his Cartier watch. It was a Valentine's gift from Eva. He wondered what she'd be doing right now—probably still awake, waiting for her lover. Even though the duo were intimate just a few hours ago, he already missed her warm, slender body., and her naughty smile.Victor had spent all night hunting down criminals—drug peddlers, child traffickers, rapists, and burglars. They were petty offenders but still made Springfield unsafe. He would be back home already if he hadn't followed Kate to the abandoned asylum."First things first, Raven," Victor began. "Why did you call me a monster? What was that uncalled-for outburst all about?"Kate crossed her arms and gave him a quizzical look. Did Roadkill seriously not know? Was the psychopath clueless about his own murderous tendencies?"I will not fall for that," she replied defensively. "You're trying to find whether I have gathered any evidence to incriminate your brutalities. Once you know everything, it will be co
Kate's grip loosened a bit on her knives. Did the stranger say he was Roadkill? Why was the name so familiar? A moment's reflection brought back her doubts and anxiety.Of course! The poster vigilante, Roadkill! He was so popular among the youth that cosplayers dressed up as him in comic-con. Teen girls loved him so much they got the tattoo 'R' over objectionable parts of their bodies. There were steaks and drinks named after him!Kate ground her teeth in disgust. The Raven used to be Springfield citizens' poster heroine and sole protectress. That ended when Roadkill arrived. However, the female vigilante wasn't really upset that he stole the limelight from her. She was more disturbed by how he did it.Kate went through the newspaper articles, online blogs, and witness reports of cases in which Roadkill was involved. Even though the police department publicly denounced him, they made no attempts to curb his vigilante activities. On the other hand, the Raven was painted as a hobbyist a
Kate jumped from rooftop to rooftop undetected in the darkness, her beastly green eyes glowing in the night. She was light as a feather and agile like a feline. She used parkour moves, advanced gymnastics, and physical resilience to traverse buildings.Kate was trying to put some distance between herself and the crime scene she had recently visited. Less than ten minutes later, she found a group of drunkards harassing an innocent lady. The latter was returning from shopping and somehow missed the curfew time.The villainous group ambushed her in an alley and surrounded her. After robbing the lady of her belongings, they went too far. Inebriated and stoned, they attempted to tear off her clothes and rape her.Luckily, Kate heard her cries and jumped down from the building for a rescue. She offered no warning to the perpetrators. Her powerful chops, jabs, and slams floored them in a minute. The end result was that the men needed hospitalization to survive.After making an anonymous call
Clearly unsettled, Eva tried to get up from the bed. But she failed because her legs and arms were bound. The young woman had been stripped and made to wear a hospital gown.What was going on? Didn’t she lose consciousness in the restaurant? Where the hell did they bring her? Or was she asleep, having a nightmare?Eva heard a few voices talking but couldn’t recognize them.“The fresh specimen has a bun in the oven, sir…”“What? Is the woman pregnant? Now, that sounds like good news. We can have both her grey matter and her uterus. Jackpot!”Eva’s heart froze in horror. What nonsense were the strangers blabbering? Then, the realization hit her. She had been abducted!“Where am I?” Eva called out to the voices. “What’s going on here? Answer me! I am the Mayor’s executive assistant! You guys are in a lot of trouble! The military police will barge in at any moment and gun you down!”Eva heard footsteps. Moments later, three smiling faces loomed over her. “Ah, the specimen is awake,” a mid
Eva stopped eating her food and stared at the young man. He looked innocent, probably fresh out of high school, a college freshman. Was he a fan of Victor Cromwell?“How did you know it was me?” she asked apprehensively.“Please don’t be alarmed, ma’am,” he replied, joining his hands. “I am George. I am actually a big admirer of Mr. Victor Cromwell and the wonderful work he has been doing for Springfield. You’re always by his side in meetings, conferences, and photo ops. Therefore, it isn’t irregular for commoners like us to recognize you.”Eva was still unconvinced. “You are a fan of Victor’s work? Are you okay with military rule? Most of the city appears to be against it.”“Yes, of course they are against it!” George exclaimed. “Governments rise and fall all the time. Governance styles also change. Springfield is becoming a military-industrial complex, and people must get with the times.”Eva nodded, reassured that the boy was a modern arts student, an idealist. Why else would he tr
Eva Atelier stepped out of the shower, looking resplendent. She wore only a white bathrobe and smelled of lavender and honey. The beauty just had a long, warm, and luxurious shower. However, the timing could have been better since it was past midnight.Victor had gone out after an hour-long lovemaking session, leaving her yearning for a thorough cleansing. Perhaps he would return soon, and they could go at it again. She was already horny thinking about her man.Victor usually disappeared every night and returned before dawn. Eva never asked him about his whereabouts. She assumed he was meeting important people and hatching plans for Springfield's betterment. The girl equated herself with a superhero's girlfriend, never disturbing his high-stakes, clandestine nightlife.It had been a month since Eva started living with Victor at the Mayor's mansion. It was now public knowledge that the two were dating. The media picked up the news on the first day and played it until the entire city kn
Haley B stumbled out of a high-end liquor store with a vodka bottle in her hand. She was clearly inebriated. The young, beautiful celebrity had fallen off the wagon and had been drinking every day since Victor died.Haley B had postponed all her movie and concert schedules indefinitely and wasn't accepting any more offers. All she wanted to do was bury her sorrows in alcohol. When her media team tried to convince her otherwise, she fired them.At the moment, with a liquor bottle in hand, and wearing a loose hoodie and track pants, Haley was in disguise. If the paparazzi found her intoxicated, she would be on national news, and the internet would break. Not that she cared much about her celebrity status anymore.Haley looked around at the pedestrians and drunkard crowds. Nobody gave her a second look. People probably thought she was a homeless woman.Her Mercedes stood outside with a chauffeur and two guards. Haley eyed them from a distance with blurry vision. Indeed, she had had a lot
Dear Readers, Thanks for staying with the story this far. You're all awesome. I have tested your patience with slow updates and such tests will be less frequent in the future. About the story: The Invasion Arc ends with the last chapter. It will be followed by the Dark City Arc, that will introduce new characters and spring many more twists. Victor Damone is now Victor Cromwell, the legal heir of a royal family. However, escaping his past won't be as easy as he thought. Let's see how the Peerless Man deals with the upcoming dangers. Stay tuned!
Victor recognized the vigilante named Roadkill because he was, in fact, Roadkill. When he first arrived in Springfield as Victor Cromwell, he immediately noticed the societal change. People were bolder, more outspoken, and political. On the other hand, something was uncanny about the steep rise of both crime and criminals.Even after the military boosted security and restored the economy, public order continued to worsen. It meant certain forces were actively inciting crimes. Robberies, burglaries, and murders were frequent.As soon as the sun set, a hush fell over the city. People were scared to go outdoors in the dark. Anti-social elements hung out in the alleys. Drugs, smuggling, and trafficking were at an all-time high. It was dangerous for women and children to go out alone after dusk.Victor decided to take matters into his own hands. He walked the streets and alleys himself to investigate the cause of this anomaly. Since he couldn't publicly reveal his identity and face, he dis