CHAPTER 08

Many of Justin’s bones broke in the face as he got utterly knocked out of his senses. Kong was still going, even though blood was flying everywhere.

“Hey,” a chilling voice entered through Kong’s ears and penetrated his heart like the sharpest needle out there. Even his bones felt the sting and shivered a little. Before he realized, he had already stopped punching.

“What the—” he looked to his left, and there was this young man in shitty clothes staring at him with not-so-friendly eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”

“The water of a river is for everyone to drink,” Myles stated calmly.

“What?” Kong looked more annoyed than puzzled.

“The cheek of a crook is for everyone to slap,” the moment the words flowed out of his mouth, Kong felt a slap that shook his brain. His feet moved a couple of steps back, and his hand touched his cheek in response. His ear made a nonstop buzzing noise. He looked at Myles who was standing still. He knew for sure Myles just slapped him, but he couldn’t even see the slap coming. He gritted his teeth and rushed forth, but again, a slap to the other cheek, sent him shuffling back. Both his cheeks turned red now, and his face was full of embarrassment. He couldn’t see the second slap coming either.

“W-Who the fuck are you?” Kong’s tone was completely different this time. He had a deep frown on his face, his eyes overflowing with anger and hatred for this young man with attractive golden brown hair and a handsome face, a combination Kong lacked and so he naturally frothed with hate.

“You’re not worthy to know my name,” another invisible slap made Kong hug the ground. Even though he was knocked out, his knuckle dusters were still on flames. Myles then glanced to his right and saw Casey’s new husband who started running away.

Minutes later.

Kong woke up to find himself in the middle of the street, completely naked. His knuckle dusters as well as his clothes, including his underwear, were gone. The people that were around began snickering and giggling.

Kong knew it wasn’t Myles and Justin who stole his things and that it was the citizens, but he still blamed Justin and his friend for it.

“You messed with the wrong person, Justin,” Kong thought of Myles. “If I don’t make you kneel in front of me before the night falls, I’ll change my name!”

About a mile-and-half from there.

Justin and Myles were sitting in the shade of a roadside tree. Justin was fully healed, and he still couldn’t believe how easily Myles had healed him. “If it’s you, I think you can easily get a job in the Confronters, or the Defenders, or even the Hunters&Gatherers.”

Myles just smiled softly. His eyes shifted to the old man who was teaching poor kids on the footpath, using a wall as a board.

“Many decades ago, a flaming sable star came shooting down from the sky and crashed in the oceans and contaminated the waters all around the world,” the old man explained with simple drawings but with a dramatic voice. “The creatures in the oceans were affected. When the rains fell, people who drank the water or came into touch with it began to change in many ways. Plants and animals, too. Even the ground and the minerals themselves went through a change. To put it simply, the entire world itself has gone through many changes. Back then, almost everyone used to be a mage, but now, only about 55 percent are even qualified to be mages. And the number of mages is going down while the number of the aberrant land, sea, and aerial creatures and hybrid creatures is still going strong. At this rate, if all the aberrant animal kinds we collectively call as Critters were to unite and attack us, the entire humanity could very well be wiped out overnight.” His words sent chills up and down the children’s spines, and some of them strongly said that the Alphas will fight for mankind and defeat the monsters. “I hope so, too. TheAlphas and the Omegas are our only hope.”

Justin also found himself listening to the old man’s lecture until now. When he came out of it and looked to his front, Myles was gone. He should be sitting on the opposite end of the public bench, but he has vanished now. “Where did he go?” He looked around but couldn’t find him.

In a nearby alley, Myles was stumbling and took the support of the wall so he wouldn’t fall down. He coughed, and his palm was covered with his blood. And a thick stream of red liquid also dripped down from both nostrils.