Somehow, the amused tone that joyfully coated the spiff's piercing words seemed to do more harm to me than the actual contents of Its words.
Because Its words were only a confirmation.
And Its tone made my blood boil.
Pzzzz–!
Accompanying Mangé's auditory gesture was a low, buzzing sound.
The compressed plasma ray of Mangé's pistol had shot out. And it's light caught my eyes as it descended toward the spiff's head, eventually invading one of the many pores that made up the spiff's ears.
—"Argggh!!!!!"—
The spiff's reaction was instantaneous. A guttural scream that tore through the air, effectively painting the already bleak and desolate building dull with the unfiltered pain that dripped from Its voice.
—"Hmmvv… Hmmvv.."—
A low moan followed behind the guttural scream as It staggered, its entire body trembling as it inched backwards.
Then, it tried to move its limbs, to clench, block or soothe the probably unbearable pain that pulsed through its pierced pores.
But my grip held its limbs tightly in place as its moans completely faded.
There was no way out for it.
It must feel every single ounce of the pain.
I ignored the pain-dominated spiff, strained eyes staring past it, looking upward at Mangé as my teeth clenched hard.
Mangé's jaw was quivering, and his shoulders were shivering. His forehead was grotesquely wrinkled, and his perplexed, weakened green eyes found mine as his opened mouth shook along with the rhythm of his jaw.
"Mangé?" I called out to him.
"Y.. es?" He replied with a weak, very weak voice, a weakened gaze resting on mine.
"Was Germaine the one who recommended the mole to you?" I asked.
"... Y… yes, he was."
I nodded.
Crunch–!!
The nets on the spiff's limbs completely shattered as I crushed them with all the strength my grip could muster, simultaneously pulling myself up into the air.
This time, the spiff didn't yell, nor did it scream. It seemed like the previous rush of back-to-back pain had numbed it.
That's good.
Mid-air, I twisted my waist as I twirled, positioning my leg to strike a pose that would ensure that my kick packed more punch than normal.
Bam–!!!!
The impact this time caused every single vein in my lower body to shiver as the pain of the collision thrummed through them.
But I endured it. Like most of the other pains that wrestled with my mind and body that evening.
Why wouldn't I?
I stared live at the damage that my kick had caused.
Although I had expected to burst its head. My kick sent it flying instead. And the distance its body had hurled from where it once stood wasn't much.
It collided with a nearby wall, its body digging into that wall as piles of falling debris flooded Its sprawled body.
Mangé, who had already jumped down from the spiff's head before the impact, stood next to me.
He raised his pistol, pointing it at a random position on the spiff's weakened, pain-numbed lying body.
Pzzz–!
The compressed plasma ray shot out, streaming through the air and toward the spiff.
A squelching sound rang out as the ray pierced another one of the spiff's eyes, thickening the trail of blue blood that rolled down from its eyes to its body.
Then, Mangé lowered his pistol.
The spiff's only reaction to its eyes getting pierced was a simple jolt, causing its body to tremble softly.
And once again, Mangé raised his pistol.
But I held the pistol, pushing it down — a calm signal to stop the assault.
Of course, my heart still thrummed, and my hot blood still raced with a kind of rage that I couldn't quite discern.
I was saving the extent of my rage for when I get my hands on Germaine.
"Alert Fero and the others with your intercom. It took fifteen minutes to arrive here because of the armoured hover, and we've been fighting for about ten minutes. I don't believe their leader would have arrived there in just twenty-five minutes. The spiff was just trying to horrify us for its amusement. So inform them, so they can at least prepare for their deaths." I spoke. But truthfully, I didn't care about the Cyclo Gang or its members.
Something else bothered me. Something that I tried to push away from my mind.
Mangé nodded. Solemnly nodded.
I looked toward the battered up, unresponsive Orned executive that remained dug into the wall.
"It's a lead executive, so it might have the informations we came here for, our true goal. Torture it until you get the information on the Orned backers from it. And also information about the… key, where it is and all. I… I have to go."
Mangé still nodded. The shine in his eyes had dulled.
"Where are you going, though?" He asked with a rather low-spirited voice.
"To my family. My instinct keeps bothering me. Germaine knows where I live. And that final look we exchanged…" My words trailed off, "If he knew that I was a valuable component to your plan, then the reason he angered me might've been to get a good sense of my strength, as I was a variable. And then to report it to Orned. Hence the reason why that executive said I was really a threat." I spouted my thoughts out. It was sudden. Too sudden. But I nodded my head in apprehension.
"It all makes sense," I whispered. My eyes were focused on the ground.
"Wait, what?" Mangé uttered in confusion. "Family? You said that before, but. Who… I know you can't afford an insemination pod, so how, or who?"
A slithering feeling wrapped around every bone in my body, crawling and wriggling until it made its way to my spine, curling around it. The result was an unconventional beating of my heart against my ribs, and my head becoming lighter.
My instinct was warning me.
"Craffold," I uttered, my eyes widening.
Immediately, my gaze flickered from the ground I stared at, toward the metal stair rails.
I have to go.
I began to run.
"Wait, who's Craffold? What the hell, Stel?! What the hell?!!!" Mangé yelled out behind me.
"I'm sorry, no time to explain, Mangé. Just take care of the stuff here!" I returned my yell as my heaved chest pumped, fueling my running legs.
I understand it must be painful to get betrayed by your 'trusted' man like that, but… I can't be here for you now, buddy.
I have to…
Please, be safe, Craffold.
Please… be safe.
Please…
I jumped over the metal rails. Down the stairs.