Chapter 87: Excuse me
Broken.
His hand moved.
Toward JB’s.
Closer.
Then—
Changed direction.
WHAM!
Michael’s fist crashed into JB’s face.
Full force.
No hesitation.
JB’s head snapped back.
Blood sprayed.
CRACK.
His nose shattered.
Michael didn’t stop.
His other fist came up.
WHAM!
Into the jaw.
Teeth flew.
White fragments scattering across the stage.
JB stumbled.
Tried to raise his hands.
Too slow.
Michael was trained.
Years of martial arts.
For moments like this.
His knee came up.
THUD.
Into JB’s gut.
Air exploded from the editor’s lungs.
He doubled over.
Gasping.
Michael grabbed his hair.
Yanked his head down.
Knee up again.
CRACK.
More teeth.
More blood.
The crowd erupted.
"OH MY GOD!"
"HE’S ATTACKING HIM!"
"SOMEONE STOP—"
But no one moved.
Just watched.
Cameras going wild.
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK
Shutters firing. Non-stop.
Flashes everywhere.
Blinding.
Michael threw JB to the ground.
The editor hit hard.
Face bloody.
Nose crushed.
Mouth a ruin.
Trying to speak.
Only gurgling.
Blood bubbling.
Michael raised his foot.
Stomped.
CRUNCH.
JB’s hand.
Fingers breaking.
Again.
CRUNCH.
The other hand.
JB screamed.
Wet. Choking.
Blood in his throat.
Then—
Movement.
From the crowd.
An author stood.
Thirty-something. Woman. Bronze tier.
"He told me to quit too!"
Her voice shaking.
She rushed the stage.
Kicked JB’s side.
Hard.
Another stood.
Man. Silver tier.
"He called my work garbage!"
Joined in.
Kick.
More standing.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
All rushing forward.
Years of abuse.
Years of insults.
All breaking free.
They swarmed.
Kicking. Hitting.
Screaming.
JB curled up.
Blood everywhere.
His face unrecognizable.
Swollen. Purple. Broken.
The cameras kept flashing.
Recording everything.
Then—
JB’s body pulsed.
Dark energy.
Black.
Spreading.
Everyone attacking him flew back.
BOOM!
Launched across the stage.
Slammed into walls.
Into seats.
Into each other.
Groaning.
JB stood.
Slowly.
His face healing.
Bones snapping back.
Flesh regenerating.
Eyes glowing.
Red.
Not human anymore.
His hand raised.
Pointed at Flora.
In the back corner.
Black tendrils shot out.
Wrapped around her.
Dragged her forward.
Through the air.
"NO!"
Michael screamed.
Tried to run.
A tendril caught him.
Wrapped his throat.
Slammed him down.
Flora flew across the room.
Landed in JB’s grip.
He held her by the neck.
One hand.
Lifted her.
She choked.
Gasping.
Her hand still on her stomach.
JB smiled.
Face fully healed now.
"Since you’re so eager..."
Voice different.
Deeper.
Wrong.
"Let’s speed things up."
More tendrils erupted.
From the floor.
From the walls.
Black. Writhing.
Hundreds of them.
They shot out.
From the floor. From the walls. From the ceiling.
Wrapped around everyone.
Every person in the room.
The front row first.
Executives screaming.
Clawing at the tendrils.
Investors thrashing.
Suits tearing.
Then the middle rows.
Authors. Staff. Security.
All caught.
All trapped.
The receptionist—
The young woman from downstairs.
Her eyes wide. Terrified.
A tendril wrapped her waist.
Lifted her.
She kicked. Struggled.
"Help! Someone—"
Another tendril.
Around her throat.
Squeezed.
Her scream cut off.
Choking.
Gasping.
Tears streaming.
Red glow.
JB’s laughter echoed.
His body changed.
Skin darkening. Blue-black spreading.
Veins bulged. Glowing. Pulsing.
Patterns emerged. Tattoos. Ancient symbols.
Covering every inch. Writhing. Moving.
His face twisted. Eyes completely black.
"This year’s feeding..."
His free hand caressed Flora’s face.
She whimpered.
Tears streaming.
"Can start early."
His smile widened.
Inhuman.
"Thank you all..."
Looked around.
At the trapped authors.
At Michael struggling.
At Flora crying.
"For the meal."
The tendrils tightened.
Everyone screamed.
Michael thrashed. Desperate.
The black tendril around his throat squeezed.
But he kept fighting.
Clawing at it.
Pulling.
His eyes locked on Flora.
Dangling in JB’s grip.
Choking.
Her face red. Turning purple.
Tears streaming down.
Her mouth moved.
No sound.
But he could read her lips.
"Run..."
"Please..."
"Run..."
One hand still on her stomach.
Protecting.
Even now.
Michael’s tendril loosened. Slightly.
He broke free.
Lunged forward.
"FLORA!"
His hand reached out.
WHAM!
Black tendril whipped across.
Slammed into his chest.
He flew back.
Crashed into chairs.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
He struggled up.
Stumbled forward.
Again.
"LET HER GO!"
WHAM!
Another hit.
Harder.
He spun. Slammed into the wall.
Ribs cracked.
Collapsed.
Coughing blood.
But got up.
Crawled.
Hands and knees.
Dragging himself forward.
"Flora..."
Voice broken.
"I’m... coming..."
WHAM!
Kicked.
Sent tumbling.
More blood.
His vision blurred.
Body broken.
But still moving.
Still trying.
Inch by inch.
Toward her.
Flora watched.
Tears falling.
Shaking her head.
"Stop..."
Whispered.
"Please stop..."
But he didn’t.
Couldn’t.
Michael collapsed.
Face-down.
Blood pooling beneath him.
His hand stretched out.
Toward her.
Trembling.
"Some... someone..."
Voice barely audible.
His mind flashed back.
Childhood.
Reading comics.
Superheroes.
Saving people.
Always arriving.
Always winning.
"Hero..."
He whispered.
"If only... a hero would come..."
His vision darkened.
Fading.
He thought of Alex.
The calm confidence.
"Just do it. You won’t have any problems."
Michael laughed.
Wet. Painful.
Blood bubbling.
"Just talk... after all..."
His eyes closed.
"Sorry... Flora..."
"Sorry... baby..."
His hand dropped.
Still.
....
A voice rang out. "Excuse me."
...
BOOM!!!!
The entire building shook.
Foundation trembling.
CRASH!
The wall exploded.
Concrete. Glass. Steel. Metal.
All of it disintegrated.
A massive shockwave blasting outward.
Tables flew. Chairs shattered.
Then back to peace.
Michael’s eyes snapped open.
Blurry. Unfocused.
But—
JB was gone.
Just... gone.
Where he’d been standing—
Nothing.
And the floor—
A giant hole.
Circular.
Extremely wide.
Through it—
A massive yellow ball.
Round. Soft. Bouncing slightly.
Fifteen meters tall.
Filling the entire space.
"Gulu~"
Deep sound.
Vibrating.
The ball shifted.
Slowly.
Sitting on something.
Squashing it.
"Gulu~ Gulu~"
Content sounds.
Michael blinked.
Trying to process.
Then—
Alex walked by.
Casual.
Flora in his arms.
Unconscious but breathing.
He knelt beside Michael.
Pulled out a small pill.
Put it in Flora’s mouth.
The pill dissolved.
Instant.
Her color returned.
Face smoothing.
Breathing steadying.
Her hand on her stomach relaxed.
Safe.
Healed.
Alex looked at Michael.
Held out another pill.
"For you."
Michael stared.
Couldn’t speak.
Couldn’t move.
Alex put the pill in his hand.
"Sorry I’m late."
"Had to wait for the crowd to clear."
Smiled.
Warm. Genuine.
"Evacuation protocol and all."
He stood.
Looked down at Michael.
Blood everywhere.
Broken but still fighting.
Still crawling.
For her.
Alex’s smile widened.
Paused.
"That was cool, Michael."