NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101: Victory and aftermath
Without further delay, Mike immediately charged at Roger with a punch. "Boom," Roger crossed his arms to block Mike's fist, but Mike instantly spun and kicked Roger in the stomach, sending Roger staggering backward. Although he wasn't injured, Roger was pushed back.
After that, Roger quickly charged forward again and slashed his claws at Mike, who immediately caught Roger's arm, then twisted and slammed Roger onto his back.
When his back hit the ground, Roger immediately kicked upward, forcing Mike to step back. Then, Roger quickly spun around, got back on his feet, and resumed his fighting stance. Seeing Roger stand up again, Mike charged forward with a straight punch.
Roger dodged to the side and kicked with his leg, but Mike caught his foot and pulled, dragging Roger toward him. "Thwack," Mike immediately hammered Roger's face with his elbow.
"Boom," the back of Roger's head slammed against the ground again. He immediately rolled backward and leaped away from Mike.
"He's strong, Master," Roger said in his head.
[Hmm... right. He's a martial arts expert.]
"Hey, let me fight him," Dylan suddenly said.
"Don't, Master," Roger replied.
"Just hand it over to me," Dylan retorted.
Suddenly, Roger transformed into a tiger and then back into a cat. After that, Roger vanished and switched places with Dylan. The moment he saw Dylan in front of him, Mike, who was in his monster-like form, gasped in shock. His eyes widened, and he immediately took his stance, his teeth grinding.
"Hello, Mike," Dylan said, taking his own stance.
"Dylan... you... so it was you," Mike growled.
Dylan glanced over at Carla, who was lying soaked in blood on the dojo floor. Then, he looked around at the many men scattered and lying around. After that, he looked back at Mike in front of him, who looked distraught and still had tears in his eyes.
"I will let you go, Mike, but starting now, don't bother me or Maya again. I'll even help your wife if you back down right now," Dylan offered.
But instead, Mike stepped forward and immediately attacked Dylan with his fist. Dylan tilted his body to the side so Mike's punch passed his cheek, and he felt the wind of the punch on his skin. Dylan immediately raised his leg and delivered a straight kick upward, connecting with Mike's chin, forcing Mike's head to snap back. Dylan spun and kicked Mike's head from the side, sending Mike flying and crashing into the wall, destroying the wooden dojo wall.
Mike got back up and darted forward, screaming as he tried to grab Dylan. Dylan immediately fell backward, and as Mike lunged over him, Dylan kicked upward with both feet, hitting Mike square in the gut. Mike immediately bent over, clutching his stomach. Dylan quickly slipped behind Mike and crossed his arms over Mike's neck, locking him in a chokehold.
"Hey, calm down. I just want to get CROWS out of your body," Dylan yelled.
"Shut up, you... you... you killed Carla!" Mike screamed, grabbing Dylan's arms that were locked around his neck from behind.
"Okay, if that's what you want," Dylan replied, releasing the lock and moving backward to put distance between them.
Dylan realized that Mike was beyond talking to; he was truly merged with CROWS. He immediately took a breath and let it out. His eyes instantly sharpened, and he was ready for an all-out fight. Dylan took his fighting stance and motioned for Mike to attack him.
"Even though I have the super strength skill, it's still hard to beat a monster like him," Dylan said in his head.
[I will help you, sir.]
Dylan opened his clothing and revealed his muscular body. Instantly, his muscles grew larger, though not as big as Mike's in front of him. Then, he took his stance again and allowed Mike to charge. "Graaah," Mike immediately charged, provoked by Dylan.
He immediately kicked straight out, then punched toward Dylan's face, who dodged the kick. Dylan raised his hand, pushed Mike's punching wrist away, then stepped forward and elbowed Mike's chest. After that, he kicked sideways, hitting Mike's stomach, pushing Mike backward.
Dylan didn't stop. He immediately leaped, kicking Mike's chest, and when he landed, he spun, slamming the back of his hand into Mike's face, followed by a punch from his other hand. Mike continued to stagger back.
Then, Dylan leaped, grabbed Mike's head, and drove Mike's face into his knee, sending Mike tumbling backward. Dylan landed, panting, and wiped his sweat. He saw that Mike was no longer moving and was unconscious.
As Dylan stepped forward, raising his foot to finish Mike off by crushing his head, a ghostly hand suddenly passed through his arm. He turned to see Carla's ghost with a worried face and streaming tears, trying to stop Dylan from killing Mike.
Dylan lowered his foot, then immediately stepped back, realizing he had nearly killed Mike. Then, he looked at Carla's ghost kneeling beside Mike, who had returned to his original body.
[CROWS is gone, sir.]
"Huh... he ran away, apparently," Dylan muttered.
[He returned to his origin. It seems he won't re-enter Mike's body.]
"Hmm, that's good then. Can you help Carla?" Dylan asked.
[Hmm... actually, I can, but are you sure?]
"Yes, after that, I'll leave here," Dylan replied.
[Very well, sir. Open your hand.]
Dylan opened his palm. Then, a light formed above his palm and solidified into a beautiful bottle containing a pink liquid.
"Hmm... what is this?" Dylan asked, holding the bottle.
[Elixir. Please give it to Carla.]
Dylan opened the cap. He immediately approached Carla and poured the liquid from the bottle into Carla's mouth. Suddenly, Carla's body glowed. The claw marks on her chest immediately closed up. Carla's ghost, squatting beside Mike, was immediately shocked as she was pulled backward and into her own body. Carla began breathing again, but she had not yet fully regained consciousness.
Dylan stood up, looking at Mike and Carla lying unconscious on the floor. Then he took a breath and let it out.
"Was I too soft?" Dylan asked, looking at the two of them.
[You did what had to be done.]
"I just don't want Maya to be sad if she finds out what happened today to her brother and sister-in-law," Dylan replied.
[Understood, sir. They only became like this because Mike was controlled by CROWS.]
"Yes, our enemy is really just CROWS, not them. Alright, I'm going back to the aquarium (glancing at Mike and Carla once more), but can you make sure Mike and Carla don't get involved with those bastards again? If he still wants to be a gang leader, that's fine," Dylan asked.
[Just raise your Hypnosis skill, sir.]
"Ah, right," Dylan replied.
Dylan raised his Hypnosis skill in his status. Immediately, a hologram screen appeared in front of him.
[Hypnosis Skill Level 4 > Hypnosis Level 5 (max).]
[Upgrade Hypnosis skill using 100 points: 10...20...30...40...50...60...70...100 completed]
[Hypnosis Skill Level 5 > Mind Control Level 1.]
Dylan immediately raised his new Mind Control skill to level three. Then, he looked at Mike and Carla again. He moved Mike next to Carla, then knelt between them and placed his hands on both their foreheads.
He then commanded that Mike and Carla forget everything, forget their connection to Layla, Hans, and Vincent, forget about CROWS, and finally, forget about him and Maya, so they wouldn't bother him and Maya again.
After that, Dylan immediately vanished and reappeared at the aquarium as his body double. He saw himself sitting on the bench watching a dolphin show in front of him with his four wives and four younger siblings. "Splash," water suddenly hit them and completely soaked Dylan. Dylan wiped his face.
"Just got back and I'm already soaked, pathetic," Dylan muttered to himself.
"Waaaa hahaha," Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy laughed cheerfully.
"Hahaha, wet, wet," Fiona shrieked.
"Yeah, hahaha," Iris added.
"Ugh... what the heck," Aaron grumbled.
"Yuck... wet and the water smells a bit fishy," Sarah replied, sniffing her clothes.
Seeing his four wives laughing cheerfully, especially seeing Maya's face laughing freely without a burden, then seeing Aaron grumbling, Clara looking annoyed, and Fiona and Iris excited. Meanwhile, Roger, who had returned to being a cat on his lap, immediately licked himself to clean his wet fur.
"I'm glad they're all happy," Dylan muttered to himself.
***
Meanwhile, at the dojo, "Ugh," Mike opened his eyes. Instantly, his eyes widened, and he turned to see Carla lying next to him, but then he looked confused. He sat up, then was shocked to see his men scattered around the blood-soaked dojo.
"My God... what happened here? Were we robbed?" Mike asked.
Mike immediately turned to wake up Carla next to him. Carla woke up and turned to see Mike, who looked panicked, pale, and confused.
"What's wrong, babe?" Carla asked.
"What happened here? Why are we both lying here? Why are all the guys scattered around?" Mike asked.
"Huh," Carla turned to look around. "Waaaa!" she immediately shrieked and hugged Mike when she saw all their men scattered on the dojo floor, soaked in blood. Mike hugged Carla tightly.
"What happened here?" he muttered to himself, completely confused.