The Golden Destroyer

Over the past 72 hours, the tension in the neighborhood had become palpable. Gang scouts and cops were constantly patrolling the area all day long. Everyone expected a retaliatory attack from the gang at any moment. Even if they didn't know how their comrades had died, or if they were even dead. But they knew where they had been last seen. Given what I do, I couldn't leave yet, not until Earl was out of danger. For that, I was ready to hunt down all those thugs one by one, if necessary.

When I think about it, it's quite ironic. Not long ago, I was an average guy leading a dull and laborious existence; even the deaths of strangers on the news repulsed me. Now, I was a being of pure violence that I struggled to suppress every day.

I hadn't become a psychotic and amoral jerk, far from it. But I didn't feel anything when I killed the guys in the garage, or when I was planning to take care of the others.

I don't know how to explain it, it's as if my innate need for violence and domination as Gidorah prevented me from feeling any guilt for those who were not worthy in my eyes; it's as if it was legitimate. I was convinced that I had managed to keep all my human traits intact. It seems to me that this is completely false.

It was more of a blend that harmonized day by day. On one hand, my human side prevented me from doing stupid things; on the other hand, my draconic side strengthened me both physically and mentally.

If I delve into my memories, Gidorah was and considered himself a king instinctively; I suppose that must have played a big part in the whole process. However, I will make sure to always remain human in my choices, gradually accepting that I was not.

"Yeah, I'm not going to mutilate the first guy who looks at me the wrong way," I chuckled.

---

The Gang's Hideout

"What are we waiting for to go and kill that son of a bitch? It's been four days since he iced our guys."

"Calm down," the boss said with a stern look, "he's a powerful bastard, according to our employer. We underestimated his reaction. But we'll be prepared for our revenge."

"And what are we waiting for?" "We're mutants, damn it," another said, freezing the cup he was holding, turning it to stone.

"According to our employer, that won't be enough," the boss added.

"Damn it, why are we doing this job anyway?" another asked.

"Because we were handsomely paid. And depending on our results, our salary will double," the first guy replied.

"Besides," the boss said with a smile, "our equipment and the help sent by our employer are here."

"That bastard's going to get what's coming to him."

---

The street is pretty empty today, I thought.

The garage was open, and Earl still wasn't there. Considering how much he cares about this place, it doesn't bode well at all, if I were to play the superstition card. Or to put it simply, he went to get my papers. Despite the incident and my nature, he was still nice to me.

While I was lost in my thoughts, my senses suddenly went on alert. I didn't even have time to dodge when I felt a projectile hit me like a train, slamming me into the car behind me.

"What the hell was that?" I said, panting, dazed.

A bullet doesn't do that kind of damage. I had a gaping hole in my chest that was already starting to close. The pain was just awful. I had tested my skin's resistance with all kinds of stuff. It was ultra-resistant.

As I registered this, the car I had landed on was also impacted by the projectile. A team of men wearing what appeared to be hyper-advanced exoskeletons stopped at the entrance of the garage. One of them pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it inside.

The grenade was just as absurd as the bullet; it completely leveled the building. Luckily, I was the only person present inside.

I hadn't even emerged from the burning rubble when they started firing at me again. These guys were prepared; they weren't giving me any breathing room.

"A gang, my ass!" I shouted mentally.

"Stop getting pushed around," Reason told me.

With a human scream, I freed myself from the rubble as I projected a significant amount of lightning, disintegrating everything in its path.

To my surprise, my assailants were intact. Upon the impact of my lightning, force fields had deployed to block them. At the same time, the shot, from what I presumed to be a sniper, narrowly missed me as I tilted my head to avoid it.

---

Although he doesn't seem to have any martial abilities, this guy is no pushover, Taskmaster chuckled as he reloaded his anti-material rifle.

He withstood vibranium bullets, and these mutants can't subdue him. Very exciting, he laughed.

As he was about to reload for another shot, he saw the guy cast a brief glance in his direction. He was located nearly 2 km away; for him to have spotted him was absurd.

However, he hadn't lasted in this business by not listening to his instincts, however far-fetched they might be.

---

In addition to having annoying armor and weapons, my adversaries were damn mutants. Despite everything I threw at them, none of them were hurt. Our battle had spilled over from its initial area to several streets.

If the fight dragged on, it risked attracting unwanted spectators and causing unnecessary casualties.

Besides, I was already tired of it; they were weaker than me. Their resistance was starting to annoy me. For my other personalities, fighting in human form was an insult to what we were.

"I hope people have evacuated the area."

"Let's see if you can handle 100,000 tons of pressure," as a wild smile adorned my features.

---

"Damn it! Damn it! What a son of a bitch! He sent me to test a monster like that!" Taskmaster swore as a lightning bolt just leveled the building where he was.

The second the guy took that form, he knew he was in deep shit. The armored mutants didn't even last a second.

"Damn it! What a mess!" Taskmaster swore, fear gripping him as debris rained down on his position.

The damn photos circulating online barely scratched the surface of this thing's grandeur.