Everyone instinctively backed away in fear as though their own bodies were forcing them to escape. Even the air around him attempted to break free from his presence as heavy gusts of wind were frantically blowing in every direction.
Around his body, sparks of lightning would flash periodically as though he were conducting a high voltage of static electricity.
What are all these card abilities…? There's so many... Wolf used Clairvoyance to inspect the four utility-class Manifest cards that were orbiting the Viper, two of which were birth cards.
'Lurk' was the name inscribed on one of the birth cards, which emitted a colorful Vision Mist, meaning it was a six-star card. It allowed him to become completely transparent while within a shadow.
The other birth card was called 'Gravitational Defiance', which was only a one-star card that granted him the ability to change the direction of his own center of gravity.
The third card was called 'Fear', a level three card with six stars, which could amplify the fear within a target, stunning them temporarily.
The last card was named 'Static Body', which was a level four card with four stars. The ability amps the user's speed significantly by charging the electrical impulses in the body, also generating an electromagnetic field strong enough to mitigate wind resistance.
That card… Wolf thought. That was probably the same one he used to attack Jude, meaning he was definitely the one who saved May.
"This is bad," Snapper gulped.
"No shit, that's the Viper," Amber responded, her tone full of fear. "He's way scarier in person."
May–having recognized the Viper from the memories of her past–was completely dumbfounded by his sudden presence. However, the fear she felt was something that she had been preparing for her whole life, allowing her to suppress it to some extent.
Hmm? The Viper stared at her curiously as she managed to negate the effects of his ability due to a lack of pre-existing fear.
Yet another card appeared in his arsenal, preventing May's confrontation from proceeding any further.
Huh? What's happening?
Her opened mouth was moving but no words were said.
Similarly, the others noticed that they could no longer speak either as though their voices had been stolen somehow.
It was then that Wolf noticed the appearance of another card in the Viper's arsenal: 'Voiceless' (six stars).
Did he really steal our voices? he thought as he turned to his comrades, who had desperately been trying to say something the entire time.
We have to get out of here!
He tried to mouth those same words of warning to the others, however, they were also desperately trying to communicate.
Suddenly, the Viper appeared in front of them with a finger pressed against the mouth of his mask as if signaling them to stay silent. Since they couldn't even speak, it seemed like he was mocking them.
Shit!
With a delayed reaction, Wolf equipped his dagger before he and Snapper began to charge at him.
As Wolf swung his dagger while aiming for the Viper's abdomen, Snapper leapt into the air and attempted an axe kick, however, both attacks proved to be futile as the Viper immediately vanished only to reappear in the same position under the bridge.
How did he–?
Unable to understand how the Viper was capable of instant transportation, Wolf assumed that it might have been an effect of yet another card in his arsenal.
However, the Viper simply used his 'Lurk' ability's Manifesto, which Wolf couldn't read, allowing him to transport himself between shadows while remaining still.
Wolf was not yet able to appraise Manifestos due to the limitations of his Clairvoyance.
While still on the bridge below the welcome sign, the Viper turned away from Wolf's group as though something more significant had occupied his focus… or someone.
Jude…!
The false detective made an appearance once again.
Currently, Jude was suspended in the air, facing the Viper directly.
"Always a man of action, aren't you?" he jested, wiping the dust from his trench coat.
Snapper and Amber's eyes widened simultaneously upon realizing that Jude appeared to be physically uninjured despite the crippling attack he received earlier.
"And here I thought we'd be able to catch up after all these years. So much for a reunion, hmm?"
Reunion? Do they know each other? Wolf questioned internally.
From the way Jude spoke, it was quite clear that they may have been former acquaintances: either friends or foes.
In this case, the latter seemed much more likely.
The Viper continued to stand in silence, leaving only a few meters between him and Jude.
"Ugh, still as boring as ever," Jude moaned while rolling his eyes.
He then turned to Snapper and the rest of his party, who were still just as speechless as the Viper himself.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he mocked, aware that the Viper's ability was in full effect.
Snapper grew a frustrated frown, wishing he could curse at Jude.
"So, you've used that ability, huh?" Jude said to the Viper while displaying a conniving grin with ugly facial contortions.
Once again, no reply could be heard from the Viper, who just continued to stare at Jude menacingly from behind his mask.
"I'll admit," he began, pointing at the Viper's scarred mask, "breaking that thing was smart. Tracking you down was much harder after that, but much more fun too, so I won't take it into account." He began to make strange gestures while holding his face in his hands. "However, that doesn't change the fact that this day will ultimately be your last. Got any final words?"
"..."
Toward his silence, Jude sighed with exhaustion.
"Well, aren't you at least going to show it to me now, Viper?" He waited in anticipation, but began to frown again as the Viper remained still.
"Oh c'mon! After spending so long trying to hunt you down, the least you can do is show me that long weapon of yours. Look, I even drew a target for you." He pulled his hair back to reveal a drawn dot on the center of his forehead.
"Go on, show it to me!" he demanded. "I can never forget the way it looked. It's been on my mind ever since the day you left me. Now, what was it you used to call that thing…?"
Jude tapped a finger against the bottom of his chin while tilting his head up like he was trying to remember something.
"...Venum?" he recalled in amusement before noticing the slightest twitch of the Viper's hand. "Hah, such a fitting name for something so deadly and potent; just the thought of it is enough to get me all riled up!"
He began to dance in the air as though he were high.
"I envy that brother of yours, you know. Even he got a taste of it, and he gained far more loyalty from you than I ever did. Even now, I still wonder what kind of expression he made that nigh—"
"You talk too much." The Viper spoke in a coarse tone, rugged and slightly muffled behind his mask.
"Oh? So he speaks…"
Another card with a Vision Mist appeared within the Viper's arsenal, and from it, a weapon began to protrude.
Once it was halfway out, the Viper grabbed it, releasing its body from the card by force.
Wolf and his friends could only gape at the sight of it.
That's it, isn't it? Wolf marveled, His weapon…
With one hand, the Viper held the notorious weapon responsible for a whole generation of fear that plagued the entire Garmen region for 14 long years: 'Venum'.
His X-card summoned a long rifle–a weapon unfamiliar to this world–made of an obscure energy, originating from an unknown realm within the card itself: the 'Void'.
He immediately pointed the heavy rifle at Jude, precisely aiming it weapon with only one steady hand.
BANG!
Without any hesitation he pulled the trigger.
The sound of the ammunition, as it was forcefully shot from the barrel, ripped through the air and echoed through the streets with a deafening blast that pierced the ears of those who heard it.
Wolf and Amber, whose ears were much more sensitive than the others, felt a sharp incessant ringing inside of them as they held their heads in silent agony. Their screams and groans were left unheard by those before them.
As soon as Jude received the impact, his head jolted back so far that he started facing the sky.
The projectile had hit him exactly where Jude's mark was placed, a line of steam rolling out of his forehead.
However, there was nothing that could indicate any sign of harm.
"So those are the so-called Void Bolts you use to puncture your enemies, huh? Not bad."
Jude cooled his head down with a wave of his hand before retrieving the wedged projectile that dissolved between his fingers.
Using Lurk, the Viper warped himself onto the roof of a building closer to Jude before firing another bolt from his weapon.
Another piercing wave of sound caused Wolf and Amber to drop their heads again.
The bolt travelled with the same velocity as the last one, however, once it made contact with Jude, it caused an explosion.
Unable to anticipate this, Jude took the impact of the blast head on before flying backward into another building.
Crash!
Witnessing this, Wolf and the others suspected that the fight might've been over already, however, that wasn't at all the case.
How… Their eyes widened in shock as Jude miraculously made an almost immediate recovery, emerging from the smoke of the explosion.
"I'll be honest… I wasn't really expecting that one," he admitted while patting his trench coat, its sleeves partially torn off by the explosion.
His arms would've suffered a similar fate if not for the unique card in his possession.
"What the hell is even happening?" Snapper blurted, completely puzzled by their exchange.
"Wait a minute, can we finally hear each other now?"
"It seems that way," Wolf replied to Amber, relieved that he could hear everyone's voice again.
"Viper!" May suddenly screamed, glaring at the masked man, who transported himself to the building beside them. "It's really you, isn't it?!"
She then stepped forward as a feeling of confidence began to stir up inside of her.
"May!? What the hell are you doing!?" Snapper exclaimed.
"May, it's too dangerous, stay away from him!" Amber screamed as she watched May run closer toward the base of the building, unable to take a step forward to reach her.
Why can't I move? she thought, realizing that her body had practically been frozen in place.
Wolf and Snapper were also experiencing the same thing: the effect of the Viper's card ability, Fear, which had continued for a long duration, stunning them in place. The only reason they could move earlier to attack the Viper was due to their fears diminishing momentarily, countered by immediate urgency.
"You know exactly who I am, don't you!?" May yelled at him. "Why did you do it?! Why did you take my parents away from me?!"
A stream of tears–reflecting nothing but darkness–began to fall from her eyes as she finally confronted the Viper.
"Every time I close my eyes, it's like I'm there again: covered in my mother and father's blood, with that same weapon pointed right at me. Everyday since it happened, I played that scene over and over again in my mind, until I finally realized something…"
Upon hearing May's words, Jude raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what she had to say. Wolf was also concerned, unable to decipher whether or not she had actually figured out the truth.
"That night… you had an opportunity to kill me… but you didn't. I remember you turning your head away, almost like you were afraid to shoot... You hesitated, didn't you—"
"I don't hesitate."
The Viper quickly aimed his weapon at May and instantly pulled the trigger.
"May!" Wolf cried, the fear finally escaping his bones.
"Projectile threat absorbed."
Upon hearing that robotic voice, a sense of relief whirled up inside of him.
"Rota…"
"Greetings, Miss Maybelle," the device Summon, who had just saved Maybelle's life, replied to its master. "Initiating return sequence… Return sequence complete."