Toxic Demon. One of the eight small gangs of Star City. Unlike big gangs like Purple Demon, Diamond Fenix, or Silver Bullet, the most you could usually hear about them was that they got into a fight with the officers.
But today, their record might include a death.
Axel looked at the group surrounding him, all dressed the same, all staring at him with the same expression.
"So… today I'm going to die. Shit," Axel said to himself as he stood up.
"If I'm going to die, I'm not just going to let them beat me."
With those words, Axel turned his body and ran toward the window. He was going to escape, and with some luck, his bicycle would be more useful than fifty motorcycles behind him.
No one went after him. In fact, nobody moved to chase him, and this confused Axel as he got closer and closer to the window.
Bam.
But instead of being welcomed by the arms of freedom, a heavy blow gave him a warm embrace.
[Danger]
[Severe hit received]
Axel fell to the ground as blood dripped from his forehead. He hadn't noticed what hit him, but it wasn't something normal.
Recovering a bit from the daze, Axel looked at the window, noticing a man dressed like the rest, but with the distinctive feature of a metal hand.
"Well done, Boris, our friend wanted to leave the party," said the gang's leader, approaching Axel.
"All right, kid, are you going to give us the information or not? Last warning." The horned man placed a hand on Axel, showing complete dominance.
But Axel did not answer and only stared at the ground, clenching his teeth. He wouldn't give them what they wanted, even if it cost his life.
"Ha! You damn bastard."
Bam!
Another punch struck Axel's face, making him fall again.
"Congratulations, Rocks, you got yourself a mule of the highest quality!" shouted the leader with a macabre smile.
"Talking to you is a waste of time. Boys, you know what to do." After giving that order, the green-horned man left the place.
The others surrounded Axel like a pack of wolves around a sheep. Axel knew this was the end.
Ever since he became a mule in Star City, he knew this day would come, but he didn't expect it this soon.
"What are you waiting for? You heard your leader! Come on, kill me!" Axel shouted, getting into a fighting stance.
If this was his end, he wouldn't die without fighting back.
Without fear, he launched himself at one of them, ready to punch him.
Bam!
But Axel was the one hit, struck by one of the other gang members.
Before he could fall, another blow landed on his face.
With excitement in their fists, they all attacked Axel.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
[Warning]
[You are receiving critical damage]
The chip's warnings began to appear in Axel's mind, and little by little, he began losing consciousness.
But every time he was about to faint, another blow struck him from a different angle, bringing him back through pain.
Bam!
Pow!
Bam!
[Warning]
[You are taking heavy critical damage]
[Warning]
[You are taking heavy critical damage]
[Warning]
[You are taking heavy critical damage]
[You are dying]
The pain from the blows, plus the endless messages from the chip, slowly broke Axel's mind.
[You are dying]
[You are dying]
Axel didn't even try to defend himself; he took the hits, ignoring the stupid pain.
After all, pain was nothing compared to what he had already lived through. All the humiliation, all those days watching his sister in a coma.
Euphoric, the gang member with the metal hand approached Axel from behind and struck him directly in the back of the neck.
Crash!
The impact landed instantly. Axel's mind began to fade while a burning sensation spread across his body.
No, it wasn't just a normal burn. It felt like someone had injected micro-bombs into his body and detonated them. It was the living combination of pulsating pain and being burned alive.
[Warnin-g-—s]
[Erro#%$]
[#$$%$3]
[#%&$""##]
The chip's messages started distorting as Axel lost consciousness.
Then he understood. His chip had been damaged by that last hit.
[Error]
[Warniiiiiiing]
[%$##$#Error]
[Failure]
Seeing his condition, the gang members stopped their attacks. Axel was hanging by a thread from death.
But Axel didn't give them what they wanted. He smiled—not to look tough before Toxic Demon, but because he found it funny.
It was funny how the object that forced him to live as an outcast all his life broke so easily in an instant.
If he had known this before, he would have taken a beating a long time ago.
[Error]
[$###E##]
[3983774]
[039484]
With his last strength, Axel attempted to stand in a fighting pose.
But unable to follow his pride, his body collapsed on the ground.
[#$#""#$#3]
Everyone kept watching him, but after a full minute without movement, the atmosphere eased.
"All right, boys, nothing to do here. Get the car ready and let's leave this dump."
[9972732]
[$%&$#%/]
The members of Toxic Demon handled Axel immediately, placing him inside a garbage bag and taking him to one of the alleys of Star City's poor district.
***
"Shit, what happened to that kid? Did he steal the money or something?"
In Rocks' shop, he was preparing coffee. It was the fifth time he did it that morning.
Axel had never failed a delivery and he was loyal; he couldn't have run away.
[Incoming call]
Burning himself with the coffee maker, Rocks ran to grab his phone.
"Dammit, kid, where were you? Don't tell me a pretty girl stopped you!"
Rocks answered, showing his golden teeth in a wide smile.
"Hello father, how have you been?"
But the corners of his lips dropped immediately when he heard the voice on the other end.
"Demian?"
***
"Let's see what we can steal from the trash."
Old Wolf—though everyone called him crazy—was one of the few people who kept Star City clean, or at least that's what he claimed.
Because to everyone else, digging through garbage in search of valuable materials to sell for drug money wasn't as noble as he made it seem.
But Wolf didn't care. He was a community contributor to such a rotten city, and that was all that mattered to him.
"Let's see… spoiled tuna from Miss Donal… oh, bronze hair from Mr. Rey… wow, some purple suction lips. I'm sure Miss Stacy uses those for work."
Wolf continued checking trash, looking for treasures.
"Oh, this one is new?"
His attention was suddenly drawn to a large black bag.
"Is this some kind of car?" Full of curiosity, Wolf opened the bag slightly, noticing a strange golden glow.
"Oh, looks like it's something else."
Driven by curiosity, Wolf prepared to fully open the bag.
Slash!
But as he approached again, a hand burst out of the bag and grabbed him by the neck.
The trash had come to life.
[Error]
["#$$2]
[Unique Ability:]
No, it wasn't trash. The black bag opened, and from it emerged a boy with white hair and glowing purple eyes.
A golden mark on his neck, bruises all over his body.
[##"$"]
"Hey, let go of me, let go!"
Wolf tried to break free, but it felt as if his strength drained the longer he remained held.
[No Limit]
It was Axel Cross.