RED AND THE APOCALYPSE
Chapter 58 — The Hidden Survivors (PART TWO)
Splash!
Cold water struck Natsuki's face.
His eyes snapped open.
For a few seconds, everything was a blur.
Light.
Shadows.
Movement.
His vision slowly began to clear.
The first thing he saw was a face.
It belonged to the same man he had grabbed by the neck back in the stairwell.
Natsuki's expression immediately hardened.
He looked past him.
Nezuko.
Tokita.
Mira.
They were sitting nearby, their hands bound behind their backs.
On his other side were Aoi and Kaito, restrained in the same way.
The black bags that had covered their heads were gone.
They were all awake.
All watching him.
Natsuki slowly tested the restraints around his wrists.
Tight.
Too tight to break without using his ability.
And judging by the number of armed men surrounding them, using his ability right now would be suicide.
He raised his head.
Only then did he realize where they were.
They were sitting in the center of a massive hall.
The room stretched far beyond what he could see.
Staircases surrounded the central area, leading to higher levels and walkways that overlooked the floor below.
People stood everywhere.
Men and women.
Some carried rifles.
Others held bats, knives, and other weapons.
Every one of them was watching.
Watching him.
Watching the others.
Then footsteps echoed from somewhere in the darkness.
Slow.
Calm.
Unhurried.
A figure began walking toward them.
The man who stepped into the light was tall, with a noticeable scar running across one side of his face.
He wore a faint smile.
Not a friendly one.
A smile that made Natsuki immediately understand who was in charge.
The man stopped in front of him.
"Well, well."
His smile widened.
"Finally, the princess decided to wake up."
Natsuki stared at him.
The man crouched slightly, bringing himself closer to Natsuki's eye level.
"Hey, blondie."
He reached out and grabbed Natsuki's face.
"What's up?"
Natsuki jerked his head away.
The man's smile disappeared.
BAM!
His fist struck Natsuki across the face.
Blood immediately appeared at the corner of Natsuki's mouth.
"Stop!"
Nezuko's voice echoed through the hall.
She struggled against her restraints.
"Leave him alone!"
The rest of Tokita's group just watched the scenario unfolding. They were pissed off as fuck—their expressions alone said it all—but they couldn't act rashly to avoid any unforeseen dangers to the group.
The scarred man slowly turned toward her.
Then he smiled.
"Listen, princess."
He turned back toward Natsuki.
"Your guy here attacked one of my men."
He lightly tapped Natsuki's cheek.
"So I'm just paying him back."
His tone was almost casual.
"Nothing personal."
Natsuki glared at him.
The man grabbed his chin and forced his head upward.
"Huh."
He studied Natsuki's expression.
"You don't break easily, do you?"
Natsuki said nothing.
The man chuckled.
"You're an ability user, aren't you?"
Natsuki's eyes narrowed.
He already knew there was no point denying it.
He had exposed his electricity during the fight in the stairwell.
The scarred man continued.
"From what my men told me, you can manipulate electricity."
Natsuki remained silent.
BAM!
Another punch struck his right cheek.
Natsuki's head snapped to the side.
He coughed, a small amount of blood escaping his mouth.
"YES!" Nezuko shouted. "He can use electricity!"
The scarred man slowly looked at her.
Then he laughed.
"Oh?"
He pointed toward Natsuki.
"Look at that."
He turned back to Nezuko.
"Your girl's already backing you up."
Natsuki's eyes sharpened.
The man looked between them.
"Actually..."
His gaze moved from Natsuki to Nezuko.
"You two look pretty similar."
He smirked.
"Brother and sister?"
Natsuki remained silent.
The man shrugged.
"Whatever."
He turned away.
"I don't really care."
He walked toward the center of the hall and pulled a chair forward.
The legs scraped against the floor.
Screeech.
He sat down.
From there, he had a perfect view of all six captives.
Tokita watched him carefully.
He's definitely the ringleader.
Tokita's eyes moved across the room.
Armed men occupied the upper walkways.
More stood on the stairs.
Others surrounded them from the floor below.
Guns were aimed in their direction.
Even if they somehow broke their restraints, escaping the room would be difficult.
Bullets could come from almost anywhere.
For now, they had to wait.
Wait for an opening.
The scarred man leaned back in his chair.
"So..."
He pointed toward Natsuki.
"The blonde-haired boy is an ability user."
His finger moved toward the others.
"What about the rest of you?"
Nobody answered.
Silence filled the hall.
The man's smile slowly returned.
His eyes moved across them one by one.
Kaito.
Natsuki.
Tokita.
Nezuko.
Mira.
Then his gaze stopped on Aoi.
"You."
Aoi stared back at him.
"You're the leader, aren't you?"
Aoi's expression remained calm.
"What if I am?"
The man smirked.
"Nothing."
He leaned forward slightly.
"You're pretty for someone leading a group like this."
He chuckled.
"Especially for a girl."
Some of the ringleader's crew began to laugh at the statements made by their leader. Even the man laughed at his own remark.
Nobody in Aoi's group reacted.
Their expressions remained cold and unreadable.
Except Natsuki.
His jaw tightened.
Nezuko, meanwhile, kept glancing toward him.
She could see the blood on his face.
The scarred man eventually stopped laughing.
"So..."
He looked at all six of them.
"How many ability users are there?"
Again—
Silence.
The man's smile disappeared.
Then his eyes began to glow.
At first, they emitted a faint purple light.
Everyone noticed.
Tokita's eyes narrowed behind his bangs.
The man slowly raised one hand.
"You know what's special about ability users?"
Nobody answered.
"We can identify one another."
His purple eyes intensified.
"Whether we want to or not."
The glow suddenly shifted, becoming brighter purple.
A strange pressure filled the room.
Then—
A metal object lying on the floor slowly lifted into the air.
The group stared.
The object floated beside the man's hand.
He didn't touch it.
It simply hovered there.
Tokita's expression remained calm.
Telekinesis.
The man looked across the group.
"So..."
His eyes glowed purple.
"Out of the six of you..."
He slowly raised his hand.
"You're an ability user."
He pointed at Aoi.
Then Kaito.
"Naturally, you too."
His finger moved toward Natsuki.
"And him."
Finally, he pointed toward Mira.
"And her."
Four.
Aoi's expression changed slightly.
The man's hand lowered.
"That makes four."
His eyes moved toward Nezuko.
"And the other two..."
He pointed at her.
"Nothing."
Then his finger moved toward Tokita.
"And you."
Aoi's eyes widened.
Tokita remained completely still.
The man smiled.
"The blonde-haired girl and the red-haired nerd aren't ability users."
For the first time, Aoi looked directly at Tokita.
She knew that was wrong.
He's hiding it.
She had known Tokita long enough to understand how carefully he concealed his strength.
Even during his battle against Ragna, he had revealed only what was necessary.
But this man couldn't sense it.
Tokita had hidden himself so well that even another ability user couldn't identify what he truly was.
The scarred man leaned back in his chair.
"Well, whatever."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"I don't really care."
He looked at the four ability users.
"So, what are your abilities?"
Nobody answered.
Not a single person.
The man's smile faded.
He waited.
Still nothing.
Aoi kept her mouth shut.
Kaito remained silent.
Mira said nothing, even though there was panic in her expression.
Natsuki simply glared at him.
Tokita watched.
Waiting.
The scarred man sighed.
"Fine."
He raised his left arm and casually waved toward one of his men.
The man who stepped forward was familiar.
He was the same survivor Natsuki had grabbed by the neck in the stairwell.
The man walked toward Natsuki carrying an iron bat.
Natsuki's eyes narrowed.
The scarred man looked at him.
"Let's try something different."
He pointed toward Natsuki.
"Keep hitting him."
The man stopped beside Natsuki.
"Until they start talking."
Nezuko's eyes widened.
"Wait!"
The scarred man ignored her.
The survivor tightened his grip around the iron bat.
Natsuki stared straight ahead.
The man raised the weapon.
Slowly.
Higher.
Higher.
Until the iron bat was positioned directly above Natsuki's head.
The scarred man's lips curled into a wicked smile.
"Let's see how long your friends can stay quiet."
The bat began its descent.