Riley Ross

Chapter 197 197: Uh Oh Again

"Taada!""What… did you do…?"

"I distracted you." Darkday stepped back, keeping the blade inside of Sofiya. He was obviously savoring the moment as he glanced at her. He felt it, the blade sliding in so smoothly through her flesh and even piercing her spine.

He tilted his head, waiting for Sofiya to collapse… but she didn't fall.

"Hm?" Darkday tilted his head to the other side. His grip on the knife handle remained firm, but something felt wrong. He pulled the blade free and examined it—and it was clean. There wasn't even a single drop of blood.

His gaze shifted to Sofiya, who still stood perfectly upright. And true enough, there was no wound on her, not even a tear on her suit.

"Wh—"

"Why…" Sofiya spoke over him before he could say something.

"Why didn't my powers work?" Sofiya asked, her voice steady despite the tears now streaming down her face.

Darkday's head tilted further, confusion replacing his earlier satisfaction. The knife had definitely made contact. He'd felt the resistance, heard the sound of fabric tearing. But now...

"Why is Dragunov dead?" Sofiya's voice cracked as she looked down at her grandson's severed head. "My ability should have prevented it. I can nullify actions, stop things from completing their purpose. It works on super abilities, too. You couldn't have killed him without me knowing."

"Oh…" Darkday pointed at Sofiya, finally understanding just how Sofiya's powers worked—her profile from Bernard's data suggested that it was some sort of special EMP blast that stopped every technology from working.

Well, this was a first—Bernard was wrong. Sofiya's abilities were… beyond that. By her words, wasn't her power similar to probability manipulation? Or at least, something close to that.

And with that thought tickling his mind, Darkday also stood up straight.

"That's because I killed Dragunov as soon as we ended the call earlier," he said casually. "If you noticed him moving earlier, that was because I was controlling his dead body. Amazing, right?"

"You…" Sofiya choked on her breath. Blood began to seep from the corners of her eyes, crimson tears trailing down her cheeks. She knelt slowly, gently placing the baby's body on the sofa with trembling hands. She then carefully grabbed the head, cradling it in the cloth along with the body.

Meanwhile, Darkday only observed her and let her do whatever she wanted.

"Your ability is quite powerful," Darkday said. "Fascinating, really. The applications must be—"

And then, a sudden bang.

Darkday stumbled backward.

"Oh…?" He clutched his leg as blood seeped through his fingers. He glanced at Sofiya, who was now pointing a pistol at him, the smoke still curling from the barrel.

"Huh… why not the head?" Darkday asked.

"Because you're going to suffer."

"Understandable," Darkday nodded, then watched as Sofiya turned the gun toward his other leg.

This time, however, he moved.

Even with the bullet wound, Darkday's speed was almost inhuman. Or rather, it felt random, therefore hard to catch. He lunged toward the light switch, his hand slapping against it.

…But the lights stayed on.

"Oh?"

Sofiya's second shot rang out, the bullet whizzing past his other leg as he dove behind the kitchen counter. The ceramic tiles exploded where the bullet struck, sending fragments scattering across the floor.

"That is very interesting," Darkday called out from his hiding spot. "You could even stop a light from turning off? I wonder, are you also perhaps able to stop the effects of breathing…?"

"If I could do that, then I'd first stop allowing you to talk." Sofiya's footsteps echoed as she moved through the apartment, but as she checked behind the counter… Darkday was no longer there.

"Here." A hand grabbed her wrist from above. Darkday had somehow positioned himself on top of the refrigerator, and now he dropped down, twisting her arm until she released the gun.

It dropped and slid across the floor, and Darkday rolled toward it, snatching the weapon.

He then immediately pointed it at Sofiya, who didn't even flinch at all. She just glared at him with her bloodshot eyes, almost as if daring him to shoot.

"Let's see if you can save the world, Defence Minister."

And to Sofiya's shock, Darkday turned the gun on himself, pressing the barrel against the side of his helmet. And without any hesitation, she heard the trigger click.

But of course, nothing happened.

"Well…" Darkday sighed. "You really should've let that happen. Tut. Tut. Tut."

Sofiya's expression flickered, just for a moment, with confusion. But she quickly remembered the corpses of her family, who were sharing the space with them.

"Eh. Shame." Darkday shrugged and tossed the gun aside. It skittered across the floor and came to rest near Nikola's hanging corpse.

"Well, that was interesting," he said, dropping into a fighting stance. His wounded leg trembled slightly, but his posture remained balanced. "If I can't use my powers, then… shall we settle this the old-fashioned way?"

"That won't work out well for you." Sofiya scoffed. She removed her jacket, neatly folding it on the counter before pulling up her sleeves—revealing all the scars and burns lining her muscular forearm.

"After this is over, you will beg me to kill you."

"Unlikely," Darkday agreed with another shrug. "But eitherway…

…shall we dance?"

***

Back in United Mega Academy, the situation was… quiet. Too quiet, even. How could it not be, when the greatest superhero that had ever lived was now walking amongst them?

More specifically, Megawoman was walking in the mall. Or even more specifically, she was walking inside the Korean shaved ice shop.

The people who were subtly following behind her all stopped outside the shop. All of them wanted to go in, but if they did… then they would actually be within arm's reach of her… and they didn't know what they would do if that happened.

But of course, those outside weren't important at all—no.

Those inside were more important.

Or more specifically… the Baby Crew.

Riley, or more specifically, a clone of him, instantly became nervous even though it was incapable of actually being so.

Megawoman has super hearing. She would hear, or maybe even feel, that inside it was only… nothing. No life at all.

Maybe… she was just here to buy some dessert?

"Hello."

…Uh oh.