Chapter 45: The Confrontation

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: The Confrontation

"If we find Liues Morgan, the Jade Dynasty will grow in power to surpass both the Safety Commission and the Starry Group. Now with proper work, we will be ahead of Starry Group since Josephine is in a coma. Jade... are you listening?"

"Yes, father," replied Jade whose mind had just drifted away moments ago.

That white hair still perfectly tucked, in a white amazing suit with a red cape. Just like the depiction of every powerful Good Deeder. But despite all that, the small tired lines beneath his eyes were almost visible to everyone who looked closer.

"Jade, I named this division after you. This is your division. You have to work hard."

"But I am, father."

"Then work harder, goddammit!!" His father slammed his hand on the table angrily. That Chinese face red with exhaustion? Fury? I myself can’t tell. "We NEED a big catch!! You already have an amazing ability and are already a well-trained Good Deeder. Angel is missing from the public eye, Josephine is almost dead. The only competition you need to focus on is Liues... we can use—"

TING!!

"Yes," Jade answered his com-link. Then after listening for some seconds to what the com-link said, Jade walked towards his dad’s desk, then close to the glass surrounding the entire upper floor.

"Dad, a calamity has been spotted in the city. Venezuela called in."

"Good. Good.. Good, you go on hehe," smiled his dad. It’s hard to believe he was the one who was angry and frustrated just moments ago.

Jade shot out of the glass and began flying away.

Just moments later, a young lady on the rooftop of a tall building started waving at him. Her eyes did not have anything in them. It was just white. Was she blind? Or is it how she actually is? I myself can never tell.

But relief washed over Jade’s face when he saw her. He smiled. A genuine smile which was not forced. He slowly landed on the rooftop.

"You saved my life."

"I just had a feeling," smiled Venezuela. "Every private division and faction is tense right now, seeing the top place achievable."

"My dad’s case is even worse," said Jade as he sat down on the edge of the roof, his feet slowly dangling from such height.

Venezuela noticed how glum he indeed was. Jade, ever since graduation and awakening his Good Deeds ability, things have not been easy for him. He was forced into intensive training, brutal killing of calamities, all this was conducted by his dad just so he could reach his Fifth Wave. And now when every top division is at the verge of falling — Safety Commission lost Angel, Starry Group lost Josephine — Jade’s dad is desperate for his son to claim the top spot. But the pressure is too much on Jade. After all, he’s just seventeen.

"I just wish we can have a huge catch," mumbled Jade as he continued dangling his legs absentmindedly, the wind at the high building blowing slowly but yet in a steady rhythm.

"Hey, big catches are not easy, y’know. You think you can fight Gunnar and those two menaces of his," she meant Falco and Nene. "Alone?"

"But even the sight of them, Ven," said Jade, his voice becoming filled with eagerness and hope. "Even the sight of them, if I get to fight them... My popularity is going to skyrocket..." He raised both his hands up to describe to Venezuela how his popularity will rise like an airplane.

Venezuela merely smiled at his childish intuition.

"HELP!!! A LIZARD CALAMITY!

L!!"

Both Venezuela and Jade instinctively turned towards the sound. Without a single moment of waiting, both of them leaped towards the shout.

When they reached the scene, it was merely a school kid who had turned into a lizard-like creature. Everyone in the streets was frightened, but the most frightened of them all was the child himself.

Jade, without a second thought, landed down and with his hand froze the leg of the lizard child.

TCHIIK!!!

The lizard screeched. It began running away but Jade, with his crystal power, began creating walls of crystal ahead of the poor lizard boy.

"Stand down, you vile evil..." said Jade slowly walking up to the child.

But the lizard did not relent. It began climbing the wall of crystal that was created, but that was when Venezuela chimed in. With a voice so sharp — her Good Deeds ability is Banshee, a reciprocation to her hero name. When she screamed at the lizard, it made it lose its footing and fall back down with a dull *THUD!*

Then Jade, in an effortless thrust with his hand, pierced the hands and legs of the boy with crystal shackles.

*SHNK!*

The pain was unbearable. The boy began subsiding to his human form slowly.

"Please..." whimpered the boy to Jade. "I swear I’m not bad... I haven’t done anything wrong... I..." Tears prickled down the child’s eyes, tears of confusion, fear, and regret. "I’m a very big fan of yours, Jaden... I swear I’ll never do anything evil... I was just coming from school—"

"What are you going to do, Jade?" asked Venezuela as she slowly landed beside him.

Any Good Deeder knew exactly what to do, but Jade’s face became conflicted, because within that lizard boy, he saw something... someone he will never forget.

Morgan... thought Jade, his hands began shaking.

The crowd had originally been cheering for them, waiting to see how the uprising hero would kill the vile calamity. But after cheering continuously and failing to see a reaction from the hero, everyone began to feel uneasy.

"KILL HIM!!" roared one of the watchers.

"SHOW NO MERCY TO A CALAMITY!!"

"THEY MUST BE EXTINCT!!" said another.

The harsh words kept coming at the child non-stop, and with each insult, the boy visibly shrank with fear. Looking at their faces, they are the actual monsters.

Amidst the crowd, Randal. With those damn short red hairs still sparkling, watched with a little bit of a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

Let’s see what happens before I go. Societal pressure will not allow Jade to let Lizard boy go, and yet he can’t bring himself to kill such an innocent child.

Venezuela also noticed the mild hesitation. She slowly grabbed his hands and whispered so only he could hear.

"I can do it in your stead—"

"No," whispered Jade. "I... I have to be the one that does it."

With that, a glacier of spikes formed mid-air above the lizard boy’s head. The air around it cracked with cold, *KRAK-KRAK-KRAK!*

"Please Sir, I’m begging you... I’ll do anything! ANYTHING!! I have my mom waiting for me at home, she is a sick woman and if I’m not there to take care of her she’s... she’s gonna die." Lizard boy cried even more, those tears now forming a little puddle below his face.

"I’m..." stammered Jade. "I’m sorry."

I knew it, thought Randal as he turned and started leaving. Fates of calamities will not change. These PIGS will never change. We will have to be the one that enforces those changes against them.

*PENG!!*

Just when Lizard boy closed his eyes, still crying and expectantly waiting for his death, he heard a sound like clashing of metals.

When he slowly opened his eyes, a girl... or more likely a lady, with a bottle of beer at her waist, her face covered with a mask that only revealed her eyes. Her long hair was clipped at the back of her head. She looked completely like a Goddess to Lizard, something like ribbons but far thicker shot out from her hands and deflected and shattered the crystals of Jade.

*CRASH!*

She seems really k—

"What the fuck you looking at my ass for?!" hissed Beare as she turned and gave Lizard a dead stare that instantly made his limbs give in.

"I’m sorry!" shouted Lizard as he smashed his head into the earth in an attempt to apologize.

"Who are you!?" asked Jade, his glaciers and crystals forming and surging with a low VMMM

Then suddenly amidst all this, yellow fog surged and began enclosing the area.

"The fog is poisonous!!" shouted one of the civilians after his skin developed rashes just by breathing the fog. When everyone saw this, everyone began running wild, screaming and heading out. The street erupted into chaos.

But amidst that fog, a young boy — or guy one might say — walked out with Lizard on his back. The guy was running, but when he slowly turned and his eyes met with Jade’s, it was like the entire world had frozen. Time instantly stopped.

Because that guy who carried Lizard was none other than—

"Morgan," muttered Jade, his entire body stiff due to shock. To think the one that would be a member of the infamous calamity is Liues Morgan.

Even Venezuela who intended to attack was taken aback by the sudden class reunion. But that was just it, it was in a split second, but for Morgan and Jade and Venezuela, it felt like an entire day.

Before they could snap out of it early enough, Morgan was already far ahead, jumping across buildings like child’s play.

"AFTER THEM!!" roared Jade who already took off flying after them.

Venezuela also did not relent, she shot off after them, but as she was flying her best, she experienced a shock. The very lady that saved Lizard was easily running at the same pace as her.

How is she this fast? thought Venezuela, but before she could properly digest what’s happening, Beare smiled warmly at her through the mask while still running, then she took off sprinting. And within just a minute she was already following Jade closely behind. She completely left Venezuela behind.

I don’t believe this !!! How is it possible that she is this fast? I am the one flying, she is the one on footh yet she’s easily ahead of me? Howthought Venezuela. This fueled her even more as she propelled even faster and faster in order to catch up with them.

Meanwhile, Morgan who was taking the front lead didn’t seem to be doing well, because Jade was also unrelenting.

"Beare," said Morgan as he turned on his com-link. "Jade is catching—"

"On it," replied Beare at the end of the line. "But don’t cause a scene, if the entire capital finds out that—"

"Fuck you," hissed Beare as she turned off the com-link.

"That damned bitch!!!" shouted Morgan with frustration.

Then Beare, who was behind, shot her ribbons at flying Jade. The ribbons *FWIPPED* through the air and grabbed him right at his legs.

"What?—"

But it was too late. Before Jade could retaliate, Beare swung her hand and sent him spinning and slamming right into Venezuela.

*BAAAM!*

She slammed them both into a building until it collapsed on their heads. *BOOM!* Clouds of dust and debris exploded everywhere.

Then she shot her ribbons like Spider-Man and landed right beside Morgan.

"How’d you like that huh?"

"The exact scene that I don’t want to cause, that’s exactly what you did!"

"Well yeah, how else will they know I’m here?"

This made Morgan halt from his sprinting, then turn and look at her completely clueless.

"What?" Both asked in unison. Morgan and Lizard.

"How else will they know the most strongest binding calamity in existence is here?"

"And who is that exactly?"

"Me duh?"

"Oh my God. You’re hopeless."

"You’re hopeless."

Old things don’t change, Morgan and Beare began arguing again, completely forgetting about their environment.

*That’s when the air went cold.*

Lizard’s voice cracked. "G-guys..."

A low *VMMMM* was building behind them. Amidst the rubble a slow blue glow was forming. Frost was crawling across the shattered concrete, fast — frighteningly fast.

Jade. Amidst those dust and rubble rose from the smoke.

His suit was torn. Blood ran from his lip. One hand clutched his ribs, but his other hand was raised, palm open. The entire sky above them was turning white. A forest of crystal spikes, each one the size of a spear, hung in the air, all pointed at Beare and Morgan who are still arguing.

His eyes were no longer conflicted. They were furious

"You... you hurt Venezuela," Jade said, his voice shaking, not from pain, but from rage. "I won’t let you get away again, Morgan."

"GOOD DEEDS FORTH WAVE: CRYSTAL CLAUSES!!"

*WHOOOOSH — KRAKAKAKAKAKA!*

The whole sky came down.

"YOU GUYS WATCH OUT!!!"

Shouted Lizard