Chapter 116: The Captain’s Return [ Bonus - ]

Chapter 116: The Captain’s Return [ Bonus Chapter ]

The moment the overwhelming pressure descended upon the street, Jet knew that whoever had arrived was far stronger than the assassins pursuing him.

His battered body reacted instinctively to the terrifying presence, and he tightened his grip around Inez while positioning himself in front of Nadia.

The backlash from Asura Mask had already left him struggling to remain standing, and his remaining Mana was barely sufficient to maintain his enhanced physique. If another enemy had appeared, there was little he could do except attempt to escape again.

However, the reactions of the masked Awakeners immediately caught his attention. The eight assassins surrounding them had stopped advancing, and several were staring toward the rooftops with unmistakable alarm.

Their leader, a broad-shouldered man carrying a curved sword, seemed particularly disturbed. He had been preparing to attack only moments earlier, but now his weapon hung motionless beside him as he searched the surrounding buildings.

"Captain Adesewa Afolayan," the leader muttered, his voice barely audible beneath his mask. "You’ve got to be fucking kidding me."

Jet’s eyes widened at the familiar name.

Before he could react, a woman’s voice came from the rooftop overlooking the street.

"You people have caused enough trouble tonight," Captain Adesewa declared, her voice cold enough to send a chill through the surrounding air. "I suggest you stop moving."

Jet immediately looked upward.

Standing at the edge of a six-story commercial building was a familiar woman dressed in dark combat clothing. Her expression was stern, and her eyes moved across the assassins before settling briefly upon Jet and the two girls behind him.

"Captain!" Jet exclaimed, relief flooding through him so suddenly that his knees almost gave way.

Adesewa didn’t answer immediately. Her gaze lingered on his bloodstained clothes, the injuries covering his body, and the frightened little girl clinging desperately to his chest. Something dangerous flashed across her expression before she returned her attention to the masked Awakeners.

The assassin leader had also recognized her, and the realization seemed to have frightened him considerably more than the overwhelming pressure itself.

"Impossible..." the man whispered, taking an involuntary step backward. "The team assigned to her consisted of Awakeners stronger than us. Don’t tell me she killed every single one of them?"

One of his companions turned toward him. "Captain, what do we do?" the assassin asked nervously, his fingers tightening around the spear in his hands.

The leader didn’t hesitate.

"Retreat!" he roared, immediately turning toward the intersection behind him. "Scatter! Don’t engage her under any circumstances!"

The order was followed without question.

All eight assassins abandoned their encirclement simultaneously, scattering in different directions.

Two leaped toward the rooftops, three sprinted toward separate intersections, and the remaining attackers fled through nearby alleys.

Their movements were swift and coordinated, clearly demonstrating the discipline of experienced killers who understood that retreating from an unfavorable confrontation was preferable to dying unnecessarily.

Jet watched their sudden withdrawal in astonishment.

These were the same Awakeners who had pursued him relentlessly across Zenith City, overwhelming him despite his Asura Physique, Asura Arms, Asura Mask, and powerful weapons. Yet the moment they recognized Adesewa, they had abandoned their mission without attempting a single attack.

That alone told him how dangerous the woman standing above them had become.

Unfortunately for the assassins, their decision had come too late.

Adesewa stepped off the rooftop. She simply descended from the building, her body moving with such terrifying speed that Jet struggled to follow her trajectory.

The first assassin died before reaching the intersection.

Adesewa landed beside him and struck his neck with the edge of her hand. The impact snapped his head sideways, and his body collapsed before he could even register her arrival. She immediately accelerated toward the second fleeing assassin, covering the distance between them in an instant.

Her fist struck his back.

The man’s chest burst forward under the tremendous force, and he crashed lifelessly against the pavement.

Jet’s pupils contracted. He had seen Adesewa fight during the expedition, but the strength she was displaying now was completely different.

Every movement possessed an overwhelming degree of speed and precision, and her attacks were delivered with enough force to kill the fleeing Awakeners before they could defend themselves.

The third assassin had already climbed onto a nearby rooftop when Adesewa launched herself upward. She reached him before his feet touched the opposite building, seized his ankle, and dragged him violently back toward the street.

His body struck the pavement with a sickening impact, leaving a spiderweb of cracks beneath him.

She didn’t stop.

The fourth assassin attempted to escape through an alley, while the fifth sprinted toward a parked vehicle. Adesewa intercepted the man entering the alley first, striking him with a devastating kick that shattered his ribs and sent him crashing into the wall.

Before his body finished falling, she had already turned toward the next target.

The fifth assassin barely managed to look over his shoulder before her palm struck his skull.

He dropped instantly.

Jet stood frozen, scarcely able to believe what he was witnessing.

The entire confrontation was happening too quickly for him to process. Adesewa wasn’t merely stronger than the assassins; the difference between them was so enormous that their attempts to escape seemed almost meaningless.

The sixth assassin had reached the end of the street when Adesewa appeared behind him. She seized his collar and hurled him backward with enough force to send his body smashing through the windshield of an abandoned vehicle.

The seventh tried to defend himself.

Mana erupted around his sword as he spun toward her, desperately attempting to intercept her approach. Adesewa didn’t bother drawing a weapon.

She stepped inside the range of his blade, caught his wrist, and drove her other fist directly into his chest.

The assassin collapsed without another sound.

Only their leader remained.

He had fled farther than the others, using his companions’ deaths to gain as much distance as possible. By the time Adesewa turned toward him, he was already approaching another intersection.

"Shit! Shit! SHIT!" the man cursed, pouring Mana into his legs as he desperately accelerated.

He didn’t look back again. He didn’t need to. The terrifying pressure approaching from behind told him everything.

Adesewa caught him before he reached the next street. Her hand closed around the back of his neck, and with one brutal movement, she slammed his face into the pavement.

CRACK!

The assassin’s body went limp.

Adesewa straightened and released him, allowing his lifeless body to collapse onto the ruined road.

From the moment she stepped off the rooftop to the instant the final assassin fell, fewer than three seconds had passed.

Jet stared at the scene with his mouth slightly open. His exhausted mind struggled to reconcile what he had just witnessed with the woman he remembered from the expedition.

Back then, Adesewa had been a formidable 3-Star Awakener whose experience and combat ability had earned the respect of everyone under her command.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

Adesewa turned toward him and began walking back along the devastated street. Her expression remained cold until she approached the three of them, at which point her gaze softened slightly.

"Jet, are you still capable of walking?" Adesewa asked, examining the blood covering his clothes.

Jet opened his mouth, then closed it again. He glanced toward the corpses scattered across the road before returning his attention to her.

"Captain..." Jet began, his voice filled with disbelief. "What the hell was that?"

Adesewa raised an eyebrow. "What was what?" she asked, although the faintest trace of amusement appeared in her expression.

Jet gestured weakly toward the street. "You just killed eight Awakeners in less than three seconds! Those bastards have been beating me black and blue for hours, and you treated them like insects!"

Adesewa glanced toward the bodies before returning her attention to him. "They were assassins sent to murder you and two innocent girls," she replied calmly. "I wasn’t particularly interested in giving them another opportunity."

Jet couldn’t argue with that.

"Captain, what Star Rank are you now?" Jet finally asked, studying her with growing suspicion.

Adesewa regarded him for a moment before answering.

"5-Star," she replied.

Jet froze.

For several seconds, he simply stared at her, wondering whether his exhaustion had caused him to misunderstand.

"Wait... 5-Star?" Jet repeated, his eyes widening. "Captain, weren’t you a 3-Star Awakener when we entered Beyond?"

"I was," Adesewa confirmed, crouching briefly to examine the wound on his arm. "And before you start asking questions, yes, my advancement has something to do with what happened during the expedition. But this isn’t the place to discuss it."

Jet swallowed.

A 5-Star Awakener.

Adesewa had advanced by two entire Stars since the expedition.

He immediately thought of the Palladium Fruits, but even those extraordinary treasures shouldn’t have made such a breakthrough seem so straightforward.

Advancing through the Star Ranks became increasingly difficult as an Awakener grew stronger, and the difference between a 3-Star and a 5-Star was enormous.

There had to be more to the story. Unfortunately, the seriousness in Adesewa’s expression made it clear that she wouldn’t entertain his curiosity tonight.

"Captain, please tell me those people are really gone," Nadia interrupted, approaching cautiously with Inez holding her hand. "We’ve been running for so long, and Jet is badly hurt."

Adesewa turned toward her, and her expression softened considerably.

"Those eight won’t be troubling you again," she assured Nadia. "But I can’t promise the others have stopped searching. We need to leave before another team arrives."

Inez cautiously peeked from behind Nadia. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked exhausted enough to fall asleep standing.

Adesewa crouched slightly to meet the little girl’s gaze.

"You must be Jet’s little sister," Adesewa said gently, offering her a reassuring smile. "Your brother told me about you. You’ve had a frightening night, haven’t you?"

Inez nodded timidly before glancing toward Jet.

"Is my brother going to be okay?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Those bad people kept hurting him."

Adesewa looked toward Jet, and the concern in her eyes returned.

"Your brother is very stubborn," she replied, placing a comforting hand on Inez’s shoulder. "But he’s also strong. We’ll make sure he gets treated once we reach somewhere safe."

Jet managed a weak smile. "See? Even the Captain thinks I’m difficult to kill," he told his sister, although the movement sent another sharp pain through his ribs.

Adesewa gave him a disapproving look. "Don’t mistake surviving for being fine, Jet," she warned. "Your injuries are serious, and I can tell you’ve exhausted most of your Mana. You won’t be fighting anyone else tonight."

Jet had no intention of arguing. He doubted he could survive another encounter even if he wanted to.

"Captain, I tried calling you," Jet explained, carefully shifting his weight to ease the pain in his chest. "I also tried reaching Frey, but he isn’t answering. Do you know whether he’s safe?"

Adesewa’s expression became serious again. "I know his family was attacked," she answered. "I’ve been trying to coordinate with the surviving members of our expedition while dealing with the assassins sent after me. I haven’t confirmed everyone’s condition yet."

Jet’s relief diminished.

"So this really is about the expedition?" he asked quietly.

Adesewa nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, Jet. The attacks were coordinated, and they began almost simultaneously," she explained, glancing toward the surrounding buildings. "Whoever organized this operation knew where our people lived, who their relatives were, and which individuals could be used against them. They even deployed separate teams according to the strength of their targets."

Jet remembered the assassins’ terrified reaction when Adesewa appeared. Their leader had mentioned a stronger team being assigned to eliminate her, which meant the mastermind had understood just how dangerous she was.

And that raised an even more disturbing question.

How much did their enemies know about what had happened after the expedition?

"Captain, what happened to the other team?" Jet asked, recalling the leader’s frightened words. "The assassins said stronger Awakeners had been sent after you."

Adesewa’s expression turned cold. "They found me earlier tonight," she answered. "Unfortunately for them, their information was outdated."

Jet glanced at the bodies scattered across the street.

He could imagine how that encounter had ended.

Adesewa approached him and placed a hand beneath his uninjured shoulder, supporting him when his legs threatened to buckle.

"We can discuss everything once we’re somewhere secure," she said firmly. "For now, I need you to bring Inez and Nadia with me. The others are waiting, and I don’t intend to lose anyone else tonight."

Jet looked at her sharply.

"The others?" he repeated.

Adesewa nodded, but there was no relief in her expression.

"Cassian, Marcus, Safiya, and Bastian are alive," she revealed. "I’ve managed to gather them together, although reaching everyone else has been considerably more difficult."

Jet felt his stomach tighten.

"What about Odhran?" he asked. "And the other expedition members?"

Adesewa remained silent for a moment.

When she finally answered, her voice was heavy with anger.

"Jet, you and Frey weren’t the only ones being hunted," she said grimly. "Every member of our Raid Team was targeted. Some managed to survive the initial attacks, but others weren’t so fortunate."

Jet stared at her, already dreading what she would say next.

Adesewa tightened her grip on his shoulder.

"Several of our people are dead, Jet," she revealed. "And the worst part is that whoever is behind this knows far more about us than they should."