Chapter 156 - 157: The Inner Member

Chapter 156: Chapter 157: The Inner Member

The man attacked with the kind of desperate, reckless fury that came from someone who had finally realized he was in way over his head and had decided that the only way out was through, and he threw a punch that was fast and powerful and deadly in the way that a cornered animal’s attack is deadly.

Daniel wasn’t there.

The man stumbled forward with the momentum of his missed punch and looked around with confusion written across his bloody face and the kind of dawning horror that came from realizing he was fighting someone who was not where he was supposed to be.

Daniel appeared at his left with his hand over his mouth and his eyes half-closed and the kind of sleepy expression that suggested he was not taking this fight seriously at all.

"Sorry," Daniel said with his voice flat and almost bored. "Long ride. I need some rest."

The man screamed with rage and threw another punch with all the strength he could muster, and Daniel dodged without even looking by simply moving his head to one side and letting the fist sail past his ear with a whoosh of displaced air.

The man threw another punch and Daniel dodged again with the same lazy, effortless motion that made the man’s rage burn even hotter.

"You know," Daniel said with his voice still flat and still bored, "I’m also broke. So how about you apologize and give me all your money?"

The man screamed and threw another punch and Daniel dodged.

"This is getting boring," Daniel said.

The man threw another punch and Daniel dodged.

"If this is what inner members are capable of," Daniel said with his voice dripping with contempt, "I wonder how the core members are managing."

The man’s face went red with humiliation and his eyes went wild with fury and his body began to tremble with the kind of rage that made him careless and stupid and dangerous.

"You... you..." he stammered with his voice cracking in the middle.

"Yes?" Daniel said with his eyebrow raised and his expression still bored.

The man screamed with a voice that was more animal than human and raised his fist high above his head and punched the ground with all the force he could gather.

The ground exploded.

Daniel frowned.

The explosion was powerful and it tore through the floor and shattered the tables and cracked the walls and sent debris flying in every direction like shrapnel from a bomb.

The patrons screamed and ran and hid and were scared in the way that people are scared when violence erupts in a place that was supposed to be safe.

Daniel looked at the destruction and the broken tables and the cracked walls and the scared people, and his frown deepened into something cold and hard.

"That hurt people," he said with his voice quiet and dangerous.

The man laughed a cold and cruel laugh that echoed through the ruined inn. "So what?" he spat with contempt dripping from every word. "They’re nothing. They’re nobodies. They’re—"

Daniel interrupted him with a voice that cut through the man’s words like a blade.

"Everyone," he said.

The others looked at him with understanding in their eyes.

"Get everyone out of here. It’s about to be a blood bath."

They nodded and moved with the kind of efficiency that came from knowing exactly what Daniel was capable of and exactly what was about to happen.

Paul ran toward the door and started ushering people out with his voice calm and his hands steady.

Lyra ran toward the other side and helped people up and guided them out with her eyes scanning for danger.

Cheeky ran toward the back and used her metal to create a path and helped people escape with her metal swirling around her like a shield.

Fluffy ran toward the windows and helped people climb out with her small hands pulling and her voice encouraging.

Mittens ran toward the children and grabbed their hands and led them to safety with her heart pounding and her fear pushed down.

Brick Head ran toward the bar and grabbed the innkeeper and carried him out with his arms strong and his face determined.

Within minutes the inn was empty and it was just Daniel and the drunk man standing in the ruins of what had been a peaceful place.

Daniel removed his hands from his pockets with a slow, deliberate motion that made the man’s eyes widen with fear.

His face was serious and his eyes were cold and his expression was hard in a way that made the man’s blood run cold.

The man saw his face and his eyes and his expression and started shaking with the kind of fear that came from realizing he had made a terrible mistake.

"But... but how can you be that strong?" he stammered with his voice trembling. "You’re even in the aura realm..."

Daniel blinked with confusion. "The aura realm?"

The man nodded frantically with his eyes wide and his face pale. "Yes! The aura realm! You’re in the aura realm! How is that possible? You’re so young! You’re so—"

Daniel interrupted him with a voice that was flat and calm. "I’m not in the aura realm."

The man stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide. "What?" he whispered.

"I’m not in the aura realm. I’m in the mortal realm. Stage three."

The man’s eyes widened and his face went pale and his body began to tremble even harder. "Stage three?" he whispered with disbelief in his voice. "But... but you’re so strong..."

Daniel shrugged with the kind of casual modesty that came from someone who had stopped being impressed by his own abilities a long time ago. "I’m just good."

The man stared at him with his body trembling and his face pale and his eyes wide with the kind of fear that came from realizing he was completely and utterly outmatched.

"Please," he whispered with his voice barely audible. "Please don’t kill me."

Daniel tilted his head with curiosity in his eyes. "Why shouldn’t I?"

"I... I have a family. I have a wife. I have children."

Daniel didn’t answer.

"I... I’ll give you money. I’ll give you anything. Just please don’t kill me."

Daniel still didn’t answer.

The man fell to his knees and bowed with his forehead pressed against the ground and his body shaking with sobs.

"Please," he begged with his voice cracking. "Please spare me. I’ll do anything. I’ll apologize. I’ll give you all my money. I’ll—"

Daniel smiled a cold and dangerous smile that did not reach his eyes. "You already apologized," he said.

The man looked up with hope in his eyes. "So... so you’ll let me go?"

Daniel shook his head. "No."

The man’s face fell with despair written across it. "But... but you said..."

"I said I won’t kill you. I didn’t say I’d let you go."

The man stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide and the kind of confusion that came from not understanding what was happening.

"I’m going to break some of your bones," Daniel said with his voice calm and matter-of-fact. "As a punishment. For hurting those people. For hurting that waitress."

The man’s eyes widened with terror and he started to scramble back and he started to run with the kind of desperate speed that came from someone who had finally understood what was about to happen.

Daniel moved.

He was fast and faster than before and he appeared in front of the man with his fist raised and his eyes cold and his expression hard.

He punched.

The man flew backward and crashed into a wall and the wall cracked under the impact and he slumped to the ground with blood dripping from his mouth and his eyes glazed with pain.

Daniel walked toward him with slow, deliberate footsteps that echoed through the empty inn like a death knell.

The man looked up at him with his eyes wide and his face pale and his body trembling with fear.

"Please," he whispered.

Daniel didn’t answer.

He raised his fist.