Chapter 27 Killing To Save Or Killing To Kill?

[Bam! Bam! Bam!] “Where the hell did they disappear to?” Detective Kim was astonished when he recognized that his bullets did not affect the Black Scorpions who had just vanished out of sight.

“You’re not getting away with my prey, Tainted Scorpion! Minion’s after her!”

“Just now that was…” Detective Kim overheard an angry voice shouting out. “Tainted Scorpion is here!” Coming to this realization, he rushed into room 3 only to discover a wrecked space with no trace of any living beings.

[Thud! Thud! Thud!] “Huh?” Detective Kim heard loud pouncing coming from above him. That’s when he discovered the hole in the roof. “They went above! Team-4 the interlopers are heading your way! Take them out and rescue the hostage! If you see a figure clothed in gold aim for her head!”

The officers who were with Oolong Kim also noticed the orifice above and asked: “Detective should we also join Team-4 on the roof?”

“Not yet! We have to secure the other scientists first.” Detective Kim changed gears. He began running in the opposite direction. “Indoor teams, what’s the status on the scientists?”

“Ahm, they are still sleeping soundly inside their rooms, sir.”

“How can they all be sleeping so soundly through this raucous? It’s almost as if they are already dead. Huh?” Detective Kim realized something all of a sudden. “Wake them up now? It highly possible that the assassins have already made a move on them.”

Right after he spoke through his coms, Detective Kim arrived outside the room that Wade Blackwood was resting in. He rushed inside along with the other officers who just opened the door. “For a coward such as him, there is no way he would be sleeping so soundly. Check his pulse.”

They inspected the sleeping corpse and found out that Wade Blackwood was indeed sleeping—permanently. “He isn’t breathing nor does he has a pulse.”

“It’s the same on our end. None of them is showing any visible wound of assault but somehow they were all killed. I repeat, the sexy doctor and the plain scientist are both dead.”

“Damn those blasted assassins!” Detective Kim exuded a violent outburst which almost exploded the eardrums of the officers who had their earpiece equipped. “We’ve failed to protect these people. How could those assassins have snuck in and killed them all without us noticing? It’s as if they are using sorcery!”

“That’s impossible. They must have had inside help.”

“Are you saying that there is a traitor among us who’s in league with those assassins?”

Due to this statement, the officers in the room started eyeing each other suspiciously while mumbling in low whispers. What brought them out of their assuming circumstance was the urgent report that came in on their communication devices.

“This is Pablo of Team-4! We need backup on the roof! I repeat we need backup on the roof! One of the scientists is still alive but I don’t know for how long! We’ve been completely overpowered! We’re only alive because we didn’t receive any fatal blows!”

“Those assassins are really pro after all. It would seem that they’re not interested in our lives only the life of their target. Should we be thankful for their work ethics?” Detective Kim glanced at the officers looming over Wade's dead body then gave his command. “Listen up everyone! We’re going to give Team-4 some backup. Outdoor teams cover all the exit and keep the assassins occupied on the roof. Snipers get in position! If you see a clear shot take it! We can’t afford for the last surviving scientist to be killed.”

“Roger!”

Every team began moving according to their orders. Detective Kim being accompanied by remaining officers began making their way towards the roof. “Hustle everyone! Hustle!”

[Thud! Thud! Thud!]

A heated battle was taking place on the roof involving Golden Scorpion, Crimson Scorpion along with the black minions. Anna was struggling to defend herself while protecting Deleon’s life. She used her vambrace as a typhoon to generate a whirlwind of chopping intensity. [Whoosh! Whoosh!] The Black Scorpions had to retreat from the blasting radius.

“Tsk! You damn useless Black Scorpions! Allow me to take care of that golden rubbish! Clone Blaze!” [Fwoosh!] Crimson Scorpion created multiple fiery doppelgangers just like last time that she used to decimate Tainted Scorpion’s complex.

“Huh, those things again?” Perceiving the incoming embodiments of infernal death, Anna withdrew her grasp from Deleon’s body and told him to run.

“Alright!” Deleon started dashing in the opposite direction of the incoming infernal doppelgangers, during which he slipped off the roof.

“Kyah!” Deleon screamed like a scared lady. By a slim chance, he caught the edge of the roof before he could fall to his doom. He quickly climbed back up and let out a breath of relief. However, his relaxed temperament was short-lived when he noticed a Black Scorpion dashing towards him from the opposite end of the roof.

“No! Stay away from me! Help! Somebody!” Trepidation influenced Deleon to such an extent, he voluntarily jumped off the roof. But, he hadn’t gotten far due to the Black Scorpion who tossed out a fierce whip around his injured arm and dragged his fleeing ass back on the rooftop.

[Boom!] The moment Deleon crashed into the roof tiles, his eyes discerned a sharp sword swooping down towards his neck. The reality of death forced him to holler out in despair. “WAAAAAAH!”

“Huh?” Tainted Scorpion who was busy fending off the infernal doppelgangers overheard Deleon’s petrified voice. [Glance!] “No!” She discovered that Deleon was inches away from dying. Hence she abandoned Crimson Scorpion’s doppelgangers to go rescue her man.

“Shadow Crawler!” [Zooop!] Tainted Scorpion travelled through the roof’s shade with fierce velocity. Before the Black Scorpion was able to cut off Deleon’s head, she surfaced in front him and swiftly cut off his arm along with several other body parts. [Slash! Slash! Slash!] Bloody meat flew in many directions. [Splat! Splat!]

“Hm?” It was after witnessing this scenery that Crimson Scorpion started getting suspicious of Tainted Scorpion’s behaviour. “Is she trying to save that man so she could kill him herself and claim the final bounty or is she killing to protect him? Her actions seem rather fishy to me.”

“Oi, Tainted Scorpion! What’s the reason for you coming here and impeding my assignment? Your current actions seem really suspicious. Why haven’t you kill that man yet? Tell you what, I’ll call off my Black Scorpions. Go ahead and do what you do best. I’ll let you claim the bounty for this mission or is it that there is some other reason why you refuse to kill him?”

“Damn her intuition for being so sharp. Looks like I won’t be able to keep up the farce anymore. This man will have to die right here and now.” Steadying her resolve, Tainted Scorpion grabbed up Deleon who was shivering on the roof. She held him in a subduing stance while slowly backing away from her adversaries.

At that point in time, Detective Kim along with his followers arrived at the rooftop to witness the showdown. “What’s going on here? It seems as if there is some sort of dispute between those assassins.” As he continued to observe what was going on, he saw Tainted Scorpion made a decisive move.

[Xin!] She withdrew one of her short swords from her rear. It possessed a golden hilt and a black blade laced with poisonous elements. Even a scrape from its sharp edges was enough to paralyze a grown man. Tainted Scorpion aimed this blade directly at Deleon’s chest.

“That’s…?” Crimson Scorpion understood the qualities of that vicious blade. Getting stab directly by it was the end of a regular person’s life. “Is she really going to kill him..?” Right after she finished this thought, everyone present on the roof witnessed Tainted Scorpion shoving the blade deep into Deleon’s chest.

[Splurt!] Blood started oozing out of Deleon’s mouth, also his eyeballs. He slowly turned his head until his eyes met with his life taker. As he drew closer to the brink of death, Deleon mustered all his dying breath to ask: “Why?”

“Sorry, I had no other choice. Please forgive me.” For the first time in her life, Tainted Scorpion felt sympathy for another human being. She quickly stilled her tears from pouring out, moreover, strengthened her mettle.

[Whoosh!] Tainted Scorpion tossed Deleon’s corpse down on the roof with her poison blade still stuck inside of him then gave her eyes to Crimson Scorpion. “Don’t forget who claimed the last kill. That bounty is now mine.”

To further showcased her ruthlessness, Tainted Scorpion stamped on the hilt of her sword which sunk deeper into Deleon’s chest. [Boom!] The impact caused the roof to collapse underneath him. He got sucked into the depths of despair. Afterwards, Tainted Scorpion took out a detonator from her armour then spoke into her earpiece.

“Ember is everything set in play?”

“Yes, boss. Everything is ready.”

Receiving the confirmation from her minion, Tainted Scorpion went ahead and pressed the detonator’s switch. [Beep!] Moments later, the entire complex started exploding. [Boom! Boom! Boom!] Tainted Scorpion took advantages of the bombastic confusion to aid her swift escape.

“We’re pulling out as well.” Crimson Scorpion said to her minions. She gave one last look to the area where Deleon had fallen into. “Was I mistaken about her intentions?” [Fwoosh!] Just like an accumulation of sparks, Crimson Scorpion along with her legion of Black Scorpions vanished from the rooftop, leaving the cops in a disconcerting state of mind.

“Everyone evacuate the building!” Detective Kim’s escape route had already crumbled. Due to this, he had to run to the lower side of the roof and jumped towards a nearby Elij-Plum tree growing in the garden. Luckily, his old bones weren’t that ceased up to where he couldn’t make the jump.

As for the other officers who were still inside the sage house, they also managed to escape to safety with minimal to no injury.