“Just leave it to us, boss! We’ll bring you that bitchass’s head.”

Bensen’s men were fired up by the proposed incentive of a million Crowns to take down Smoke Pac. They all pulled out their guns and aimed them at their target.

“Here we go again.” Not wanting to get caught up in the crossfire, Razi hurriedly dashed into the mansion. Poking her head outside, she told Bensen. “Uncle, stop this now or I might be forced to call the guards on you! You won’t like the outcome, trust me.”

“Stop bluffing.” Bensen knew better. Looking back at Razi through the door crease, he said, “A little birdy told me that the estate is vacant. You and I both know that no one is coming to save you.”

Razi withdrew her head from outside and cursed several times. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” Looking at Smoke Pac who stood his ground on the porch, she thought, ‘This is all your fault. If you hadn’t slaughtered all my henchmen then we wouldn’t be in this situation.’

“Hmm?” Smoke Pac felt Razi’s gaze piercing his side, but he kept his eyes fixed on the men below him.

Smoke Pac opened his arms in a welcoming gesture and said, “Give me your best shot.”

Bensen’s temperament unwound its limit of idleness which forced him to utter fiercely, “Kill him!”

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The legion of gangsters began the terminal release of their bullets aimed at Smoke Pac. He stood there unwavering, like a mighty foe before his adversaries. Eventually, the gangsters stopped firing and doubled checked their guns to see if they were shooting blanks.

“What the hell?” Bensen couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Atop the porch, Smoke Pac’s pink suit was riddled with bullet holes; residual smoke was rising from the burnt orifices. However, not a single one pierced his flesh. They either ricocheted somewhere or crashed at his feet.

“How is he still standing?” Questioned one man who confirmed that his gun indeed worked how it was supposed to.

“What kind of man is he? Is he even a man?”

More and more of Bensen’s henchmen became confused as they stood there in the driveway staring up at Smoke Pac’s resilient figure. He was like an untouchable island that couldn’t be submerged by a few waves.

“What’s the matter?” Smoke Pac chuckled at their bewildered gazes. “Does it puzzle you that I’m not affected by your mediocre bullets? Ha-ha-ha, you thought you were dealing with some run-of-the-mill guy. You are all sadly mistaken.”

Smoke Pac let his terror seep into the men for a while before wildly shouting, “I am fucking overpowered!”

Boom!

His quaking voice startled Bensen’s men to take several steps back, some of them even started running back to their vehicle.

“I didn’t sign up for this shit!” One man, in particular, caught Smoke Pac’s eye as he hopped into his car.

“Where do you think you are going?” The floor beneath Smoke Pac shattered as he dashed by the group of men closest to him. He immediately arrived at the driver’s seat to catch the door before it closed.

“I didn’t say you could leave.” Glaring at the scared man, Smoke Pac further intimidated him by setting his own eyes ablaze.

“Burn!” Smoke Pac released a dreadful inferno from his eyes that set ablaze the man along with the entire vehicle.

“No! No! ARAAH!” His crying voice billowed throughout the night as his flesh melted from his bones like butter.

“No way! He’s a goddamn monster!” As for the other men who also rushed to their vehicle, they abandoned getting inside after witnessing the other car combusting, moreover, listening to the lamentation of their fellow gang member.

Bensen was at the back of his henchmen nearest to the porch. His eyes were peeled in fright as he looked at the humanoid figure stepping out of the spiralling blaze. “That man… he isn’t the Smoke Pac that I used to know.”

While in a daze, Bensen heard a familiar voice calling out to him from atop the step. He turned his head and saw who it was. “Razi…?”

“Uncle, I told you not to get on his nerve. Now he is going to slaughter all of you and your men just like he did mine.”

“What?” Bensen’s curiosity drove him to the height of the stair where he grabbed onto his niece’s shoulders. “Razi, where did you find that man? Tell me now!” He shook her for the answer to spill out faster.

“Stop! You’re hurting me.” She whimpered while trying to break free from Bensen’s grasp.

“This is nothing compared to the punishment you deserve for killing my son.” Bensen’s angry saliva splattered all over Razi’s face.

“Eww!” She grimaced and tried to use her shoulder to wipe away the spittle. “Turn your mouth away while you speak to me. I don’t want to be poisoned by your old saliva.”

“This is no time for your damn jokes, little girl.” He shook Razi again with enough force that her head almost slip out of joint. “Now answer my question! Who is that man!?”

Both of them looked toward the driveway where Smoke Pac was destroying the faces of the men who tried to stand against him.

Seeing him fight made Razi scream, “He’s an alien!”

“An alien…?” Bensen was confused by this. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what else to tell you, uncle. I only met him 3 days ago. He crashed my party and killed my workers using diabolical magic and he turned me into his slave. I’m only alive right now because he wants my father’s estate. That’s the truth.”

“So that’s why he accompanied you to Prime Head?” Bensen started to understand Smoke Pac’s motive, but what eluded him still was his current nature. ‘How did Smoke Pac become an alien? I’ve known him for many years, or was he always this way and didn’t show it?’

“Woo! That’s another man down!” Smoke Pac tackled a thug to the ground then burst his head apart by stamping on it repeatedly. The brain juices splattered all over.

“Oh my God! I’m going to be sick.” One of Bensen’s henchmen who couldn’t stomach Smoke Pac’s cruelty barfed his guts out on the grass. He almost fainted if his brother didn’t come along to assist him.

“Ken! Get a hold of yourself, man! This is no time to be vomiting. Our life is on the line.” He helped him up.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble, brother.” Ken apologized for having a weak stomach.

“Just stay focused. There has to be a way to kill that fucker.” Both of them directed their eyes at the imminent bane of their existence.

Thus far, Smoke Pac had killed 17 men. He was taking his sweet time ripping through their guts, mainly because he wanted Bensen to experience the ultimate terror of crossing his path.

Smoke Pac tore off another person’s arm and held it high in the air. “Do you see this old man?” He looked around to show it to Bensen but he didn’t see him in the driveway.

“Huh, where is that old bastard?” Doing a further scan of the area, eventually, he located Bensen standing on the porch with Razi. “Oh, there you are.”

Feeling Smoke Pac’s intense bloodlust coursing through her chest, Razi grabbed Bensen’s hand and began leading him into the mansion. “We have to get inside. Come on, uncle. You can still escape if you take the back exit.”

Bensen was reluctant to follow her. “Why are you helping me when I came here to kill you?”

Razi confessed, “I feel bad about what happened to Charlie.”

“But you hated him.” Stated Bensen.

“Yeah, but he was still my family.” Although she despised Charlie for his abysmal character, she wouldn’t wish death on him.

Bensen agreed to go with Razi. “Ok, I’ll follow you, but don’t expect this to change anything between us.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to. Now come along.” Razi was in the middle of leading Bensen across the main hall when they both heard a breaking noise, moreover, saw a door soaring over their heads. It crashed against the wall. This intense development made them stop in their tracks and turned to look at the culprit.

“What in God’s name???” Bensen was shocked by what he was seeing.

Between Smoke Pac’s lips sat a fat cigar. His chest was wide open. The original Rubik’s Cube that merged with his rotten heart was shifting around its magical blocks while exuding a mass of crimson mists.

“Oh no! This is bad.” From her previous experience, Razi understood what that type of red mist meant. Becoming very scared, she turned toward Bensen and told him, “We have to get out of here. If that red thing even grazes us we’re both dead.” They started running again.

“I see you want me to chase you. I like playing cat and mouse.” Smoke Pac got ready to dash ahead after his prey. However, just as he placed one foot before the other, he sensed something chilling approaching swiftly from behind. He turned around and there it was-

“What the fu…?”

Boom!

Smoke Pac got smashed across the vacant space by a vicious force. His tumble broke several of his bones and gravely injured his neck. This was the warm greeting he received from an unexpected monstrosity, powerful enough to challenge him.