Chapter 32: Flawless Execution

“… Sorry, Archon.”

Finn suddenly brought his knee up using all of his strength, knocking Archon straight in the crotch.

“Augh-” he groaned, but Finn wasn’t done just yet.

Taking advantage of his momentary vulnerability, Finn pulled his leg out completely from underneath Archon and drove it into his stomach, sending him flying backwards… straight into Lupus.

“Oof!”

The large, bulky man crashed straight into the old geezer, but the impact wasn’t enough to knock the detonator out of his hand. It was, however, enough to send said geezer flying out the window, breaking through the glass. Archon struggled to get back up to his feet, but that was about it. Lupus, however, had bigger problems to be worrying about.

“Ngh…!” He gritted his teeth as he began falling to the ground.

As time seemed to slow down, Lupus roared in anger and called upon the power of his Angelica. “AGH, YOU ASKED FOR IT! Come, Starsinger!”

A bright light suddenly enveloped him, glowing white sparkles with blue outlines forming all around his body. He clenched his fists as an enormous white beam of power shot out of his back and pierced the heavens, momentarily dispersing Storm’s thunderclouds. Because he was too busy saving his own life, he didn’t have time to detonate the mines… but not anymore.

“Hah… hah… good try, kid, but not enough,” Lupus laughed maniacally as he floated upwards. Panting heavily, he held the detonator in his hands, ready to press down.

“Since you don’t want to play my game… GO TO HELL! HAHAHA-“

Suddenly, a bullet flew out of nowhere and pierced Lupus’s chest right in the heart, cutting his words off short. His eyes widened in shock as blood pooled in his mouth, and the glow around him diminished. His body, along with the detonator, fell to the ground, painting the rainwater a gruesome crimson.

And as everyone watched on in shock and bewilderment at what just happened, Finn, expression as neutral as ever, calmly brought his hand up to his ear and pressed on his earpiece.

“Good work, Fanatic.”

*****

“Man, that was… tiring…” Octane panted as he struggled to walk properly, clutching his esophagus in pain.

“Your asthma kick in?” Archon asked weakly, placing a hand on Octane’s shoulder.

“Yeah, but… I think I’ll be fine. What about you? You’re walkin’ like a crab right now, boss…”

“Ah, this is…” Archon glanced at Finn awkwardly.

“Psst. He’s looking at you,” Iris whispered. She had switched back to sitting on top of Finn’s shoulders, since she was more used to it, apparently.

Finn turned in the direction of Archon’s voice and remained neutral. “Uh… sorry.”

“No no, it’s fine… if you hadn’t done that, we very well could’ve failed the mission. It’s just, agh… goddamn it, this hollow feeling…” He averted his gaze and looked to be on the verge of tears. “S-Storm… how’s Lupus…?”

“Dead,” Storm replied flatly, tasked with carrying Lupus’s dead body since Octane and Archon were both injured and Finn had to carry Iris.

The five of them dragged Lupus’s body back to their mansion and rendezvoused with Fanatic, who had gotten there before they did.

“Good shot, kid,” Archon praised and ruffled his hair.

“All thanks to Finn,” Fanatic said with a slight smile. “No casualties, two light injuries. I’d call that operation a success.”

“*Hack* *Cough* I’m dyin’ over here, and you say it’s a light injury?!” Octane cried, coughing and taking deep breaths. “Ugh, you’re lucky I haven’t passed out already…”

“It just means you’re getting better at coping with your asthma,” Fanatic replied calmly. “Relax.”

‘In a sense, Octane is kind of like me, huh?’ Finn thought in his head. ‘I have the Oculus Angelica but can’t see, and he has the Daredevil Angelica yet is afflicted with asthma… how unfortunate and paradoxical.’

“Where do I put this body…?” Storm asked, exhausted. The thunderstorm outside has been constantly using his power, and he carried a grown man all the way here. That was perfectly natural.

“Just pass him over to me,” Archon said, taking Lupus’s corpse from Storm’s shoulders and heaving it onto his own. “My crotch doesn’t hurt that much anymore, so I got it from here. You guys go on, take showers and rest first. I’ll bring the body to Heartbeat.”

“You sure, Archon?” Fanatic asked. “We can wait until tomorrow. There’s still time.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve stayed up for multiple nights in a row before. This is nothing,” he chuckled. “I’ll be back in a bit, you guys don’t have to wait for me to sleep. I’ll try to keep as quiet as possible when returning.”

Saying this, he set off towards the teleporter room, leaving only the rest of us remaining.

“I’ve got to say, Finn… that was one hell of a strategy you used to let me get a clear shot on him,” Fanatic laughed slightly. “Anyone ever told you that you’re crazy?”

“He is. He really is,” Iris said with a stern expression, pulling on Finn’s ears. “You had all of us so confused there, Finn. I had no idea what you were trying to do.”

“It hardly would’ve worked if I said what I was trying to do out loud,” Finn rebutted stoically.

Iris thought about it for a moment, then sighed. “Well… can’t argue with that one.”

Finn walked over to Iris’s wheelchair and set her in it, then used his own memory to head to the men’s bathroom by counting steps. He wanted to do some things with the system today, so he wanted every bit of time possible. After all, an hour out here was only a minute inside the reality rift. He wasn’t about to let anyone else shower before him.

Now that Iris had her wheelchair back, she could take showers on her own, though with a bit of difficulty. That saved Finn a bit of time.

After he finished showering, he headed straight up into his room and shut the door tight, sinking into his bed.

‘Zelestria — pull me.’

[Ara ara~ so eager to see me again? Hehe~ I’ll grant you your wish.]

Finn let himself be enveloped by the familiar feeling of being transported into the reality rift, and opened his eyes.

“Welcome back, Finn.”

Zelestria, hovering in the air as usual, smiled. Her beauty did not waver at all since the last time Finn saw her, but he wasn’t charmed in the least.

“Now then… what can I do for you today?”