The fireball Kyle launched was so powerful that it couldn't be compared to the low-rank fireballs casted by the thug. Everybody including Kyle was shocked at what had just happened.
Several other thugs were also unable to escape the impact of that fireball, which greatly reduced the amount of opponents Kyle now had to face.
At this point out of the ten thugs that attacked him there were only four more opponents left that he had to fight.
"Shit, I thought this kid was supposed to be weak but how the hell is he so strong?" A thug complained.
"Obviously that's because he has awakened and now a metahuman. But if any one of you think about backing off I'm going to kill you myself." Brute yelled furiously.
The rest of the thugs could no longer back out of the fight after hearing Brute's threat. Moreover, they believed that Kyle was outnumbered by them, so they still had the advantage and if they played their cards wisely they could still win this fight.
They smartly surrounded Kyle on all sides in a circle formation placing him in their middle. This was a strategy that they used against their opponents several times and it always worked in their favour. However, this was only applicable to opponents within their category, which Kyle was currently way above but they were all unaware of this fact.
The thug standing in front of Kyle dashed towards him with two short daggers. His movement was swift and precise but from Kyle's perspective the thug was moving slowly.
Kyle easily evaded his attacks, and grabbed both arms of the thug and twisted them forcing him to drop his daggers before kicking him in the chest.
Kyle had put too much power in his kick because he was unable to control is strength yet again. However, a chain suddenly wrapped itself around Kyle's arm attracting his attention.
Before he was able to recompose himself, Kyle was shocked by a flow of electricity from the chain, forcing him to scream and fall on his knees.
The thug holding the chain jubilated. "Yes, I did it." He had thrown the chain at Kyle's arm when he wasn't focused before activating his electrical ability to shock Kyle by passing electricity to him through the metal chain.
"Good job, tie the stupid kid up with the chain before he wakes up," Brute instructed as he pointed at Kyle who was now kneeling on the ground without moving. He also shifted his gaze at the thug holding the chain."And you should hold on to that chain in case he wakes up." Brute said.
The other two thugs immediately approached Kyle and started to wrap his arms using the chain. Natasha who was watching from her hiding spot almost ran out to stop them but she hesitated because of what happened next.
As the thugs were busy tying Kyle up in the chain, the three thugs holding the chain suddenly screamed out in agnoy for several seconds before they suddenly lost consciousness.
"Fools"
Kyle muttered before he slowly stood back up on his feet. He effortlessly broke the chains to free his hands and looked up at Brute.
"Now it's your turn." Kyle remarked with a devious smile. His entire demanuer had changed and it was as if Kyle had become a different kind of person.
Kyle strode confidently toward Brute who was taking a step back in order to maintain the distance between him and Kyle.
"How is this possible?". Brute asked as he was extremely shocked by the entire scene before him. All his colleagues are down including Slick who fainted after Kyle broke his wrist earlier.
"You... You were... You were unconscious just a few seconds ago. How did you...you do..." Brute stuttered.
"Oh! I was just kidding, that shock did nothing in fact it only tickled me but I think I overdid it when I tried to do the same to them." Kyle responded sarcastically as the wicked smile on his face grew wider.
"You sly bastard." Brute cursed at Kyle
Kyle approached Brute slowly. "It's funny to hear that coming from you, just like you know about me, I also know a few things about Brute. You see, Slick might have always been the leader of this group but I have always known that you were the most cunning of them all. I also know that all this while you've just been waiting for Slick to make a mistake before you expose your true nature and backstab him."
Kyle took a glance at Slick's body lying on the ground.
"My guess is that you already have enough evidence that would finally take him out of the game and also earn you the favour of your big boss. Until now, the whole situation has been favorable, so I am eager to see your next reaction after I have ruined your plans. Are you going to make the first move or should I?" Kyle had a very calm expression as he was standing facing off against Brute.
"Hahahahahaaa..." Brute laughed. " You're definitely smart kid, I'll definitely give you that. Only you could see through my ploys when even this dumbasses didn't. Indeed, you are a variable I missed but I think both you and I will do well if we join forces. I have a plan to make us both rich and you can forget about this filthy life."
"Sorry, but you're the one with a filthy life." Kyle refused Brute's offer instantly.
I thought you were smart, but you seem dumb too. I should have found a way to eliminate you long ago but I wasn't too bothered by it then because you were too weak to do anything....." Brute paused and tied a chain around his fist before he continued."I won't be making such a foolish mistake again and as retribution I'll definitely really finish you off right now."
In a confident manner, Kyle challenged him, "What's holding you back from attacking or were you waiting for my invitation?".
"Fool, do you honestly think that you could beat me just because you gained some power? Though I must admit it is very commendable that you were able to take out my men and the idiot, I am nothing like them and you're about to find out why."
Without any restraint, Brute charged directly at Kyle. His speed was twice as fast as the rest of his colleagues, but it was nothing compared to Kyle's speed.
Kyle avoided all Brute attacks with ease. However it was undeniable that each of Brute attacks contained enough force that could rival even a D rank metahuman even though he was an E rank metahuman.
"You're such a bastard Brute, all this while you have actually been keeping your true rank a secret and with this battle prowess there's no doubt that you're definitely a D rank awakener." Kyle remarked as he continued to evade Brute attacks.
"Hahahaa... you finally understood that you're no match for me in any way kid." Brute boasted.
"You have got to be kidding. Is this the whole package? Honestly I can't say that I'm not disappointed and I actually thought you had some sort of really exclusive hidden card under your sleeve that would guarantee you a victory but it turns out to be just a meaningless secret." Kyle felt disappointed that this would actually turn out to be another boring fight. He didn't know why he felt that way but he just wanted to taunt Brute to get a stronger reaction from him.
"You dare mock me?" Brute was outraged by Kyle's insult towards him. As a result, his attacks became more aggressive and destructive.
"Give it a rest Brute, you're nothing special." Kyle continued taunting Brute.
"You ignorant bastards, you look down on me all the time. I trained my abilities and worked hard to get to this stage to prove myself, yet you dare to say I am nothing."
"Tell me how many D rank awakeners you have come across in this whole region that live as a lackey to a good for nothing minor gangster. I deserve better than all of this, and just when everything was about to be set in stone for me, you just had to ruin it." Brute kept attacking Kyle ferociously as he complained.
"Geez, you really have to relax and stop blaming me for your pathetic life." Kyle kept on mocking Brute. "If you continue this way, you'll lose all your stamina much faster. It's all good for me but I kinda want to prolong this fight a little bit just to have fun."
"Is this some sort of joke for you?" Brute roared.
Kyle jumped backwards to put a small distance between him and Brute."Of course, did you actually think you posed a threat to me like you were previously?" Kyle answered calmly.
"You crazy punk, how can you say that when you haven't been able to throw a single punch back at me?"
Kyle expression changed. "I was enjoying the conversation but it seems like you really wanted me to take you seriously." A wicked smile appeared on Kyle's lips. "Well that can be arranged."
Swoooooooosh!
Kyle suddenly appeared in front of Brute and punched him on the left side of his cheek.
However, this time Kyle controlled his strength to prevent him from passing out like the others.
Nonetheless, Brute felt his jaw crack when the fist collided with his face. "That's impossible? How was I not able to see any of his movement? And how could he be so strong?" These were the questions that instantly arose in his mind at that moment. However before Brute could recover from the shock of the blow he felt the same agonizing pain on the other side of his face again.
The sequence continued to occur a few more times and when it finally stopped, Brute was lying helplessly on the floor with his face all swollen.
"What happened Brute? I actually thought you could take this much but it just proves how insignificant you're to me now." Kyle taunted again.
"I can't understand how this is happening. Two weeks ago you would die from just one of my punches, but now it seems like we're below your standard." Brute had to admit that he and the rest of his gang members had been totally dominated by Kyle in this fight.
Kyle clapped cheerfully. "Wow that was the most sensible thing you've said since all of this started. I'm glad that you finally understood that you are no match for me."
Brute glared at Kyle because he remembered saying the exact words to Kyle minutes ago. As he clenched his fist, he prepared to endure the humiliation in silence but a sudden ray of hope shined for him.
Slick was only pretending to have lost consciousness as he witnessed how Kyle defeated all his men. He also heard Brute reveal his plans to sell him out and finally watched Kyle totally wreck Brute up.
"Monster." This was the only word Slick could use to describe Kyle and before that monster returned his attention towards him he decided to sneak away first.
While the attention was on Kyle and Brute, Slick fled on his bike and was about to abandon his teammates. Unfortunately, he was discovered by Brute at the last minute.
" Slick... Slick buddy...don't leave and help me take this bastard down." Brute yelled out loud.
This brought everyone gaze including Kyle's towards the direction Slick was standing.
"That stupid motherf*****r, how dare he drag me into this mess again?" Slick cursed in his mind.
"This should be fun..." Kyle commented. He was very curious to see how Slick would respond after discovering how he was almost backstabbed by his own friend who was now asking him for help.
Brute also knew the chance of Slick helping was very low currently but he couldn't just give up on his goals just like that. That's why he was making such a massive bet now.
"You really have no shame bastard, after betraying me you still want my help. Why should I risk my escape just for you?" Slick responded furiously and got on his bike.
That was the answer everyone expected. You would think that it was over at the moment but Slick had another strategy up his sleeves that would always work on Slick every time.
Slick was always greedy for both money and power. Brute was very well aware of that fact. "Slick I won't deny what you heard but things are different now. I assure you that if you join hands with me now, you won't regret it and we will share the spoils equally."
After hearing Brute's statements, Slick halted his movement.
"What kind of spoils are you talking about?" Brute asked.
Brute smiled and slowly started getting back on his feet. It was only a matter of time before Slick agreed to his offer.
"My new employer promised to make me the real boss of this neighborhood. You and I can share it equally and we can become leaders here. All you have to do is help me take this little brat down." Brute revealed his true motive to Slick which everyone heard.
"Are you playing with me? The only person that can challenge Big Joe is the..." Slick was unable to continue his statement because he finally realized what all this was about.
Brute smiled. "Now you get it, Viper is preparing to take out Big Bob and I'm offering you a chance to be a part of the winning side."
After keeping his silence for a few seconds while he gazed directly at Kyle, Slick finally spoke. "Deal..."
Hearing slick response Kyle smirked. "How Sly, well that was expected." he muttered.
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