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***
Huxell was born in 1979 in a small town in the Republic of Rocario. He had a perfectly normal, law-abiding and healthy family, except for a slightly odd family tradition of not giving boys surnames, only first names. Some problems arose because of this, but nothing serious and everyone went on with their lives as usual. The family was well off, any conflicts between its members were rare and usually quickly resolved. It would seem that there was an ideal environment for the growth of the little boy Huxell. And so it really was, but only until he went to kindergarten.
He didn't have any problems in kindergarten either, but a little oddity in his behaviour was detected. Even though he had an almost perfect family and Huxell's psyche should have been in about the same condition, but it turned out to be a little different. Nothing that serious, but he did have definite communication problems. He didn't want to make contact with anyone. The carers and other children treated him normally, so the reason for his unsociability was not quite clear. But later on the problem was found out. As Huxell himself said - he was just not interested. He was not interested in socialising and playing with other children. He wasn't interested in anything at all. 'I'm not interested. I don't enjoy it.' - that's how he put it in a conversation with the teacher at the time. He had no developmental problems because of this, so no one paid much attention to it.
After kindergarten Huxell entered junior high school and about halfway through his studies he started smoking. The exact reason was unknown, but most likely he just wanted to try it, as it happened to other kids. He tried smoking, but it didn't work and eventually he developed a strong dependence on cigarettes. And by some miracle he was able to hide his habit from his parents until high school, but by that time there was nothing they could do about it. And as he entered high school, his appearance underwent a change. Smoking made him look noticeably older than his age. As a high school student, he already looked like a grown man.
Huxell's studies did not go smoothly. He was far from an excellent student and several times rolled into a complete triple, but still most of the time he managed to maintain a balance and be a good student. It wasn't easy for him, though. He was a pretty smart guy himself, even smarter than many excellent students, but despite this, studying was hard. And the reason was the same as in kindergarten - he did not enjoy it. He, like many other people, would like to do what he liked. But the problem was that nothing was interesting. Sometimes of course he watched films that interested him and got some pleasant feelings, but it was very little. Nothing could bring him real pleasure. And without pleasure, he couldn't do anything as efficiently as possible. In fact, all that kept him in school were his parents and the realisation that there was nowhere to go without education. You could say he was just going with the flow.
School was over, but for the sake of higher education, he needed to keep going. Huxell's parents helped him with money, after which he moved to the capital of the country and went to university. Nothing radically new happened to him. He studied the same way, socialised little, and looked even older. Everything would have gone on like this until one day, when Huxell was already in his second year, a new student was transferred to his group. It was the son of some not too important, but still a big shot. The kid had a gigantic ego. He felt that he was the most important, and he considered others to be rubbish. A typical spoilt brat, you might say. Haxell didn't care about him for a while, but that ended when the guy started to piss him off. He made fun of him in every way possible and interfered with his studies. That's when things started happening to Huxell that weren't typical for him. Usually he didn't care about anything and didn't feel any strong emotions, but then he experienced something new. He started to feel anger. His hatred for that guy was growing by the day. He tried his best to hold back, but it couldn't last long.
It was a normal school day. It was recess and Huxell as always went outside to go round the corner and have a smoke. Together with him stood a few more classmates, among them was the guy who started to annoy him again. Then the cup of Huxell's patience finally overflowed. He lost his temper and hit the guy several times, causing him to collapse to the ground. Anyone else would have beaten him up, but not Huxell. That wasn't enough for him. He crouched down on his offender, then took his cigarette out of his mouth and burned out both of the guy's eyes, with no possibility of recovery. He screamed wildly and squirmed in pain. The rest of the classmates were horrified and ran away, but Huxell stayed. With a smile full of enjoyment, he watched the agony of his victim. He was genuinely pleased with himself. It was the first time in his life that he had ever had real pleasure.
Of course, such a thing could not go unpunished. After the incident, Huxell was arrested and put on trial. He faced a criminal sentence for intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm. And then came the day of sentencing. Haxell was brought into the courtroom, the charge was read to him and so on, but he was also asked to confess to his crime, because in this case there was a chance for a reduced sentence. In response to this he smiled and addressed everyone present, including his victim and his parents.
- You... you're all just one big bunch of bastards that are full of shit. I don't give a shit about that blind bugger! I don't give a shit about his parents either! I just wish I'd maimed him more.
He then proceeded to swear at everyone in the courtroom and point his middle fingers at everyone. Because of this, his sentence was only increased. His parents turned their backs on him and he turned his back on them. Eventually Huxell was sent to prison. But nevertheless, he had no regrets.
As time went on. Huxell slowly served his time in prison. Often, as he sat in his cell, he thought back to the moment he blinded that bloke. He remembered the moment he'd finally been able to enjoy himself. It had been great, but he wasn't going to do it again. Although the desire to mutilate prisoners sometimes arose, but for that he could be put in the punishment cell, and plus he didn't want to spoil relations with others. After all, among the other prisoners were those who got him cigarettes, and he couldn't do without them. Soon he forgot all about this desire and the pleasure he had once had.
One day, when he was smoking another cigarette, something strange happened. The smoke of the cigarette suddenly increased and enveloped one prisoner and killed him. Then a strange ability awakened in Haxell, but at that time he did not yet know that it was called нен. It is not known exactly how, but most likely due to some changes in his psyche, as well as a possible user of nen in his lineage, this energy was awakened in him as well. Before he could even realise what had happened, he was captured. It turned out that there was a nen caster in the prison, which was needed so that they wouldn't have to build separate prisons for people like Haxell, who ended up having his nen blocked. But he had yet to use his ability.
Not even halfway through his sentence, one day he had visitors. It all started with a surprise medical examination for all the prisoners. It was strange, but everyone passed. That same day, in the evening, two men came to Huxell's cell. They both wore cloaks that completely hid any features of their appearance, but one still stood out. One of them had unusual eyes that glowed red and appeared to have black sclera. It was this man who approached Haxell:
- Hey, do you... want to go free?
- What?' Huxell asked in confusion.
- I'm offering you early release, but on one condition.
- What's that?
- You will work in a serious organisation. You will fulfil all the assignments it gives you. In return, you'll have freedom, a salary and a place to live. Agreed?
It was all very strange. Huxell thought about the offer. For the most part he didn't give a damn about anything, as usual, but still the desire to go free got the better of him. He had his own good reasons for that.
'After all, on the outside you'll be free to buy cigarettes.'
He accepted the stranger's offer and left prison the next day. It was strange that he had been chosen for this particular purpose, but Haxell simply chalked it up to the fact.
Soon he arrived in the city of Yorkshin, where he was assigned to a special unit that was the Elimination Squad. It was there that he met his teammates, as well as his first really worthwhile friends.
***
There really was... once upon a time. I've forgotten about my past. I've forgotten how I used to be able to have fun. Yes, pleasure.
I tried many times to find something to do, but it was useless. I've tried all sorts of things. I tried many things, but it was all in vain. I couldn't do anything properly. Nothing interested me.
I don't get any pleasure out of it.
I tried many different kinds of entertainment. Games, cinema, music and so on. I've been to various amusement parks. I've tried drinking alcohol and smoking weed, but that didn't get me either. I've tried it all and chucked it all away.
After all, I'm not having fun.
Yesterday afternoon, when we first arrived in this town, Greg suggested I get a hooker. He said I could use the warm embrace of a woman. And I told him I was impotent. That was a lie. In fact, I'm just not interested in spending time with women. I'm not interested in sex, erotica and everything that goes with it. I'm not interested in any of that.
I don't enjoy it.
I burned out a guy's eyes a long time ago. I only remember that now. That was when I really enjoyed it. I wanted to do it again, but I was afraid I'd turn into a maniac like Mike. I tried to find another way to enjoy it, but it was all in vain... until now.
I think I understand now. The purpose of my life... what I live for... it doesn't exist. I've always lived without thinking about anything. I've just lived, that's all. And now I realise that this is the pleasure, however small. I just love living. But even that kind of life needs something else. I need something I can have the most fun possible with. And I know what that is.
Maybe now, after all this time, I can... I can experience again the sensations I felt long ago. Maybe right now I can feel it again. I'll be able to feel it when I kill those two freaks. I'll--I'll--I'll--I'll be able to--
I can enjoy it.
***
My head is ringing, but it's slowly clearing up. The grey veil is gone from my eyes, and my ears can hear again.
- Finish him quickly! - came the voice of the zodiac girl.
When I came to my senses a little more, I found that the hunter with the huge pipe had his weapon above him and was about to smash my head in. It didn't seem like it had been long since I had almost lost consciousness and sunk into my thoughts. Well, they should have been so slow. They're going to regret it when they die. After all, I'm serious now. I will kill them with great pleasure!
The hunter was about to make one last move to finish me off, but unfortunately for him I was already fully recovered. Even before he got me, I tensed up and kicked him in the legs with all my might, so that he didn't have time to react and eventually started to fall down, after which I instantly got up and with another kick of my leg launched him far away. The zodiac girl visibly tensed up at this turn of events and prepared to attack.
After crunching my neck a bit, I took out and lit a new cigarette. Whew... now that feels much better. But it's not so much the cigarette that makes me feel better, but the desire to kill. And this desire is gradually increasing.
When I was about to attack, I suddenly noticed that my body was wrapped in a rope made of smoke. Turning back I noticed that the hunter with the pipe had taken a good drag and then exhaled a large amount of smoke, which quickly began to surround me, intending to cover me with a kind of smoke prison.
That's pretty good. The rope you tied me up with is very strong and I can't break it, and this smoke prison must surely serve for your cunning plan. But you still haven't knocked the cigarette out of my teeth, which means that all your actions are pointless.
I took a puff, after which practically the whole cigarette was smoked out in a flash, and a huge amount of smoke came out of my mouth, which quickly blocked the oncoming smoke of the enemy, and then grew even more, up to the height of the surrounding buildings, and destroyed the rope that bound me. At the same time, the zodiac again sent a dozen birds at me, but they were quickly destroyed just for a moment, flying into my smoke.
Damn, I feel superior to my opponent. And it feels so good.
I noticed that the birds kept arriving anyway, and also a large number of hunter's smoke clones appeared around. Most likely they are preparing some special attack, but I'll be faster.
Without waiting for the enemy to act, I quickly took out and lit a new cigarette, then took another deep but not very deep puff. With another puff, the smoke was even more. Enough to cover the whole neighbourhood without a problem. I concentrated it around me, and a second later it was blowing out in a wave at a great speed. The smoke covered several nearby streets, penetrated the buildings, reached the roofs of some houses, killing all the birds there, penetrated every alley and every crevice. Everything around was shrouded in black, impenetrable darkness. This wave lasted only a couple of seconds and then dissipated as I wanted it to.
The whole street was dotted with a huge number of slightly blackened birds, though there were still plenty of them in the sky. Zodiac had managed to get away from it all, but the other hunter had no luck at all.
Everything went as I had planned.
After a couple of dozen metres, I found myself near the hunter who had fallen under my attack. The poor man was lying on the ground, coughing loudly, clutching his throat. He was coughing up blood. Blood was pouring from his nose, eyes and ears. Surprisingly, he still had the strength to speak.
- Cough, cough, cough! What... what...
- Hm? What did I do? What was that? What happened to you? Which of those things do you want to ask me? А? Okay, I'll answer them all at once. Our abilities are a bit similar, but also very different. You're a manipulator, and I'm an isolator. You can create things out of your smoke, like rope or puppets or something. It's a nice ability, but it's useless against me. As strange as it may sound, my smoke is much stronger than yours. My ability is that when I smoke a cigarette, I can emit a large amount of smoke. Depending on my desires, and the number of cigarettes in my mouth, it can grow to huge proportions. To the point of covering a city. But the point is a little different. As you've already realised, my smoke is dangerous. It's extremely toxic. Even one inhalation is enough to give a person serious poisoning. And even more-- you don't have to breathe it at all. It can enter the human body even if you don't want to breathe. It can do it through other orifices, like the ears. And naturally, the only one who's immune to it is me. I hope I've answered all your questions?
The hunter said nothing in response. He just kept coughing and shaking and staring at me angrily.
- Alright then... I'll kill you quickly.
And really, this poor guy I somehow don't feel like torturing. Grabbing his head, I snapped his neck in a flash. That's one down. All that's left is to finish the girl. What's she doing there, anyway?
Turning around, I saw the last opponent about fifty metres away from me. Judging by the expression on her face, the girl was saddened by the death of her comrade, but she was more angry.
- So, what do we do next? - I turned to her. - Are you going to give up? Or are you going to continue your pointless attempts to fight?
- You bitch! - She gritted her teeth angrily.
Hehe, so she chose the latter.
I decided to act first and launched a cloud of smoke at my enemy. My attack was about to reach its target, but suddenly I noticed a huge number of birds gathered on the roofs of the buildings above. And this time there were really many of them, but they were not going to attack. Instead of attacking, they all started flapping their wings together, forming powerful air currents that were enough to atomise my cloud of smoke.
What? Wow, she can do that.
And that was just the beginning. The number of birds only increased, and they continued to increase their pressure, thus creating powerful wind currents that were directed at me. And the wind was so powerful that it was getting harder and harder to stay on my feet, and some cars started to rise into the air. And even that wasn't all. Several dozen birds descended towards the girl, she stood on them and rose into the air as if on some kind of platform.
Heh, that's pretty good. But it's still total bollocks to me!
I took out and lit two cigarettes at once, and took a good puff and let out more smoke. I kept doing this almost continuously until eventually the smoke rose above all the nearby buildings and began to cover the entire street, forming a dome. The girl tried to fly away, but it was too late. The dome had formed, leaving openings for sunlight in some places. She tried to disperse the smoke with streams of wind, but it didn't help. Zodiac was cut off from the outside world, and no more reinforcements in the form of birds could come to her aid.
Now it was time to finish off the captured partridge.
I started sending smoke clouds of various sizes and from various directions, as well as smoke waves in her direction. There were still many birds and they created wind currents to defend themselves against my attacks, but it didn't last long. Gradually they began to die from the smoke getting to some of them. There were fewer and fewer of them, until eventually one of my attacks reached the girl. For a second, a cloud of smoke enveloped her head, and she couldn't hold on to the air and fell down, crashing and breaking one of the cars with her body. The smoke dome dissipated and all the birds apparently stopped obeying their mistress and flew away.
Victory was almost in the bag.
Without hiding the smile on my face, I headed towards my opponent. Surprisingly, she still had enough strength to get down on the pavement and stand on her feet. Her head and body were covered in blood, but she was still standing confidently and ready to keep fighting while in that position.
- You piece of shit! - She shouted furiously. Although no... she was just furious. - Burn in hell you bastard!
- Come on, lady. Can't you see it's all over now?
- Shut up! Shut up!!! SHUT UP!!!
Wow... She really lives up to her sign. It's the first time I've ever seen anyone get so cocky.
I leisurely approached closer and closer to my rival, while quietly finishing my cigarette. Then the girl showed a new trick. She took some feathers from her clothes and folded them into two fans. In fury she swung her unusual weapon at me. What was remarkable was that even despite her injuries her speed was still impressive, but I could dodge such a thing without much trouble. She hit me several times, and I felt with my skin that the feathers were far from ordinary. They were as hard as steel and as sharp as razor blades. It left me with a couple of scratches on my cheek and a shallow cut on my arm.
- Die! Die!!! Die!!!
Hmm, dangerous weapon. But you lady made a big mistake in engaging me in close combat. I may not look like I'm armed, but I don't need a weapon. You lost.
I lightly inhaled and let out a small cloud of smoke that hit her face, causing her to drop her weapon, collapse to the ground, grab her throat and start coughing up blood. Surprisingly, this was the second time she had inhaled smoke, but she only started coughing now.
- You... you...' she tried to say something, but she couldn't.
Eh~... what a bitch she is after all. Even... she even reminds me of someone. Someone I used to hate with all my heart.
My teeth are gritting with hatred!
I put my foot on her leg and started to give. Every second I increased the force, and she could barely contain her scream.
Crunch! I heard the savoury sound of a broken bone. And that's not bloody enough! I began to break the rest of her bones quickly. Second leg, arm, fingers, spine!!! That's it! That feels so good!
The bitch couldn't hold back any longer and started screaming in pain. Hmm, I don't think that's the limit for her.
I gripped her jaw tightly so she couldn't break free, took the cigarette out of my teeth and burned out her eye.
- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! BASTARD!!!
Ha ha! That felt so good!!! I started punching her face as hard as I could, pounding her head into the pavement at the same time. Eventually her head turned into a bloody chop with bits of skull in it.
That's it. My enemies are defeated. I've won.
Whew~! That was awesome. I just can't believe it... for the first time in such a long time, I experienced again the pleasure that I once experienced during university. No, this time it was better! That's the thrill.
This is it... now I've found myself. I've spent years trying to figure out who I am. I've been trying to find something to do to be happy... to enjoy. Turns out I'm a sadist. Wow.
I'm not, though. I mean, it's an unreal thrill, but you can't get carried away. I should do it as little as possible. I'm really gonna end up like Mike.
But the real and lasting pleasure for me is just living. All this time I've just been living, and somehow that's been enough for me. Yeah, that's really right. Just living.
After all this time... after all these years... this is it. I finally found myself.
Okay...now I have to go and check on the rest of you.