"You move, you die," Caleb muttered and threw the man to the side like he was nothing more than trash.
Turning to face the rest of the men, Caleb thought long and hard about the kind of punishment to give them.
They may have pulled the trigger, but someone gave them the gun. And from the little Caleb observed, he understood that this was not their first doing this kind of stuff.
'If I leave them be, they could come after me again. Not that it will change things, but they could go after other people too.
'I don't know anything about this town's laws or even the nation they are under, but I have to do something.'
He narrowed his eyes and moved towards John who recoiled in fright as he leaned against the shaky walls in an attempt to distance himself from the monster.
He was too scared to run and even if he wanted to, he didn't dare. The warning he issued earlier could come to pass.
'He said he would spare us, but that is only if we follow his instructions! Any suspicious moves could be the end of me!'
He didn't know about his colleagues but he wished to keep his life. And while they too remained in place, their eyes darted back and forth between Caleb and the holes in the walls, weighing the chances they had at escaping and considering the consequences of what would occur should they fail.
Arriving just a few centimetres from the trembling John, Caleb's eyes shined brightly as his system took a complete scan of the man before him.
However, he paused his actions when his senses detected one of the goons making a move for one of the openings leading outside the building.
'A person would never take a threat seriously until you give them a taste of what could befall them.'
Caleb sneered inwardly and turned around to see the man already reaching the hole with a dive. Yet, in Caleb's view, the man might as well be moving at a snail's pace.
His figure flicked and then disappeared before appearing abruptly between the man and the hole, giving a right backhand slap to the man.
*SLAP!*
The sharp sound reverberated throughout the small room. The man didn't even realize what happened.
One moment, he was feeling glad for taking the chance as the escape was just right in front of him, then the next, he felt a powerful force slam into his face like a moving car.
*BAM!*
He crashed into another section of the walls, shattering the wood and sending splinters everywhere. The man ended up in the next room over, completely out cold with blood dripping from his nose and lips.
"Hii!"
John squealed in fright when he realized what happened, the other swallowing any form of retaliation they were thinking of.
"I don't like repeating myself."
Caleb stated with a cold ruthless voice he hadn't used before, his expression a blend of annoyance and slight anger.
It was a stark contrast to the Caleb of Earth and with good reason. He knew he had to present a strong front or these people would take his threat like a joke.
They may have shown fear realizing he was still alive and from what he did to their leader, but they were not completely paralyzed, as they still harboured thoughts of escaping.
"Now where was I?"
Turning back to John, he approached the paralyzed fella and then placed a finger on his forehead after bringing out a section of John's genome and making some modifications to two different gene sequences.
'Let's see how this plays out.'
Ignoring the nonsense John was mumbling, Caleb prompted the system to apply the modifications before stepping back to observe the show.
Abruptly, John felt a weird energy enter his body. Initially, it felt good and relaxing, confusing John about what Caleb was attempting to do.
Then the sensation abruptly changed as a wave of pain unlike anything he had felt before ravaged his body.
"ARRRHHHHH…..!"
A chill-inducing scream escaped his lips as his body trembled and twitched continuously, falling on the floor and rolling around like a wounded creature in its last struggle for survival.
"Hii!"
The rest shrieked and trembled in horror, witnessing the anguish their comrade was going through. It was a cruel scene even they wouldn't wish on their enemies!
Blood seeped out of the nose of John as snot and spit flowed from the mouth. Even Caleb swallowed watching the scene unfold.
'Is it that bad?'
He recalled the pain he himself went through when he applied the genetic changes. However, what he did to John was slightly different.
He isolated the cluster of genes responsible for absorbing and casting magic spells and the set of genes that controlled ageing.
He completely shut off the genes for magic by repressing their expression and sped up the declining rate of the ageing factors.
What that meant was that John lost the ability to use magic and also sped up his ageing process. And under the horrific gazes of everyone, they saw John age rapidly, turning from a middle-aged man to an old one with white hair and frail skin.
"My god…"
Caleb heard one of them mutter as they watched John wail in agony, sounding more and more like a dying old man.
'My god, indeed. That is nasty.'
Caleb swallowed nervously at the sight of the power he had in his hands. The realization made him stare at his palms with a profound gaze.
Several minutes later, John passed out, completely drained and old-looking with no shred of mana leaking from his body.
He appeared almost dead if not for the rise and fall of his body. Then, the others turned to Caleb with trembling bodies and when their eyes met Caleb, they knew they were next.
Forget about his words about killing them if they moved. If Caleb was planning on doing the same to them, then they would rather take their chances.
They exchanged a glance and then dashed in opposite directions.
"How predictable."
Caleb sneered and then went after them.
Their fates?
Already decided and when they finally regained consciousness, all would be made aware of the power Caleb now held.
A power that was bound to raise waves and pique the interest of many around the world.