Two shadows descended upon the chaotic scene just before the bullet left the barrel. Theo threw himself over the mother and son, shielding them with his body, while Veer arrived—half-naked—wielding a massive axe in one hand and a rusted metal pipe in the other.
The bullet struck Theo's side and ricocheted violently. By some miracle, no one else was hit by the strays, but that was the least of their worries.
Everyone looked at Veer. His commanding presence hovered over the elders like an angry specter. His bloodshot eyes, smeared with dry tears, focused on them with terrifying intensity.
His scruffy hair and dirt-streaked face gave him the appearance of a beggar, but the sheer magnitude of the weaponry he carried revealed a different narrative. He was more than simply a man; he was a force of nature, a crazy with a mission.
""You... You should be dead," one of the elders said, his voice tinged with astonishment.
