Reborn with my killer's looks-Chapter 49: the grass cutter

Montez sat with his back against the alley wall and his hands still bound by pnuema suppression cuffs.

Hailee stood over him with her arms crossed and Thadeus leaned against the opposite wall, watching silently.

"Talk," Hailee said.

Montez sighed. "Fine. You want the whole story? I’ll give you the whole story."

He looked up at the night sky.

"I was head of defense at Zhao Corp. It was a stable and good paying job where I got to save lives." His jaw tightened. "Then one day, out of nowhere, me and half the staff got laid off. Company got bought out and became Azzuri Innovations overnight."

Montez’s tone was bitter. "I spent a while looking for work, Anything. But nobody wanted a washed-up defense coordinator from a failed company. My savings ran out, expenses piled up and I was about to end up on the streets."

He paused.

"Then an old friend contacted me. Someone I knew from my military days back in Fortizo. Said they had a good paying and under the table job."

"Kaiser," Thadeus said quietly.

"I said no at first." Montez let out a laugh without any real humor. "I had no interest in turning into that kind of person. But when the situation got worse, I had no more options. So I took the job."

His expression darkened.

"Eventually I grew into the trade and got good at it." He looked at Hailee. "Maybe too good and started enjoying it so much I couldn’t back out anymore."

"And St. Helena?" Hailee asked coldly.

"We were told to... to collect test subjects, Achusoi. For experiments." He swallowed. "I didn’t know what they were planning I didn’t know Kaiser was testing artificial Crest induction. I swear I didn’t—"

"Get to the point."

"I’m trying!" Montez’s voice rose. "You don’t understand, it wasn’t supposed to go that way. We weren’t supposed to—I mean, the fire, the bodies, everything just....."

"Montez." Hailee’s eyes began to glow green. "Stop wasting our time."

"I’m not! I’m just saying that Kaiser’s operation was supposed to be clean and we had protocols and the test subjects were all volunteers technically because they signed."

"MONTEZ!"

He flinched as Hailee grabbed him by the collar and lifted him clean off the ground.

At 6’2", she towered over his 5’7" frame with his feet dangling uselessly.

His face was inches a way from her frustrated glowing green eyes.

"We are not interested in your justifications," she said quietly. "Nor are we interested in your excuses so tell us exactly what happened at St. Helena that night and what it is you did to The Blue Reaper."

Montez’s eyes darted around nervously. "Why is the Vice-Magister of Luce Nera so interested in the Blue Reaper anyway?"

Hailee’s expression darkened further.

"Don’t tell me," Montez continued, a nervous grin spreading across his face. "Don’t tell me he’s the one who’s been secretly cracking that big—"

Hailee headbutted him and the impact echoed through the alley.

Montez’s eyes rolled back, blood gushing from his nose and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

She looked down at him with disgust. "Pathetic."

She spat on the ground next to him.

Thadeus adjusted his glasses. "I understand you’re angry, but we need to keep our composure. It was clear he was trying to provoke you."

"Well he succeeded."

"And now we can’t get anything out of him because he’s unconscious."

Hailee waved dismissively. "We’ll just haul him and torture him awake."

Hailee crouched to reach for Montez but she felt something coming.

Her eyes only glowed green and without even looking she used a slash to intercept just before it could hit her.

"CLANG!"

Sparks exploded outward as the two forces clashed—her wind against... electricity?

The attack stayed there for several seconds, pressing against her defense, blue lightning crackling along the length of a black spear.

The spear withdrew, flying backward across the street and into the hands of a figure standing on a rooftop.

Hailee and Thadeus both looked up.

A man stood silhouetted against the night sky with blonde hair, a full blonde beard and a red bandana tied around his head.

The spear around his hand cracked with electricity.

Hailee’s expression shifted from annoyance to recognition.

"Taser."

The man grinned down at them. "Been a while, hasn’t it?"

Thadeus’s eyes narrowed. "You’ve been MIA ever since Kaiser disbanded eight months ago."

"Five million credit bounty," Hailee said. "Wanted for terrorism, murder and illegal Crest experimentation..."

Taser twirled the spear. "I feel highly honored to be remembered by a lady of your caliber."

"What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Taser pointed the spear at Montez’s unconscious body. "I want that traitorous snake dead that sold us out and got half my crew killed. So we can finally make him pay for it."

Hailee stood slowly. "H’s already in the custody of the Vice Magsiter of Luce Nera hence you are compelled to stand down."

"Sorry to disappoint you Miss Vice Magister but kaiser answers to no one, not even the law."

Taser raised his hand and figures appeared on the surrounding rooftops. Two dozen, three and All armed. The few that weren’t had crests powerful enough to serve as arms.

Hailee let a smile play across her lips, and it

wasn’t a nice one.

"Thadeus. Take Montez and get clear."

"Are you sure."

"I want to have some fun." Her eyes glowed brighter and wind began swirling around her body. "And I might not be able to hold back if you stay here."

Thadeus pressed his hand to the ground and the concrete liquefied, reforming into a circular platform. He grabbed Montez’s unconscious body and stepped onto it.

The platform lifted into the air.

"I thought I told you,"Taser gestured sharply. "that you’re not going anywhere."

And half his men leaped down from the rooftops, charging toward the floating platform.

Others opened fire from their elevated positions.

Hailee’s smile widened, her eyes blazed green, visible energy welled in her right arm and pressure built around her limb like a storm.

She held the position and let the soldiers get closer.

When they were ten meters away she swung her arm with full force.

*SHHHHHHHHHHING!*

A massive compressed wind blade—ten meters wide and only a meter thick shot forward at a devastating speed.

It tore through the first row of soldiers instantly.

Their bodies split, blood sprayed and screams cut short.

The blade didn’t slow down, carving through the second row and third.

Then it changed trajectory—arcing upward toward the building where Taser stood.

The blade hit the structure, dust welling up and for a moment, nothing happened. But suddenly a sound could be heard and the building exploded into debris. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The top fifteen floors had been severed cleanly from the rest. The cut was so clean that for a full second, the structure stayed in place through sheer inertia before gravity took over, and so powerful that the upper half of the building got entirely destroyed, turning into a million pieces of tiny stone.

Dust exploded outward, debris rained down and the ground shook.

Thadeus’s platform wobbled but he stabilized it with a gesture.

The dust cloud filled the entire street and hailee stood in the center of it all, her coat billowing.

The dust was beginning to settle and Montez was still unconscious stop Thadeus’s platform that hovered safely in the air above the carnage.

When the dust had cleared completely Thadeus took a good look at the damage Hailee had caused, spotting her surprised look.

"Don’t worry I checked the pnuema inside the building to make sure there were no civillains inside" said Hailee, but then she Got a good look herself.

"Huh?," Said Hailee quietly while she stared at the carnage. "don’t tell me I over did it, and I was just getting warmed up too." She let out a sigh and pouted.

But the rubble shifted and a figure pulled itself out of the debris.

Taser stood, bloodied and battered but alive. His bandana was gone and his beard was singed.

But he was grinning.

"Not bad," he wheezed. "Not bad at all."

Hailee’s expression didn’t change and she gestured to Thadeus.

He guided the platform away from the battlefield.

"I’d heard you had a named crest, but I never expected it to be this powerful." Said Taser, making his way out of the rubble.

In the Byzantine Empire, certain Topplers were capable of using their abilities in ways that transcended simple manipulation. Through creativity, training or raw talent, they developed techniques so refined that the Empire recognized them with official designations.

These were called ’Named Crests’.

The Prime Twelve, of course, had always possessed Named Crests and a select few who came from the Prime Twelve bloodlines often manifested the same named abilities.

But occasionally, a Toppler would develop something unique. Something worthy of recognition in its own right.

Hailee Cross was one such individual.

Her ability to manipulate air pressure—compressing wind into razor-thin blades capable of cutting through buildings, or expanding it into platforms for flight—had earned her Crest an official name.

She raised her shoulders slightly, a green surrounded her body, and the concrete within 10 meters of her caved in under the sheer pressure of her pnuema output.

"You’re still alive, that’s great and now let me show you why."

"They call my crest....."

Thirty Minutes Earlier . St. Raphael’s Cathedral, Via Sancta.

The Blue Reaper sat on the edge of the cathedral roof, his mask pulled down slightly so he could eat an apple.

The city stretched out below him

He took a bite and chewed it slowly, all owing his mind to drift back slowly to.....

Eight months ago

He woke up in what he thought was a hospital bed but...

He didn’t know his name or how he had even gotten here.

His hands and legs were tied to the bedframe. There were medical equipments on the table that lie to his right and on the table that lie to his left were...

A bible, some holy water, a rosary and a whip.

The door opened and tall beautiful woman with silver braided hair walked in, a priest trailing behind her.

"What’s this...." he’d said. "What’s going on here."

The woman smiled softly, sat on the edge of his bed and patted his head gently.

"Don’t worry," she said. "You’re my brother and your name is Huey Cross."

Relief flooded through him, but the next words that came out of her mouth tore it away.

"But unfortunately," she continued. "youve been possessed by a demon. A creature that knows nothing but death and destruction."*

The look in her eyes

"And demons must be exorcised."

The priest smiled and picked up the whip from the table.

"Don’t worry little brother it’ll be over before you know it and you’ll finally be free."

"No wait, I’m not possessed! I don’t want this! Please."

"Blue Reaper?"

The memory shattered and Huey looked up.