The Faceless Man-Chapter 49: The Drama Ends

The soldiers were scared as hell. Fake explanations crowded their minds—stories they would tell later to the other officials. If they pinned it all on Armstrong, they’d be fine. It was easier than explaining how someone’s head had blown apart without anyone lifting a finger.

But that was the least of their worries.

Their fighter had collapsed—killed in the very place he’d come to dominate—leaving the battlefield completely unbalanced. If they stayed, armstrong would killvthen. No question about it.

Silently, they began tapping each other’s shoulders and backs with their forefingers, nodding to the right. Everyone understood the signal, they needed to get out of the Mutts.

And to make it even better Armstrong never noticed, he was too busy trying to help the pinned-down Ross—the perfect picture of a damsel in distress.

Above all, they needed a plan.

They couldn’t run straight to the gate; that’s where Armstrong was, it would be like walking into a lion’s den. There was only one option ,the broken section of the fence Zabi had crashed through after being shoved by the ice spear.

It was safer. Not great,but safer. All they needed was speed and concentration.

The Coffee thorns had disintegrated into places, the coffee dried up, its energy flown back to Armstrong. Like metal attracted by a magnet.

They started their internal timers, every second sharpening their senses.

3...

Hearts started to pound.

2...

Armstrong was still calculating how to help Ross without escalating the problem.

1...

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Seven of them burst through the door at once, squeezing out together. It shouldn’t have been physically possible—but somehow, they managed it.

Footsteps echoed all over, breaking any chance for a stealth operation.

The whole moment slowed down. The soldiers fleeing as Armstrong’s vision snapped toward them too late.

"You’ve gotta be kidding me," Armstrong muttered, the words dragging out as if he’d seen a ghost. The scene felt unreal—cinematic.

With every step, the soldiers drew closer to their extraction point, hope warming up their hearts.

Their was no chance armstrong would do anything to stop them, if the Intel they collected on him when he was fighting zabi told them anything, was that he needed liquids to use his powers. And as of that moment, he had nothing.

Until

They noticed something wrong.

The grass was wet. Slippery. Not coffee—something else. Dew had settled into the grass, the quiet signature of morning’s arrival.

On any other day, it would’ve meant nothing.

Today, it was a weapon.

"Run faster!" one soldier shouted, forcing strength into his voice, pushing the others onward. Their lives depended on it—and they knew it.

Their instincts proved right seconds later, triggered by only a few words:

"Rise—Water Prison!"

Drops of water lifted instantly, as if pressure had been applied from below. They met in midair, bonding into streams that twisted together, hardening like the coffee had before.

For a heartbeat, the soldiers ran with nothing in their way.

Then—

Guuuu!

An ice cage formed around them, sealing every direction.

"Fuck!"

Some collapsed in terror. Others stood frozen, speechless. The cage was terrifying—beautiful, even. A work of art.

"You ain’t going anywhere but the police!" Armstrong shouted.

His attention barely lingered on them. He already knew they were finished—physically and psychologically. Their fate had been sealed from the start.

He turned back to Ross, who had fainted. The pain had overwhelmed him, mixed with the hollow relief of Zabi’s death. As bad as the situation was, it gave Armstrong a chance.

A chance to remove the metal.

"All right," he muttered. "Let’s do this."

He knelt, gripping the metal rod with his right hand so tightly it should have bent.

Siiing.

He pulled slowly, carefully, avoiding the rib cage. The farther it came out, the more blood coated it. One look told the truth—Ross being alive at all was a miracle.

"Here we go."

He yanked it free.

Blood rushed out faster than kids running to lunch after being told they wouldn’t get one. Armstrong reacted instantly, thrusting his left hand over the wound.

"Blood bending—Cell Bridge!"

The bleeding stopped. The blood flowed inward instead, seamless, as if carried through an invisible pipe.

Then he formed a layer of ice—shaped like a bandage—sealing the wound front and back.

For a moment, it looked like perfect first aid. Warmth returned to Ross’s body. Life crept back in.

"Let’s get you inside, faceless man."

Armstrong hoisted him over his shoulder and walked into the house, leaving the soldiers trapped in their icy prison as the sky softened with the colors of early morning.

...

Underground Facility — Unknown Location

Veteran walked through a long white corridor. Bright lights flooded every inch. Vintage doors branched off along the way, but he ignored them all. His focus was straight ahead—on a massive door at the end.

Click.

He opened it.

Guu.

The door shut behind him, revealing a hangar overlooking a vast hall. It resembled the bases villains used in old action movies—except this one was entirely white. Walls. Floor. Everything.

Masked scientists filled the space, wearing lab coats instead of armor. Each group worked in its own zone. Where weapons and jets should have been, there were devices—experiments, test subjects, half-born ideas.

Innovation ruled here. Evil intent guided it.

And at the center stood something far more interesting.

A massive circular device, towering above the rest—the same design Marie had discovered in her father’s book. It stood like a monument, surrounded by scientists whose work orbited it.

The very device Veteran had wanted.

The secret project Elod Mutt had been handling.

Perhaps even the machine that caused his death.

Curiosity was a bitch. It always got you killed.

"Welcome, sir," a voice echoed into Veteran’s helmet, thick with a British accent.

The others were poor at hiding their identities. Veteran forced them to wear masks—to eliminate any chance of personal loyalty. Besides, if everyone wore one, no one questioned why he did.

"How is the project coming along ?" Veteran asked, voice unreadable as ever.

"Everything is proceeding as planned. Soon, you’ll be able to break the timeline however you wish."

"That’s perfect," Veteran replied. "Continue your work. I’m going to recruit our new Enforcer."