Tracing its roots, the Fraternity of Assassins was actually founded with the backing of a mutual aid brotherhood. In the beginning, this organization was driven by a genuine sense of justice.
However, everything changed when the divinely inspired Loom of Fate started weaving the names of the Fraternity's own members into its hit list of the guilty. Especially when the very first member's name to appear on that loom was Sloan, the current head of the Fraternity.
Faced with this, Sloan abused his position and altered the hit list to save his own skin. After getting a taste of that power, he gradually turned the Fraternity into a political weapon for the upper echelon of the brotherhood to eliminate their rivals. At the same time, he established a system to rake in massive profits from these "missions."
Cross, the former top assassin of the Fraternity, chose to go rogue precisely because he uncovered Sloan's secret.
Knowing Cross's extraordinary lethal skills, Sloan wasn't confident he could take him out in a direct confrontation. So, he tracked down the son Cross had "abandoned" years ago, intending to use the kid's identity to eliminate the threat once and for all.
That's why Wesley had been brought to the abandoned textile mill for the past few days—to undergo a crash course in assassination. Skipping all the "useless" skills like reconnaissance and counter-surveillance, what Wesley needed most to kill Cross as quickly as possible was intensive training in hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, and firearms.
Right now, he was out in the mill's large courtyard, being taught how to use a knife by a heavy-set guy wielding a meat cleaver, appropriately codenamed "The Butcher." As the two crossed paths, The Butcher used a nimble flick of his wrist to smack Wesley to the ground with the flat of his blade.
It was right at this moment that The Butcher heard the aggressive pounding on the door.
"Check the meter? What the hell is that?"
Already possessing a violent temper, The Butcher was annoyed by the noise. Gripping his cleaver, he stomped over to teach whoever was causing a ruckus a harsh lesson.
But just as he reached the gate, a blast of plasma hit him dead on, vaporizing him into a bloody mist. The glowing, pale-blue energy beam shot across the courtyard and blew a chunk off the back of the factory building.
Amidst the swirling dust and flying debris, intermittent screams and shouts echoed from inside the mill.
Before long, over a dozen heavily armed Fraternity members charged out in a blind rage.
"How rude, making people wait this long without opening the door~"
Unlike the furious assassins, Mike, standing outside the abandoned mill, casually stowed away the tri-barrel plasma gun as if he had just done something completely trivial.
Beside him, John, who had never seen such a loud and brute-force approach, couldn't help but twitch his eye.
Even though he wasn't entirely sure what was happening, his "boss" Mike had already kicked things off. Driven by his hitman instincts, John gripped his Series 4 De-atomizer and instantly darted into the factory.
On the other side, Needy drew an alloy combat knife from her waist and her own De-atomizer, following right behind him.
In an instant, the abandoned mill erupted in a deafening barrage of gunfire. Of course, the chaos ended just as quickly as it began.
[Firearms Experience +99]... [Explosives Manufacturing Experience +99]... [Cold Weapons Experience +99]... [Mixed Martial Arts Experience +99]...
By the time Mike strolled into the factory courtyard, over a dozen Fraternity members were already lying dead on the ground, their corpses in gruesome condition.
The Series 4 De-atomizer was essentially a compact plasma cannon. It was a high-powered weapon specifically designed by the MIB to deal with extraterrestrials. Not only did it pack a massive punch, but it also featured rapid-fire and splash-damage capabilities. Under those circumstances, any living creature hit by it would be lucky to have an intact corpse left behind.
Armed with these weapons, John and Needy were practically unstoppable juggernauts, mowing down anyone foolish enough to stand in their way.
In the corner of the courtyard, Wesley, who still had no idea what was going on and had dropped to his knees to "play dead," stared at the hellscape created by the De-atomizers and finally couldn't hold it back anymore, vomiting violently.
You had to admit, this rookie hitman had incredibly good luck. Because he was unarmed and sprawling on the ground earlier, John and Needy had classified him as a non-threat and hadn't shot him on sight. That was the only reason this greenhorn got a chance to catch his breath.
Now, John was valiantly pushing the assault deeper into the mill, while Needy was locked in close combat with a stunning woman who could curve her bullets. For the time being, neither of them had the time to mop up a loose end like Wesley.
[Super Adrenaline Secretion (Trait) - Bullet Time]
Holding a unique glowing orb, Mike glanced at Wesley, who was curled up like a puddle of mud nearby, and then continued his slow, steady walk forward.
His target was the unique Loom of Fate sitting right in the center of the mill. This loom, possessing the ability to discern good from evil, could truly be considered God's "Blessing" to humanity.
"Fascinating~"
Stepping up to the loom, which had suddenly started running on its own, Mike reached out and snatched the dart-like "Shuttle" zipping back and forth across the machine.
[Blessing: Sin Perception (Trait)]
Sure enough, Mike's guess was right on the money. The part of the loom that possessed the "divine revelation" was the tiny shuttle currently resting in his hand.
"Stop right there~"
Just as Mike was getting a feel for his new ability, Fox, who had been keeping a close eye on the loom the entire time, abandoned her fight with Needy. Pulling off a high-difficulty flick-shot, she fired directly at Mike.
The bullet carved a perfect arc through the air, curving around multiple obstacles, aiming dead-center for Mike's forehead.
Simultaneously, Sloan, the head of the Fraternity hiding behind a corner inside the mill, timed it perfectly and fired a curving shot from behind, aiming straight for the back of Mike's head.
...
Pfft~
With a burst of blood erupting from his forehead, Sloan's eyes went wide before he slumped lifelessly to the floor, unwilling to accept his defeat.
On the other side of the scene, hidden in a patch of tall weeds outside the mill, a bearded middle-aged man slowly lowered his heavy sniper rifle.
Back to Needy. Taking advantage of the moment Fox was distracted, she lunged forward, using her alloy combat knife to turn the woman into a human pincushion in the blink of an eye.
"NO!"
Seeing the stunning Fox die right in front of him, Wesley, who had just been puking his guts out, felt his eyes practically bulge out of his skull as a massive surge of adrenaline unlocked his hidden potential.
With a furious roar, he spun around, scooped up a dropped handgun, and fired a curving bullet while lying completely flat on his back.
His target was Needy, just a short distance away.
Clang!
Amidst an ear-piercing metallic ring, sparks flew from the short blade of Needy, who had spun around just in time. She had literally sliced the bullet right out of the air.
Then, in the split second Wesley took to try and fire a second shot, Needy utilized her superhuman constitution to leap across the gap, landing right in front of the straggler.
She thrust her blade forward, the weapon whistling as it cut through the air.
"Hold on, Needy~"
When Mike's voice rang out, the tip of the alloy knife was mere inches from Wesley's throat.
...
Outside the mill, Cross also paused his finger on the trigger the exact moment Mike called for a halt.
It was safe to say that perfectly timed "pause" saved at least two, possibly even three, lives.
"Are you gonna come out or not, Cross?!"
Mike stepped forward and plucked the handgun from a completely petrified Wesley's grip. After signaling Needy to sheath her knife, he looked out toward the tall weeds outside the mill.
Before long, a scruffy, bearded middle-aged man walked out, a heavy sniper rifle resting on his shoulder.
This middle-aged man, who looked completely average in every way, was Cross, the former top hitman of the Fraternity—and also Wesley's biological father.
He was a man who, in an attempt to keep trouble away from his son, had let the boy grow up in an orphanage. For that very same reason, he had stood by and watched his son's life turn into an absolute mess without ever stepping in to help.
Now, Mike had essentially grabbed him by his ultimate weak spot, leaving him no choice but to show himself.
"Son, do you remember me?"
Stepping into the open, Cross showed at least a sliver of fatherly responsibility. Instead of addressing Mike first, he looked at Wesley with deep, affectionate eyes.
"You're Cross? You killed my father!"
Having heard the middle-aged man's identity from Mike, Wesley—facing his "father's killer"—struggled to get to his feet, desperate to fight the man to the death.
He completely threw his previous cowardice, and even Fox's death, out the window.
"No, son. I am your father. The Fraternity lied to you..."
Driven by guilt, Cross simply stood there and took a few solid punches to the face from his own son.
Then, as Wesley stood there looking completely bewildered, Cross—knowing the full "truth"—tried his hardest to explain everything.
For a moment, the scene was incredibly touching.
Of course, Mike had absolutely zero interest in watching a tearful father-son reunion. He shook his head and said to John and Needy,
"Let's go. Let's see what other good stuff the Fraternity has lying around."
Mike's Special Division X had a huge amount of operational freedom. Aside from the mandatory "hazardous materials" they had to turn in, MIB headquarters usually turned a blind eye to any other loot they pocketed.
"Boss, I saw you dodge bullets point-blank earlier. How the hell did you do that?"
On their way to the Fraternity's back warehouse, John couldn't hold back his burning question.
He had just finished his "cleanup" duty and returned to the main hall right as Mike effortlessly side-stepped the gunfire. That logic-defying scene had genuinely blown the former hitman's mind.
"Just a neat little trick. If you want to learn, there'll be plenty of opportunities down the line."
Mike, who had already penciled in Wesley and his dad as reserve members for his team, casually dangled a carrot in front of John.
If everything went smoothly, he could totally have Cross teach John the bullet-curving technique later.
Speaking of Mike, when he was facing those bullets coming at him from the front and back, he had effectively put his newly acquired [Bullet Time] to good use.
Because of physical limitations, when a normal person activated Bullet Time, the most they could do was fire curving shots. But Mike, who possessed a constitution more than ten times that of a regular guy, felt like The Flash the moment he turned it on.
Everything around him shifted into extreme slow motion. In that state, sidestepping two bullets was practically a walk in the park.
After all, the curving bullets fired by Fox and Sloan didn't have homing capabilities; scoring a kill relied entirely on skill and predicting the target's movements. Therefore, in the brief window after a curving bullet left the barrel, theoretically, anyone with fast enough reflexes and speed could dodge it.