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*****
The reason Fini didn't test it immediately was that he didn't want to leave anything to chance anymore. Besides, even without using the Fourth Bullet, he was confident he could handle Killian.
Under the night sky, the battlefield upon the cruise ship was exceptionally fierce.
Although Killian's subordinates were numerous, the addition of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon meant Tony was in no real danger. Having evolved to four stars, the dragon's defensive power had increased tremendously. As long as it wasn't caught in the immediate radius of an Extremis self-destruction, the enemy simply couldn't break through its hide. Meanwhile, a casual swipe of the dragon's claws dealt massive damage; after all, not everyone's regenerative stability was as high as Killian's.
However, while Killian's recovery was powerful, facing Fini only meant that this trait caused him to endure a much longer period of agony.
"This is for researching human bombs!"
"This is for starting terrorist attacks!"
"This is for not coming to find me sooner!"
"This is for messing up my skill extraction!"
Fini grumbled inwardly while systematically pummeling Killian.
Aside from lacking Killian's regenerative factor, Fini far surpassed him in strength, agility, awareness, and combat technique. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, there was essentially zero chance of him losing.
Fini's fists rained down on Killian. Due to the incredible recovery, the wounds closed almost the instant they were formed. Consequently, although Killian looked like he was being beaten senselessly, he hadn't suffered any lethal injuries yet—it was mostly just pure pain. Of course, this was because Fini wanted to vent his frustration first and wasn't specifically targeting vitals.
Killian was beaten too badly to even utter a word, but his rage was building steadily. The temperature within and upon his body rose higher and higher, causing his wounds to knit back together at an even faster rate.
Extremis was powerful, but it was highly unstable—like a powder keg that could be set off by a single spark. Under Fini's relentless assault, Killian struggled to keep himself calm and prevent a self-detonation, but the physical agony and inner fury were pushing his sanity to the brink.
Fortunately, Fini hadn't forgotten his objective despite his anger. If Killian blew himself up before he could harvest enough experience, it would be a huge loss. Seeing Killian's entire body begin to pulse with a blinding red light, Fini finally paused his attack, giving Killian a moment to regain his senses.
"The name 'Mandarin'—where did you hear it?"
Fini looked at Killian, who was half-kneeling on the deck and gasping for breath, and suddenly asked a question. Trevor was just an actor Killian had found—a puppet used to hide the mastermind—but Fini didn't quite understand why he had specifically used the moniker of the Mandarin.
"Huff... huff..." Killian panted, unable to answer immediately.
Fini wasn't in a hurry. He watched quietly as Killian slowly suppressed the red glow flowing over his skin. He was genuinely worried about a sudden self-destruction.
"The Mandarin!?" Killian looked up, standing to his feet to glare at Fini. He said coldly, "I see you've met Trevor!"
"I just want to know where you got that name!" Fini frowned and repeated his question. He felt that the Mandarin persona Killian had created for Trevor wasn't just made up out of thin air, especially considering the ten rings on Trevor's fingers and the existence of the Ten Rings organization. The Mandarin likely existed in reality.
"Hahaha! I am the real Mandarin!"
Killian let out a mad laugh, and the deck beneath his feet turned glowing red. He burned a hole straight through the plating and dropped down, seemingly having no intention of continuing the fight.
Fini froze for a split second before quickly giving chase. Even if he had to give up farming the other Extremis soldiers today, he absolutely could not let Killian escape.
Killian fled desperately. Through the prior exchange, he had come to realize a hard truth: he was simply no match for Fini. He planned to retreat. Tony's "broken promise" years ago had taught him one thing—how to hide.
Ruling from the shadows was what he felt was the safest method, which was the whole reason for Trevor's existence. He didn't know where he had slipped up to let Fini find him, but he believed that as long as he escaped today, he would have a chance to rise again.
Unfortunately, Fini wasn't going to give him that chance. In terms of speed and maneuverability, Fini was superior. Even with Killian fleeing at full tilt, Fini caught up to him effortlessly.
"Fine! I surrender!"
After being kicked back into the ground once more, Killian finally stopped running. He looked around for an opening, and seeing none, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
Fini ignored him completely. He had never intended to let Killian live. He had done the beating, vented his anger, and now only the final harvest of experience remained.
Inhale.
Like a whale drawing in water, the surrounding oxygen was instantly consumed. Under the enhancement of his system skills, Fini's blood greedily absorbed the oxygen.
Exhale.
A hazy red glow flickered across the armor of Incursio. Fini's silhouette vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye. When he reappeared, he was right in front of Killian.
Before Killian could even register the shock, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to find Fini's fist had already punched straight through his torso. With his heart destroyed, no matter how strong the Extremis virus was, it couldn't repair the damage instantly.
"You..." Killian opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
Fini gave him no opening. Worried about a desperate self-destruction, he immediately extended his other palm. Using the Sun energy converted from his Breathing Technique, he aimed right at Killian's head and unleashed a point-blank, high-output Explosion Magic.
With both his head and heart sustaining fatal damage, not even a miracle could save him.
Within a few seconds, the Extremis virus inside Killian faded into darkness. His body slumped to the deck, slowly becoming still.
Fini confirmed Killian's death only after checking the experience gain in his system. After using a final blast of Explosion Magic to clear away the remains, he headed back to help the dragon and Tony mop up the rest of the Extremis soldiers.
"Where's Killian?" Tony asked hurriedly as Fini returned alone. During the battle, he had been keeping an eye on Fini's side. When Killian tried to run, Tony had Jarvis dispatch a suit to intercept, but it had been cut off mid-way.
"Dead," Fini replied simply as he landed on the back of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He began bombarding the remaining Extremis soldiers in his line of sight with Explosion Magic.
"Dead!?" Tony froze for a moment, then fell silent. Eventually, he let out a long sigh but didn't say anything more.
Though the Extremis soldiers were strong compared to normal humans, they were no match for the combined force of Fini and Tony. By the time Rhodey arrived with reinforcements, the battle was already over.
"I'll leave the clean-up to you!" Fini patted Rhodey on the shoulder. "Killian is dealt with. Just announce to the public that you caught the Mandarin, and there shouldn't be any more bombings."
"By the way, I interrogated a few people just now. It seems Killian was working with the Vice President, which is how they hijacked the broadcast stations so easily. You can gather the evidence yourselves—I'm heading out!"
With that, Fini opened a portal and vanished before the stunned eyes of Rhodey and Tony.
Fini didn't go straight home. Instead, he went to his usual practice grounds. He checked his newly extracted eighth skill again, preparing to test the effect of Zafkiel: Dalet.
(End of Chapter)