"John is alive."
As soon as they heard those words, they immediately fled from HEX.
They had prepared a plan in case anything went wrong.
A small house deep underground in the middle of the ocean.
"What if he's already chasing us?!" Knox shouted as they flew through the sky.
"He's naive. He'll probably give us an hour or two to run." Nixon replied.
They eventually found the spot and opened a secret hatch leading to the underground house.
Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
"We're good. He'll never find us, right?"
Nixon nodded.
Then his eyes suddenly widened.
"We're fucked."
Knox immediately looked worried.
"What do you mean? We're fine here! They'll never find us!"
"No, no... Conrad."
Knox's heart sank as realization struck him as well.
"What do we do?"
---
Duncan paced around his room, unable to relax for even a second.
He still couldn't believe he had actually spied on Sovereign.
Then his phone rang.
It was Knox.
Duncan picked it up immediately.
"Hello?"
"We have one last job for you, Duncan. After that, we're gone."
Duncan listened quietly.
"You need to kill Conrad."
Duncan froze.
"What?! No fucking way I'm doing that!"
"You have to!"
"No!"
Knox's voice darkened.
"Do you remember the consequences of disobedience, Duncan?"
Duncan exhaled and shook his head.
"Come on, man. I've done everything for you. Besides, how the fuck am I supposed to kill him? He's way stronger than me!"
"Get John's help."
Duncan was even more shocked.
"You can't be fucking serious!"
"Do it."
"N-No!" He stammered. "No!"
"Duncan—"
"Dude, do you really think John is going to help me after I stabbed him in the back?!"
Knox groaned, realizing Duncan was right.
"Just... kill him. Kill Conrad."
"Wha— How am I supposed to—"
The line cut off.
"You fucking piece of dogshit—"
Duncan lowered the phone and groaned in frustration.
"Fuck. Fuck! Fuck you! You fucki—"
"How many more times are you going to say 'fuck'?"
Conrad suddenly walked into the room.
Duncan's body stiffened. "Conrad... hey..."
He forced a smile.
Conrad sighed. "First you betray me, then you betray John."
He slowly walked further into the room.
"You really love betraying the people who save your life, don't you?"
Duncan couldn't answer.
Without warning, Conrad grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"Let go of me!" Duncan wheezed.
"I've been waiting for this day for so long."
Conrad's grip tightened.
"My hatred for you burns so loudly that sometimes even I get sick of it."
Duncan's legs kicked helplessly.
"People like you are nothing but a liability in this world."
His vision began to blur.
His eyes slowly rolled toward the back of his head.
Then Conrad groaned in frustration and threw him across the room.
Duncan crashed into the floor.
Conrad stared at him for a moment. "Killing you is a crime."
Duncan looked up.
Conrad sighed. "A crime against Sovereign."
He turned around and walked out of the room as if nothing had happened.
Duncan lay there, gasping for air.
After a few seconds, he threw his head back against the floor and clutched his forehead.
"What the fuck have I gotten myself into..."
---
Knox paced around the house.
"What are we gonna do?"
Nixon sat quietly.
"Why are you so calm?!"
Nixon didn't answer.
Knox grabbed him by the shoulders. "Think, Nixon! Please! What are we supposed to do?!"
Nixon smiled. "Relax, brother. Sit down."
"No! How am I supposed to relax?!"
Nixon's smile didn't fade.
"There's nothing else we can do, brother. All we can do is wait for the inevitable."
Knox's face twisted. "No... there's gotta be a way."
"You can blame it all on me." Nixon looked down. "It's my fault. I didn't think this through."
Knox broke down. "I don't wanna die..."
Nixon's smile faded. He thought for a moment. Then his eyes lit up.
"There is one thing we can do."
Knox immediately looked up.
"What is it?"
---
John gasped as he woke up.
He quickly sat up and looked around.
The entire tunnel was burning.
"Ah, damn..." He scratched the back of his head. "Did I explode things again?"
Then he noticed four bodies lying across the tunnel.
His expression immediately changed.
John rushed over and checked them.
All four were dead.
His stomach sank. "I didn't do this, did I...?"
"Hello, sir. It's me, Mark."
John groaned. "Oh, get the fuck out of my head, you piece of shit."
He smacked the side of his head. "I should've never put you in there."
"You programmed me to only speak when you're alone, sir."
John frowned. "What?"
"Do you not remember?"
John blinked. "No."
"It appears you still haven't recovered all of your memories."
John rubbed his forehead.
"You're bullshitting me."
"I'm not, sir. You programmed me to only interact with you when you're alone or sick."
John stared into space for a few seconds. "That is... mind-boggling."
"It truly is, sir."
John looked around at the burning tunnel again.
"This radiation." He glanced down at his hands. "Am I going to survive it?"
"Yes, sir. I'm absolutely certain."
John raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Your body has continuously dispersed the radiation. Of course, it did so in a rather violent manner."
John looked around at the destruction. "...Yeah. I can see that."
"So do I still have radiation inside me?"
"Radiation is everywhere, sir. However, there are still approximately one thousand roentgens remaining within your body."
John nearly choked. "A thousand?!"
"Yes, sir."
"How am I not dying?"
"Because the radiation poisoning helped you."
John stared blankly. "Excuse me?"
"Your radiation tolerance increased dramatically. More importantly, you gained the ability to regenerate."
John frowned. "Regenerate?"
"Look at yourself, sir."
John lowered his gaze. His eyes widened.
Every injury was gone. Not a scar remained. His body had completely healed.
"Your abilities are also stabilizing," Mark continued.
"Sooner or later, you'll gain full control over them."
John chuckled. "So in a weird way, those two actually helped me."
"In a very strange way, yes."
John stretched his arms. His joints cracked. "Anyways."
He looked down at himself. "Is it safe for me to live with my friends again?"
"Yes, sir."
John sighed in relief.
"The one thousand roentgens currently inside your body are completely natural."
John froze. "Wait. What? Natural?"
"Yes, sir."
John looked even more confused.
Mark continued.
"After taking twenty thousand roentgens, your body began consuming and dispersing the radiation."
"Consuming?"
"Think of it like eating. You consume food, then dispose of the waste."
John immediately grimaced. "That's a lovely image."
"The remaining radiation is no longer poisoning you. Instead, it is strengthening you."
John looked at his hands again. "So I'll permanently have one thousand roentgens inside me?"
"No, sir."
"The radiation will gradually be used to strengthen your powers and physical body."
John nodded slowly. "Huh."
Then he looked around at the burning tunnel again.
"You know, when you explain it like that, it somehow sounds even crazier."
"I agree, sir."
---
Knox and Nixon walked through the tunnels, heading toward Benjamin's base.
"How is this any different?" Knox asked.
Nixon kept walking.
"Maybe Sovereign will forgive us if we at least kill Hannah's allies."
Knox frowned. "And if he doesn't?"
Nixon chuckled. "Do I really need to answer that?"
Knox fell silent.
Then both brothers suddenly stopped. A familiar sense of unease washed over them.
Their bodies tensed. Their hearts began to race. They knew that feeling.
It was the same feeling they got whenever Sovereign was nearby.
Slowly, they turned around.
At the far end of the tunnel stood a man cloaked in darkness.
Only his glowing red eyes were visible.
Knox's face went pale.
"Fuck."
The brothers immediately flew away.
But John was faster. Far faster.
Within seconds, he caught up to them.
"You're not getting away this time!"
John grabbed Nixon and slammed him into the ground.
The tunnel shook.
"NIXON!"
Knox charged forward and slammed into John, knocking him away.
Forcing himself to ignore his fear, Knox prepared to fight.
John threw a punch.
Knox weaved around it and countered with a punch to the face.
Then another to the abdomen.
Then another.
John was knocked backward.
Knox pressed the attack.
He stomped down, but John caught his foot.
Knox immediately flew upward before John could grab him.
Then he shot forward and slammed into him again.
John retaliated with a hook to the jaw. Blood sprayed from Knox's mouth.
Knox ignored the pain.
He found an opening and unleashed a barrage of punches while John was pinned against the wall.
John grunted with every hit. But not a single drop of blood came out.
Knox frowned.
Something felt wrong. With every punch, John's body seemed to grow sturdier.
Harder.
Eventually, it felt like punching an invincible brick wall.
"Enough."
John swung his arm once. Just once.
Knox was sent crashing to the ground. Dazed, bleeding. Barely able to think straight.
Only then did Knox realize that John was holding back the entire time.
Nixon roared and charged at John from behind.
John turned and caught him by the neck before the attack could even land.
Nixon's eyes widened.
John slammed his fist into Nixon's face. Blood splattered across the tunnel wall.
Then he punched him again.
And again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Nixon's body gradually went limp. His face was swollen and covered in blood. Barely recognizable.
John raised his fist once more. He stared at Nixon's broken face.
The anger in his eyes slowly faded. His fist trembled.
For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to finish it.
After everything they had done.
Yet he couldn't bring himself to do it.
John gritted his teeth and threw Nixon aside. Nixon crashed against the ground and didn't get back up.
John turned toward Knox. Both brothers looked completely defeated.
"Get out of here."
Neither of them moved.
"I don't care why you're here." John's eyes glowed a brighter shade of red. "Leave. And never come back."
Knox slowly pushed himself up.
Blood dripped from his mouth. "Please. Please, we have nowhere else to go. Sovereign is going to kill us."
John froze. The tunnel suddenly felt colder.
Then he exploded. "What the FUCK did you just say?!"
Before Knox could react, John was already in front of him.
A punch slammed into his stomach. Knox folded over as all the air left his lungs.
John grabbed him by the shirt and smashed him against the wall.
The impact cracked the concrete.
"Do you really think I'm going to help you after what you've done to me?!"
Knox winced in pain.
"Please, John—"
"No!" John shoved him away. "No!"
His voice echoed through the tunnel. "You don't get to do that!"
Knox stumbled backward. "We were forced to!"
John shut his eyes. "Shut up."
"Our whole lives, we were taught the wrong thing!"
"Shut up."
"We always knew it was wrong, but we had to survive!"
"SHUT UP!"
The tunnel trembled.
Chunks of concrete broke loose from the ceiling.
John clenched his fists. His breathing grew heavier.
"No." He shook his head. "No. You're not doing this."
Knox stared at him.
John pointed at him. "I'm not going to be used by anyone anymore."
Silence filled the tunnel. Neither brother knew what to say.
Then a voice echoed from behind them.
"It's your deadline."
The three of them froze. Slowly, they turned around.
A man stood at the far end of the tunnel, his hands rested behind his back.
His expression was calm. Almost bored.
Yet his presence alone made the air feel heavier.
Knox's face instantly lost all color.
Nixon's eyes widened in horror.
Even John felt a chill run down his spine.
Their hearts pounded. Their bodies screamed at them to run. But they couldn't move.
Because standing before them was the King of the World.
Sovereign.