Chapter 17 - 17: Arrogant Variants
A tense atmosphere filled the room as Paolo commanded his scar-faced follower to break the legs of Weston's wife.
As the dark-haired woman stepped back subconsciously, Weston prepared himself mentally to fight with his life on the line to protect his wife.
"Aaah!'
The scar-faced man had only taken a few steps when he stopped as he heard a scream coming from behind.
He turned back in haste along with Paolo and the others.
As people looked back, they saw a dried-up corpse lying on the ground, which happened to be a fully healthy man previously.
A ten-eleven-year-old kid could be seen standing near that body.
Lucifer had removed his gloves and kept them in his pocket, but some of it could still be seen hanging out of his pockets. He stood tall with an expressionless face.
"You did this?!" Paolo exclaimed in shock as he stared at Lucifer.
Strangely enough, he didn't get any response from Lucifer, who once again moved.
Before anyone could even understand what had happened, they saw Lucifer touch the hand of another man who was standing closest to him.
Another scream filled the room as the man felt his skin burn after Lucifer caught his hand. The man's skin started decaying and turned to ash in front of the onlookers.
"So that's how it is; you're a Variant," Paolo acknowledged as he saw how Lucifer killed the man. "Guys, don't let him touch you; he won't be able to harm you!"
"I know a few things about them. They often have some special powers but only one. There's no way someone as young as him can have more than one ability. As for his power, it seems to be the ability to kill you after touching you. Just stay away from him!" he further added as he warned everyone with an explanation.
Hearing Paolo's warning, his men hastily moved back. Everyone created distance from Lucifer while still simultaneously surrounding him.
Weston and his wife were more taken aback, though. They were both horrified to their core at the sight of how easily Lucifer killed a man. They couldn't believe that this boy was a killer and that they had been alone with him previously.
"I never expected that I would get to kill a Variant, but here we are. I guess it's my lucky day. You not only killed my men but even exposed your power. Now I know how to kill you and how to keep myself safe," Paolo let out as he started laughing.
His laugh was contagious and sounded more like an evil cackle than an expression of amusement as if he is as happy.
"You should never have killed my men," he further added as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Lucifer's head.
"You Variants really think you're gods or something. I'm not too fond of the arrogance of you people. Finally, having an opportunity to kill one of you, looks like the gods want to reward me for the good I did!"
His grin only widened as he started pressing on the trigger.
"Have a safe trip to hell, little bastard!"
Bang!
A bullet left the gun, zooming straight towards Lucifer's head. It didn't forget to leave a heavy banging sound in its wake.
The bullet impaled the forehead of Lucifer and left from the back of his head, leaving a gruesome see-through hole in his head.
Blood started spilling out of his head which covered his forehead and his face in red.
"Hahaha, the Variants are nothing special. The government places so much importance on them for nothing. I don't know why everyone thinks of them as such a big deal," Paolo laughed out loud as he saw Lucifer being shot.
Ignoring the cackle of Paolo, Lucifer started shaking his head lightly.
"Sigh… Again! I hate being shot. Now I'll again feel hungry soon," he muttered in a grim tone as he started rubbing his forehead.
He felt a sharp pain course through his body as he touched his forehead, but he didn't let it show on his face. He didn't even make a pained grunt.
Paolo heard Lucifer's calm words. His mouth widened as he gazed at Lucifer's wound heal with his naked eye.
The expression on his face was so noteworthy that he wouldn't have believed that his face could show such expressions even if someone were to record his face and show him later.
"Y-your head. What?!"
He soon saw the hole close wholly. Not even a mark on Lucifer's forehead was left behind. Only the blood on Lucifer's face and his forehead made Paolo believe that the scene of him shooting Lucifer wasn't a dream. This guy had actually healed from something like that.
No matter how unbelievable, it was the truth.
*****
Lucifer was shot in the head, but he didn't fall. That wasn't what shocked everyone, though.
What was more shocking was watching what happened next—watching the hole in Lucifer's head filling up, and the tissues connecting before their eyes was what horrified everyone.
Within a few seconds, the wound in Lucifer's head was completely healed.
"M-monster!" Paolo bellowed as his face went pale at this impossible sight. He started shooting like crazy, but this time, Lucifer didn't standstill.
He didn't wait there to get shot. Instead, Lucifer moved from his spot and appeared right in front of Paolo. He grabbed the gun in his hands, closing the opening of the gun with his palm.
Paolo kept shooting. Bullets kept penetrating the palm of Lucifer, leaving a hole in his palm. The gun also simultaneously started decaying.