What is he going to do?
Seeing Richard driving toward the manor after purchasing gasoline at the station, Ross and Shane—the men assigned to follow him—exchanged puzzled glances.
Although Luther had instructed them to shadow Richard, he hadn't mentioned that Richard had been expelled from the organization.
Luther and his associates were indeed ungrateful, but they still maintained appearances.
The original Richard's father had just been arrested, and they had voted to expel his son. It wouldn't sound good to admit this openly.
"Should we contact Luther?" Ross asked from the driver's seat.
"No need. He's heading back to the manor," Shane replied with a frown.
"Alright."
With that settled, Ross started the car and continued following Richard back to the compound.
At the parking lot in front of the manor's main building, Richard exited his vehicle and began unloading gasoline barrels. Ross and Shane, still unaware of what had transpired, approached him quickly.
"Need any help?" Ross offered.
Richard gave him a strange look.
Noting Ross's relaxed demeanor, he quickly deduced that neither Ross nor Shane knew about his expulsion.
"Sure, thanks," Richard replied casually.
"No problem. It's what we're here for."
Ross and Shane each grabbed a barrel and followed Richard into the main building.
Once inside, Richard immediately opened one of the gasoline barrels and began pouring its contents throughout the corridor as he walked.
Witnessing this, Ross and Shane froze momentarily.
Then they quickly moved to block his path.
"What are you doing?" Ross demanded.
"Isn't it obvious enough?" Richard countered.
Though they suspected Richard intended to set fire to the manor, they stared at him in disbelief, unable to comprehend his motivation.
"We can't let you do this!" Ross insisted.
Richard ignored him, sidestepped around the man, and continued dousing the corridor with gasoline.
Soon, he emptied one container and reached for the second.
At that moment, Marek and the others arrived in the corridor, their expressions grave.
"Richard, don't go too far!" Marek shouted.
"Too far? You who just voted to drive me away—are you qualified to lecture me about going too far?" Richard replied with chilling calm.
Hearing this, Ross and Shane finally understood why Luther had assigned them to monitor Richard secretly.
"We acted for the good of the organization!" Marek insisted.
Richard said nothing. He set down the gasoline barrel and raised his left hand.
Masamune!
With a mere thought, the 8-foot-long katana materialized in his grasp.
What is that?
Seeing the Masamune appear in Richard's hand, Marek and the others, including Ross and Shane, stared in shock.
"In life, I despise two types of people above all others," Richard declared coldly. "Traitors and ungrateful wolves. And you happen to embody both!"
Without further hesitation, Richard gripped Masamune in his left hand, tensed his legs, and launched himself toward Marek's group.
Though the attribute panel didn't display his physical capabilities in detail, while practicing Octoslash earlier in his bedroom, Richard had discovered his physical attributes were far from ordinary.
Moreover, whether due to the Sephiroth template or some other factor, he found Earth's gravity had minimal effect on him.
Simply put, he now resembled Sephiroth from the movie—unbound by normal gravitational laws, capable of leaping 30 to 60 feet with minimal effort.
Wielding Masamune, he closed the distance to Marek's group in an instant.
Octoslash!
Without hesitation, he executed the technique.
In a heartbeat, he delivered eight fluid, consecutive slashes.
Swish!
The razor-sharp Masamune carved through Marek, Luther, and Beverly as effortlessly as through soft butter, reducing them to dozens of severed body parts.
How is this possible?
Watching Richard kill Marek and the others like some grim reaper, Noel, Macka, and the remaining members gaped in horror.
They never imagined that Richard—previously timid and seemingly nothing more than a pampered rich kid—possessed such a ruthless side.
Nor did they expect him to demonstrate such devastating combat prowess.
The original Richard's father had selected Marek and the others as organization leaders partly because, being in their 30s and 40s, they possessed greater social and life experience than younger members.
But equally important was their significant combat capability.
Consider Marek, Luther, and Beverly—the three Richard had just slain.
Marek controlled Lightning, Luther possessed super strength and Enhanced Durability, and Beverly commanded freezing abilities.
Though not the organization's most powerful mutants, their combat skills ranked among Crimson Manor's elite.
Yet now, these organizational pillars had been dispatched instantly by Richard, as easily as insignificant insects.
"Ross, Shane—get out!" Richard commanded.
While Noel and the others stared at Marek's remains in disbelief, Richard's voice cut through their shock.
Though they couldn't comprehend the source of Richard's extraordinary power, Ross and Shane recognized one certainty—Richard wasn't bluffing.
If they remained, they would surely perish like the others.
Realizing this, Ross and Shane immediately dropped their gasoline barrels and fled without looking back.
Meanwhile, Noel and Macka activated their mutant abilities.
Though they anticipated Richard's next move, anticipation didn't equate to prevention.
Shift Slash!
Seeing Noel and Macka attempting to use their powers, Richard attacked again.
This time, instead of Octoslash, he employed Shift Slash.
In an instant, he appeared before Noel. Masamune flashed four times with lightning speed.
He unleashed Gravesong.
Like Marek and the others, Noel was reduced to scattered fragments.
In the game, Sephiroth final strike featured a knockback effect.
But this wasn't a game—so instead of being knocked back, Noel was simply dismembered.
After dispatching Noel, Richard turned to Macka, who stood at a distance, and executed Zanshin.
Masamune's blade illuminated with purple energy.
As he swung the sword, several crescent-shaped energy waves—purple outside, white inside—hurtled toward Macka at incredible speed.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The energy crescents tore through Macka's body, extinguishing his life instantly.
Though he had only recently arrived in this world, after absorbing his predecessor's memories and the system's instructions, Richard knew Marek and the others posed no genuine threat.
To put it bluntly, if he couldn't defeat these five with the advantages provided by his system, he would be an embarrassment to transmigrators everywhere.
After killing all 5 of his targets, Richard didn't immediately activate his Plunder ability. Instead, he retrieved the gasoline barrel and continued his earlier task.
After emptying all the gasoline he'd brought and driving everyone from the main building, he approached the remains of Marek and his companions.
Plunder!
Without hesitation, he activated his mutant ability.
As Plunder took effect, invisible energy streamed from the remains, flowing into Richard's right hand.
Simultaneously, system notifications appeared in his vision:
[New abilities acquired!]
[X-Gene mutant powers updated]
[X-Gene mutant powers: Plunder, Electrokinesis, Super Strength, Enhanced Durability, Cryokinesis, Mental Shielding, Accelerated Healing, Blinkstep]
Though he had killed only 5 individuals, Richard had acquired 7 new mutant powers.
Noel possessed both Blinkstep and Mental Shielding abilities, while Macka had Accelerated Healing.
Reviewing his newly acquired powers, Richard smiled with satisfaction.
Based on current results, if he continued to plunder others' mutant abilities, he could eventually possess thousands of powers like Professor X's son "Legion," undoubtedly ascending to Omega-level mutant status.
Furthermore, if his Plunder ability continued to evolve, he might someday command tens or even hundreds of thousands of mutant powers simultaneously—becoming, in a very real sense, a mutant god.
==============================================
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out 50+ early chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
=============================================