Chapter 1405 I Cannot Let You Take Him Author's Note: Unedited Chapter ---------------------- The real Gustav made sure not to use an ability that might bring suspicion and fortunately, the fight was over after a few minutes. Since he primarily used physical prowess to overwhelm his clone, the spectators around the globe were unable to tell what his actual abilities were and as such they couldn't identify who he was. Fwwhhiii~ Gustav descended from the air into the midst of the destruction and desecration on the surface. The air hung heavy with dust and the acrid scent of smoke, remnants of the devastation that had befallen the urban landscape. Some skyscrapers had crumbled to the ground, with shattered windows and twisted metal poking out from multiple areas of the landscape. The streets, once bustling with the vibrant energy of city life, were now navigable only through a labyrinth of debris remnants of vehicles littered across the place. Residential and commercial structures lay collapsed or partially demolished, their interiors exposed like open wounds. The once-intact roads now bore the scars of explosive impacts. The scenery reminded Gustav of his fight with the Genxodus. It had taken a lot for the city to recover after its near destruction the last time and now, its scars had been reopened. 'This is on me,' Gustav said internally. He felt it would never have happened had he been more careful. All the more reason to never trust anyone… they could go behind your back at any given opportunity. He could only imagine how E.E. would feel after watching everything. "Hand him over!" A loud voice rang out from the side. Without turning around Gustav already knew what was going on. He stared at the unconscious clone in his grasp the moment he heard that. 'I can't let anyone have him…' He said internally knowing that his clone possessed a lot of his cells. He would practically be handing himself over if he agreed to give them the clone. "I cannot do that," Gustav voiced while turning around to face the newly arrived MBO officers. "Listen here, I don't know who you are but you did well stopping that maniac but now you have to leave the rest to the actual authorities," One of the officers voiced. Gustav could sense that the MBO officer was more powerful than the others who had arrived. There was no doubt that he was more high ranking too. "I cannot do that," Gustav stated once more, "This one comes with me." The newly arrived officer squinted his eyes, "Who even are you? Why do you hide your face behind that mask?" He inquired. "How ironic to ask a masked man about his identity… If I wanted it revealed, I wouldn't have picked up a mask. Just view me as a person cleaning up a mess," Gustav replied while levitating. Fwwhiisshhhh~ His figure ascended into the sky in the next instant with incredible speed, drifting out of view in less than a second. "Don't let him get away!" The officer yelled as everyone swiftly moved and jumped into the vehicles parked around the corner. "Lock onto him quickly," The leading officer yelled with a tone of urgency the moment they arrived at the floating vehicles. An operator could be spotted frantically tapping on buttons on the panel before them. The hovercraft lifted into the air and began to fly while loud beeping sounds rang out as the vehicle tried to lock onto Gustav. Despite its many attempts as multiple hovercraft drifted across the air, it was unable to pinpoint Gustav's location. After some time, the operator began to feel like they were just chasing the wind. The systems were unable to lock onto Gustav's figure even after he made use of the MBO satellites to try to trace his movement. Unfortunately, Gustav was too quick for them. "He is gone," The operator informed. "He cannot be gone! Use all the satellites we have!" The MBO officers yelled in indignation. "I have... I checked everything that I could but his speed pattern is just too unpredictable and he already orbited around the earth twenty-six times to throw us off... and it worked," The MBO operator explained. "What the hell? Just how fast is he?" The MBO officer was even more in awe. .... .... .... "General Chell, Jack must have told you, I am here based on instructions to guard the research center... anything else is outside of my jurisdiction," A handsome figure with yellow hair, voiced while floating above a terrain of ice. -"This is a planet-wide situation... no... a universal-wide situation, get Gustav Crimson from that unknown assailant, right now!" A loud masculine voice could be heard from the other end. "Nah," Mack responded with an unbothered look. -"YOU... do you know this could be considered treason?" "I am performing my duties. Now piss off," Mack stated before ending the transmission. There was no doubt that General Chell had more to say but Mack just didn't care. Mack was a lot different from Jack. Jack tended to follow the higher-ups' every instruction in the MBO, mostly without questioning them since he was a very patriotic person by nature. So long as it was a mission that benefitted or kept the earth safe, he would swing into action. As for his counterpart Mack, he was more rebellious. If Mack had been in control when Jack was asked to subdue Miss Aimee in the past, the fight would never have happened because he was fond of her. He envied how she could do whatever she pleased whereas he was more obedient because of Jack, his patriotic counterpart. Mack floated in place silently for some time till a vibration rang out. ~Sigh~ "Why won't these geezers just leave me alone?" Mack lamented as a holographic call appeared in his line of sight. < Transmission From Grand Commander Shion > "What is it again geezer?" Mack questioned with a tone of annoyance after picking up. Grand Commander Shion appeared in view and began speaking. "Did you..." "If this is about the kid getting snatched out of y'all hands, I don't care," Mack interrupted before Grand Commander Shion could complete his sentence. -"It is," Grand Commander Shion admitted. -"Your help is needed to retrieve the universal fugitive, are you going to ignore a potential threat to the peace of earth and the alliance as a whole?" He proceeded to ask. "Why would I help a bunch of losers that needed the help of an outsider to subdue the kid? Last I checked, they were not able to contend with him in the slightest so whose fault is it that Gustav Crimson was unable to be retrieved?" Mack questioned. "So you watched the fight..." Grand Commander Shion was a bit surprised but then he was the strongest Mixed-blood in existence so there was no reason why he wouldn't be able to perceive a battle ongoing over ten thousand miles away. "That also means you know where the assailant currently is," Grand Commander Shion pointed out. "Who cares," Mack said before bringing out a lollipop from a multiple triangular star-shaped glow. He proceeded to place it in between his lips with an uncaring expression. "Mackintosh!" "I don't like it when you call me that name..." .... .... .... In the heart of an eerie forest, where shadows clung to twisted branches, a person dressed in disheveled clothing, lay sprawled on the damp forest floor. Leaves and twigs clung to their attire, which hinted at the unknown struggle they may have gone through. Beside the unconscious figure was a person seated on a small piece of rock. He had a devil fox-like mask covering his face and was clad in a long black outfit. He glanced at the unconscious figure a few times while seemingly on a call with someone. "Yeah, he is right here." "Glad you're safe." "He doesn't have all of my abilities and as you must have seen during the broadcast, his power level is below Beta rank..." -"Maybe I should have just gone to face him myself and left the search of that scientist to you." "Hmm... He did mention that you wouldn't find him. This whole endeavor was a distraction and it served its purpose." "What will you do now?" "I have to..." The figure in a demon fox-like mask who was Gustav, suddenly paused as he sensed something. He swiftly ended the transmission and looked up. 'Damn it I forgot about him...' He cursed internally as a whooshing wind began to blow the trees in the vicinity sideways. As the trees along with their branches gave way, it revealed the illumination of the skies above along with a figure that seemed to be floating in place majestically. "You know why I am here," The voice of a yellow-haired figure floating in the distance rang loudly. "To reap a harvest from another man's plant?" Gustav maintained a calm tone as he questioned. "Meh, I know you did all the work which is why I am sorry about this. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't do this," Mack said while pointing at the body of the unconscious cloned Gustav. "I cannot let you take him," Gustav stated while grabbing the unconscious clone.