Chapter 255: Truth That Burns It was as clear as day, so obvious, in fact, that even someone like Joe could’ve figured it out. Dud wasn’t just taunting Max. He was all but admitting it now. He was the one behind the hit-and-run incident. The same hit-and-run that had been meant to take Max’s life. The same hit-and-run that had ended up taking Jay’s instead. Instantly, a flood of emotions surged through Max, starting deep down in the pit of his stomach, then rushing up like a roaring wave that crashed against the inside of his skull. Fury. A rage that burned through every nerve ending in his body. It built from the tips of his toes, rising like a firestorm through his legs, his chest, his arms, right to his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes. ’He’s the one... the one who targeted Jay. The one who was supposed to take him out... This guy, this guy I’m standing across from, he’s the reason Jay died. A person I fought beside. A person I once believed was a brother-in-arms?’ Max’s teeth gritted tightly. "Why?" he finally managed to ask, forcing the word through clenched teeth like it hurt just to say it. He knew it was a risky move. Dangerous even. Asking that question could play right into Dud’s hands. Max had read enough, lived enough, to know what this was. It could all be part of the plan, to provoke him, to bait him into fighting with blind fury. Because fighting with anger... it wasn’t like what they showed on TV. There was no magic strength hidden in rage, no second wind unlocked just by shouting louder. In real life, anger made you reckless. It made you easy to read. And Dud, he already knew about Jay. He knew about the hit-and-run. That alone made Max question the entire situation. Was all of this just a game to him? A way to pull Max’s strings? But then Dud answered. "Why?" he repeated, and then shrugged casually, as if it didn’t even matter. "The reason’s simple." His tone was too relaxed. Too smug. "I guess you’ve done some digging of your own. If so, then you probably already know. The vehicle? It belonged to the Chalk Line boys." Max’s heart pounded like a drum in his chest, louder with every word that came out of Dud’s mouth. These weren’t just guesses. These were details, real ones. Details that only a few people knew. Details Aron had uncovered... but hadn’t shared publicly. Aron had dug up the truth about the vehicle involved, but that information had stayed close to the chest. Sure, it was possible that the Rejected Corps had conducted their own investigation, but would they really dig so deeply into the death of someone who wasn’t one of their own? Unlikely. Max had only told Chrono the identity of those responsible, so they could strike back. There was no way this had spread widely within the Rejected Corps. And yet... Dud knew. That meant something. "When I joined them," Dud continued, "I was given a task, get rid of someone troublesome to the group." He gave a shrug, as if it was just another job. "There were plenty of targets, sure. But I could see it, you were going to be a problem. A big one. You had that kind of future written all over you. So, I figured, why not deal with you early? It was the easiest option. The cleanest." His voice dropped lower, almost as if he were reliving the moment. "It was all down to a single pin. If only that big friend of yours hadn’t thrown you out of the way... then it would’ve been you instead of him. Or maybe, just maybe, I could’ve taken out both of you." Max’s breath hitched. That was it. The final confirmation. He’d always known deep down, but now he was hearing it with his own ears. Jay had saved his life. Max had told the others in Bloodline that. He’d admitted that Jay had taken the hit meant for him. But never, not once, had he shared the exact details with the Rejected Corps. Yet Dud... Dud knew it like he had been there himself. "It’s all clicking now, isn’t it?" Dud smirked, seeing the shift in Max’s expression. "You know I’m telling the truth. So tell me, Max, how do you think your friend would feel, knowing the guy who killed him is standing here now... perfectly fine?" Whether it was manipulation or not didn’t matter anymore. Max believed it. And just like that, he snapped. Max charged forward, not wasting another second. He leapt through the air, spinning his body and lifting his leg in one motion. The move gave him momentum and height, launching him into a spinning tornado kick. His foot landed with a thunderous crack against Dud’s side, the force of it sending Dud stumbling sideways from the blow. Max hit the ground and didn’t stop. His fist tensed, his entire body moving with rage-fueled precision as he twisted into a brutal right hook, smashing Dud hard across the opposite side of his face. Pain exploded in Dud’s forearm as he raised it in defense. In fights, no matter how skilled someone was, there were always exceptions, times when the supposedly better fighter lost. There were too many variables, mental slip-ups, tactical errors, freak hits that landed when they shouldn’t have. No matter how superior one might be, they’d only win 99 out of 100 fights. And this was the one. Max’s strikes were brutal. Fierce. Unrelenting. Every blow carried a weight that felt personal. The fire in his heart was fueling his fists. He gained momentum again, swinging his legs in a savage arc. This time, when he struck Dud’s arms, he knocked down his guard completely. Without hesitation, Max spun and smashed the back of his foot into Dud’s jaw, sending the man stumbling again, nearly falling over. Breathing heavily, Max’s eyes darted to the side. He spotted a chair, one the crowd had used earlier, and his hand grabbed it without a second thought. "I’LL KILL YOU!" Max screamed, his voice raw. "It should’ve been YOU! Jay shouldn’t have died... it should’ve been YOU!" He charged, holding the chair high before bringing it crashing down toward Dud. Desperate to stop the onslaught, Dud charged too. The chair collided with his body, slamming hard into his side. Pain flared across his ribs, but Dud gritted his teeth and pushed through. With one sharp movement, he grabbed Max’s arm, twisted low, and swept Max’s legs right out from under him. Max’s back slammed against the ground with a heavy thud. Before he could even recover, Dud was already moving. He grabbed Max’s arm again, wrapping his own limbs around it and locking in tight. His legs snapped around Max’s shoulder in a perfect submission hold. He stretched with force, locking the joint and pulling harder and harder. Max tried to resist. He fought back with everything he had left. But it was impossible. Dud was in his prime, he was a specialist, and this was exactly where he wanted Max to be. In a submission hold, there was no escaping someone like Dud. As he yanked harder, there was a horrible sound. A loud, sickening pop followed by a crushing crack that echoed through Max’s entire body. "ARGHHHH!" Max screamed at the top of his lungs. Pain. Pure, blinding pain.