Returning to the Mysterious Era

"Who? Me?"

The magician was momentarily stunned. He had not yet recovered from the earlier shock when he was confronted with another inexplicable situation. A strange human, who had come seemingly out of nowhere, had approached and complimented him, and before then asked for his name.

It felt like a suspicious salesperson trying to sell insurance on a city street. But this was no human city—this was a battlefield teeming with powerful neo-humans. The absurdity of the situation left him at a loss for words.

The tall young man nodded. "Yes, you. I'm talking to you. What's your name?"

The magician stood there in a daze for a moment before he finally said, "Bass, my name is Bass."

At that moment, the scene around them became eerie, even bordering on extremely eerie. Soro and the members of the White Skulls' battle had come to a screeching halt; all eyes were now focused on this exchange.

The ferocity in their gazes made goosebumps rise all over the magician and catwoman's skin, as though needles were pricking their back. They wanted to run but didn't dare move.

"That's a nice name; it reminds me of an instrument I really like. Do you like jazz?" Cassius asked.

This was Cassius's attempt at small talk. Even though he was chatting with a man, Cassius wasn't very skilled at using words to achieve his goals, so this was his best effort at being friendly. Why, just a few minutes ago, a long-haired man on the side of the road had served as a perfect example of what not to do.

"Uh… I-I do like jazz," the magician replied, scratching his head, somewhat perplexed by the strange sense of goodwill Cassius was extending.

"It seems we have similar tastes." But Cassius's words were interrupted by a mohawked man.

"Bastard! Where did this random idiot come from?"

A lean figure clad in black combat gear, and sporting an arrogant hairstyle, approached from the side of the road. He had three silver rings piercing in his ears and nose, giving him a very edgy look. A violent aura emanated from him, augmented by the two gaping mouths on either side of his cheeks, each lined with razor-sharp shark-like teeth.

The man glanced at Cassius, sizing him up. "The stench of a pure human. So you're just an ordinary person. Ridiculous." His gaze shifted slightly, landing on the magician and catwoman. "Did two little C-ranks stumble here by accident? Heh, you can die together!"

Bang!

A shadow suddenly struck the mohawked man in the face with a resounding smack, the impact making his flesh ripple. All three of his mouths spewed out a large cloud of blood, along with several teeth that flew out and hit the ground.

A large hand reached out and grabbed him by the hair before the impact could send him flying too far, and lifted him into the air.

Pain radiated through his face, his brain rattling in his skull, and his ears rang. But the mohawked man forced his eyes open; he could sense an unprecedented danger.

As he dangled in midair, he looked up to see a cold and expressionless face with sharp, angular features. The eyes were indifferent and emotionless as if he were staring at a corpse.

"I hate it when people interrupt me."

Thud!

The mohawked man felt an agonizing pain shoot through his chest as his entire rib cage caved in, revealing a mess of broken bones beneath. At least half of his ribs had shattered, and blood and bone fragments spilled out.

How is this possible? He's just a normal human! How could he move so fast? And hit so hard? I'm a B-rank neo-human, and I didn't even have time to react!

The mohawked man was in shock. He only saw a blur before a hand punched him and lifted him like a lamb to slaughter.

"Also, don't you think you're quite ugly?" Cassius looked at the mohawked man's bloodied face, with its three twisted, grotesque mouths that looked like a pulpy slop. "Ugly people shouldn't show themselves and poison my eyes." A strong killing intent surged up, like a raging fire in the darkness.

Captain Number Four's deep voice called out from afar. "Wait!"

Bang!

The mohawked man's body flew backward, his head exploding like a watermelon, the contents spraying in all directions in the air. What was left of his headless body slammed the ground hard, the skin and muscles splitting open into gory gashes, blood gushing out of burst arteries as if it had been blown apart. The blood dripping onto the ground sounded disturbingly loud.

"You will die for this!" The enormous dog-head human-body figure turned his gaze back toward Cassius, his beastly eyes brimming with murderous intent. He was about to charge forward when he suddenly froze, eyes locked onto the silver pocket watch in Cassius's hand.

"Where did you get that watch?!"

"Oh, this?" Cassius wiped a drop of blood off the watch's face and said, his voice slow and measured. "I ran into some lunatic wearing a black coat on the road. The watch used to be his, but now it's mine."

"Impossible! That silver skull watch was Number Two's favorite. He would never give it away so casually!" Number Four's eyes widened, a dangerous gleam flickering in his wolf-like eyes.

"I never said he gave it. You must be talking about that flamboyant fool who can't understand human speech. I've already killed him." Unconcerned, Cassius threw the watch over. "Here, you can have it back."

Number Four caught it and flipped the watch open. As soon as he confirmed its authenticity, his head jerked up, his wolfish face filled with a menacing light.

"Awoo!!!" A wolf-like howl reverberated through the air. "Squad Four, with me! Kill him!"

Immediately, several neo-human elites charged toward Cassius, their shadows flickering across the road.

Using the barrel of his revolver to tip his hat, Silver Gun Soro scoffed beside him. "What am I, chopped liver?"

The events of the past few moments had unfolded rapidly, but the one thing Soro was sure of was that Cassius was an ally. Regardless of whether his words had been true or not, it was clear that he was not on good terms with the White Skulls. The enemy of my enemy is my friend!

Soro moved with fluid grace, and his revolver began firing nonstop, each bullet infused with psychic power to impede the attackers' advance.

"Get lost!" Number Four roared, hurling his massive battle axe. The surface of the axe was covered with black energy, and it spun through the air, covering a two-meter radius.

Soro quickly sidestepped, but he couldn't completely escape its trajectory as the axe still managed to graze him. Stumbling backward, a bruise quickly formed on his left arm, temporarily preventing him from continuing to interfere.

"Hmph!"

Number Four retracted his gaze and charged forward, his towering 2.5-meter frame thundering across the ground with each step, sending tremors through the earth.

"You took down Fallen Angel Miguel? Haha, that's the funniest joke I've ever heard! Save such tall tales for when you go to hell!" Number Four hurtled toward Cassius at lightning speed.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

The massive figure compressed the air, generating a powerful gust. In an instant, Number Four raised his tree trunk-like arm and slammed it down at Cassius forcefully. The veins bulged in his blue-purple fist, as large as a bowling ball, and promised a terrifying power as it sliced through the air, a sharp whistle accompanying it.

The menacing fist grew larger and larger before Cassius's eyes.

"Strength doesn't necessarily come with size." Cassius's face showed a faint smile. "Let's use twice the strength you have."

He lifted his left foot, driving it into the concrete like a piling machine. A tremendous force seemed to be drawn out of the earth, traveling from his foot through his knee, up his spine, and into his arm. As the power surged through him, waves of air rippled outward, and his black coat billowed like ocean waves in a gale.

Cassius's strength had already far surpassed that of ordinary people by the time he reached the level of a pugilist. He had slowly made advancements and reached the Major Culmination level of a pugilist, achieving the circulation of blood through the three major nodes, and his strength had become overwhelming.

Additionally, his unique power-generating techniques from Covert Martial Arts further enhanced his might. At this level, a practitioner of Covert Martial Arts in combat was like a bulldozer, capable of destroying trees, walls, and stones.

Whoosh!

A sharp whistle echoed through the air. Cassius's fist shot out like a black spear.