Ramon was already in a state of profound shock, his mind reeling from the reality of having lost his fight against Max. He honestly couldn’t believe it; his calculations had been flawless, his technology superior. Yet, as he lay there, there was only one simple answer that could explain the impossible: the person he had been up against had to be superhuman. The reason Ramon hadn’t come to this conclusion sooner was that Max’s abilities weren’t overtly flashy. It wasn’t immediately obvious when fighting him.
It had just seemed like he was slightly stronger, slightly faster, and slightly more durable than a peak athlete. But Ramon had to remind himself that he was wearing a full-body exoskeleton suit, a masterpiece of engineering that was incredibly fast and powerful. For a regular person to be able to break all that high-grade equipment with their bare hands and feet as Max had done, a superhuman constitution was the only logical answer.
What he couldn’t explain, however, was how the rest of his elite team, equipped with their own exoskeletons and backed by years of fighting experience, had managed to lose their battles as well. This was supposed to be an Organization-level crime group, a force capable of toppling small governments. They had appeared out of nowhere, rising through the ranks at a blistering pace. Was it possible that they held even more secrets than the Stern family?
’How could that even be?’ Ramon thought, his breath coming in shallow gasps. ’This group just managed to find so many of the right people to help them, people that no one else had kept their eyes on. Talents that were hidden in the shadows.’
’No, that makes no sense,’ he corrected himself. ’Other major gangs and syndicates would have made them lucrative offers if they were so skilled. There is no reason for them to help out a newcomer like Max. Unless... unless he was the one who fostered and grew them to what they are now from the very beginning. That’s the only thing that would make sense.’
But in a roundabout way, it still didn’t sit right with him. He couldn’t imagine a leader so young having the foresight and the sheer charisma to build such a loyal, lethal inner circle from scratch.
"It looks like the fight is over," Max said, his voice cutting through Ramon’s spiraling thoughts. Max’s ears picked up a strange, high-pitched buzzing sound, and then he saw it: a drone emerging from the rafters, its camera lens pointed right at them like a digital eye.
"This is Vivian," a voice crackled through the comms. "I have set up the drones at each of the floors to capture the final moments, and I am now displaying the feed on all of the screens throughout the facility. I even got one of your guys to bring out a high-powered projector to the front of the building, just so the crowds outside can see the result for themselves."
Right now, on every screen available in the building and on the massive projection shimmering against the exterior walls, was the undeniable image of the Black Hounds’ defeat. The members of the Gilt Rats saw their elite fighters fallen, and Ramon himself, the mastermind, lying broken on the stage. In stark contrast, those who had won the fight were standing strong, silhouetted against the lights of the arena.
"You... have lost this war," Max said, stepping closer to the drone and looking directly into the camera. his gaze was cold and unyielding. "And if you don’t stop fighting right now, I promise I won’t spare a single one of you. This is your final warning."
Throughout the complex, the people who were still fighting, those who were injured on the floor, and those who were considering getting back up to rejoin the fray froze. Seeing the broadcast, they were starting to have serious second thoughts. Some of them wondered if it was even real. Perhaps it was a mock-up, a deep-fake, or a pre-recorded video meant to break their morale.
But there were those who had witnessed the climax themselves. There were those who were in the same room where the final struggle had taken place. They could see Jett still lying motionless on the floor having been taken out by the Rangers. They could see the scientist, their leader, having finally fallen. If that was real, it most likely meant that the entire collapse of their line was real.
It only took a few at first, those who decided it was best for them to give up and leave while they still had their lives. They dropped their weapons, the clatter of steel echoing in the corridors, and started to run back towards their cars. Once the rest of the group saw a few of their own already fleeing, the infection of fear spread rapidly. They realized there was no hope left. The only thing they had left was their numbers, and they weren’t sure those would be enough against the monsters who had just dismantled the Black Hounds. One by one, they all decided to head back to their vehicles and rush off into the night.
Some had the decency to pull their fallen comrades with them, dragging them into the back of vans, while others simply abandoned them there on the cold ground. But one thing was absolutely clear: this large-scale fight was finally over.
"It looks like the Gilt Rats and Black Hounds have officially left the building," Vivian’s voice confirmed, sounding relieved.
Immediately after the tension broke, Joe started to lean back, his legs finally giving out. He fell onto the floor with a loud, heavy thud that caught everyone by surprise.
"Are you okay?" Stephen asked, rushing over to his side.
"You know, after getting beaten up and hit so much tonight, I think I’m starting to get a little numb to all of the pain," Joe claimed, a weary smile on his bruised face. "I think I might be going crazy as well."
"I think we all might be going crazy," Wolf added, leaning against a pillar and wiping blood from his eyes. "And for some reason, I don’t think the ride is going to be stopping here. This was just one hurdle."
"The real question is, what do we do with them now, right?" Stephen asked, gesturing toward the fallen leaders of the opposition. "What’s going to happen to the Gilt Rats after tonight?"