The other thugs had never seen anything like this robot before.
"M-monster!"
With a sharp scream, they turned and bolted.
Nolan let out a cold laugh.
"Think you can run?"
"Slaughterer, chase them."
Silence. Not a sound.
Nolan sighed, glancing at his so-called trump card.
This was the flaw of weak artificial intelligence it could only understand basic commands.
"Slaughterer, eliminate the threat."
This time, with killing as its prime directive, the Alpha Slaughterer charged after them.
The young woman who had just been rescued still stood frozen, stunned and silent.
"Hey, miss, do you know where Belt Street is?"
She instinctively nodded.
Satisfied with the answer, Nolan smiled.
"Good. That's all I needed."
All he wanted was to find Belt Street. The one giving him directions didn't matter.
Against the Slaughterer, ordinary men had no chance.
In less than ten seconds, the thugs all fell. Their faces were twisted in expressions that looked as if they had glimpsed hell itself.
Nolan cast a detached look at the corpses. Once he had confirmed the address, he turned away with the Slaughterer, vanishing into the darkness.
Only much later did a scream echo through the alley. The poor girl had finally processed the horror she had just witnessed.
Belt Street it was rumored to be the stronghold of the Brotherhood.
When Nolan arrived, he realized that somewhere along the way, a few tails had begun following him.
He only smirked.
No doubt about it these were Brotherhood men.
Walking alone with a mask on in their territory was bound to draw attention.
The Slaughterer was already hidden. To craft the ultimate assassin, Nolan had purchased not only advanced technologies but also a package of Total Slaughter Protocols from the Matrix.
Thanks to them, the Slaughterer could conceal its tall, blade-like frame until the moment of attack.
From the outside, Nolan looked like nothing more than a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
And in truth, that was exactly what he wanted them to think.
He walked a little further when several Brotherhood enforcers stepped from the shadows.
"Hey, kid. Tell us who you are and what you're doing here, or we'll shoot."
Nolan took a slow breath.
His lips curved into a faint smile.
"Let's start with you."
The man with the gun didn't realize that the moment he drew his weapon, death was already hovering above him.
From a rooftop to the side, a silver-white shadow flashed in the moonlight.
Some caught a glimpse. Most did not.
"What the—"
Before he could finish, an Alpha Slaughterer dropped from the rooftop, slicing him clean in half.
"Damn it! Kill him!" someone screamed in terror.
But before he could act, a blade punched through his chest.
Who said Nolan only had one Slaughterer?
"Kill them all."
Standing in the middle of the street, Nolan issued the order.
Screams erupted from every direction.
Moonlight illuminated him, casting his black-and-white mask in a grotesque glow.
Within moments, the street fell silent.
Three Slaughterers emerged from the shadows, their silver blades now stained crimson.
High above, inside the tallest building on Belt Street, the Brotherhood's two leaders frowned.
"What the hell is happening out there?" the elder brother muttered.
"Call in the rest of the men. Bring everyone here. Maybe it's the Irish mob making a move otherwise I can't think of who else it could be," the younger said darkly.
"Fine." His brother nodded.
Just then, the doors burst open.
"Boss… b-boss! Monsters! Monsters are coming this way!"
The younger brother, his muscles bulging like coiled ropes, stormed forward and slapped the underling so hard that blood and teeth flew from his mouth.
"I told you to investigate, not to scare us like cowards!"
"It's real! I swear!" the man cried, his face ashen.
The two leaders exchanged a grim look.
"Even if it's true, what's there to fear? We've got more than ten guns here. Even if the devil himself crawled out of hell, we'd cut him down."
The younger brother sneered. "Big brother, I'll take men and handle this."
The elder rose to his feet. His thin frame gave off a venomous aura like that of a snake. He was known as the most ruthless man in the Brotherhood.
"I'll go with you. If such a creature really exists, we may be in trouble."
They marched out, followed by a dozen gunmen the best force they could muster.
Minutes later, the intruder came into view.
A lone, slim figure… trailed by creatures that radiated pure menace.
Nolan raised an eyebrow. He had thought he'd need to hunt the Brotherhood leaders down himself. He hadn't expected them to deliver themselves right to him.
A dozen men, armed with a dozen guns. Enough to make things interesting.
"Who are you?" the elder brother demanded.
In answer, Nolan slowly removed his black-and-white mask.
That familiar face made both brothers' hearts skip a beat.
Nolan Locke.
It was him!
"So you've already found out. And yet you dare to show up here? You're begging for death!" the brothers snarled.
Nolan chuckled.
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't come here to die. I just don't want my enemies to die without knowing exactly who killed them."
The elder narrowed his eyes, then suddenly roared:
"Open fire!"
They were gangsters. Honor meant nothing. The mechanical monsters looked troublesome, but Nolan Locke was just a man.
But Nolan wasn't foolish.
The instant the order left their lips, he pressed a switch hidden in his palm.
With a metallic snap, armor unfolded from his back, wrapping around him completely.
In an instant, he stood revealed in a sleek, heavily modified Delta-6 Rapid Response Suit.
His voice rang out cold and clear.
"Slaughterers, charge!"
Die. All of you.
This was only the beginning. Whoever sent you to kill me I'll find them too. And I'll kill them as well.
Gunfire exploded.
But within seconds, the gangsters realized in horror that their bullets couldn't even scratch the machines.
Through the storm of gunfire, three death-dealing Slaughterers tore into their ranks.
Every swing of their blades meant another corpse.
The younger brother roared with fury, drawing a machete and charging an Alpha Slaughterer head-on.
He had forged his body through ten years of brutal training for this very moment.
Clang!
The sound rang sharp and metallic.
His eyes widened.
The Slaughterer he struck turned its electronic gaze upon him.
Its neural core issued a command:
"Threat detected. Neutralize."
In the blink of an eye, its blade pierced straight through his chest.
Strength? Against machines built for slaughter, it meant nothing.
The elder brother swallowed hard. He was ruthless, yes but only when facing foes he could hurt. Now, he saw nothing but despair.
"Run. I have to run!"
He had barely turned when a blade skewered him from behind.
Nolan sneered at the sight.
Escape? From Slaughterers?
Foolish.
That night was a night of slaughter.
No one called the police.
This was Brotherhood territory.
Who could have imagined that in a single night, the Brotherhood would be wiped from existence?