MTL NOVEL Chapter 248: Death for a Death
Max moved silently through the trees, his body flickering between the shadows. Sometimes he flew, sometimes he leaped—never staying in one place for too long.
He closed in.
His first target.
A green-haired young man sitting atop a humanoid monster, its lifeless eyes scanning the area.
Max recognized him immediately.
Billy.
Not too far away, Abby and Jessica were also searching for him—positioned apart, unaware of each other's blind spots.
Above, the two Seeker Rank assassins hovered in the air, scanning the forest below. Their eyes sharp. Their senses tense.
But their search pattern was flawed.
They were scattered.
And that was their mistake.
But it was a—
A perfect opportunity.
For Max.
Billy was alone, his back turned.
Max's mind flickered.
'This guy can control any monster with that green goo-like substance…'
He had seen it firsthand.
If Billy got the chance to fight back, things could get tricky.
He had to die instantly.
No time for struggle. No time for sound.
Max's fingers flickered.
He chose his method.
Lightning Needle.
A soft hum echoed through his veins as he compressed raw lightning into a razor-thin, needle-like shape.
No sound. No warning.
Just pure, concentrated death.
Max took aim.
Then—
He struck.
The Lightning Needle tore through the air, invisible to the untrained eye.
Silent. Swift. Merciless.
It wasn't just a simple attack—it carried 30% of Fusion State Aura combined with the Level 3 Lightning Aura, condensing devastating power into a pinpoint strike.
In an instant—
It reached Billy.
He didn't even flinch.
Didn't even have time to blink.
The needle pierced his skull.
A perfect, clean hole.
No scream. No resistance.
THUD!
His lifeless body collapsed.
And with him—
The humanoid monster beneath him also fell, its body twitching before going completely still.
Then—
Silence shattered.
The others snapped their heads toward the sound.
Abby and Jessica turned sharply, their eyes narrowing.
Above, the two Seeker Rank assassins halted mid-air, scanning the area.
Tension spiked.
They knew something was wrong.
But—
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Max was already moving.
One down.
And the hunt wasn't over.
***
"NO! BILLY!"
Abby's scream tore through the forest, raw with grief.
She ran, her heart pounding, her breath short.
Then—
She froze.
Billy lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.
A bloody hole marked the center of his skull, dark crimson leaking from the wound. A pool of blood spread beneath him, staining the earth.
Her fists clenched.
Her body shook.
He was dead.
Jessica arrived a moment later, her expression grim.
She took a single glance at the body—her instincts screaming.
"He's dead."
Her voice was calm, but her eyes weren't.
They were filled with shock.
With fear.
Then, she muttered—almost as if refusing to believe it.
"But how is this possible?"
Max was supposed to be heavily injured. Hiding. Weak. Desperate to heal.
That's what their intel said.
That's what they were told.
This was supposed to be an easy kill.
A wounded target. A simple execution.
But now—
A casualty.
Not just an injury.
Not just an attack.
A full assassination.
And worse—
None of them even noticed it happen.
A chill settled over them.
Something was very, very wrong.
The tension thickened as two new figures descended into the scene.
Two Seeker Rank experts.
One was a middle-aged man with a scarred face, his eyes sharp with a hardened, merciless gaze.
The other, a man with long hair, carried himself with calculated caution.
They both saw Billy's lifeless corpse.
Their expressions darkened.
"He must be around here. Search for him!"
The scarred man barked the order, his voice heavy with authority.
But—
The long-haired man, Aron, didn't move immediately.
Instead, he stared at Billy's corpse, his brows furrowing.
Then, he spoke, his tone lower, laced with doubt.
"Wait. I don't think it's Max."
The others turned to him, puzzled.
"He's supposed to be injured. Hiding somewhere. Healing."
His gaze remained locked on the clean kill.
"Billy was taken out in one move. Even if Max somehow managed to move, he wouldn't be at his peak. There's no way he could have done this."
A moment of silence.
The scarred man snorted.
"You think too much, Aron." His voice carried a dismissive edge. "Not just anyone would dare to kill someone from the Monarch."
Aron's frown deepened.
But after a moment, he sighed, then turned toward the others.
"Alright. We don't know who killed Billy, but whoever it is… they're still nearby. Search for them."
Then, his expression grew serious.
"And if you find them—don't engage. Shout first."
The order was clear.
They were being cautious now.
But it was already too late.
Max watched everything.
From his hidden vantage point, his Three-Dimensional Body tracked their every movement.
The five assassins were on high alert, spreading out cautiously. Their expressions grim, tense.
They were searching for him.
But Max wasn't just watching them.
He was also looking for the real threat—the Peak Seeker Rank assassin lurking in the distance.
Yet—he was gone.
The place where Max had sensed him before was now empty.
'He must be searching for me.'
Max's eyes narrowed slightly.
If his Three-Dimensional Body couldn't detect the assassin anymore, that meant one thing—
He was still far.
Not close to the others.
Not close enough to interfere.
Max's smile deepened.
'Let him search.'
For now, that didn't matter.
What mattered—was another kill.
His gaze locked onto his next target.
Abby.
The green-haired young woman. Billy's sister.
Her expression was twisted in grief, her body tense with fury.
But Max felt nothing.
No pity. No remorse.
He didn't care that he had killed her brother.
And he wouldn't care when he killed her next.
Because they were from Monarch.
Slaughterers. Executioners. Monsters in human skin.
They had razed cities without hesitation. They took what they wanted. Killed who they wanted.
To them, lives meant nothing.
So why should he spare them?
They came to kill him.
That was enough.
His code was simple.
If they came for his life—then they should be prepared to lose their own.
Max's fingers twitched.
It was time.
He would strike again.