Divorced on Monday, Bought the City on Tuesday: The Infinite

The Grandmaster’s Wrath

Chapter 43

The western beach of San Marcos was a graveyard of gray ash and smoking cybernetic cores. The Aegis Phalanx had retreated, establishing a hard perimeter a mile inland to protect the newly rebuilt city.

The four Crimson Saints stood perfectly still on the white sand, the ocean waves crashing gently behind them. The silver masks reflected the moonlight.

"The mechanical toys have fled," the lead Saint rasped, its dual-toned voice slicing through the sound of the surf. "The target is unprotected. Proceed to the palace."

"You aren't going anywhere near my palace."

The Saints turned simultaneously.

Walking out from the tree line, utterly alone save for the white-haired assassin trailing a step behind him, was Arthur Vance. He wore a crisp white dress shirt, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, exposing his forearms. He looked completely relaxed, as if he were taking a midnight stroll.

"Arthur Vance," the lead Saint hissed. "Vivaldi demands your head. Your unnatural wealth ends tonight."

"Vivaldi is a coward who hides behind cryogenic freaks," Arthur replied smoothly, stopping fifty feet away from the killers. He tapped the side of his leg. "System. Scan them."

[Target: The Crimson Saints (Bio-Weapon Variants).]

[Status: Ancient genetic anomalies. They secrete a hyper-accelerated necrosis enzyme from their dermal pores. Any organic or inorganic material they touch will instantly oxidize and decay.]

[Warning: Lethality is absolute. Do not allow physical contact.]

Arthur smiled. A dark, terrifying expression. Do not allow physical contact.

"Vera," Arthur said quietly, not taking his eyes off the Saints. "Take the three on the right. Don't let them touch your skin. Use the blade."

"Understood," Vera whispered, dropping into a low, predatory combat stance.

The lead Saint let out a horrific, screeching laugh. "You send a woman with a knife to fight us? We are death incarnate!"

"You're obsolete," Arthur corrected.

The lead Saint charged. It moved with blinding, supernatural speed, its crimson robes fluttering like bat wings. It reached out with a pale, glowing hand, aiming directly for Arthur’s chest.

Arthur didn't step backward. He didn't draw a weapon. He engaged the Advanced Cognitive Processing module of his System.

To the Saint, it was moving at Mach speed. To Arthur, the world suddenly slowed to a crawl. The raindrops hung suspended in the air. The Saint’s deadly, glowing hand drifted toward him like a leaf caught in a lazy breeze.

Arthur stepped precisely one millimeter to the left.

The Saint’s hand passed harmlessly over Arthur’s shoulder. The creature’s silver mask tilted in shock nobody had ever dodged their strike.

"You missed," Arthur whispered directly into the creature’s ear.

Arthur channeled the raw, explosive power of the Leviathan Marrow Serum. He didn't touch the Saint's decaying skin. He didn't need to. He clenched his fist and delivered a Grandmaster-tier punch directly into the air one inch from the Saint’s chest.

The sheer kinetic force of the strike compressed the air molecules, creating a localized sonic boom.

CRACK!

An invisible shockwave of displaced atmosphere slammed into the Saint like an artillery shell. The creature’s ribs shattered inward. The crimson robes ripped to shreds. The Saint was launched backward off its feet, flying fifty yards across the beach before skipping across the ocean water like a skipped stone.

The remaining three Saints froze. Their ancient, dormant brains struggled to process what had just happened. This human hadn't even touched their leader, yet he had nearly torn him in half.

That momentary hesitation was a fatal mistake.

Vera moved. She was a blur of charcoal-gray and white hair. She didn't use kinetic shockwaves; she used flawless, lethal precision.

She vaulted off a piece of driftwood, launching herself into the air over the second Saint. As she passed overhead, she swung her high-density combat blade in a perfect arc. The blade didn't touch the creature’s decaying skin long enough to oxidize. It sliced cleanly through the neck, decapitating the Saint instantly.

The creature’s body collapsed into a pile of gray ash before the silver mask even hit the sand.

The third and fourth Saints screeched in fury, turning their glowing hands toward Vera.

"Eyes on me," Arthur commanded, stepping into their path.

He didn't wait for them to attack. He rushed forward, his boots kicking up a spray of white sand. He swept his leg in a low, devastating arc, again stopping an inch short of physical contact, using the kinetic pressure to sweep their legs out from under them.

As the two Saints fell backward, Arthur brought both of his heels down, stomping the air directly above their chests.

The resulting twin shockwaves cratered the beach, driving the two ancient killers ten feet deep into the compacted sand, completely crushing their bio-engineered organs.

They didn't turn to ash. They just died.

The beach fell dead silent, save for the rolling waves.

Vera landed softly next to Arthur, flicking a speck of ash off her blade before sheathing it smoothly. She wasn't even breathing hard.

"Pest control complete, Master Vance."

Arthur looked out toward the dark ocean. The lead Saint he had punched into the water was gone, likely sunk to the bottom of the Mediterranean with a shattered spine.

"Vivaldi sent his best," Arthur mused, adjusting his cuffs. "And they lasted exactly twelve seconds."

Arthur pulled his phone from his pocket. He wiped a drop of seawater off the screen and hit the speed dial for Nyx.

"Boss?" Nyx answered, her voice laced with nervous adrenaline.

"The beach is clear," Arthur said calmly. "Send a cleanup crew for the ash. And Nyx? Trace the submarine they arrived on. Find out exactly where it launched from."

"Tracing now, boss. Give me ten seconds." A rapid clicking of keys echoed over the line. "Got it. It launched from a private, heavily fortified naval facility in Genoa, Italy. It’s entirely off the grid. Owned directly by the Vivaldi Patriarch."

Arthur’s eyes glowed with a terrifying, golden fury. The Old Families wanted a war of annihilation? He would give them one.

"Nyx," Arthur commanded, staring across the black ocean. "Prepare the orbital quantum ledger. We are going to buy Genoa."