novelraw Chapter 71: The Three Steps
Chapter 71: The Three Steps
Sheila’s hands trembled, unseen by anyone in the area, as she feared what it meant for a Nova to have come in front of her directly. She took a step back in terror as she thought of running away.
If she ran away now, the Nova would have no idea who she was or where she had gone. That way, she could remain safe.
As she thought of that, she looked at the faces of the people around her. These were people she had gathered here herself. She had told them a mix of truth and lies to bring them all to her cause.
If she ran now, these people would most definitely die at the hand of the Nova.
At that moment, she remembered the face of a black-haired man with an annoying smile. The man that she both hated and respected, the words he had spoken on that fateful day resonated in her mind.
’If you did something wrong, then you might as well take responsibility for it. Even if it feels like a bad choice, it is the correct one.’
Sheila’s eyes sharpened, her spirits revitalized, and her fears controlled. She knew she was about to make a bad choice, but a choice that was damn sure the correct one.
’I always knew there was a Nova here. This is no time to be scared,’ she told herself as she reached into her clothes once more and brought out something.
The girl in front of her was already looking at the other people who were mostly on the ground, slowly crouching away from her. The black blade on her hand had disappeared, but it could come out at any moment anyhow.
"Stay away from them," Sheila shouted.
The black-haired girl paused and turned toward her. She looked in her direction, but she could barely see anything at all.
"Why don’t you show yourself? I’m curious to see what sort of man you are on the inside," the girl said.
"Why? So you can report me to the Mayor?" Sheila asked. "No thanks, and you better stay away from them all."
"Oh? What are you going to do if I don’t stay away?" the girl asked. "Kill me? I would love to see that."
Sheila had one fear and one fear only at the moment. She feared what would happen to her if the Nova were to live through what she was about to do.
’Well, time to find out,’ she thought and attacked.
The black-haired girl was all smiles when suddenly she heard something click. At the next moment, she felt something strike her on her stomach with a massive force, sending her flying away.
The girl crashed into the wall of the warehouse before falling to the ground. "What... what was that?" she asked, a bit disoriented from the attack.
She looked at her stomach and saw a hole in her dress, showing the dim glowing layer of light on top of her naked skin.
"You!" the girl looked back at Sheila with a shocked look on her face. "Did you just... shoot me?"
’A Shield?’ Sheila couldn’t believe it.
"You... Do you have a gun? Where did you get that from?" the girl asked. Her eyes wandered around, trying to look at the others around her. She wondered if these people had guns on them as well.
If they all had a gun, it would be a terrible time for her.
’Should I kill them all?’ the girl wondered. That was her only choice if she didn’t want to get overwhelmed.
She decided to attack them all when the gun fired once more. A small flash of red light it away and she barely managed to dodge it in time.
Sheila held her gun in front of her, aiming at the girl in front of her. "Everyone, run out, now!" she ordered. "I’ll keep her here while you get away."
The crowd didn’t stop. They immediately ran away, without a single care as to who they were leaving behind.
The girl looked in surprise for a moment before turning toward Sheila. This time with her powers ready to stop anything that was thrown in her direction.
"Don’t even think you’ll get a hit in now," the girl said. "You only got to hit me because I got too complacent and let my guard down. That won’t be happening again."
"We’ll see about that," Sheila said. She aimed for the open stomach of the girl and reshot her gun.
* * * * * *
A chilling set of screams filled the evening sky.
"What was that?" Garry asked, looking in the distance.
Stanley looked in that direction as well. It was in the direction of the warehouse that the main group of Defenders was moving towards.
His group of 3, Garry, him, and Nale were moving toward a house where all 3 of the people inside were recognized to be part of the groups that were planning on causing trouble.
"Did they start attacking?" Nale asked.
He was one of the taller boys from Stanley’s batch. With his long hair that seemed to go past his back, he looked more like a girl than a boy.
"No, they wouldn’t," Garry said. "Not this soon at least. They have the 3 steps to follow after all."
The three rules were set for everyone before they were sent to capture the criminals plotting the town’s downfall.
The first step was to politely ask the people to come out on their own and be taken away. If that didn’t work and they got hostile, they were to take the second step.
The second step was to use force to bring them with the. They could use their powers, their hands, their wooden staff, or even their metal sword if they had to.
Whatever they needed, they could use to capture them.
The third step was one that they chose when all other steps didn’t work. This was the step that they had to be absolutely sure that they wanted to take this step as there was no going back.
After all, when nothing else worked, the only thing the Defenders could do was kill the person.