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Chapter 18: A Masochist Or A Sadist In Making II

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"You think so too, Hercules?" Yovan wondered as he performed squats shirtless. On his shoulder were weights amounting only to several tons.

Not far from him stood a doll, looking finely made. It resembled Yovan's image of Hercules, a giant ripped dude.

It has only been one month since he settled down on the ship, yet he had already gone to his old ways.

"Hm, I agree. Venting is good. I just have to wait for someone to be kind enough to grant me that..." Yovan nodded and continued to squat, something he's been doing for a while.

Yovan was shitless on the beach, looking a bit fresh despite how sweaty he was. The last month felt like a breath of fresh air to him despite how agonizing his training sometimes was.

However, it was all paying off because the training wasn't the only thing he was focusing on, he also focused on bounty hunting. 

He even garnered himself a reputation in the surroundings. He had only gone through four other bounties, but he never failed. His work was perfect, and he's rarely seen.

So the people of Ko took it upon themselves to call him Shadow hunter, a title that he very much despised because it sounds so... AGhh, but he had no way to change that for now.

At least, the marines call him by his name Yovan when he goes to hand over the bounty targets.

"And they're here... Not far from me." Yovan mumbled before letting the weights fall to the ground, letting out a breath. 

He didn't seem that tired, but if anyone went through the torture he went through day and night, they wouldn't be either, if they have all the tools he has of course.

Limitless never fails to surprise him because it was that miraculous, especially as of recently when its effect became more apparent.

"Hard work huh... You're right of course and thank you for your guidance, Hercules. I'll be relying on you to keep me in line until the countdown finishes." 

He seemed to be talking to Hercules almost like they were having a conversation, an all familiar scene because the same happened with Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena.

Now he has to rely on Hercules because, in his knowledge, this particular demigod stuck to his memory quite a bit, and for a good reason.

The tale goes like this. Hercules prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders. 

As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible, yet he had done them.

He took the hard paths in life instead of one of ease and pleasure, and he became who he is. It is said that at one point, Zeus was so impressed with his mind that he chose to elevate his statue to a god.

He struggled but he never crumbled, mostly out of necessity. Yovan however only plans to take one thing out of Hercules, his persistence. The fact that he doesn't crumble before a challenge.

Yovan has only a few months before him until the countdown ends, and to have any chance of survival, he has to be strong, far stronger than he was before.

But for that to happen would require a lot of hard work to such a degree it might as well be torture, so Yovan had to persist, and Hercules was there for him to make sure he does.

There is a say, Work smarter not harder, but Yovan had to do both. One was just not enough, so he nodded at Hercules before he eyed the cliffs not far from the beach.

"As expected of the mafia. Their network of information is quite good though I didn't do much to hide anything at the time."

This is where working smarter comes to play. Something Yovan dearly needs is influence to get a few things he wants, information being the most important of which.

Yovan looked very closely, seeing a lot of figures hiding there, a lot. That was soon followed by about two dozen figures walking down to him.

Each of them was adorned in similar black suits. Some had coats on, none as luxurious as the fat man leading them with tobacco in his mouth.

He was smoking and walking up to Yovan like he owns the place. His arrogance was apparent to all, but when you get to high positions, such arrogance is only natural.

"Humm, very nice. A ship for a gift huh, I will gladly accept it," The middle-aged man nodded before looking up at Yovan who was much taller than him, "Still don't like you though..."

The mafia members behind him already had their guns aimed at Yovan, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

"You know. We like people like you in my line of work. Y'll are very susceptible to suggestion or corruption I may say. 

You people are actually our favorite expendables to hire... Bounty hunters are all sheep, but you just had to refuse to be a sheep, didn't you? You wanted to be the wolf... Now, look where that got you?!"

The middle-aged man seemed quite emotional as what little hair he had on his head moved around alongside him.

"Very nice," Yovan complemented with a smile, "The mafia's information network is pretty good... Yovan Night by the way."

The middle-aged man looked confused but still responded by instinct, "Francis... Wait."

Francis eyed Yovan strangely because the latter started heading his way, speaking some odd words, "I don't have much time, so excuse my rudeness."

But nothing was stranger than what happened next as Yovan stepped on the ground beneath him with great force, triggering something within as a long spear jumped right out of the sand.

Yovan caught it instantly, followed by his stance lowering, and then in the blink of an eye, he found himself amidst the two dozen mafia members, his spear piercing through them and beyond.

Just the gush of piercing wind it caused created gaps in their bodies, and just like that, four people fell.

"SHoooot!" Francis didn't even have to say it because they already pulled the trigger. Not just them, but the dozen other members on the cliff also did.

All kinds of guns discharged their ammunition at him, but unfortunately for them, he was amidst the other group, and he seemed to have vanished, causing chaos.

The end result was a strange sight, most of the mafia members were down but Yovan was nowhere to be seen. His spear was on the ground, lying motionless in loneliness.

"Huh? Wh- what happened? Where did he go!? Wait..." Francis suddenly had a bad premonition, a certain possibility surfacing in his mind.

He remembered a specific mafia lord, one of the five lords of the west... That man was the most troublesome opponent the underworld had ever seen despite him being one of them.

And it all for a reason, something that allowed him to run wild amongst them, "Oh God please no!"

However much to his despair, one of the fallen dead bodies seemed to shake for a second before something flew out of its underneath, a small inky bird.

The little thing was so fast that it vanished from their sight in a second. Cries of pain and agony soon followed, lives lost every second.

The dozen mafia members aiming down from the cliff were all dead. The few remaining members on the ground were in despair, some had the courage to keep their guns in their hands despite shaking a bit, others could only fall on their butts in fear.

Francis on the other hand fell to his knees, seemingly admitting defeat. He just watched with eyes of despair as the dark crow flew amidst the remaining henchmen, butchering them one by one.

Even the ones with courage could only shoot at random due to how swift the crow was as he sliced their necks with a simple knife.

That same crow soon flew towards Francis, twisting mid-air into a human figure that landed exactly before the last mafia member in the area.

"Now we can tal... Bad boy," Yovan had just started speaking before his eyes caught a slight movement made by Francis.

Limitless improves his entire body, every function of his. That's why his improvement was relatively slow, but that was what allowed his reaction time to be so over the top as his legs moved rather quickly kicking the thing Francis pulled out.

He seemed to have given up life, but how could he? Was his experience being one of the highest-standing mafia members for nothing? Of course not, he didn't give up, but now he did.

The tall man standing before him was a literal monster. Francis acted as discreetly as possible and he was proficient in guns, so he thought he'd succeed if the monster let his guard down, alas...

"Now we can have a long chat. Hell, we can even be friends," Yovan released a bright smile as he eyed the other person in the area, "Hey, Hercules, do you know anything about torture?"