FA Chapter 12 Captured

Nervous excitement gripped Bosingwa's heart as he beheld his opponent, a burly man clad in a black suit. His head was covered with a mask that only left those dark brown menacing eyes boring into him. 

For a moment, he wondered why his fear had seemingly vanished. Could it have been because he sensed no killing intent? Or could it be some primal urge to wage battle that had gripped him. Humans had been savages at a point in history, following the law of the jungle. Had those instincts taken over?

The man's posture indicated an experienced veteran who had been through multiple battles. The steely gaze was clashing with his own, no doubt searching for any weakness to exploit.

Bosingwa felt as if he had been set free, his mind in a state of overdrive where he was pondering and contemplating many things...important or not.

For example, he could tell that the dishwasher hadn't been strong enough to survive his clash with the wall, having been shattered into multiple components. The second thing was the fact that his injuries were minor, a testament to the results of the gruelling training he had been through days before. He had absolutely no doubt that without that experience, there would have been some internal bleeding.

When the man lunged, his thoughts came to a screeching halt, his mind sharpening and his body priming itself for whatever attack the man was about to use. The switch had been seamless, like the flip of a palm.

The wall behind him didn't manage to withstand the force of a knee he had just evaded, breaking apart and opening a hole into the outside world. Bosingwa's counter after evading was a knee to the man's thigh only to feel as if he had attacked the sea, with the force of his attack absorbed into the man's body, sinking without a trace. 

He didn't show any dissatisfaction though, having already expected as much. Luna had already confirmed the fact that the body's cells could be rearranged into the form of a meta material as early as the gaseous stage.

He leaped back, putting himself between the sofa and the man. John was going to throw a fit at the damages but, he was sure he had enough funds to pay for the damages, provided he survived this encounter.

With a turn that defied bodily limits, the man accelerated aiming his palms towards him in a posture reminiscent that of grab. This time Bosingwa met him head on, palm for palm, with the very air exploding every time they clashed.

He was being pushed back though, because of the man's powerful strikes, a consequence of his powerful body, causing him to ultimately fall back into the sofa.

The man tried to leap on top of him, to restrain him, but Bosingwa resisted with a ferocity he didn't know he had, fighting as if his life was on the line. Kicking, punching, slapping, slashing with his nails... Basically everything he could manage, even biting with his teeth. But it was all futile as he still failed to make it out of the seat, like a beast trapped in a cage.

Because of his fierce and feral resistance, he only managed to notice that something sharp had been stabbed into his chest at the last moment, where his eyes fell upon a syringe holding a green eerily glowing liquid. 

His gaze dispaired as he felt his strength draining away, until the moment his body ceased all movement... paralysed. His eyes were the only ones that could still move and and he took advantage of that, his gaze following the man as he withdrew. 

The suit had been rendered into tatters by Bosingwa's fierce resistance, yet he didn't seem to mind. He appeared to be contacting someone through his neural link judging by the roll of his eyeballs.

That alone made Bosingwa feel as if his struggles had been futile. An accomplice had been nearby, probably down below, waiting for this one accomplish the task. Even if he had managed to win by some miraculous fluke, the other would have easily capture him.

Who were these people? What were their goals? Such questions and many others plagued his mind. Was he going to be kidnapped? But what would be the goal of that endeavour?

Like a bulb that had been switched on, his brain was illuminated by a realisation, like a revelation from the heavens themselves. The answer was simple, yet he had been contemplating it like some unsolvable equation. 

Miss Bora! Of course this was all a ploy to target her! These people, or whoever their employer was, had been biding his or her time, waiting for a moment to strike! And now with this day off, a chance had presented itself!

Bosingwa's eyes widened at the implications. These people hadn't probably just had their sights set on him, no no no! That would be too amateurish! The others must have become targets too!

They were going to be used as hostages in a plan to draw out Miss Bora. Were they naive, or did they have a crucial piece of information he didn't know about? After all, why would she put her life in danger to save them? It would simply be easier for her to simply trigger her neural link and they, the captives would be dead!

Bosingwa paled at that deduction. So this was the price he was going to pay for having his life in the hands of another? He felt indignant.

Before his mood and thoughts could spiral down the rabbit hole any further, his ears picked up the sound of footsteps heading this way. The accomplice had arrived. 

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"Do you know who we are? Whom we serve?! It would be best if you release us this instant!" 

Bosingwa heard a familiar voice the moment he was brought into the room with a black bag over his head. Even with all the vigor, he could still catch the tremble of fear within his voice. He almost chuckled at the man's stupidity. Did he really believe that those threats could save him?

Bosingwa felt his heart sink into the pits of his stomach upon sensing the tell-tale signs of the liquid stage. And it wasn't just one person, but many, greater than two. Even if Miss Bora attempted a rescue, the chance of success was very low considering the power of these people.

"At least we managed to get a third."

"What happened?" Those who had captured him asked those within the room. He didn't know how large or where this was, but he was sure that it was somewhere secluded or underground.

"The woman with the red hair was too ferocious. The other had already escaped beforehand after giving us the slip. (Sigh)... We lacked vital information about them." 

Bosingwa deduced that the one who had just spoken was the leader. Though, the contents of his words made a tiny part if him elated.

"And then there were these two! How did an old lady manage to win against you?" His tone was calm, but beneath, there was a brewing rage.

"We didn't mess up. We simply lacked relevant data." Another person answered calmly, unfazed by the other man's eerie calmness.

"Do you want money? Miss Bora has plenty. Just contact her. Please! I don't want to die." 

Bosingwa developed an urge to slap the man. Too bad he had been restrained.

"Find something for his mouth." The man who appeared to be the leader ordered after which Drekov's voice became muffled.

Bosingwa tuned out the next conversations and ruminated about what had brought upon his defeat. It had bee inevitable because of his opponent's extensive experience... But he shouldn't have lost that easily!

A bundle of rage threatened to take hold of him only to be discarded for a more logical approach. What had led to his disgraceful defeat had ultimately been his mind. He still hadn't caught up to the idea that his current state had transcended that of a normal human.

The sofa. The mundane piece of furniture could have been shattered with multiple clever uses of his power, but his mind hadn't thought that far, thinking that in being trapped within the seat, his hope of escape had been lost.

Luna had spoken of this situation. Her advice had been that of the passage of time. With more time to get used to the spiritual energy, the idea of normal would shift.

"That eerie green concoction... Musawo's spiritual inhibitor I presume?" 

Another familiar voice made it into his ears, one he would recognise anywhere due to its unique tone. Larssen, had been captured too. That brought the number to three.

"Oh! I never thought any one among you would even know about it. It looks like there is more to you than the eye can see."

"I am a learned man. Do you really believe that the sub par measures taken to block the general public from the world of the Forgers can stop a genius like me? ...anyway, back to the topic at hand. Five years ago, a "genius" known as Musawo invented the spiritual suppressant, causing him to be hailed as the greatest genius in the Forger world... Of course after Musana himself. But to me, that man is simply wasting his talents. Any random Tom would have invented the liquid given enough time."

"A hater. There are many like you." The man in charge of the operation spoke with clear disdain and disinterest.

All of them had probably had their heads covered in the cloth bags, making it so that Bosingwa could only identify the characters through their different voices.

Though, something surprised him. Larssen's tone when speaking of Musawo. He could pick out the nuances of excitement, something that hadn't happened before. His voice had been lazy, like he was just going along with the flow of life. But here, he appeared to be genuinely invested in this Musawo.

He had heard of the man and the various mentions of his apparent geniusness, yet there hadn't been any information on why he was dubbed so. If the man had invented the green liquid, then he deserved some praise... But genius? That was too far fetched!