Chapter 31 - 31: Punishment

Zach seemed helpless as he watched Zoom close in on Lucifer.

The four of them had only recently joined the APF. None of them had worked together previously, so it was their first mission, fighting together. Unfortunately, it was going nothing like planned.

Zoom's arrogance and ignorance was making him ignore everything they were taught during training, and Zach couldn't do anything but watch.

Enforcer, on the other hand, had already left to help Perfecto.

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Lucifer's fist landed on the chest of Zoom at the same time as his kick landed on Lucifer's face.

Unfortunately for him, this time, Lucifer was more prepared. Pure strength was coursing through his body which he was using to keep him firm on the ground.

Both a leg and a fist landed at the same time on different people, but the outcome was different for both as Zoom was tossed back like a stone because of the pure brutal strength of Lucifer.

Lucifer, on the other hand, also suffered a bit as he again lost his balance despite trying to stand firm, but the damage to his face was much less and healed right away.

Still, he didn't let Zoom suffer the same way as Perfecto. He didn't want him to be tossed out as well. Now that he had an opportunity, it was better to take advantage.

He started running after Zoom, who had been tossed back uncontrollably.

"Not so soon," Zach finally took action as he stepped aside and allowed Zoom to pass through before he punched the ground.

Zoom had just passed by Zach, flying without any will of his own. Lucifer chased after him when the fist of Zach landed on the ground.

A wall of flame came out of the place where Zach's fist landed, spreading out everywhere.

It created a wall of flame to prevent Lucifer from chasing after Zoom, whereas he also stepped back a bit to create some distance from Lucifer, who had closed in.

Lucifer saw the wall of flames, but he didn't stop or look scared. Even with the raging wall of fire in his path, his confidence in his healing was overwhelming him as he ran into the wall of flames without stopping.

Zach, who hadn't expected this, was the closest to Lucifer as he passed through the walls of flames.

A stunned look engulfed his face as he hadn't expected Lucifer to not care for his life. In his shock, he didn't even realize that he had to run.

Lucifer noticed Zach to be closer to him and changed his target to him.

Within a blink of an eye, he caught up to Zach and reached out his left hand to catch him by the neck.

He was just about to catch Zach's throat when a bullet came flying from the distance and penetrated his right eye, leaving a hole where his eye was supposed to be.

Lucifer dropped to his knees, finally feeling some pain that was different than he ever felt. It couldn't be compared to what he faced in the facility, but it was still higher than what he had faced after leaving the facility.

Just what was this bullet? He had been shot previously, but none of the bullets seemed to be this lethal that could bring him down.

His body lost all his strength as he soon dropped to the ground, unable to move. He laid like a dead body on the ground as blood oozed out of his eye socket.

Zach gazed at Lucifer, who was lying on the ground, without moving.

"Sigh, our first mission, and we couldn't take our enemy alive even though he was a kid. I don't think I have any face to show the higher-ups," he mumbled to himself as he sighed.

He turned back to see how the rest of his team members were. Outside the house, he could see Perfecto standing with the support of Enforcer's shoulder. A gun was in his hand. It was evident that he was the one who had shot.

On the other hand, Zoom was coughing as he sat up while holding his chest.

"Are you alright?" Zach asked Perfecto.

"Yeah. Mostly fine. I think my chest bones are cracked, though," Perfecto told Zach as he rubbed his chest with a pained look on his face.

"Oh, right. Sorry for shooting him. I saw him lunging at you, and it seemed like your life was in danger. This was the only option I could think of," he added with an apologetic tone.

"Don't worry about it. You might have saved my life. It's my fault for freezing because it was just so unexpected. I'll explain the situation to higher-ups," Zach responded.

"What about you?" he shifted his gaze to Zoom and asked. "How are you?"

"You don't need to act so considerate. I know I messed up. I'm sorry," Zoom told Zach as he stood up. He seemed to be in somewhat better condition than Perfecto.

"It's fine, I guess. No one was hurt. But next time, don't do it," Zach alluded to Zoom as he shook his head.

"Anyway, as a punishment, you will be the one transporting his dead body to the vehicle," he added as he started walking towards the exit.

Zoom rubbed his head in annoyance to be stuck with the task of moving the dead body, but it was indeed true that he had messed up, and his mistake could have resulted in someone's death.

He could only finish the punishment and hope that Zach would be considerate enough to not tell the higher-ups about his blunder.

Zoom approached Lucifer and walked past Zach, who was walking in the opposite direction, leaving the house.

Just as Zach had placed his first step outside the house, Zoom reached Lucifer.

He glared at the kid as he said in annoyance, "See, kid? If you hadn't been this arrogant, you wouldn't be dead. You should've listened to our commands."

"Now you can rot in hell. You only have yourself to thank for that," he added as he reached out his hand to hold Lucifer's arms to drag him.