Beast Soul

"The ground," Max said as he pointed his finger at the school grounds, which weren't covered in pavements nor concrete. It was simply normal. Max then shifted his finger from pointing at the ground to the trees that were right next to the compound walls of the school campus and continued, "The roots of those trees are hidden deep within the ground. I could manipulate them to help me in the fight. Make them move through the ground and pop out at the right time."

"The roots?" Surprised by his words, Gerald turned around and looked at the other two, who simply shrugged their shoulders. Gerald then simply scratched his chin, thinking to himself. "You know you have to be careful to not expose your powers, right? This could be extremely risky. They might see you using your powers."

"I know," Max nodded his head with a serious expression. "But I don't want to continue working for that pig anymore." Alphonso, Gerald and Harold looked at each other. 

None of them wanted to continue being the servants of Joey. They all hated this bully of a person who walks around the school as though he is the ruler. And if utilized properly, Max's powers may in fact help them get out of this b*astard's grasp once and for all. And who knows, maybe they could even save everyone else from this creep's hands as well. 

But that's the best case scenario, Gerald thought to himself. For all they know, everything could end up going horribly wrong as well. Maybe Joey or his followers might end up spotting the roots popping out of the ground. Maybe he'll figure out that Max and the rest of them are freaks and the news might spread. Maybe this could all end with them being hunted down by the police. 

"Max…" Gerald wanted to speak with Max more and try to convince him to leave this idea, but right then.

"Um, guys…" Harold called out to Gerald and Max, and the two turned around to look at him. He then pointed his finger at the school gate and the two shifted their gaze following the direction where he was pointing at, and found Joey motioning them to continue walking. 

"What the hell do they think they're doing?" One of the boys who were part of Joe's followers mumbled under his breath as he watched Max and the rest of the group talking to themselves, and Joey let out a short chuckle. "Does it matter, Ben?" He scratched his chin as he spoke. "All I want is to train my hands a bit today. They're aching to throw some punches, and the sandbags have such great timing."

"Great, he's planning on beating us up again." Max, who used his enhanced hearing ability to learn what Joey and his henchman was talking about, said to the rest of his friends, who all widened their eyes in surprise before expressions of terror replaced it. 

"Are you sure, Max?" Alphonso asked. He sounded terrified. Max nodded his head as he spoke, "I am, Alphonso." He then turned his gaze towards Gerald, who had an uncertain look on his face and asked, "What do you think, Gerald? Still want me to hold back and just get hit?"

"I…" Gerald bit his lips and shook his head before replying, "Ah, for f*ck's sake! Screw it!" He stomped his feet on the pavement with a frustrated expression before continuing, "Go ahead! Teach that piece of sh*t a lesson!"

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"You see, I really don't like what you guys are doing," Noah said with conviction. "Creating a hierarchy of bullies that benefit only you while also breeding new delinquents? Not something that I'd want to stand behind."

"I don't know what this guy has told you," A.J. said as he pointed his finger at Adrian and continued, "But none of that is the truth. We're not delinquents, nor are we bullies."

"Oh yeah?" Noah said with a sarcastic tone. "So then what are you planning on doing to me now that I rejected you?"

"For f*ck's sake! I've had enough with this cheeky brat!" Gabriel yelled out, his eyes red with anger as he stared at Noah. "I'm going to beat the sh*t out of you, you dumb little b*tch!"

"Noah! Look out!" Adrian yelled out in a concerned tone, as Gabriel rushed forward, heading straight for Noah with his arms spread wide. From his posture, it seemed as though he was trying to grab hold of Noah. 

"There we go. That's the true you." Noah smiled in response before he dashed forward as well, which caught A.J, who was watching him closely, off guard. 

'Is he seriously planning on taking Gab head on? Is this kid crazy?' A.J. thought to himself. He couldn't understand what was going through Noah's mind. Sure, Noah seemed to have a pretty well built body from the looks of it. However, it was nothing compared to the humongous giant that was Gabriel. In front of an enormous being like him, Noah seemed puny in comparison. 

Whoosh!

The two students instantly closed the distance between them, and Gabriel yelled out with fury in his voice, "You're going to get it, you little sh*t!" 

Swoosh!

As soon as Noah was within his reach, Gabriel swung both his arms forward, attempting to grab hold of him, but before he could do so, Noah increased his speed all of a sudden, and within a split second, Noah went from standing in front of him to a few meters away from Gabriel.

"What the?" Gabriel, who had no idea what just happened, looked at his hands that were clasped together with confusion evident in his eyes. He thought that he had Noah in his grasp, but to his surprise, he had caught nothing.

Even Adrian and A.J. were surprised by what had happened right in front of them. 

"That was the quickest move that I've ever seen!" A.J. couldn't believe what he had just seen. He was even doubtful of his own eyes, as he couldn't properly catch Noah's movements. "That was insane! How quick was he?" 

"Noah.." Adrian whispered under his breath, unable to believe what he just witnessed. Truth be told, he was a bit skeptical about Noah's words about beating everyone who was a part of the secret society. He knew that Noah was extremely strong, but Adrian didn't think that he could take down an entire society whose ranks were built on the basis of pure strength. Even for Noah, that would be too much. 

"But maybe..." Adrian couldn't help but wonder whether Noah truly has the power to make a change within the school and strip down the hidden hierarchical structure. 

"Quit trying to run away and come at me you p*ssy!" Gabriel, who was angry that he had missed his target, roared loudly before stomping his foot onto the floor and dashing forward, heading in the direction of Noah.

"Alright then. I'll grant you your wish!" Noah shrugged his shoulders and answered with a nonchalant expression on his face before he rushed forward with incredible speed. 

This time, he was quicker than before, catching Gabriel off guard, who did not expect Noah to arrive this early. 

Whoosh!

Taking advantage of the panic-stricken Gabriel, Noah immediately swung his fist forward with intense force while also maintaining his strength as he was fighting a human.

"Sh*t!" Gabriel only saw Noah pulling his fist back, but before he could raise his arms up to defend, the fist had already struck his jaw and sent him flying into the air.

BAM!

The loud noise of Noah's fist striking Gabriel's lower jaw was followed by another loud noise as Gabriel crashed down onto the ground, completely unconscious.

Silence!

"... Oh, you have got to be sh*tting me." The silence that loomed the gymnasium was interrupted by the soft voice of A.J, who spoke in a hushed tone, murmuring to himself as he stared at the unconscious body of Gabriel.

A knockout! With just one punch!

A.J. wasn't prepared for this. He had been briefed by his seniors, and even though it was an extremely short and simple briefing, nowhere did he get the impression that the kid that they were going to face was one of the best fighters in the school. 

"Are you going to stand there and watch or are you going to fight me?" Noah interrupted A.J.'s train of thought, which made him click his tongue and then glance at Noah with a frustrated expression.

"You're not planning on letting me go, are you?" A.J. asked as he raised both his arms and stretched his legs out, assuming a fighting stance. 

"Were you guys planning on letting me go when I rejected your invitation to join the secret society?" Noah answered his question with another question as he began to slowly walk forward, intimidating A.J.

"Yeah, I guess not!" A.J. shook his head.. He had a disappointed expression on his face for a split second before it was replaced by a serious one as he rushed towards Noah.