Psychic Overlord

"Fuck! Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!" a gruff voice cursed and swore, full of hatred and grievance.

"Enough, Barnes. Cursing and raging won’t solve our current predicament." A sly and cunning voice responded with endless fatigue and resigned defeat.

Barnes, who was now wearing a tattered beige trench coat around his round belly as well as a pair of tattered pants and a black hat filled with bullet holes, looked absolutely miserable, his face even covered with dirt and grime.

Lyle was not much better, his own green jacket extremely worn and his hair matted against his scalp, its former color indistinguishable due to the sheer muck within. The very soles of his shoes were now thin, allowing one to see a glimpse of his blackened feet.

In the past two weeks, these two had lived a life worse than rats. Even rats would look at them and hurriedly carry their children away, telling them not to look at these two.

It was hard to believe that they were once men who dined on the finest food and drank the best wine, able to decide the life and death of second-generation bourgeois students with a wave of their hand.

Even the place they stayed in was terrible, being a dark and dry corner of the sewer system within Alpha City, specifically at the old district’s side. On one hand, there was no sewage flowing through here anymore, so the smell was not too bad.

On the other, it was a silent and eerie place that was full of cold indifference towards the lives within.

"Fuck that bastard Leo. He deserved to die for going behind our backs! Son of a bitch would have killed us all with his greed!" Barnes continued to curse, not stopping at all.

Lyle frowned but couldn’t help but agree. "Yes, but it is precisely because of his greed that we are still alive. We wouldn’t have been able to flee in time if he had been honest, and we would have died without even knowing how."

Barnes punched the ground, causing it to crack around his fist. "Fuck the organization! We slaved for them for years, doing their bidding without asking a question! And then, the moment they see our usefulness run out, they try to execute us!!"

Lyle sighed with desolation, no longer able to disagree with Barnes, for his heart also felt cold. They had done despicable and cruel things in the name of the organization, staining their souls with the darkness of sin out of loyalty, but that loyalty was betrayed while the sin they bore remained.

One could say that at this moment, the two of them had ’woken up’ and were no longer the same as before, but what good would it do to change one’s leaf now? Who knew how many people had joined the hunt for them?

Previously, it was a few former colleagues who were around the same rank who attacked, with the scale of power being increased the more they evaded. Now that it was sent to the Esper Commission, any esper of any level could participate.

Suddenly, Barnes’ face changed as he charged towards Lyle and knocked him aside. "Lyle, look out!"

Lyle only had the time to strike the wall after the hit to see a pillar of flame erupt from where he was once seated, enveloping Barnes, who roared with pain. His face changed as he quickly got up and took his weapon out of its holster, quickly rushing towards nearby cover to watch out for their assailant.

"Oh? Camaraderie between thieves? Hoho, I think I have seen something ridiculous today." A sleazy voice sounded out from the right pathway, revealing itself to be a woman wearing a sexy red dress with a fox pelt around her neck.

Her curly golden hair reached her shoulders, and her supple creamy skin was unblemished as if she were a newborn. Her dark black eyes were filled with playfulness and amusement, while her gloved hands were clasped together lightly as she walked over confidently.

Lyle’s face changed greatly when he saw her, his pupils constricting greatly. "A Rank Esper, Sadistic Flame!"

He couldn’t believe that two D-rank espers could attract such a powerhouse here to hunt them down. Just what kind of reward had the organization offered for their lives?!

"Oh? It seems my reputation precedes me. That’s strange, because I usually have no one left alive when I’m done. Oh well, let’s get this over with, I have a party to attend." She replied lightly, glancing towards where Lyle was taking cover before focusing on Barnes.

Surprisingly, the fellow was still alive after that, his body smoking all over as his clothes that were specially customized for him almost turned into ash. However, he had activated his esper ability and had grown into a Hulk-like giant, his reddish skin tone pulsing due to the volume of blood flowing within.

"Oh!! How rare, it seems you have ascended past the limit of your D-rank ability and taken a step further. You can now barely be called a C-rank esper, but it’s still meaningless when you are up against someone like me." Sadistic Flame commented with exaggerated surprise.

Barnes was panting heavily, feeling strained. After the two weeks of fighting, where he had to utilize his esper power greatly since he was the main combatant between him and Lyle, he had been pushed to the brink by this attack and forced himself to bring out his maximum power in order to survive.

As the woman said, it seemed to break some shackle and allow his esper power to take a step further. However, just as she said, against an A-rank esper, and a well-known one at that, it was meaningless.

"Alright, you can die in peace after achieving what only 1% of espers worldwide ever could in their lifetime." Sadistic Flame stated with a smirk, pointing her finger in which a huge fireball the size of a small saloon car was fired.

Forget the heat, the ensuing explosion alone from such an attack would be enough to bury both Lyle and Barnes in this place forever!

However, just as the fireball was about to strike them, it was met with a sudden wall of extremely thick ice that emerged from the ground, taking the blow and extinguishing its power after being shattered into pieces.

"Huh? I know the stench of that power? Crystal Ice?!" Sadistic Flame roared with fury as she glanced to the side, near the right exit.

From there walked out a woman who was just as svelte and beautiful as Sadistic Flame, but her demeanor was the exact opposite. Unlike Kaizer, who was simply reserved, this woman was as cold as ice, seemingly emotionless as she almost floated over.

She had azure-colored hair that curled upward around her neck, along with dark cyan eyes that were filled with indifference. Her dress was simply that of a long gown that reached her lower knee, revealing her pale white skin that was as pasty as undeath.

"Sadistic Flame. I see you also took on this lucrative job." Crystal Ice remarked, glancing at her old rival.

Meanwhile, Lyle was sweating profusely, sincerely wanting to ask exactly what the hell the organization offered the public for two A-rank espers to come after them like this? If this was the case, then what kind of powerhouses would be sent from within the organization? 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Sadistic Flame raised a finger and fired a ball of flame at her rival without even negotiating, aiming for the kill. Crystal Ice seemed used to this and simply flourished her palm, creating a lance of ice that struck out and collided with the fireball, both exploding.

Sadistic Flame glanced to the side. "Come out, the rest of you, or don’t blame me for unleashing my attack on you."

"Hahaha, Madam Sadistic Flame is as cruel as they say." A male voice spoke, as a group of men and women of different ages walked out of the northern pathway’s darkness, numbering about seven in total.

Seeing them, both A-class espers frowned slowly, realizing that things were about to be troublesome.

"Who are you lot?" Sadistic Flame asked with a deep frown.

The man who spoke first took the lead and bowed with an exaggerated posture. "Me, why, my esper name is Diamond Heart and I am of the B-rank, dear madam."

He was a tall fellow of African American descent, with a dashing fade, a pair of glasses on his handsome face, and wore a combat suit made of greyish-black material.

He then gestured to those who came with him. "And my colleagues are all of the B-rank as well, so I’d advise you to think twice before acting stupidly."

The group spread out slightly to reduce the advantage their competitors had, making Sadistic Flame and Crystal Ice feel an immediate headache as a tense stalemate occurred. It was clear everyone wanted a piece of the pie and there was not enough slices to share, so a bloody battle was inevitable.

At this time, a Dodge Viper ACR pulled up on the surface of the abandoned district, near the sewage station.