All that was left was Michael, but as if the Known Cosmos was mocking Magnus' efforts, something came out of the treelines and into the open. Michael's mech suit was finally here at last.

The Mech suit was silver and grey in color with a touch of red. The upper body of it held a pilot pod, which was not in use since Michael was controlling it by his virtual headset. It was an Ultralight Mech suit classification, meaning that it only stood at a good 4 meters tall, had no shielding or heavy class weaponry on deck. But still, it could go through Magnus like a slice of cheese since in the hands of the mech suit was a large ass machine gun.

Hoping against all hope, Magnus took the window of opportunity he still had, since the Mech suit was a few paces away from Michael. He fired his shot, and it flew through the air, hitting… the metal arm of the mech suit, causing not even a scratch on it.

"Hahaha," the Mech suit said, in a voice very similar to Michael's, except it was robotic in nature. “Do you have any last words, you fucking peasant!”

Magnus cleared his throat and asked in a calm, polite tone, “Do we really have to do this, Michael? Mhhh?!”

“Do we have to do this, you ask.” Michael said as he snorted in derision, “You know what, Magnus, just prepare yourself as I break every bone in your body!”

“Fucking nut job,” Magnus muttered under his breath, as he turned around and quickly ran up the hill, goading Michael to follow him.

“Hey!” Michael shouted as he started to run after Magnus, “come back so I could administer your punishment.”

“Are you fucking mad?” Magnus asked as he turned, only, his head around to face the Mech suit with an incredulous look on his face, all the while he continued to flee.

Michael would have been gnashing his teeth right now, for these insults, if he wasn’t inside the Mech suit. So the only thing he had left was to trade words until he could get his hands on Magnus. “Let’s see you running your mouth, you ungrateful, unsophisticated lowborn.”

Magnus once more turned his head around and looked at the Mech suit, up and down, shaking his head, Magnus said. “You are mad, are you now, Michael. You believe that the world revolves around you.”

“So, WHAT?! I am not like you, swimming in the gutters for the rest of my life.” Michael shouted from the voicebox of the Mech suit, while he thought, why is it that every time, I spend a few moments with this bastard, my nerves are taut, and my blood pressure rises through the roof.

Well, it is really simple; my own fiancee choose him over me!

"Hehe, is that what you tell yourself, Michael," Magnus asked as he came to a halt and turned to face the Mech suit that Michael was controlling.

"What do you mean, Magnus?" Michael asked as a puzzled expression played on his face, right now if it was seeable. He too came to a stop, but he was only 35 meters away from Magnus, compare that to the 50 meters distance they had between each other, from the start, and you can see now, that the Mech suit was covering way more distance than Magnus.

"Magnus, what are you doing?" Codex asked as she saw no good coming from this pointless back and forth.

"Trust me, Codex," was the only reply Magnus gave her.

"Oh, I see now," Codex said, as she saw the plan Magnus had in-store, once she read his thoughts. Worriedly, she then vocalized what she felt about this plan, "You know that you are playing with fire, right?"

"Like you said, Codex, I have to use my brain and not let my emotions guide me. And this is me using my brain. This is the only path forward. I have to make Michael as angry as possible, so that there can be an opening which I then can exploit."

"Ahh, I still do not like this one bit," Codex said after a while. She knew that deep down, Magnus was right. There is no way he could defeat this hunking piece metal, any other way, except for getting to its weak spot, the human.

Magnus chuckled at Codex anxious attitude, "You know getting him angry is the easy part, but what comes after is the hard part."

"I know that," Codex responded as she would have shaken her head exasperatedly if she could. "All you have to do is poke at this bumbling idiot, and he would burst like a balloon."

Magnus did not respond to Codex concluding comment, since he was already doing exactly what she said, poking at the balloon.

"Michael, stop acting like you do not know what I mean," Magnus said with a black-hearted grin played on his lips.

"Shut up, Magnus." Michael snarled as he did not like that stupid smirk on Magnus' face one bit since it meant only one thing, mortifying degradation.

Not listening at all to Michael's warning, Magnus brazenly continued on with what he had to say, "When the new era came rolling in, Michael, humanity was instantly divided, on one side stood all the gifted humans, with their extraordinary powers. On the other side is the rest of us, those who have to bow down to the will of our new overlords. So Michael, if you take away all those fancy clothing and trinkets you have on, you would basically be like us." Magnus then said with absolute finality, which Michael couldn't help but tremble from within.

Then as if throwing the match stick into the boiling oil, which he had set up, Magnus added, "How did you always put it?" Magnus asked as he plastered a fake contemplating look on his face, "Oh, Yes!" Magnus said as recognition blossomed upon his face, "You, Michael, are a peasant."

"AAAAA," Michael screamed at the top of his lungs through his Mech suit's voicebox.

Taking that as a hint, Magnus quickly turned on his heel, and once more fled up the hill, behind him, he heard Michael yell out in a murderous voice, “I am going to KILL you, Magnus!” Then the bullets started to rain down the hill.

Magnus swiftly ducked behind a tree, as the bullets that Michael fired down, swept through the area he just stood. Magnus looked up the hill, regarded the remaining distance he has left to go.

“It is only 15 meters if you have to go,” Codex said, responding to the question that was playing in Magnus’ mind.

“But it looks like it is going to take forever, to climb that distance,” Magnus said as he lamented.

“Stop looking at it as a whole, look at it in parts,” Codex advised. “Like, for example, you need to make it to that boulder a few paces away, to your right. Then you have to make it behind that log. After that, you have to…”

As Codex continued to give out great instructions, Magnus couldn’t help nodded his had along, and no longer was he so worried and agitated when things were laid out this simply.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Magnus said with eagerness as he punched his left palm with his right-hand fist, after Codex was finished explaining her instructions.

“Hey, Michael,” Magnus shouted out loud, as he got Michael's attention, “Why are you so angry when you know I was only telling the truth.”

“Stay where you are, Magnus,” Michael said, threateningly, “Or else, you will be making it worse for yourself.”

Quickly taking that opening that Michael left as he was angrily conversing, Magnus jumped and rolled to the boulder. Soon after, bullets rain down that area from the Mech suit.

“Come on, Michael,” Magnus said from behind the boulder, as he snickered to himself, if there is one thing he is enjoying from this chase, then it would be making Michael, furious.

“You must have known, that deep down, you will never amount to anything in their eyes. Because in the eyes of gifted folks, we are all the same!”

Then taking that chance, Magnus belly jumped towards the log, “Woah!” Magnus said as he safely made it, since Michael must have been processing what Magnus just said.

“You got only 11 more meters,” Codex said, encouragingly from the deep recesses of Magnus's mind.

Magnus nodded his head at Codex’s coaxing remark, and then took a small peek over the log, and he quickly ducked his head back as bullets flew overhead.

“When I get my hands on you, Magnus, you will regret you ever lived,” Michael shouted, from only 21 meters away.

“Ha!” Magnus said in response to Michael's threat, “I feel bad for you, Michael. You are the saddest amongst us, peasants.”

“What do you mean?” Michael asked as curiously welded up in his chest. Magnus took that moment of opportunity and once more made it safely to another obstacle.

From that new hiding spot, Magnus answered Michael’s question. “Well, us, low class, can enjoy looking at these gifted folk from a safe and comfortable distance, but you, Michael. Ahh, how sad I feel for you.”

Then taking that instant, which Michael was engrossed with his explanation, Magnus ran up to the next obstacle and jumped over it, landing behind it. But this time, Magnus did not get away, unscratched.

“FUCK!” Magnus yelled, as burning pain coursed through his left shoulder, and blood ran down it, from the area that the bullet grazed.

“Hehe, did you think I would continuously fall for that?” Michael asked as he giggled, gleefully, at the pain he caused Magnus. “Anyways, why don’t you continue from where you left off, from, Magnus, maybe it will work this time?” Michael asked in a mocking tone.

“You know what? I will do just that!” Magnus shouted in resentment, from where he hid, as he applied pressure to his shoulder. “At least I will get to watch you squirm around like the little bitch you are, as my words cut deep.”

“Shut your mouth, Magnus!” Michael barked, as all the joy he was feeling, just a few moments ago, escaped him.

“Wow, Michael, are your words as cheap as that?” Magnus asked as he started to chuckle, but stopped, as the movement of his chest hurt his shoulder.

Then deciding that it was wiser not to push his luck, Magnus got back into his speech. “I am only doing what you told me to do, seeing if this could work. So, in light of that, I think I will ignore your second command and stick with your first one.”

“Don’t think you will get away with this, Magnus!” Michael cried out as he once more fired bullets at Magnus.

Safely behind his rock, Magnus carried on, “As I was saying before, you rudely shot at me, I genuinely feel mournful for you, Michael. You have to constantly live under all these gifted people shadows, reminding you, always, that you amount to nothing.”

Michael did not respond to Magnus taunting, deciding that it was best not to trade words with him anymore, that is until he gets his hands on him.

Magnus, seeing that, was not worried one bit, since all of this goading and ridicule was leading up to one thing. The one thing that would make Michael go off into a berserk rage, and create the grand opening that Magnus was looking for all along, so that his trap could fall into place, ruining Michael into damnation.

“And,” Magnus added as Michael got closer and closer to his hiding spot, “this is why I think your fiancee went ahead and tried to cheat on you.” At that, Michael started to slow down and come to a complete halt.

“It is because of all the reasons I gave above, which lead her down this path. It is not because she is a bitch, Nooo. It is far from it.” As Magnus said that lie, he felt like puking. That woman is the bitchest bitch of bitches.

But still, Michal does not need to know that, all he needs to do for Magnus, is break. Although that might be the cruelest of fates, breaking a man like that, it must happen for Magnus to survive. And what is humanity without its cruelness to each other!

“The reason lies with you, Michael,” Magnus said as his declaration booked no reproach. “You are worthless, like the rest of us, peasants. And no woman in her right mind, would want a WORTHLESS man like you.”

As Magnus's great act of cruelty came to a complete close, silence reigned throughout the whole hill, down to the smallest of creatures, to the wind itself, and the occupants of the hill, as well. All came to a standstill in complete and utter silence, to witness it all.

The silence continued to remain as Magnus got up from his hiding place and ran the remaining distance, it also carried on, as the Mech suit awoke from its stupor once it saw Magnus fleeing, and silently chased after him.

Time itself came to a slow, at that moment, it was as if the fates of all things were about to be decided, at that moment.

Magnus kept on running even as the edge of the cliff came closer and closer. Then he did the unimaginable, he jumped into the air, and off the cliff. As Magnus did that, Micheal aimed down his sights, and fired his gun, breaking the silence that held this place.

Bullets ricochet all over the area, tearing through the air, but Magnus was already out of sight by then.

Not letting up for a single second, the Mech suit followed in pursuit, and jumped off the cliff like Magnus did.

Once more, the silence that held this place before, returned.

Out of nowhere, a bloody hand gripped the edge of the cliff, then another one appeared, followed by the head of nobody else except for… you guessed it, Magnus.

Magnus hulled over the rest of his body, and laid there, over the edge of the cliff, laboring. “Woah, that was crazy!” Magnus said as he shouted out loud in an exhilarating voice, once he got his breathing under control.

“Magnus,” Codex said in a worried tone.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. This is not finished, yet” Magnus said, as he waved her off, “I will go deal with Michael and his goons, but just give me a minute here, okay?!”

But before Codex could say anything at all, Magnus got up from the ground, then he was immediately back down, and screaming.

Codex sucked in a cold breath as she watched Magnus squirm around on the ground, screamed in pain, “Yeah, that is what I was trying to tell you about,” Codex said as she sighed to herself.

“When the Hell did this happen?” Magnus asked as he looked down at the lower right side of his stomach, while clenched his teeth in agony.

“Must have happened when you jumped off the cliff,” Codex responded, while very troubled with what she was seeing. “Though I have to say, that should not be your main concern, at all, you need to rush to the hospital and get them to see it.”

“Alright,” Magnus responded as he used his left hand to apply pressure to the new wound, and his right hand to his old wound, making a very unusual and peculiar sight, of him hugging himself.

“If the pain is any indicator of how bad it is, then it must be really bad,” Magnus added sarcastically, to lighten the mood as he made his way down the hill, limping.

“Just shut up, would you.” Codex said as she felt like smacking him right across the head. Ahh, he really has the humor of joking around in a moment like this.

“Fine, it is your loss, not mine,” Magnus said to Codex,

“Well, hello gentlemen,” Magnus shouted to Lobal and Jovel, once he made it to the foot of the hill.

The two men immediately started to shiver at once, in two parts thanks to their fear of Magnus and also they were shirtless, as they had to use their shirts to make a makeshift bandage to cover up their wounds.

If it were up to them, they would have fled long ago, although they might look like brutal guys, in actuality, they are pretty good-natured fellows. But the issue is, that they have to stay and protect their boss, or else the fate that awaits them and their family. Ooo, just thinking about it, sets off all alarms in their minds.

The only reason that they even got mixed up with Michael, in the first place, is because of their fathers. To survive in this economy, you need the protection of a gifted individual, and that protection came in the form of Michael’s mom.

“Don’t worry guys, I won’t hurt you anymore,” Magnus said, and he would have raised his hands up as well, in a gesture showing peace, but they were kind of busy at the moment.

“All I want to do is say goodbye to your boss.” Magnus said with a bright grin, “Nothing else, I promise.”

The two young men looked at each other, and came to some sort of silent agreement since they stood up straighter and blocked Magnus path.

Magnus raised his eyebrows in confusion, then asked, “Ahhh, what are you guys doing, exactly?”

“Sorry,” one of the brutes said in a rumbling voice, “but we cannot let you through.”

“What do you mean, exactly?” Magnus asked as his eyes squinted together in suspicion.

Then in a flash, Magnus took the moment he gave himself, and leaned his head to one side, to get a better view of Michael.

Instantly, Magnus’ eyes widened like saucers, and he whipped his head around to face Lobal and Jovel, and asked in a growl. “What the hell is he still doing in his virtual headset?”