In general, as always, the arrogant bourgeois were terribly out of touch with reality. I intended to visit this event and become the 'highlight of the program', but the appearance of the game figures messed up all my plans. If before I considered my powers sufficient, now I began to doubt it. Bitch's example showed that demons handle shard powers much better. And that scene with Noel's team made me feel somewhat uneasy.
The Angels decided not to cancel the evening event, so I also decided to attend, but not personally, but as a 'shadow clone'. My neurointerface allowed me to be present remotely anywhere, using a replicator body armored as a replacement. Unlike me, the loss of a replicator was completely insignificant. Moreover, it was equipped with paranoid security measures, and in case of capture threat, it would self-destruct immediately, leaving enemies with nothing.
In the evening, I stood on the roof of the building next to the Forsberg Gallery, where today's event was supposed to take place. Well, not me personally, but the replicator controlled by me. I, on the other hand, lay in an underground shelter in the docks. In addition to the replicator playing my role, there were many other replicators around, whose task was to provide support. They were needed in case something happened to the main bait. Then their task would be to destroy all traces and witnesses.
Today's 'show' was primarily aimed at tarnishing the Protectorate's reputation in the eyes of society. That's why I decided to put on a performance rather than blow up the entire building with the heroes inside. Besides, I wanted to test how strong I was compared to the possessed capes. I was most concerned about the three 'speedsters' capable of moving at great speed. Because, the replicator's speed and strength were limited to the level I could achieve after the 'basic' transformation, without increasing its size.
Currently, in the hall where the event was held, there were six Protectorate heroes: Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Assalut, Battery, Velocity, and Triumph. Among them, Assalut, Battery, and Velocity could accelerate and deliver powerful physical blows. Triumph could manipulate sounds, but I hoped the suit on the replicator would dampen all vibrations. Miss Militia was an archer, so her stats were more or less clear. And Armsmaster was essentially a melee fighter, preferring to wield his halberd.
In addition to the Protectorate heroes, there were underage Wards present in the hall: Clockblocker, Vista, and Gallant. Shadow Stalker had been long rotting in the Birdcage, and these three didn't pose much of a threat to me. Maybe Clockblocker was conditionally dangerous, but it was enough just to stay away from him.
The replicator portraying me currently matched the characteristics of a standard Changer and Brute. That is, it weighed a couple of hundred kilograms and was devilishly strong. As auxiliary weapons, it had a shotgun, one shot from which could punch through a tank.
Initially, I planned to burst through the roof right after the mayor's welcoming speech. But the listening devices I generously planted in the room intercepted a conversation between Armsmaster and the head of PRT Emily Piggot, from which it became clear that the Protectorate would officially announce today that they played the most important role in resolving the Bakuda crisis. So, I decided to wait for this announcement and then appear with the 'crushing' truth.
Because of this, my wait dragged on. Only twenty minutes later Armsmaster take the stage and start talking about how the Protectorate was tirelessly working for the good of the city, and that they were responsible for the city surviving these difficult times and confidently moving towards a bright future. At the same time, there were no specific descriptions of what exactly the Protectorate and PRT had done.
As soon as Armsmaster finished his pompous speech, I sprang into action. The replicator simply jumped across the street and landed on the roof, immediately shattering the glass. The 'attack' was so sudden that Armsmaster didn't have time to react. After all, the glass shattered almost silently.
"Now the floor is given to Black Cloak" – My thunderous voice announces my arrival, while pressing Armsmaster 's head to the ground with my foot.
He tried to stand up and push me away, but I was faster, grabbing him by the arm and leg and throwing him to the side of the hall. Armsmaster managed to regroup and land on all fours, but no one saw it because all the attention of the audience was focused on the two-meter anthropomorphic crocodile.
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"Please applaud" - the audience hesitated to clap for me, but the speakers installed in the hall delivered the sound of enthusiastic applause. After all, replicators had long ago hacked all the computers in the gallery. - "So, I officially declare that from today all administrative, legislative, and executive power transfers to me, the Black Cloak."
This time, for variety, I actually wore a black cloak that heroically fluttered behind me, despite the complete absence of wind in the room.
"Henceforth, my word is law, and punishment for any disobedience is death! Anyone who dares to attack me or hinder me will be destroyed with special cruelty. Unlike the useless Protectorate and PRT, my authority will be real, and good deeds tangible. I will revive this city and make its inhabitants happy and prosperous. I will eradicate crime in the truest sense of the word. Moreover, I have already destroyed the ABB and Merchants gangs. These criminal groups have been a real scourge on the city for many years, and neither the Protectorate nor the PRT could do anything about them. But I solved this problem in just two weeks. And rest assured, I will deal with the rest of the criminals just as easily."
At this moment, the heroes recovered enough to try to organize resistance and 'knock' me off the local Olympus. Velocity was the first to attack. His red suit was clearly visible, so when he tried to run towards me and spray a special restraining foam on me, I was able to react in time. I feared that after the angels' possession, the local speedsters would move at Flash levels, but for me, they moved like flies in honey. My neural network allowed me to 'accelerate' my consciousness, so the speed of my perception corresponded perfectly to the replicator's movement speed.
Velocity tried to circle around me while spraying foam from a special device, but I dodged the stream, jumped, and grabbed his arm. Since I was much stronger, Velocity couldn't wriggle out of my grip. Assalut tried to attack me from behind, but I first directed a stream of foam at him, then kicked him in a 'pendulum' trajectory to the other end of the hall, so he couldn't return to me until he landed.
Next, Battery rushed at me. Her movement was indeed fast... but not fast enough to catch me off guard. She flew at me, delivering a punch with her hand, but met with a blow to the stomach and flew vertically upwards, also unable to change the direction of her movement.
While the other two speedsters were suspended, I returned to Velocity, who futilely tried to break free from my grasp or inflict any damage with ordinary blows. I don't even know what he hoped to achieve by attacking me. I grabbed both of his arms, then broke them like twigs. The wet crunch of bones and the wild squeal of the cape informed those around me that the heroes were in serious trouble. But I didn't stop there; I grabbed Velocity by the neck and literally tore his head off. Blood splattered, and the audience froze in shock and horror. But that wasn't enough because next, I tore off the corpse's arms and legs, then pulled out a large cleaver from my belt, slit him from throat to groin, and gutted him, scattering guts all over the stage.
After tossing the corpse aside, I stared at the hall, looking into the horrified eyes of the civilians and heroes. Everything happened so quickly that Armsmaster and Miss Militia simply didn't have time to react. From my side, my actions must have looked like an exploding bloody fountain.
"As I said, anyone who dares to attack me or hinder me will be destroyed with special cruelty" - I continued my speech.
I didn't feel sorry for the dead angel because, in fact, this side of the conflict was supposed to destroy the entire Earth in the future. Regret it now, and you'll get even more trouble in the future. I could have killed all the heroes right now, since they were all gathered in one place, but I wasn't ready yet to fight the whole world. Not today. All I could do was hope for the prudence of the heroes and that they wouldn't rush headlong into me.
"I hope you now understand that these words were not empty bravado. I won't play to the audience by clowning around in front of the cameras" - I said. Actually, that's exactly what I was doing right now, but from the locals' point of view, everything happening here was real. - "I will eradicate all manifestations of evil to restore law and order to this city as soon as possible. People may have doubts about my actions at first, but in a couple of weeks, you will understand that law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear. If you don't rob passers-by at night, don't use drugs, don't steal, and don't assist criminals, then you have nothing to fear."
"You demon! All your words are lies!" - Unable to restrain himself, Armsmaster criticized.
"And this is coming from the man who just announced on this stage that the Protectorate defeated the ABB and Bakuda today? Ha-ha! Your 'bright empire' is built on lies and deceit. I prefer to tell people the harsh truth. And the truth is that I'm trying to save this city while you drag it down. Today's performance is a warning to all of you. I won't play your games of who can outmaneuver whom. For every lie of yours, I'll knock some sense into you. And if something doesn't suit you, you can get out of my city."
"I will destroy you, foul spawn of Chaos!!!" - Armsmaster shouted, completely losing his composure, lunging at me with his halberd.