CHAPTER 314: NO HESITATION

The gunshot echoed like thunder.

For those closest to Max and Chrono, the sound triggered an instinctive reaction, they flinched, their eyes squeezing shut. When they dared to open them again, they froze.

Max was still standing tall, the cold metal weapon clutched in his hand, its barrel aimed directly at the man on the ground. For a moment, many forgot to even breathe.

Some wondered if he’d missed, if the bullet had struck the floor or the wall instead.

But those near enough to see clearly knew the truth.

The bullet had torn straight through Chrono’s skull. His eyes were still open, wide and glassy, the life gone from them entirely. His body lay limp, utterly still.

Chrono was dead.

The Bloodline Group had always known Max carried anger, a fury sharper than anyone else’s. They had followed him because he was decisive, because he acted without hesitation when others froze.

But this?

This was different.

If they were in his place, could they have done the same? They were students, fighters, yes, but still young. Some had already injured their enemies more than they had ever intended, others had delivered blows that might cripple or scar. But to kill... to take a life outright, that was a step none of them were prepared for.

And it wasn’t just them. Even for the older fighters among them, even for Steven, it would have been a nearly impossible choice.

Wolf was perhaps the exception. He had accepted the darkness of this path long ago, had steeled himself to do whatever was necessary. Yet even he felt the weight of what Max had done. He hadn’t expected it to come without a flicker of hesitation. No second thoughts. No stumble.

The shot had been clean. Final.

Chrono’s life had ended in an instant.

The silence stretched.

It wasn’t just the Bloodline who were stunned. The Rejected Corps and Chalkline Boys, who moments ago had been fighting tooth and nail, now stood defeated and wide-eyed. Their resistance had already collapsed, but now they watched as one of their leaders lay dead before them.

"He actually... killed Chrono," one whispered. "Chrono’s gone. He’s not alive anymore."

"What does that mean for us?" another muttered, trembling. "What do we do now?"

For the first time that night, true fear washed over them, not of Max’s fists, not of the Bloodline’s numbers, but of the reality that their leader was gone, killed before their very eyes.

Max finally exhaled. His grip loosened slightly as he lowered the gun, his arm falling from its aim at Chrono’s head. His voice cut through the silence, raw and heavy with conviction.

"There are times," he said slowly, "when I think there are people who deserve to suffer longer, that life in prison can be crueler than ending them here and now."

He paused, his gaze still locked on Chrono’s lifeless body.

"But you, Chrono... you’re not one of them. I know the kind of person you are. You would’ve thrived in that environment. You would’ve made prison your playground." Max’s tone hardened. "After everything you did, after all the lives you took that didn’t need to be taken, you didn’t deserve that chance."

"I was the one who decided to end your life," Max said firmly, his voice echoing through the silent room. "Because I wouldn’t be able to live knowing you were still out there, somewhere, while she wasn’t. This is your end, Chrono. This is the end of your tale."

Max’s words hung in the air, final and heavy.

As he stood over Chrono’s lifeless body, Aron finally stepped forward, his presence commanding attention even amid the shaken crowd. His eyes flicked from the corpse to Max, a rare trace of surprise breaking through his usually calm demeanor.

Someone so young, doing something so absolute. Yet as Aron thought about it, it wasn’t so shocking. Max had carried far more than most men twice his age, and the weight he had released in that single gunshot was impossible to measure.

Still, there was something else that surprised Aron even more, Max had seized the opportunity. When Aron had thrown the blade to create an opening, he hadn’t expected Max to be fearless enough to charge head-on. If Max had hesitated, Chrono might have fired again, and this time more than just a grazing wound could have been the result.

Truthfully, Aron’s intent hadn’t been to set up Max. His plan had been to force Chrono to drop the gun, or, failing that, to minimize the damage and neutralize him himself. But Max hadn’t waited for anyone else to finish it. He had taken the moment into his own hands.

Aron folded his arms. "Max," he said at last, his tone steady, "I’ll deal with the aftermath of this entire situation. It shouldn’t be a problem to bury this as much as possible. You’ve taken out the head of their group, there’s no one left to protect him now."

He glanced around the room before lowering his voice slightly. "But I’m not sure about them. If they’ll talk."

He wasn’t referring to the beaten gang members sprawled across the floor. Their criminal records were already so long that no testimony of theirs would ever be taken seriously, especially with Aron’s influence.

No, he was talking about the students. The dozens of wide-eyed, bloodied teenagers who had just witnessed Max execute a man.

The tension was thick until one voice shattered it.

"We did it!" Joe shouted, his grin breaking through the solemn air. "Max has gotten rid of the one giving us all this trouble! The Bloodline Group has won!"

For a moment, every student seemed to remember why they had come here in the first place.

Some of them were cut, bruised, and patched up with quick, rough bandages. They were hurting, but they were alive, and they had survived something far beyond a schoolyard brawl. This was serious. This was the real underworld. And tonight was their first step into it.

To them, Max had done what none of them could. He had carried the heaviest burden on his shoulders, so they didn’t have to.

And so, they cheered.

"To the Bloodline Group!"

"For the Bloodline Group!"

"We’ll become the biggest group in Notting Hill!" one shouted.

"Hey, hey, you have to aim higher than that!" another chimed in.

"Right! You’re right, we’ll become the biggest group in the country!"

"No, man, you’ve gotta aim even higher!"

Joe’s grin widened as he raised his voice above the chants, delivering the words with conviction.

"No, we’ll become the biggest group in the world. Looking out for each other!"

The cheers erupted louder than ever.