Chen Mo flicked his hand, and Ezekiel didn't even have time to scream.
A mass of tendrils bored into his chest and abdomen. Like several mouths opening at once, they bit through bone and flesh.
They burrowed frantically into his body, devouring everything in their path.
Ezekiel's eyes went wide, and his limbs twitched twice before he vanished completely.
Chen Mo let go and casually flicked the blood from his fingertips.
"Just like I said, the four of you are nothing but NPCs. You're completely useless in a high-level match. You're fucking weak."
Butcher's expression changed, and he raised his gun, ready to push forward.
"Don't move." Chen Mo looked up at him and pointed a finger. "Take one more step toward me with that shitty water gun, and I'll sew that foul mouth of yours shut first."
Butcher stopped in his tracks, his eyes so fierce he looked ready to devour someone.
"Who the fuck are you? A monster made by Vought? An alien?" He stared at Chen Mo, his voice low. "Don't think you can threaten me. What the fuck do you know!?"
Chen Mo glanced at him and gave a wicked smile.
"I know plenty," he said. "For example, your wife's not dead. Vought's just got her hidden away in some secret community, and she's raising Homelander's kid while she's at it. The little guy's called Ryan."
Butcher's pupils suddenly contracted, and he froze.
Mother's Milk and Frenchie both stared in surprise. Even Kimiko tilted her head and looked over.
Butcher's Adam's apple bobbed, and the ferocity vanished from his face, as if a wolf had turned into a husky.
"Bullshit." He practically squeezed the word through his teeth. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Of course I do." Chen Mo raised his chin. "If you don't believe me, go ask Vought yourself. Now quit blocking my way. You're annoying."
Butcher's eyes turned red, and the gun in his hand trembled violently.
"Tell me where she is." He took a step forward, his voice changing. "Now."
"No time."
With that, Chen Mo raised his hand and slammed him with a telekinetic blow.
The invisible impact struck like a wall of air, sending Butcher and the others flying, guns and all, into the church's side wall.
The Boys tumbled into a corner together and passed out before they could even struggle.
"You won't listen to reason, so I have to use force. You're really like dogs." Chen Mo shook out his hand and looked down at the people sprawled in a heap by the wall. "Go back and take your time thinking it over. Don't be in such a hurry to die."
He turned around, and black-and-red tendrils erupted from him again, lunging straight at the people left in the church.
Several priests hung in midair as the tendrils tore them open and began feeding on them.
Someone else tried to reach for a gun, but Blacklight had already slipped down his throat, yanking him to the floor.
Chen Mo stood before the cross and raised a finger slightly. More black-and-red flesh poured out of the floor and cracks in the walls, swallowing the entire hall like a tide.
Bones were crushed in wave after wave of cracking sounds.
Wooden chairs, wineglasses, statues and curtains were all dragged into the churning flesh, without even a single intact corner left behind.
"These god-botherers really had a lot to offer."
After settling an old debt and adding fuel to the fire for the acquaintance on the cross, Chen Mo turned and left.
Chen Mo had just stepped out of the church when he ran into a few third-rate supes who had just arrived.
Their leader wore a flashy, silver-trimmed suit with an exaggerated skull design on the chest. He carried a metal rod, and the first words out of his mouth were a curse.
"Who's fucking around in there? Don't you know this is my turf?"
His two companions started shouting as well. One wore a red cape and had messy face paint smeared across his face. The other wore goggles and looked like he'd just run off a cheap movie set.
Chen Mo glanced at them, his face expressionless.
"So there's more cannon fodder."
The man in the silver-trimmed suit flew into a rage.
"Who the fuck are you calling cannon fodder?"
"You."
Chen Mo tapped his foot, and three rows of black-and-red spikes shot out of the ground.
The three had just tried to jump when the spikes pierced straight through them from below. The man in the silver-trimmed suit was impaled in midair, blood spilling from his mouth. The next second, Blacklight devoured him.
"Don't rush." Chen Mo walked toward them. "One at a time. No need to fight over it."
The one in the red cape tried to start a fire, but as soon as he raised his hand, telekinesis forced his wrist backward, and his arm snapped with a crisp crack.
The man in goggles had just tried to run when a bone spike pierced his back, pinning him to the church's outer wall.
A few seconds later, the extras among the supes departed this world.
Chen Mo stood where he was and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the power inside him rise a notch.
"Tsk, these fuckers were way too weak. They didn't have a single thing of value."
He pulled out his phone and dialed his clone.
"Hey, get moving on what we discussed earlier," Chen Mo said as he walked away. "In a couple of days, trick Homelander and all the supes you can get hold of into going to Carnival Island."
There was half a second of silence on the other end.
"It's already being handled." The clone's voice was as calm as if he were reading a report. "Soldier Boy's hibernation pod has been found too. I'll send you the information and coordinates."
"Good."
Chen Mo nodded and tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear.
"Also, I've cleared out the trash at the church. Get someone to clean up the rest of the scene. Don't let the media catch wind of it."
"Understood."
Chen Mo hung up and looked up at the night sky.
On this trip, he'd had a meal, taken care of the small fry, and knocked out those bothersome members of the Boys while he was at it.
He slipped his phone back into his pocket and ambled on.
"Time to go home and see the kid. I guess I avenged her today, too."