"Ah, you're here," Devonte remarked, leaning against the wall, swaying slightly as he stood up, and eyeing them with contempt.

The leader of the men in black replied sternly, “Look, old man, step aside if you don't want trouble. Don't force our hand."

They were all aware that Devonte was no pushover.

Dealing with the three elderly men was always challenging. But they had no choice; they were hired to handle problems, and they'd got to rise to the occasion.

“Don't force your hand?" Devonte smirked and his weathered face creased. "Let's see what you've got."

With that, he sat down and started trimming his toenails.

A breeze blew, carrying a hint of foot odor, making everyone quickly cover their noses.

"Attack!" ordered the black-clad leader.

They rushed forward.

Individually, they might not have been a match for Devonte, but there's strength in numbers.

They were sure they could take him down!

“ARI”

A sudden, intense groan shattered the quiet, coming from the first guy who charged in, now collapsed on the ground and twitching.

In an instant, another guy was hurled into a tree, startling a flock of birds.

Then, yet another was sent flying, landing on the roof and screaming into the night.

Ultimately, all of them found themselves airborne; it was just a matter of who went higher and who hung lower.

And all this commotion happened in just three minutes.

Devonte, utterly bored, clapped his hands in a dismissive manner, let out a deep sigh, and settled back down.

He disliked being alone and had hoped for some good company to pass the long night. But these guys? They were knocked out faster than he anticipated.

By morning, Xavier woke up with his arm throbbing and numb, feeling disconnected from his body.

He stretched, checked on Lilah, relieved to see she was alright though looking pale.

Growing annoyed, Xavier went to wake up Devonte, half-expecting to find him passed out in the yard from the night before.

The warm, humid sea breeze was the only reason Xavier thought Devonte hadn't frozen overnight.

Xavier swung open the door, ready to speak, but ended up blurting out, "Wow!"