"What's going on?!"

Kyle let out a startled shout the moment he heard their words.

However, contrary to his expectations, none of them answered. They just all stared at him and Seth wordlessly.

But soon, one of them reached for their walkie-talkie as they communicated, "I've located two potential targets. I have their data locked in. One of them appears to be in the fifth order, whilst the other doesn't have any powers. We might need more support. Send more people over."

"What?!"

By now, Kyle had come to understand that something was wrong with the situation.

'I recognize a few of them, but why are they suddenly so aggressive? Why are they talking about eliminating us? It makes no sense at all...!'

It was Seth's voice that brought him out of his thoughts.

"They must know something. In order to make sure that everything flows well, even if we're innocent, they've most likely come to the decision to sacrifice us."

Kyle's stomach sank.

He could tell that the people in front of him weren't anomalies.

They really were planning on getting rid of them.

'Why am I not even surprised?'

Kyle understood the business all too well.

This was a business that prioritized the greater good over the health and well-being of select individuals. In this case, he understood that they had become such sacrifices.

In such procedures, once the decision was made, talking was useless.

The higher-ups had made the call.

'Do I really have no choice...?'

Staring at the group in front of him and seeing them keeping him in check, Kyle's entire body tensed, his node slowly starting to churn.

"I can detect that his node is flaring! Get ready! He's of the Tempor—"

By the time they reacted, it was already too late.

[Time Freeze]

Time stopped.

Kyle's mind ached as he hurried forward, going towards the people in front of him while balling his hand into a fist and launching a direct attack against the nearest person.

BANG!

Two seconds.

That was how long Kyle could keep time frozen.

But this was more than enough.

[Time Freeze]

BANG!

Kyle wasn't an elite member for no reason. Turning his node on and off, he masterfully moved around those who attacked him and launched several attacks, preventing them from doing anything.

BANG!

"Ukh!"

Groans filled the space as the members in front of him struggled to keep up with his pace.

But it didn't take long for them to adjust.

They were all elite members for a reason. Matching the timing with Kyle's, one of them opened their mouth and shouted.

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

"——!"

A loud voice suddenly filled Kyle's mind, disorienting him. Kyle instantly understood what had happened as his heart sank.

'Shit! Sonorous!!'

Kyle tried to activate his node, but his mind wasn't in it.

He was stunned.

That was all it took for one of them to close the distance between the two, their bodies fading in the surroundings before arriving right behind him.

Kyle's expression changed as he activated another one of his nodes.

[Rewind]

A sharp pain invaded Kyle's mind as the figure that had manifested behind him stopped. Not even a moment later, their bodies faded and reappeared right where they had been a few seconds prior.

"Huh?"

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone.

Kyle didn't let this chance go to waste.

Despite the pain that he was feeling, he knew that he had to finish things quickly! He could hear the numerous steps that were coming from a distance.

'Shit! Shit...!'

Why couldn't he just talk it out? Damn it!

Regardless of how much he cursed, Kyle knew that there was no escaping the situation. His mind throbbed, and he was starting to become exhausted, but in order to escape this situation, he had no choice but to hurry.

Pressing his hand against his chest, he used another one of his nodes.

[Acceleration]

Kyle's entire body started to experience changes, the surroundings around him suddenly stretching as the muscle fibers in his body started to stretch alongside the changes in the surroundings.

He also started to perceive things a lot quicker, like the sudden movement from one of the people in front of him.

And also—

"Huh?"

BANG!

Seth's foot as it struck one of the people right in the head, stunning him and everyone else present.

In that moment, everyone paused, unable to make sense of what had happened.

However, Seth remained indifferent to it all.

With one person down, he didn't move towards another target. He reached up with his foot and stomped on the head of the person that he knocked over.

BANG!

He looked completely ruthless, his expression lacking any semblance of emotion as he continued to stomp down with his foot.

"Akhh!"

BANG!

It was the scream that awoke everyone from their stupor.

"Shit!"

"...Get him!"

But how could they get him? Kyle used that chance to close the distance between them, arriving right before them before using his shoulder to tackle them out of the cubicle, sending them crashing against the cubicle opposite them.

BANG!

The sheer force of the impact knocked them all out at once.

"Haaa... Haaa..."

But Kyle wasn't faring much better than they were.

His breathing was heavy, and the nodes in his mind were throbbing intensely. He understood that if he continued like this, then it was likely that fractures might form on his nodes. He had to be more careful.

But it wasn't like he could've afforded to do that.

Most importantly...

"You..."

Kyle looked at Seth.

He was still looking at the person he had kicked, his dark eyes gleaming under the bright lights of the office above.

There were so many questions Kyle wanted to ask, but hearing the distant footsteps and voices, he hurriedly grabbed Seth's arm and pulled him away.

"Let's go! We don't have much time! We have to run before it's too lat—!!"

Kyle's words cut off in the middle. In a way that almost felt like his voice had been stolen away.

And soon—

Ding!

A sudden chime rang, startling Kyle.

Slowly...

His head turned.

Towards the computer behind him.

A notification greeted his sight the moment he turned.

And soon—

[Target has made it into Zone 6]

[Your services will no longer be needed]

Swooosh!

His body faded from the spot, disappearing completely.

"....."

For just a moment, the surroundings turned silent. Seth remained standing on the spot, his gaze moving away from where Kyle had been and towards the corridor before him. Without a second thought, he took a step forward.

The moment he did, several people appeared to his right.

They also stopped.

No, it was more like they were forced to stop.

Standing in the middle of the corridor, with several bodies strewn across the floor, Seth's dark eyes shifted toward the newly arrived group. The dim lighting made the shadows beneath his eyes stand out even more, giving him an exhausted, almost hollow look.

In that moment, nobody made a sound, a sudden tension enveloping the surroundings.

But soon—

Pop!

A certain pop echoed, and a figure walked out, her hand massaging her neck as she placed her hand directly into the pocket of her jean jacket.

"What do we have here?"

Geneva, one of the Paragons that had been sent, looked at Seth up and down, her mouth moving slowly as she chewed the gum in her mouth.

"...Hmm."

Her brows furrowed for a moment as she looked at Seth.

Eventually, however, she raised her brow.

"Seth Thorne?"

A smile filled her lips a moment later.

"It says in your profile that you have no node. So then..."

Sweeping her gaze over the bodies on the floor, she looked back at him.

"How did you manage to do this to them?"

"....."

Seth remained quiet, staring back at her without an expression. Not just her, but the people standing behind her, and the couple of drones that were pointed at him.

At this moment, Seth's image was being recorded for everyone to see.

The leaders and everyone who were still staying outside.

All eyes were on him.

The world was against him.

Seth's lips curled.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.