"You're smiling?"

Geneva stared at the man in front of her, feeling subtle hints of bafflement.

'He can smile in this situation?'

But soon, her lips pulled into a similar smile.

"I like that confidence of yours. It's a pity that we have to get rid of you. I'm sure you understand that even if you're innocent, we've got no choice but to do so. We can't avoid any outliers to mess with the plan."

"...But what if I can provide good intel?"

"We have enough."

"Are you sure?"

"More or less. At least, we have enough to be sure of what we have to do."

"I see."

Seth replied calmly, his dark eyes sweeping the group once more.

"Well, it's good that you understand."

Geneva massaged her neck once more, fiddling with her pockets to take out a packet of gum as she popped it into her mouth.

*Pop*

"I won't delay this any further."

Chewing on her gum, Geneva looked to the person next to her. Without needing her to say anything, the man, a relatively lean man with handsome features, stepped forward, his node churning as his body faded from the spot and arrived right behind Seth.

The movement was instantaneous.

There weren't many people who caught his action.

And a moment after stepping in front of Seth, the man raised his arm, ready to strike at his head. He moved fast, with full intent behind the blow. But the instant his attack came down, Seth moved.

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, he tilted out of the strike's path and turned his body with eerie calm. His hand lifted, reaching toward the man's face, catching him completely off-guard.

Then—

BANG!

He pushed the man's head against the ground.

Before anyone could even react, Seth raised his foot and stomped down on his head.

BANG! BANG!

His attacks were ruthless and precise. In just two stomps, a sharp cracking sound tore through the corridor, followed by a wet splatter that spread across the floor.

It was only then that Seth stopped as he looked back at the group.

For some reason, his dark eyes looked even more intimidating than before.

"...."

"...."

A deep silence spread across the area.

"...Are you sure he has no node?"

A voice soon broke the silence, speaking to Geneva, who continued to chew on her gum. Eventually, she nodded.

"Yes."

She had witnessed the entire scene.

The entire time, she didn't feel a node coming from Seth.

"He did all of this without a Node."

This was both interesting and concerning. Ray's movements were fast, and no normal person should've been able to follow up with them. And yet... Seth seemed to have been able to tell exactly what had been happening the entire time.

'It shouldn't be possible unless he has a Node.'

Geneva's brows furrowed.

'This is rather concerning.'

He also didn't appear to be an anomaly.

"Should I...?"

Pulling her out of her thoughts, she saw another person in her group move. She didn't quite know who he was. From another Guild? She didn't pay much attention to who had been selected for her team, but extending her hand, she shook her head.

"Nah, I'll take care of it. We can't afford any mishap. It'll be better if I take care of this myself so that we can get this over with."

*Pop*

Pulling both hands out of her pockets, Geneva's eyes narrowed as she stared at Seth.

Something about him... felt off to her.

Not even his lack of node. But it was his demeanor. That dark... almost dead look in his eyes made the back of her skin tingle. Coupled with his pale skin, for a moment, she started questioning whether he was truly alive or not.

'Creepy.'

*Pop*

Popping another bubble, she closed her eyes and sighed.

At the same time, her nodes started to churn.

Not one. Not two. But three.

What set Paragons apart from the rest was their ability to use multiple nodes simultaneously. At the same time, she started to take action, and the surroundings began to shift, a terrifying pressure emanating from her body.

Step—

Taking a step forward, the world started to shift alongside her.

The pressure only grew with each step that she took, and even Seth started to feel the full brunt of her pressure as his dark eyes flickered.

But just as she was about to take another step—

"Hehehehe."

A sudden giggle echoed.

"Huh—!?"

It was soft, but the moment it sounded, Geneva suddenly felt her nodes stop.

In an instant, the pressure coming out of her body stopped, a sharp throb piercing her mind simultaneously.

She didn't groan or make a sound, but, as if sensing something, her head slowly turned as she saw a pair of legs dangling from one of the cubicles.

Lifting her head, a pair of dark eyes stared back at her.

*Pop*

A gum popped.

But it wasn't hers.

"Is this how you do it?"

A soft voice echoed a moment later as a young girl with deep black hair stared at the pack in her hands, chewing slowly as she studied the label.

"Hmm."

She looked quite interested in the gum as she mumbled, 'Chips are childish. Maybe I should get him to buy me this.'

"....."

Geneva stared at the figure wordlessly, her mind relatively calm.

As if sensing the Paragon's gaze, the anomaly turned her head.

She blew a bubble.

*Pop*

"The boss doesn't like it when people slack."

"Is that so?"

Geneva replied, staring straight at the anomaly that had appeared in front of her. As she did, she extended her hand to stop her group from doing anything irrational.

'Warden Decree. Around B Rank. Managable. I'll still call for backup.'

Geneva secretly sent a signal using the chip resting next to her tooth.

"Yes, he doesn't like it. Now get to work."

The girl shooed them away with her hand.

However, Geneva remained standing where she was.

"And who might you be?"

"Me?"

The girl pointed at the metal plate next to her shirt.

"Supervisor Mirelle."

"Oh."

Geneva pretended to understand as she smiled politely.

"I apologize for not recognizing you instantly. I just wanted to take a break."

"Break?"

"Indeed. I feel like all employees need a break here and then in order to be as productive as possible."

"Hmm."

Mirelle furrowed her brows, fiddling with the gums in her hand.

Eventually, she turned to look in a different direction.

"What do you think?"

The expressions on several faces shifted instantly, their eyes widening before they snapped their heads back. A figure had appeared behind them without a sound, its presence so sudden that it caught everyone off guard.

It stood casually, almost lazily, one hand resting atop a cubicle wall. Its head leaned forward, propped on a lifted fist as if it had been watching them for a long time…

Even Geneva's expression couldn't help but change, turning more serious.

'The Conductor. S Rank. Sonorous. Backup required.'

Eventually, the Conductor's lips opened, barely as its stitches kept its mouth from opening too much, "What do I think?"

The Conductor smiled, looking at everyone present.

"...I would say she has a point."

Geneva's lips pressed together, her mouth opening a moment later as she prepared to speak, but right before she could, the Conductor's next words took her away.

"But we can't really spare much time. The situation is a little bit serious at the moment. Especially when..."

Pausing, the Conductor's gaze locked onto a couple of people present before raising its hand.

Geneva's nodes activated instantly in response, but a giggle followed.

"Hehehe."

And soon—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Several heads exploded.

Thud! Thud!

Bodies fell a moment later.

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