".....!"

".....!!"

Thud!

As bodies fell, time seemed to come to a complete halt.

It was fast.

So fast that hardly anyone had the time to react.

Geneva had managed to react, but in the instant that she did react, the soft giggle that came after made it impossible for her to act.

All she could do was stare at the bodies on the floor in a daze.

But soon—

"H-haaaa!"

"Haaaakkk!"

Screams echoed.

Despite the group being made up of elites, there were also several others who belonged to small Guilds. Their mental toughness was a lot weaker, and when faced with such a terrifying anomaly, they found the screams ripping out of their thoughts without a thought.

Geneva stared at all of this in silence, her mind churning to process everything as she looked at the anomalies before her.

'....It's already been several dozen seconds since I called for backup. Why is nobody here yet?'

Realistically speaking, they should've already been present.

Especially Latcher.

He was extremely fast.

Given that he wasn't here yet, there were only three conclusions.

'He's dead. He's fighting an anomaly. Or he hasn't received the message.'

Neither conclusion was ideal.

Geneva's eyes narrowed further as she looked at her own group. Besides a few, most of them were panicking. This wasn't ideal, especially since they were up against such powerful anomalies.

Geneva understood that she had to do something quickly.

Her nodes churned once more, her gaze locked onto Mirelle.

Mirelle opened her mouth a moment later, a soft giggle escaping her lips, but the moment she did, Geneva cancelled her nodes.

"Hehe—"

Realizing what had happened, Mirelle stopped.

But that was the moment Geneva reacted.

Three of her nodes flared to life at the same time, igniting a surge of force that rippled through the air. The surroundings twisted, the space itself bending as the cubicles around her lifted off the ground with a deep groan of metal and wood.

Mirelle rose with them, carried upward as if the entire office floor bowed to her will.

With a sharp swipe of her other hand, another cubicle shot outward, expanding unnaturally as it slammed into place. It formed a towering barrier between her and the Conductor, cutting off his line of sight in a single, decisive motion.

Geneva didn't stop there.

She knew that she had to act quickly.

"Get your shit together!"

Shouting at the top of her lungs, she directed her gaze towards the members of her team. It was her shout that allowed them to regain a little bit of their bearings.

However, not even a moment later and a soft tune began to play in the air.

"Shit!"

Geneva was quick to react.

Pressing her hands together, the surroundings shifted once more, a large dome forming around them, blocking all noise.

"Quick! Quick!"

Beads of sweat trickled down the side of her face as she bent over to help one of her teammates up while she turned to look at a short, browned hair girl next to her.

"Michela, I am not sure if all of us can make it out. I'll make a path for you. Try to get reinforcements!"

Without waiting for her to reply, Geneva opened up a path with a swipe of her hands.

Michela stared at the opening before looking at Geneva. In the end, she faded from the spot, not saying anything the entire time.

But—

"Well..."

A long hand curled around the edges of the path that Geneva created, a stitched-up figure peeking from the opening, looking at the insides of the 'fort' Geneva had created with an amused look.

"...You're quite a troublesome one, eh?"

The Conductor's lips stretched upward, some of the stitches breaking in the process.

Thud!

A figure fell next to the Conductor a moment later.

*Pop*

Staring at Geneva, Mirelle looked unhappy.

"You—"

As if Geneva would give them time to speak. Her nodes churned once more, the surroundings twisting. The entire time, she kept a close watch on Mirelle's lips, and right when Mirelle opened her mouth, Geneva shut off her nodes.

"Hehehe."

But contrary to her expectations, the giggle was a little different.

"Haaaa!"

"Hiaaaaak!"

"Huerrk!"

Hearing the screams coming from behind her, Geneva felt her thoughts were true.

And sure enough, a moment later, images flashed across Geneva's mind. Images of her past. To the times that she wanted to forget.

Her chest suddenly squeezed, her hands trembling from the sudden surge of emotions.

'So this is what it does...'

Despite everything, Geneva remained calm.

This wasn't the first time an anomaly had tried to break her mind.

Activating her nodes, Geneva closed the path in front of her, blocking all of the noise

The screams behind her continued, and with a flick of her hand, she opened up a path in the opposite direction.

"To those who can follow, come."

Given the situation, Geneva decided to exclude those who couldn't make it. Her life came first. She couldn't put the others above herself.

Without looking back, she ran out.

A few others followed her from behind.

'My main priority right now is finding reinforcements. As things stand, I can't handle the two supervisors who are present. The fact that I'm still alive right now is a miracle. The Conductor must be toying with me. I don't know what it's trying to achieve, but I need to take advantage of this to escape.'

Taking another step forward, Geneva pushed her node again. The space around her lurched, stretching outward as the cubicles bent and warped away from her path. In an instant, the cluttered office floor reshaped itself, forming a long, direct tunnel that cut straight through the maze.

Her actions could be considered somewhat reckless, but she was doing so deliberately.

She wanted to catch the others' attention.

'Come on! Come on! Come on!'

The more time passed, the paler her face became. She was pushing her nodes to the utmost limit, and with passing seconds, she could feel the strain that her nodes were taking. Her breathing was also starting to turn heavier.

"Haa... Haa..."

From time to time, she'd turn her head to look behind her.

All she saw was darkness.

But that darkness sent chills down the spine.

Although she couldn't see them, she could feel them.

They were moving towards her.

Catching up.

Furthermore...

The people who had been following behind her...

They were gone.

'Hurry! Hurr—'

"Ukh!"

Caught off guard, Geneva bumped into something as she stumbled back.

"Shit!"

Her heart sank a moment later, but when she turned her head, she was stunned to see a familiar figure.

"It's... you?"

Seth's dark eyes stared at her in silence as her pupils shrank.

But before she even registered the movement—

Seth's hand was already at her throat.

His fingers pressed against her skin with quiet, terrifying precision, as if he'd been there the entire time and she had only just noticed.

".....!"

The force behind his hand was enough to make her entire body turn numb.

She immediately tried to activate her node, but the moment she tried to do so, a soft giggle echoed in the air.

"Hehehe."

Her nodes stopped.

Geneva's eyes widened, her breath hitching as she stared into the abyss behind Seth's gaze. The longer she looked, the deeper she sank. Her thoughts unraveled, her awareness slipping into the darkness swirling silently within his eyes.

"Y-you… Y-you…! I… knew… I…"

Her voice cracked, the words collapsing as her lips trembled. Whatever realization she reached never fully surfaced.

A moment later, her body went limp.

Thud!

Her body fell onto the ground a moment later as Seth raised his head.

It was in that moment that he came face-to-face with the two other anomalies.

For a moment, everything turned silent.

But that silence was soon broken.

"Hello..."

The Conductor's stitched shattered completely, its lips twisting into a wicked smile.

"...Fake boss."

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