A transparent dice rolled across the cold floor, its edges gleaming under the dim lights. It rattled to a stop, landing with a six facing up.
Asher grinned. "Bingo."
The effect was immediate. A 6x stat boost added to his previous 2x—his total power surged to 12x. Energy surged through his veins like fire. His muscles tightened, his aura flared. Asher's presence shifted, now radiating overwhelming force.
Across from him, Robert's eyes widened, frozen in disbelief.
"What the hell...?" Robert muttered, his voice shaky, as if he were staring at something inhuman.
"Try running away," Asher said with a taunting edge. "You were so proud of your speed, right?"
Robert gulped hard. He didn't want to obey. He didn't want to retreat, especially not on his opponent's command—but his legs betrayed him. They moved on their own.
He darted to the wall and pushed off with full strength, boosting his speed to the max, every muscle focused on getting away.
Without warning, Asher appeared right beside him.
"Too bad. It seems even in speed, I'm faster now," Asher said calmly.
Robert's scream echoed through the corridor just before Asher's fist crashed into him, sending him through the wall with a devastating impact.
"Robert!" Joey yelled, his voice cracking in disbelief at the scene.
"Well, it seems like my partner is going to end this soon," Noah said, glancing at the destruction. "So I can't play around anymore."
"Shut up!" Alexis growled, charging at Noah and swinging his sword.
This time, Noah moved faster. Not only did he dodge with ease, but he also struck back, landing a precise kick on Alexis's hand. The sword flew from his grip and clattered to the floor.
"Ah, your power was creating a weapon?" Noah asked, watching his opponent.
"So what?" Alexis snarled, grabbing a heavy club instead. "Die already!"
Noah moved again, slipping past the incoming swing.
"God damn it!" Alexis shouted, frustration building. "Connect already!"
He kept swinging wildly, but each attack met only air.
Noah struck again—another clean hit. Alexis crashed into the wall and dropped to the ground.
Alexis pushed himself up, rage burning in his eyes. "I'm not done yet!"
"I can see it," Noah replied. He reached down and picked up the short sword Alexis had lost earlier.
"Now then, if you're willing to try to kill me with this thing, you won't mind if I do the same, right?" he asked, wearing a thin smile.
"Hah! Try me, bitch—"
Alexis's words were cut off. A sudden pain spread through his chest. He looked down, eyes wide with horror. The sword Noah had held was now buried deep in his chest, right over his heart.
Fear filled his body immediately. The realization of what had happened made him unable to even swallow. Pain came next, then cold, and his breathing grew heavy.
He slowly turned his head toward his friend, using all his remaining strength to open his mouth.
"H-help..."
Noah grabbed the sword handle and pulled it out from his chest without hesitation. Blood poured out, and Alexis dropped to the ground. Dead.
"Sorry, but I really need to finish this quickly, so..." Noah said, smiling coldly.
"You fucking murderer!" Joey screamed. He rushed in, rage overtaking reason.
"Come on now, I already explained the logic," Noah said, sidestepping his attack. "If you're attacking someone, you can't complain if they attack you back."
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up!"
"Man, you're hopeless," Noah sighed. He landed a clean punch to Joey's face.
Joey stumbled back but sprang up almost immediately. With a furious scream, he charged again, fists swinging.
Noah assumed it was the same wild charge and nearly let his guard down.
He dodged the first attack, but then—suddenly—a second Joey appeared beside him, aiming a punch right at his face.
"Whoa! That surprised me," Noah said, teleporting away just in time. He reappeared farther back, reassessing the fight. Now, everything made sense.
He stared at the two Joeys.
"You can make a clone, huh?" Noah said. "But I've already seen the trick. It won't surprise me anymore."
"Shut up!" both Joeys shouted and charged together.
"Two are barely any different than one," Noah said. He weaved between their attacks like wind.
He grabbed the club lying beside Alexis's body and swung it at the nearest Joey.
The impact made the target burst like a balloon.
"I hit the clone, huh?" Noah muttered. "Unlucky."
Joey's form flickered. He was preparing another clone.
"As if I will allow it," Noah said, teleporting behind him and swinging the club.
Joey tried to dodge, but mid-swing, Noah vanished again and reappeared at a new angle, continuing the strike.
Joey wasn't fast enough. The club smashed into his face. Blood burst from his nose as he dropped to the ground.
Without pause, Noah teleported again—this time appearing right beside the fallen Joey. He raised the club and brought it down. Again. And again. Until Joey stopped moving entirely.
"This isn't my favorite way to end someone," Noah muttered, glancing at the blood splattered across the floor. "So messy."
A footstep sound caught Noah's attention, and he looked in the direction. A blonde girl walked closer to him.
"So you say, but you seem to enjoy it," Gloria said flatly, watching him with clear disapproval.
"I'm sorry?" Noah said, smiling.
She turned to the bodies of her former teammates and frowned.
"You're really a criminal, huh?" she said. "To think they were still talking with me a few minutes ago. This is so unpleasant. You better pay me more for this."
Noah shrugged. "Fair," he replied. "I guess I traumatized you."
Gloria nodded in approval. She wasn't lying—this was unpleasant for her. She might not care much about the Arcane Keepers members, but seeing them dead like this still bothered her.
Well, it's all good if she got paid more.
A loud crash echoed from the wall behind them. The wall had been broken through, and someone appeared behind the dust and debris.
"I already finished him off," Asher said, stepping through the hole and back into the hallway. "How about you?"
"I'm done here too," Noah said, glancing his way.
Asher sighed in relief. "Is that so? That's good then. I'm making a lot of noise—we better finish this fast before someone comes." He was about to approach Noah but stopped, his eyes locking onto the mysterious girl, Gloria.
"Uh... What about that girl?" he asked, pointing at her, slightly confused.
Gloria ignored him. "Anyway, you need the key, right? For the prison lock?" she said, pulling keys from her pocket. "I already picked it up for you."
"I see. That's a huge help," Noah said, taking the bunch of keys from her.
"Can I go now?" Gloria asked.
"Sure, see you later," Noah replied with a smile.
Gloria walked off. Asher watched her go, still puzzled.
"Uh... Who is she? What happened here?" he asked. "Was it... really okay to let her leave just like that?"
"Don't worry about her," Noah said, tossing the keys into the air and catching them again. "Let's go."
"No, no," Asher insisted. "Explain who she is."
"She was my spy," Noah said, already walking down the hall. "She was the one who sold me the map."
"Oh, okay," Asher said and blinked, finally understanding the situation. He glanced toward where the girl had left a few moments ago. "That... makes sense."
He hurried to chase after Noah, who was getting farther away. At the end of the hallway, they reached what looked like a dead end—just a wall.
Noah pressed against it. Slowly, the wall shifted. Behind it, a secret door was revealed.
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