This should be impossible...
But my senses weren't lying.
The person just a few meters away from me was, without a doubt, a strong Rank 3, about the same level as I was.
He was young, just a few years older than us. Taller than me by a few centimeters, with a slim figure that gave off a discreet yet imposing presence. What stood out the most was his hair, white as the snow that falls on frozen planets. His eyes, a pale, almost translucent blue, looked cold and distant.
His skin was pale, as if he only lived under the moonlight, and his features were sharp, with a defined jawline and fine eyebrows that made the intensity of his gaze even sharper.
He wore a simple black shirt and pants, a sharp contrast to his almost ghostly appearance.
We locked eyes.
We were sizing each other up. Even though it felt like an eternity, only a few seconds passed.
He moved first, trying to approach me.
But he didn't even manage a second step.
Before I could react, Alice appeared at his side, the tip of her spear aimed straight at his stomach.
Just before the weapon could touch him, he whispered something so softly that I couldn't even make it out.
In that exact instant, he vanished in a flash of light.
It looked like a light-type ability, something close to teleportation.
He reappeared four meters above Alice's head, standing on the ceiling of the building.
Then he spoke, this time in a louder tone.
"Beam of light."
Suddenly, dozens of beams of light burst out from his body, firing in all directions.
"Shit," I muttered.
It seemed like a mid-level skill; if one of those beams hit us directly, it would cause serious damage.
Alice and I teleported immediately, picking a spot where the beams didn't seem to be aimed.
We appeared in a safe zone, and without wasting a second, we started scanning for him using our mana senses.
Wait...
He's behind Alice!
He already had a powerful light ray charging in his hand.
Damn it... Everything had happened so fast that we didn't even realize his real plan. He hadn't fired beams in this direction so he could force us to move right where he wanted.
He had predicted our movements.
And now I could confirm it he was considerably faster than us.
Maybe the fastest Rank 3 I had ever seen.
Still, Alice's reflexes and instincts were exceptional.
She managed to react in time; she jumped forward, spinning mid-air to face him just before the beam was fired.
She gripped the shaft of her spear with both hands, raising it in front of her like a makeshift shield.
Before she even touched the ground, the ray shot out from the man's hand and slammed into the spear... but it didn't break.
However, since Alice was still in the air, the impact sent her flying straight into the outer wall of the building.
It was then that I realized at some point during the fight, the Spatial Isolation effect had ended.
That's why Alice crashed through the wall and fell six floors down.
The sound of the wall breaking apart and her body hitting the ground echoed through the entire area.
I turned my head.
I saw the man next to me; he noticed it too and tried to retreat.
I wasn't about to let him.
I activated my mid-level skill "Gravity," allowing me to increase or decrease gravity within my line of sight.
In an instant, the gravity within a ten-meter radius around him tripled, making his movements sluggish. The shock was clear on his face.
The only downside was that, unlike Spatial Isolation, I couldn't activate another skill while Gravity was active.
It didn't matter.
I reinforced my fist with as much mana as I could and rushed at him.
He noticed too late, and had no choice but to try and counterattack.
But Gravity made his movement clumsy and slow.
I dodged his strike easily.
My punch landed squarely across his face, and I saw blood spray from his lips as he slammed into the ground.
The impact was strong enough to crack the floor.
But it wasn't just the floor that started to collapse.
The entire old, poorly maintained structure couldn't withstand a fight of this magnitude.
The ceiling started to cave in.
I ran toward the hole in the wall Alice had made, reinforcing my legs with mana so I could withstand the fall without a problem.
The moment I hit the ground, just a few seconds later, the entire building collapsed behind me, leaving only a pile of rubble.
I turned around.
Alice was on one knee, her hand braced against the ground.
There was a little blood on her head, but she didn't seem seriously hurt.
Mana users put their bodies through enormous strain when activating skills. That's why, the higher the rank and the stronger the skills, the more naturally resistant and durable our bodies become.
A fall like that shouldn't have caused Alice any serious damage especially if she had reinforced herself with mana.
Alice glanced at the pile of rubble, then looked at me.
"Do you think...?" she asked.
I gave her a small smile.
"No way."
Right after that, a beam of light shot out from the wreckage.
The man emerged from it.
He didn't seem seriously wounded; only a bruise and a thin line of blood along his cheek and lip were visible.
Alice raised her spear, ready to strike.
I grabbed her arm.
She looked at me, confused.
I ignored her and kept my gaze on the man in front of us.
Just as I thought...
There was no killing intent in his eyes.
There never had been. Even during the fight, it didn't feel like he wanted to kill us.
This time, I took the first step.
I climbed over the rubble.
And stood face-to-face with him, only a few steps apart.
"Are you Aiden?" I asked.
The man held my gaze for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes".