The ground trembled beneath Liam's feet as he bolted toward the forest, heart hammering like a war drum. Sweat clung to his brow despite the cool night air, and every breath burned his lungs.
"Shit… that was close," he hissed, half to himself, half to whatever cruel gods were watching.
Behind him, the air cracked with thunderous detonations. But these weren't random blasts. The sound was measured, controlled—coordinated. Someone was driving him into a corner. Liam's gut clenched, his instincts screaming danger.
He risked a glance back.
A towering figure emerged from the haze of smoke and fire. The man was massive, his frame packed with muscles like coiled iron, his presence radiating raw menace. Rage twisted his scarred face as his predatory eyes locked onto Liam.
The forest loomed close, a thin promise of cover. Liam's mana flared instinctively, surging into his legs, his body trembling under the strain as he forced speed into every step. But the giant behind him moved too, bursting forward with inhuman velocity.
The world blurred.
A shadow fell over him. A fist—large as a boulder—smashed through the air toward his spine.
Liam's instincts roared. He twisted and crossed his arms over his back, pouring every ounce of mana he could spare into a barrier around his bones.
The impact was devastating.
It felt like the heavens themselves had punched him. His arms screamed in agony, bones vibrating violently as if they would splinter on the spot. His body flew forward like a rag doll, crashing through underbrush and snapping branches as he was hurled deep into the forest.
He landed hard, air exploding from his lungs. His vision spun. Coughing, Liam forced himself up, groaning as pain raked through his body. His right arm was swollen, throbbing with every heartbeat, and his chest burned with a sharp ache. A metallic taste filled his mouth, and when he spat, it was crimson.
The man's heavy steps crunched closer.
"It seems you are not strong after all," the vice-captain growled, his voice cold and venomous. He unsheathed a broad blade with a hiss that cut through the silence. The steel gleamed under the fractured moonlight. "I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart."
Liam's knees nearly buckled. He forced himself to steady his breathing. "Well… I've fucked up," he muttered, trying to keep his voice steady despite the pain lancing through him.
He reached for the system, his last lifeline. System, options! Show me something—anything!
Silence.
His blood ran cold. The familiar chime, the cold voice of assistance—it was gone. The system didn't answer. He was alone.
Panic clawed at him, but Liam shoved it down with brutal force. If the system wouldn't save him, he'd save himself. His mind raced, assessing.
He had telekinesis. He could reinforce his body with mana. But this monster of a man had raw, superhuman power and experience. A direct fight was suicide.
That left only one option. A trap.
But to set a trap, he had to buy time. And to buy time, he had to run.
With no hesitation, Liam bent his knees and sprang upward, grabbing a low branch. His swollen arm screamed in protest, but he gritted his teeth and hauled himself up. He leapt again, vaulting from one branch to another, weaving through the forest canopy. From another's eyes, he might have looked like some frantic, wounded monkey.
"Coward!" the vice-captain roared, before bounding after him.
The man's strength was terrifying. He launched himself into the air, his body like a battering ram. His sword carved through branches as if they were paper, aiming to slice Liam out of the trees.
But Liam was desperate and nimble. At the last second, he twisted sharply midair, the bark scraping against his boots as he landed on another branch and kept running. His breath tore ragged in his throat, heart pounding like it might burst.
Then came the whistling sound.
He turned in time to see the vice-captain hefting stones—stones the size of his head—and hurling them with murderous precision.
"Hey—that's my technique," Liam thought bitterly. But his grim amusement evaporated when one stone slammed into a tree ahead of him, piercing straight through the trunk with a violent crack.
Liam's stomach dropped. That wasn't brute force—that was pure, focused lethality.
He scrambled further, but the forest was turning against him. His foot landed on a thin branch that snapped beneath his weight. He tumbled downward, leaves slapping against his skin as gravity claimed him.
Pain exploded in his ribs when he hit the ground. For a split second, everything was silent but the ringing in his ears. Then his blurred vision caught something—a thick branch lying at an angle in the dirt.
An idea sparked. Risky, desperate, but his only chance.
He forced his body still, slowing his breath, letting his limbs go limp. He made himself look broken, lifeless, as if the fall had claimed him.
The vice-captain emerged from the shadows, boots crunching on the forest floor. His broad shoulders moved with arrogant ease, his grin cruel. The man's eyes glinted as he spotted Liam sprawled motionless.
"Pathetic," the vice-captain muttered. "All bark, no bite." He raised his sword lazily, strolling closer, savoring the kill like a predator playing with its prey.
He didn't notice the faint tremor in the branch nearby.
A blur of motion.
Something brown and sharp whipped forward like a viper. The branch, guided by Liam's telekinesis, shot like a spear through the night air. Before the vice-captain could react, it punched clean through his chest.
The man staggered, eyes wide with disbelief. He looked down, staring at the branch protruding from his heart, crimson already spilling across his chest. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
And then his gaze shifted.
To Liam.
The "corpse" slowly rose to his feet. His face pale, his chest heaving, but his eyes burning with grim defiance.
"You should've made sure I was dead," Liam rasped, his voice like broken glass.
The vice-captain's blade slipped from his fingers. His strength drained. His knees buckled, and he collapsed heavily onto the earth.
His eyes lingered on Liam one final time, wide with rage and shock, before dimming forever.
Silence reclaimed the forest.
Liam stood trembling, every nerve in his body aflame, his swollen arm hanging uselessly by his side. He stared at the fallen giant, chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.
His trap had worked. Barely.
But victory felt hollow.
The forest was quiet now, but Liam knew this was only the beginning. If a vice-captain had come for him, worse would surely follow. His body screamed for rest, but his mind whispered only one truth:
He had to keep moving.
Because somewhere, in the silence, predators were already waiting.