“Hey. How about we make a bet?”
Jenny smiled, as if death itself wasn’t close enough to be worth worrying about.
“A bet?” Barsk sneered. “What kind of gamble are you proposing, little princess lost in her dreams? The situation is obvious, isn’t it? There’s only you—and one family that can’t even stand on their own. And yet… you still intend to fight?”
“Hmmm?” Jenny tilted her head. “Hey, shrimp-brain. Take another look.”
She casually pointed downward.
What is she planning…?
Should I step in too…?
“Don’t,” Jenny’s voice cut through my thoughts.
“Just stand there and watch carefully how our organization operates, Rinne.”
“NON-SENSE! DIE ALREADY, YOU CRAZED WOMAN!” Barsk charged forward with terrifying speed.
“All units,” Jenny shouted, leveling her spear straight ahead,
“engage—under my command!”
“Water and Sound, slow his movements! Lightning, cripple him—do not kill!”
“YES!”
From the shadows, two hooded figures stepped forward. At the same time, another form rose from the ground itself, like a spring breaking through stone.
“By the weight of depth unseen,
By the stillness beneath the storm,
Let water remember its pressure,
Let motion drown in restraint.
Flow, but do not release.
Bind, but do not kill.
Answer me—Tidal Restraint.”
BWOOOSH!
A torrent of compressed water slammed into Barsk—not to wound him, but to bind him. The water did not scatter. It clung, wrapped around his massive body like an invisible weight.
Water…
Can something like water really stop Barsk…?
Should I help them…? But—
“By the tone that nerves obey,
By the rhythm flesh cannot deny,
Let signal fracture into noise,
Let command lose its path.
Hear without sound.
Move without answer.
Fall into discord—Resonance Break.”
KIIIIIIINGGGG!!
UGHH—!
What… was that?!
It felt as though something struck the inside of my ears—
from within.
Who… cast that…?!
“GAAAAAAAAAH!!”
“AFTER WEIGHING DOWN MY BODY AND SHATTERING MY EARS—I WON’T LET ANY OF YOU LIVE!”
“No,” Jenny’s voice was cold.
“This is where it ends.”
“WHAT?!”
“Arc Lance.”
BZZZZZZZZT—!!!
“A—AAAAAAAAGHHH!! STOP THIS! STOP—!!!”
That spear—no, that wasn’t a spear.
It was lightning, sharpened into the form of one.
Since when was she above him…?
How did she move without a sound?
BRUGH!
Barsk’s body slammed into the ground.
Jenny stepped closer, the tip of her spear aimed directly at his face.
“This is only the beginning,” she said calmly.
“Do you know why you lost, muscle-bound maniac?”
“Damn it…” Barsk gasped. “I… can’t… lose… to flies like you…”
SHNK!
“AAARRGHH!”
Jenny drove her spear into his right shoulder.
SHNK!
“GAAHHH!”
The left followed.
CRACK!
She pulled the spear free and flicked it aside, droplets of blood scattering lightly through the air.
“You didn’t lose because you were weak,” she said.
“You lost because you were arrogant—and because you fought alone.”
She looked down at him.
“Remember our faces. Then leave. Tell your superiors—no, tell the Sovereign Five.”
Jenny smiled faintly.
“That we, 1Life, will bring disaster upon them.”
-----------------------------------
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The echo of fingers tapping against a desk rang rhythmically.
“Fyuuhhh…” Smoke slowly escaped from his lips.
“So? Is it really wise to let them act so freely?”
“Let them,” another voice replied calmly.
“Those little rats will never reach us.”