Awesome.

  Zarn, ever the irresponsible parent, overlooked the fact that Mico had essentially just committed murder.

  Instead, he was simply proud of his display.

  Boom!

  A massive explosion of energy drew everyone's attention. In a purple flash, the spot where the cloaked person had been buried, blew up into a cloud of dust and debris.

  The cloaked person—or rather, the cloaked woman—walked out of the debris. She was young, striking, her vibrant purple hair impossible to miss.

  "Seems I messed up," she admitted, rolling her shoulders. "This was meant to be a covert mission. But that doesn't mean I'll leave empty-handed. I'm still taking the boy."

  "She got stronger?" Zarn muttered, sensing the sudden spike in power.

  "Yes," Kendrick confirmed. "She must have kept a limiter on to avoid alerting the protectors. I don't think I'm her match anymore."

  To be honest, this not about what I think anymore, I am definitely not her match. She is presently a Class 5 now, not just sure how strong. Kendrick thought to himself.

  "Hm." Zarn barely reacted. Instead, he walked over to Elizabeth. "Can I borrow one of your daggers?"

  Elizabeth hesitated before handing him a blade. "Sure."

  "Thanks." He turned to the others. "You guys can stop looking at me like that. I'm an adult. I just look like this because of my… special physique."

  A silent wave of relief passed through the group. Their worldview had been teetering on the edge—how could someone who looked so young be this powerful?

  They all have the same line of thought—a Class 5 at twelve.

  In the expanse of history, no one has ever reached that level at such a young age.

  But, since it was a special physic, then they could relax.

  Zarn weighed the dagger in his hand, then locked eyes with the purple-haired woman.

  "You don't actually think you can win, do you?" she taunted.

  "We're about to find out."

  Zarn blurred out of existence.

  In a blink, he was in front of her. The woman reacted instantly, an energy blade forming in her grip as she slashed—too slow. He was already gone, ducking under the attack and vanishing again.

  Then—

  A whisper of movement behind her.

  She spun, blade flashing—only to feel cold metal press against her throat.

  Her breath caught. But before the dagger could slice, a devastating blast of energy erupted from her back—

  But, Zarn was still around.

  Above her. Mid-flip.

  He had dodged at the last possible moment, as if he'd seen it coming.

  She barely had time to process it before—

  BAM!

  His foot crashed into her face.

  And from that moment on, the beating of her life began.

  Zarn moved like a phantom, slipping through the gaps in her defense with impossible precision. Every time she lashed out with her energy blade, he was already gone, his small frame weaving through the air like a whisper of wind.

  A blur. A crack. A body bending under force.

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  The first blow slammed into her ribs. Before the pain could register, the second crashed into her abdomen, lifting her off the ground.

  Then he was behind her.

  Boom!

  A kick to the spine sent her flying through a crumbling alley wall, debris raining down.

  She twisted midair, gritting her teeth. This wasn't working. His reactions weren't just fast—they were unnatural.

  Fine.

  She stopped struggling, body descending, let herself sink into the shadows, her body dissolving into the darkness beneath the rubble—

  Then—

  A foot crashed into empty space, just by the rubble and the world snapped back into focus.

  Her form was kicked out of the void before she could fully merge, reality forcing her body back into existence mid-air.

  She barely had time to register what happened before—

  Bam!

  Zarn's knee buried itself in her gut.

  A second later—

  A hook to the temple—crack!—she spun through the air, smashing into a market stall.

  She pushed off the ground, her illusions flickering around her—temporary mirages shifting her form in multiple directions. A perfect feint.

  Zarn didn't even hesitate. He ignored them completely.

  His fist drove into her real body without a moment's delay.

  The mirages vanished, useless.

  She barely staggered back before the next hit landed—brutal, unrelenting.

  Every retreat ended the same way.

  Another devastating combo. Another flight through collapsing rooftops.

  Another failed attempt to kill him.

  This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She was a natural assassin, born to hunt and kill with speed and precision. But her blades never reached him.

  Her footwork shifted. She melted into the ruins, Senar fading—no longer attacking head-on.

  Silence.

  A blur.

  Then she was behind him, her dagger inches from his throat.

  Zarn ducked. Effortlessly.

  Her blade cut through empty air.

  His elbow slammed into her ribs, sending her skidding across the dirt road.

  Her breath came out ragged. She wasn't used to feeling helpless. I am a High-level class 5, for fuck's sake.

  Desperation surged. She poured everything into a final, all-consuming blast, a massive explosion of raw energy meant to erase everything in its path.

  The ground shattered. The air burned.

  For a brief moment, she thought she'd bought herself some breathing room.

  Then—

  A shadow appeared above her.

  Zarn, flipping effortlessly through the sky, completely unharmed.

  Her heart stopped.

  Before she could react—

  CRACK!

  His foot met her skull.

  Her world went black.

  Then,

  BAM! Boom! Bang!

  Her body crashed through the district.

  She crashed through a final rooftop, the same warehouse where the battle had begun.

  The slum lay in ruins, their fight having ravaged an entire district—only to end right where it started.

  Zarn landed lightly beside her, twirling the dagger in his fingers as if he had all the time in the world.

  She groaned, trying to push herself up, but her limbs refused to respond. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest, her mind still reeling from the sheer brutality of the fight.

  Then, her gaze fell on the dagger in his hand.

  It was the same one she had seen earlier—the one she had dismissed as insignificant in the midst of their battle. Only now did she notice the faint runes glowing along its edge, humming with restrained power.

  Her breath caught.

  He had this the entire time?

  A slow, sinking realization washed over her, drowning out the pain.

  He never even truly used it.

  The entire fight—everything—had been nothing more than him playing around. If he had drawn the dagger for a true attack, even once, this would have ended before it even started.

  Her body trembled. Not just from exhaustion.

  From the sheer, overwhelming gap between them.

  Her eyes blanked as she fell unconscious.

  "Guess I was right," Zarn murmured. "Being cooped up with this much power is suffocating."

  He crouched beside her, studying her unconscious form.

  Then—

  A presence.

  Zarn's gaze shifted to his left. A masked woman with long blue hair had appeared without a sound.

  Calm. Poised. Dangerous.

  "Are you her boss?" he asked.

  "Yes," she replied, her voice gentle yet firm. "And I would like to take her with me, if you don't mind."