Lyon POV:

I walked straight ahead into the pitch-black darkness. It was only after a minute or two had passed that I saw a faint light appear in the distance. I approached it carefully and noticed several candles light up at once in a row.

‘...’

I followed the path of light that had appeared before me and soon reached the inner part of the large room. The candles spread out into several rows, forming a large circle that faintly illuminated a hooded figure sitting down on a chair. Behind him, Len and Marina were tied back to back with their mouths gagged.

“So we finally meet at last, newcomer.”

His eyes flashed a dark shade of red as he greeted me. Len and Marina tried desperately to speak, but no sounds came out of their sealed mouths. Their eyebrows curved upwards as their eyes, full of anguish, stared at me intensely.

My gaze swept over their bodies, quickly assessing their conditions. They didn’t seem harmed, so I turned my attention back to the hooded man.

“Copycat.”

“Correct. As you can see, your beloved friends are safe. I’ve brought you here to have a little talk.”

I surveyed the room while he spoke. I couldn’t sense anyone in the immediate vicinity besides the four of us here and Brunaulf, who was standing far to the right side of me.

“Talk? You capture my friends and expect me to agree to have a conversation with you?”

“Why, yes I do and clearly it worked. We are conversing now, aren’t we?”

“...”

I was probing him to see how he’d respond, but I could tell straightaway by his demeanour and mannerisms—Copycat was a strategist.

I called to mind what Jasmine told me about his ability, but the Len and Marina in front of me looked too real to be fake. I decided to play it safe and indulge him for now.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Ah! Right to the heart of the matter. I like that.”

He leaned forward in the chair as he continued on.

“There are two types of people in this world: capable and incapable. If I told you I’d kill those two girls behind me, could you stop me in time?”

I didn’t answer him immediately. Instead, I observed him carefully as I pondered over my current situation for a while.

The more I thought about it, the more wary I became. Wasn’t it strange for Copycat to go to such lengths just to ‘talk’ with me? I had dismantled his most treasured disciple, yet he showed no outward malice or anger.

‘Capable or incapable?’

Copycat seemed to be a man that only cared about results, or why else would he categorize people in such a black-and-white way?

My gaze shifted to Brunaulf briefly as my thought process continued.

‘But he didn’t discard Brunaulf despite his current condition...’

I couldn’t get a clear read on his character, but I felt like I was making progress.

“You shouldn’t test me, Copycat. Didn’t your favourite disciple experience my capability firsthand?”

His eyebrows furrowed slightly at my response while he leaned forward a little more. The candles flickered as the light bounced off his dark red hair that jutted out of his hood.

“Interesting. Your mind is beyond your age, but that isn’t always a positive trait.”

“Release Len and Marina.”

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense as the droplets of fire around the room gently swayed side to side. I took a step forward while Copycat immediately stood up. He peered down at me from the elevated platform that only now came into view.

“Your goal is to take over the South, correct?”

His inquisitive eyes tried to look right through me while the distance between us shortened slightly.

“That’s right.”

“Then how far are you willing to go to achieve that goal? I will give you the position of District Leader, no, the whole South of Outer Astril...”

He walked toward the hostages and stood in front of them as he raised his hands. His lips curved into a wide smile before parting once more.

“...All you have to do is choose. Who will you save in exchange for your goal? Len? Or Marina?”

I was about to retaliate when he released a portion of his Ki and placed both his hands against their necks; he wasn’t messing around. If I moved carelessly here, they both would die.

‘Did he bait me into confirming what my goal was in order to play devil’s advocate?’

For Copycat to say those things, it meant he had been moving behind the scenes, working on his own agenda. Either that, or he was bluffing.

“Mm!!”

Len's eyes bulged as tears streamed down her face. She used what little movement she could to flick her chin towards Marina while staring deeply into my eyes. I knew... I knew she was telling me to save Marina, but Marina looked at me the same way, telling me to choose Len.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

A sharp, stinging pain emanated out of my chest as I felt my heartbeat quicken. Did I... Did I really have to make a choice?

“It’s difficult, isn’t it? But that’s life—a series of continuous choices that always lead to one final outcome; death. Your choice here will decide their fate. So, I’ll ask you one more time, who do you choose?”

I clenched my fists as I glared at Copycat. He was a person I couldn’t take lightly.

***

Jasmine POV:

The three Vices watched me carefully, not wanting to risk charging in and getting smacked around. I took a few steps back in order to be closer to Marina and Len.

The first thing I needed to do was deal with were those low-level scrubs. It’d be a real pain if they tried to go after a badly wounded Len while I’m mopping the floor with those Vices.

‘!’

An abrupt shiver ran down my spine as my pupils dilated.

‘...I'm worried about Leo.’

I knew he shouldn’t have any problems, but this sudden premonition felt dangerously accurate. Len was also in a critical state, so it wasn’t wise to waste any time.

“Stay close.”

Marina nodded her head, and I transmuted my Ki into the air. It wrapped around us, creating a circular barrier, before gradually ascending high into the sky, forming a tornado.

“Gale Storm.”

Blades of wind launched themselves out from the tornado. They sliced through the air, cutting down the hundreds of Organization trash lined up along the street and rooftops.

The buildings were shattered and blown apart by the compressed blades of wind. Once the tornado began to dissipate, it launched out circular wind blades in intervals until the air had completely settled.

The three Vices had retreated backwards to avoid the onslaught, and all that remained now was a street full of destroyed buildings, along with hundreds of unconscious or seriously injured people.

I had heard the story from Len about how Leo didn’t kill Brunaulf, so I held myself back just in case he got mad about it later on.

“Now that I’ve taken care of those scrubs. It’s time to take out the trash~”

I popped another lollipop in my mouth and lowered my center of gravity slightly.

“She’s coming. Stay on guard.”

My calf muscles bulged as I contracted them to the limit. My lips curved into a short smirk, and then I shot forward like a bullet, reaching Orga before she could react.

“D-damn!!”

Her eyes widened as my fist was about to smash her face into pieces when Sindel moved first. He pushed Orga out of the way and manipulated the earth below to displace my position. Copycat took advantage of that small window and sent a stream of flames my way.

“Pahahaha, you guys suck~”

I laughed as the air around me ruptured. Copycat's flames vanished as soon as they arrived while my fist shattered the earth wall Sindel had hastily put up. I grabbed his face when Orga's knife flashed into my vision.

“Sindel!”

I had moved Sindel in front of Orga's blade just when her knife sharply swung down. I watched sweat pour down her face in horror while her eyebrows curved inwards as she lacerated the left side of his arm.

The dumbass couldn’t react fast enough, and now the Clean Freak had paid the price for her mistake. She bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood as Sindel kicked me in the stomach, breaking free from my grip. Orga caught him; her trembling eyes locked onto the severe wound she had inflicted upon her ally.

“Focus, Orga.”

Copycat called forth a storm of fire as Orga switched gears, her knife flickering several times while she closed the distance. She painted a picture of stars intersecting multiple times over as the dagger moved from point to point.

I cracked a smile as my fist shot forward. Sharp wind erupted from it, shattering her work and slamming her back into the wall. I coated myself with the wind as I stepped into the storm of fire Copycat had been concentrating, oh so hard, on. The heat of the flames were akin to a baby lighter to someone like me.

Sindel had manipulated the ground, causing my feet to sink into it while the intensity of the flames rapidly grew. I could feel Orga aiding Copycat to keep me locked in here.

“Hmm...”

The space in the middle of the tornado gradually shrunk, charring my hoodie slightly. I took the now-finished lollipop out of my mouth and swung the stick down lightly. The wind ripped through the tornado of fire while I forcefully broke out of the ground restraints.

“She’s tough.”

I glanced at Copycat, who dared to open his mouth in my presence. I slapped the air in front of me—the wind immediately crashed into his cheek, smashing it into the ground as his limbs convulsed.

My gaze shifted back to Orga, who seemed determined to face me head-on while Sindel stood by her side, supporting her.

“Ha, how cute.”

I darted forward, twisting my hips as my foot went high. It whistled through the air and would have found its target, Sindel's chin, if Orga didn’t intercept me with a kick of her own.

It landed squarely against my ribs and even pushed me back slightly. I watched Orga's lips curve upwards and stared at her dumbfounded.

‘A basic kick gave her that much confidence? Ugh.’

I mimicked Orga's stance and drew interconnected lines in the air with the lollipop stick. The stick flashed as cuts formed over Orga's body as she tried to parry the several attacks at once.

‘!’

A large earth fist smashed into me from the side, forcing me to roll backwards. Sindel stood in front of Orga with one of his arms dangling by his side while I shifted my gaze to the area where Copycat’s body should have been, but he was gone.

‘...’

I checked on Marina and saw her face turn ghastly white. My eyes narrowed as I could feel Len's pulse getting weaker. I flicked the wind-coated lollipop stick at Sindel; it tore through the air and crashed into the middle of his forehead as he flopped forward.

I instantly appeared by his side, grabbed his face and crushed his head into a nearby wall. Orga had desperately tried to stop me, but I manipulated the air, creating a barrier of wind that pushed her back.

Sindel’s body dropped to the ground motionlessly while blood spurted out from his face. I cocked my head to the side as my eyes slowly swivelled towards Orga whose body shook with fear.

“Keuk!”

My fingers coiled around her neck before she could react, and a second later, over a dozen punches had smashed directly into her face. Trails of blood splattered the ground around us while I felt her body go slightly limp.

I let go of her neck and spun. I angled my hips as my foot crashed against her temple, catching her in the middle of her descent. The impact rocked her brain while I observed her consciousness leave her body, evident by the whites of her eyes.

Orga flew through the air, but I was already there, waiting at her new destination. My fingers shot forward, grabbing her throat as I chokeslammed her into the ground before dashing her lifeless body towards Sindel.

I walked past them only to stop. I abruptly splayed my hand as several blasts of wind snapped her head back repeatedly against the concrete, dying the area around her dark red.

‘...Talking about my mother like that.’

I suddenly felt the urge to beat her ass some more when I remembered that Len was in a critical condition.

“J-Jasmine... M-my... S-sister....”

Her lip quivered as tears poured down her face. I didn’t say a word instead, I crouched down in front of Len and examined her condition closely.

Her lips had lost a lot of their colour, and her breathing was shallow. Her face was a shade lighter than when I had first arrived, while her amber eyes were slightly glazed over.

They slowly examined her surroundings before stopping on me. Her lips spread into a thin smile and then parted.

“T-thank y-you...”

I clenched my teeth as I watched her struggle to speak. It wasn’t over yet, if I could get her to Comfort, Unc could help her. I had used a lot more Ki than I had let on to stop those three, and even if I ran with everything I had left, which wasn’t much, I truly wasn’t sure I’d make it in time.

I bit my lip as I pulled my cap down. I didn’t want to disappoint Leo, but this situation wasn’t looking good at all.

I watched Len's hand gently rest against her sister’s cheek. Marina placed her hand on top of it and looked at me with pleading eyes.

“I...feel cold...”

Her hand went limp as her eyelids slowly came together, and her heartbeat gradually faded into the darkness.