Chapter 13.1: The great escape. (Part 1)

Adam’s POV

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The footsteps grew louder, and my panic skyrocketed. My eyes darted around the room, desperate for an escape route. The window! I bolted to it, threw it open, and was immediately greeted with the realization that I was on the fourth floor.

I looked down at the street below. The drop wasn’t just steep—it was knee-snapping, kid-body-breaking steep. Lights flickered from nearby buildings, signaling that others were nearby, but I didn’t have time to think about the consequences. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL DO I DO!?

Clutching my head like a cartoon character on the verge of a meltdown, I glanced back at the window and a desperate idea sparked. The Chaos Rune!

“Okay, okay, okay. This is fine. This is totally fine,” I mumbled as I scribbled the support rune, Sul, across my chest with trembling fingers. A grin crept across my face—desperate, maybe a little unhinged—as I braced for the gamble. “Time to roll the dice!”

Chaos runes give random effects. I just needed something—a defensive buff, a glide, a teleport, heck, even turning into a bird would work. In my head, it felt like rolling a D&D die. All I could think was, Please, please, Nat 20!

The rune glowed. As text appeared Infront of my eyes

Rune of Sul Effect: Camouflage.

“Huh?” I blinked as my body flickered and poof, I turned invisible.

Well… almost. My feet, for some inexplicable reason, were still visible.

“What kind of half-baked stealth is this!?” I hissed under my breath.

Sensing my confusion, Nove chimed in with her signature calm tone. “The rune’s effect radius is approximately half a meter. Since you inscribed the rune on your chest, your feet fall outside of the radius of camouflage.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” I whispered harshly, staring down at my traitorous, visible feet.

Of course. This is my luck.

I quickly scribbled another Rune of Sul on my chest, hoping for a miracle, but—

Rune of Sul Effect: Failed.

"Huh? Failed?" I muttered, dumbfounded.

Nove’s voice chimed in, calm as ever. “Only one effect can be activated at a time.”

Great. Just great. The footsteps were now on this floor, echoing ominously closer. My heart pounded. I had mere seconds to act.

“Well, if I can’t activate another effect on myself,” I murmured, crouching down and pressing my finger to the floor as the smile of devil formed on my face, “I’ll just have to write it somewhere else!”

I hastily inscribed the Rune of Disaster: Del into the floorboards. The silver light flared, and a notification popped up:

Rune of Del Effect: Shockwave.

"Shockwave? Like a non-lethal explosion or something?" I barely had time to process before—

BOOM!

The entire room erupted in chaos, the floor shaking violently as I was hurled backward. Broken furniture, papers, and shards of glass flew into the air like a scene from a disaster movie. I crashed into the corner with a thud, groaning as I tried to regain my bearings.

And, as if on cue, the door burst open with a deafening BANG.

A group of armored soldiers stormed in, some clad in full plate, while others were decked out like ninjas. At the helm was a man with fiery red hair, his long locks practically blazing as he scanned the room with sharp, furious eyes. His gaze darted toward the open window, and for a split second, his expression twisted into a mix of anger and worry.

“No!” he shouted, striding toward the window like a storm.

Nove chimed in, her voice laced with urgency. "Alper, that’s Erza—your teacher. He’s here to bring you back."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Shut up, Nove. I hissed internally, ducking into the corner and pulling a broken chair over my still-visible feet. No way am I going back right now.

Whether it was my stubbornness or Nove realizing I wasn’t budging, she went quiet. Meanwhile, I stayed laying down in the shadows, hiding my legs behind the broken furniture, watching the chaos unfold.

This guy—Erza—knew Alper, and that was very, very bad for me. I have no idea who you are, buddy, but you’re clearly expecting someone who isn’t me.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I held my breath, trying to stay as still as possible. Just stay quiet, stay hidden, and hope to every god in this world that they don’t find me.

Erza moved like a man possessed, barking orders at his crew. “Form a perimeter! Search every inch of this place!” His voice carried a weight that sent the armored soldiers and ninjas scrambling to obey. In seconds, the room was empty, leaving just him and me, alone in the wreckage.

I crouched lower behind the debris, my half-invisible form doing little to calm my nerves. How long is this camouflage supposed to last? I thought as beads of sweat formed on my brow. Every second felt like an eternity as I plotted my escape. But with Erza standing there, katana in hand, it wasn’t a matter of "how"—it was a matter of "if."

Then, as if to mess with my already fried nerves, Erza whispered, his voice heavy with emotion, “...Just please be okay, Alper.”

“Huh?” The sound escaped my lips before my brain caught up, a reflex born of sheer confusion.

His head snapped toward me like a predator catching its prey. His piercing gaze locked onto my general direction, and in a heartbeat, a katana materialized in his hand. The speed of its appearance was enough to make my pulse spike; the blade’s screeching hum as it sliced through the air wasn’t doing me any favors either.

“Show yourself!” Erza’s voice was calm, but the lethal intent was unmistakable. “There’s no point in hiding. If I have to, I’ll slice this entire room into shreds.”

Empty threat or genuine promise? I wasn’t sticking around to find out.

My brain screamed, RUN. Just as I was about to make a break for it, Nove's voice cut through my panic.

“Five seconds remaining on your camouflage.”

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.

Desperate, I grabbed a broken chair leg from the debris and hurled it toward Erza. The makeshift distraction flew through the air, and in a flash, his katana cleaved it in two with surgical precision. The severed wood hit the wall with a dull thud, the halves falling harmlessly to the ground.

He didn’t even blink.

But I wasn’t idle during those precious moments. “Soul Frame, activate!” I commanded under my breath. Silver light spiraled around me as plates of armor shot out, clicking together like pieces of an intricate puzzle. My new armor formed in the blink of an eye, a sleek, shimmering shell enveloping my body.

The transformation ended just as my camouflage wore off. When the light faded, Erza stood facing me, his eyes narrowing.

Erza's piercing gaze drilled into me as he brandished his katana, his movements sharp and deliberate. "Who are you?" he demanded, pointing the blade directly at my chest. "Are you the assassin after Alper? Where is he?"

Assassin? My mind raced. Somehow, they’d pieced together that Alper’s disappearance was due to an assassination attempt. But now I was being painted as the prime suspect in a plot orchestrated by a 15-year-old suffering from romantic insecurity. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Itried to get up, but before I could even think of a response, Erza swung his sword. A gust of wind, sharp as a blade, missed me by an inch, slicing through the air and obliterating a chunk of the wall behind me. Dust and debris filled the air as I froze in place, staring at the newly created hole leading to the outside world.

Was this guy an anime protagonist with maxed-out strength stats?!

"You're outnumbered," Erza said coldly, his blade gleaming under the faint candlelight. "Thirteen soldiers are in this building, sixteen more surround it, and within minutes, 300 more will descend on this town. There is no escape."

He took another step closer, pointing the katana dangerously close to my face. His voice was a low growl, dripping with authority. "I’ll give you one last chance. Surrender willingly and tell us what you know about Alper. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you regret breathing."

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words. My brain screamed to act, but every scenario seemed to end in disaster.

He won’t kill me outright. He needs information. That much I knew from my years in the underworld. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t lop off a limb or two to get me talking.

There was only one of two things that would happen now.

One, I give up and surrender, accepting whatever fate that befell me.

Or two, I fight back for the slimmest chance of surviving and getting away.

… I thought as I wrote the rune of disaster on the floor.

"Last Chance. Who. Are. You?"

I straightened my back, summoning every ounce of seriousness I could muster, and in my deepest, most gravelly voice, I declared,

"I’m Batman."

Rune of Del Effect: Smoke.

The instant I activated the rune, a dense cloud of grey smoke erupted around me, enveloping both Erza and me in a swirling haze. Without hesitation, I twisted my body, leaping out of the massive hole Erza had carved into the wall with his blade.

"NOVE, SWAP THE WEB NODE WITH THE DIRT NODE!" I shouted mid-air, panic fueling every syllable.

"Affirmative," came Nove's calm reply.

My fingers tingled as the web node's power activated. Wasting no time, I shot out a sticky barrage of webs, latching onto a nearby building. Swinging forward, the tangled strands miraculously held together under my weight thanks to the reduced strain from my light frame.

The moment the momentum kicked in, an adrenaline rush unlike anything I'd ever experienced hit me. "OHHHH SHIIIIIIITTTTT!!!" I screamed, careening wildly through the air. My trajectory was less than graceful, crashing me headlong through the window of an unsuspecting homeowner's apartment.

Glass shattered around me as alarms blared in response to my uninvited entry. Thankfully, the place was empty. I scrambled to my feet, the soul-frame armor saved me from injury, but my reprieve was short-lived.

"GET HIM!" Erza’s furious roar tore through the commotion as he emerged from the dissipating smoke, his gaze locked onto me like a hawk spotting prey.

"Oh no," I muttered, dread creeping up my spine as Erza leapt down to the street below with terrifying grace. His movements were smooth yet feral, and his eyes burned with unrelenting determination as he charged toward me.