Air remained undisturbed, people unaware as Inero-ie zigzagged through the crowd, the complete awareness of his surroundings along with the foresight he had gained through cycles of wandering and fighting, he was like the wind as he zigzagged his way through the crowd, performing small bursts of acceleration, moving past people who remained unaware of his presence.
He stopped suddenly, a man coming in front of him, his feet had twisted having known the path this man would most likely choose. His feet spun and his direction changed, and once again he exploded to full speed rushing into the narrow pathway that would close in the next moment by a woman about to take a step forward. In just a few breaths worth of time, he had repeated these actions by hundreds.
It was easy. How could it be difficult after all? How could it compare to being surrounded by monsters whose attacks were tens and hundreds of times quicker and more lethal than this walking crowd? How could it compare to the rain of attacks launched by monsters that had seemingly no end in sight? It could not be compared so the crowd did not affect him just like being surrounded by monsters could not.
With each passing moment, he closed in on the target who was surrounded by guards who had created a circular formation around her. Inero-ie noted how they appeared to be very urgent, making their way towards the lift.
His focus split, one part puppeteering the body to execute the complex maneuvers while the other processed the dense stream of awareness, using it to create a plan that would allow the woman to swap with the target.
The crowd was a problem. While he had to execute complex movements to pass through unnoticed, it opened easily for the circular formation created by the guards. It would not have mattered usually as he would catch up with them soon but with it unknown when the system would be on his neck. If he could somehow reduce the time it took to complete the mission, he would.
An idea came into his mind and though it would eat up the originally small window of time he had, it would also instantly resolve the issue.
One moment the atmosphere was filled with energy, the people with energy and vibrancy, it was turned up on its head, suddenly and instantly. It started with the people next to Inero-ie and instantly spread everywhere. Hysteria filled the crowd as they started running, filled with an emotion that had never gripped them to this extent. Fear. Overwhelming fear. Like they were on the verge of being torn and shredded. Like their lives would be snuffed out the next moment. Their bodies ran, commanded by the brain as the need to survive overtook everyone.
Inero-ie did not stop to see the effects of his work, a release of his intent to kill which had been honed by the time he had spent outside, sharpened by the harsh experiences that brought him to the death’s door.
***
Chaos. It had come suddenly and had spread instantly. It overtook everyone in their surroundings and the woman watched as the hustling bustling vibrant atmosphere, in split seconds, turned into something completely unrecognizable.
Just a moment ago the crowd had been moving with a rhythm, a rhythm that the crowd had naturally developed and allowed people to move without disturbing anyone. It no longer existed. ‘How did he do it,’ she knew this man, Inero-ie, had done something but what? She had been unable to sense it as her focus had been on observing what little glances she could capture of the target while she, at the same time, circulated the Qi inside her body.
“Ready?” the voice asked. It almost felt like she had imagined it but she nodded anyway and cut off the distracting thoughts focusing on her Qi instead.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
She returned to focus on her Qi, once again a cycle was completed and afterward the Qi divided into two parts, one spread through her Qi circuits and through them into her flesh, remaining there, waiting for her intent. The other part all came and condensed into her hand, likewise waiting for her intent.
***
The circular bubble created by guards shrunk at every passing second. They had tried and gained success in maintaining it for the first few moments, being able to resist the wave of maddened humans but it not for long. The bubble had been forced to shrink to maintain itself and it continued shrinking.
“Fuck!! Fuck! What is happening?” One of the guards shouted, despite knowing he would receive no answers. His comrades' faces were plastered with the same confusion and bewilderment. He wanted to curse again but another wave of force pushed at the formation and he screamed as he pushed back with his full power. He gritted his teeth as the force kept increasing forcing him back just like his other comrades. His back touched something but he had no time to think about the attendants behind him.
***
“Get ready,” told her the strange voice. Though she had heard it a few times before, it did not make it any less strange. It sounded like the voice of an artificial spirit but not quite and it sounded like the voice of a human but also not quite. It made her skin tingle each time she heard it.
The woman nodded, she was ready. All she needed was a touch and she could capture the image of the target perfectly, not even the system would be able to detect anything by then. That was how they had infiltrated the settlement to such an extent.
***
Hysteria intensified. People pushed, people fell, people were trampled without any regard, without any remorse but none cared for them nor their cries. Their minds were focused on a singular objective, to run away, as far as possible. So the crowd kept pushing, the harmony had been swept away and only mass hysteria flourished as people ran in whatever directions they found space, without any knowledge of where they were running and from what.
The people stuck to one another pushing and being pushed, forcing others away to somehow run even a few centimeters away from where they currently were. As the bodies pressed against one another, it blocked the light from hitting the floor.
Inero-ie fell, the woman below him as the Qi briefly circulated in the areas where the feet pressed down on him. Like raindrops, small but numerous the feet kept on trampling his back and he kept strengthening each time a foot hit him until he was prepared and then both of them disappeared.
***
“Kill anyone who gets close!!” The guard leader ordered, shouting in his full voice once more hoping but seeing no signs of it deterring the crowd.
“God! What is even happening here? Boss, you know anything?” Asked another guard as he cut an approaching man in half but the crowd seemed to be incapable of seeing the dead, marching on as though they were possessed by something. It made the guards panic as were unable to understand how or why such a sudden and intense change had taken place.
The whimpering of the crowd suddenly intensified, whimpers became all-out screams as most simply fell, only a few barely holding and this time even the guards were unable to defend themselves and they felt what everyone around them felt, an overwhelming sense of fear.
Their eyes were glazed, bodies instinctively moving back, only to trip and fall as Inero-ie reached the target while the barrier around the target opened by itself.
The target looked at him with confusion and then at the woman Inero-ie was carrying, tried to but failed to slap away the hand that advanced and then touched her face. Suddenly the woman had become just like her, whether it be in appearance or aura, it looked and felt just like her. Despite such a strange action taking place right before her eyes, she had not recovered from the muddled state. Inero-ie had made sure she was least affected by the release of his intent.
Inero-ie let the woman down and she looked at her body, then at the target and her face moved fluidly, blooming into a smile. It was the last thing the target saw.
Inero-ie picked the unconscious target and ran away at full speed, hoping to find someplace dark where he could hide.