The two officers released a gasp of surprise when the kid they were trying to rescue, suddenly got out of their enemy's grasp. Officer Dole even smiled as he witnessed the incredible scene that the kid displayed.
But their goal won't change even if Liam got out and jumped a few meters away. They needed to at least let him out the building to make sure he would be safe and sound, and to do that they have to make a disturbance by battling their tough enemy.
"Kid, you better run or shit would get worse!" Said by the running Officer.
Their unknown enemy soon came into Officer Dole's attack range which made him try to stab the guy.
And just as expected, their enemy quickly grabbed a dagger from the floor in a blink of an eye.
It was troublesome but it was more acceptable. If Liam was still being held by him, he would've been used as a meat shield.
Officer Dole immediately lowered his body in case he was attacked and went behind the guy as his partner made his way towards the front.
Inspector Wright came in front of the guy while his two daggers were quickly moving straight towards his target's neck but his two consecutive attack was merely blocked with a single swing of his enemy's dagger.
The officer who was behind him put up a stance and moved his dagger to the lower body and the other dagger to the upper back of his enemy but even that was simply depleted with a vertical swing from a slash of the guy's dagger.
Officer Dole and Inspector Wright stopped and took a step back away from their opponent. They glanced at each other before quickly moving as they see the kid they're trying to save started to move from his position.
Then the enemy moved his left hand behind his back and his right hand in front of him. He moved like he actually waited for them and wanted a real fight.
Just like that, with the two officers going on the offensive and the tall guy on defense with his dagger, a cycle of attack and block was made for a few times in a row.
That was until one of the officers, Derek Wright, saw Liam went around them and came not into the exit but near the reception area.
He stopped and glanced at Liam before shouting.
"Kid, what are you still doing ther-!"
He was cut off when a fist landed on his stomach. His mind went blank before he knelt with one leg and rubbed his currently agonizing stomach.
Officer Dole saw his partner got hit so bad that he even coughed a mouthful of blood. He then tried to go straight to his target without a single defense or focus. He knew he wasn't supposed to do that but still did it.
The guy immediately turned around and dodged the coming dagger. He then punched the other moving arm after also dodging it with his flexible body and his incredible speed.
Officer Dole's left arm lost energy and strength so he backed away for a second. He also looked at the kid in his far left.
"Kid, I don't know what are you gonna do but do it quickly and run away. This guy in front of me is no good, it'll be hard... Hard for him to beat me, keke."
He glanced back at the guy after letting him hear his mocking words.
With his lifeless left arm, he was uncomfortable... But he soon move towards with his right hand holding a dagger.
The guy who was standing like a statue suddenly let his dagger fall from his hands.
Then he emitted a cold glare to the nearing officer. He stretched his right arm and straightened his hands. It released a hue of blue aura. He decided to kill someone today.
He made a stance when Officer Dole came close to his range. But then...
"?"
A hand suddenly clenched his right arm and made him look into it.
"You didn't see that coming... Didn't you...?"
Inspector Wright made a stern face as he said his thoughts before he glanced at the shocked enemy and suddenly made a smile.
"ACK!" The guy groaned.
Inspector Wright was holding a dagger with his other hand. And he successfully stabbed it through the leg of his target.
"You goddamned—!"
A sound of a flesh being punctured was heard as he stopped his words.
"hehe. You didn't see that coming didn't you?"
He completely forgot that Officer Dole was in front of him, holding a dagger that might hurt him anytime.
After that, the guy releases an aura that depicts doom.
"You should have gone for the head."
Officer Dole didn't let go of his dagger that was currently pierced through the shoulder of his enemy even if an overwhelming aura was making him tremble a bit.
"This is... Not Enough...! I'll save him... I'll save someone!".
Officer Dole thought as he vigorously forced his hand to pushed it more deeply inside the shoulder of his target.
"Get off me... Insect...!"
The guy clenched his fist before he struck it to the officer's face.
His head was pushed back and so his body. It was about to fall but his uniform was held making it stopped.
Officer Dole, whose mind was blank and who's almost unconscious, suddenly felt a strange feeling in his stomach before the feeling turned into an unimaginable pain and a prickly, burning sensation inside his body.
"You left your dagger in my shoulder."
He said coldly after he pulled the dagger in his shoulder and stabbed it in the officer's abdomen a moment earlier.
He then turned around and looked down at the floor.
"FUCK! EVAN! WAKE U— ACK!"
Before he could even shout, he was kicked in the face and fainted almost immediately.
"I'll come back for you two."
Rynn's master walked away from them and stopped when the bulky man that helped his disciple for the mission was lying on the floor near him.
He crouched and grabbed the rubber bandage which was covered around the other guy's forearm. He then put it to himself and wrapped it around his left shoulder, cut it in the middle, and wrapped it in his left leg.
He stretched his neck back and shook out his arms before he soon walked slowly towards Liam.
A few meters away from the middle of the hall, Liam was kneeling with his one leg in front of a body that was leaning at the wide reception desk. It was his friend, Ian.
He obviously was in deep thought when his grim face haven't change for a while since coming there. He didn't even listen to the voices coming from behind him.
Amidst his thinking, footsteps can be heard echoing throughout the hall making the atmosphere heavier.
Liam didn't care at first but he did an immediate side glance when he realized that the noise from the fight just a minute ago was completely gone.
"You managed to beat my disciple and his lackeys,"
The last guy standing from the one minute battle said while still walking slowly towards the kid.
"You meddled with their mission or the plan of the organization,"
He continued talking with his deep, cold voice as he looked at Liam.
"You hit me both in my arm, in my face and even managed to escape..."
Liam finally stood up. After listening to the words of the guy behind him, he felt disgusted.
His mind have so many thoughts. Like 'how did he defeat two experienced officers' and 'why is he coming for me'.
Even a part of him thought a senseless question.
Why was his disciple and also himself always become angry when being hurt, are they somehow reverse masochists or sadists?
But he soon cleared away all his useless thoughts before slowly turning around.
Liam and Rynn's master, the last two men in the hall, met each other intense and piercing gaze.
Then the guy opened his lips and continue to spoke.
"By doing all of that, surely, you are ready to die today."
Liam trembled as the guy said his words. He looked down and covered his face with the palm of his right hand as if he realized something regretful.
He lost his will to live and gave up fighting.
He simply accepted death, was the enemy thought.
Liam did that not because he accepted his death but he did regret something.
He should've done it since earlier.
The tall guy soon halted his steps a few feet in front of Liam.
'In the end, he is still naive... but...'
But why does Liam's aura felt different than he thought? It wasn't anything like despair.
He shut his eyes to loosen his mind.
"Either way, I'll still kill him right now."
As he spoke inwardly, he straightened his arm as well as his hand t.ill the end of his fingertips.
He planned to slice Liam's neck. If his body isn't trained and tough then, his head would be split off from his body, if it is then, his neck could get slit only halfway through the flesh.
"Prepare your neck."
He quickly moved his straightened right arm upwards and as he did, Liam suddenly revealed his face and gave him a fixed gaze.
Liam grinned as he whispered, "Discerning Eye¹."
All of his senses were enhanced immediately as he felt some presence and heartbeats from a few people within five meters radius around him.
By activating his Discerning Eye skill, his perception, reflexes, and senses would go up by 50%. His perception currently have 21 so it will increase the attribute by 10.5.
Of course, he would not use his skill just to feel the presence of people. Enhancing his senses include his hearing and seeing ability like the skill Crystal Vision, though it's effect was stronger.
For short, he already had a plan in his mind.
The enemy paused for a moment with his unmoving arm before he regained his senses and decided to kill the guy in front of him because...
He felt something different.
Twitch.
The moment the enemy moved his arm by even a millimeter, Liam already heard and looked it shifted from its position.
He quickly lowered his center of gravity, moved his left arm to beside his head and compressed it tightly.
And before the sharp hands of his opponent came in contact with his arm, he put all of his strength into it after activating the skill, Arms Strengthening, once again.
Soon after, the knife-like hand hit Liam's arm leaving a deep wound that only end in the bone.
It was painful. A pain no one can explain in words. An agony that no one can imagine. A torment that no one can bear.
But Liam held in all of the suffering and moved on with his plan. He removed all the strength in his transferred it to his right arm.
"Mesomorphic." Liam mumbled.
His enemy's arm passed him and his body was slightly repositioned making a small chance for Liam.
He smirked and muttered, "Fiery Punch.", as he positioned his right arm to a punching formation that he learned or simply performed the technique he stole from his past enemies.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Liam's eyes released a fiery glint as the previous smile completely disappeared from his face.
"You know why I did all of that..."
Liam spoke and clenched his fist while his enemy was still in a confused state.
He continued.
"They attacked this hospital full of innocent people...!"
He trembled in anger and his forehead furrowed as he frowned.
"AND THEY ALSO HURT MY FRIEND!!!"
Liam, who just became calm and collected with his high Intelligence attribute, exploded by his furious emotion.
He then strode his fist towards his target's face.
And when it went halfway to its destination, flame formed and covered his fist. And it eventually became stronger and more chaotic than when he first used it.
Liam regretted it because he didn't use it earlier to escape his enemy's grasp. He upgraded it for that kind of situation but he simply forgot about it.
He upgraded it not only for the cooldown time to decrease but also for the skill to be strong enough to escape from when he was in a tough spot.
He was supposed to use it to Rynn but he didn't realize that he was weaker than him. And now that a stronger enemy appeared, it was the best time to use it.
Afterward, the flaming fist went one inch before it landed to but a hand slipped in the middle and covered his face.
But the force, strength, power, and speed was enough to make Liam's enemy's hand impossible carry a strong impact.
The ear-
His head flew backwards and his body followed. He was pushed back by a meter or so. A blood left a trail in the air and fell down on the floor.
Liam saw the guy tumbled on the floor. His body seems limp.
Sigh.
Deeming that his enemy was finally unconscious, he soon let down his guard, stared in the air, and heaved a heavy sigh.
His enemy finally fell down.
Liam turned around and decided to check his friend once again, but before he could move from his spot, a familiar window emerged from thin air.
It was the system's notification.
『 Your Stamina is below 30%. It will give you a [Fatigue] effect. The [Fatigue] made from the system will not be removed by any skill. 』
『 Your Stamina is below 20%. The [Fatigue] effect has been increased. The overall attributes of the host has been temporarily decreased by 10%. 』
『 The system shall now warn the host that if the stamina goes below 10%, the host will have a difficulty from moving his body, the [Fatigue] effect will dramatically increase and harm the host, and the overall attributes of the host will decrease by 30%. 』
ACK!
"Shit! My vision is deforming besides the windows. Damn, System, why do you have an effect like this?"
just like Liam said, his vision was deforming, his head was slightly aching, and he can barely balance his body.
An effect that happens when your Stamina status is low.
Liam didn't want it nor can he stop it.
"How can I do something when I'm like this." He forcefully moved his limp left arm and put his hand to do a facepalm.
Then at that moment, a chill ran down his spine.
A presence, an ominous aura, a killing intent.
He felt all of that behind him.
Gulp.
He's not unconscious? How? Since when? What?
He was stunned and perplexed.
How can he still stand after getting hit by a strike stronger than an attack which made a man's face barely describable and almost undefinable?
Liam tried to turn around. His vision was still blurry and messy, but from a couple of meters away from him, he can see a face that seems to be stained with a dark red color.
Tap. The enemy took one step forward. He moved his fingers towards his mouth and wiped blood pouring from it.
He took another step. His nose has also blood dripping out from it.
Another step. His eyebrows have a deep and open wound that even his bone can be seen slightly.
He continued to walk forward. He can feel that his above-average face have some wounds carved in it.
"You use a skill from a certain ancient martial arts technique..."
His sinister aura that can make a person froze and shiver was getting stronger and stronger for every second that pass.
"Before I kill you, you should answer my questions."
He didn't stop his slow-moving legs and continued speaking.
"When did you learned it? Where did you train it? How did you master it...?"
Halt.
"Who's the grandmaster who taught you the techniques...?"
He looked at Liam with his cold glare while somewhat brushing his right wrist.
"Huh?"
Liam was extremely confused.
What was the guy saying? What ancient technique? Skill? The Fiery Fist?
He didn't comprehend a single word that his enemy rattled.
"What are you talking abo–"
Liam widened his eyes before he could finish because his blurry vision was suddenly enveloped by a fist.
He lost his balance from the punch and fell on his butt. He tried to stand up again but he was kicked to his side and once again laid on the ground.
He struggled to get up and even coughed blood.
Then a window appeared in front of him.
『 Warning! Your Stamina is below 10%. The [Fatigue] effect has been increased dramatically. The host's HP will decrease by 1-5 every 10 seconds of being affected. The host already has difficulty moving. The overall attributes of the host has been temporarily decreased by 30%. 』
『 The system shall now warn the host that if the stamina goes 0%, the host won't be able to move anymore, the [Fatigue] effect will dramatically increase and harm the host. 』
"Fuck!" Liam cursed inwardly.
The system's words were accurate. He can barely move. He was struggling to get up from his pitiful position on the floor.
"I'll kill you instantly and painlessly if you just answer my questions thoughtfully."
"I don't know!"
ACK!
The enemy kicked Liam once again.
"Answer me."
"I said I don't..."
Liam trailed off his sentence.
Because a hand which was sharp as a blade, was pointed in his neck.
"Now, tell me. Where did you learn that skill."
He grinned as he and glanced at the guy in front of him before he opened his mouth.
"Oh, are you talking about my volcano hand skin technique. I learned that from the internet."
The guy's face twitched. He can't understand why the kid in front of him was still spouting nonsense even though death was nearing him.
He was clearly pissed off. He poked his sharp hand on Liam's neck and blood slowly trickled from it.
"I will push my hands and make a hole in your neck if you don't answer me."
"Oh. Didn't you say that you'll kill me after I answered you? Isn't it the same if I didn't?"
They both paused for a moment with an opposite reason but Liam was the first to open his mouth.
"Okay, fine. You better believe me when I tell you this..."
He looked closed his eyes before opening it again, but it comes with a wide smile that even his teeth can be seen.
"I will be the one will destroy you...! And your organization!"
The guy's ominous aura didn't stay long because it was overwhelmed by his own killing intent. He really was angered by Liam.
He brushed off his head out of irritation. He then grabbed Liam and put him into a sitting position.
He didn't care anymore. He will kill the kid.
"!"
Liam's eyes widened. He was shocked.
The guy pulled back his hand and positioned it beside Liam's neck.
He decided to behead him. He could even see Liam's scared face.
But he was wrong, Liam was simply surprised, and also not because of him but what was behind him.
'Police officers? No. The man in the front. His presence seems familiar.'
As Liam can't see clearly because of the Fatigue effect, he could only felt a person's presence also with the help of his discerning eye.
"Wait a minute. I got a skill to see things super clearly!"
As Liam thought that, he completely ignored what was landing on him soon.
The guy already moved his blade hand towards Liam's neck.
"Crystal Vision."
BANG!
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Click!
"Hey, kid. What really happened to the dangerous guy. I don't believe the words that the Mr. Hanes guy said in the news saying that he has some strong guards protecting him from the guy as he escapes with the terrorist boss who looks younger than him."
Officer Dole placed down a glass on top of a fancy wooden table beside a patient's bed.
"Uh... I don't really know... Officer, you look good sitting in that wheelchair."
Liam was in the VIP patient's bed. He wasn't lying but leaning in the upper part of the bed while it was slightly higher.
"Oh, really? I mean my wounded belly was covered with thick bandages but I didn't think that I still look good, hahaha...!" Officer Dole laughed.
He was happy for a moment before he stopped and slightly tilted his head.
"Hey! Don't change the topic! I said what was– Uh... I forgot what I was asking."
"Pfft. Anyways, Officer, where's Inspector Wright?"
They continued their chatter and their question and answer portion inside Liam's VIP room in the same hospital that he just saved from terrorism.
Inspector Wright was assigned by the higher-ups to guard Ian inside the VIP room, just like what Officer Dole is doing in Liam's room.
They were only supposed to keep the patient occupied and chat with them because both of them are injured, while real guards were standing in front of the room's door to protect them from the people of the media and other potential threats.
That was personally requested by the country's most successful chairman of some large companies and the continent's one of the biggest contributor, Elon Hanes, to the national police headquarters.
The media stated to the world that two police officers named, Evan Dole and Derek Wright, single-handedly defeated six terrorists and only caused them to have a few serious wounds and to lose their consciousness after the fight, but unfortunately, one person managed to wake up first and escaped the hospital with another man.
Liam learned all that news from Officer Dole who was currently asleep in his wheelchair. He was slightly surprised when he fell asleep in the middle of his talking but he let it go since it's already night and they just won a hell-like battle.
He soon decided to also rest like the officer in front of him. He shifted the bed to be straight and lied down his back.
He looked at the plain, empty ceiling and thought of some things.
"I can finally rest in peace and leave those tormenting fight..."
He heaved a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes.
Hm.
Soon, not even a minute passed, he opened his eyes again.
"Did all of those fighting and killing that I've gone through... From my house to this hospital..."
Cold sweat suddenly dripped down from his forehead.
"Did all of that happened in just one day!"
1 - For the old readers, I changed the lame-ass name of a skill 'Perceptiveness' to 'Discerning Eye', even though it has 60% no connection to the skill so yeah, just saying.