The wind hit us instantly. It was a gale-force updraft, carrying the stench of acid rain and burning ozone.
We were standing on the flat, gravel-covered roof of District 9 High. Around us, the city stretched out into the twilight—a vertical nightmare of neon towers, holographic billboards, and slum-blocks stacked like Jenga pieces. Far above, the cloud layer was a swirling bruise of purple and black.
I ran to the edge, looking down. The school courtyard was a war zone. I could see armored vehicles—black SUVs with the Ouroboros snake logo—smashing through the front gates. Figures in tactical gear were pouring out, their weapons glowing with enchanted muzzle flashes.
"They're scrubbing the instance," I said, gripping the wet railing. "They aren't here to farm. They're here to delete witnesses."
I turned back to Seraphina. "We need to—"
I stopped.
Seraphina wasn't looking at the courtyard. She wasn't looking for a signal. She was standing in the center of the roof, ten yards away, facing me. Her hand was raised, palm open, fingers splayed in a gesture I recognized from a thousand raid battles.
The air around her was distorting. Raindrops weren't hitting her; they were curving around an invisible sphere of force.
"You," she said. The word was cold, heavy, and final.
My stomach dropped. "Now? You want to do this now?"
"The Guild is a physical threat," she said, her silver eyes glowing with scrolling data. "You are an existential one. I saw what you did in the gym, Kai Jin. You didn't just kill that Drake. You ate its source code."
She took a step forward. The gravel crunched under her boots.
"That skill is forbidden. It’s a corruption of the System’s core logic. If I let you live, you become a virus."
"I saved your life!" I yelled, taking a step back. "And I saved that idiot Chen!"
"Irrelevant." Her face was a mask of icy duty. "Protocol 44: Anomalies must be quarantined. If quarantine fails... deletion."
A blue window snapped into existence in front of her.
[ADMIN COMMAND: GRAVITY CRUSH.]22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV935DDroCu
[TARGET: KAI JIN.]22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAiU1NiWuz
[MAGNITUDE: 10X.]
"Wait—"
I didn't get to finish.
It felt like a grand piano had been dropped on my shoulders.
My knees buckled. I slammed into the wet gravel, the impact knocking the breath out of me. My vision blurred. The rain falling around me accelerated, hitting the roof like bullets.
"Gah!" I gritted my teeth, trying to push myself up, but my arms trembled and collapsed.
[HP: 210 / 450]22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetK8w4A3Bj
[STATUS: CRUSHED, IMMOBILIZED]22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo2ouTbANG
[WARNING: SKELETAL INTEGRITY AT 60%.]
"Don't struggle," Seraphina said, walking toward me. She moved effortlessly, unaffected by the crushing field she had cast. "It will only break your bones faster. I’ll make it quick. A targeted brain hemorrhage. You won't feel it."
She sounded like she believed it. She sounded like she thought she was doing me a favor.
I glared up at her from the ground. Mud and gravel were digging into my cheek. This was it. This was how I died the first time—overpowered by a Whale while I was helpless.
Not again, the voice in my head snarled. It was the gamer voice. The part of me that refused to rage-quit.
I looked at the blue aura surrounding her. It wasn't magic. It was data. It was just lines of code telling the universe that gravity should be heavier in this specific coordinate.
And I was starving.
"You think..." I wheezed, blood trickling from my nose. "You think you're the Admin?"
I forced my right hand to move. It felt like lifting a mountain. My bones creaked, threatening to snap. I dragged my fingers across the wet gravel, inching toward her boot.
Seraphina stopped just out of reach. She looked down at me with a mix of pity and disgust. "I am the proxy of the System. I am the rules."
"Rules," I coughed, a bubble of blood bursting on my lips. "Are made to be broken."
I didn't aim for her. I aimed for the air.
I opened my hand. The violet hunger flared in my palm, brighter than before. It wasn't subtle this time. It roared.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: SOUL DEVOUR.]22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnubp7byTp9
[TARGET: LOCALIZED SPELL MATRIX (A-RANK).]
"Eat," I commanded.
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.