At Liam's house, Dreck offered a rare smile as he looked at Liam, battered and barely standing.
"You've done well. I'm proud of you."
But Liam didn't respond. His body trembled, drenched in sweat. He was already too weak.
Meanwhile, across the city at Kaela's home, Lucas folded his arms and nodded in approval.
"You showed excellent control," he said.
Kaela smirked, despite barely staying upright. "You say that like I didn't nearly pass out halfway."
Her voice was sharp, but her energy was fading fast.
At both locations, mentors were congratulating their students—unaware of what was creeping in from the shadows.
Back at Liam's house, Dreck knelt beside him. "You need to rest. Replenish your strength, okay—?"
He stopped.
Six figures materialized from the darkness as if born from it. Their movements were ghostlike. Silent. Their clothing was different from the assassins that had come before—sleeker, reinforced, marked with crimson threading across the chest.
Dreck's gaze hardened. "W–what the…"
He stepped forward instinctively, shielding Liam.
"How did you bypass my Ambient Awareness without me sensing a thing?" he demanded, voice calm but edged with shock.
"There's no need to answer your questions," one of the figures said coldly.
Another chuckled. "The fools got their butts kicked. That's unfortunate."
Dreck's eyes narrowed. "And now what? You came to throw empty threats?"
"I want you to answer my questions," the lead figure said, stepping forward.
"Hnn. And why," Dreck cut in sharply, "do you think I'll answer anything you ask?"
"Because you have no choice."
Dreck raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly forces my hand?"
"You're the Assassin Slayers, aren't you?"
Dreck grinned. "Ah... so word has spread. Good. Burn that name into your skull. And let it echo: Beware of the Assassin Slayers."
"We're not here for introductions," the lead figure snapped. "Tell us: Who leads your group? How many of you are there? And where is your base?"
Dreck tilted his head. "Haa... you really think I'll answer that?" His voice dropped. "You're dumber than you look."
"You don't have a choice," another figure growled, stepping forward.
"Oh? Is that a threat?" Dreck asked, his smile vanishing. "Because it sounds like you're asking to be buried."
"Let's just teach him a lesson," one of them said, his boots scraping forward.
"No," the leader barked. "Especially not you. You don't know how to hold back—you could kill him. And we want them alive."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll stop," the figure muttered, though his clenched fists told another story.
The tension in the room twisted like a tightening coil.
"Now for the last ti—"
Suddenly, Liam appeared in front of them, arm extended. His eyes were fierce despite the exhaustion.
"Don't act like I'm not here!!" he shouted.
He launched his arm forward.
"Vein Burst: Impact!!"
A pulse of force exploded from his palm, the ground cracking beneath him.
But—
The six figures were gone.
Gone—without a trace. Not even a shimmer in the air.
It all happened within two seconds.
They appeared at a corner.
"You're quite fast for a kid," one of the figures said, a glint of curiosity in his voice. "Appearing before us without being sensed—that might be a first."
"I could say the same," Liam replied, breath short but steady. "You're quite fast for dodging my attack at such close range."
One of the figures clenched his fist, visibly frustrated.
Quite?his eyebrows twitched. He inhaled slowly, then exhaled to calm himself. "But let's be real… that blast? You couldn't have done that.
Liam's knees buckled, the strain of Vein Burst Impact finally catching up to him. He staggered forward, collapsing—
—but before he hit the ground, Dreck appeared behind him in a blink, catching him gently.
"You've done well," Dreck said calmly, lowering him to the ground. "Now rest."
"You used all your energy for that one attack, didn't you?" Dreck asked.
Liam nodded weakly, his breathing shallow.
"It's alright," Dreck said, eyes sharpening as he stood. "I'll take things from here."
The figures chuckled.
"You've got it all wrong," one of them said. "We're not here for a fight. We just came to take what we need and leave. The real ones will handle you later. Us? We might accidentally kill you in the process."
"You might want to take those words back," Dreck growled, his tone suddenly menacing.
In a synchronized movement, the four figures surrounding them raised their right hands to their mouths, crossing two fingers like a blade of intent. Their voices echoed in eerie unison—
"SOULTRACE EXTRACTION."
Back at Kaela's house...
Six figures emerged from the shadows like wraiths, silent and deadly.
Lucas reacted instantly, placing himself between Kaela and the intruders, his expression sharp.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked coldly. "Popping up like ghosts without tripping my awareness... impressive. But you just made a mistake."
Kaela clenched her fists behind him, her breath shaky from fatigue.
"What the hell are these freaks?" she muttered, eyes scanning their odd uniforms—different from the previous attackers.
One of the figures stepped forward, voice like a blade.
"We're not here for chitchat. Tell us—who leads the Assassin Slayers? Where's your base?"
Lucas narrowed his eyes. "You think I'll just hand that over? You'll have to force it out of me—because I ain't telling you shit."
"We figured as much," the lead figure replied, a faint smile under the hood. "But no… we won't force you."
He raised his hand slowly. "We'll just take what we want and leave."
In an instant, all six figures shifted. They surrounded Lucas and Kaela in a tight ring, silent as phantoms.
Then, in perfect synchronization, they each raised their right hand to their mouths—two fingers crossed tightly like a sigil.
And as their fingers glowed faintly red—
They all chanted in unison:
"SOULTRACE EXTRACTION".