Tension surged to its peak.
The once-beautiful, gentle face before Jamie twisted slowly into something far darker—a mask of death.
Her eyes locked onto him.
They moved over his body with unsettling precision, studying him piece by piece as if he were prey laid out before a hunter.
Each passing second tightened Jamie's chest.
His breathing grew shallow.
"She's insane," he thought, his gaze flicking nervously toward the window.
"Should I scream for help? Should I fight her?"
But deep down, he already knew the answer.
Any confrontation now could easily end in blood.
Suddenly—
Phwah!
The window exploded outward.
Jamie launched through it knees-first, glass bursting into the air like glittering shrapnel. Shards sliced across his arms and face as he crashed through, shallow cuts burning against his skin.
Instinct took over.
He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his mouth tight, shielding himself from the worst of the flying fragments as gravity dragged him downward.
Behind him, Lora's eyes widened.
Shock flashed across her face—then something darker followed.
Recognition,obsession,
then excitement.
The girl who had once looked like a potential ally now resembled a predator watching its prey flee.
The crash of shattered glass echoed through the house.
Downstairs, the boys immediately looked up.
Their hearts jumped.
That sound meant only one thing, something had gone terribly wrong.
Their instincts screamed it at them.
When their attention shifted back toward the girls, the change in expressions was unmistakable.
Charlotte and Emily no longer looked welcoming.
The softness in their faces had vanished, replaced by sharp, focused intensity.
Predators.
Adrenaline surged through the room.
Muscles tensed.
Eyes sharpened.
Upstairs, a shuriken appeared in Lora's hand, spinning effortlessly between her fingers. The metal glinted each time it caught the light.
Her movements were smooth.
Experienced.
This wasn't someone who had just learned to fight.
She had used weapons like this long before arriving here.
Her youthful appearance hid it well—until moments like this.
Then the illusion disappeared.
She jumped from the bed, landing lightly on the floor before rushing toward the window.
Outside, Jamie was still falling, rapidly approaching the ground.
"Don't run!" she shouted.
"I need you!"
Her voice trembled with obsession.
The shuriken left her hand.
It sliced through the air like a spinning blade of silver.
Midair, Lora leaned forward from the window, her eyes wide, expression completely serious.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Phu!
Phu!!
Both of them landed moments apart.
Jamie hit the ground roughly, rolling across the grass before pushing himself up. The glass cuts along his arms stung, thin lines of blood forming across his skin.
Lora dropped lightly behind him.
The shards that had cut Jamie didn't seem to bother her at all.
For a brief second, they stood facing each other.
Still.
Jamie held his Kali sticks tightly.
Across from him, Lora caught her returning shuriken, spinning it again between her fingers without looking away.
The crash through the window had not been random.
Jamie had done it deliberately.
A signal.
Something loud enough to draw attention.
Even now, faint movement could be heard inside the house.
Once their footing settled, the tension thickened again.
Lora began walking toward him slowly.
Each step was controlled.
Her face twisted with something strange—obsession mixed with frustration and an exhaustion that made her look both human and frightening at the same time.
"You can't take this away from me… you can't!" she screamed.
"She's obsessed," Jamie thought, glancing around quickly, searching for any escape route.
"Why are the guys late?"
"They should've done something by now."
His attention split for a single moment.
That was enough.
Lora suddenly stepped forward and drove a punch straight into his stomach.
Jamie folded instantly.
Air burst from his lungs as pain surged through his body. His knees bent and saliva slipped from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to breathe.
She closed the distance again immediately.
"I felt it from the moment I saw you!" she said, her voice strangely emotional.
"Something I've never felt before!"
"My mother said I would know it when it came… I never believed her." She shook her head slightly. "I said, how could a renowned killer know anything about love?"
Her eyes burned as she stared at him.
"But then I saw you… and I felt it."
Jamie looked up at her in disbelief.
"I felt it so strongly…" she continued, breathing unevenly. "It made me… squirt!"
She gestured awkwardly toward herself.
"I'm never letting you go!" she declared. "Never!"
Their eyes locked.
The tension between them stretched tight—dangerous, almost suffocating.
IN THE DINING ROOM
The atmosphere had completely changed.
The warm smell of food was gone.
In its place lingered the sharp scent of chaos.
Plates lay shattered across the floor. Food had been knocked aside, and the dining table had been pushed halfway across the room.
The sound of Jamie crashing outside had reached them clearly.
"We need to get to Jamie," Bray whispered, eyes fixed on the girls with deadly focus.
"I know," Alexander replied calmly, though anger simmered beneath his voice.
He had expected danger.
But being separated during the attack created a complication he hadn't fully planned for.
"Why are you doing this?" Alexander asked, his tone balanced between negotiation and warning.
"We need your Golden Points," Charlotte replied, eyes gleaming.
Silence followed.
The truth hung in the air.
"How do you know about Golden Points?" Alexander asked, genuinely surprised.
"The system told us!" Emily said, lifting a double-edged spear.
"It said we could get special skills," Charlotte added with a daring smile.
The boys exchanged quick glances.
Their system.
The one they relied on.
It had given the girls that information too.
"That explains the attacks," Bray muttered.
"You really think you can kill us?" Alexander asked.
The question sounded calm—but it carried a challenge.
"Without a doubt," Charlotte replied, raising her knuckle weapons.
Bray leaned slightly toward Alexander.
"When you think about it… we didn't get points for killing the assassins earlier," he whispered.
Charlotte cut him off immediately.
"Because it only works for accumulated points!" she declared loudly.
"All the stats we woke up with… those don't count!"
Bray looked at Alexander.
Waiting.
Alexander stood still, lips moving slightly as he thought.
Inside his head, he was already organizing the situation.
Separating enemies.
Breaking their formation.
Calculating outcomes.
"It's time," Alexander said quietly.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Chains materialized in his hands.
They wrapped loosely around his neck, the metal links clinking softly.
The girls paused for a moment.
Watching carefully.
"Don't blame me for what's about to happen," Bray said, his voice low.
"Alright, girls!" Alexander announced loudly.
"If you want our Golden Points—come and get them."
Twin blades appeared in his hands, reflecting the room's dim light.
Charlotte attacked first.
She lunged forward, leaping into the air to deliver a powerful knuckle strike aimed directly at Alexander.
At the same time, Bray suddenly retreated toward the sitting room.
Emily's eyes sharpened instantly.
Every movement he made was calculated.
She pursued him without hesitation.
In seconds, the room transformed into chaos.
Everyone had chosen a target.
Tension crackled like electricity.
Alexander exhaled quietly and muttered under his breath.
"Sorry, Jamie…"
"You're on your own."
The battle had begun.