Stillness blanketed the vast hall. There was no sound save for our rhythmic breathing.
Hairo finally broke the silence with his calm voice: "Seven years have passed... You have grown, and your balances of power have shifted. Your bodies have become stronger, but it is minds that determine who lives long in this place."
Dan wasn't the type to tolerate preludes. His body had bulked up significantly, his muscles practically tearing at his clothes. He asked in a tone brimming with defiance: "Cut the small talk, Hairo. How does the ranking system work now in the Second Section? Who is the strongest among us currently?"
Hairo smiled a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Dan... you still think power is measured by the number of heads you sever. In the Second Section, I don't rely on the sheer volume of kills... I rely on precision and speed."
Hairo took a deep breath and continued: "If we compare you to Skyro... the difference is terrifying. Skyro has executed 400 assassination missions since his return, and he hasn't failed a single one. No trace left behind, no evidence, no sound. But the three of you... Dan, Hugh, and Ellie... you have committed unforgivable errors by our standards."
He turned toward Ellie, who was toying with her dagger. "Ellie... on your second-to-last mission, a lock of your hair fell at the crime scene. Had the cleanup crew not intervened, your identity would have been compromised. And you, Hugh... you forgot to wipe your fingerprints from the wall after jumping out the window. As for Dan..." Hairo let out a mocking laugh, "Dan doesn't know the meaning of stealth. He walks through the front door, kills everyone noisily, and turns an assassination into a public massacre."
Hairo then added coldly: "Skyro kills the target with precision, and before the corpse even hits the ground, he has completely vanished from the scene. Because of this, it was Skyro who single-handedly eliminated ranks 3, 7, 11, and 12. As for the rest of the easy targets, you three divided them among yourselves."
Ellie's eyes widened in shock. "You're the one who killed them?" she said, looking at me. "We all thought 'Han' was the one carrying out those impossible operations."
I didn't answer her. I kept staring coldly at Hairo. Hairo turned to Dan, who was burning with rage, and asked: "Do you understand now, Dan, why Skyro is ranked above you?" Dan remained silent, clenching his fist so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Hairo continued: "Now, we have an upcoming mission of extreme difficulty. I only need two of you to execute it." Dan asked immediately: "And how will you choose?" Hairo replied apathetically: "I don't know... what do you think? How do you want to decide?"
Hugh raised his hand with a quick suggestion: "Whoever wants to go, raise your hand." I raised my hand, and Dan, Ellie, and Hugh raised theirs. Only "Han" remained standing like a boulder, unmoving, his eyes gazing at some distant point no one else could see.
"So Han doesn't want to participate," Hairo said. "That leaves the four of you. How will we narrow you down to two?" Dan cracked his neck and said: "Combat. Whoever defeats the other goes." Hugh yelled angrily: "You want combat so you can beat Ellie easily and take the spot? That's not fair!" Ellie exploded in his face: "I'm not weak, algae-hair! I swear I'll slit your throat right here and now!" A fierce verbal spat broke out between Hugh and Ellie, acting like two children who hadn't seen each other in years, utterly ignoring the gravity of the situation.
I looked directly at Dan and said loudly: "I want to fight Dan."
Everything stopped. Ellie fell silent, and Hugh stopped shouting. Dan turned toward me, his features shifting from anger to a savage excitement. "I really wanted to hear that," Dan said in a low, thrilled voice. "Let's fight right now in the outer courtyard."
Ellie smiled mockingly as she looked at Hugh: "I'll castrate you later, algae-hair. Let's watch the show first." Hairo clapped his hands: "Alright... let's all step outside."
[The Outer Courtyard: Shattering Bones]
We stepped out into the vast, sandy courtyard. The air was freezing, and a light wind stirred the dust around us. Hairo stood in the center and said: "We will start with Hugh and Ellie... let's see who is more worthy."
Ellie drew her short blade, and Hugh unsheathed his knife. It didn't take long. Ellie initiated a rapid assault targeting the tendons in Hugh's shoulder, but Hugh was unexpectedly fast. He dodged the strike and circled behind her, attempting to stab her back. She leaped incredibly high, trying to bring her blade down on his head. Hugh twisted with terrifying agility, grabbed her by the throat while she was still mid-air, and pinned his knife against her windpipe before she could even register what had happened.
"Well done, Hugh, let her go," Hairo said. Hugh, in his irritating manner, didn't release her immediately. Instead, he pressed against her neck, laughing with an infuriating amusement: "You're going to castrate me, then? Huh?" He began to choke her while she kicked the dirt, screaming: "Let me go, idiot! Damn you!" He finally released her. She fell to the ground, panting and swearing she would demand a rematch because she wasn't ready.
Dan stepped into the center, cracked his knuckles, and said: "The children's play is over. It's time to get serious." He drew his pitch-black blade, which reflected the light in a dismal, absorbing way. I stood before him and drew my own blade. In that moment, all surrounding sounds vanished. I could only see the twitch of Dan's eyes and the tensing of his muscles.
Dan smiled and said: "There's a vast difference between the old Skyro I remember and the one standing before me now... let's see."
Dan lunged at me with a speed that completely contradicted his massive bulk. His attack was sharp and violent. He tried to shatter my leg with a low sweep to force me to bend down, intending to stab me from above. But I evaded him with a lightning-fast movement he couldn't even track. And in the fraction of a second as he passed by me, I spun and stabbed him in the shoulder. Blood gushed out profusely, but Dan didn't stop; it was as if he hadn't even felt the blade.
Dan spun around instantly, trying to feint me with a leg sweep. I caught his leg and twisted it violently. The distinct crack of snapping bone echoed in the courtyard. I was astonished that he kept smiling despite the pain. In a suicidal maneuver, he exploited my grip on his leg and drove his blade deep into my left thigh.
We both jumped back. Blood was pouring from his shoulder and my thigh. Dan was panting with exhilaration: "You've gotten strong, Skyro... You've truly become entertaining!"
Dan charged with all his might once more, aiming a direct thrust at my chest. I parried the strike with my blade, redirected his weapon's trajectory, and buried my knife deep into his right thigh. Dan groaned, but his smile only grew wider. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Han watching the fight with intense focus, while Hugh and Ellie watched in shock at the evolution of my skills.
Hairo stood up abruptly and declared in a cutting voice: "Skyro is the winner. Stop." Dan grew furious and roared: "Why?! I can still stand! I'm not dead yet!" Hairo replied with a terrifying, commanding tone that froze the blood in our veins: "I said stop, Dan." Dan stopped immediately, fully aware that defying Hairo's orders meant certain death.
Hairo announced: "It is decided. The two individuals are Hugh and Skyro. The mission is tomorrow evening. I will send the coordinates to your collars."
As we were leaving the hall, Hugh approached me, looking at me in awe. "How did you evolve like this, Skyro? You defeated Dan... the man no one has ever beaten except Han."
I looked at him in confusion. "I don't recall Dan ever fighting Han before." Hugh lowered his voice and said: "Oh, this happened during the seven years you were gone and we thought you were dead. One day, I had an assassination mission. I went to the location, and by coincidence, I found Dan there spying. I asked him if he had the same mission, and he told me arrogantly: 'Yes, and the target is mine alone. Don't cross my path so I don't have to sever your head.'"
Hugh swallowed hard and continued: "I ignored him and went ahead to beat him to it, but when we entered the building... we froze. We found over 100 guards dead, their heads cleanly severed and scattered across the floor everywhere. And the gang leader, the target we came for, was completely dismembered. Standing in the middle of the blood was a terrifyingly tall man... it was Han."
Hugh went on: "Dan lost his mind and screamed: 'You stole my mission, damn you!' Dan drew his blade and attacked Han with all his brutal strength. But Han... in the blink of an eye, without even flinching, grabbed Dan by the throat, slammed him to the floor, and broke his leg and arm in a single second. It was a terrifying power, a power that makes you feel like an ant facing a hurricane."
Hugh fell silent for a moment, then said: "Han pinned him by the neck to the ground. Dan was struggling with all his madness, but Han spoke for the first time, saying with a coldness that rips out the heart: 'Do not move... so I don't have to sever your neck.' In that moment, I saw fear in Dan's eyes for the first time. He felt the sensation of true danger, the realization that there was someone lightyears stronger than him. Dan completely surrendered, and Han let him go and walked away with absolute coldness."
Ellie interrupted us as she approached, trying to lift the heavy atmosphere: "So, let's exchange numbers on our collars." Hugh was puzzled: "There are numbers on the collars?" Ellie mocked him: "Then how are we supposed to communicate during missions, genius?"
Ellie tapped the iron collar around her neck, and a small holographic screen projected in front of her. "Give me your numbers." Hugh said: "My number is 4." Ellie tapped it, and Hugh's file appeared, showing his childhood photo and his message log. Then she took my number, which was "2," and saved it.
Everyone left, and I remained alone in that silent building. The echo of my footsteps on the cold concrete was the only sound reminding me that I was still alive. I felt a strange power coursing through my body; I had defeated Dan, I had become Rank Two, and everyone now realized I was no longer that weak child.
But at the exit, I saw the insurmountable shadow.
Han was standing there, his back to me, gazing out into the darkness of the night. He didn't turn around, nor did he show any interest in my presence, as if my fight with Dan was nothing but noise unworthy of his attention.
I stopped a short distance behind him. I wanted to put an end to this silence. I wanted to prove to him that I saw the "flaw" he had left in the past.
"Han."
I pronounced his name with sharp coldness. He stopped walking, but he didn't turn around.
I continued, my pride dictating my words: "In that final test... when your blade was at my throat, you had every opportunity to kill me. Was that a mistake on your part? Or did you underestimate me, thinking I would never be able to catch up to you? I am right behind you now, Han... and today, you saw for yourself what I am capable of."
I thought I was cornering him with my logic. I thought I was proving to him that he had "erred" by letting prey like me grow and transform into a predator.
A deadly silence reigned for several seconds, during which I thought time had stopped. Han didn't move a single millimeter, but his voice came out deep, freezing, and entirely devoid of emotion:
"Your survival was not an action you achieved... it was a decision I made. Do not confuse the two, Skyro."
The moment he finished his words, he began walking again. He didn't look back even once. He opened the massive door and stepped out into the city's night, leaving behind a faint thud as the door closed, and a silence that suffocated my breath.
I stood frozen in the middle of the empty corridor, his words still echoing in my ears like a thunderclap. He didn't say he showed mercy to a rival, nor did he say he saw skill in me... He said I was alive because his will had decided so. I felt a sharp tension turn my limbs ice-cold as I stared into the void he left behind. In that moment, I didn't feel like the Second Rank in the organization... I felt like I was merely a soul suspended by the decree of that butcher who was now fading into the darkness.