[Day 13, 11 days left]
Sector 9, one of the cleanest and most well-maintained districts in I City, bustled with activity from the early hours of the morning.
Crowds filled the streets as the day progressed. It was now 11:30 a.m., yet the two groups had still not managed to locate one another.
Leona glanced at Reuben with mild curiosity.
Leona: You know… you're actually quite similar to our leader.
Reuben: Oh? Really? In what way?
Leona: Well, for starters, both of you have black hair and black eyes. Even your attitudes feel somewhat alike—though I mean that in a good way. And you're about the same height as him too. Makes me wonder… are you sure you don't have a twin somewhere?
Reuben chuckled lightly.
Reuben: That's a good one. Black hair and eyes aren't exactly rare these days. It's probably just a coincidence. Though… you do remind me of someone.
Charlie tilted her head.
Charlie: Who? Me?
Reuben: Well… sort of. She also has red hair like yours.
Charlie's interest sharpened.
Charlie: Really? Who is she then?
Reuben answered without hesitation.
Reuben: My girlfriend.
Charlie: Hmph. Definitely not me then.
Back with Kael and Diego, the two of them were just as lost as the others. They had been attempting to navigate their way toward the meeting point, but for some reason the map on their watches seemed to be malfunctioning and whenever they attempted to call one another, heavy interference disrupted the signal. They assumed it was nothing more than a minor technical malfunction.
Kael: What's wrong, Diego? You seem to be in a hurry.
Diego: Yeah… I need to empty my bladder.
Kael: There's a public restroom over there.
Diego: Be right back.
Meanwhile, Michael and the others were also heading toward Kael's location from the opposite direction. Charlie seemed to be walking unusually fast.
Leona: Charlie, do you—
Charlie: —need to piss? Yeah.
Leona: There's a re—
Charlie: Wait for me.
Charlie rushed into the restroom and immediately entered one of the stalls. Moments later, Diego walked in as well.
Reuben: Seems urgent.
Michael: What was your power again?
Reuben: I can redirect any physical or magical effect that happens to me onto another target—whether it's an object or another person.
Michael: Then why didn't you use that when you were trapped?
Reuben: Like I said, it only works when I sustain actual damage. It doesn't activate from non-lethal effects.
After Diego and Charlie finished emptying their bladders, Diego turned back just as Charlie stepped out of her stall. The two froze as they saw each other.
Diego: Is this a dream?
Charlie: Or an illusion?
They slowly walked toward one another and instinctively moved in for a hug—only to suddenly realize they hadn't washed their hands yet.
After quickly washing them, they paused for a brief moment before finally embracing.
Charlie:(relievedsigh) Glad you're okay.
Diego: Me too.
Charlie: How's your task going?
Diego: Scored a big one. How about yours?
Charlie: Same here. And we even picked up a new friend.
Diego: Should we head back?
Charlie: How about we stay a little longer?
Outside, Leona spotted Kael and waved him over.
Leona: Oh, Kael! Over here!
Kael: Ah, there you are. You guys alright?
Michael: We're fine. WHA sent us to take down some weak-ass Dark Knight.
Kael: Sounds pretty easy compared to what we dealt with.
Leona: Kael, meet our new friend—Reuben.
Reuben: Skylarker, B Class, Rank 19. Nice to meet you.
Kael: Oblivion, leader of Nexus-5. Nice to meet you too.
They shook hands.
Michael: Hmm… now that you mention it, they do look alike.
Leona: See? I told you. They look almost exactly the same.
Reuben: Oh, come on, you guys. This is getting embarrassing.
Kael: So… where's Charlie?
Leona: Oh, she went—
At that moment, Diego and Charlie stepped out of the restroom, both looking slightly sweaty, their hair a little messy.
They blinked.
Kael: R-Right… Have you guys eaten yet?
They shook their heads. Kael then suggested stopping by a nearby restaurant before continuing their journey.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was quietly following from behind.
They eventually stopped at Spundsey's Restaurant, and to their surprise, it turned out to be one of the most modern establishments in the district, serving a wide variety of international cuisine.
Each table accommodated six people and was equipped with six tablets that allowed customers to browse the menu and place their orders directly.
At first, they assumed they had accidentally wandered into an extremely expensive place. However, the owner happened to know Leona and immediately offered them a generous 40% discount, causing everyone's jaws to drop.
Kael: You sure have a lot of influence around these parts. Glad we have you here, otherwise we'd probably go bankrupt.
Leona:(sighs) Just keep it quiet and enjoy it while you can.
They took their seats at Table 6, and everyone began placing their own orders through the tablets.
Kael ordered Mexican tortilla with agua fresca, Leona chose quiche Lorraine with herbal iced tea, Charlie went with beef noodles along with soup and dumplings, Diego selected spaghetti bolognese with orange squash, Michael ordered chai with thepla, while Reuben kept it simple with a meat pie.
The food arrived surprisingly quickly, and once they began eating, it felt like some of the best meals they had tasted in quite a while. Every dish was cooked to perfection, leaving them quietly wondering whether such precision came from an exceptional chef—or a machine.
They were almost finished with their meals when—
Reuben:(in a low voice) The guy at my seven o'clock… he's been following us since the restroom.
When they glanced over, they noticed a teenager—probably in his late teens—wearing casual Gen-Z style clothing, with a pair of headphones resting around his neck, seated alone at Table 4.
Charlie: Looks pretty normal to me.
Kael: Diego?
Diego:(sigh) I'll be back."
Diego stood up, appearing as though he was simply heading toward the restroom.
When he reached behind him, he stopped time and quickly inspected the boy.
Surprisingly, the teenager appeared completely harmless—there was no weapon on him. After confirming this, Diego resumed the flow of time and walked into the restroom, signaling to the others that the boy was clear.
Charlie: See? You're just being paranoid.
Kael: It's alright. Everyone makes mistakes.
Moments later, the boy called for a waitress. She approached his table and politely asked if something was wrong. Without warning, the boy suddenly stood up, grabbed the waitress, and pressed a knife against her throat.
Stranger: Nobody fucking move, or she fucking dies. You hear me?
Kael: Whoa, whoa, whoa… easy there, pal.
Stranger: I said don't move! What do you think will happen if I kill her, huh? A bunch of heroes failing to protect a life they swore to defend. Don't you dare try anything stupid, Kronos.
From inside the restroom, Diego had already drawn his bow, preparing to shoot.
Stranger: Drop your fucking weapon, or she gets it.
Kael: Drop it, Diego. We can't risk anyone's life.
At Kael's command, Diego reluctantly lowered his bow and dropped the arrow.
Stranger: Now go and join them. Don't try anything you'll regret.
The stranger carefully kept his distance, almost as if he already knew about Diego's ability. He stayed far enough away that Diego couldn't reach him even if he stopped time. Slowly but surely, Diego made his way back to Kael's side.
Kael: Got a name? We can talk this out.
Loris: Loris. Codename Interlude.
Kael: Dark Knight?
Loris: No. A delinquent. The leader of the Dark Knights placed a bounty on your head… and I intend to be the one who claims it.
Kael: Alright. Let the waitress go, and we can discuss this.
Kael slowly stepped forward, but Loris immediately grew more hostile.
Loris: I said don't move! I'm not taking any chances.
Kael: Easy, easy. (Notices something) You know what? I'll give you one chance—drop your weapon and get on the ground. Now.
Feeling cornered, Loris tightened his grip and began to drag the knife across the waitress's throat. But before he could act, Kael erased the space between Loris's left thigh and the knife resting on Table 8.
In an instant, the knife vanished from the table and reappeared embedded in Loris's thigh.
The sudden pain forced him to release the waitress.
Kael, Charlie, and Michael immediately rushed forward to subdue him.
Loris: Fine… now you've pushed me.
All of a sudden, everyone began shifting positions to random locations—sometimes near other tables, sometimes suspended mid-air, sometimes near the restroom, sometimes elsewhere—but always somewhere close to Loris. Though they remained conscious, their minds felt scrambled and disoriented.
Kael: What… the hell… is going… on…?
Charlie: What kind… of ability… is this…?
Loris: I can do this all day.
Diego attempted to stop time, but the ability kept activating and deactivating unpredictably, preventing him from moving as he wished.
After ten long seconds, the effect finally stopped.
Charlie's lower body had become embedded in the concrete floor. Kael and Michael had been thrown across the room toward the tables. Diego was the most unfortunate—he had been slammed against the wall, partially stuck and struggling to breathe.
Leona was left suspended in mid-air when the effect ended. As she fell, Reuben quickly caught her.
Reuben: You okay?
Leona: I'm fine… thanks for catching me.
Kael:(thought) That ability… I think I've seen something similar before.
When Charlie noticed Diego struggling to breathe, panic flashed across her face. She immediately broke herself free from the concrete and rushed toward him, pulling away the chunk of concrete covering his chest so he could breathe again.
Loris slowly approached Kael.
Loris: Does the motherfucker who put a bounty on your head even have a right mind? 'Cause you look fucking pathetic.
Kael: I've figured out your ability. It's lagging… isn't it?
Kael:(thought) Yes… I've seen something like this before. Before becoming a hero, I once worked at a restaurant. Kids used to come there all the time to play online games—one of them was called PUBG. Sometimes they'd get angry and shout that the game was 'lagging.' When I took a look at the screen, the character inside the game would suddenly jump to different positions uncontrollably.
Loris: Hmph. So what? You figured out my ability. But what can you actually do about it? Your powers are meaningless to me.
Reuben: Want me to take care of that guy?
Leona: If you can, please do.
After pulling Diego out and realizing he had nearly suffocated, Charlie's anger exploded. Without hesitation, she charged straight at Loris.
At the same time, Kael stepped forward and threw a punch.
Loris: It's not so hard to give up. But if you choose this… then you'll have to die.
Loris activated his power once more, and everyone began to lag again.
Loris: You know, the sad part is—
Reuben: Oi.
As Loris turned his head to see who had spoken, Reuben's fist crashed into his face, sending him flying through the wall and out of the restaurant.
Reuben: Almost forgot to mention—I'm pretty damn strong and fast too.
Charlie: You couldn't have done that earlier?
Reuben: I thought you didn't need my help.
Outside, Loris slowly rose to his feet, staggering and clearly disoriented.
Loris: Wha—who are you?
Reuben calmly walked toward him.
Reuben: I don't answer to nobody.
Loris:(angrily) Nobody? NOBODY?! I'm gonna fucking kill you. Take one more step and I'll reactivate my ability.
He glared at them, breathing heavily.
Loris: And once that happens, everyone within my 15-meter range will be in serious trouble… accidents included.
Now the situation had turned into a tense standoff, each side waiting for the other to make the first move.
Loris: If I were a gunslinger in the Wild West, I'd say: Draw. Let's see who's the fastest gun in the West. How long would it take you to cross that intersection and take me down? One second? Two seconds? Go on. The moment you move, these people are as good as dead.
Reuben: Hey, you insolent brat. Did you think I was just standing here doing nothing? I'm standing here so they can get ready.
Loris: Ready? What are yo—
Suddenly, Charlie burst forward at blinding speed, darting past Reuben. She grabbed Loris by the face and hurled him across the intersection, sending him crashing violently into an iron pillar.
It turned out Leona had boosted Charlie earlier while they were still inside the restaurant.
Loris's body burned with pain, his mind unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Reuben stepped in front of him.
Reuben: What did you just say? You wanted to see who draws the fastest, right? Looks like mine's faster than yours.
He leaned down slightly, his voice dropping to a whisper.
Reuben: (whispering) Truth is… you were never cut out to be a Dark Knight—or anything else. You're just a sad… fucking… loser.
Reuben glanced toward the others.
Reuben: You guys have the band, right? Mine's already out.
Loris grew furious at Reuben's words, and the surge of anger amplified his ability. Everything within his fifteen–meter radius began to lag even more violently.
Loris: A loser, you say? Then the one who's about to lose… is you. Take this!
Loris lunged forward and threw a punch with all his might. But Reuben, completely unaffected by the lag, calmly deflected the strike.
Reuben: Once a loser, always a loser. I hoped you would've learned something… but it seems you didn't. This conversation is no longer worth continuing.
In the next instant, Reuben unleashed a relentless barrage upon Loris, striking with calculated force to ensure the delinquent could no longer fight back. One final blow crashed into him with decisive power, knocking Loris out cold and bringing his ability to an abrupt end.
With Loris's power undone, Reuben, Charlie, and Michael immediately sprang into action to deal with the aftermath. They rushed to stabilize the chaos caused by the distorted positions of the civilians and vehicles. Falling people were caught, wrecked cars were secured, and Kael erased portions of the ground where victims had become trapped. Diego assisted in clearing debris while Leona tended to the seriously injured.
Fortunately, thanks to their swift efforts, no lives were lost.
Even the owner of Spundsey's Restaurant, Rosè, generously covered all of their expenses.
Since Loris was merely a delinquent rather than a Dark Knight, his punishment amounted to a month of home isolation and a restriction on the use of his powers.
And so, once the dust settled, the heroes moved on—having once again been a blessing to the people for yet another day.