The helicopter descended a little lower.
On one side of its frame, a black module unfolded like a mechanical wing. It wasn't a conventional weapon. It was long, segmented, with rings that vibrated softly as they charged.
"That…" Silyan murmured. "I really don't like that."
They didn't have time to react.
The device fired.
A burst of sound exploded outward—a sharp, unnatural screech that sliced through the air like an invisible blade. Ikar barely managed to turn his head and cover his ears. Silyan did the same a second later.
The world trembled.
The vibration tore through their skulls, seeped into their teeth, their bones. For an instant, Ikar's vision fractured into overlapping layers, like mirrors shattering all at once.
The illusions collapsed.
The five scooters dissolved into the air like poorly held smoke. The false streets, the duplicated sounds—everything vanished at once.
"Shit!" Ikar growled.
The armored trucks appeared immediately behind them, roaring forward, closing the distance. The helicopter hovered steadily above, like a patient predator.
The shot had hit them—but not completely.
Not fully lethal.
Almost… almost like a warning.
Or as if something had stopped it.
At that same moment the scooter's dashboard flickered. A red light turned on, then another. The speedometer trembled, flashing impossible numbers before dropping to zero. The engine coughed, as if choking.
"Ikar?" Silyan said. "Tell me that's part of the plan."
"It's not," he replied, frowning.
The air filled with static.
Suddenly the helicopter tilted. Corrected. Tilted again, this time violently. The blades changed pitch, losing synchronization.
"What the—?" one of the soldiers said over the radio.
The aircraft spun on itself as if something invisible had shoved it from within. Sparks burst across the fuselage. The weapons module shut down.
Then it fell.
It didn't explode midair. It simply lost all will to remain airborne and crashed several streets ahead, raising a cloud of dust and fire.
Ikar stared, completely confused.
It took him a second.
Then he understood.
Only one person could do something like that.
He slowly turned his head toward Silyan.
"…No," he said quietly.
Silyan wore a crooked smile. Nervous. Guilty.
"I forgot to mention something."
"What thing?"
Before he could answer, a figure came running from between the houses along the road. A tall man in dark clothes, covered in dust and soot, with reddish hair and freckles. He stepped to the edge of the asphalt and raised his arm urgently.
"Hey! Guys! Over here!"
The scooter shot past like a bullet.
For one absurd, ridiculously precise moment, time seemed to stretch.
Their eyes met.
Ikar recognized him.
Silyan opened his mouth to say something.
The man tried to step forward—
Misjudged.
Slipped.
He fell face-first onto the pavement.
The scooter was already far away.
The man stood up with almost offensive calm. He brushed dirt from his coat, ran a hand through his hair, and sighed.
"Well," he said, watching the disaster coming toward him, "no other choice."
The armored trucks were approaching at full speed. In the distance, two more helicopters descended with weapons ready.
The man stepped forward.
He raised his hands.
The vehicle panels flickered simultaneously. Radios screamed with interference. Lights burst. The helicopters began to spin, losing stability like toys caught in an invisible storm.
The man moved his fingers.
Like a conductor setting the tempo.
One car jerked violently and slammed into a wall. Another lifted slightly off the ground before crashing sideways. One helicopter collided with the other, tangling in a rain of sparks.
Everything became noise.
Twisting metal.
Unleashed electricity.
Pure chaos.
The scooter braked hard. Ikar and Silyan returned, staring at the impossible scene.
The man turned toward them.
Behind him, the destruction still burned.
He smiled.
"Long time, Ikar. You're looking thinner."
Ikar stared at him for a long, eternal second.
Then he snorted.
"You're still late."
"And you're still blowing things up," Enzo replied, shrugging. "Nice to see you didn't lose the habit."
Silyan clicked his tongue.
"We almost got fried because of you."
"But you didn't," Enzo said. "So I'd call that a positive outcome."
Ikar stepped toward him, adrenaline still buzzing beneath his skin.
"You followed us from the building?"
"Before that," Enzo corrected. "The sniper was persistent. Good aim… poor judgment."
Silyan glanced sideways at him.
"And you thought about warning us?"
"I did," Enzo said. "You two were busy running across rooftops."
Behind them, a soldier groaned, dragging himself through twisted metal. His hand blindly searched for the weapon lying a few meters away.
Ikar vanished.
A moment later, a dull impact echoed against the pavement.
The soldier was launched backward and slammed unconscious against a wall.
Something on the man's vest caught Ikar's attention.
He frowned.
The material of the uniform. The way the weapon had been modified. This wasn't standard gear.
Not for a "discreet" operation.
"Yes," Enzo said beside him. "It's exactly what you're thinking."
Enzo walked closer slowly, hands in his pockets as if strolling down an ordinary street rather than through smoking wreckage.
"Before Silyan came to talk to you," he continued, "I took the liberty of doing a little investigation."
Silyan glanced at him.
"A little."
Enzo smiled faintly.
"There was a van parked two blocks from the building. Particularly strange. Way too noticeable for a neighborhood like this. And it had people inside pretending to check tablets while staring at the same spot over and over."
Ikar turned his head toward him.
"You infiltrated it?"
"I walked up to it," Enzo corrected. "Knocked on the back door. One of them opened… and that was the end of the conversation."
He made a vague gesture with his hand, as if the rest didn't deserve details.
"Two inside. One outside watching. None of them expected someone to climb in uninvited. I left them sleeping."
"For how long?" Silyan asked.
"Long enough."
Enzo pulled something from inside his jacket and tossed it to Ikar. A small black device with inactive lights.
"I cloned the data. Routes, channels, unit IDs. And I overheard some interesting conversations while doing it."
Ikar held it, serious.
"Like what?"
Enzo shrugged.
"That this wasn't an improvised hunt. They've been tracking patterns for weeks. Erratic movements. People who shouldn't exist."He looked straight at him.
"You."
Silence thickened.
"Normally," Enzo continued, "operations like this keep a low profile. Small teams. Less noise. But here…" He shook his head. "Too many resources. Too much urgency."
"Why?" Ikar asked.
Enzo hesitated for a second.
Just one.
"Because they don't want you dead."
Silyan clicked his tongue.
"That's never good news."
"They want to capture you," Enzo added. "Alive. And not just you—everyone."
Ikar tightened his grip on the device.
"So that confirms what I suspected."
"Yes," Enzo replied. "This isn't just another covert operation anymore. It's something bigger. And it didn't start today."
"Great."
Enzo looked at Ikar.
"That's why I took so long," he said more seriously. "I wanted to be sure before dragging you out of hiding."
Silyan held his gaze for a few seconds. Something about the story didn't quite add up.
"Alright," Ikar said. "Then show us everything you stole."
Enzo smiled again.
"Gladly."
"United States…" Ikar murmured. "That's where we're going?"
Silyan nodded once.
Enzo raised a finger to the earpiece still hanging from his ear, listening to something they couldn't hear.
"We've got company," he said. "And not a small amount."
"How much time?" Ikar asked.
"Minutes. Maybe less."
"Then we should leave now," Ikar said.
Silyan turned toward Enzo with a frown.
"By the way," he said. "Want to explain why you didn't come in earlier? You took way too long inspecting things. More than we agreed while I was talking to him."
Enzo sighed, as if the conversation genuinely bored him.
"You caught me. I got distracted."
"I knew you were hiding something," Silyan growled.
"Kids," Enzo continued. "Playing marbles. Betting."
Ikar looked at him in disbelief.
"Seriously?"
"I lost twenty dollars," Enzo added. "And not for lack of talent. Kids these days are ruthless."
Silyan shook his head.
"Next time I'm leaving you to guard the door."
"And miss such an emotional reunion?" Enzo replied. "Never."
In the distance, new sirens began to echo.
Enzo looked up.
"We should move."
Ikar took one last look at the chaos behind them.
Destroyed vehicles.
The smoking helicopter.
The unrecognizable street.
Then he looked at Enzo.
"You'd better have a plan this time."
Enzo smiled sideways.
"I always do."
They moved without looking back.
Enzo went first, heading down a dim side street, guiding them through narrow alleys and crumbling facades. Ikar and Silyan followed without arguing. The sirens faded behind them, layered with the distant thump of helicopter blades still searching for something that was no longer there.
"Was this route part of the plan?" Ikar asked.
"Always," Enzo replied. "Though the plan changes every twenty seconds."
They turned sharply and descended a rusted metal staircase leading to a service tunnel. The air was colder down there, thick with dampness and old dust. Enzo opened a hatch without effort and ushered them inside before sealing it again.
He walked through the corridor with familiarity, as if he had crossed that place hundreds of times before.
Lights flickered on as he passed, responding to his presence with barely any delay.
Publication schedule:
Monday: HP: Dion the magician who changed everything
Tuesday: INVINCIBLE: SECRET PROJECT
Wednesday: VAREN: THE REBIRTH OF A NEW WORLD
Thursday: HP: Dion the magician who changed everything
Friday: I Reincarnated and Now They Call Me the Blood Demon - INVINCIBLE: SECRET PROJECT
Saturday: VAREN: THE REBIRTH OF A NEW WORLD