The plaza felt like a graveyard. The morning wind seemed to die completely, freezing the dust in mid-air. No one moved. No one breathed.
A violent, jagged red warning pulsed in the center of Jin-Woo's vision, overriding everything else.
[System Warning] [Authority Clash Possible]
The young man in the spotless suit didn't draw a weapon. He didn't even shift into a fighting stance. He just stood there, bathed in the dawn light. The air around him distorted, heavy with an oppressive, blood-red aura. Looking at him for too long made Jin-Woo's vision swim—his very presence felt fundamentally wrong.
The stranger tilted his head, his cold eyes scanning the ethereal blue system binding Jin-Woo.
"Incomplete."
A single word. Cold, absolute, and utterly dismissive.
Min-Jae, terrified by the sheer pressure radiating from the man, instinctively took a step back, hiding slightly behind Jin-Woo.
The man's eyes snapped to the delivery boy. "Ah... a fresh one."
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through Jin-Woo's chest, right where his tether to Min-Jae lay invisible.
[System Alert] [Warning: External Authority Interference] [Sync Rate: Fluctuating]
Behind them, Min-Jae dropped to his knees, clutching his heart and gasping for air as if the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs.
"He's interfering with the link!" Tae-Soo yelled, rapidly tapping his cracked phone screen. "It's a system clash!"
The man in the suit didn't even look at Tae-Soo. He looked down at his own follower—the battered man still trembling on his knees on the pavement.
"Stand," the stranger commanded.
The battered man immediately shot up to his feet, his eyes completely glazed over. He moved like a marionette violently jerked by its strings.
"Break your arm."
SNAP.
The sickening sound of snapping bone echoed across the plaza. The follower didn't even hesitate. He grabbed his own left forearm and twisted it backward until the bone splintered. He fell to his knees, screaming in agony, tears streaming down his face, yet he didn't run. He just bowed his head again.
Jin-Woo stepped forward, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. "That's not belief."
The stranger's lips barely moved. "It doesn't have to be."
The sheer cruelty of it snapped Seo-Ah's remaining patience. Letting out a desperate yell, she lunged, swinging her metal bat with everything she had at the stranger's head.
The man didn't blink. Just inches before the bat connected, the air violently rippled.
[System Alert] [Impact Redirected]
Seo-Ah was blasted backward as if she had been hit by a truck, crashing hard into the asphalt.
"Seo-Ah!" Tae-Soo screamed, his voice cracking. He looked at Jin-Woo, his hands shaking. "Jin-Woo... we can't win."
But Jin-Woo couldn't run. Min-Jae was suffocating. Gritting his teeth, Jin-Woo forcibly pulled on the tether, demanding more energy.
[System Alert] [Sync Rate: 12% → 18%] [Warning: Authority Strain]
A chaotic, burning heat exploded in Jin-Woo's veins. Ignoring the tearing pain in his shoulder, he launched himself forward. He was fast—faster than he had ever been—throwing a devastating punch packed with raw, unrefined system energy straight at the man's chest.
The stranger didn't dodge. He simply raised a single index finger.
Jin-Woo's fist collided with the fingertip. A shockwave cracked the concrete beneath them, sending dust flying into the air.
But the finger didn't move a single millimeter.
I can't win.
Before Jin-Woo's brain could even process the absolute failure of his attack, the stranger's hand blurred. Cold fingers wrapped like iron bands around Jin-Woo's throat, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.
[System Alert] [Critical Threat Detected]
Jin-Woo kicked, his vision instantly tunneling. Death wasn't seconds away; it was already here.
Watching Jin-Woo suffocate, something broke inside Min-Jae. The boy realized that if Jin-Woo died, he would be left with this monster.
"LET HIM GO!" Min-Jae screamed.
[System Alert] [Emotional Surge Detected] [Sync Rate: 18% → 25%]
A violent, uncontrolled shockwave of blinding blue energy erupted from Jin-Woo's body. The sudden, raw explosion caught the stranger off guard just enough to loosen his grip.
Jin-Woo hit the ground, coughing violently.
"NOW! RUN!" Tae-Soo roared, his voice cracking with pure panic.
Min-Jae grabbed Jin-Woo's arm, but his grip slipped. Seo-Ah shoved them both forward, almost tripping over the broken concrete herself. Together, they scrambled backward. Jin-Woo's legs gave out twice, his boots scraping uselessly against the asphalt as Tae-Soo and Min-Jae practically dragged him by his torn jacket. They sprinted blindly into the maze of narrow side streets, lungs burning, tripping over each other in absolute, chaotic terror.
The stranger in the suit didn't chase them. He simply stood in the center of the shattered plaza, lowering his hand. He watched them disappear, an amused glint in his cold eyes.
A jagged red interface floated beside him.
[Target Marked][Potential: High]
Blocks away, Jin-Woo was stumbling, his vision heavily glitched. Every step felt like walking through deep water.
[Authority Severely Strained][Immediate Recovery Required]
Jin-Woo felt his knees buckling. He was about to pass out, the world fading to black. But right before he lost consciousness, the stranger's voice echoed directly inside his mind, heavy and absolute:
"Next time... you won't get to run."