Paul stared at the hooded man in paralyzing fear. All he could think of was death. The man floating before them wasn't just anyone—he was a Villain. A real one. The kind that left cities smoking and corpses nameless. And though Paul hated to admit it, this felt like the end.
"Jack... we're as good as dead," Paul whispered, barely able to speak. Yet the tension in the air carried his message louder than any scream.
Jack stood beside him, trembling violently, his grip on the gun shaking as if it were made of glass. Above them, the brown-coated man hovered, his hood shadowing his face. The very air bent around him. They were inside a high-security military lab—but that didn't matter now.
They were guards. Not evolvers. Not warriors. Just men. And they could only pray that the army got here in time. Sweat ran down their necks as they raised their weapons with trembling hands.
"D-Don't move! Or... o-or we—" Paul stammered, barely able to breathe, let alone speak. This wasn't what he signed up for. He had wanted a quiet job. Guard duty. Not death duty.
Tears streamed down his cheeks. His hands shook. His body wanted to collapse.
The hooded man smiled—a calm, confident grin that sent dread running through their veins.
Then—
'TAAAH!!'
Paul fired.
Silence fell. Thick. Creeping. Dreadful.
Then another shot. And another. Paul fired again. Again. Five more bullets tore through the air. Jack stood frozen, his wide eyes locked on Paul.
"Damn it! Why did you shoot? Stop it! He'll kill us! Why engage?!" Jack shouted, fear breaking his voice.
But Paul couldn't stop. His mind had fractured. He just kept pulling the trigger.
Jack lunged at him and shoved him aside. A split-second later, a massive slab of debris from the roof caved in—right where Paul had been.
Paul's eyes locked with Jack's. Tears swelled. He just wanted to go home. Jack, too, began to sob. This was a nightmare. A hell he hadn't imagined. And surely, after this, they wouldn't even have jobs to return to.
The hooded man descended, landing soundlessly. His coat was untouched—pristine. Paul had fired nearly twenty shots, and yet, there wasn't a single mark on him.
"Get away from the door," the figure said coldly.
Paul and Jack scrambled like roaches under a light, dragging themselves away with pitiful fear. The villain smirked as he walked into the lab—the very one where Zelpher had completed his makeshift job.
Paul and Jack trembled, unsure whether to scream or pray. They were just about to flee when shadows casted over them.
Three new figures floated above.
The first was wielding a giant scythe, his aura a cloud of death. His skull was bare—bone-white, with burning eyes in hollow sockets. He didn't wear a mask. That was his face. His skeletal grin screamed of murder.
Beside him hovered a woman. Stunningly beautiful, yet devoid of humanity. A sharp, maniacal grin split her lips, and a red scar slashed diagonally across her chin like a wicked signature.
The third figure wore a red hood and stood taller than the others. His body was husky, sculpted like a weapon. The air around him bent subtly—muscle and menace wrapped in silence.
"We're dead," Paul whispered again.
The scythe-bearer grinned.
He dropped down slowly, confidently, like a predator savoring the moment before the kill. His comrades watched from above, pride gleaming in their eyes. They drank in the fear like wine.
"Skull, don't leave a trail. Just make it clean," the woman called out lazily. "Laroth will get the Serum."
Skull—his name as chilling as his face—grinned wider as he stalked toward Paul and Jack.
"Please... please don't kill us," Paul begged, breaking into sobs. "I just want to see my wife. Please..."
Jack was frozen beside him. Both had their backs pressed hard against the wall. But Skull kept moving. Closer. Closer.
Then—
"ARRGH!!!"
Two wet cracks echoed like thunder.
Paul's and Jack's heads slammed into the ground, twisted and shattered. Blood exploded against the wall.
Skull smiled. A calm, satisfied smile.
The red-hooded figure floated down, inspected the bodies, then raised his hand. A deep hum echoed—and suddenly, the bodies disintegrated, vanishing into energy that he absorbed.
"They've been shifted. The item isn't here," Laroth announced as he exited the lab, calm as if he'd gone in to check a light switch.
"What?!" the female shrieked.
Skull frowned. Even the red-hooded one turned, eyes narrowing.
"We don't have time to argue," Laroth snapped. "We leave. Now. We can't risk being traced."
The woman looked back at the wall, eyes narrowing.
She raised her arm, and a dark pulse flowed from her hand, striking the bloodied wall.
It shattered into dust.
A thick black mist covered the area.
"There. That should do it," she muttered, her voice like poisoned silk.
Then, together, they rose.
Above the rooftop, they soared like shadows cast by war.
Laroth turned back once. He extended his arm and unleashed a devastating wave of energy.
The entire building collapsed.
Steel buckled. Concrete folded inward. Fire bloomed.
And all that remained was smoke, ash, and the stench of burnt chemicals—a silence that screamed of death.
While the two hundred soldiers — all normal soldiers trained to be ready for any attack — turned and fled, some screamed in panic, their discipline faltering as they broke ranks. Others tried to form a defensive wall, weapons shaking in their grip, but it was a losing battle from the start, especially once word spread that it was an Evolver from the villain faction who was attacking.