The alley tightened as Division Zero soldiers closed in.
Heavy armor.
Silent visors.
Movements too synchronized to be human instinct.
Loki stood still in the center of it all, Silent Edge angled downward, reflecting blue lightning.
Mindveil Perception was active —
time slowed like liquid.
Raindrops floated around him in reverse, drifting upward like shattered glass.
But Axis…
Axis wasn't slowing.
They walked through the frozen rain as if time didn't apply to them.
Interesting.
The squad leader stepped forward, armor humming with electric charge.
"SURRENDER, LOKI.
YOUR CAPTURE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE."
Loki didn't answer.
He didn't blink.
He simply shifted his stance—
barely a centimeter—
but enough to calculate twenty possible counters.
Axis crossed their arms, red eyes glowing.
"Division Zero's capture units," Axis murmured.
"They don't take prisoners consciously.
They extract abilities.
Painfully."
Loki's grip tightened.
Not fear.
Focus.
The squad leader raised his hand.
Energy gathered in his palm —
a bright, spiraling force.
Loki predicted the attack's angle before it even fired.
Straight shot.
Wide burst.
High power.
Slow release.
Easily countered.
Loki moved first.
A single step —
Lightning Step —
and he vanished from the center of the alley.
The blast tore through where he'd been standing, leaving cracks spiderwebbing across the wall.
"FAST!" one soldier shouted.
"No," Axis corrected softly.
"He's precise."
Loki reappeared behind the nearest soldier.
Silent Edge flashed—
not to kill—
but to slice the soldier's armor straps in perfect symmetrical lines.
The armor collapsed off the soldier's body in pieces.
He froze, terrified.
Loki didn't bother with him anymore.
He moved on.
Another unit aimed a suppression net launcher.
Before they fired, Axis extended a hand.
No movement.
No sound.
No visible energy.
Just pressure.
Like gravity folding.
The soldier dropped instantly — slammed into the pavement by an invisible force.
Axis sighed.
"Division Zero should really upgrade their tactics."
Loki glanced at Axis for a fraction of a second.
Axis smirked.
"Don't worry. I'm not taking your kills."
Three soldiers rushed Loki at once.
Predicted.
Calculated.
Neutralized.
He spun Silent Edge in a tight arc —
not for show,
but for trajectory control.
One strike hit the first soldier's gauntlet joint.
Second hit disabled a leg actuator.
Third strike pressed lightly into a helmet seam—
knocking the soldier unconscious without breaking the visor.
All done in a single breath.
Axis watched, impressed but unsurprised.
"You learn quickly with pressure."
Loki didn't respond.
There wasn't time.
A sharp howl cut through the alley.
The soldiers stopped fighting immediately—
as if relieved.
Axis's expression hardened for the first time.
"…Damn."
Loki turned.
From the darkness behind the soldiers emerged a creature not entirely human.
Metal spine.
Armor fused into its bones.
Eyes glowing white with emotionless hunger.
A Division Zero bio-weapon.
A Nullhound.
It locked onto Loki instantly.
TARGET LOCKED.
ENERGY SIGNATURE: LOKI.
PRIORITY: ELIMINATION.
Axis stepped closer to Loki.
"This is bad," Axis murmured.
"They're not here to capture you anymore."
Loki's eyes narrowed.
"They're here to erase me."
The Nullhound charged.
The ground cracked beneath its steps.
Loki raised Silent Edge.
And Mindveil Perception pushed to a level he had never reached before.
Time didn't just slow—
It shattered.