Rena and Aex moved like ghosts—no footsteps, no breath, no sound. Only shadows.
Soldiers, Elites, top-level operatives—one by one, their necks snapped before they even realized danger was near. No one saw what happened. No one understood who did it.
They saw only a blur.
Then darkness.
Aex's left forearm was fitted with a sleek metal plate. She tapped it twice. A three-dimensional map of the mansion projected into the air—unfinished, incomplete.
"Rena. The lift is three corridors ahead. Security is tight," Aex said. Even her voice was distorted beyond recognition.
Rena nodded silently. She tightened the thin strings attached to the long needles wrapped around her fingers.
The three corridors ahead connected in a jagged Z-shape.
Rena loosened her grip.
Her arms moved in fluid circles.
The strings extended. The needles curved through the air like guided serpents, slicing across the hallways. Every man in their path dropped before he could scream.
Bodies thudded against the floor.
"Let's go," Rena said calmly.
Aex nodded. "When we reach the elevator, we'll need to press four buttons simultaneously. It'll unlock access to the top floor."
Rena frowned. "I thought we were already on the top floor. We came from the roof."
"Yes. But the rooftop connects to the second-to-last floor," Aex explained quickly. "There's no direct access to the top floor from above. The top floor can only be reached from this level."
Rena held her gaze for a moment, then nodded.
Within minutes, the corridors were silent.
They stepped into the elevator.
Aex pressed four buttons at once. A heavy mechanical rumble echoed through the shaft as the lift ascended.
The doors slid open.
Both froze.
Before them stood rows upon rows of enormous tubes—human-sized capsules filled with translucent liquid. Inside them floated people. Wires and pipes ran from their bodies into massive machines surrounding the room.
"What…?" Rena whispered.
"Experiments?" Aex murmured.
"This wasn't in the intel…"
"Aex," Rena said quietly, eyes scanning the room. "Get the data."
They moved between the tubes and reached a massive screen at the far end of the chamber. A keyboard and mouse rested on a table beneath it—sleek, unfamiliar.
Aex hesitated. Monographic input system? she thought.
She touched it.
It responded.
"Hurry," Rena urged.
Aex plugged in her USB and began typing rapidly. Files appeared endlessly across the screen.
She typed in the search bar:
DA
One file appeared.
"Wulkranoth's Research Volume: DA — Volume 1."
Wulkranoth… again?
Both of them felt a chill.
The file contained over twenty sub-documents. Aex began transferring them.
Then an idea struck her.
She typed:
Wulkranoth's
Two more files appeared.
"Wulkranoth's Research Volume: Rio — A Paradox? Volume 1."
"Wulkranoth's Research Volume: Locki vs Foster — Volume 3."
As Aex moved the cursor—
The lights snapped on.
Clapping echoed slowly through the chamber.
Rena and Aex turned.
A figure stepped forward.
They recognized him instantly.
"Aex," Vincent said smoothly.
"Rena."
"I'm impressed. You've both improved since you left. I didn't expect you to reach this place."
"How did you know we were coming?" Rena asked.
"I didn't," Vincent replied casually. "I was ordered to increase security."
"By who?" Aex demanded.
He smiled faintly. "None of your business."
He stepped forward.
"Come at me. Both of you. Let's see how much you've grown."
Rena moved first.
Her needles shot toward his throat—but Vincent barely dodged.
She attacked again and again, but after a few close calls, his movements became effortless.
How? Rena thought.
Aex struck from behind, aiming a kick at the back of his head—
Vincent blocked it with back of his hand.
"You almost had me," he said.
She drove her knee into his spine.
Vincent roared and spun, catching her leg mid-motion. With brutal force, he slammed her into the ground.
The impact fractured the floor.
Before Aex could breathe, he dragged her across the tiles, her back scraping against broken glass, leaving a trail of blood.
Rena's strings wrapped around his wrist and yanked.
Bones snapped.
Vincent's forearm bent at a sickening angle.
He didn't scream.
He grinned.
He twisted his own broken arm back into place with a wet crunch.
Rena's eyes widened for half a second.
That was enough.
Vincent hurled Aex into a tube. The glass exploded, liquid flooding the floor as the unconscious body inside dropped lifelessly.
Rena lunged.
Her fist slammed into Vincent's jaw, teeth flying from his mouth.
Aex burst from the shattered tube debris and drove a needle deep into his ribs.
Vincent coughed blood—dark and thick.
But he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed.
The sound of cartilage straining filled the room.
Rena's strings lashed around his neck and tightened.
Skin tore.
Blood streamed.
Vincent's vision darkened—
Then Aex whispered:
"Change of the Wind."
The air howled.
Invisible slashes ripped into Vincent from every direction. Flesh opened in dozens of places. Muscles split. One ear was nearly severed. His chest was carved so deeply bone became visible.
Blood sprayed across the capsules like red rain.
He dropped to one knee.
Rena pulled the string attached to his ankle.
His body jerked violently into the air.
She spun him like a wrecking ball.
He crashed through tube after tube. Bodies fell. Glass shattered endlessly. Steel beams bent under the impact.
On the final swing—
She slammed his face into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The floor cracked.
On the fourth slam—
His face was unrecognizable.
Silence filled the chamber.
Liquid pooled with blood.
Aex wiped blood from her cheek.
"Is he—"
Vincent's hand twitched.
Then—
Vincent rose slowly.
Bruised. Bloody.
Smiling.
"Unbelievable," he said quietly. "I never imagined you'd become this strong."
His eyes sharpened.
"It was my mistake to underestimate you."
The air around him shifted.
"But now… I'll fight seriously."