For a heartbeat, Ethan thought the Administrator might hesitate.
It didn't.
The air snapped like crystal shattering underwater.
Reality folded inward around the creature's raised hand, forming another deletion sphere—larger this time, more unstable, jagged edges flickering like a glitching sun.
Students who were still conscious screamed and sprinted toward shattered buildings. Others crawled, stumbling over chunks of concrete. Lena struggled to pull the injured girl behind a heavy, overturned metal bench.
The world felt like it was holding its breath.
Ash's cube flickered in and out beside Ethan.
[WARNING: DELETION FIELD EXPANDING.]
"How big?" Ethan asked through clenched teeth.
[ESTIMATE: 7.2 METER RADIUS.]
Too big.
If he didn't draw this thing away, anyone left in the courtyard would be erased.
Ethan stepped forward.
The Administrator's faceless mask rotated toward him instantly. The symbols rippling across its smooth surface sharpened into something like focus—an emotionless, precise kill command.
"Alright," Ethan muttered. "Let's see what I can do now."
Phase Shift hummed beneath his skin—like the world was a book and he could slip between the pages. But it wasn't unlimited. His body still trembled from the evolution. He wasn't sure if he could trigger it again quickly.
But he was sure of one thing:
If he didn't act, people would die.
He sprinted across the courtyard.
The Administrator released the sphere.
It surged forward, warping the ground as it rolled—grass disappearing, stone erasing in a smooth circular trail. The deletion field hummed, silent yet oppressive, like the universe grinding its teeth.
Ethan ducked low and rolled aside. The sphere grazed his shoulder, and a section of his shirt vanished—cleanly, instantly.
Cold sweat broke across his back.
"That could've been my arm…"
As he stood, another message blinked.
[PHASE SHIFT COOLDOWN: 4 seconds.]
He didn't have four seconds.
The Administrator lowered its hand, its form splitting into three duplicate afterimages—as it existed in multiple overlapping realities at once.
Then it moved.
It didn't run.
It didn't fly.
It simply appeared where Ethan had been standing a moment earlier.
Ethan barely twisted aside, feeling a rush of cold pass through him.
The Administrator's arm blurred, slicing through the air—and the stone pillar behind him dissolved.
"No, no, no—this is insane!"
He sprinted backward, weaving between debris. The courtyard had become a death maze: every surface a potential erasure point.
Another deletion sphere formed in the Administrator's hand.
Lena screamed from across the courtyard, "ETHAN!"
He pivoted—his feet skidding—just as the sphere launched.
He didn't have time to think.
Didn't have time to plan.
He just moved.
Phase Shift triggered on instinct.
Reality slowed—no, Ethan sped up. He wasn't sure. Everything took on a ghostly, smeared quality, like the world was sliding sideways.
The sphere passed through him as if he were smoke.
Ethan reappeared three meters away, panting, sweat dripping down his forehead.
[PHASE SHIFT COOLDOWN: 7 seconds.]
Longer this time.
Great.
The Administrator whirled, adjusting its path with chilling precision.
Ethan didn't wait.
He grabbed a broken length of rebar from the ground. It was bent and jagged, hardly a weapon—but it was something.
He charged.
The Administrator glided forward, its limbs unfolding into long, razor-thin segments like shifting blades of light.
Ethan swung the rebar.
The metal bar passed through the Administrator's arm—
—without resistance.
"Seriously?!"
[NOTE: ADMINISTRATOR BODIES ARE PARTIALLY NON-PHYSICAL.]
Ash hovered beside him, rotating anxiously.
[RECOMMENDATION: HIT IT HARDER.]
"That's the advice? Thanks!"
Still—something was off.
The Administrator hadn't ignored the attack. The moment the rebar passed through it, symbols flared across its mask.
It felt it.
It registered it.
It reacted.
Ethan tightened his grip. "So you're not completely intangible…"
The Administrator lunged—its arm slicing horizontally like a guillotine.
Ethan ducked, the blade passing inches above his head. The stone wall behind him vanished in a perfect, clean slice.
He countered, thrusting the rebar upward into the creature's torso.
This time, it met resistance—barely. Like pushing into thick gel or half-solid fog.
But it connected enough to disrupt the Administrator's posture.
Symbols on its face flickered erratically.
"Okay. Good. I can annoy you," Ethan muttered.
The Administrator backhanded him.
Ethan flew backward, slamming into a cracked vending machine. The impact tore the breath from his lungs. Pain exploded through his ribs.
He gasped. "Okay… that hurt…"
[DAMAGE TAKEN: MODERATE.]
[SUGGESTION: STOP GETTING HIT.]
"ASH, PLEASE—NOT NOW!"
The Administrator drifted toward him—silent, graceful, inevitable.
Lena's voice echoed across the courtyard: "ETHAN, GET UP!"
He did. Barely.
He staggered to his feet, ribs aching, vision swimming. His hands shook as he raised the rebar defensively.
The Administrator lifted its arm, forming a new deletion sphere—the largest yet.
If that thing detonated here, the entire courtyard would be gone.
Ethan's pulse pounded.
Time slowed.
Fear screamed in his veins.
Then—
[Trigger Condition Met: Distress + Mortal Threat]
[EVOLUTION POSSIBLE]
Ethan's breath caught.
"Yes—yes, do it! Evolve—anything!"
The system hesitated.
A flicker.
A glitch.
[Analyzing combat data…]
[Processing emotional triggers…]
[Selecting optimal evolution…]
The sphere grew, humming with annihilation.
Hurry.
Hurry—!
The system chimed.
[You have evolved: AGGRESSION OVERDRIVE]
Your body produces a surge of adrenaline and strength when facing a stronger opponent.
Short duration. High output. Instability risk: Moderate.]
Heat exploded in Ethan's muscles.
His vision sharpened.
His limbs vibrated with raw energy.
Blood roared through his ears like a storm.
"Aggression Overdrive," he murmured. "Okay. Let's try this."
The Administrator threw the sphere.
Ethan didn't dodge.
He sprinted straight toward it, faster than he'd ever moved.
At the last instant, Overdrive kicked harder—his body twisting sideways with inhuman speed. The sphere grazed past him, erasing a ten-foot swath of pavement.
He reached the Administrator.
And he hit it.
Hard.
The rebar, fueled by the Overdrive's raw strength, slammed into the Administrator's torso—
—and this time, the impact sent a shockwave through its body.
The creature staggered.
Symbols across its face glitched violently.
It screeched—not loud, not audible, but a psychic pulse that rattled Ethan's skull.
He pressed the attack, swinging again and again—overhead slams, thrusts, wild strikes. Each one disrupted the creature's form more and more.
The Administrator recoiled.
The mirror-like shards making up its body flickered, some turning transparent.
It was… weakening?
"Yes! You're not invincible!"
Lena shouted from behind him, "Ethan, it's destabilizing!"
Ash chimed:
[WARNING: ADMINISTRATOR IS CHARGING A FULL-AREA RESET.]
[ESTIMATED TIME TO EXECUTION: 10 seconds.]
Ethan froze.
"What?!"
The sky darkened above as cracks thickened, swirling into a vortex. A deep hum vibrated through the air like the universe taking a deep breath.
[IF RESET TRIGGERS, ALL DATA IN THE RANGE WILL BE ERASED.]
Lena screamed: "ETHAN, MOVE!"
Ethan looked at her—then at the terrified students huddled behind rubble.
He clenched his jaw.
"No. I'm ending this."
He stepped forward.
Overdrive burned like fire in his veins.
Phase Shift pulsed beneath his skin.
The Administrator raised both arms, absorbing energy from the sky.
The deletion field expanded—glowing brighter.
Ethan tightened his grip on the rebar.
"If you want to erase me…"
He sprinted.
"…you'll have to kill me first."