The last guard hit the floor with a dull thud. Jin stood in the center of the white room, breathing steadily as the lightning beneath his skin faded. The sharp scent of disinfectant mixed with faint burn marks lingered in the air.
The far wall shifted.
A concealed seam split open and panels slid aside. Heavy footsteps followed as three men entered the room. They were broad and solid, their movements deliberate, bodies clearly reinforced through extensive gene tempering rather than natural build.
Jin immediately focused on the two at the sides. Their presence pressed outward without effort, dense and heavy.
Four-star level. At least.
The man between them was different. He didn't release pressure, yet the space around him felt controlled, as if everything had already adjusted to him. Jin's instincts reacted instantly.
"…Tch."
This one was above the others. Jin could tell without needing confirmation.
The man in the center glanced at the unconscious guards, then at the broken syringe on the floor.
"So it failed," he said.
Before anyone else could speak, the entrance door exploded inward. Metal bent and locks shattered as smoke poured into the room. Lin Hao stepped through, jacket torn at the shoulder, eyes sweeping across the scene in one look.
He stopped beside Jin.
"…Yeah," Lin Hao said. "This is definitely not normal."
Jin glanced at him. "Why are you here?"
"Taking a walk," Lin Hao replied, eyes still on the newcomers. "Got bored."
"Bad timing."
Lin Hao tilted his head slightly. "Who are they?"
"No idea," Jin said. "But they're trouble."
One of the four-stars rolled his neck. "Sir?"
The man in the center ignored him, studying Jin instead.
"So this is him," he said.
Lin Hao's posture tightened. "You sound confident."
"I know enough."
The man raised his hand. "Take them both."
The two four-stars moved immediately.
One charged straight at Jin, fist swinging forward with compressed force that distorted the air. The other angled toward Lin Hao, closing the distance in heavy, pounding steps.
Lin Hao clicked his tongue as light gathered around him. "Guess we're fighting."
Jin stepped forward.
The two four-star bodyguards moved the instant the order was given.
Jin stepped forward to meet the one on the left, but the moment their auras collided, his expression tightened. The man was built like a wall, muscles swollen beneath his uniform, skin faintly tinted with earthen mana.
Bodyguard #1
Primary Monster Gene: Ironback War Rhino
Rank: Four-Star Warrior
Affinity: Earth — High
The rhino guard didn't slow or test him. He charged straight in, shoulder lowered, the floor cracking beneath each step as if it couldn't bear his weight.
Jin activated [Ripple Guard] and braced.
The collision felt like being hit by a moving bunker. The barrier rippled violently, fractured, and still the force drove Jin backward, his boots carving deep grooves into the floor before he managed to halt himself. Pain shot up his arms, and his chest felt compressed, breath knocked half out of him.
At the same time, Lin Hao was already under attack.
The second four-star moved differently—low, fast, predatory.
Bodyguard #2
Primary Monster Gene: Blacksteel Dire Wolf
Rank: Four-Star Warrior
Affinity: Darkness — Mid
Lin barely twisted aside in time as blackened claws slashed through the space where his throat had been. He activated [Radiant Drift], light flickering around him as he displaced sideways, but the wolf guard adjusted instantly, shadow clinging to him like a second skin.
Too fast. Too relentless.
Back on Jin's side, the rhino guard swung again, a heavy fist packed with compressed earth mana. Jin countered with [Fatal Strike], driving his palm into the man's ribs at close range. The skill detonated internally, disrupting organs and mana flow at once.
Blood sprayed from the guard's mouth.
But he didn't fall.
The four-star staggered, snarled, and forced himself upright through sheer physical reinforcement. He roared and brought his arm down again.
Jin raised [Ripple Guard], but it formed too slowly.
The blow shattered through it and sent Jin flying across the room. He slammed into the wall hard enough to spiderweb cracks through the surface, his vision flashing white as the air tore from his lungs. Lightning sputtered weakly along his arms as he tried to move.
Across the room, Lin was doing no better.
The wolf guard never gave him space. Every step Lin retreated, the man advanced, claws flashing again and again, tearing across Lin's sleeve and raking his forearm despite Lin's attempts to reposition. Darkness clung to the wolf's movements, distorting distance and timing.
Lin gritted his teeth and forced [Radiant Drift] again, appearing behind the man—but a spinning kick caught him mid-motion and slammed him into a table, metal buckling on impact.
"Jin—!" Lin shouted, coughing.
The rhino guard charged again before Jin could recover.
Jin rolled desperately, the massive body crashing into the wall where his head had been moments earlier, pulverizing concrete. Jin dragged himself upright using the wall, legs shaking violently.
He couldn't overpower them.
So he changed tactics.
Jin slammed his palm into the floor and released [Static Pulse].
The pulse wasn't strong enough to stun a four-star, but it disrupted mana circulation for a fraction of a second. The rhino guard's charge faltered just enough for his footing to slip.
Lin saw it instantly.
He didn't hesitate or aim for precision. He turned and unleashed [Lion's Gleam], flooding the room with a wide burst of blinding light. It wasn't meant to injure—only to overwhelm the senses.
The wolf guard recoiled, vision disrupted.
That moment was enough.
Jin forced his body forward, ignoring the tearing pain in his side as lightning surged violently over his hand. He closed the distance and drove [Lightning Claw] straight into the rhino guard's chest, striking through the area already destabilized by [Fatal Strike].
The lightning detonated inside the reinforced body.
The rhino guard froze mid-step, eyes wide, then collapsed heavily to the floor, the impact shaking the room.
Jin staggered with him, nearly falling himself.
The wolf guard roared and abandoned Lin entirely, launching straight at Jin with killing intent. Jin tried to raise his guard again, but his body didn't respond fast enough.
Lin crashed into the wolf from the side, slamming shoulder-first into him. Both of them smashed into another equipment table, metal screaming as it twisted. Lin took a knee to the ribs and choked, barely staying conscious.
Jin forced himself to move one last time.
He rolled, came up behind the wolf, and released [Static Pulse] at point-blank range. The unstable pulse scrambled the wolf guard's balance just long enough.
Lin grabbed him.
Light exploded unevenly around Lin's body as he activated [King's Radiant Descent], the pressure slamming down without finesse or control. The wolf guard was forced to one knee—but Lin screamed as the backlash tore through his own muscles.
Jin didn't waste the opening.
He stepped in and drove [Lightning Claw] down.
The wolf guard collapsed, convulsed once, and went still.
Silence followed.
Jin dropped to one knee immediately, one hand pressed to the floor, breathing ragged and uneven as the last sparks of lightning faded from his body. His arms trembled uncontrollably.
Lin slid down against the wall nearby, chest heaving, vision blurred, unable to summon even a flicker of light anymore.
Only then did the third man move.
He stepped forward calmly, boots echoing softly in the ruined room. The air grew heavy with each step, pressure settling over Jin and Lin like an invisible weight.
Jin tried to stand and failed.
Lin tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out beneath him.
They were still conscious.
Still alive.
But neither of them had anything left.