With his back pressed against the wall, Michael panted for air again and again. Soon after, he felt the rumble of something massive moving a long distance away.

He had done it. He had escaped. He would have loved nothing more than to kill it, but he had no idea how to go about attacking that titan. After killing the scorched skeleton, a notification appeared before him, saying he had defeated an opponent. He still had four to go, and so he went on the move, ignoring the persistent headache.

Though he took the miracle drug just now, Michael felt that he understood the ability it granted him. With it in his possession, winning was no longer an impossible task, but he had to proceed carefully.

Four kills. That was what he needed right now. Opening the map, he counted the number of survivors, and his stomach sank right away. Four. That was the number of red dots on the map. One of them represented the giant he had escaped, which meant he would have to kill him as well if he wanted to survive.

The math was against them from the start. With only ten people around, it was more likely that no one would be able to defeat five opponents. The best-case scenario would be that the last survivor might be freed instead, but even if that were the case, Michael’s chances at winning were almost nonexistent.

’Damn it...’

Gritting his teeth, he took off running toward the nearest red dot. What other choices did he have? Even if his death was guaranteed, he could only fight to the bitter end. He wasn’t hoping for some miracle, but if he couldn’t make one himself, he resolved himself to try anyway.

The next opponent seemed to have noticed his presence and changed directions to meet him. Soon enough, they were standing in the same alleyway.

’Gunther...’

Seeing the familiar face, Michael gritted his teeth. They weren’t exactly good friends, but he didn’t have anything against the man. Having worked together for a long time, it felt wrong to kill him just like that, but he wasn’t about to hesitate, because the other guy wouldn’t. As the distance between them shrank, he activated his ability, doing his best to ignore the pangs of pain in his head.

The surroundings froze in an instant, held in place by an invisible force. Gunther froze as well, remaining suspended in a running position. Michael moved closer and took a moment to study his colleague. The lack of visible change on his body indicated that the power he received didn’t have a transformation. Of course, Michael wasn’t about to wait to learn what it was.

BLAM

[

Opponents defeated:

2/5

]

The notification appeared just as Gunther’s corpse fell to the ground. This wasn’t Michael’s first time killing someone, nor was it the second. He had long since gotten used to taking lives, but something about murdering someone unable to resist was sickening.

Michael’s power was Pause. When activated, it halts the movements of everything within twenty meters of him. Not exactly time stop, but it was close.

When under its effects, people would still be able to see, hear, and think. Gunther must have experienced the despair of being trapped in an unmoving body, forced to watch as his killer walked over with a gun in his hand. Having spent the last week trapped in this dark world, his end must have been an agonizing one.

’Don’t think about it...’

Michael spared the corpse one more look before taking off. The giant was quickly approaching. The two remaining survivors appeared to be fighting, and since they had been at it for a while now, it was clear that their powers were closely matched. Hoping they could do something about the giant, he planned on leading it to them, though that would leave him with the question of what to do afterward.

The sounds of battle reached him even before he could reach them, and from the looks of it, they were too busy to notice him. One of them was Genji, the four eyes, and he appeared to have a powerful telekinetic ability that allowed him to rip concrete from his surroundings and throw it with incredible force. The other one had transformed into an ape-like creature, climbing and jumping around to evade the flying debris. Though his face was warped with fangs and covered in hair, Michael still recognized Tristan, and from the looks of it, the latter didn’t seem to be winning this fight.

As luck would have it, neither had a power that would allow them to defeat the giant. Maybe killing the flaming skeleton was a bad idea after all. If he had waited until it was done dealing with the massive bastard, maybe then he would have had a better chance.

A loud tremor pulled Michael out of his thoughts and drew Genji’s eyes in his direction. Giving up on planning anything, Michael took off running straight toward the two. Genji seemed to make a split-second decision and made him his target, but his gaze went up a moment later, and his face went pale.

The giant has finally reached the small square, causing the fight to stop. This was it. This was when they had to decide whether to fight or flee. Tristan was hanging from a window, staring at the giant like an idiot. Genji, on the other hand, immediately turned around.

’As if!’

The moment he was in range, Michael activated his ability, sealing Genji’s movements. Both Tristan and the giant were spared, so they continued to move, leaving only four eyes frozen in place. Neither seemed to notice him, however. The giant immediately went after Tristan, and the human monkey panicked, choosing to run a little too late.

Somehow, he was able to evade the palm that almost squashed him like a bug, using his long tail to swing off the giant’s hand. Instead of running away, he launched himself at his would-be killer, rage filling his face as he let out a bestial cry.

Michael saw that as his chance to run. With the giant occupied and four eyes frozen, he would be able to put some distance between them, hopefully buying himself enough time to figure something out. Unfortunately, he had made the mistake of overestimating himself, so just as he was about to exit the chaotic square, his entire body froze, and he came tumbling down to the floor, having lost the ability to move.

The ability to pause all movement was quite powerful, and it would have been unstoppable if not for the limit that came with it. After the third time, the user would face some backlash, freezing him in the same way he had frozen the others.

Falling on his back, Michael could only watch as Genji broke free, tripping from the sudden movement. The giant was about to swat Tristan off the air. Once it was done with him, it was going to turn around and finish them off, crushing them just like it had crushed their hopes of survival.

Like the mad ape he was, Tristan refused to give up, leaping toward the giant again to deliver one last attack. Before he could reach it, a black hole manifested in his way, swallowing him in an instant.

’...huh?’

Michael was confused, and the same went for the giant. He noticed that his body was moving again, but just as he was about to stand, another black hole appeared, swallowing Genji next. Horror grasped him in that moment. Left alone with the giant, his first thought was that his fate had been sealed.

His gun came within sight just then, and the option to end it all with his own hands came to him again. Before he could pick it, the ground under his feet seemed to disappear, and his body was enveloped by a familiar falling sensation. This time, his landing was far from graceful, but as the pain seeped through his back, Michael looked around, and for a moment, he allowed himself to feel a bit relieved.