player POV-Chapter 68: Chaos 2

A heavy silence spread across the place, as if time itself had stopped. Everyone ceased fighting, hands frozen in place, while many faces turned pale, drowned in fear and terror.

One of them said in a trembling voice,

"Impossible... how are we supposed to fight a C-rank monster? We’re doomed."

Another added, already starting to step backward,

"I... I have to withdraw immediately."

Within moments, some of them began pressing the withdrawal button, but the instant they did, the blood froze in their veins.

"What’s happening?! I can’t withdraw... why isn’t it working, damn it?!"

"You’re right... I can’t either. Is the same thing happening to you?"

The others slowly nodded in agreement, terror clearly etched across their faces. Then one of the students stepped forward with hesitant steps and said in a tone he tried to keep rational despite the confusion,

"Wait... I have an idea. What do you think about eliminating the other teams? If only one team remains, we won’t be forced to face the C-rank monster, right—"

He did not finish his sentence.

In a fleeting instant, a sword pierced through his back and emerged from his chest, stained with blood. The student collapsed violently to the ground, his eyes wide with shock. His body did not disappear as it usually did... instead, it began to convulse for a few moments, his breaths ragged, before going completely still.

He was dead.

Everyone stared at the corpse in absolute disbelief, unable to process what they had just witnessed. Silence spread once again.

Then one of the students stepped forward in anger toward the person who had killed his teammate moments ago and shouted at him,

"You killed him! Do you realize what you’ve done? Have you lost your mind?!"

"Step back."

I screamed at him at the top of my lungs, but it was too late.

Before my words could reach him, the killer stepped forward, stabbing him without any hesitation. The victim wasn’t even given the chance to finish his sentence; the sword plunged into his body, his voice abruptly stopped, and he fell to the ground violently. His facial expression was frozen in pure shock, as if he hadn’t even comprehended what had happened to him until the very last moment.

He slowly raised his eyes to look at the student who had stabbed him... one last look filled with disbelief. But what he saw made the terror multiply.

The killer’s eyes were completely black, entirely devoid of any human emotion.

Everyone froze in place for seconds that felt like an eternity.

Then... the worst happened.

Some of the other students suddenly began to move. One by one, their eyes also changed, turning the same black, as if something had taken control of them at the exact same moment. And without any warning, they rushed toward their classmates, stabbing other students from behind.

Screams spread, mixed with the sound of bodies falling and swords piercing flesh. The victims’ faces were stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening; they didn’t understand the reason, and weren’t given time to understand at all. Within a few minutes, at least half of them had fallen dead.

I screamed again,

"What are you doing?! Why are you standing there like that? Do something! Move!"

It was as if my scream had restored awareness to some of them. I saw students trembling, stepping backward, as fear began to overcome the shock. But not everyone was lucky enough.

One of the students with black eyes quietly sneaked up behind Zion. Zion was preoccupied with watching the chaos in front of him, and didn’t notice the danger coming from behind. The sword rose in the attacker’s hand, about to strike straight toward Zion’s heart.

At the last moment—

Zion spun backward with a swift, sudden movement.

– Ssssh!

The swords collided in a fleeting moment. Zion barely managed to block the strike, but the force of the impact pushed him several steps back. His sword trembled violently in his hands...

The situation was getting worse with every passing second.

Damn... this didn’t happen in the game, for hell’s sake!

The thought passed through my mind as I watched the scene around me with growing anxiety.

I quickly turned, seeing what remained of the students struggling to fight the black-eyed ones. Their movements were slower, their breaths ragged, while their opponents attacked without hesitation or fear. There was no doubt... the ordinary students were already losing.

Their strength must have increased...

What is happening here is not natural. It can’t be a coincidence... the Atranes Organization, they’re the only ones capable of doing something like this.

I was lost in my thoughts when I suddenly felt a shiver run down my back.

Danger.

Before I could turn, one of the black-eyed students attacked me from behind. I didn’t have any time to dodge the attack. All I could do was move my body at the last moment, trying at least to reduce the damage I would take.

But—

A blue-purple arrow whistled past my side, slicing through the air with a sharp sound. In the next moment, it pierced the head of the black-eyed student. His body stopped abruptly, frozen in place.

I moved immediately, seizing the moment at full speed. My body vanished from sight in a fleeting flash, while I used the Phantom Step.

– Click.

His head fell to the ground with no expression on his face. I stared at the severed head for a moment before feeling a sudden twist in my stomach. I stifled the feeling, clicked my tongue in annoyance, then forced myself to look forward.

My eyes met Alisa’s for a moment. I nodded to her as a sign of gratitude...

On the other side, Zion and Selvar were trapped. Four black-eyed students were pressing them from all directions. Selvar was still injured; his movements were slower, his breaths uneven, clearly not fighting at his best.

One of the black-eyed students launched a series of rapid attacks on Zion, quick and harsh strikes, but Zion skillfully deflected them, his sword moving fluidly.

Another attacker tried to take advantage of his distraction, aiming a quick strike from behind. At that moment, Zion bent slightly, then spun his torso with a swift motion, wrapping his arms in a precise move. His sword faced one of the black-eyed students, and without hesitation, he lunged forward.

The sword pierced his neck directly. The body fell to the ground silently. The others didn’t waste time. One seized the opportunity and lunged at Zion with a stab that was about to hit fatally—but a dagger sliced through the air.

It pierced the head of the black-eyed student, and he immediately fell to the ground. It was Selvar. Zion stood up, turned to him for a moment, and shook his head in thanks; a single glance was enough between them. Then everything changed.

Zion charged at the remaining students, his expression becoming more serious, and the tone of his presence shifted. He began using his sword style—Eternal Shadows.

His speed multiplied terrifyingly. One moment he was in front of them, the next he was behind them before they even noticed his presence. Only the sound of flesh being pierced was heard, again and again. He struck their backs without hesitation, moving like an untouchable shadow.

He repeated this several times, but his breaths began to weigh heavily, sweat pouring down, and his steps slowed slightly. He paused briefly, catching his breath. Only two of the black-eyed students remained...

One was fighting Rion, and the other was facing Lina... but she had already finished it.

...

Rion’s point of view

Damn...

I barely managed to block his strike, and the force of the attack made my arms tremble. I didn’t wait another second. I quickly gathered Altaria’s threads and directed them toward his feet, attempting to restrain his movements.

But he stepped back with unexpected speed. I didn’t give him the distance he needed. I used Phantom Step immediately.

– Collision!

We appeared before each other at the same moment. He blocked my strike, and I only managed to scratch him superficially, but he didn’t stop. He lunged at me violently, delivering a series of consecutive strikes. He forced me to step back repeatedly, but I managed to block all his attacks.

Calmly, without him noticing, I began gathering Altaria’s threads inside my sword. I let the battle proceed as he wished, until he thought he had started pressing me.

Then he launched a strong horizontal strike.

I barely deflected it, our swords clashing with tremendous force. The air between us shook, and I heard the screech of metal clearly. He tried to pull his sword immediately, but he couldn’t.

It was already too late.

Altaria’s threads had wrapped tightly around his sword. I clenched my grip and pulled him toward me violently, and the sword slipped from his hand, falling to the ground.

I didn’t hesitate. I used Phantom Step again. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

– Click.

His head fell to the ground in one clean motion. I paused, staring at it, my chest heaving heavily, breaths ragged, and my hands still gripping the sword hilt.