Francis caught the bullet and sent it back.

But the shooter moved just as the projectile left his hand.

’Did he see it coming... or did he read me?’ Francis mused to himself.

Before he could get an answer, the others were already within range.

A short man came first.

His blade was short, barely the length of a forearm, but the way he held it said he knew exactly what it was for.

Francis leaned in to counter, but two more bullets came at him, throwing off his timing and opening a gap for the blade user to thrust his weapon.

’I already predicted your move—’

The short man’s arms suddenly extended by five inches, catching Francis off guard and forcing him to block.

It sank into his forearm cleanly, deeper than it should have.

He kicked the short man, sending him flying.

Unfortunately, that small misstep allowed the others to execute their attacks without restraint.

A sword went for his neck. A chain snapped at his legs. A dagger struck for his back. Brass knuckles swung for his jaw. A spear drove into his abdomen.

Five attacks, all at once.

On top of that, the shooter fired a bullet straight at his temple.

For the first time in this fight, Francis felt danger.

His body reacted on instinct, dodging and blocking what he could, but in the end, the spear still hit him.

Blood poured from his abdomen, but it wasn’t a fatal wound, or so he thought.

A sudden rotational force twisted through his body, driving the damage deeper into his stomach.

The spear user didn’t slow down. He kept charging forward, dragging Francis along. The ground tore under them.

Only when they slammed into a wall did the motion finally break. The impact pinned Francis there.

"Don’t stop attacking!" the spear user shouted.

At his command, the others unleashed everything they had.

Bullets tore through the air. Wind blades sliced across the space. Shockwaves roared. Chains whipped forward in heavy arcs that could shatter rock.

The barrage crashed into Francis again and again, hammering him in place. His arms stayed crossed, forcing his body to take everything head-on.

Each impact pushed him deeper into the wall behind him. Stone groaned under the strain. Fine cracks began to spider out across the surface.

Then the wall finally gave in and collapsed all at once.

Concrete, metal, and dust crashed down together, burying him beneath the debris.

"Did we get him?" Rachel asked.

The spear user took a moment to assess the situation before letting out a sigh of relief and turning around.

"I don’t think anyone can survive that... not even the legendary Lex Ryzen."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you’re getting excited again over your idol."

The spear user let out a chuckle, not even bothering to deny it.

He tightened his grip on his spear, a weapon he had chosen to master out of admiration for Lex’s fighting style.

"But isn’t this too easy?" Rachel said, touching her chin. "He blocked a bullet with his bare hands, so I was sure he was at least Elite Level."

They were all thinking the same thing.

"He got careless because he underestimated our coordination," the spear user explained. "Although he was powerful, I noticed he wasn’t used to fighting a lot of people at once."

"Plus, he didn’t carry any weapon, so that effectively lowered his combat ability. By the way, thanks for the assist, Dom."

He was referring to the man with the pistol—the team’s long-range specialist.

"You landed the killing blow, Ryan, so you should take the credit for it," Dom replied. He didn’t look interested in the reward at all.

The tension in the room dropped by a fraction.

One of them rolled his shoulder and exhaled.

Another lowered his weapon slightly, not all the way, but enough to show that his body had started to unwind.

Vance, on the other hand, took the opportunity to slip out.

Ryan leaned his weapon against the wall beside him and reached into his pocket for a cloth to wipe the sweat from his face.

Dom stayed alert, his eyes fixed on the pile of debris when—

"He’s still alive!" he screamed, drawing his pistol and firing three shots in quick succession.

Ryan reacted and reached for his weapon, but he was already too late.

ZZZZZ!

His own spear struck him, and the rotational force it carried tore through his organs, splitting him in two.

"What—"

In the final seconds of his life, he saw his killer face one last time. What met him wasn’t a sadistic smile.

It was a face covered in dozens of eyes, all moving and staring at him, as if mocking him for even entertaining the idea of resisting.

"I’m done playing human, so you’re all out of luck."

Before Ryan’s mangled body could even land, Francis already vanished from his spot.

He was so fast that Rachel only registered his presence when her teammates started exploding one after another.

From her point of view, they were fine one moment, then torn apart the next.

"RUN!" Dom shouted, unleashing a barrage of bullets.

He was the only one able to track the insane speed, but even his cognitive ability couldn’t keep up with it.

Lines that were meant to read and predict movements flickered into view, then vanished in a split second, making them useless.

Still, he kept firing, hoping it would slow Francis down and allow some of his teammates to escape.

Rachel didn’t waste the opportunity to run, but when she looked down, she saw her lower body was already gone. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Her balance collapsed before her mind could catch up.

"NO!" she choked on her own blood as her body fell to the ground, or what was left of it.

"Shit!" Dom jumped back and threw flashbangs to buy time.

He abandoned the remaining survivors, and ran for his life.

This was no longer a fight—it was a one-sided hunt, and they were the prey.