"Decide now." She swung her weapon to the side.

Her scythe moved in a single arc, and the air split open in its path.

A bolt of white lightning broke free from the blade, not striking down or rising up, but shooting straight across.

It closed the distance in less than a blink and struck an old train cabin.

The cabin didn’t explode. It didn’t crack or buckle. The lightning simply passed through it.

Then a cut appeared.

A straight line, shoulder height, running the full width of the cabin wall.

The metal on both sides started to split apart, peeling back like thin paper in heat. The edges turned bright orange, then red, as they melted.

She lowered the scythe back to her side.

"I don’t really want to fight you. But if you keep delaying your answer, I’ll be forced to."

Francis didn’t answer right away. He turned the situation over in his head first.

That attack was powerful, strong enough to kill him in a single hit. So why was she so determined not to fight?

Someone confident in a fight usually pressed the advantage early, made the other person react.

She was doing the opposite — keeping space, letting words do the work.

’Maybe her ability uses up a lot of energy. If she can’t finish me quickly, she might end up at a disadvantage after a few exchanges.’

That was the only explanation he could think of for why she kept insisting on not fighting.

’This could work in my favor. My energy reserves are also almost drained, so I can’t afford to take the risk. But I need to make sure she doesn’t see through it.’

He began profiling her. She looked around twenty years old, which was fairly young.

In terms of appearance, she stood above the rest, even compared to Samantha. Her figure, though on the petite side, matched her height well.

As for her face, she didn’t let any emotion slip through. Still, Francis had this strange sense of innocence from her.

Her eyes were pure. They showed no hint of deceit or judgment.

"I agree, but you need to give me his body."

She shook her head at once.

"I can’t do that. After he took the compound, he became property of Dark Chain. I’m obligated to report this to HQ so they can retrieve his body."

"I’m not asking for everything. Just some parts. You know how hard it is to get quality materials like this."

She fell silent. The offer wasn’t as simple as it sounded, but it wasn’t unreasonable either.

"I..." she trailed off.

"What’s there to think about? You can just tell whoever you report to that you fought me and I ended up taking a piece before escaping."

She touched her chin and stayed silent, carefully weighing her decision before she spoke.

"Fine. But you can only take ten percent."

"That’s okay with me. So how about you back away? I won’t feel safe with you this close," he suggested, not really expecting anything.

To his surprise, she actually nodded and started walking toward the outer area . She was more trusting than he thought.

Or maybe she was confident that if he tried something, she would be fast enough to catch up.

Either way, it gave him enough time to extract Vance’s liver. He took other parts as well, then moved back through the building to collect from the remaining bodies

He didn’t bother with the normal humans.

Once he had everything he needed, he turned and ran at full speed in the opposite direction from her.

The ground blurred under his steps as he cut through the open space. The fight was over, but his body stayed alert, ready for anything that might follow.

When his bike finally came into view, he slowed just enough to confirm the area. No movement. No pursuit.

He reached it and quickly checked his weapon. It was still there.

’Good.’

The engine turned over on the first try.

Francis didn’t wait for it to warm up. He pulled out of cover and onto the road, keeping his speed steady at first — before going top speed.

He checked his mirror once.

Nothing behind him. Just the dark stretch of road and the faint orange glow still hanging in the sky from the direction of the yard.

’I got lucky back there.’

If she had arrived two minutes earlier, before Vance was already down, the outcome would be different.

’I need to be more careful next time. I got carried away by my emotions, and I ended up making a lot of careless mistakes.’

He reflected on his shortcomings without making excuses. This let him move forward with a clearer mind and build a better version of himself.

Back at the train yard, the girl with the scythe sat on the roof, her gaze still locked onto the fading trail on the highway.

The sound of the motorcycle softened with distance, its rear light shrinking into a red dot.

"Aris. Do you think it’s a good idea to let him go?"

She didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

He stopped a few steps back, arms loose at his sides. Dark skin, dark eyes, hair pulled back with a few strands loose across his jaw.

At first glance, he didn’t look very imposing, but the two circular blades—chakrams—at his waist told a different story.

"There’s no rush." She finally glanced away from the highway. "He won’t agree just because we ask nicely. You have to earn that kind of trust first."

She paused, eyes drifting back to where the red light had been. "Get close. Let him get used to us. Then we talk about bringing him in."

"Are you sure he’ll fit our organization? I saw his fight, and while he’s strong, he’s too unstable mentally."

Her lips curled upward. A faint flush spread across her cheeks, but her eyes didn’t soften with it.

They stayed fixed on the empty highway, unblinking, like she was still watching something only she could see.

"That’s what makes him interesting." Her voice dropped, almost to herself. "I’m expecting a lot from you... show me you deserve to join my Covenant."