The mall's center erupted.
Glass rained down like shimmering needles as Rael clashed with the Enforcer, their blades moving too fast for the eye to follow. Each strike released a blast of pure pressure, fracturing the floor beneath them.
The Enforcer moved with inhuman precision—no wasted motion, no expression. Just cold execution.
> [Skill: Chrono Blade – Activated]
Its sword elongated mid-swing, warping through time.
Rael bent reality with his glitch-step, phasing left and slamming his blade across the Enforcer's shoulder. Sparks flew, but the attack barely cut through.
> "No health bar. No status window," Rael muttered. "Even the system's hiding your truth."
> "You are not entitled to that information," the Enforcer said flatly.
It punched.
Rael flew backward, smashing through a fountain.
---
📍 Elsewhere – Guild Observation Tower, Sector 3
High Commander Veyl stood in silence.
Holographic feeds flickered as the rift expanded. Code spread across the sky like a virus. He tightened his jaw.
Behind him, the Guild's elite debated evacuation protocols.
> "We've never seen anything like this."
> "This isn't a dungeon! It's a broadcast!"
> "That boy—Rael Kuro—what the hell is he?"
Veyl turned slowly. "He's not a boy."
He tapped the glass.
> "He's a weapon. A rejected one."
Then, quietly—
> "And if he wins… the system breaks."
---
📍 Back at the Mall – Battle Continued
Rael rose from the shattered fountain, blood trickling from his mouth.
> Even at partial override, I can't match it head-on…
The Enforcer descended again—blade-first.
Rael raised his hand.
> [Stat Override – 50% Release]
[Strength ×4 | Speed ×3 | Stability Warning]
His body glitched violently as he shot forward, slashing in a cross pattern. The Enforcer staggered for the first time.
> "Not according to protocol…" it whispered.
Rael grinned, coughing blood. "Guess what? Protocol's dead."
Then something changed.
---
📍 Behind the Arena – The Child Wakes
The boy stood silently, glowing lines running across his skin. His eyes flickered—not black now, but filled with scrolling code.
> "Threat to Catalyst exceeds tolerable limits."
He stepped forward.
Agent 7 turned to stop him—but her system froze.
> [ACCESS LEVEL: ROOT]
[ALL COMMANDS DENIED]
The boy raised one hand.
> "Authorization: Rewrite Combat Field."
And the battlefield shifted.
Suddenly, the air shimmered—pixels disassembling and reforming.
> [Reality Anchor Altered]
The Enforcer paused, confused.
> "Environmental interference—impossible. System does not allow user-levels access to—"
> "I am not a user," the boy said.
> "I am the foundation."
---
Rael felt it instantly.
His system cleared. The static noise vanished. His body stopped glitching.
And a notification popped.
> [ALL RESTRICTIONS LIFTED – TEMPORARY]
[You are now functioning outside the system.]
Rael gripped his sword tighter.
The Enforcer turned toward the child.
> "You destabilize control. You will be extracted."
The boy shook his head.
> "You are obsolete."
Rael appeared behind the Enforcer in a blink.
> "Say goodnight, god."
He slashed.
> [GLITCH-REWRITE STRIKE – CRITICAL EXECUTION]
The Enforcer shattered—its body breaking into streams of failed code, its sigil burning into fragments.
---
📍 Observation Tower – Moments Later
The rift flickered.
Then… it closed.
Commander Veyl exhaled slowly.
> "The boy just deleted an Omega-Class Enforcer."
He turned to his officers.
> "Contact the Upper Protocol Council. We're no longer in control."
---
📍 At the Battlefield – Aftermath
Rael stood amidst the collapsing data storm, his blade fading from existence.
The boy approached silently.
> "I bought us time."
Rael looked at him. "How much?"
The child's voice was soft.
> "Before the next system response? Maybe… 72 hours."
Rael smirked.
> "Then we better start breaking things faster."
He turned to Agent 7.
> "Welcome to the war."
She nodded once, quiet… but something in her eyes had changed.
---