Her knee drove up.Straight into his abdomen.
The force folded him slightly, pain exploding through his core.
Rahi staggered back, blocking what he could, redirecting what he couldn't—but it was like standing against something that had already calculated every possible defense.
He countered—grabbing her arm, pulling her forward—trying to break rhythm—
But she pivoted mid-pull, her body turning with unnatural control.
Her foot planted against his thigh—
And she used his own force to flip.
Rahi's grip broke as she twisted free, landing lightly behind him.Before he could turn—
Her hand struck the back of his shoulder.
A nerve hit.
His arm went numb instantly. He dropped to one knee,
" Holy shit. "
his eyes lifted, scanning the darkness beyond the garden walls,
"External command… higher authority .
Whoever it is…he is stronger then me. "
"Terminate resistance, " The external voice again.
Maya's hand rose , blade-straight—aimed for his heart.
Rahi's eyes widened.For the first time— He fell real fear .
"Don't—!"
He twisted at the last second, her strike grazing past his side instead of piercing through. The force still sent him stumbling back again, breath tearing from his lungs.
He hit the ground—
rolling once before forcing himself up on one arm.Blood stained his shirt now.
"They gave her kill authority…" he whispered.
" I am finished.What do I do now? "
Then, marble floor of the front hall seemed to shiver under something . guards froze, their hands tightening on their swords.
Then they stepped in the garden .
Seven figures. Seven silhouettes carved in darkness. They moved without sound.
They are called 'Goests . '
Their faces were half-hidden beneath masks and hoods. Their clothing was black, stitched with crimson, their movements synchronized like a single organism.
When they stepped into the courtyard, rahi looked up. He somehow managing Maya's deadly attack .
"…Why are you here?" he rasped, barely managing to block another strike from Maya. His arm trembled under the impact.
Their leader tall, broad-shouldered. His face hidden beneath a mask of black steel. His voice was deep and slow when he spoke:
"We experienced the subject wave of Phase
B. So, we come and see ' 17 B ' here."
Veera smiled wickedly and said, "So I thought, let's see how your strength has grown."
Rahi gritted her teeth and said, "Help me. Stop the command sequence. I can't handle this anymore."
Eryth feels a little embarrassed and says, "Sorry. But we've lost control of her too."
Rahi says, "Oh my God, what will happen to me now?"
Then he screams helplessly, "Then why are you standing there? help me to stop her .
She is so powerful. "
Then maya stood unmoving for a fraction of a second and then moved.
"Target expansion detected," her voice whispered— "Multiple hostiles. Priority recalculation."
Rahi's breath caught.
"No—don't—"
She vanished.ripple—no, less than that—a fracture in presence—
—and she was already among them.
Kaelen moved first.
Or tried to.
His body dissolved into shadow, slipping sideways to flank her—
—but Maya turned before he fully emerged.
Her hand cut through the dark—
and caught him.
Mid-transition.Impossible.
Kaelen's eyes widened beneath his hood as her grip locked around his throat, dragging him out of shadow as if it were nothing more than cloth.
"Shadow displacement… countered," she murmured.
Then—she threw him.
His body slammed into Drenic, both of them crashing hard against the stone edge of the courtyard, breath knocked violently from their lungs.
"Spread out!" Tharos roared, stepping forward.
The ground cracked beneath his first step.
He met her head-on.
A mistake.His fist came like a hammer—enough force to shatter bone—Maya didn't block.
Her palm struck his chest—A single, exact point.
Tharos froze mid-motion.His strength—stalled.For one second.Two.
Then —his own momentum twisting his body off balance as she pivoted—and drove her elbow into his side.The impact echoed.
Tharos staggered back—a rare thing—breath leaving him in a sharp grunt,
" What kind of monster have they created?
My entire body is paralyzed.
I can't even move ."
A whisper in the air—
Veyra's vibrations spread, bending balance.
the world tilted—Rahi felt it, even from a distance.
But Maya, her head tilted slightly.
"External interference detected. Filtering."
And then—
she stepped forward.Perfectly straight.
Veyra's smile vanished.
"That's not—"
Maya was already there.Her strike landed—
At the exact point where Veyra's control originated.Veyra gasped, stumbling back as her own ability collapsed around her.
"She's adapting in real time!" Fahim shouted,
horrified.
Neryth lunged in fast, blade extending—
Maya turned—caught the blade between her palms.Bare-handed.
Then—
she twisted.Neryth's grip broke as the force redirected, Maya stepped in—
two fingers striking—
Neryth dropped instantly, muscles locking, body collapsing to one knee.
"Incapacitation complete."
Rahi's voice tore out, desperate, "STOP—17B. STOP!"
No response.
Eryth and Kaelen moved together now—chaos and shadow merging— smoke twisting, illusions fracturing space—
Maya disappeared inside it. Disorientation.
"Now!" Eryth shouted.
"Environmental disruption… insufficient. "
Her voice did not rise.She slipped between them—Too fast.
struck Eryth once and he dropped, light shattering out of control as he hit the ground.
Kaelen barely escaped, melting fully into shadow this time—He could not hold ground.
Drenic activated traps, spikes tearing from the earth, projectiles firing—
One spike grazed her sleeve. she caught it, snapped it,threw it back.It embedded inches from Drenic's throat.
just one—
even the Ghosts hesitated. All trained.All deadly.And still they were losing.
Rahi staggered forward, blood staining his side, "She's above Phase B. "
"But she still has a chain, Isn't she. "
He forced himself closer.target shifting—
him.
"Primary anchor detected. Priority elimination." Her body aligned.
Rahi's heart slammed,
"No—no, listen—listen to me—!
C-13… override—no—denied—damn it—!"
Her hand rose.
He didn't defend." Chain recognition!"
He shouted,"Subject 13A—priority anchor—manual override—sequence delta—SEVEN!"
"Confirm chain!" he forced out.
"listen to me—17B—listen—!"
"Code Black—root anchor—Subject 13A—full authority—SEQUENCE RECLAIM!"
Everything—stopped.
Maya's body trembled.Violently.
"Authority… conflict…"
"Primary command… unstable…"
Then—
"…anchor… confirmed."
Her body went still. Completely.
Rahi exhaled—a broken, shattered breath.
"Sleep."
Maya's eyes closed.Her body collapsed forward.Rahi caught her before she hit the ground.
Around them, the Ghosts stood—bruised, shaken, breathing hard.
Even after the storm had passed— the air remained altered. As though something sacred had been broken… or something forbidden had been awakened.
Rahi's chest rose and fell unevenly, each breath dragged through exhaustion and pain. Blood darkened the side of his shirt,
"I survived today…with great difficulty." he murmured hoarsely.
A dry wind passed through the garden.
Then—Laughter. Low at first. Then rising. Sharp. Amused.
Eryth leaned back slightly, wiping a streak of blood from his lip, a crooked grin pulling at his face,
"Well," he said lightly, breath still uneven, "that was… refreshing."
Kaelen emerged from shadow again, slower this time, one hand pressed against his ribs.
"Refreshing?" he muttered. "I almost got my throat crushed mid-phase."
Veyra let out a quiet, breathless laugh, brushing dust from her sleeve.
"She read my frequency," disbelief threading her voice. " What a creation. "
Tharos cracked his neck once, though the movement was stiff, controlled pain flickering behind his expression.
"I couldn't move," he admitted bluntly.
"For a moment… I actually couldn't move my whole body ."
Silence brushed the edges of that statement.
Because for someone like him—that meant something.
Rahi adjusted his grip on Maya slightly, one hand steady at the back of her head.
"You think that was a game?" he said quietly.
The laughter dimmed—but didn't fully die.
Eryth lifted both hands slightly, half in surrender, half in mock innocence.
"Relax. We stepped in, didn't we?"
Rahi's eyes snapped to him.
"Stepped in?" His voice sharpened, "You call that stepping in?"
Drenic exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"She adapted too fast," he said. "Faster than Phase B models should."
"Because she's not Phase B anymore," Rahi shot back, "Did none of you feel it?"
Neryth, still crouched slightly from earlier, lifted his gaze,"We did," he admitted. "That wasn't standard escalation."
Rahi let out a quiet, humorless breath.
"No," he said. "It wasn't."
"You all came here curious," he continued, voice lower now, steadier—but heavier. "You wanted to see what she had become."
"Well ,"
a beat. " You saw it now ."
Eryth scratched the back of his head, grin fading just slightly.
"…Alright," he admitted. "Maybe we underestimated her."
"Underestimated?" Fahad's voice cut in sharply from behind.
The family had not moved far—but now, they stepped closer. Slowly.
"You call that underestimating?" he said.
You call that underestimating?" he said."All seven of you—and none of you could stop her."
"seven trained fighters—and not one of you could stop her."
"…Did it hurt?" Nahi asked softly.Her voice was too gentle, too human—like a thread of warmth woven through cold iron.
Rahi didn't look up,"Yes."
Eryth shifted, rolling his shoulder with a faint wince, then smirked like pain was just another inconvenience he refused to respect.
"Come on. Don't be shy, " he said, nudging Kaelen lightly.
"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it at least a little."
Kaelen gave him a flat look.
"I enjoy breathing. I nearly lost that privilege."
A faint, reluctant chuckle passed through them.
Eryth grinned again, this time softer.
"Still," he added, glancing at Rahi, "you held your ground. Not bad… for someone out of practice."
Rahi finally looked up.Something steadier had returned to his gaze.
"To be honest after fighting," he said slowly, "My ... my bones felt fresh."
Silence.
Then—The Ghosts laughed.
Neryth, still kneeling slightly from earlier, let out a soft breath that almost resembled amusement.
" You …you're all ridiculous."
Eryth tilted his head , amused, "See? That's what I'm talking about."
Kaelen huffed quietly."You're both insane."
"Professionally insane," Eryth corrected.
Veyra rolled her eyes,"There's a difference?"
"Of course," Eryth replied. "We just survived a Phase B subject. It was not possible for us to do.
But we did it. "
Then—
Fahim blinked,"Wait a moment ."
"What the hell ?"
Faha stared at Rahi like he'd just said something deeply unreasonable ," He just nearly died and he's talking about his bones feeling fresh. "
Fahad rubbed his forehead. Then, he dragged a hand down his face, exhaling sharply, "I thought his head was the only stable thing here,"
he muttered. "Clearly, I was wrong."
Farhan let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh,"No, no."
he said softly,"He fits right in."
Fahad nodded once,"They're all the same."
His eyes moved over the Ghosts, then to Rahi,"Pure crazy devils."
Eryth placed a hand dramatically over his chest.
"I prefer 'professionals.'"
Rahi's gaze sharp despite the exhaustion.
"Next…next time," he said quietly, "Don't take any sequel control without analyzing it first .
"…So please," Rahi added, "Analyze it first."
His voice dropped, almost to himself—
"or don't touch it at all. "
"Because next time you might not survive it. "
"…You really thought we'd ignore that advice?" Tharos asked.
Rahi didn't smile back, "Yes."
A beat.
"…And that's exactly why I'm saying it.
Because, I don't want to die young. "
Eryth let out a quiet huff of laughter,
"I don't plan on dying young too."
"Well, well, " he said, "that makes two of us."
Fahis shook his head slowly ,
"This is insane," he muttered. "All of them are totally insane."