"Dad, Mom, we have to leave."
Marc's voice was laced with panic, and it only unsettled his parents further. His father sat in a chair, poring over the plans for his next project, while his mother quietly ate a bowl of cereal.
Yet both of them stopped immediately and turned to Marc with disbelief.
His mother spoke first.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"The Emperor is here. He's waiting for us. They want us dead."
His father shot him a doubtful look, not appearing the least bit alarmed by the situation.
"Emperor Turcan? I thought you were on good terms with him."
But Marc's urgency grew sharper with every word, his voice carrying the weight of dwindling time.
"No—not Turcan. Garid. Hurry. Take the car and drive straight to Zvenne. Don't stop for anything."
Marie was at a loss. It was the first time she had ever seen her son in such a frantic state. Turcan? Garid? What was all this nonsense?
"Marc, wait—"
But David grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the car, determination burning in his eyes.
Marc turned and locked eyes with his father. His gaze was desperate, frantic. His father's, in return, carried pity and confusion—yet buried within it was a glimmer of understanding.
"Are you sure about this?"
Marc answered honestly.
"No."
David had never seen his son so broken, but there was no time to hesitate. He looked seriously at his wife.
"Get in the car. I'll drive."
Marie stared back at him, panic rising in her chest.
"But, honey..."
David cut her off, his tone sharp with urgency.
"No time. Now."
Marie's disbelief gave way to instinct, and she scrambled into the car. David climbed in behind the wheel, glancing nervously at the soldiers drawing closer. Then he looked back at his son.
"I don't know what you're doing, but you'd better explain it to us later."
"Promise."
Marc turned to face the advancing soldiers. Suddenly, his father's voice rang out behind him.
"Hey, Marc."
Marc didn't turn and charged forward.
"Crush them."
Even without looking back, he had heard his father's words clearly. The roar of the car engine followed, the tires screeching as the vehicle sped away. A faint smile tugged at Marc's lips.
"Don't worry."
Garid saw the Zeymonds' car break through. With a flick of his hand, he gave the order.
"After them. Stop that car."
"Yes, Emperor Garid."
He climbed calmly back into his carriage, never sparing a glance behind him.
"Until next time, Marc Zeymond."
Elie's mother car sped off soon after. She bolted from her home and ran to catch up.
"I'll follow them. You take care of the soldiers here."
"No problem."
But before leaving, she cast Marc a worried glance.
"Marc… don't do anything reckless, alright?"
Yet in truth, it wasn't Marc she was worried about. It was the soldiers.
Marc understood that he couldn't kill them. But in a situation like this, with the fury burning inside him, it was far too much to ask.
"I'll try."
A murderous intent twisted his face. The first soldier to draw his weapon became the first victim. The bullet never even left the barrel—Marc was already there, striking his skull with a brutal punch.
None of the soldiers even registered his presence at their side before collapsing unconscious. They fell one after another, like insects crushed beneath a storm. For Garid's group, it was nothing short of a massacre.
Marc looked at the soldiers on the ground. He couldn't even feel the slightest satisfaction. The fact that he had tried to go after his parents made him almost sick with rage. He stared at them for a long time, darkly, with an urge to crush them even more… but he held back.
Then, Marc pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling as he tried to reach Nathanael, Jin, or even Chris—to warn them of what was coming.
Then a chilling thought struck him.
"From this moment on… it's war."
**
Elie ran after the cars at a crazy speed, overtaking some in zones limited to thirty. Normally, that would have been a crime—and it still was, since fleeing itself from the Emperor was illegal. But the situation was clearly not in their favor, and Elie knew it. Soon, armored vehicles would arrive to stop them. Vehicles she would have to take down.
David was driving super fast, far ahead of Catherine and her car. Focused on the road, he still worried about his wife, who didn't understand anything anymore. A devastated look appeared on her face.
"You shouldn't worry about Marc."
"And how do you want me not to?"
"He's strong, you know. Stronger than anyone."
"That's only because you've only seen that part of him. And right now, he's facing the army. We've abandoned our son..."
Her weak voice barely carried over all the chaos. The sound of the cars was much louder than her, and she didn't even have the strength to raise her voice.
"No. No matter what you say… he's going to make it to Zvenne."
"We probably won't reach Zvenne if Garid is chasing us."
"Honey, don't you see who's following us?"
Marie looked in the rearview mirror and saw Elie running behind her mother's car. Her already pale face drained completely of color.
"I… it's impossible."
A small, nervous smile appeared on David's face.
"At first, I didn't believe it, but they've clearly been boosted by this so-called world or whatever it is. The world may really be falling apart, but I believe in these kids. And I believe in Marc."
Elie kept accelerating to match her mother's speed. They had joined a large multi-lane road, which made driving easier.
However, …
"There they are."
The first army vehicles arrived, and for Elie, it was the start of a long, endless chase toward the Zvenne Empire border.
It was more than a machine. It was a mechanical predator, a war titan escaped from an industrial nightmare. Its six wheels, as wide as giant shields, plowed the earth with a muted rage, throwing sprays of mud in an apocalyptic ballet. Its matte brown armored hull seemed forged in the flames of a ruined world.
At the top, a turret slowly pivoted. Red lights at the back glowed like a demon's eyes, and the yellow stripes on the sides pulsed with a sinister energy, as if beating to the rhythm of an artificial heart.
It wasn't driving. It was hunting.
And every meter it gained brought Elie and her companions closer to the inevitable.
Still, she didn't lose focus, and her eyes filled with determination.
"Here we go."
Elie lunged at the nearest vehicle. One of the soldiers inside saw a girl running faster than their machines and effortlessly clinging onto it.
"How is this possible?"
She smashed the window and threw the driver out. She pushed the machine directly to the roadside with her feet, propelling herself with a majestic jump.
It tumbled several times before crashing into the forest beside the road.
The second vehicle, having seen everything from afar, began firing at Elie, but she dodged the bullets and grabbed one to throw it at the car's front right tire. It burst, and the vehicle veered off course.
Despite everything, they managed to stay on track and continue their journey. Elie then punched the vehicle hard; it stopped abruptly from the impact, and she ran on, eyeing the others approaching.
Several vehicles were toppled by Elie's blows, and none could hit their target.
The young girl's strength was obviously not supposed to be so exceptional. She had never done combat sports before the visions, let alone bodybuilding.
Elie looked almost like a fragile doll that would break at the slightest impact. That was her charm, but not her strength.
Nevertheless, since she had entered that place—this strange, unknown world—she had become more than a threat. She was a cataclysm for humans. A true superhuman.
Her speed far exceeded the cars, easily catching trains. Her strength surpassed that of an elephant. Her vision had greatly improved, and almost nothing could escape her eyes. Her sharpened senses made her as effective as a machine. And that was perhaps the least impressive part.
Because her aura was probably the most terrifying thing. It didn't scare like Marc's, nor shine like Nathanaël's radiant light. But what Elie could do with it was simply beyond normal.
It was fully responsible for her new physical norms, but recently, she had learned to control surrounding non-living objects, making her even more dangerous than the others.
Even Marc had no powers. Even Jin, the perfection of martial arts, was less formidable. Because the attack panel added to Elie's made her far too versatile.
Even if she didn't fully master it, she could see that with some training, she would surely become the strongest. Unless Marc transformed into that terrifying black-and-red aura monster in the future or Jin decided to turned completely cheatedy. Even she knew she wasn't invincible.
But for sure, it wasn't Garid's army that would stop her.
"I think we're almost there."
The cars' speed now easily exceeded 200 km/h. And Elie had no trouble stopping the opponents. At least, until …
"Seems like they often call in reinforcements only for superhumans."
Elie looked up and saw someone in a black suit casually perched on a luxury car.
She emerged like a sharpened shadow, a black silhouette built for speed and silence. Its smooth, glossy body absorbed the light like a well-kept secret, each curve designed to seduce as much as to dominate. It didn't roll—it glided, as if the asphalt belonged to it.
The headlights, thin and razor-sharp, resembled the gaze of a nocturnal predator. They didn't aim to illuminate the road, but to intimidate anyone who dared venture near. The vertical grille, lined with chrome blades, looked like a jaw ready to bite the wind. And its wheels, intricate and sculpted, spun like the gears of a divine mechanism, precise and relentless.
As a convertible, it offered its driver the intoxication of the sky, yet always maintained an air of mystery. It was a statement. A silent threat. A pact between elegance and power.
Elie looked at the car with a bewildered look.
"That's not an army vehicle…"
He stood against the car, the baton resting on his shoulders. His suit was perfectly fitted, clean, without a single crease. He held a straight, controlled posture, showing he knew how to carry himself. His face remained calm, almost neutral, but there was a quiet confidence there. Not arrogant enough to be provocative, just enough to remind that he had no doubts about himself.
His eyes, very dark brown, almost black, were not empty. They conveyed something—restraint, focus, perhaps a hint of tension. He didn't let his emotions show clearly, but they were there, under control. He observed attentively, as if silently analyzing everything happening around him.
When Arthur spoke, his voice sounded cold and superior.
"Good eye, my dear. They got tired of wasting them on you, so we brought this out. Want a ride?"
"No thanks. I'll pass."
Elie kicked the car hard, but at the same moment, someone inside delivered a kick that countered hers.
"How?"
She stepped back, stunned and a female voice came from the car.
"I doubt you're stronger than that monster Jin Ichimaru, but at least you'll entertain me a little."
A little girl in a black dress sat in the rear right seat. She had curly blonde hair tied in pigtails. She looked even more like a doll than Elie herself. Her gaze revealed no particular emotion, yet at the IGA she was called Goldilocks.
"A little girl?"
Yet she was no child. The ghostly doll spoke in a calm, composed voice.
"My name is Rachel, and I have to kill you."