Kazumi frowned behind his mask as Liam approached him, absurdly faster than before. He removed all distractions and speculations as he moved forward with a single purpose:
I'm going to stop him.
Kazumi burst forward so fast he tore the mat beneath his feet, and he cocked his left arm back as the distance between them shrunk rapidly.
This is it! Kazumi thought as he sent a black fist flying towards Liam, whose arm was already moving to intercept.
However, they didn't get the chance to exchange the decisive blow.
A hand closed around Kazumi's fist, and another grabbed Liam's.
"Stop," Lee said as he tightened his grip, his mouth drawn into a slight frown, his shades covering his eyes. He turned his head to Liam and opened his mouth.
"Liam—"
Without wasting a single second, Liam's leg shot into Lee's side. Continuing in a spin to get rid of Lee's hand, he zipped forward with a powerful hook aimed at Kazumi's face.
Kazumi didn't move, reasoning that his mask would be enough to—
Crack!
The thick hardened blood around Liam's fist connected with Kazumi's mask, and in that instant, both objects broke off. As Kazumi's eyes widened, Liam sent his other fist in an unbelievably fast uppercut to Kazumi's chin.
As the boy's head snapped back, Liam launched his other fist towards Kazumi's neck, and yet again, it was stopped by a single hand.
"Liam."
The boy turned his blank eyes to the side. Standing there, with a vein throbbing in his forehead, was Lee. He had removed his sunglasses, and his white eyes seemed to glow with a violent light.
"I thought I said you should stop," he growled.
Liam blinked once, and a fist appeared in his immediate field of view. And stopped there.
Lee glanced at the steady hand gripping his wrist and sent his foot flying into Liam's side. Liam blocked it with a raised knee, and the two briefly exchanged kicks and blocks before jumping apart.
"I see..." Lee said as he snapped into a stance. "You won't stop no matter what."
Liam blurred out of his field of vision and stopped at his left. He sent a powerful cross to Lee's side—
And received a kick that snapped his head to the side.
Lee had jumped into a roundhouse kick to both dodge the incoming attack and land a counterattack of his own. He landed on one foot, immediately set himself into a stance, and slid forward with an impossibly fast jab.
The blow connected with Liam's gut and sent him flying back onto the far side of the mat.
Liam slid across the mat, then pushed off with his shoulders and flipped back up to his feet.
"What the hell is up with him?" Kazumi grunted.
"Do I look like I know?" Lee snapped back.
Kazumi chuckled as he took a stance next to Lee. "Well, he's definitely proved he's worth number three."
"Shut up," Lee replied.
Liam stood there, watching both of them, then took a step forward and flinched. He stumbled, and his eyes half-closed.
Within that moment, both Kazumi and Lee burst forward, hands outstretched to slam him into the mat. They covered the distance alarmingly fast, and when they were a foot away from Liam...
He vaulted over their heads, grabbed their hair, and slammed them down into the mat.
...Survive.
He began to move away from the biggest threats when two more appeared. One had blue on his head, and the other had black, with a little red mixed in. They shouted something, he didn't hear a thing, yet he immediately knew he could eliminate the blue one.
He dashed forward, blood flowing out and hardening around his knuckles. Something hot began flowing from the black one's hands, and Liam instinctively knew it was bad.
So he dashed to the side within the instant he realized it, and he bypassed the black one. He immediately darted back in with one arm outstretched for the blue one, grabbed the loose thing on his chest and sent his other fist rocketing forward. A strange, shocking sensation shot through his body, but he ignored it and landed the hit.
Unfortunately, the power behind his blow had faltered in that moment, so it only knocked the blue one a few feet away. Liam suddenly darted back as goosebumps rose across his skin, and a glowing hand appeared in front of him, in the space where his arm had been.
His ears twitched, and he glanced from one side to the other, realizing that more threats were approaching.
...Survive.
****
"Sir Kane!"
All the Hunters present flinched as the loudspeaker in one of the top corners of the conference room blared.
"What?" Kane growled.
"There is a fight occurring as I speak between several members of the Hunter Class—"
"So what?"
"—and one person!"
All the Hunters froze. Then, simultaneously, they all turned to Kane. A single raised eyebrow was the only indicator of his surprise.
"Send me a video link," he ordered.
Seconds later, a panel playing video was floating above his CID, and his other eyebrow joined in.
"Ha..." he exhaled as he slapped a hand over the wristband. "Jet, Sixteen, come with me."
Jet raised an eyebrow as he got out of his seat. "Are you going to stop them?"
Kane paused, raising a hand to his chin. Then a small smirk played on his lips.
"If I have to."
****
"How is he so fast?!" Raidou grunted as Liam slipped away from Rex's clutches, spun around, grabbed his jaw from behind, and slammed him into the ground.
Raidou's skin glowed as flames blossomed to life between his fingers, and he waited for Liam to enter an exchange between Lee and Kazumi before darting in.
Liam ducked under Lee's punch, then backflipped out of the way of Kazumi's knee. He vaulted forward onto his hands after sensing something behind him, then pushed off his palms to the side as Raidou lobbed a ball of fire at him.
Liam took off the moment he landed on his feet, but before he got too far, something grabbed at his foot.
"Got him!" Nanami yelled right before his sparking hand got kicked away and stomped on. Liam shifted his balance and used it as a platform to push off and continue running.
"OW!" he yelled as he grabbed his arm.
Elsie dashed in, holding one of the hard rubber spears from the weapons rack. She swept low, causing him to jump, then was about to spin it when she realized Liam hadn't jumped upwards.
He had jumped forward.
His knee planted itself in her face, and when he got back on solid ground, Lee and Kazumi had come back, fists swinging.
He ducked under a punch and twisted to avoid a kick. He immediately received an elbow to the side of his head at the same moment he was swept off his feet. Liam immediately folded his body as Lee's foot rose above him, and he rolled backwards to avoid the devastating stomp.
Before he could get to his feet, a black foot came flying towards his head. He instinctively caught it as he pushed off to his feet, then used it to block a punch from Lee.
Liam felt the foot twitch, and he let go and jumped back as Kazumi slammed his foot down—
"REX, NOW!"
Liam flinched as he felt the air pick up nearby. He noticed the danger and was about to move when he felt heat coming from the available exit. He turned his head to see Raidou just before a mass of... something, hit him in the back and explode.
"Everyone listen up!"
They all turned their heads to see Jay standing with Lisa, and their eyes widened as Jay took off his hood.
They saw a pale, tired-looking face, messy black hair, and coal-black eyes with dark eye-bags beneath them.
"Liam is running on pure instinct right now! We can exploit that using the basic things we all naturally avoid! Extreme temperatures, danger, et cetera!"
Lee turned away to see Liam already up on his feet. "Jay, whatever you have to say, say it now."
"I have a simple strategy! And it ends when we get Liam to Lisa!"
Kazumi raised an eyebrow, then nodded as another black mask flowed across his face. "Sure."
The others nodded and turned to face Liam as Jay began explaining the plan. Liam himself grabbed his head and looked up to see all the threats standing before him.
The corner of his mouth twitched, and deep within him he felt an inexplicable feeling. If it were to be translated into words:
These people are in my way. They have to go.
Liam growled and lowered himself into a stance, and Kazumi narrowed his eyes.
Is he... mimicking me?
Lee entered his own stance and raised his hands. He exhaled slowly as he began gathering his focus.
Never thought I'd be using my Venma this soon, he thought as his white eyes glowed.
Thirty percent maximization.
Liam flinched and stared at Lee for a few seconds, feeling an inexplicable shift in his opponent's presence. It was as if an apex predator had decided to turn its full attention his way. Normally, he would run...
But the burning feeling in his gut made him growl, if only for a moment.
"I've had enough of this," Lee growled back as he clenched his hands into fists.
"Come at me."
Liam burst forward with a straight left. Lee parried the blow with one arm and uppercut Liam in the jaw with his other. He grabbed Liam's jaw with the same hand and pulled him forward into a knee strike to his gut. Liam coughed and stumbled back for a brief moment, enough for Lee to grab his arm and pull him into the path of a cross.
Liam ducked under the punch and took a knee to the face, and as his head snapped back Lee grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him forward for a headbutt to the nose. Lee was about to follow up with another punch when a shiver went down his spine.
He pushed Liam away to see a long red needle sprouting from his knuckles. Lee put a hand to his neck in shock and horror.
He... almost killed me.
"Everybody!" Lee yelled as Liam darted forward, "be careful when you attack him!"
Lee's arm shot forward to redirect Liam's blow, and his fist buried itself in Liam's face. Liam's redirected arm swung to the side, and Lee caught it with his other hand before the needle coming out of it could connect with his neck.
Kazumi appeared like the wind, landing a solid blow on Liam's lower ribs. Lee stepped back, and Kazumi's leg shot forward to catch Liam's side and send him flying away. Liam bounced off the ground and landed on his feet.
Judging immediately that dragging the exchange on would be bad, Liam darted away and made contact with Raidou. He bared his teeth as the heat around Raidou blossomed, then jumped away.
Standing in his path was Elsie and her spear, and he sidestepped her thrust and cocked his fist back—
"Nope."
Nanami appeared behind him like a storm, kicking the back of Liam's knee with a foot that had sparks jumping off of it.
Liam fell to one knee as his leg became paralyzed, and the shaft of Elsie's spear immediately found a place on his shoulder. Nanami yelled as he grabbed Liam's head. As Elsie pivoted round, Nanami sent a powerful charge straight into Liam's head, and Elsie's spear came swinging in from the other side.
As Nanami released his hands to let Elsie land her strike, Liam fell forward. The spear passed over his head, and he jumped at Elsie in a weak tackle, knocking her back.
"What?!" Nanami muttered as Liam glared at him, then turned to run. However, as he moved, he could immediately tell he had become slower, and even though the feeling in his gut intensified, he abandoned Nanami and kept moving.
There were two simple reasons why Liam was still moving despite the electrocution. First, he was already half-conscious, but adrenaline and the pounding of his heart kept him awake.
Second, his heart didn't need his higher brain functions intact to keep beating.
This is the last piece! Jay thought as he pulled Lisa behind him and stood in Liam's way.
"WAIT!" Lee yelled as Liam slid forward and sent a powerful kick straight into Jay's side.
Jay was sent flying, and as Liam turned—
"STOP."
Lisa's purple eyes bore into his own as she grabbed his face. Her voice carried a pressure Liam's mind could not ignore, but his arm still moved, carried by the instinct to protect himself—
"I SAID, STOP. DON'T MOVE."
Liam froze completely. Lisa's eyes seemed to warp and shift, enveloping him in deep, dark submission. A shiver went through him as he realized he couldn't escape. A second before his body gave out, he finally recognized the feeling.
Fear.