The forest held its breath—
Then broke.
Nubrus moved first.
His head snapped toward the retreating figures, silver hair shifting beneath the hood.
"They're escaping."
His voice was sharp now. Urgent. For the first time—a crack in that cold composure.
"They're heading toward the main road."
A single step forward—measured—prepared to vanish into pursuit.
But beside him—Glo didn't move.
"Hah?"
A low scoff escaped his lips. Then he laughed. Short. Dismissive.
"As if they have the capability to escape from us."
His dagger spun lazily between his fingers. Unbothered. Unhurried.
He tilted his head toward Nubrus.
"Go if you want." His grin widened. "I'll play with the target."
Nubrus' eyes narrowed. Calculating. A fraction of a second—decision forming. Split targets. Efficient elimination.
"Fine."
He shifted his stance. Breath slowing. Body beginning to still—the prelude to »Erased Presence«.
But—
Before either of them could move—a voice cut through the clearing. Mocking. Sharp.
"You half-baked assassins…"
At the same instant—
TWANG. TWANG.
Two arrows screamed through the air. Fast. Precise. Coated in a faint, sickly sheen.
Nubrus' eyes sharpened. He twisted—the arrow grazed past his shoulder.
Glo reacted half a beat later—
CLANG.
His dagger snapped upward, deflecting the incoming shot.
Both projectiles struck the ground behind them—
HSSSS—
The poison hissed as it ate into the soil. Corrosive. Aggressive.
Their movement halted. Interrupted. Controlled.
Null stood several meters away—bow already drawn again. Another arrow nocked. His expression calm. Almost bored.
"Where do you think you're going?"
His gaze flicked briefly toward the forest path—where his team had already vanished into the trees. Then back to them.
"Aren't I your target?"
A faint tilt of his head.
"So…"
He released.
TWANG.
Another arrow flew.
"Try being content with my company."
The assault didn't stop.
One arrow—then another—then another.
Each shot precise. Relentless. No pause. No hesitation. He didn't give them a window to breathe—to think—to act. Just constant pressure.
Glo clicked his tongue mid-motion.
CLANG.
He sliced one arrow cleanly in half. The blade spun—deflecting another. But irritation flashed across his face.
Then—rage.
"You weakling—!" His voice rose sharply. "How dare you call us half-baked?!"
Another arrow came—he dodged—barely.
Null's voice came flat. Unimpressed.
"If you two aren't half-baked…"
TWANG.
"…then how did you waste so much time by bickering?"
Another arrow. Faster. Closer.
"A real assassin kills their target at the first given moment—"
TWANG.
"—not after a theatrical introduction."
"I bet this is your first real mission, right?"
Null's voice slipped between the arrows—calm, deliberate, almost conversational.
TWANG.
Another arrow screamed forward.
Glo blinked mid-motion. "Huh?"
The question landed harder than the barrage.
"How did you know???" It slipped out of him—instinctive. Unfiltered.
Null's lips curved slightly.
"So I guessed right."
The next arrow shot faster.
TWANG.
Glo's expression twisted. "You—!"
Rage flared. Focus slipped—just for a fraction of a second. Enough.
The arrow veered dangerously close—straight for his shoulder—
CLANG.
Steel flashed. The arrow split cleanly in half mid-air.
Nubrus stood there. Silent. His blade lowered in a smooth arc.
"Glo." His voice remained cold. Measured. Controlled. "The poison coating these arrows is highly lethal." His eyes flicked briefly toward the corroded ground behind them. "Do not allow them to make contact." A pause. "Otherwise… even you will succumb to its effects very quickly."
Glo clicked his tongue in irritation. "I know that!" His glare snapped back toward Null. "But that bastard—"
"What he said isn't wrong."
The interruption came flat. Immediate.
Glo froze. His eyes snapped toward Nubrus. "What?"
Nubrus didn't even look at him. His gaze remained fixed on Null. Coldly re-evaluating.
"But we don't have time for this."
A step back. Controlled breathing.
"We will use stealth." His tone sharpened slightly. "Once concealed, his aim will become ineffective."
A brief glance toward the forest.
"You will kill the target."
Then—
"I will proceed to intercept his teammates." His eyes flicked toward the forest. "They must be stopped before reaching the main road."
Another pause. Longer.
"If even one witness escapes… this mission will be considered a failure."
Silence.
Then—Glo exhaled sharply. "Tch. Fine." A crooked grin returned. "Just this once." His eyes gleamed with violent anticipation. "I'll listen to you."
The air changed. Subtly. Dangerously.
Both of them moved at once—not forward—but inward.
Their presence—faded. Blurred.
Then—vanished.
Gone. As if they had never been there.
The forest shifted uneasily. Only the faintest disturbance in the air remained.
And yet—
TWANG.
An arrow flew.
Then another. Then another.
Each one cutting through empty space—no—not empty. Each one deliberate. Each one aimed—targeted. Precise. Unerring.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Steel met steel mid-air.
Both assassins reappeared—forced to defend. Their stealth shattered under the relentless barrage.
They halted. Shock evident.
"How?!" Glo's voice cracked with frustration. "How the hell did this weakling see through our stealth?!"
Even Nubrus—for the first time—his cold, composed eyes—showed a faint trace of surprise. His gaze sharpened further. Re-evaluating. Analyzing.
…This isn't normal.
Glo growled. "Does this guy have some kind of detection skill?!"
Another arrow came.
CLANG.
"And even if he does—how did he master it to this extent, even capable of precisely pinpointing the stealth of someone stronger?!"
His frustration grew with each passing second.
Nubrus spoke again.
"Glo." His tone had changed. More decisive now. "Remain here." The command carried weight. "It's already been over a minute."
His gaze shifted toward the forest. "They should be nearing the edge of the woodland."
A step back. Controlled.
"If they reach the main road… we will leave behind a big piece of evidence. And as assassins of the Obsidian Veil, we can't allow that."
Glo snarled. "Then what do we do?!" He deflected another arrow. "Look at this!"
CLANG.
"How are you going to get past this weakling without getting hit by those damn poisonous arrows?!"
Another arrow followed immediately.
TWANG.
"And why the hell does he have so many of those things?! Moreover, what the hell is this rate of fire?!" His irritation spilled openly now. "He's not even pausing!"
Nubrus inhaled slowly. Then exhaled. Controlled. Measured.
"I will use my unique ability." A pause. "»Erased Presence«." His voice dropped slightly. "With full suppression." His eyes narrowed. "There should be no possibility for him to detect or perceive me."
Glo scoffed. "Tch. I shouldn't have asked." He waved his hand dismissively. "Fine." Then pointed his dagger at Null. "Go. By the time you're back… I'll make sure this weakling is dead."
Nubrus gave a small nod.
Then—closed his eyes. Concentrated.
His will sharpened. His presence—collapsed.
Not faded. Not blurred. Erased. Gone. Completely.
Even the air felt emptier.
Glo remained. He surged forward alone now—deflecting. Dodging. Advancing.
"Now then, weakling!" His voice rose again. "Let's see how long you can keep up this farce!"
TWANG. Another arrow. He twisted past it.
"I don't know how you stocked so many poison arrows—"
CLANG.
"—but with your weak power output—" He sneered. "They will never hit me. Stop this useless struggle!"
Null tilted his head slightly. Almost amused.
"Useless struggle?"
TWANG. Another arrow—closer this time.
"It seems you misunderstood something." His lips curved slightly. "I'm not trying to hit you."
A beat.
"I'm just stalling."
Then—clear. Deliberate.
"You dumb half-baked assassin."
Glo's expression twisted instantly. "How dare you mock me?!" His aura flared violently. "I'll butcher you into a thousand pieces—!"
But then—he stopped. His rage halted midway. Because something clicked.
Slowly—a grin spread across his face again.
"Heh. Stalling?" He pointed his dagger toward the forest. "Look carefully. My partner has already vanished." His eyes gleamed. "He's already gone after your friends." A pause. "I assure you… they're dead for sure."
Null didn't even blink.
"Vanish?" His tone carried faint ridicule. "As if that's possible."
He shifted. Slightly. Precisely.
Not toward Glo—but front right—about four meters. Toward a point in space.
His bow locked. Angle adjusted.
TWANG.
The arrow shot into that point of space. Straight into empty air. Nothing there. Nothing visible.
And yet—
CLANG.
Impact. The arrow was intercepted mid-air.
A figure was forced into existence.
Nubrus reappeared mid-step—his blade held firm against the arrow's force. But the impact pushed him back. His footing broke slightly.
His composure—cracked.
His voice lost its perfect stillness.
"How?!" The question escaped him. Uncontrolled. For the first time.
Glo's eyes widened. "IMPOSSIBLE!!!" His voice cracked. "That's a unique ability—!" "You shouldn't be able to see through that!" "That's impossible!!!"
In fact, not many people should be able to see through »Erased Presence« no matter how strong they are, unless they have keen instincts that defy perception.
---
Meanwhile—Null simply continued.
Another arrow. Then another.
TWANG. TWANG.
Good thing he had prepared this stockpile of poison-coated arrows in his spare time and stored them in his spatial ring as failsafes for situations like this.
His movements remained smooth. Effortless.
Internally—a quiet chuckle surfaced.
These half-baked idiots… Do they really think cheap tricks like that would work against me?
His thoughts remained calm. Detached.
»Existential Perception« wasn't sight. Wasn't sound. Wasn't presence. It was—recognition. Of existence itself. Nothing could "hide" from that. Not truly. Not completely.
»Existential Perception« allows him to perceive anything and everything in existence.
Another arrow. Another release.
TWANG.
Meanwhile—his free hand reached—instinctively—into his spatial ring. To retrieve another arrow. His fingers moved naturally. By habit. By rhythm.
But—they grasped—nothing.
A pause. A fraction.
…Empty?
His hand came back. No arrow. No weight. No stock.
His eyes didn't change. His breathing didn't shift. But the conclusion formed instantly.
…Out.
The barrage—stopped.
---
For the first time since the exchange began—silence pressed in.
Not calm. Not relief. But a dangerous, fragile pause—like the space between lightning and thunder.
Glo noticed it immediately. His grin stretched wide.
"Hah." He rolled his shoulder once, stepping forward. "Out of arrows?" His tone turned mocking. "Finally."
He raised his dagger slightly—predatory.
"Guess your little trick ends here, weakling—"
Null didn't respond. Didn't move. Didn't even shift his stance.
Instead—inside his mind—he spoke. Calmly. Deliberately.
Fantasy Omniscience-san.
[Yes, Master.]
Let me ask you a question.
A brief pause. Then—
[What, Master?]
Null's eyes remained fixed ahead. Unblinking.
You are the greatest intelligence in existence… right?
No hesitation. No delay.
[Yes, Master. All forms of intelligence converge—and end—with Omniscience.]
A faint smile touched Null's lips.
Then tell me—are you capable of boosting my comprehension and cognitive capabilities?
A pause. Not long. But noticeable. As if something deeper was being accessed.
Then—[It is possible. If you utilize the hidden sub-function: »Omniscient Link«.]
A subtle shift in the air.
[It allows you to link your brain directly with the Ultimate Ability: Fantasy Omniscience—and temporarily access a portion of its processing capabilities.]
Null's smile deepened slightly.
That's good news.
A beat.
Also… what's this about hidden sub-functions?
A flicker. Almost like hesitation.
[Master, that—]
Not now. Calm. Firm. We'll have a talk about it later.
A pause. Then—
For now… activate »Omniscient Link«.
[Understood, Master.]
A faint pulse—deep within his mind.
[»Omniscient Link« initializing…]
[»Omniscient Link« established.]
---
The world—changed.
Not visually. Not physically. But fundamentally.
Time didn't slow. It fragmented. Expanded. Layered.
Every movement—every breath—every micro-shift in muscle tension—became visible. Predictable. Calculable.
Glo's next step. Nubrus' angle of approach. Wind resistance. Ground texture. Muscle contractions. Trajectory vectors.
All of it—simultaneously processed.
[What do you want to do, Master?]
Null exhaled softly.
…Heh. Nothing crazy… Just a stunt beyond my current strength limits.
A faint tightening in his chest. Mana—beginning to drain. Rapidly.
Let's hope this holds.
---
Outside—Glo lunged.
"Die—!"
At the same time—a distortion flickered behind Null. Nubrus. Reappearing mid-strike. Perfect angle. Perfect timing. »Stillpoint Execution«—about to trigger.
And then—Null moved.
Not fast. Not in the conventional sense. But perfectly.
His hand shifted. His stance adjusted. His body rotated—just enough. Exactly enough.
Then—he drew. Not a bow. A blade.
Then another.
Dual swords gleamed faintly.
✦-Star Burst Stream-✦
Mana surged. Violently. Compressed. Refined.
—100 Hit Combo—
The clearing exploded.
Not with sound—but with motion.
A single flash—became ten. Ten—became fifty. Fifty—became a storm.
Slashes. From every angle. Every direction. Every vector. Front. Back. Above. Below. Blind spots. Dead angles. Impossible trajectories.
Glo's grin vanished.
"What—?!"
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
His dagger moved frantically. Blocking. Deflecting. Reacting—but not fast enough. Not nearly enough.
A shallow cut opened across his arm. Then another. Then three more.
His eyes widened. His body was being read—predicted—overwhelmed.
Meanwhile—Nubrus.
For the first time—his composure shattered completely.
His ability activated—»Stillpoint Execution«.
The world froze—for him.
He adjusted. Calculated. Countered—but it didn't matter.
Because even within his "frozen" perception—Null was still moving. Still adapting. Still ahead.
"…Impossible—"
CLANG.
A strike redirected his blade. Another cut traced across his side. Another forced him back.
The attack didn't stop. Didn't slow. Didn't leave gaps.
It covered everything.
Every inch of the clearing—within range—became a killing zone.
---
※