Silence stretched across the street.
Ryan stood motionless in front of the two brothers.
The mask completely covered his face.
Only his eyes could be seen through it.
One green.
The other yellow.
In front of him...
Justin was smiling.
Jack wore that same calm expression that seemed to be a permanent part of his face.
The three of them knew exactly what was about to happen.
But none of them were in a hurry.
Not yet.
Justin tilted his head slightly.
—"I must admit..."
—"I expected you to be harder to find."
Ryan didn't answer immediately.
He studied their stances.
The position of their feet.
The distance between them.
The way Jack kept his hands.
Justin seemed relaxed.
Too relaxed.
Jack, on the other hand, remained completely alert.
Ryan finally spoke.
His voice was calm.
Elegant.
But there was something strange behind it.
Something that made it sound as though it came from somewhere far darker than that street.
—"And I expected you to be harder to deceive."
Justin let out a small laugh.
—"Deceive us?"
—"Do you really think those two girls were enough to hide your intentions?"
Jack smiled slightly.
—"We knew from the beginning that there was someone behind them."
Ryan tilted his head.
—"So you knew I was using them."
—"Of course."
Justin opened his arms slightly.
—"But they were pleasant."
—"We had quite a bit of fun."
Ryan remained motionless.
—"How touching."
His voice was completely devoid of emotion.
—"I apologize for ruining your entertainment."
Justin laughed again.
Jack held the Clown's gaze.
—"You don't seem very sorry."
—"No."
A pause.
—"I am not sorry at all."
Justin's smile grew wider.
For several seconds...
Neither of them spoke.
Then Ryan took a small step forward.
—"I have a question."
Justin raised an eyebrow.
—"A question?"
—"Before we begin."
Jack slowly crossed his arms.
—"Go ahead."
Ryan looked at them.
—"Are you servants of the Purple Entity?"
Silence returned.
For the first time...
Justin's smile disappeared.
Jack remained motionless.
Ryan waited.
Then...
Justin began to laugh.
At first, it was a small chuckle.
Then another.
Jack began laughing as well.
But it wasn't normal laughter.
Both of them began laughing as if that question were the funniest thing they had ever heard in their entire existence.
Ryan didn't move.
He simply waited.
Justin brought a hand to his face.
—"Servants?"
Jack continued laughing.
—"What an..."
He paused.
—"Unpleasant word."
Justin looked at Ryan.
—"No."
—"We are not mere servants."
The two brothers looked at each other.
Their smiles returned.
This time...
They were different.
Darker.
—"We are followers."
Jack continued.
—"Loyal followers."
Justin tilted his head.
—"Servants."
Jack corrected him.
—"Devotees."
Justin smiled.
—"Faithful."
The two brothers spoke almost simultaneously.
—"Of the Lord."
Their eyes took on a faint purple glow.
—"The Purple Entity."
Ryan remained completely still.
Inside his mind...
He sighed with relief.
So it was true.
There was no third force behind them.
At least...
Not one he needed to consider immediately.
Ryan had feared that the twins might be connected to another supernatural entity.
Another organization.
Another enemy.
But now...
He could eliminate them without worrying about opening another front.
The mask concealed every expression.
Ryan slightly raised his head.
—"I see."
Justin smiled.
—"Is that all?"
—"Aren't you surprised?"
Ryan remained silent.
Then he spoke.
But this time...
His voice had changed.
It no longer sounded like a single voice.
It was as if hundreds of voices were speaking at once.
Men.
Women.
The elderly.
Children.
Voices that wept.
Voices that laughed.
Voices that seemed to be suffering.
All of them mixed together into a single sentence.
—"Very well."
The twins stopped smiling.
Ryan continued.
—"Now I can eliminate you without worrying about anything else."
The street fell silent.
Justin and Jack stared at the Clown.
Their expressions had completely changed.
That mocking amusement had disappeared.
Their eyes became cold.
Very cold.
Jack was the first to speak.
—"How arrogant."
Justin slowly smiled.
But this time...
There was no humor in his smile.
—"I liked you better when you pretended to be intelligent."
Ryan tilted his head slightly.
—"And I liked you better when you pretended to be normal students."
Justin disappeared.
Ryan reacted immediately.
BOOM.
A fist collided with a magical barrier.
Purple energy spread across the transparent surface.
Ryan had raised the barrier barely an instant beforehand.
Justin was standing directly in front of him.
Smiling.
—"First move."
Ryan twisted his wrist.
The barrier exploded.
Justin was sent flying backward.
But he landed perfectly on his feet.
Jack was already behind Ryan.
A hand covered in purple energy shot directly toward his back.
Ryan turned.
He blocked the attack with his forearm.
The impact caused the ground beneath his feet to crack.
Ryan smiled.
—"Two against one."
—"How convenient."
Jack answered with a smile.
—"We didn't come here to play fair."
Ryan threw a punch.
Jack ducked.
The fist passed over his head.
Ryan spun around.
A kick.
Jack blocked it.
The impact sent him several meters backward.
Then Justin appeared again.
Ryan barely had time to look up.
CRACK.
Justin's fist struck his face.
Ryan went flying.
He crashed through a window.
He landed inside an abandoned building.
Justin smiled.
—"Was that all?"
Jack walked in behind him.
—"Don't get excited."
—"We're just warming up."
Ryan slowly stood up.
A small crack had appeared across his mask.
Justin examined the damage.
—"Oh."
—"That must have hurt."
Ryan ran a finger over the crack.
Then he looked at the blood left on his glove.
—"Interesting."
Justin frowned slightly.
—"Interesting?"
Ryan raised his head.
—"Yes."
His voice was calm once again.
—"Now I know how much power you use for a basic attack."
Jack froze.
Justin stopped smiling.
Ryan extended one hand.
A small rune appeared in the air.
Jack immediately reacted.
—"Justin!"
Too late.
The ground beneath Justin exploded.
A wave of energy launched him toward the ceiling.
Justin crashed through several rotten wooden beams.
Jack extended both hands.
Purple energy wrapped around his brother's body and slowed his fall.
Ryan watched carefully.
—"So you can protect each other."
Justin landed.
He brushed the dust from his clothes.
—"That was rude."
Ryan slowly walked toward them.
—"Are we done playing?"
Justin smiled.
Jack did too.
Both began releasing energy.
This time...
Much more.
The walls of the building began to tremble.
Ryan felt the change.
The two brothers were synchronizing.
Justin raised one hand.
Jack did the same.
Purple energy began spreading between them.
Ryan watched in silence.
—"Interesting..."
Justin spoke.
—"You know what's funny?"
Ryan didn't answer.
Jack continued.
—"You still haven't seen anything."
Ryan slightly raised his head.
—"Then I suppose you'd better show me."
Justin smiled.
—"With pleasure."
The two brothers disappeared at the same time.
Ryan's eyes widened.
One.
Two.
Three attacks.
Justin appeared from the left.
Jack from the right.
Ryan blocked the first.
He dodged the second.
Justin's kick passed inches from his mask.
Ryan countered with a magical strike.
Jack blocked it.
The shockwave destroyed a wall.
Justin attacked again.
Ryan met him with a barrier.
The impact shook the entire building.
The three of them separated.
Silence.
Breathing.
Purple energy floating through the air.
Ryan watched the brothers.
Justin wore a smile.
Jack remained calm.
Neither appeared tired.
Neither did Ryan.
This wasn't the battle.
Not yet.
It was simply a test.
A warm-up.
Three hunters were measuring their strength against one another.
Ryan slowly raised one hand toward his mask.
Justin tilted his head.
Jack smiled.
Ryan spoke.
—"Good."
Energy began gathering around his body.
—"Now that we've finished introducing ourselves..."
His eyes glowed behind the mask.
—"We can begin for real."
The twins exchanged a glance.
And then...
Both smiled.
The real fight was about to begin.