".....!"
".....!!"
Thud!
As bodies fell, ti seed to co to a complete halt.
It was fast.
So fast that hardly anyone had the ti to react.
Geneva had managed to react, but in the instant that she did react, the soft giggle that ca after made it impossible for her to act.
All she could do was stare at the bodies on the floor in a daze.
But soon—
"H-haaaa!"
"Haaaakkk!"
Screams echoed.
Despite the group being made up of elites, there were also several others who belonged to small Guilds. Their ntal toughness was a lot weaker, and when faced with such a terrifying anomaly, they found the screams ripping out of their thoughts without a thought.
Geneva stared at all of this in silence, her mind churning to process everything as she looked at the anomalies before her.
’....It’s already been several dozen seconds since I called for backup. Why is nobody here yet?’
Realistically speaking, they should’ve already been present.
Especially Latcher.
He was extrely fast.
Given that he wasn’t here yet, there were only three conclusions.
’He’s dead. He’s fighting an anomaly. Or he hasn’t received the ssage.’
Neither conclusion was ideal.
Geneva’s eyes narrowed further as she looked at her own group. Besides a few, most of them were panicking. This wasn’t ideal, especially since they were up against such powerful anomalies.
Geneva understood that she had to do sothing quickly.
Her nodes churned once more, her gaze locked onto Mirelle.
Mirelle opened her mouth a mont later, a soft giggle escaping her lips, but the mont she did, Geneva cancelled her nodes.
"Hehe—"
Realizing what had happened, Mirelle stopped.
But that was the mont Geneva reacted.
Three of her nodes flared to life at the sa ti, igniting a surge of force that rippled through the air. The surroundings twisted, the space itself bending as the cubicles around her lifted off the ground with a deep groan of tal and wood.
Mirelle rose with them, carried upward as if the entire office floor bowed to her will.
With a sharp swipe of her other hand, another cubicle shot outward, expanding unnaturally as it slamd into place. It ford a towering barrier between her and the Conductor, cutting off his line of sight in a single, decisive motion.
Geneva didn’t stop there.
She knew that she had to act quickly.
"Get your shit together!"
Shouting at the top of her lungs, she directed her gaze towards the mbers of her team. It was her shout that allowed them to regain a little bit of their bearings.
However, not even a mont later and a soft tune began to play in the air.
"Shit!"
Geneva was quick to react.
Pressing her hands together, the surroundings shifted once more, a large do forming around them, blocking all noise.
"Quick! Quick!"
Beads of sweat trickled down the side of her face as she bent over to help one of her teammates up while she turned to look at a short, browned hair girl next to her.
"Michela, I am not sure if all of us can make it out. I’ll make a path for you. Try to get reinforcents!"
Without waiting for her to reply, Geneva opened up a path with a swipe of her hands.
Michela stared at the opening before looking at Geneva. In the end, she faded from the spot, not saying anything the entire ti.
But—
"Well..."
A long hand curled around the edges of the path that Geneva created, a stitched-up figure peeking from the opening, looking at the insides of the ’fort’ Geneva had created with an amused look.
"...You’re quite a troubleso one, eh?"
The Conductor’s lips stretched upward, so of the stitches breaking in the process.
Thud!
A figure fell next to the Conductor a mont later.
*Pop*
Staring at Geneva, Mirelle looked unhappy.
"You—"
As if Geneva would give them ti to speak. Her nodes churned once more, the surroundings twisting. The entire ti, she kept a close watch on Mirelle’s lips, and right when Mirelle opened her mouth, Geneva shut off her nodes.
"Hehehe."
But contrary to her expectations, the giggle was a little different.
"Haaaa!"
"Hiaaaaak!"
"Huerrk!"
Hearing the screams coming from behind her, Geneva felt her thoughts were true.
And sure enough, a mont later, images flashed across Geneva’s mind. Images of her past. To the tis that she wanted to forget.
Her chest suddenly squeezed, her hands trembling from the sudden surge of emotions.
’So this is what it does...’
Despite everything, Geneva remained calm.
This wasn’t the first ti an anomaly had tried to break her mind.
Activating her nodes, Geneva closed the path in front of her, blocking all of the noise
The screams behind her continued, and with a flick of her hand, she opened up a path in the opposite direction.
"To those who can follow, co."
Given the situation, Geneva decided to exclude those who couldn’t make it. Her life ca first. She couldn’t put the others above herself.
Without looking back, she ran out.
A few others followed her from behind.
’My main priority right now is finding reinforcents. As things stand, I can’t handle the two supervisors who are present. The fact that I’m still alive right now is a miracle. The Conductor must be toying with . I don’t know what it’s trying to achieve, but I need to take advantage of this to escape.’
Taking another step forward, Geneva pushed her node again. The space around her lurched, stretching outward as the cubicles bent and warped away from her path. In an instant, the cluttered office floor reshaped itself, forming a long, direct tunnel that cut straight through the maze.
Her actions could be considered sowhat reckless, but she was doing so deliberately.
She wanted to catch the others’ attention.
’Co on! Co on! Co on!’
The more ti passed, the paler her face beca. She was pushing her nodes to the utmost limit, and with passing seconds, she could feel the strain that her nodes were taking. Her breathing was also starting to turn heavier.
"Haa... Haa..."
From ti to ti, she’d turn her head to look behind her.
All she saw was darkness.
But that darkness sent chills down the spine.
Although she couldn’t see them, she could feel them.
They were moving towards her.
Catching up.
Furthermore...
The people who had been following behind her...
They were gone.
’Hurry! Hurr—’
"Ukh!"
Caught off guard, Geneva bumped into sothing as she stumbled back.
"Shit!"
Her heart sank a mont later, but when she turned her head, she was stunned to see a familiar figure.
"It’s... you?"
Seth’s dark eyes stared at her in silence as her pupils shrank.
But before she even registered the movent—
Seth’s hand was already at her throat.
His fingers pressed against her skin with quiet, terrifying precision, as if he’d been there the entire ti and she had only just noticed.
".....!"
The force behind his hand was enough to make her entire body turn numb.
She imdiately tried to activate her node, but the mont she tried to do so, a soft giggle echoed in the air.
"Hehehe."
Her nodes stopped.
Geneva’s eyes widened, her breath hitching as she stared into the abyss behind Seth’s gaze. The longer she looked, the deeper she sank. Her thoughts unraveled, her awareness slipping into the darkness swirling silently within his eyes.
"Y-you... Y-you...! I... knew... I..."
Her voice cracked, the words collapsing as her lips trembled. Whatever realization she reached never fully surfaced.
A mont later, her body went limp.
Thud!
Her body fell onto the ground a mont later as Seth raised his head.
It was in that mont that he ca face-to-face with the two other anomalies.
For a mont, everything turned silent.
But that silence was soon broken.
"Hello..."
The Conductor’s stitched shattered completely, its lips twisting into a wicked smile.
"...Fake boss."
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