Elaine swallowed the bitterness of his remark, pushing her frustration aside to focus on the problem at hand.
He wasn't in the mood for anything else, and honestly, she couldn't bla him.
The whole situation felt surreal, leaving her surprised at how calm she was. Maybe it was because he was there. Sohow, his presence made her feel safe.
They finally reached the school gates. His pace slowed down as he took a careful look around.
A few students stroll nearby, but none of them seed to notice anything strange.
The air was heavy, though—not physically, but as if sothing was just... off.
He stepped up to the tal gate and placed his hand on it, ready to push it open. The mont his fingers made contact, a jolt of electricity zapped through them.
He pulled back instinctively, shaking his hand. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was enough to catch him off guard.
"A barrier?" he muttered aloud. "Looks like we're trapped in here."
"Are you sure?" Elaine stepped closer, her brow furrowing as she cautiously touched the gate herself.
This ti, it didn't react. She frowned and turned to him. "I don't feel anything."
"Go ahead, try opening it then."
Elaine hesitated, glancing at him before gripping the bars. With a bit of effort, she pushed the gate open.
"There," she said, stepping back.
Asher nodded and walked toward the opening, half-expecting nothing to happen. But as soon as he reached the threshold, an invisible force stopped him.
It wasn't gentle. It felt like crashing into a solid wall. He even tried pushing with his shoulder, but it wouldn't budge, no matter how hard he pressed.
'This is getting annoying,' he muttered.
Elaine frowned, watching him rub his shoulder. "What happened? Did you hit sothing?"
"It's like there's a wall here, but I can't see it."
Curious, she walked through the gate without issue.
But as soon as she was far enough, her figure flickered—and then vanished entirely.
He was montarily taken aback, but he kept his composure. A few minutes later, Elaine reappeared.
"You won't believe it," she said, slightly out of breath. "I actually made it out. I even talked to a few people, and they confird the date was correct out there."
"Did you ask for help?" he asked.
"That's the weird part," she continued, her brow furrowing. "I tried asking a patrolling policeman for help, but I lost him as we were heading back."
He touched his chin, his mind racing as he considered what she had just said. Sothing wasn't adding up.
If she could leave, maybe others could too. He scanned the school grounds, eyes locking onto a nearby student who looked like they weren't too preoccupied.
A boy, tall and lanky with a distracted expression, was fiddling with his phone by the edge of the courtyard. He walked toward him, motioning for Elaine to stay put.
"Hey," Asher called out.
The boy looked up, blinking in confusion. "What do you want?"
"Go to the gate now," he ordered.
The boy stared at him blankly, tilting his head like he hadn't understood a word.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You heard . Leave the school ground," He repeated, his tone more forceful this ti.
The boy frowned, glancing nervously at Elaine, who stood a few ters away, watching the exchange.
"Uh, why would I do that?"
"Just do it. Trust , it's important."
But instead of moving, the boy gave an awkward chuckle and backed up a step.
"Dude, I don't know what you're on about, but I'm not going anywhere."
Asher took a deep breath . "Listen, this isn't a joke. Just go to the gate and step through. That's all I'm asking."
"No way," the boy said, his voice rising slightly as he turned away.
Asher reached out, grabbing the boy's arm before he could walk off.
"Do what I say, or I else—"
The boy's face turned pale, and without another word, he bolted.
Asher didn't chase after him, though he considered it. Instead, he looked around for soone else.
A group of students was sitting by the benches, talking and laughing. He recognized them as part of Jas' group.
He walked up to them and said, "Step outside."
The group went quiet and exchanged confused looks. A student with bright green hair raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why?"
"I need to test sothing."
The student with green hair stepped forward.
The student took a step forward. "Cut the crap. Jas might treat you special, but that doesn't an we take orders from you."
Asher sighed, his patience wearing thin. "You'll follow, or I'll make you."
The group fell silent again. His presence alone was enough to make them rethink challenging him further.
"Don't push ," Asher warned, stepping closer to the group, his expression stone-cold. "I'm not in the mood for this."
The group knew it was pointless to fight. They'd only end up beaten and humiliated. The mories of him taking down Black Hound and dozens of thugs on his own were still fresh in their minds.
Normally, they wouldn't have hesitated at his request, but sothing was off.
There was an unnatural resistance deep inside them, like a warning against leaving the school grounds.
They exchanged uneasy glances and turned to walk away, but Asher wasn't about to let them off that easily.
He reached out and grabbed the green-haired student by the arm, yanking him back before he could take another step.
"Let go!" the student growled, tugging at his arm, but Asher didn't even flinch. He just kept walking, dragging him along like so kind of dog.
"Stop fighting. It's not like you're going to die,"
The green-haired student glared at him, his struggle montarily faltering. "Yeah, easy for you to say!" he spat out.
The thug thrashed harder the closer they got, trying to break free.
"Quit ssing around," Asher muttered, giving the student a shove toward the gate.
The boy stumbled back into the barrier. For a split second, nothing seed unusual.
"See? It's not—"
BOOM!
The explosion cut Asher off guard.
One second, the student was there. The next, the ground was splattered red, and chunks of internal organs were scattered across the walls.
An eyeball even rolled to Asher's feet, still twitching.
He froze, staring at what was left. "...That wasn't supposed to happen."
Elaine, wide-eyed, gaped at the blood dripping off his sleeve.
"You—you just blew him up!"
He shook his head, wiping the blood off his arm. "No, the barrier blew him up"
Elaine took a step back, her expression a mix of horror and confusion.
"The barrier? Are you serious? That's... that's not how it looked!" she shot back, her voice trembling. "You pushed him and then—then he just—exploded!"
He didn't respond right away. She was right, he had pushed the guy, but he never expected it to end like this.
"Murder!" soone scread. Instantly, chaos broke out. Students yelled and ran in every direction, their feet pounding the ground as they tried to get back inside the building.
Asher scratched his nose, glancing at Elaine. "Okay, so... how about you try and leave the school ground again?"
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