Chương 65: Get Out

Edward, now firmly in control of Hyun's body, whipped his arm to the side. The gesture launched Ariel through the air like a discarded rag doll. Haruto froze, horror etched across his face. He spun around, frantically searching the street for the source of the attack, until his gaze locked onto Hyun—his arm remained outstretched, his posture unnaturally rigid.

"Hyun?" Haruto's voice cracked.

"Did you… did you just do that?" William didn't hesitate or waste time asking questions. He reached over his shoulder and unlatched the massive tower shield from his back. With a guttural grunt, he hoisted it high and slammed its rim into the dirt. The matte-black metal flared with a shadowy aura that spilled across his armored frame.

"So you finally show your hand," William sneered.

"I had a hunch it was you all along." He lowered his stance and charged.

"Be a dear, Haruto," Edward said through Hyun's mouth.

"Take care of him for me, would you?" Haruto's eyes rolled back. His pupils vanished completely, replaced by a hollow white. Stripped of his own volition, his body dropped into a martial stance. He drew both hands toward his right hip, palms facing inward as the air between them crackled with energy. Then he thrust his joined wrists forward. A condensed beam of sapphire energy tore through the air, wreathed in snapping arcs of blue electricity. The blast struck William squarely in the ribs mid-charge.

The impact lifted the hulking warrior off his feet and hurled him backward, smashing him through the brick wall of a nearby house. Dozens of incubation pods lined the basement walls, their glowing green fluid casting an eerie light across the tangled cables feeding into them. Mikael gasped and staggered backward as he severed the mental projection. The feed had gone black the instant Ariel's body contorted in midair.

"It was Edward!" Mikael roared. Blinded by rage, he drove his fist into the reinforced glass of the nearest vat. The cylinder shattered beneath the blow. Jagged shards rained across the floor as luminous fluid gushed over his shoes.

"It was him the entire time!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Bastion leaned against a stone pillar and lifted both hands in a lazy shrug.

"It was always a little too convenient, wasn't it? Every one of your past disciples mysteriously freezing up in battle or fatally pushing themselves beyond their limits. He has you figured out, Bishop."

"I've delayed his execution long enough!" Mikael spat. The air above him began to hum. A halo of golden-yellow light materialized across the ceiling, bathing Mikael in its spotlight.

"I'm going straight to that prison myself and ending this once and for all!"

"Impossible," Bastion replied smoothly. Mikael canceled the spell and snapped his gaze toward the unbothered Vanguard.

"What do you mean, impossible?!" The armored man didn't even look up. He was using the polished reflection of his shield to meticulously comb his mustache.

"You know how Vaelor operates," Bastion continued.

"Our authority extends across the entire world, save for the Sanctuary." He flicked his wrist and stored the comb inside his ring.

"You won't be allowed a single step inside that prison, Bishop without starting a war. You should know that by now." Mikael clutched at his chest.

"Then what do you expect me to do? Wait another five years?!"

"I'm afraid so," Bastion replied.

"Unless, of course, you can find an alternative…" William stepped through the hole in the ruined house. His body-armament spell had left him completely unscathed. He brushed brick dust and debris from one shoulder, then rolled his neck until it cracked. As he returned to the street, his opponent was already waiting. The possessed Haruto stood in the center of the road, bouncing lightly on bare feet with both hands raised in front of his face.

Yellow sparks erupted around his ankles, cracking the pavement beneath him. Then he surged forward. Haruto crossed the distance in a blur and launched himself into a flying kick. William raised his massive shield and braced for impact. The fighter unleashed a rapid flurry of kicks against the metal, each strike ringing against the metal. Then he coated one fist in yellow aura and drove a full-force punch toward the shield. His knuckles never made contact with the shield.

Something slammed into him from above, driving his chin into the pavement with a sharp crack. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. A mana barrier had materialized directly over Haruto. It plunged downward with instant momentum, struck the crown of his head, and flattened him against the asphalt. Dazed, Haruto immediately tried to recover. He planted both palms against the pavement, muscles tensing as he prepared to spring back to his feet.

William lifted the conjured barrier. Then brought it down again. The impact snapped both of Haruto's forearms, forcing jagged bone through the skin. Haruto crumpled. William raised the construct once more and slammed it down a third time. Then a fourth. And finally, a fifth. By the time he stopped, Haruto's body had been crushed into a mangled imprint in the fractured pavement.

You have slain Haruto Sato Contribution Points have been sent to the Guild Master Trapped inside his own body, Hyun watched Haruto die and released a silent scream. Desperate to reclaim control, he fought against the mental prison engulfing him, dragging himself through the suffocating pressure as though wading through a bottomless lake of wet cement. Then, far ahead, a faint light flickered into existence. The shoreline. The escape.

Hyun surged toward it, clawing his way through the oppressive weight with everything he had. William clicked his tongue and dismissed the system text floating before him.

"That stupid Guild Leader rule," he grumbled. A devious grin stretched across his face.

"I guess I'll just have to torture him for the points."

"But before that…" He reached into his ring and retrieved two pea-sized spheres of black metal. William pushed them into his ear canal, and the material expanded on contact—molding itself tightly around the space. Hyun's mouth rounded in mock surprise.

"Quantis Corp neural blockers. Cheap trick, William. Did the old man give you those?" William's face twisted in confused disgust.

"Who the hell are you? And why are you talking like that?" William, my boy! I'll explain everything later! Bastion's voice thundered directly into his mind. Eliminate that pest. Now! William grunted. Shadowy aura washed over his body as he reapplied his defensive armament, then hoisted his tower shield and prepared to advance.

"Now, before you go and do that," Hyun said, casually gesturing toward the side of the street,"it would only be polite to greet the man of the hour first." William turned. Gray stood in the middle of the road, chest heaving with ragged breaths. His gaze first fell on the bloody crater where Haruto's remains lay crushed into the pavement. Horror flashed across his face before his attention snapped toward the Vanguard.

"William!" Gray roared. He drew Tobari, the blade hissing free from its sheath.

"You're not getting away this time!" His glare shifted toward his brother.

"And you better not even think about stopping me again, Hyun!"

"Oh." Edward placed Hyun's hand over his own chest.

"My apologies for ruining the family reunion, but Hyun is currently… unavailable." Gray went still. The unfamiliar voice coming from his brother's mouth drained the fury from his expression, replacing it with dread. Behind his hijacked eyes, Hyun watched Gray step into view. Run! He screamed the word inside his own mind, desperate to warn his brother, but nothing reached his lips. Refusing to remain a helpless passenger, Hyun threw his entire consciousness toward the distant light.

The crushing current fought him every inch of the way, but he pushed through it, dragging himself agonizingly closer to freedom. Before Gray could fully process what was happening, a bark of laughter echoed down the street.

"I reacted the exact same way!" William slapped a hand against his knee.

"I wish I could just manifest an English accent on command like that, too!" William's grin faded into an icy stare.

"Listen, kid. Don't get in my way unless you're planning to help. Face reality. That thing?" He jerked his chin toward Hyun.

"It isn't your brother anymore. It needs to be put down." Gray's expression twisted into fury.

"Put down? And who gets to decide that? You're not—" The words died in his throat. Gray's feet lifted from the pavement. An invisible force seized him and wrenched his arms and legs outward, suspending him several feet in the air. His muscles strained uselessly against the telekinetic grip as his body was locked into a rigid cruciform pose.

"I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me in the future, Gozen's disciple," Hyun said softly, holding Gray perfectly still.

"But you may prove tremendously useful to my plans." William gave an impressed whistle.

"That's pretty messed up. Making a guy kill someone with his own brother's hands?" He shrugged.

"But hey, I ain't complaining. That's one less brother I have to deal with." Deep within his own mind, Hyun finally reached the shore. After what felt like days spent dragging himself through suffocating pressure, the light of the exit hovered just beyond his fingertips. You didn't think it would be that easy, did you, disciple? Edward's voice rolled across the mental shoreline. The sea behind Hyun suddenly surged.

A crushing wave struck his back, then sucked him back into the ocean, ripping him away from the light. The exit vanished into the distance as the current dragged him beneath the surface and hurled him all the way back into the dark depths where he had begun. Hyun unleashed a vicious stream of curses. How about you put all that mental energy toward escaping instead of swearing at me, hmm? Edward mused. Hyun froze. You can hear me? Of course I can! Edward replied with bright condescension.

I am inside your mind, after all. Tell me, disciple. If a Psion can bend another person's mind with a single thought, what would be the most efficient way to regain control of his own body? What?! What the fuck are you rambling about?! Hyun snapped. Get out of my body and let Gray go! Calm down and think, Hyun. How do you suppose I possessed you in the first place? Hyun forced down the panic and focused on the lunatic's riddle. Then it clicked. The System's mental communication device. Exactly! Edward cheered.

By transmitting our thoughts directly into one another's minds. And what do you think we're doing right now? Hyun stopped listening. Relinquish my body. Back in his cell, Edward let out a strained grunt.

"There it is!" Edward shouted.

"But you'll have to try harder than that. I am a Kaiser, after all." Relinquish my body. Relinquish my body.

"Not quite, but you're on the right track." Edward's voice tightened as his control began to fray.

"Remember, your Psion Mastery has reached Tier II. You must not hold back." Relinquish my body. Relinquish my body. Relinquish my body.

"Surpass your limits, Hyun," Edward urged.

"The preservation of your own mind should be your last concern." Edward was obviously scheming something. Every word felt calculated, part of some twisted game Hyun couldn't yet understand. He didn't care. If burning out his own mind was the price of saving Gray's life, he would gladly pay it. Hyun gathered every shred of willpower he had left. He compressed the fear, rage, and desperation into a single command and hurled it through the link with everything he had. GET OUT! The mental connection shattered.