The hallway fell silent.

Dust hung in the air, the echo of the last door slam fading into nothing. Ja stood at one end, fists tight at his sides, yellow eyes burning through the haze.

At the far end, Diag smiled. Cold. Certain.

“Child,” she said, her voice cutting like a knife through the silence. “Run along. There’s no need for blood to be shed today.”

Her words dripped with confidence, as if the outcome was already written.

One of the shadows at her side chuckled.

The man was massive—towering at 6’4, shoulders broad, muscles straining against his cloak as he pulled the hood back. His face was rough, scarred, his jaw set like stone.

“Listen to the lady, kid,” he said, voice deep and gravelly. “I’ve never been into killing kids.”
His lips curled into a half-smile. “But… orders are orders.”

The other two stepped forward.

One had light-blue hair that glinted under the dim lights. He grinned, tilting his head as frost crackled across his arm. An ice blade shimmered into existence in his hand, gleaming wickedly.

Beside him, the last figure crouched low, knuckles slamming against the cracked floor. His skin darkened, hardening into metal that spread up his arms with a dull shine. He flexed his fists, the sound of grinding steel filling the hall.

Four against one.

Yet Ja didn’t flinch. Not a step back. Not even a flicker of fear.

He took a slow, deep breath. His eyes slipped shut, chest rising and falling steady, steady… steady.

The hallway held its breath with him.

The silence stretched, the tension coiled tight. Diag and her men stared at him, waiting for fear. Waiting for him to break.

Instead, Ja’s lips parted, his voice low and steady.

“I’ll… kill… you… all.”

Diag’s smile widened. Amusement danced in her pale eyes—right up until Ja moved.

One instant he stood at the far end of the hall. The next—he was there. Inches away, his fist cocked back, yellow eyes blazing with feral intent.

The air cracked with the speed of his strike.

Before the blow could land, a massive arm shot out.

WHAM!

The brolic man’s forearm slammed between Ja’s fist and Diag’s face, the impact rattling the walls. Dust shook loose from the ceiling.

The giant sneered down at him, veins bulging under his hardened skin.
“Fast, kid. Real fast… but not fast enough.”

His other hand snapped forward, gripping Ja’s arm. With brutal force, he swung him down—

SLAM!

Ja hit the floor hard, the tiles shattering under him. His grunt echoed as the impact bounced him back up into the air.

“Got you—”

Whoosh!

Before he could recover, Diag’s lips parted. Another sharp gust blasted the corridor, striking Ja midair and hurling him through a doorway.

CRASH!

Wood splintered as his body smashed into an empty apartment room, dust and plaster exploding around him.

“Ahhhh!”

A scream cut through the dust. A woman, frozen in terror, stood just feet from where Ja landed.

The brolic man stepped inside behind him, shadow swallowing her figure.
“Shut it,” he growled.

His fist shot forward.

BOOM!

Her body tore through the wall, smashing through plaster and brick, crashing through multiple rooms before the sound finally died.

Ja’s eyes widened. Fury sparked deep in his chest.

The giant turned back, smiling wide.
“Come on, puppy,” he taunted. “Show me some tricks.”

Ja slowly rose, dust falling from his shoulders. His yellow eyes burned brighter.

The man raised his fists in mock terror, laughing.
“Ooooh, scary—”

Then he froze.

Bzzzt.

A faint hum rippled in the air, sharp, unnatural, like energy building inside Ja’s body.

“…What is that?” he muttered.

In a blink, Ja was gone from the doorway.

And in the next, he was there.

CRACK!

His fist buried into the man’s gut, the impact booming through the hall. The giant’s eyes bulged as his massive frame lifted from the ground, launched backward like a ragdoll.

He crashed through the apartment threshold and slammed into the far wall, plaster exploding on impact.

Silence.

Diag’s smile vanished. The ice wielder froze mid-step. The metal brute’s fists clenched tighter.

For the first time, all of their eyes widened.

Through the shattered doorframe, Ja stepped forward, yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

The brolic man groaned, slumped against the wall—knocked down for the very first time