His head snapped up in the direction where the sound came from, and he froze, disbelief in his eyes.
"You!"
"You!"
The two of them said at the same time.
It was the woman with the spatial powers. She stood behind a portal that looked illusionary. Her eyes were filled with hate.
"This is just ridiculous. What are you doing here, boy? Why are you not dead?"
Severin took a step back, but then he realized that he really couldn’t feel her presence.
She’s not here? Was that why I couldn’t feel her?
That’s right. Dungeons interfere with the use of spatial powers from the outside, and even inside it’s difficult to create portals.
But then how was she here?
She must be using some very advanced and powerful techniques.
Severin straightened, and his face went cold and smooth.
"I killed the one that’s supposed to kill me."
The woman stared at him with hate and anger, as if she could reach out and rip him to shreds where he was standing.
"You have done it again. You have interfered with the business of the Scar. Then what are you? Are you part of the dead Chapter?"
Dead Chapter? Ah, yes. The Scar was initially divided because of those that did not support the use of violence that was being used and the creation of the OPT Core.
But then those that supported the violence didn’t waste their time arguing the theory. They simply went ahead and killed all those that were against them. But not all of them were dead, and they were called the dead Chapter.
"And if I am?"
The woman smiled a vicious smile.
"If you were part of them, you’d be on our side. You are not against violence."
Severin simply smiled back in return.
"But this is getting troublesome. I need to kill you. You’ve been getting in my way too much. No, I need to torture the life out of you to know how you’re getting in my way."
Severin frowned. He knew he and the Scar would be clashing eventually, but it was too soon. He spread his hands.
"How about this? We both forget about everything and leave each other alone?"
The woman blinked in surprise, and then she laughed.
"Ah! Really, this is funny. Did you really think you are at the level where you can make deals with me? Me? You’re a pathetic weakling that’s managed to get in the way of an elephant. I don’t have to make deals with you. I just need to kill you."
To be honest, Severin couldn’t fault that logic, and he would have done the same in her place. But.
"How do you think you can kill me without getting yourself fucked over? Already the Academy is pissed, but this new stunt you pulled? I know you’re ready the hell out of this place. This was supposed to be a kind of grand finale, right?"
Her jaw tightened. Indeed, they were ready to leave while they targeted other places. They’d made themselves known, but not the way they expected, and it was all thanks to one person.
"I will kill you. No matter what, I will end your life."
Severin bowed.
"Then may I know the name of the admirer so passionate about me?"
Her eyes were filled with the promise of death, but she spoke all the same.
"Lito. My name is Lito of the Scar."
"I am Severin Reignhart. House leader, Severin Reignhart."
"I will remember," she said.
And then she looked away, seemingly concentrating on another thing on the other side.
Severin too turned to his second lucky event—the Pandora Box.
They had marked each other for death, and at that moment there was nothing else they could do to each other. It was now a matter of who would be first to fulfill their promise to each other.
Who will kill the other first?
But still, Lito had a trick up her sleeves.
Her eyes flared a deep purple, and in the room, things reacted.
Formations that had been woven deep into the ground flickered to life, spinning in the room in deep purple. Runes appeared and disappeared in the room.
"What the fuck!"
Severin, who was about to touch the Pandora Box, jumped back. With his high perception, he could feel the deep power that had been woven into the room. Almost every object had some kind of rune etched into it.
So, there was a spell that she had prepared, and that was why she was able to appear.
She smiled and said slowly, "Recall."
Everything exploded. The objects that had been etched with deep purple jumped forward—large glass tubes with bodies inside, lab equipment as large as a truck, drawers filled with papers.
They lifted from the ground and rushed towards the portal that hung in the air.
Once one piece of equipment passed through, everything changed.
The portal enlarged, and a suction force began to draw everything in.
Severin realized.
Although portals shouldn’t be working, they’d somehow found a way to create a one-way portal that would swallow all their research projects.
Arko’s body was sucked in without issues.
And the force was pulling Severin too. He managed to dodge some of the flying equipment, but he knew if he didn’t get out of the room, then he was screwed.
The room was filled with the sound of loud rushing wind. Dust and debris floated into the air in one direction.
"Maybe I will kill you now," Lito said, watching the way he struggled to hold himself from falling into the portal.
Severin gritted his teeth. He felt a pang of sadness in his heart, but his survival came first.
He forced himself, throwing himself forward, and at the same time his right hand burned, showing a glowing tattoo of a clock.
Acceleration!
His clothes, that gained momentum when he threw himself forward, warped around him tightly as he was yanked forward. Halfway through, most of his clothes tore, flapping forward without their owner.
The suction force was about to grip him when he used his Stigma again, this time on his shoes.
He was yanked forward by his feet, passed the door, and narrowly missed a spear on the other side of the wall. But he didn’t miss the wall itself as he collided with it.