"Hmm," Ethan muttered, tilting his head. "Judging by your lack of panic, you must’ve made some preparations after all. That’s good. Makes things more fun."
The device in my hand dimmed slightly.
The faint green glow from the repellent stuttered like a dying ember.
Thirty seconds, maybe.
Around us, the sound of tiny legs skittering over stone echoed faintly from the shadows. They were waiting. Watching. Like predators behind glass, ready for the moment it shattered.
Then Ethan opened his mouth again, his voice quiet, almost playful.
"Well, Rin Evans," he said, "shall we see what kind of hero you really are?"
He chuckled. "No need to glare at me like that. I’m complimenting you, that’s all."
"Shut your filthy mouth, you bastard. It stinks."
He blinked, then let out a soft laugh. "You should watch your tongue. Depending on your attitude, I could kill you painlessly. Or I could take my time... make it slow. Let you feel every second of it. The choice is yours. Hahaha."
"Who said I’m going to die?"
His gaze flicked down to the flickering repellent device in my hand. "From the looks of it... you’ve got a few seconds left. Maybe less."
"Then maybe," I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a handful of tiny cylindrical stones, "you should look again."
I scattered them across the floor—five, six, seven of them. Each one hummed faintly with a soft green glow.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
"Who said I only brought one?"
"...Huh," he muttered, the faintest trace of surprise slipping into his tone. "I didn’t expect that."
What, did he really think I was stupid enough to show up with just a single repellent?
Of course, it was half a bluff.
My Enhancement skill had a nasty drawback—it burned through primal Qi like crazy. I’d trained hard to stretch my reserves, sure, but even so, powering all of these at once was basically a suicide mission.
As far as Ethan could tell, all of the devices were active. All enhanced. And all keeping his precious little monster swarm at bay.
I just had to buy time.
Backup was already on the way.
But even then, I had to be careful. Too many unknowns.
For one, I had to make damn sure he didn’t realize my Enhancement was time-limited.
If he caught on—if he noticed that the effect faded after a certain point—then it’d be over. He’d send the swarm in, test the repellents one by one, and once he realized the bluff, we’d be done.
I had maybe a few minutes at best.
And maybe pray, just a little, that the people I warned actually got the message.
All the while, Keira and the others stood behind me, frozen in fear.
They didn’t know I was bluffing.
And for their sake, I had to make sure they never found out.
Not until it was over.
Not until we were all out of here alive.
Ethan didn’t move for a few seconds. He just looked down at the scattered repellents on the floor, then back up at me. The smile returned—but it was different now. Less amused. More... curious.
"Bluffing or not, you’ve bought yourself a little more time," he said, slowly circling around me like a lion sizing up its prey. "But I wonder... how much can you really do with that time, Rin Evans?"
He stopped a few steps away, still outside the glow of the repellents.
"Let’s test it, shall we?"
He raised one hand—and without warning, snapped his fingers.
From the shadows behind him, a sickening skitter rang out—and then one of the insects, larger than the others, crept forward, testing the edge of the repellent field.
Its antenna twitched. It hissed, legs twitching unnaturally as it tried to push forward. But the glow from the device shimmered in response, forcing the thing to reel back with a clicking shriek.
Ethan observed the interaction, fascinated.
"...Ah. So they’re working. At least, for now."
He looked over his shoulder at me again. "I wonder what happens if we keep the pressure on? If I make them try... harder."
A second insect emerged. Then a third. Then five more.
They began circling just outside the safe radius, crawling across the floor, the ceiling, the walls. I could feel their hunger. Their rage.
My hands tightened around the device in my grip. Sweat slid down my back. My heart was hammering.
Ethan tilted his head. "You know, this reminds me of something I used to say back in the old days... ’Pressure reveals truth.’ Let’s see what kind of truths you’re hiding, shall we?"
Keira gasped behind me as one of the insects lunged forward—and hissed violently as it hit the barrier.
I kept my expression steady, even as my body screamed to run. The device in my hand trembled again. One of the ones on the floor dimmed a little.
"Ah... I think I saw a flicker."
I crouched and quickly rotated the device’s alignment, just enough to make it seem like I was maintaining the field, buying time.
He was always watching.
"That one’s faulty?" he asked, like a teacher genuinely curious about a student’s experiment. "Or is it just... running out?"
"Why don’t you come a little closer and find out?" I said.
He smiled again, teeth just slightly visible. "Tempting. But I’d rather wait. See how long you last. See how many of those shiny little toys are real... and how many are empty shells."
He took a slow, deliberate step forward.
The bugs followed suit, crawling just behind him like a tide.
"You’re running out of time, Rin Evans."