SYSTEM ASCENSION

The leader eyed the wagon.

"Drop everything, walk away and I’ll spear your lives."

An awkward hush followed the leader’s threat. Rolarza who would have rush to beg or empty her wagon, sat with her head high.

"What? I can’t hear you."

The leader frowned.

"Are you trying to save face, because of this people?"

She smirked.

"I can’t give them to you, because they’re not mine."

"We do not care."

"You should care," she shrugged. Her hand went behind, and pointed. "He killed everything! Singlehandedly!"

They flinched.

"And he didn’t even need to leave a spot."

They flinched again. Their eyes went to the masked boy, who seem to want to be anywhere but here.

"That’s no possible!" The leader sneered. "Only a raider of B rank and above can pull it off!"

They wipe away their nervousness with disbelief.

"Quora already have enough problem at hand to send such high ranking raiders to Yuta."

Zeal tilted his head.

"Elias is S rank though."

They stilled. The wind stopped. Rolarza’s eye widened.

Together they chorused: "what?!"

"He’s messing with our mind!" The leader drew his weapon.

He charged towards them, before anyone would stop them, sword aimed at the closest person to him.

Zeal.

"No!" Rolarza gasped.

Zeal just smiled, the sword reflecting in his eyes.

"Forward and reverse." He muttered.

The bandit didn’t even have time to scream.

One moment he was charging forward to slay the handsome stranger, and the next—

Pop!

Blood and meat painted the houses in a red mist. The sword clattered to the ground, unused. The rest of him was gone.

Before Rolarza’s eye could follow what happened, Elias’s arm was around her face and waist, pulling her from the front to the back, against his chest, and shielding her from seeing the mess Zeal created.

"Hey! Woah!" She grabbed his shoulder to support herself.

The town went dead silent.

The remaining bandits froze. Three steps back, weapons lowered on their own.

Zeal just smiled wider.

"What...is he..."

"Your worst nightmare." He stretched his arms.

They bolted immediately, tripping over each other and running for their dear life.

He stepped up and clasp his hand together, making a hole like a telescope and putting it in his eyes.

"Cat... and rat..." He lock target on one of the fleeing bandits.

Just like the leader, he also detonated, scattering into nothing addressable. The rest scream in pure horror, while Zeal’s eye just followed them.

"What is going on?" Rolarza gasped, struggling to turn her head. Elias didn’t let her. He held her still, watching the scene with a blank look.

"Elias..."

"Stay still!"

She flinched, and went still in his arms. He held her.

The chaos Zeal had unleashed soon faded from his hearing. His hands tightened, eye dropping, and soon, everything was replaced with the sound of dropping water and a dark space.

He frowned.

"Water?"

The space was dark. He saw nothing, nor hear anything except the sound of rhythmical drop.

’Where am I?’

"Elias?" A voice echoed.

He turned around. Nobody. Nothing.

"Eliasss..." The voice was closer.

He turned around yet again.

"Who is that?"

"Elias."

This time, the voice was close to him. Before he could turn, a cuff went around his wrist. He looked down. He was chained to a little girl. A face familiar yet distant. His eyes narrowed immediately.

"Who...are you?"

She tilted her head, eyes displaying nothing but sadness.

"You’re so mean....Five."

His eyes snapped open, and his grip on Rolarza loosen. The wagon was already moving, the brutal scene left behind.

Zeal who was driving chuckled.

"Both of you have zero sense of chaos. I was fighting and you dare fall asleep."

Elias glanced at the sleeping girl in his arms. Her innocent gaze, even in sleep was evident.

"Five..." He muttered.

"That’s what you were called in the lab." Zeal spoke. "The number is on your wrist remember?"

Elias indeed remembered that he has the number 005 on his wrist.

"In my memories...did you see anyone I was familiar with, in the lab?"

Zeal blindly drove the wagon into a nearby street.

"There was someone. A girl."

Elias face lit up beneath the mask.

"But it seem like your memories was tempered with, so I didn’t see her face." Zeal added right after.

Rolarza choose that moment to stir awake. She yawned tiredly and blinked twice to improve her vision.

Currently on Elias’s thigh, head against his chest. Her face heat up.

"Aarrgh!" She recoiled, and fell off the wagon.

Zeal pulled it to a stop. Both of them glanced over.

"Dead yet?" Zeal muttered.

She stood up and pointed accusingly at Zeal.

"You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing!"

"I know."

"Is this it?" Elias who was looking ahead asked. She turned around, and the next thing that escaped her mouth was a gasp.

"How did you find this place?"

"Got lost and got found." Zeal shrugged.

It was a large yard, with stick walls. What looked like a formal farmland, now like a war camp. Sticks were sharpened and fixed to keep whatever it can hold out of the yard.

People inside were already peeping and whispering.

"People who could not evacuate Yuta gathered here." Rolarza smiled, while waving at her people. "Let’s go in before the sun set completely."

Zeal drove the wagon to the gate. After confirming Rolarza’s presence, they were let in.

An elderly woman stepped outside and a bit up house. She ran forward.

"Rolarza!"

"Grandma!" She grinned, spreading her arms wide.

The elderly woman got to her and instead of an embrace, grabbed her cheek.

"What time is it?! Huh?!"

"Grandma! I’m sorry."

"You’re sorry! You shouldn’t have gone out in the first place!"

The residents of the yard laughed at the family drama. All the children embraced her afterwards.

Zeal leaned closer to Elias.

"She’s a rare gem right?"

"You almost traumatized her." Elias accused.

He laughed.

"What skill was that?"

"I have the time ability," Zeal revealed. "I can forward time for people or things, or I can simply reverse it. When I forward and reverse at the same time, the glitch happens. They detonates."

He leaned closer.

"When you get your abilities, you shouldn’t reveal it though. You might get killed for it."

Elias frowned.

"When I get my abilities?"

"Yep."

Elias stared at him, like he had hit his head somewhere.

"How did you heal yourself?"

Zeal smile ceased into confusion.

"Heal myself?"

"The cut on your neck."

Zeal touched the spot where Elias’s dagger had once cut through.

"That’s the ability I was born with."

This reveal actually tore a shock reaction from Elias. You could tell even behind the mask.

Zeal smiled again.

"I was born with regeneration ability. That’s what made me a raider."

"The time?"

Zeal tilted his head.

"The system gave me. When I left the rank of a chosen."

He hasn’t began to comprehend it when a stench cut through the air. The foul smell fill the yard, and for a second, everyone went silent.

Then, hushed panic broke out.

They began to hurry inside their homes.

The duo exchange glances.

Before they could move, Rolarza had already grab their hands, eye wide in panic.

"The sun is set. They are coming!"

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