The world stood still.
Korir could feel it—the weight of the moment pressing against his chest.
The last remaining hunter—the Troop 8 Leader—wasn't like the others.
Where the fallen moved with precision, this one moved with purpose.
Their steps were silent, their gaze unreadable.
Zero had just slaughtered eight elite hunters.
And yet—he wasn't relaxed.
That was what terrified Korir the most.
"He's... taking this guy seriously."
Zero exhaled slowly.
His knife twirled between his fingers before vanishing—gone like a phantom.
Korir blinked. Wait, where did—
Then he saw it.
A faint, ghostly blue glow flickering across Zero's fingertips.
A pulse. A heartbeat.
And then—it spread.
From his fingers to his wrist, up his arm, across his entire body—lines of luminescent energy carved into his skin, like ancient inscriptions coming alive.
Korir's breath hitched.
"That's… not normal."
The Troop 8 Leader tilted their head.
"Interesting," they murmured. "You've been holding back."
Zero grinned. "Maybe. But then again…"
The glow intensified.
A windless pressure surged outward.
"He's just getting started."
Korir barely saw it.
Zero vanished.
Not like before—not a blur of speed.
Not a flicker.
This was different.
One second, he was there.
The next, he wasn't.
Gone. Erased. Removed.
A heartbeat later—
CLANG.
Sparks exploded as Zero's blade collided with the Troop 8 Leader's forearm.
**A direct hit—**yet the hunter had blocked it with just their sleeve.
Korir's eyes widened. They didn't even flinch.
Zero twisted mid-air, flipping backward.
He landed on the edge of the fire escape, balancing effortlessly.
"Alright," Zero muttered, shaking his wrist. "That stung a little."
The Troop 8 Leader rolled their shoulder.
"Your technique is clean," they admitted. "But you're still… incomplete."
Zero smirked.
"Good," he muttered.
"That means I still have room to get even cooler."
Korir felt it before he saw it.
The shift in the air. The pull.
Zero was no longer just standing there.
His presence was… fading.
Not disappearing.
Becoming something else.
Korir's heart pounded.
"What the hell is this?"
Zero's fingers curled into a loose grip.
His eyes—those sharp, electric blue eyes—glowed like burning stars.
Then—he moved.
And the world… broke.
The fire escape distorted.
The space around Zero fractured like glass, rippling outward.
Korir realized it too late—
Zero wasn't moving faster.
He was moving between states.
One second, he was solid.
The next—a phantom.
The Troop 8 Leader's eyes narrowed.
Zero appeared behind them.
A blade sliced downward.
But before it could land—
The hunter's arm twisted at an unnatural angle, catching the blade mid-swing.
Korir's stomach dropped.
"They can keep up with him?"
Zero clicked his tongue.
"Alright," he muttered.
"Guess I need to go all in."
The next three seconds were chaos.
Zero attacked.
The Troop 8 Leader countered.
The air rippled.
The fire escape shook.
Korir couldn't even track the movements.
All he could see were the afterimages of Zero flickering in and out of existence—attacking from every angle at once.
Blades clashed. Sparks flew.
Then—a slip.
The Troop 8 Leader hesitated.
A fraction of a second.
But Zero was already there.
He pivoted, twisting his knife toward the hunter's throat—
And then—the world snapped.
BANG!
A shockwave burst outward as Zero was sent flying.
He hit the metal railing with enough force to dent it.
Korir's heart stopped.
"What—how?!"
Zero groaned, rubbing his jaw.
"...That was rude," he muttered.
The Troop 8 Leader lowered their hand. Their fingers were smoking.
"Your power is impressive," they admitted.
"But you're too reckless."
Zero wiped blood from his lip.
"Maybe," he muttered. "Or maybe…"
He flicked his wrist.
His knife reappeared in his hand.
"...I just like having fun."
The Troop 8 Leader's expression remained unreadable.
Then, for the first time, they smiled.
Korir shuddered.
It was the kind of smile that promised nothing good.
"You amuse me, Armand," they said.
Zero's fingers tightened around his blade.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I get that a lot."
Then—
The real fight began.