The compass needle vibrated violently.
Arin stared at it for a moment before placing it back on the table.
Four presences outside.
Two on the roof.
One near the staircase.
One watching from the alley.
Professional formation.
Not random thugs.
Elara noticed his expression change.
"What is it?"
Arin walked toward the window slowly.
"Four attackers."
Her eyes widened.
"…Four?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
She moved beside him and peeked through the curtain.
A shadow moved across the rooftop opposite the apartment.
Her voice dropped.
"You're right."
Arin turned away from the window.
"They aren't here to scare me."
Elara crossed her arms.
"Your noble friend?"
"Most likely."
"What do we do?"
Arin looked around the small apartment.
One table.
Two chairs.
Narrow hallway.
Single exit door.
One window.
Not a good defensive position.
But that didn't matter.
He wasn't planning to defend.
He was planning to control.
"First," Arin said calmly, "we turn off the light."
Elara frowned.
"That's your plan?"
"Yes."
She hesitated, then extinguished the lantern.
The room fell into darkness.
Only faint moonlight entered through the window.
Arin moved quietly through the apartment.
His mind built a battlefield map.
Rooftop attackers would enter through the window.
The staircase attacker would break the door.
The alley watcher would block escape.
Classic pressure formation.
But it had one weakness.
They assumed Arin was weak.
And they were right.
But weakness didn't mean helpless.
Arin grabbed the table and slowly pushed it toward the door.
"Help me."
Elara moved silently and assisted him.
The table blocked the entrance partially.
"Barricade?" she whispered.
"Delay."
She nodded slowly.
Then—
A faint scraping sound came from above.
The rooftop attackers were moving.
Arin whispered,
"Stay behind the wall near the door."
"What about you?"
"I'll handle the window."
"You don't have mana."
"I don't need it."
She stared at him.
"…You're insane."
"Possibly."
The window suddenly shattered.
Glass exploded inward.
Two dark figures jumped into the room.
Arin moved instantly.
Not toward them.
Toward the floor.
He kicked the leg of a chair that had been carefully balanced earlier.
The chair fell.
Knocking into a metal bowl placed beside the wall.
The bowl rolled across the wooden floor loudly.
The attackers reacted instantly.
Both turned toward the noise.
Predators hunted movement.
And Arin used that instinct.
While their attention shifted, he grabbed a small pouch from the table and threw it directly at them.
The pouch burst mid-air.
White powder filled the room.
One attacker shouted.
"Dust—!"
Pepper powder.
Cheap.
But effective.
The attackers coughed violently as the powder burned their eyes.
Elara's voice whispered from the darkness.
"…You planned that."
"Yes."
Arin stepped behind the first attacker and kicked the back of his knee.
The man collapsed forward.
Elara moved instantly.
Her mana surged.
Still unstable.
Still uncontrolled.
But powerful.
Her fist struck the attacker's shoulder.
The man crashed into the wall with a heavy thud.
The second attacker wiped his eyes and drew a dagger.
"Little bastard—"
Arin threw the metal bowl directly at his face.
The man blocked instinctively.
In that moment, Elara kicked his stomach.
He flew backward through the broken window.
A scream echoed outside.
Then silence.
Elara stared at Arin.
"…You didn't even touch him."
"Efficiency," Arin replied calmly.
Then—
BANG.
The door exploded inward.
The third attacker forced his way inside.
He was larger than the others.
And he had a sword.
Elara stepped forward instantly.
But Arin grabbed her arm.
"Wait."
The attacker scanned the dark room.
"Come out, kid."
Arin spoke calmly.
"You're blocking your partner's line of sight."
The attacker frowned.
"What?"
"Alley watcher," Arin said.
"Your formation has one outside."
The attacker hesitated.
Exactly the reaction Arin wanted.
Confusion slowed aggression.
Elara whispered,
"You're talking to them?"
"Buying seconds."
Then Arin suddenly shouted toward the window.
"Now!"
The attacker spun around instinctively.
But there was no one behind him.
Elara moved like lightning.
Her mana surged again.
Her punch hit the man's ribs with explosive force.
CRACK.
The attacker collapsed instantly.
Elara stepped back, breathing hard.
"…That one hurt."
Arin nodded.
"You're improving."
She stared at him.
"You tricked him."
"Yes."
"You trick everyone."
"Yes."
Footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.
The fourth attacker.
The alley watcher.
He had heard the noise.
Arin walked calmly toward the window.
Elara grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait. He has a crossbow."
Arin looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"I saw him earlier."
Arin nodded.
"Good observation."
He stepped beside the window frame but stayed out of sight.
Then he picked up a broken glass shard and threw it into the alley.
The sound echoed loudly.
TWANG.
A bolt fired instantly.
Into empty air.
Arin stepped out immediately.
The attacker was still recovering from the shot.
Arin kicked the man's knee sideways.
The attacker collapsed.
Elara appeared beside him and knocked the crossbow away.
Within seconds—
All four attackers were down.
Silence returned to the apartment.
Elara leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
"…That was insane."
Arin closed the window curtain.
"Not really."
"You defeated four trained fighters."
"No," Arin corrected.
"You did."
She stared at him.
"You planned everything."
"Yes."
She looked around the room.
The powder.
The chair.
The bowl.
The barricade.
"…You prepared this before they even entered."
"Yes."
Her voice dropped slightly.
"You expected them."
Arin didn't deny it.
Elara walked closer.
"You really think like a war strategist."
"I am one."
She studied him quietly.
Then asked the question she had been thinking since the factory.
"Arin… who are you?"
Arin looked toward the night sky through the broken window.
Somewhere above the city, invisible fractures were slowly spreading.
"I'm someone," he said quietly,
"who refuses to watch the world die again."
Far away…
In Cassian Vale's mansion…
A messenger arrived breathless.
"My lord."
Cassian looked up from his desk.
"Yes?"
"The men you sent… failed."
Cassian's eyebrow lifted.
"All four?"
"Yes."
Cassian leaned back slowly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"Did the girl fight them?"
"Yes."
"And the boy?"
The messenger hesitated.
"…He didn't use magic."
Cassian smiled slowly.
"Even better."
He stood and walked toward the window.
"Prepare a meeting."
"With Arin Veyron?"
Cassian's eyes gleamed.
"No."
"With the people who might already be watching him."
Deep beneath the city…
The hooded figures stared at the glowing projection again.
Timeline Deviation Index: 0.019%
One figure spoke quietly.
"The anomaly survived the correction attempt."
Another voice answered.
"Then escalate."
A third figure whispered,
"Observe first."
And the projection zoomed in.
Directly onto one name.
Arin Veyron