The first villain brought his hand down in a vertical slash, but nothing happened.
The teleportation gate that was supposed to appear never formed… or at least, not properly. A faint ripple flickered in the air, so thin it was almost impossible to notice.
He froze for a moment before quickly reaching for the pendant hanging from his neck.
After shaking it once, he tried again. Still nothing.
The second villain was experiencing the same problem. Both of them already knew what was happening.
They naturally recognized the commanding voice.
'Why did it have to be Edict… of all people?'
The first villain began sweating beneath his hood despite the chilly weather.
The moment he realized his trump card was useless, he turned around and ran without looking back.
"Motion is also forbidden here."
The voice issued another order, a lazy yawn slipping between the words.
The fleeing villains instantly slowed.
Their movements dropped to a crawl, as if the entire world had suddenly shifted into slow motion.
Even the three heroes were affected.
Their heads slowly turned toward the direction of the voice, every movement sluggish and heavy.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The woman finally stepped into view.
She walked toward them with slightly awkward strides.
Dark bags hung under her eyes, and her messy braids swayed lazily as she moved.
She wore tight black leggings and a pink cropped top that revealed more of her chest than most people would expect from someone arriving at a battlefield. On the left side of the top was a small badge.
GAA
And beneath it, written in smaller letters:
Nigeria
"You villain scum just don't want me to have a moment of peace, huh?" she muttered, stretching slightly before yawning again.
"You people always force me to use my ability." She rubbed one eye lazily.
"And every time I do, I lose even more sleep."
She gestured toward herself expressively.
"Look at the state of me."
Her tired gaze drifted across the building.
"Which sane man do you think would want to date me looking like this?"
'It's really Edict…'
The leader of the White-Eagle Guild felt a surge of excitement.
"Alright," Edict said casually.
"You two will be coming with me."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out two small metallic spheres crackling faintly with electricity.
The spheres expanded with a light buzzing sound and quickly reshaped themselves into pink Ether suppressor handcuffs.
Edict walked toward the second villain.
She placed her palm on his shoulder and shoved him face-first into the ground.
Then she pressed a knee firmly into his back while securing the cuffs.
It was mostly precaution as villains were unpredictable.
Who knew what kind of ability he might still have hidden?
Just as she finished securing him, a sudden breeze slipped through the ruined building.
The air felt strangely cold.
Goosebumps instantly rose along Edict's arms as her instincts flared, she reacted.
Without hesitation she jumped backward several meters, landing in a defensive stance.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings carefully.
Issuing Edicts blindly was dangerous.
Without knowing the enemy's strength, the backlash alone could fry her brain.
"Any invincibility abilities are a cheat," she muttered coldly.
"And will begin malfunctioning for fairness."
The air beside the slowed first villain suddenly rippled, then the distortion thickened.
A slim humanoid figure slowly formed out of what looked like solid air.
The strange figure extended an arm toward the sluggish villain.
"You can stop now," Edict said sharply.
"You've already been exposed."
Her jaw tightened slightly as the backlash from her Edict pressed against her mind.
A deep ethereal voice echoed through the shattered building.
"They're with me. We all leave."
The voice sounded hollow, almost distant.
"No one gets too hurt if we remain reasonable."
As if to demonstrate his point, the air around the female guild leader's head suddenly condensed.
A transparent sphere formed instantly around her head.
She sluggishly reached toward it as the oxygen inside the sphere was rapidly siphoned away.
Her lungs struggled for air.
"You can stop now," Edict said firmly when she realized the guild leader was genuinely about to die.
"See?" the solid-air figure replied calmly.
"Negotiations always wins."
The sphere dispersed immediately.
The guild leader was gasping violently for breath, movements still slow.
Her hands still hadn't even reached her head yet because of the lingering motion restriction.
"It would be convenient if you released your hold on motion and space," the figure continued politely.
The tone sounded friendly in a creepy way.
Edict didn't argue.
She simply complied.
The moment the restrictions disappeared, five figures collapsed almost simultaneously.
The mage guild leader dropped to the ground, clutching her throat while coughing violently.
Most of the whites of her eyes showed as she struggled to breathe again.
"Who are you?" Edict asked quietly.
Exhaustion was already pressing heavily against her mind.
Sleep tugged at her senses, threatening to take over the moment she closed her eyes... But it was just bait, as the sleep would disappear when she truly wanted to sleep.
"Oh?"
The air figure tilted its head slightly.
"I'm simply a mass of solid air."
It suddenly separated into four drifting fragments before merging back together again.
"See?"
Then its voice turned colder.
"If you're asking about my identity…
Then I'm Phantom IV."
Phantom IV slowly raised his left arm.
The purple pendant hanging from the first villain's neck began glowing.
Then he slashed downward with a motion identical to the villain's earlier attempt.
Space itself split open.
A tall dark-purple gate appeared in the air, its surface crackling with arcs of violet energy.
Fine ethereal particles drifted around it like glowing dust.
The first and second villains began floating toward the gate, carried effortlessly by invisible currents.
Phantom IV turned his head toward the White-Eagle Guild Leader.
His voice carried open contempt.
"You should understand something...
As long as you live… you're worse than trash."
"I honestly don't understand how people like you end up with hero systems."
The lean guild leader was still struggling to steady his thoughts when a sudden scream tore from his throat.
A sharp pain exploded inside his mind, he instinctively looked down.
His eyes widened in disbelief... When he noticed both of his hands were gone.
They had been severed cleanly at the wrists by invisible blades of air.
"Hey," Edict said, irritation clearly visible on her face.
"You just broke the deal."
Phantom IV sounded amused.
"I never said no one gets hurt."
"I said no one gets too hurt."
The air that made up his body suddenly began dispersing.
It flowed backward toward the active gate like smoke being pulled by a vacuum.
Moments later the portal vanished with a low humming sound.
"Damn it all," Edict muttered in frustration.
She slammed the unused Ether suppressor into the ground.
'Now I get three extra sleepless nights for nothing.'
She rubbed her temples slowly.
'At least the new S-Class is safe.
I'll call for emergency mission suspension and head back to the capital with both S-Class awakeners.'
Without another word she turned and walked away from the ruined hall.
Behind her, the damaged building groaned one final time.
The weakened pillars finally gave out.
With a deafening crash, the entire structure collapsed.