The coin spun upward.
Silver flashed against the endless white void, turning again and again, its motion hypnotic — a tiny object deciding life and death.
Leo's eyes locked onto it completely.
Nothing else existed.
Not the assassin.
Not the void.
Not even the fear crawling beneath his skin.
Only the coin.
It rotated slowly, reflecting pale light as it reached the peak of its arc—
—and suddenly pain exploded across Leo's face.
BOOM.
A fist slammed into his jaw.
His vision shattered into fragments as his body spun sideways. Before he could even recover—
Bang.
A gunshot echoed.
Leo's instincts screamed. Somehow, purely by reflex, he twisted mid-fall. The bullet grazed past his shoulder instead of piercing his chest.
He landed roughly, sliding across the white ground before forcing himself upright.
"Hey!" Leo shouted, wiping blood from his lip. "That's not part of the game!"
The assassin tilted his head innocently.
"Oh?" he said casually. "I thought that meant the game was over."
He turned away as if preparing to leave.
"I suppose I'll go now."
"No," Leo said immediately. "That doesn't mean that."
The assassin paused.
Leo stepped forward, breathing heavily.
"Flip the coin again," he said. "But fairly."
A slow grin spread across the assassin's face.
"…Alright. I'll try to be fair."
Leo frowned. What does that even mean?
The assassin placed the coin on his thumb once more.
This time, Leo didn't focus on the coin.
He focused on the assassin.
Every muscle movement. Every twitch. Every shift of weight.
If the assassin attacked again, he would see it coming.
The coin flipped.
Upward.
Spinning.
Leo kept his gaze locked on the assassin's hands, refusing to repeat the same mistake.
Seconds passed.
Then more seconds.
The coin didn't fall.
Leo's concentration began to crack.
Why isn't it coming down?
His eyes twitched upward involuntarily—
—and the assassin moved instantly.
CRACK.
Another punch smashed into Leo's face.
Bang!
A gunshot followed immediately.
This time the bullet struck his leg.
Pain surged violently through his body, sharp enough to steal his breath. His knee buckled—but Leo forced himself upright instead of collapsing.
The assassin laughed.
"You're learning slowly."
Leo gritted his teeth.
Before the assassin could react again, Leo lunged forward, grabbed the coin straight from his hand, and stepped back.
"…My turn," Leo said.
For the first time, surprise crossed the assassin's face.
Leo flipped the coin cleanly into the air.
No tricks.
No distractions.
Just a simple, honest flip.
The coin spun.
Fell.
And landed.
Tails.
A smile appeared on Leo's face.
"I win."
Bang.
The sound came instantly.
Leo's eyes widened.
He looked up just in time to see the assassin pointing the gun directly at him.
Another shot fired.
Then another.
And another.
Bullets tore into Leo's body one after another. His smile vanished as pain overwhelmed him. His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the white floor.
The assassin didn't stop.
Gunfire echoed endlessly.
Each shot slammed into Leo's unmoving body.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Finally—
Click.
The magazine emptied.
The assassin calmly began reloading.
"Come on," he said casually while inserting new rounds. "Stop pretending you're dead."
His expression twisted strangely — half joyful, half furious.
"I know you're still alive. Stand up. I want to play the next round."
The reload finished.
He raised the gun again and fired relentlessly into Leo's motionless form.
Meanwhile.
Inside the clocktower.
Null stood silently.
Minutes passed.
Then more minutes.
Leo hadn't returned.
Something felt wrong.
A quiet unease spread through Null's chest.
Finally, his patience ended.
He walked toward the exit and pushed open the clocktower door.
The outside world greeted him normally.
Wind moved through empty streets. Buildings stood untouched.
But Leo wasn't there.
Instead of relief, confusion tightened around him.
"…Leo?"
No answer.
Null began walking faster, then running toward the town entrance.
Empty.
No signs of battle.
No Leo.
Null turned back—
A figure suddenly appeared behind him.
The assassin lunged forward with a punch.
The moment the fist crossed into Null's two-meter radius—
The attacker vanished.
Completely erased.
Null stopped.
"…?"
Another assassin appeared.
Then another.
Dozens emerged from different directions, rushing him simultaneously.
Each one disappeared the instant they entered Axiom.
Like illusions touching reality for the first time.
Null watched silently as they vanished one after another.
Confusion filled his eyes.
More assassins surrounded him, attacking endlessly.
Disappear.
Disappear.
Disappear.
Soon he stood alone again.
Silence returned.
Null's hands slowly clenched.
His calm expression cracked for the first time.
"…Where are you, Leo?"
He didn't shout.
His voice was quiet.
Almost trembling.
And then—
Axiom reacted.
The invisible field surrounding him began expanding.
Two meters became five.
Five became ten.
The air distorted as reality corrected itself under Axiom's rule.
The expanding sphere spread across streets, buildings, and the entire town.
Every fake assassin touched by it vanished instantly.
Illusions collapsed.
False space erased itself.
The world corrected.
And then—
Two figures appeared high above the sky.
Falling.
Null's eyes widened.
"Leo."
He ran forward instantly.
Leo's body dropped toward the ground, limp and covered in wounds.
Null leapt and caught him just before impact.
At the same moment, the real assassin crashed into the ground nearby, landing violently.
Within seconds, Leo's injuries began disappearing.
Bullet holes closed.
Blood vanished.
Axiom erased the false damage connected to the assassin.
Leo remained unconscious.
Sleeping.
His phone battery had finally died.
The assassin slowly stood up.
His body trembled — not from injury, but rage.
"You two…" he growled.
His voice rose into a scream.
"YOU TWO ARE WEAK!"
Killing intent flooded the air.
"You are NOTHING compared to me! Enough playing!"
He raised his gun toward them.
"Now I will kill you."
Before he could fire—
The sky darkened.
A voice descended from above.
Calm.
Ancient.
Unreachable.
"Your time is over."
The assassin froze instantly.
Only a voice existed — no body, no form — yet its authority crushed everything.
"Honestly," the voice continued, almost bored, "you have become… tiresome."
"…My Lord—"
The assassin dropped to his knees, terror flooding his face.
"Please forgive me! Give me a few more minutes! I can kill them! I swear I—"
Tears streamed from his eyes.
Fear replaced all arrogance.
A flash split the sky.
Lightning descended.
There was no explosion.
No struggle.
Only instant annihilation.
The assassin vanished.
Silence followed.
Null stood motionless, still holding Leo.
Then—
Leo's eyes snapped open.
He looked around wildly, seeing the destroyed ground, the fading lightning, and Null standing over him.
Confusion turned into terror.
"RUN!" Leo screamed.