Chapter 6
Three months had passed since Bumi began his training. The quiet morning streets stretched ahead of him as his footsteps echoed against the pavement. His breathing was steady, controlled—no longer the desperate gasps from before. Sweat clung to his skin, and his muscles burned, but he kept moving.
He had already run past Aurora's house. Just like before, a faint glow spilled over the wall. Even without looking, he knew. She was training again.
"…Of course she is," Bumi muttered under his breath.
He didn't slow down. He pushed forward, legs moving in rhythm, breath syncing with each step. The distance ticked by. Kilometer after kilometer, until… "Beep! Well done! Keep up the good work!"
A notification came from his phone, signaling the end of his run. "You ran twenty… one… point… zero… nine kilometers."
"Hah… hah…" He bent forward slightly, one hand on his knees, one on his phone, as he caught his breath. His chest rose and fell rapidly. panting for air. Sweat dripping from his chin onto the pavement below.
"Aughh… Still slow…" he muttered, frustration creeping into his voice. "Should have sprinted at the end…"
After a short stretch, he walked over to a nearby bar and grabbed hold.
"One… two… three…" he counted out loud, pulling himself up. His arms trembled slightly, but he pushed through it.
"Nine… ten…" He dropped down, shaking his arms out before jumping back up again.
By the time he finished all his reps and sets, his muscles were screaming, but his breathing had steadied. He wiped the sweat off his face and glanced at his phone, checking the time. "It's not noon yet?"
For a moment, he just stared at the screen. Then a small smile crept onto his face.
"For once… I finished early." It wasn't much. But this was his first victory.
"Alright," he muttered, straightening up. "Today's the day."
After a quick shower at home, Bumi changed and checked his account balance one more time. Months of overtime, saving every spare dollar, cutting down on everything unnecessary. It had all led to this.
"Still painful," he sighed, grabbing his wallet anyway and heading out for the mall.
The mall was busy and bustling as usual, filled with chatter, footsteps, and the hum of daily life. Bumi made his way straight to the small antique store tucked in the corner, his eyes scanning nervously. "…Please still be there…"
The bell above the door chimed as he stepped in.
"Welcome!" the old lady behind the counter smiled knowingly. "Looking for something, boy?"
Bumi's eyes scanned the shelves and the glass display case. After searching high and low, he found it, the army knife. The same one he searched for three months ago was still there.
"…Yeah," he said, walking up to the counter.
The old lady picked it up before he could. "This one? Good taste; it's a very good piece. Old world design. It's very rare. You know, it got many functions—"
"Flathead screwdriver, two sizes. Flint rod, bottle and can opener, wire stripper, wood saw, tweezers, and ruler marking," Bumi cut in, his eyes fixed on the prize. "Yeah. I know…"
The lady blinked, then chuckled. "Good, you really did your research."
She flipped the blade open carefully. "But the most important part is this."
She held it up. "Be careful, it's very sharp."
She grabbed a piece of paper and sliced it cleanly in half without resistance. Bumi's eyes followed the blade, and at the heel of the blade was a serrated edge, and on the side, a small engraving. "What does that write? 'V—vin—cere, Vinvere'?" he read.
"It's one of the many old languages," the lady said. "I'm not old enough to know what language it is, though. Maybe it's a mystery to uncover."
Bumi stared at it for a moment and the price tag. "I'll… take it."
His wallet, and soul crying as he paid. However, the moment the knife rested in his hand, everything else faded. He flipped it open slightly, feeling the weight, how sturdy, balanced, and grippy it is.
"Thank you, Auntie," he said quietly, giving a slight bow. As he stepped out of the shop, he couldn't help but glance at it again, turning it slightly in the light. Seeing the words shimmer under the sunlight. A smile formed as Bumi had acquired a new toy.
"Man, buying something off my hard work sure is satisfying." He thought to himself. "Finally, it's mine! I can't wait to train with it!"
"BOOM!" All of a sudden an explosion could be heard, shaking the entire mall.
The screams, people running, and black smoke rising in the distance had snapped Bumi back to reality.
"Psycho! Synarc psycho!" someone shouted. Panic spread instantly. Crowds surged past him, rushing toward the exits.
Bumi took a step back slowly, turning his body to the exit. His body was screaming to run, and he started moving towards the door.
"Please! Please don't!" a voice cried out.
Bumi froze.
As he turned to the direction of the plea, a young boy stood in the distance, arms spread desperately in front of a girl pinned beneath the rubble. Blood trickled down her forehead, her leg trapped.
In front of them was a man. No. In front of them was a psycho. Synarc energy flickered wildly around him, unstable and violent.
"Please… she's my sister…" the boy begged.
Bumi's body is still frozen.
"Move!" he whispered to himself. Nothing, his legs disobeying his commands. "MOVE DAMN IT."
His grip tightened around the knife, and still nothing. His eyes darted around.
"Security? Guards? Anyone?"
However, no one came.
The psycho raised his arm. Synarc gathered around his hands as a fireball formed in the air above.
"…NO!…" Bumi shouted at the top of his lungs, witnessing the spell being hurled towards the boy.
"4.99% release. Cast—Barrier." A familiar voice spoke. A translucent shield formed instantly, intercepting the attack.
"CRACK—" The barrier shattered, the force dispersing and redirecting it to a shop.
"It's okay," Aurora, now in front of the siblings, said firmly. "Help is here."
Bumi's eyes widened. "Aurora…?"
She didn't respond, as her focus was entirely on the psycho. Her mind was racing with thoughts. "That barrier should have blocked it, but… It didn't."
"…So this is real combat," she thought.
"Cast—Lightning." A flash tore through the air, striking the psycho directly as smoke rose from where the spell landed.
"Cast—Icebreaker." She comboed her spell. Icicle followed, cutting into the target. For a moment, it looked like it worked. The psycho was staggered, stumbling backwards from the fury of spells.
Bumi watched from the side, frozen between fear and awe. "…She's… gotten so strong …"
He looks at himself: nothing, of no aid, useless dead weight. He gritted his teeth, his nails dug into his palm. "…MOVE!"
Pain shot through his arm, but it did not matter. He squeezed even harder as he started bleeding from his hand. "I SAID…MOVE!"
His legs finally responded, jolting forward.
The boy turned, eyes wide. "H-help—!"
"Grab her when I lift!" Bumi instructed in a calm manner, mustering up a smile. He placed his hand below the rubble. "…URGHHHH—!"
Muscles screamed as he forced it up, just enough. "Now!"
The boy pulled his leg-sister free. Immediately, Bumi didn't hesitate. He lifted her up and ran with the boy to the exit.
"Aurora! Keep it busy!" he shouted instinctively.
Her eyes widened. "…Bumi?!"
For that split second, the psycho vanished from sight.
"Too fast." The thought flashed briefly in Aurora's mind as she turned to face the psycho.
"Ca—!" Impact as Aurora's cast got interrupted.
Fortunately, Aurora's body instinctively jumped as the psycho's fist landed square against Aurora's gut, saving her head as she slammed into the pillar of the mall, leaving a crater.
Luckily for her, she barely managed to cast barriers mid-impact, cushioning the blow, but pain shot through her body. "…Tch—!"
She looked up, seeing the psycho preparing another blow, his fist flying towards her head—
"Cast—Barrier." A much stronger shield intercepted the next strike. The mall security guard stepped in, weapon drawn. Electric shots fired from his Synarc gun, stunning the psycho.
The tide of the battle shifted; the guard had control over this fight. However, just as the psycho was being closed in on, he pulled out a vial with a needle.
Bumi, who had returned to see if he could provide help to others, stood shocked. "…That vile…" The injection, just like his father.
The moment it pierced the skin, a shockwave exploded outward, a force that sent rubble and unsecured structures flying backwards. The psycho's body twisted, expanded, and mutated; groans can be heard as his body enlarged, and skin hardening with minerals started to form on it. He had become a monster.
"…No way…" the guard muttered. Aurora gritted her teeth.
"CAST—!" They both chanted as their attacks followed.
Lightning, fire, and ice all land on the target, leading to an explosion. A desperate plea and a combination of their effort had resulted in the strongest attack of this fight so far.
Yet, as the smoke cleared up, Aurora realized that their effort was for naught. It was all blocked. "Barrier?" she questioned.
"It's releasing around 20%… We can't handle this." The guard clenched his jaw. He turned. "Listen, girl, run. I'll distract him. You go evacuate anyone you see and call for the SSS—"
"Clink." A coin spun down from the skylight, reflecting light off the sun.
"Cast—Enlarge." It expanded midair into a massive slab as it slammed down on the psycho, pinning it down while creating a massive crater and shaking the entirety of the mall.
A figure descended calmly from above as it sighed, "…Never mess with my lunch break."
The psycho roared, breaking free, launching the hug coin aside. It then fired a large fireball towards the man.
"Cast—Shrink." The ball of flame vanished.
"Cast—Icebreaker." Dozens of icicles formed as it was flung towards the psycho. "Cast—Enlarge."
The shard grew in size as it rushed towards the monster, piercing straight through it and pinning it to the wall.
"Cast—Body Enhancement." The man vanished, reappearing right in front of the monster, landing a kick right on the neck. The head tore clean off, slaying across the mall.
Silence.
The body collapsed, and the head landed into a rolling stop near Bumi.
Everyone stood frozen.
"…Done," the man said casually. He turned to the guard, giving a thumbs up. "You held up well, well done! I'll take care of the rest now."
"Good job out there. You've got talent. Have you considered the SSSA?" He then turned to Aurora. "Anyways, both of you stay put; I need to question y'all on this guy."
He turned to Bumi's direction, looking for the head when, "Oh. Alley boy."
"Alley boy?" The security guard and Aurora questioned the agent's familiarity with Bumi.
Bumi blinked. "Y-Yes, sir—"
"Relax, I don't like all this unease," the man waved. "Call me Lucian."
Aurora frowned slightly. "…You know him?"
Lucian smirked. "Of course! He declared that aiming for SSS right in front of me and the thugs that were mugging him. How's the prep going?"
Silence.
Aurora's eyes widened. "You… WHAT?"
Bumi scratched his head awkwardly. "…Not going great."
Lucian laughed. "I hope next time I see you, you don't need saving. Best of luck to you man. Also, I need you to leave, as this is now a crime scene…" He walked off, grabbing the dismembered head.
Bumi turned to leave, not having anything he could contribute. He gave one final look back before leaving. Just then Aurora's and his eyes met. But this time, there was no annoyance, no indifference. Rather, it was something worse, a killing intent. It sent a chill down his spine.
He quickly turned and waddled away feeling fearful of being in Aurora's presence.
Later that evening, Bumi returned to work; his mind was on something else. As he studied, his mind was still on something else. Even when he tried to move forward, one thought remained.
"Why?" he reflected. "Why did I freeze? When it mattered most… why…couldn't I move?"
As things are now, Bumi is more of an athlete than a fighter. His fear is holding him back, and while it's normal to feel fear. If he ever wants to be an SSS officer, he cannot let himself freeze as people are relying on him. His hesitation may be their last breath. Bumi stares into the ceiling, pondering what he could have done if only that part of him could change.