Alice’s eyes were locked on the rooftop across the plaza.
Her expression was cold, and unreadable.
Not even the noise from the crowd or the burning remains of the exploded bullet seemed to register with her.
Isaac followed her gaze.
He knew where the attack had come from too. He opened his mouth to speak.
“Alice, don’t fight in the city. We will have to pay money—”
But before the sentence left his lips, she crouched.
The concrete beneath her feet cracked violently.
Then she jumped.
A thunderous shockwave rippled out from the force.
Pavement split apart. Nearby storefront windows trembled, some of them shattering under the sudden pressure.
Drones overhead lit up red, signaling movement that breached the allowed threshold for urban combat zones.
She was already gone, her figure streaking through the air.
Within moments, she landed on the rooftop of the tall commercial building across the street.
Two figures stood there.
One of them was Shen—the young assassin with dark hair and a calm, distant look. He stared at the city below, ignoring Alice as if saying she wasn’t even a threat.
“…I failed,” Shen muttered.
Behind him, another man stood, more casually. He had a crooked grin, black gloves, and a relaxed posture.
“I told you to be careful,” Rael said, chuckling.
Neither of them was worried about Alice.
Not until she moved.
There was no warning.
She was suddenly next to Shen.
Her speed shocked then, easily faster than most human Champion rankers.
Shen’s senses flared just in time.
He twisted his body and raised his arms in front of himself in a cross-block.
Her fist struck.
The impact launched him skyward, his body smashing through the small glass barrier lining the rooftop’s edge. He shot upward like a missile, completely helpless in the air.
Alice didn’t waste time.
Her hand ignited in golden light. Then her entire body followed.
[Solar Dominion.]
The rooftop was instantly consumed in radiant flames. The heat made the air shimmer. The drones monitoring the building short-circuited as the temperature spiked past acceptable thresholds.
Rael cursed and shielded his eyes, blinded.
Alice stepped into his blind spot and spun on her heel. Her kick landed clean in the center of his chest.
He didn’t block it.
His body shot off the rooftop like a cannonball, tearing through two adjacent buildings before finally crashing into a third. The structure groaned under the impact.
Far below, chaos erupted.
Civilians screamed and ran. Security barriers began to rise.
Awakeners from nearby tried to interfere, but the golden flames kept them at bay. The heat made it impossible to get close.
“Urgh… how is she so strong?” Shen muttered, still sailing through the sky.
He twisted his body mid-air, focusing his mana to steady himself.
The fall wouldn’t kill him. He was tough enough to tank a few crashes.
But that wasn’t the problem.
“She caused too much noise… I need to leave now.”
He pulled a sleek sniper rifle from his spatial ring. The weapon was black with glowing red engravings that pulsed with his mana signature.
He aimed it at the rooftop.
Not just at the rooftop—at Alice.
“I’ll kill her in one shot,” he whispered.
Mana surged through the gun.
A high-level technique, [Piercing Silence].
It was a skill known for bypassing magical barriers and vaporizing internal organs on contact. He’d invested years in mastering it.
At Level 7, its lethality was guaranteed.
The barrel of the sniper turned hot. The air buzzed.
He pulled the trigger.
The bullet roared toward the rooftop like a beam of death.
Alice felt the danger coming.
She turned her head, eyes narrowing. Then she raised her hand.
[Flame of Judgment.]
Flames erupted around her, brighter and more concentrated than before.
They twisted into the shape of a long spear, glowing gold and red, surrounded by circular rings of runes. The heat bent the rooftop steel beneath her.
But her focus wasn’t on the sniper.
It was on Rael.
The one she had kicked.
He could’ve blocked it, or dodged. But he didn’t. He let the blow land.
He even smiled.
Alice had understood it in that instant.
’He’s stronger than me. A lot stronger.’
She wasn’t stupid. He was holding back.
’He’s not human.’
That changed things.
She didn’t know what kind of being Rael was, but she couldn’t deal with both of them at once. Especially not now. It wasn’t daytime. Her true power—Daybreak Incarnate skill—was tied to sunlight. At night, she couldn’t use half of her strength.
So she made a quick choice.
’I’ll leave that old man to Isaac.’
Her aim was the bastard who attacked Isaac earlier.
She turned and launched the spear.
It hurtled through the sky with a shriek, flames trailing behind it like a comet. The bullet from Shen’s sniper crossed its path mid-air.
They collided.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the bullet shattered.
Shen’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What…? My skill is already Level 7—”
He couldn’t finish the sentence.
The spear kept going.
It pierced through the air and slammed into him.
Then it exploded.
The explosion lit up the sky.
For a brief moment, night turned into day.
A blinding pillar of flame erupted mid-air, melting through the clouds above.
The sound was thunderous, louder than anything the city had heard that day.
Down below, the people could only watch the spectacle in stunned silence.
Shen’s charred figure fell from the sky.
His body hit the ground hard, cracking the pavement.
He was barely alive. His skin was scorched black. His left arm was gone. His breath came in shallow, rasping gasps.
Then Alice landed next to him.
She looked down at him, then slammed her heel into his chest, pinning him.
His body convulsed under the force.
He looked up at her through blood-streaked lashes.
“You…”
He didn’t finish that sentence either.
Golden light began to glow from her hands.
She pressed them into his chest.
Instead of fire, warmth spread.
She was healing him.
His broken bones began to knit together. His burnt skin restored itself inch by inch. His lungs filled with steady air again. In seconds, he went from dying to completely healed.
In a matter of seconds, he was whole.
Alice stood over him without a word, her golden eyes staring down like the sun itself.
Shen trembled.
She hadn’t saved him out of mercy.
“Who sent you?” she asked.
Her voice was filled with cold anger.
Shen didn’t answer.
Instead, his jaw clenched. He moved fast.
His head tilted slightly as he tried to bite down on the molar hidden in the back of his mouth.
He was trying to kill himself with the hidden poison.
Alice was faster.
Her fingers snapped to his jaw and yanked it open. With an almost casual motion, she ripped the entire molar and surrounding tissue from his mouth.
Shen screamed.
Blood sprayed from his gums as he writhed on the ground.
His body jerked from the pain, but she didn’t let go.
Her hand remained firm as she tossed the bloodied piece of his mouth to the side.
He couldn’t understand it.
How was she overpowering him so easily?
He was a Champion-rank assassin.
A professional killer trained for years. He had survived three major purges and more assassination missions than he could count.
But this woman…
She grabbed his throat with one hand and lifted him off the ground like he weighed nothing. His legs dangled in the air as her grip tightened around his neck.
“I asked you a question—”
Shen spat at her.
Blood and saliva splashed against her face.
“That’s my answer,” he rasped.
Her expression didn’t change.
Then steam started to rise from her body.
Her temperature was climbing.
It was partly due to her anger, and partly as she was circulating Solar Mana inside her body.
Her skin shimmered with heat.
Shen began to scream again.
Her palm was still around his neck, and it had started to burn through his skin.
His flesh hissed beneath her grip, the smell of charred muscle mixing with the steam rising into the night.
Then, without warning, she healed him again.
His skin regenerated.
The pain stopped, but only for a moment.
“You won’t die,” Alice said calmly. “Not unless I you answer the question.”
And then it began again.
Burning. Healing. Burning again.
His mind couldn’t keep up.
His body jerked violently with each loop, and yet there was no release.
No unconsciousness. No death. Only fire, pain, and her cold stare.
“Who sent you?”
“K-kill me…”
“If you don’t want to answer me…” Alice tightened her grip. “then you don’t need that tongue.”
Her hand moved again.
She forced his mouth open and reached in.
Shen tried to struggle.
His hand clawed at her arm, but she didn’t budge.
Her fingers gripped his tongue, and heat surged once more.
His tongue caught fire.
He screamed again, eyes rolling in pain.
His entire body flailed in panic, unable to dislodge her. She kept holding both his neck and his tongue, steady as stone, the heat never decreasing.
When she finally pulled her hand out, the muscle was blackened and useless.
Then she healed him again.
His mouth was whole once more. But he couldn’t stop shaking. His breathing was ragged, sweat dripping from every inch of his face.
“Who sent you?” she asked again.
Now, those words were starting to sound like the voice of a grim reaper.
Shen didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes were shaking wildly. He was panting, coughing, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Every part of him wanted to collapse and disappear.
But somehow, he managed a faint grin.
“Hehe… you think this is enough to make me talk?”
Alice’s hand twitched. Her fingers curled just slightly around his neck, her mana rising.
She was about to snap it.
But then she heard something.
The distinct sound of heels clicking against the concrete.
She turned her head.
Professor Catherine stood a few steps away, watching them with a slight smile. Her expression was oddly pleased.
Alice frowned.
“You fought nicely, Alice,” she said. “But you still need to learn a few things. First, don’t fight in the open. And second, that’s not how you interrogate someone.”
Alice froze.
The words cut through her rising anger like a blade.
She looked around.
Buildings were cracked.
Drones above were still flickering from the mana overload.
The area was scorched, and a large section of the rooftop was barely holding together.
If even one civilian had gotten hurt, then that would lead to problems.
She looked around and—
“There are no people here,” Alice muttered. “…Mirror World?”
Professor Catherine nodded, stepping beside her. “You’re welcome.”
Alice exhaled, her shoulders relaxing slightly. But there was tension in her jaw.
“I thought I taught you not to do anything reckless in the city,” Professor Catherine added lightly.
“He attacked Isaac,” Alice replied, voice firm.
Professor Catherine studied her for a moment, then smiled again. “Fair enough.”
Then her gaze turned to Shen.
“Now, give him to me,” she said, extending her hand. “Let me show you how to actually interrogate someone.”
Alice hesitated for only a second.
Then she let go.
Shen collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, barely able to support himself.
For the next five minutes, Alice stood and watched.
What she saw was something so horrifying that it made her flinch.
The assassin didn’t last long.
Alice found herself gulping in nervousness.
She’d always known Professor Catherine was dangerous. But this was something else.
The professor seemed excited—almost joyful—as she worked. Every small twitch of the assassin’s face brought a glint of satisfaction to her eyes.
’She’s sick in the head,’ Alice thought.
Then again…
’Maybe that’s true for me too.’
Because even now, as the assassin whimpered under Professor Catherine’s grip, Alice felt no pity for him.
It wasn’t just because of what Shen did to Isaac but…
’Is this the effect of dragon blood?’
Some part of her viewed the world not in right or wrong, but in strength and weakness.
To her it felt normal that, insects should be crushed. That if someone dared to attack, they deserved annihilation.
’I need to start using the meditation techniques my ancestor left behind.’
Alice took a slow breath.
She couldn’t afford to lose herself to this bloodline.
She still wanted to stay human. At least a little.
Just then, Professor Catherine turned back to her.
“He said it was Oran Fennel,” she said casually, brushing her gloves off. “I’m going to give that guy a visit. Do you want to come?”
Alice was about to say yes.
But she paused and looked in the opposite direction.
“What about Isaac?” she asked.
…
Isaac POV
Isaac stood quietly near the edge of the rooftop.
His eyes were fixed on the building Alice had kicked the assassin through just minutes ago.
The structure looked read to collapse any minute now.
Concrete dust floated in the air. Shattered windows reflected the faint light from above.
’Repaying for all of this along with civilian hazard pay is going to cost a lot.’
He felt like a dagger was being stabbed through his heart.
The only good news was that there were no civilians around. At least no one would get hurt.
Everyone had disappeared.
Isaac noticed the faint cracks in the air.
’Someone summoned a Mirror World.’
Isaac narrowed his eyes.
’It has to be Professor Catherine,’ he thought.
She should’ve been close by. She was his assigned guard after all.
’But she hasn’t showed herself yet, only summoned a Mirror World.’
Alice was already fighting, he was about to fight too, but Professor Catherine remained hidden.
The reason was obvious.
’She wants me to fight.’
If he asked her why she wanted that, she would say it was training.
But he could guess the real reason.
’She wants to know my true strength.’
Isaac exhaled softly and reached into his spatial ring.
He drew his sword. The blade gleamed silver in the Mirror World’s warped lighting.
Suddenly, white energy began to hum faintly along the blade’s edge.
Sword Aura.
It pulsed gently, clinging to the metal like a second skin. It was refined, and it looked sharp enough to cut the air itself.
’I won’t reveal my shared skills, and summons.’
’But if it’s just stats…’
He smiled faintly.
He’d been itching to test himself properly for a while now.
Footsteps echoed.
From the rubble of the broken building, the old assassin finally stepped out.
His coat was torn, but he had no visible injury.
The man looked around slowly, gaze moving across the silent rooftop.
“Tch… someone used a Mirror World,” he muttered, brushing dust off his sleeve. “Who was it?”
Isaac didn’t answer.
The old assassin turned, his eyes landing on him. He squinted slightly, then raised a brow.
“Kid,” he said, pointing at the sword. “Is that Sword Aura?”
The assassin didn’t wait for a reply. He moved.
In less than a blink, the man disappeared from the building’s edge and reappeared ten meters in front of Isaac on the ground.
His raw speed was so fast that it looked like he had teleported.
He tilted his head, eyes studying Isaac more carefully.
“This doesn’t make sense. You should’ve awakened recently. A few weeks ago at most. But to already have Sword Aura…”
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You are a bit too talented for your age.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then the man asked, “Are you a reincarnator?”
Isaac was surprised.
There were reincarnators in this world?
The old man saw his expression and chuckled, taking it as confirmation.
“Looks like it’s your first time meeting someone who knows about reincarnators? Strange. You should’ve met that old woman in the city. She is a reincarnator too.”
He looked up at the sky as if remembering something fondly.
“Hmm, this makes things a bit complicated. I thought the woman wouldn’t care if we killed you. But if you are a reincarnator friend of hers—”
“Are you going to keep talking, or are you going to fight?”
Isaac pointed his sword at the old man.
Although he was curious about who this ’old woman’ was and about the knowledge of reincarnators, he wasn’t going to chit-chat with the man.
He had attacked Isaac, and Isaac was going to respond in kind.
The old man, Rael, stared at Isaac.
Then he smiled, as if he’d just heard a child throwing a tantrum.
“Looks like you were some king or something similar in your past life. And that makes you think you are the strongest, huh?”
He chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
“I get it. You reincarnators are strong, but all of you are living in the past. That’s fine.”
The man rolled his shoulders, loosening the muscles.
He reached into his coat and pulled out two curved daggers. Thin, deadly, and unnaturally clean despite the dust covering his body.
“I’ll reach you one thing,” he said, spinning the blades once. “Times have changed, kid.”