After jumping down the dark shaft, I shot a rope at a metal rod and slowed my fall and returned at the same starting point.
A part of myself was thinking of turning back.
If I saw that thing again, I would surely die.
But at the same time, there's this feeling at the back of my mind that was telling me I'd regret that decision.
Clutching my chest, I resolved myself to take another step.
Seeing the bloody halls I passed through earlier, shook me to the core. My tears were watering, but...
No matter how heavy my heart is, I'll keep moving.
That's my decision...
Walking further into the halls, I noticed a gun laying around the floor, just around the corner of the next turn.
I was surprised I didn't notice it.
It seemed to be an assault rifle. A fleeing guard must've dropped it here when he tried to escape while in a panicked state.
I haven't used a real gun before. Honestly, my knowledge only extends to that of videogames.
If my memory was serving me right, this specific gun model shoots in rapid fire bursts.
Checking the magazine, it seemed almost full.
Despite my inexperience with firearms, I still took it with me. It's not bad to have options. Although, I'm not sure if this can even help me against the monster wandering around the halls.
I sighed to myself to keep my composure.
"Whatever the case, I need to look for information on where those kids are..."
As I said that, I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps to my left.
Being a little nervous, I immediately pointed the gun in that direction.
"Whoa whoa! Easy there!"
It was a guard trying to sneak his way out.
Seeing the weapon pointed at him, he immediately put his hand in the air to not seem like a threat.
"Please don't kill me... I just got away from that thing... You're a cop, right? I'll tell you anything if you let me go!"
Still pointing the gun at him, I try to sound as intimidating as I could. Imitating a police officer.
"Okay then. Tell me where you kept the children that you guys kidnap, and you're free to go."
His voice sounding relieved, he started spilling every piece of information he knew about those kids.
The first kid he mentioned was Mr. Isaac's daughter. A young girl, has red hair and blue eyes. It fits her description.
We already found her thanks to the tracker earlier, but the locations of the other children were still unknown at the time. It was an oversight on our part to not ask for more information.
Nevertheless, the guard is here now. And he's saying everything I needed.
The rooms of the other two children were close by to where we found the little girl.
The room where a little boy was being kept is just northwest from the room we found Mr. Isaac's daughter, while a girl was close to the storage room that Elio and I hid in.
It was good to know their locations, but the problem is... That's where that monster is lurking around.
I'm praying that those kids are okay...
I hoped in my mind.
Stuttering, the guard asks me a question.
"C-can I go now?"
Nodding, I said yes.
"Yeah, you can go."
The guard smiled and skipped away.
"You can go eat shit."
I said as I shot a rope with my grappling gloves, wrapping around his torso before I slammed his head into the wall, knocking him out.
He might've not seemed like a threat, but I still didn't completely trust him.
Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the locations of those children.
________________________________________
———Isaac's Side———
Isaac was flying through the halls while using his ability to suspend a guard in the air.
He heard several screams coming from far away somewhere inside the facility along with the sounds of gunshots.
He assumed that they were most likely from Aran and Elio, but he felt like that assumption was wrong.
It was unavoidable that they'd have confrontations with the guards, but it was strange for them to cause this much of a commotion. He figured the two of them would keep fighting to a minimum.
Isaac's intuition was telling that much.
Nevertheless, he had a job to do. He was going to destroy the head of this organization.
After extracting information from the guard we took captive of, he was led towards their leader's room which turned out to be a library
Isaac looked at the man who was suspended in midair and pulled him closer.
"If this is the wrong room, I will crush your skull to a pulp..."
With tears coming out of his eyes, the guard cries out.
"Yes yes!!! I'm really not lying! Our boss usually gives out his orders here!"
"Where is he then?"
Isaac asked the guard.
Before the guard got another word out of his mouth, someone from behind them spoke.
His hands hidden in the pockets of his white suit while walking towards them, he spoke with a tone that didn't fit the current situation.
It was almost like he was having fun.
"Over here! And if it isn't my old buddy, Isaac! How have you been?"
Isaac's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth.
Without exchanging any words, he immediately threw the guard outside the library's door and used his ability to lift several heavy shelves towards the man in the suit, crushing him under the weight of several pieces of wood and paper.
Despite looking as if he killed him, Isaac didn't let his guard down and increased the gravity around the pile of shelves to guarantee the death of the man in the white suit.
The force was so intense, that the floor collapsed below them, revealing a large square shaped hole underneath.
But despite this, the man was nowhere to be found.
Instead, he appeared behind Isaac and poked his cheek with his finger.
"Nice try~"
Reacting quickly, Isaac used his ability to launch the man towards a wall.
But before his attack was a success, the man in the white suit summoned a blue portal on the surface of the wall and exited out of another portal behind Isaac.
After he jumped out of the portal, he landed perfectly on his feet.
Frustrated, Isaac grunted.
"I've always hated that ability of yours, Janus..."
"Aw, so you do remember my name!"
The man in the white suit smiled as he summoned another portal in front of Isaac.
Isaac's head and legs were now in separate locations as his body was halfway through the portal.
The next second, Janus turned his open palms into tightly closed fists, making the portals collapse and close.
Just before they did, Isaac pushed himself further into the portal and exited out of the other end.
If he didn't do that just now, his body would've been cut in half.
His ability is as dangerous as ever... I need to stay vigilant...
Isaac thought to himself as he crouched down on the ground, watching every small movement that Janus makes, trying to predict his next attack.
Seeing this, Janus smiled as he walked closer.
"I'm guessing it's my turn to be on the offensive!"
He snapped his fingers and surrounded Isaac with several head-sized portals.
"Hahahaha!!! Guess which one my punch will come out of! Ready? Go!!!"
Janus yelled out as he threw a punch into one of his portals.
Isaac reacted quickly and dodged the incoming punch from behind his head. Not another moment passed until another fist was heading towards his chin from below.
Isaac narrowly dodged it, feeling Janus' knuckles graze his chin.
Seeing this, Janus whistled. Impressed at Isaac's quick reaction speed.
"Wow~ despite the years being rough on you, you've still got those reflexes! Although..."
The hand that Isaac dodged suddenly turned into wooden thorns that burst out and stabbed his shoulder and forearms as he tried to block.
"It's nothing compared to your prime..."
Janus said as he smiled gleefully, finally landing a hit on Isaac.
Trying to recover, Isaac created gravity waves that pushed everything away from him, launching several objects into the walls.
"What was that...?"
Isaac asked himself.
Since when did Janus have another ability besides his portals?! This is unbelievable...
"Surprised?"
Appearing at Isaac's side, Janus snickered before dodging Isaac's punch, entering a portal and appearing again a few meters away.
"I don't usually reveal my secrets, but since you're such a dear old friend of mine, I guess I can make an exception for you!"
Walking into a portal, he appeared in front of Isaac to explain.
"It's something like an experiment of mine. I've been extracting the abilities from children, turning their perks into serums that can be injected for ability enhancement or transference... Unfortunately, most of the batches were failed samples... But this time, it worked!"
Janus laughed as he turned both of his arms into wooden trees of thorns.
"I got this new ability a few years ago. From a cute little boy. His perk's ability made him able to turn his arms into wooden thorns. Such a versatile power... But it's a shame, that boy had to die to give me this. It's a nice parting gift though..."
He said as his wooden arms reverted back to normal.
The lack of any sympathy in Janus' voice enrages Isaac as he broke through the spines that were stabbing him.
"Janus... I never knew that you could stoop even lower than you did... You should've stayed dead."
Activating his ability, Isaac gathered everything inside the library and guided those objects above both their heads, creating some sort of rain cloud made from anything Isaac could find.
Every broken piece of wood, every stone, every book, every piece of dust, rained towards Janus with a force of intense gravity amplifying their lethality.
Each projectile was aimed with the intent to kill.
Unimpressed, Janus created a portal roof above his head while another portal was summoned in front of Isaac to redirect his attack back towards him.
Reacting quickly, Isaac stopped the movement of his projectiles just in time before they hit him.
But during that quick moment of distraction, Janus disappeared from Isaac's point of view before reappearing to his right side.
Janus' hand was now transformed into a wooden stake.
Before Isaac could react and defend himself, the side of his body was stabbed by Janus' spiked hand, making him bleed uncontrollably like a fountain.
Grabbing Janus' arm, Isaac cracked a pained smile.
"I knew someone as prideful as you would would to personally kill me with your bare hands... Even if you move through a portal now, you're not getting away from me..."
Activating his ability, Isaac increased the gravity of his surroundings, making Janus fall down.
As he did, Isaac delivered a gravity powered punch into Janus' abdomen, making him spit out blood.
"Tch! You're still a pain in the ass after all these years, Isaac!"
Janus' screamed as he made a twisted smile.
________________________________________
Away from the intense battle between two people that used to know each other, we change to the scene of a small boy with black hair, facing off against what seems to be an unstoppable force.
________________________________________
[ARAN]
....How many times have I died now?
I fell into a trap... All of my possible exits were suddenly blocked off.
I've gotten every bone in my body crushed so many times that I've lost count.
Not just that, but my sense of time has been messed up.
Every death, my body gets reset back to full strength. But despite my physical state being cleared of all damage, why do I feel so tired?
I keep going back again at the same moment in time.
That "Thing" was slowly walking towards me, aiming to kill me again.
But strangely enough, I wasn't afraid.
Everything felt numb and my ears were ringing.
I was disconnected to the world around me.
But still, there's a feeling in my heart that tells me that I haven't given up yet.
"Big bro... What should we do?"
A voice asked me.
Looking down, I saw a little boy grabbing onto my ring and pinky finger.
Another kid was hiding behind him. Closing her eyes to not see the approaching monster.
The boy's eyes looked at me tearfully as he tried to ask the only grown up close by that he could trust for guidance.
But sadly, I'm also just an inexperienced kid...
Patting his head, I gave a tired smile and said the same sentence I've been repeating over and over again in each loop.
"It's going to be alright... Big bro will handle this. When I let go of you, hide as best as you can! I promise I'll find you later!"
Listening to me, the two children scurried away as I was once again left alone to fight the monster in front of me.
I'm tired, my head feels light, but I was still driven by a single purpose—win and save them.