The Outcome of a High-Level Mind Game

REX

It all went down while I was patrolling the academy corridors with my boys.

We were on the clock, hunting for the Artifact, when things started getting weird. Like, "supernatural horror movie" weird. My lead man was walking right in front of me, and then—poof. He vanished.

"The hell?"

I scanned the area, but there wasn't a soul in sight. No suspicious shadows, nothing. The only clue I had was a faint sound, like the air itself was being sliced thin.

Shun. Shun.

Then it happened again.

"...!"

The guy standing right next to me disappeared into thin air.

But this time, I caught a glimpse. Just barely. It was a kid in a blood-stained school uniform. He’d slammed a palm strike into my subordinate’s chest, knocked him cold, and vanished with the body in a heartbeat. I had to crank my Magic Power-enhanced vision to the absolute limit just to see him. Talk about a speed demon.

"Heads up! We’ve got company!" I barked, dropping into a defensive stance.

"...Wait, what?"

I stood there, feeling like a total moron. My entire squad—the guys who were supposed to be covering my six—were gone. I was standing in that long, empty hallway all by myself.

Then came that sound again. Shun.

The second I heard it, I threw everything I had into protecting my vitals.

"Guh...!"

A palm strike slammed into my arm.

Crack.

The sickening sound of snapping bone echoed as I was sent flying backward.

"You... little crap!"

I managed to stick the landing and drew my sword in one fluid motion, but the kid was already gone. I spat on the floor. A single strike had shattered my left arm, and that was with Magic Power reinforcement. If I hadn't moved to guard my heart, I’d be a corpse right now.

Shun.

The sound and I moved at the same time. I swung my blade behind me, trusting nothing but raw instinct. My timing was perfect.

Or so I thought.

This brat... he’s still accelerating?!

My sword cut through nothing but air. I barely had time to tuck my chin and guard my chest.

"Agh...!"

There went my ribs.

I leaped backward to bleed off the momentum, my eyes desperately tracking his movement. At this point, I could barely even see his afterimages.

Tsk. I spat out a mouthful of bloody spit and leveled my blade.

This was bad. I couldn't see him, I couldn't counter him, and I was basically a glorified punching bag. Objectively speaking, I was screwed.

But hey, I’ve been screwed before. You don't get called a Named like "Rex of Game of Rebellion" without surviving a few death traps.

"Using a high-performance Artifact, aren't you?" I called out, making sure my voice carried.

I’d figured out his trick. After just those few exchanges, I saw right through him. No human can move that fast naturally; you need a serious magical boost to break the laws of physics like that.

"It looks like you've got the upper hand, but I’m not buying it. You’re pushing yourself past the breaking point, aren't you?"

Transfusing that much power into your legs comes with a price. Sacrifice is the name of the game, and I hadn't missed the evidence.

"Your uniform is soaked in blood, kid."

That was the key. That blood explained everything. He was using an Artifact to gain god-like speed, but it was literally tearing his body apart. Judging by the sheer amount of red on him, he was running on fumes. All I had to do was stay standing until he hit his limit, and the win was mine.

Stripping an enemy’s strategy bare from the tiniest scraps of info—that’s the Game of Rebellion way.

"By my count, you’ve got maybe two or three bursts left in you. That’s your limit!"

I put some real bass in my voice, acting like I had all the cards. Silence followed. The kid hadn't moved or made a sound since I started my villain monologue.

Hit the nail on the head, didn't I? I let a smug grin tug at the corner of my mouth.

I could see the finish line. Of course, I wasn't actually as relaxed as I sounded. I still had to survive two or three more invisible hits without dying.

"What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

I had to keep up the pressure. I couldn't let him smell my fear. This was it—the climax of a high-level psychological battle.

"Come on, you chicken-shit! Show yourself!"

Shun.

The air tore open. I dodged on pure reflex, twisting my torso out of the way of the projected strike.

Except...

Too fast!

I threw my right arm up in a desperate block.

"GAAAAAAAH!"

My right arm turned into a jigsaw puzzle of shattered bone. I retreated, gripping my sword with nothing but pure spite and adrenaline.

But he didn't vanish this time. He kept coming. The guy who had only used single-hit-and-run tactics was staying on top of me. That meant he was going for the kill.

"COME ON THEN, YOU BASTARD!"

I roared, bracing for the final impact. He was at his limit. If I could just tank this one last hit, I’d win.

A split second later, a palm strike buried itself in my gut.

"GAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

I sprayed a fountain of gore as I was launched through the air. I smashed through a classroom wall, tumbled over rows of desks and chairs, and finally slumped into a heap.

"Cough... hack...!"

I clutched my stomach, vomiting blood. My ribs had definitely punctured something internal. But... I was alive. Putting everything into defense had saved my life.

"Heh... heh heh..."

I wiped the blood from my lips and looked up, ready to gloat.

Then I saw it.

"What... what the hell is this...?"

The classroom was a graveyard. Dozens of my Black-clad Men were piled up like trash. They barely had any marks on them—each one had been taken out with a single, clinical strike.

No way. He took out this many of the Children... all by himself?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Tap. Tap.

They stopped right outside the door.

Silence. Total, suffocating silence. I realized my hand was shaking so hard I could barely hold my sword.

Click.

The doorknob turned. The door swung open.

There was no one there.

Then came a shun, and my right arm vanished. Another shun, and my left arm was gone.

Shun. Shun. Shun.

Every time the air hissed, another piece of me was erased.

"A... aa... aah..."

As my vision tilted and my severed head spun through the air, the truth finally hit me. There was no limit. This guy wasn't trading his life for speed. He was just that much better than me.

"You’re the best, man."

That was the last thing I heard before the lights went out.