Kai and Adeline adopted a prone position on the rooftop of a building as they observed the actions of their enemies. With their naked eyes, only 3 out of 5 could be seen from their hiding spot, with the other 2 well-hidden. Adeline quickly pointed out the location of the other 2 enemies to Kai, who nodded in acknowledgement.

Kai whispered, "It seems like they're still unaware of our presence. Let's make use of the element of surprise to take them out with as little effort as possible. This should be even easier with your [Phasewalker] which allows you to pass through obstacles unhindered. I'll take out the 3 visible from here while you handle the other 2 concealed ones. Good luck and take care."

Adeline nodded as she jumped onto the rooftop of the building where their enemies had holed themselves in. Kai thought, "From the positions of these 3, seems like they are positioned in such a way that they can snipe any intruders from a vantage point. The other 2 are probably there to ensure their safety. Time to move."

Kai followed Adeline's lead and jumped onto the enemy-held building, making his way to the staircase which would lead him to the lower floors where his prey awaited…

Keane smiled as his enemies looked for him frantically. There was simply no way inexperienced fools such as them can best him in his natural element. He was not a legendary assassin for no reason after all.

However, on a serious note, Keane knew he didn't have the luxury of time to relish his killings, but haste would get him nowhere too. Keane sighed as he was compelled to use his weapon, [Twilight], to resolve matters swiftly.

Keane muttered, "Plunge into darkness, [Twilight]." as he pierced his blade onto the ground. The blade turned black and released an invisible miasma in all directions. Suddenly, all 5 enemies gasped in shock as the world around them gave way to darkness. Not only were they blind, they also became deaf as they could not hear themselves.

This was the ability of [Twilight], to rob all physical senses except touch from its victims within a specific radius from the wielder. Keane retained use of all his senses, allowing him to safely stalk his victims without fear of being detected.

Keane found his first victim soon enough, approaching him from his rear. His victim made no sound as Keane mercilessly slit his throat, killing him instantly. In a similar fashion, he disposed of 3 more enemies without alerting them to his presence.

His last victim was a tad tricky, since he kept throwing fireball after fireball frantically in random directions. Keane sighed. The man's fear of the unknown had probably caused his mind to break.

To put him out of his misery, Keane waited for the perfect opportunity to arise before throwing a knife towards his clueless victim. The knife embedded deeply into its victim's skull as he collapsed onto the floor instantly.

Keane strolled over to reclaim his knife, cleaning its blade with his scarf. While [Twilight] was still active, he left the weapon in one spot as he scouted the vicinity for further enemies. When he was fairly confident that all enemies in his area of responsibility were dispatched, he returned to his weapon and deactivated it.

Keane remarked, "Now, who should I go and support first? I need to re-establish communication with Jean, somehow, the communications broke off suddenly earlier. This isn't good, I hope they're still alive…"

Jean searched frantically through her medical kit for a pair of tweezers. Shen had been shot by someone outside her sensory range. What puzzled her more was that Shen was shot on the back, which meant that the enemy should be located behind them.

However, the buildings behind them were all within Jean's sensory range, and anybody who attempted to skirt pass them should have been caught by her senses. Skirting outside her sensory radius in such a short time shouldn't be possible, which made Jean even more uncertain where their mystery assailant was.

Putting her thoughts aside, Jean quickly extracted the bullet from Shen's shoulder before mending the wound with healing magic. Shen grimaced, "Thanks, Jean, you're a lifesaver. What would I do without you…"

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Shen saw another bullet flying towards Jean…from a wall? He quickly pushed Jean to safety as the round whistled past her harmlessly, striking the opposite wall instead. Jean was stunned, but recovered quickly to erect a barrier protecting both Shen and her. Jean remarked, "I can't maintain communication and this barrier concurrently for too long, one of them would have to go after 10 minutes. Sorry."

Shen replied, "10 minutes is more than enough time for me to figure out what's going on. I'll defeat this mystery assailant before 10 minutes is up! Meanwhile, relay these instructions to the rest. The twins and leader Keane are to support Rachel who I believe is alone as she split away from Jonathan. Kai and Adeline are to support Jonathan in case things go awry on his end, since from your report, it seems that he's perhaps facing a tough foe like the one we're facing now. Is that clear?"

Jean nodded as she quickly pumped down the orders to the rest on the ground. Shen then started racking his brains furiously for a possible explanation to his current predicament.

Through her thermal lens, Katilyn could observe very clearly the location of her prey as well as their surroundings in fine detail. This piece of equipment cost a fortune, but it held perfect synergy with her Enigma Ability [Ricochet].

This quirky ability enabled her rounds to bounce off surfaces as many times as she desired, which not only meant that she needn't a direct line of fire to her target, it also implied that she could attack from multiple angles from the same spot, throwing her enemies into confusion.

Katilyn smiled as she started calculating the trajectory of her next shot. Thanks to her thermal lens, she could see the structures of the buildings in fine detail, including windows and gaps. Coupled with her intelligence, she plotted her intended trajectory in no time.

Katilyn commented, "Hhhm… the first shot went off a little and the second shot missed due to a fluke. Since I need 10 reflections, charge 10 it would be for this 3rd shot." Katilyn steadied her rifle as it glowed slightly with her aura. She pulled the trigger calmly and watched in glee as her bullet flew as she had intended, ricocheting off the walls 10 times before it reached her intended target, the enemy sniper.

To her dismay, her round had simply bounced off something invisible to even her thermal lens. "Drats, a mana barrier! I should have known! Let's test how strong this barrier is!" Katilyn thought as she started to formulate another possible trajectory to her victims.

When Kai heard the message from Jean, he knew that he'd little time to spare. However, caution was still required as Adeline had warned him prior to their ambush that these foes weren't pushovers.

Furthermore, it was weird that their lookouts didn't appear vigilant assuming they had a sensor among them. It could be a trap after all. Kai hadn't heard anything from Adeline, so he'd assumed that she was fine.

Kai started clearing rooms one by one as he'd been taught in school. The recent terrorist attack by Night Wing raised the importance of combat in built-up areas, hence Close Quarters Battle (CQB) knowledge was made mandatory for every student in Zion Academy.

Upon approaching the last room on his current floor, Kai had an unshakeable feeling he couldn't explain, but decided to proceed anyway. Kai quickly opened the door to the room, staying close to the wall outside till he was confident that no one hostile was inside.

Kai quickly took a peek inside the room and realised that there was one blind spot. He swiftly rushed into the room, wary of that one blind spot. True enough, there was a masked man armed with a crossbow there and he instinctively released an arrow at Kai.

Kai barely dodged it and retaliated with a [Lightning Bullet] that stunned his assailant. Seizing his chance, Kai quickly rushed forward and pierced his enemy with his [Lightning Blade], killing him instantly.

After extracting his hand out from the poor man's chest, Kai heaved a sigh of relief as he thought, "Somehow, this guy must have given Adeline the slip for she should have disposed any enemies that she could detect, even if they were out of sight. Those CQB lessons were a lifesaver."

Suddenly, Kai heard the sound of an explosion from below. He remarked, "Our cover has been blown, no need to be all sneaky now!" as he rushed towards the source of the sound. Kai was stunned by what awaited him on the floor below. All the enemies had gathered together and were hurling spells at Adeline relentlessly.

Adeline skilfully dodged all the incoming attacks, but she couldn't advance as quickly as she hoped. Kai realised that the enemies have yet to notice him, so he used the opportunity to ready a [20mm Lightning Particle Cannon], a suitably lethal spell in such confined areas.

When ready, Kai released the spell towards the cluster of enemies, creating a moderate explosion at the end of its course. Kai used this window to close the distance between him and his targets, with a [Lightning Blade] on his right hand. As he dived out of the smokescreen, he caught one of his stunned enemies off guard as he quickly disposed of him with a strike through the chest.

Kai wasn't the only one who utilised the momentary distraction. Adeline charged forward, using her [Phasewalker] to cut the throat of her nearest foe. When the smoke completely dispersed, it became clear that there were only 2 enemies remaining, since the impact of the blast earlier apparently killed one additional enemy.

The remaining 2 foes recovered quickly and retaliated with attacks of their own, launching Intermediate tier spells their way. Kai instinctively activated his Luminos, merely utilising the enhanced visual prowess the special eye afforded him.

Kai snaked through all the spells despite the short lapse between each other and when he was within range of one of his adversaries, he assassinated him with a straightforward [Lightning Blade]. Adeline made use of Kai's distraction to leap behind the other enemy and ended his life with a quick slash to the nape.

Kai said, "Excellent work, we should ensure the building is completely clear of enemies before we leave to support Jonathan. I'd hate to leave any of these guys alive." Adeline nodded in agreement as the pair rushed to clear the entire building.

When they were gone, a mysterious figure suddenly materialised out of nowhere in the room. It was the very same person who had been following the Nirvanian squad all this while. He hissed, "Fancy giving those oafs a heads up that their enemies were coming and yet they could still botch things up! Ah well, it doesn't matter in the end as they're merely prolonging their lives before they meet their inevitable end at Lord Amon's hands, hahaha!" before disappearing into thin air once again.

Julian and Julia were rushing towards Rachel's location as instructed by Jean. As they entered a cross junction, suddenly, Julian could see a blur from the right corner of his eye. He instinctively pulled his sister back in the nick of time, as a blast ripped through the road they were previously standing on, colliding into a building and collapsing it.

The twins got into their battle stances as their new enemy emerged from the dust. It was Bone, armed with a hockey stick. On his feet were roller skates, which made Bone's entire look similar to an ice hockey player.

Bone said calmly, "I've my orders to kill you all by my boss. You have a choice. Offer your lives willingly and I'll grant your death painlessly. Or fight for a chance to live, and suffer the brutal consequences."

Julia smirked, "Well, we've received lots of death threats before and we've made it out alive. What should make this any different, especially if we work together, brother?" Julian nodded and Bone replied, "Your choice has been made. Prepare to be beaten into submission."

The twins clenched their swords even more tightly as they could sense a huge amount of mana emanated by Bone, signalling the level of his raw power.

Meanwhile, a boom sound could be heard in the distance, together with the sounds of shattering glass. Jonathan landed hard on the ground on his back, but what hurt him more was not his fall, but rather the punch to his gut by Cold Steel.

Jonathan groaned as he struggled to get up, only to see Cold Steel emerging from the hole in the wall created from his attack. Cold Steel's armour-plated body had quite a number of scratches, presumably the result of Jonathan's [Scalpel Palm] technique, but none were serious enough to draw blood.

Cold Steel remarked, "Wow, these scratches on my body were pretty close! Just a little deeper and they would have cut my flesh. If that's all you've got however, you're not going to hurt me even once before I bash you into a bloody pulp, hahaha!"

To Jonathan's horror, as Cold Steel started massaging his neck and stretching the various muscles on his upper body, the scratches started to fade away to give a brand new shiny metallic look. Jonathan thought frantically, "If he could recover the damage to his armour so easily, I would be exhausted before I even hurt him at this rate. Guess I've no choice but to raise the stakes on this battle."

Jonathan cleared his mind as he simply focused on increasing the rate of mana flow through his limbs, even allowing it to seep out of his body, though he kept it in constant, rapid circulation around his limbs. In doing so, he increased the sharpness of his [Scalpel Palm] technique, much like how an increase in speed of a chainsaw would increase its cutting power.

The change in the rate of mana flow was visible to all, as the air around Jonathan's hands and feet started to distort rapidly. Cold Steel whistled, "Ho, looks like you still have a few tricks up your sleeve. Let's see how dangerous you truly are."

Without warning, Jonathan leapt forward in a flash, thrusting his palm right at Cold Steel's chest. Blood spewed forth as the enhanced [Scalpel Palm] tore through steel like it was paper. Cold Steel's eyes widened with shock at the failure of his defence.

Before he could react however, Jonathan was already launching a few more strikes aimed at Cold Steel's vital spots, such as his neck. Cold Steel barely avoided these fatal strikes, as he suffered deep cuts in other areas instead, such as his chin when he took a step back.

It was as though Jonathan was a completely different individual from earlier, as he currently dictated the flow of the battle by overwhelming Cold Steel with incessant strikes he couldn't block with his proud body. In desperation, Cold Steel realised that his earlier superiority was long gone and he could no longer go head-to-head with Jonathan.

After Cold Steel jumped away from Jonathan, he quickly morphed his left hand into the tip of a steel spear. Cold Steel exclaimed, "Eat this! [Spear Vulcan]!" as his left arm extended and retracted furiously, making his attack similar to automatic fire from machineguns.

Jonathan ran along the street, dodging every attack that landed right where he left as he disappeared out of sight at the corner of a nearby building. In hot pursuit, Cold Steel transformed his right arm into a chainsaw sword and extended it as he sliced that building horizontally, bringing the building down onto Jonathan, who barely dived to safety.

Cold Steel continued his relentless assault with yet another [Spear Vulcan] with his left arm. Having nowhere to dodge, Jonathan attempted to counterattack with a palm strike against the incoming spear. To his delight, he managed to successfully block the attack and even grazed Cold Steel's hand in the process. Cold Steel winced in pain as his left hand started bleeding.

Jonathan proudly declared, "I see that your weapon is still a part of your body, so if it gets damaged, it will hurt. Taking this into consideration, with my strikes being able to cleave through your armour, I've nothing to fear from your attacks!"

Jonathan quickly rushed towards Cold Steel, who appeared frantic and started launching desperate, poorly aimed attacks at him. Jonathan easily dodged every strike, reflecting those he couldn't with his [Scalpel Palm]. When he got into striking distance, Jonathan thrusted his palm towards Cold Steel's face, hoping to end this fight once and for all.

Just as his palm strike was about to land, a smile suddenly crept up on Cold Steel's face. Suddenly, Jonathan felt a sharp pain through his gut as his attack fell short of Cold Steel's face, only nicking him slightly. Cold Steel licked the dripping blood off his face, as it became clear that his right arm, now a sword, had cleanly stabbed through Jonathan's midsection.

Cold Steel quickly extracted his arm out of Jonathan's body as he gleefully declared, "Deceit is a key to victory, don't you know that? I let you come close on purpose, so that I can deal you a fatal blow guaranteed to hit. Hahaha, now die!"

Cold Steel raised his blade high, ready to slice Jonathan cleanly into half. Instinctively, Jonathan quickly drew a smoke grenade that Keane had given them all for emergencies and threw it, catching Cold Steel by surprise. Jonathan then used the momentary lapse to escape via the nearest alley.

Jonathan clutched his wound as he limped painfully down the street. He heaved a sigh of relief after checking his rear for the presence of enemies. After realising that he could walk no further, Jonathan slid weakly onto the floor with his back against the wall. He would rest for a minute before moving to find a better hiding spot. Subsequently, he would send a S.O.S message to Jean.

To his horror, he heard a maniacal laugh above him. "There you are! Nobody runs from Cold Steel, the Metal Assassin!" Cold Steel cried as he leapt off the top of the building, ready to slice Jonathan in two. Jonathan closed his eyes as he resigned himself to fate.

To his surprise, a shadow leapt before him, blocking Cold Steel's strike with cackling electricity. Cold Steel screamed in pain as he was electrocuted by the mysterious figure's attack. He was then swept away by a strong wave of water that pushed him all the way down street.

When Cold Steel recovered, he came face to face with 2 new adversaries. They were Kai and Adeline. Kai ordered, "Adeline, take him to safety and treat him. I'll deal with this tin bastard. He's weak against my lightning after all."

Adeline nodded as she helped Jonathan onto his feet before jumping away. Cold Steel flashed a wide grin as a new, stronger foe had come to him voluntarily to die…