--This Chapter is written from Erik’s POV--

Maya stood a couple of steps before me.

It would take me less than a second to reach her at my top speed.

Yet, I walked slowly, deliberately closing the distance between us.

She never took a step back; she never let her emerald eyes drift away from mine.

Maya: "Why are you always invading my personal space?"

To keep eye contact with me, Maya had to raise her chin.

It looked uncomfortable. She had complained about neck pains after our run-ins.

Erik: "Why are you always showing up where I want you the least?"

Her height, like almost everything else about her, was tailor-made to bother me.

One step back from where I stood, and the frame of my glasses would hide her face from my view.

One step forward, and I would be forced to choose. I could either see her through the gap of the glasses’ frame, or I could lower my head to fit her within the lenses.

Maya: "Fair..."

The lenses that stood between our eyes didn’t hide my thorough judgment of her.

The brightness of her eyes didn’t hide the deliberate study of me.

A dozen seconds passed in silence. Her unwavering eyes stopped me from deciphering her mind.

Her face remained composed and slightly distant, as if looking at an old friend she had not seen in a long time.

Maya: "I know what you’re thinking."

She broke the silence just as I had begun to enjoy it.

Her words were as preposterous as they came.

But coming from Maya, they were as fascinating as they were insulting.

Seeing her struggle to speak with her chin raised, I gave her a hand.

Using only a small fraction of my strength, I pressed her chin from below.

She seemed to understand that, if her next words failed to live up to that claim, her jaw would suffer for it.

Maya: "...Killing them doesn’t increase your chances of winning against my brother, Erik."

Irrationality seemed to orbit Maya.

The fewer allies one has, the weaker they become.

Reducing the units my opponent has, until they had zero remaining, was such an obvious path to winning that I would instantly dismiss anyone who claimed otherwise.

As such, I applied more pressure against her jaw until I heard a soft crack escaping from her mouth.

Maya gritted her teeth, refusing to give me the pleasure of seeing her falter.

Most would give up arguing such a foolish premise after being punished for it.

I knew Maya would not. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Maya: "If you kill even a single one of them... This war will end before the month, and every member of the Army of the Gifted will be dead before Christmas. Miwen is not how you think-"

After making me so interested in what line I was crossing and why I couldn’t come back from it, she disappointed me with the same resolute faith in her brother as that of the scattered women on the ground.

Had she not realized that her position wasn’t much better than theirs? That I didn’t fear a man so easily read?

It pained me to punish her further, but I had already shown more leniency to her than I did to most.

Erik: "I truly wonder how you can convince so many people with such shallow words, Maya. Since you failed to convince me, how do you plan on stopping me? Another rope, perhaps?"

It was such a foolish mistake for an archer to let their enemy get so close.

Yet, as long as Maya held the bow in her hands, I knew she still had unfounded confidence in her heart.

Maya: "Hm... I’m not really an archer, you know? It’s just that I had a bunch of different things I needed to do, and the bow was the only weapon I could use for all of them... But don’t worry. I think I’ll only need it for one more-"

While it wasn’t unusual for her to joyfully spout nonsense, the cadence of her words rarely changed.

Maya was the type to consider her words and the emphasis she put on each one, ensuring she would sound calm and disarming, even when under pressure.

The cadence she spoke with this time was slightly rushed, agitated.

It wasn’t the type of energy she ever showed.

Just as I had expected, when I broke her neck, colorful horizontal lines glitched from out of her body.

As these lines disappeared, Maya seemed to phase out of existence.

Another illusion. But this one was different from the one that hid the women.

I felt the warmth of her skin fade as the life left her. I heard her words, and I knew they came from the illusion.

Furthermore, I knew this phasing-out effect.

One of the most notorious members of the AOTG, Red Mask, was a master of illusions. When his illusions were destroyed, they started glitching.

Just like Maya had.

While it wouldn’t be the first time she showed an ability similar to someone else’s, the timing was too suspicious.

After all, the Aegis was confirmed to have taken Red Mask’s last reported base.

Erik: "...How did you do this? Did you brainwash him?"

With my near-unlimited mana pool, I could spread my mana as far as it would go.

One of the first things that I noticed was a man standing on the rooftop of Ceres’ building, watching Maya and me.

Maya: "You mean Dom? Of course not. We just talked. After we made friends, he offered to join the Aegis."

Dominic, the red mask, was a broken man.

Deeply scarred, both physically and mentally.

"Just talking" should have never been enough to fix him. Nothing should be enough.

He wanted to die. I wanted someone willing to die.

Our interests aligned.

I was sure that, if captured or defeated, he would choose death.

For these reasons, Dominic received some of the most confidential missions and information the AOTG had.

Now that he has joined the Aegis, he has become a high-priority target.

However, he wasn’t the top priority right now.

Inside the fifth floor, I noticed half a dozen figures had joined George and Alexis.

Considering the mana fluctuations and the massive hole that had been created on the back of the building, they were fighting each other.

The most important thing, however, was that Ceres was nowhere to be seen.

Momentarily forgetting about Maya, I reached a hand into my pocket.

The moment I took out my phone, a barrage of light arrows flew my way.

I slipped between them, pivoting side to side.

Their trajectories seemed to predict where I would land next.

Even though the damage they would do to me was trivial, their target was always the phone in my hand.

Annoyingly, some of her arrows had a special effect.

The arrows Maya shot at the sky arched above my head. Small, blue triangles fell from their trail.

Only after they fried my phone did Maya reveal that she could trigger the formation of plasma spheres around these triangles.

Erik: "Finally taking it seriously, I see..."

I couldn’t tell how much Maya had predicted, but...

She finally dropped her bow to the ground.

It seems that she had accomplished the last use she had for it.

Maya: "Sorry, Erik. But you’re wrong..."

Casually, Maya took out a milky-white cube from her pocket.

She rolled it out of her hand, and once the cube reached the ground, it instantly expanded, casting a wave of air and dust around it.

After she put the bow inside it, she tapped the cube again, returning it to its normal, pocket-sized state.

Casually, she put it back in her pockets and raised her arms, as if surrendering.

Maya: "I know I can’t defeat you. And honestly... I’m not sure I can stop you from hurting them, either. So... I brought someone who can."

The disturbing amalgamation of metal that hovered above our heads turned the sky grey, casting a shadow over Maya and me, as well as the entire city.

The wind shifted upwards, pulling dust and debris with it.

A shadow descended from above, bringing down all its might on Maya’s head as several loud booms followed it.

??????: "Do you have any idea what you did? Huh? Brat!?"

The figure that descended from the skies, instantly causing Maya to surrender, was none other than Piper Williams, the Witch of Narrations.

Maya: "S-Sorry, Pip... I didn’t have time to explain, I just needed you to chase me..."

With tear-filled eyes, Maya held her own head, patting the spot Piper Williams had hit.

Erik: "...Tch."

Impressive.

It was as if she controlled every piece on the board, no matter its position.

Just how much had she predicted her brother? How much had she predicted me?

How many steps were in her plan? Where did it stop?

I was thankful.

After disappointing me so much, I thought I had lost the only challenge that made my campaign great.

But despite her brother’s presence, Maya hadn’t changed.

Rather, it felt like she was finally showing everything she was capable of.

As I thought, Maya’s Achilles heel was her brother.

To bring her down, all I had to do was get him.

Despite being in opposing factions, there was no length she wouldn’t go to protect him.

She was even willing to weaken the government’s defense and bring out their strongest asset if it meant helping him.