'I knew it.' Diaman stared at Shira standing close to the light switch. He wore a casual T-shirt with jean shorts, his hand still on the switch.
"Gotcha, Dman." Shira smirked.
Diaman's eyes widened, but Shira wouldn't know since carapace made his face featureless. He must have sneaked out of school and maybe broke in through the backdoor.
"Who are you?"
"Don't try to act foolish, Dman. It won't work—you're already busted." Step by step, Shira walked over to Diaman. He halted in the middle of the store. "I destroyed the PC. You don't have to thank me for that."
"I still don't know who you are."
"Ouch."
Diaman looked around the store. With the lights on, someone from afar might notice, which would be bad for Shira, not him. He had a mask, but Shira didn't have one. If someone walked in, Shira would be in trouble. He'd get expelled—this was a criminal act. The school might be free with high rankers, but this was beyond school matters.
I'll just leave. He already destroyed the evidence.
But the problem: if he was going to use the same vent he'd followed, he'd need to get past Shira. And he was sure Shira wouldn't just let him leave. I'm faster—that's my advantage.
Shira stood bored, waiting for Diaman's next move.
In a blink, Diaman dashed past Shira.
The wind washed over Shira, making his hair flow from the wind of his speed. For a moment Shira stood there flabbergasted. Diaman was already behind him.
"Leave now before someone finds you." Diaman was about to jump in the vent and leave when Shira's words held him.
"Sure you wanna leave with the evidence?"
The PC was destroyed, so Diaman tried to ignore him but paused, seeing Shira holding something.
Shira raised the square-like object in his hand and flaunted it. "I still got the evidence."
He got the PC's storage.
Shira then slipped it into his pocket. "You see, when I destroyed the PC, I knew it would merely damage the main storage. So I dug my hand into it and pulled it myself. And sure, if I hand it out to the hunters, something might pop up."
A mischievous grin crept across Shira's face.
Shit. Diaman's eyes switched from Shira's face to his pocket, trying to find a way he could get it without hurting Shira.
"I just need you to do one thing, then I'mma toss it to you."
Diaman raised an eyebrow behind the mask. "And what's that?"
"Take off your creepy mask, and that's all."
He wants me to take off carapace. Should I? Diaman hesitated, thinking about it. Shira was his friend, but did he trust Shira more than his mom? No, he didn't. It was complicated for him—it felt like betrayal if he told Shira and not his mom. His mom never kept secrets from him, and Shira had just been his friend for only days. Still, he didn't want to lose their friendship.
Shira had evidence, but not a hundred percent. After weighing his decision, Diaman came to a conclusion.
"I won't!"
Shira's eyebrows immediately furrowed. "I get you're trying to protect yourself. But I'm trying to help here. I just need trust."
Diaman tilted his head. "Who are you?" he lied, deflecting Shira's claim.
Shira clenched his fist. "Okay." He turned and walked away through the store's backdoor. "I'll make sure to hand this over to the hunters." He waved the PC memory drive in the air like bait. Seeing this, Diaman didn't waste a single second to run after Shira. He jumped and snatched the drive from Shira's hands.
Shira gasped, then his face hardened. His mana flared around his body. The temperature of the store dropped instantly. Ice crackled as frost formed on the walls and ground. He stretched his hand towards Diaman.
Diaman blocked mid-air as ice-cold mist shot out from Shira's palm, then froze him before his feet touched the ground.
Tsk. Ice. Diaman wrenched the ice off, freeing himself and sending blocks of ice around the store.
Shira dashed to Diaman and slammed his palm to his face.
Diaman grabbed his arm but didn't squeeze.
But Shira tightened his grip on his face hard and froze it. A thin crack appeared—he was trying to break off the mask.
"What, you're just going to let me take off your mask?" Shira exhaled. His breath fogged. The cold passed through Diaman's carapace mask, biting his skin as he felt his face get frosty. He'd never designed Carapace Veil to withstand cold, so the parasite broke down. It cracked further. A tiny piece fell, revealing a peek of his eye.
Shira looked into his eye. "Same brown eyes." He increased his tone. "What are you still hiding, huh?"
Diaman struggled to remove Shira's hand off his face, but Shira resisted and grabbed his arm back. He wasn't using enough force. He remembered how easy it felt—he would have almost broken Sam's arm if he didn't stop, And now he was stronger.
The possibilities of him breaking Shira's arm was closed.
He didn't want that for him. His grip trembled on Shira's wrist. I should just kick him away. No, I'll still hurt him. "Let me go. I don't want to hurt you."
"Huh? I thought you don't know me." Shira tilted his head. "I'm just a stranger, right?" Shira smirked. "Do it. Break my arm and get out. Or—" Shira calmed down, releasing his grip a little. "Just take off the mask, Diaman. Show me trust."
Diaman's face saddened behind his mask. "Let go of me first."
Shira sneered. "I'm not stupid—"
"I promise."
Shira held on a little longer, then sighed before letting go of Diaman. "Fine." Then he took a step back.
As Shira let go, Diaman took a deep breath. Carapace was still frozen, his face feeling numb from the coldness. He reached for his mask.
Disengage—
[ERROR: HOST NEEDS TO LEAVE NOW!]
Diaman's hands paused inches from his face. What's this?
[ERROR: HOST NEEDS TO LEAVE NOW!!!]
But Diaman still didn't move. He didn't fully know if the system was playing tricks on him. "We need to leave now."
In an instant, the hall froze, turning to solid ice. As Diaman tried to run out the backdoor, Shira grabbed his hand before he smashed the ice. But Diaman's force was far stronger than Shira's—it pulled him, slamming him back-first into the ice.
"Argh!" Shira grunted.
Diaman's eyes widened. "I'm sorry."
Cracks spread around the thick wall of ice, then shattered.
Pain flared in his back, but Shira still pushed himself up, reaching for Diaman.
"We don't have time for this. We have to leave."