Rook's crew cheered as more blood blossomed on Guy's shirt. "He's too fast for you, Ghost! Just lay down and die!"
Rook reappeared a few feet away, his chest heaving with adrenaline, his jagged blade dripping. "Did you see that, chat? The Agility buff is worth every point. He didn't even blink." He glanced at the sky, his eyes wide with greed. "Come on, keep those donations coming! I'll give you a limb next!"
One of Rook's cronies frowned, tapping at the empty air in front of him. "Hey... Rook? Something's wrong. I'm trying to find this guy's ID to link the fight, but nothing's popping up."
"What are you talking about?" Rook snapped, his gaze darting back to Guy. "Everyone has an ID. Just search for 'Nameless' or 'Unsynced.'"
"I did! There's nothing. No channel. No stream. It's like the air around him is... empty."
Guy didn't listen to them. He stared at the spot where Rook had been, then shifted his focus. He stopped trying to track the blue blur with his eyes. Instead, he felt the vibration of the dirt through his boots. He felt the shift in the wind.
If it's not real, Guy thought, then I don't need to see it.
"Don't ignore me!" Rook screamed, frustrated by the lack of fear on Guy's face. [Points Spent: Agility UP Lv. 4].
Rook vanished again.
The blue trail was a blur, a streak of light aiming for Guy's throat. But Guy didn't move his sword to parry. He stepped into the path of the strike, dropping his center of gravity.
The jagged blade bit into Guy's shoulder, deep and agonizing. But instead of recoiling, Guy slammed his free hand shut around Rook's wrist—the same "iron clamp" that had terrified the man moments ago.
"Got you," Guy rasped.
Rook's eyes widened. "L-Lv. 4 Agility! You shouldn't be able to—"
"Your speed is a gift," Guy said, his voice as cold as the iron bar in his other hand. "My strength is mine."
With a roar of effort, Guy swung the heavy iron bar in a short, brutal arc. The iron bar didn't slice through the air; it shattered it.
CRACK.
The bar slammed into Rook's ribs. The blue aura shattered like glass. Rook was sent flying backward, his body skipping across the dirt until he slammed into the base of a jagged rock.
The silence that followed was absolute.
[Viewer Count: 450... 600... 1,000]
The Roving Eyes in the sky were suddenly swarming the area. A 0-viewer nobody had just broken a Level 4 buff with raw muscle.
But as the cameras zoomed in on Guy's face, the "System" began to scream.
[ERROR: TARGET 'GUY' NOT FOUND IN CELESTIAL DATABASE]
[ERROR: CHANNEL SIGNAL INTERCEPTED]
Deep in the void, far above the Patron of Petty Cruelty and the other minor gods, a pair of eyes opened. They weren't looking at the fight. They were looking at the "Dark Spot" in the world where Guy stood.
A voice, melodic and terrifyingly soft, whispered through the static of the universe.
"Finally... someone the others can't see''
Below, the heavy pressure of a thousand prying eyes suddenly vanished. The greedy, frantic heat of the crowd was replaced by a singular, freezing chill that made the marrow in Guy's bones ache. It was a gaze so heavy it felt like a hand pressing him down into the dirt.
Guy wiped the blood from his lip, his breath hitching as he felt the shift in the air.
The small, gray [0] displayed above his head. the mark of a man who existed for no one, began to flicker. the number bled into a dark, pulsing crimson.
The count shifted.
[1]