"..."
The whole lobby of the gym area fell silent at Raven's arrival.
It was the kind of silence that pressed down on everyone present, heavy and thick, as if the entire room was holding its breath. The echo of the explosion was still lingering in the air, mixed with dust and the faint scent of burned metal.
I mean, he was basically asking everyone to look at him with the type of entrance he just made.
A metal door had flown through the entrance, an explosion had rocked the room, and now a single person stood at the center of it all. There was no way anyone could ignore that, even if they wanted to.
Anyway, Raven just ignored all the eyes on him. Instead, he looked at Lillen— he saw that she was fine along with Cenric and Lana.
His gaze moved quickly, sharp and calculating, checking their positions and posture in a single glance. None of them seemed injured, and more importantly, none of them were restrained anymore.
'I'm not late... that's good'
He thought.
The tension in his chest eased slightly at that realization, a tight knot loosening as he confirmed that he hadn't arrived after everything had already gone wrong.
Raven also realized that there's no casualty yet, seeing the students and others behind Lillen and the group, which made him even more relieved. He did see Cooper on the floor, but he saw him breathing so he concluded that he's just unconscious.
That detail mattered. A lot. As long as people were still alive, this situation was still ideal.
Raven opened his mouth, he was about to say something to Lillen and the others.
He was about to speak, to give instructions or reassurance, or maybe just to acknowledge that he was there now.
But just then—
B O O M--!
Another explosion occurred inside the room!
The sound slammed into everyone's ears, sharp and violent, shaking the walls and rattling the equipment scattered around the gym area.
Everyone obviously went to look at the source of it, and there— they saw the woman who was blasted away earlier along with the metal door!
She looks red in annoyance as she stares at Raven.
Her expression twisted, irritation and fury bubbling beneath the surface as her eyes locked onto him.
"What? Fell in love at first sight?"
Raven sarcastically asked, feeling her piercing gaze.
You can see the nerves on the woman's neck buldge at his words, she was about to explode in anger, but she controlled herself.
Her breathing grew heavier, shallow and sharp, but she forced it down, reigning in her temper with visible effort.
"Although you look good, that's not the case... I just really want to strangle you right now."
The woman declared as murderous intent rise from her body.
Raven smiled, and opening his mouth—
"That's kinky."
He replied with that.
The woman reached her limit with his jokes and attitude. She ignored Lillen and the others altogether, and while pointing at Raven—
"FORGET ABOUT THE OTHERS, KILL HIM FIRST!!!"
She commanded that, her voice tearing through the place.
"...!"
The terrorists snapped out of their stupor after hearing their superior's order and voice. Like puppets, they immediately shifted their guns and aimed it at Raven.
And without a moment of hesitation--
"SHOOT!!!"
The woman ordered that, and the terrorists pulled their triggers!
"..."
Raven saw all of this happen in slow motion, he had [Thought Acceleration] activated just a few moments ago, when he saw the woman's expression snap.
Time stretched, each movement exaggerated in his perception. Fingers tightening on triggers. Barrels aligning. Muscles tensing.
He was looking at the terrorists and the guns in their hands, and at the sight of it-- he scoffed.
Raven firmly gripped [Emmeranne], and using [Insight]— he predicted the bullets' trajectories.
And after he was done with that... Raven turned off [Thought Acceleration].
TINK-! TANG-! TUNK-! SWISH--!
Raven's hand moved with precision, he swung his sword multiple times in a second!
Each slash was clean and deliberate, timed perfectly to intercept the incoming bullets.
And he slashed off all the bullets that would've hit him!
Tink-!
The bullets he cut off were heard falling on the floor, while the rest hit the wall behind him!
Raven was unscratched.
And seeing that scene in front of them—
"..."
The terrorists froze in surprise. It's not just them; Lillen and the others, even the woman who ordered the attack, they were all speechless!
"W-WHAT ARE YOU GUYS WAITING FOR?! SHOOT HIM AGAIN!!!"
The woman panicked and commanded that once more. The terrorists moved again and were ready to pull their triggers for the second time!
"Don't move."
But before they could even try to, a cold voice echoed throughout the area.
SWOOSH~!!!
Then after that, a heavy, dominating pressure enveloped the whole lobby!
"...?!"
The terrorists flinched and stopped moving, they couldn't move their bodies.
The woman's eyes widened, her breathing hitched.
'W-What?'
She was confused, her head scrambled. She looked at the source of the pressure covering the room, and there...
"..."
Raven stood, looking at her with cold, emotionless eyes.
*****
(Lillen's POV)
'...?!'
A chilling air ran through my spine as I heard Raven's voice, then after that— the whole atmosphere in the lobby dropped.
It felt like an invisible weight pressed down on my shoulders, making it harder to breathe.
I felt goosebumps all over my body, and seeing Lana's and Cenric's faces, it looks like they felt the same.
'The pressure he's emitting... It's not directed at use, but it's still overwhelming.'
My brows furrowed as I thought of that.
I saw the terrorists freezing in their places, unable to move, and the woman— she's wary as well, not moving.
'His strength is really hard to gauge, just how strong is he?'
I looked at Raven and asked that in my head.
But immediately after that, I shook my head and opened my mouth—
"Raven! That woman is using some sort of weird energy that's not mana to use magic!"
I exclaimed, informing him.
"I think she's a majin."
Then I followed right after.
"..."
Raven's eyes shifted to me, and the moment our gazes met— the hair on my arms stood up.
Anyway, he nodded his head and brought his attention back to the woman.
"You guys have your weapons with you?"
Then, he asked that without even looking at us.
Lana, Cenric, and I shook our heads.
"..."
Raven just stared at the woman, then after a while—
"Then just deal with the terrorists and take their guns, and after that, lead everyone else outside the hotel."
He instructed that to us.
"Hah! They won't be able to leave this place! Even you, you'll all die here!"
But suddenly, the woman regained her confidence and shouted that.
"...?"
Raven tilted his head after hearing her words.
"I don't know where you came from, but I have a colleague on the lower floors. He's much stronger than me, and by now, he's probably already killing everyone below!"
"And also, this whole hotel is surrounded by a strong barrier, you weaklings wouldn't be able to destroy it!"
Then, the woman exclaimed that, explaining the whole situation.
'Why is she telling us what they're doing? Is she an idiot?'
I asked inside my head, but decided not to say anything.
Anyway... if her words were indeed true, then this terrorist attack is much larger than I thought.
I looked at Raven, waiting for him to say anything, or to be more precise— I'm waiting for his signal to attack.
'If the woman's words were true, then teaming up with Raven and dealing with the woman and the terrorists is the obvious choice than fleeing.'
Some of us might die and get injured in the process—
'But it's our best shot...'
I frowned at the thought of that, though I prepared myself for what's about to come.
But then, contrary to my expectations—
"President, protect everyone and lead them outside the hotel after dealing with the terrorists."
Raven remained firm with his first instructions!
"Are you an idiot? Didn't you hear me? Do you think I'm joking?"
The woman scoffed at him with a smirk on her face.
I was confused as well with his words, but before I could even say something—
"The barrier she's talking about is broken, and the colleague she's bragging about— he's probably dealt with as of now."
Raven turned to me and said that.
"Huh?"
The woman who had an arrogant smirk on her face earlier frowned at his words.
"That's impossible."
She said calmly, believing that Raven was absolutely lying.
"..."
Raven didn't say anything else after that and just stared at the woman.
I ignored the two of them for a while, staying silent and thinking things through.
'What should I do here now...? What's the best action to take?'
I asked myself.
...
...
...
And then, after a few seconds...
"Lana, Cenric, get ready."
I decided to trust Raven's words.
SWOOSH~
I immediately gathered mana in my hands. The terrorists are unawakened and couldn't feel it, while the woman was solely focused on Raven so he she didn't notice me doing that.
Lana and Centric prepared themselves after seeing what I was doing.
Then, after I was done—
"EVERYONE, CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!"
I quickly stood up and exclaimed that while looking at the others behind me.
"Wha?!"
That's when the woman and the terrorists knew that I was up to something.
They immediately moved to respond...!
But they're already too late.
"[BLIND!]"
S W A A A A A H H H~!!!
I raised my hands in the air and casted that, a blinding light materialized from my palms and dyed the whole room white.
"GAHHHH?!! MY EYES!!!"
"FUCK, I CAN'T SEE!!!"
"IT FUCKING BURNS IN MY EYES!!!"
I heard the terrorists confused shoutings, and without wasting that opportunity—
"LANA, CENRIC!"
I called for the two.
Lana and Cenric have their eyes closed to avoid being blinded, but unlike the unawakened terrorists, they can control their mana to sense presence and their surroundings.
And so—
SWOOSH!
The two of them rushed toward the terrorists with confidence.
And as soon as they got to them—
BAM! THUD! TAK!
They started beating the shit out of the terrorists.
"GAH?!"
"URGH!!!"
"GRRGH?!!"
The two punched them in the stomach, jaw, chest, face, and wherever. They dealt with one terrorist at a punch.
The two of them are close combat specialists, so they took care of the enemies with ease.
And after a few seconds—
My magic disappeared.
And in the lobby...
What left standing were The Woman, Raven, Me, Lana, and Cenric.
"..."
The woman looked shocked when she saw this, she looked angry as well.
Meanwhile...
Lana and Cenric cracked their fingers as they stood atop of the unconscious terrorists.
