Lila met Kai later in the day, and they both went to Ryu's location.
Ryu smiled when he saw them. The bruises on Lila's face and body had cleared faster than she expected. When Ryu hugged her, she thought, "I guess Kai's doctor truly does an amazing job."
Ryu held his phone and asked Lila, "So, have you heard about the new agency, Virex?"
Lila nodded. "Yeah, some ability amplifier dudes."
"Okay, just be careful—and remember, we're only going to observe." Ryu smiled. Kai gave him a disgusted look.
---
Later that evening
Lovun – 10:29 PM
The crew gathered on a rooftop and watched closely. A low-class ability user stood in a corner. His name was Raiden. In no time, another person appeared—one of VIREX's agents.
Vale.
As Vale walked up, Raiden spotted him and chuckled. "Ah, Vale, there you are."
Vale didn't even blink. He stood silently for a moment before replying, "Good evening, Raiden. How have you been?"
Raiden folded his arms. "I'm good. People here have taken a liking to me—not like they have a choice. You got what I asked for?"
Vale moved closer. "I do. Here, this will last you a week. We adjusted our formula to enhance abilities more effectively."
"Let's see how it goes." Vale handed over the amplifiers.
Vale sighed, tucked his hands in, and reached for the money. He handed it over to Raiden.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Vale said. "See you next week."
Raiden chuckled, but then Vale's eyes widened—three ability users appeared in front of him.
One of them smiled. "Hello."
Vale turned back to Raiden. "What's the meaning of this?"
Raiden smirked. "Well, I figured you must be tired of making these transactions all the time. I know I am… so…"
"Why don't you show us where you produce the amplifiers?"
Raiden's eyes began to glow.
Vale replied with disgust, "You know I can't do that."
Raiden moved closer and whispered, "I wasn't giving you an option. All my boys are charged up—you've got nothing on us. Give me the location, and I'll let you see the light of day again."
Raiden's gang flew into the air, ready to strike.
Vale only sighed. His eyes lit up. "What a shitty day."
His fingernails extended and ignited in flames.
In an instant, he dashed into the air and struck down Raiden's men. The first attacker dropped to the ground, and the others fell back in fear. Raiden and another user retreated, startled by Vale's sudden outburst.
Vale watched them flee, then spoke coldly, "There's no use for disloyal dogs."
He raised his hand—and lightning struck Raiden and the other user where they stood. Both collapsed, lifeless.
From the rooftop, the crew was shocked. Ryu grabbed Kai's shoulder.
"Lightning."
Kai was equally stunned. "I don't know where they got that kind of ability from."
Lila's anger surged. Sparks danced across her body. "How dare you copy someone else's ability!"
Lightning crackled wildly, stinging Ryu and Kai.
Kai flinched. "Lila—no!"
Lila jumped down. Vale, still looking over the bodies, sighed. "Now I'll have to find new dealers."
He sensed something and quickly leapt out of the way as Lila blasted lightning at him.
As he landed, he smirked. Lila fired again, but Vale slipped through the attack.
"What do we have here?" he sneered. He dashed forward and slashed Lila's arm.
She winced but stood her ground.
"A lost vigilante? You shouldn't be out this late." He swung again, but Lila leapt up, grabbed his head, and blasted him point-blank.
Vale screamed in pain but gripped Lila's wrist and hurled her off. "Get off me, you brat!"
As Lila hit the ground, Vale lunged at her—only to be intercepted by Ryu's shadow blades.
Vale staggered and clutched his chest. "You must be Ryu."
Ryu conjured another blade and dashed forward. "Yep, that's me!"
Vale struck him with lightning, but Ryu kept pushing through. "Vale lightning hurts as hell."
Lila stood up, summoned her own lightning, and attacked. Vale countered with a wave of his own.
Lila smirked. "Your copy abilities are pathetic. You don't even know the full power of lightning."
She absorbed both their energies, then unleashed it all at Vale.
He dodged again—but Lila managed to catch him with a final strike.
"Gahh!" He crashed to the ground, wincing. "She absorbed my attack…"
His eyes widened. "Lightning's ineffective on her. I wasn't expecting this. I need to retreat."
He tried to flee.
But two daggers pierced his back.
He froze. "There are more of them?"
Ryu dashed toward him and slashed again. Vale coughed and fell.
Ryu pointed his blade at Vale's neck. "We've got questions for you."
Vale narrowed his eyes. "Tsk… cocky kids."
He tried to charge up again, but Ryu pierced his hand with another blade.
"Arrgh! Damn it!"
Lila knelt and pulled off Vale's mask.
"Don't touch me!" Vale snapped.
Ryu sighed and took out his phone to take pictures.
---
Kai remained on the rooftop, watching. He thought, "Lightning and demon claws—no doubt he's the one who killed the front guard."
A figure appeared beside him. Startled, Kai turned. "Hey! What are you doing here? Who are you?"
The guy laughed. "I'm Nathan. I'm a vigilante—I work here."
Kai blinked, then smiled. "Oh, Nathan! I think I remember you—third grade or something."
Nathan nodded. "Yeah. 'Illusionist'—that's the name I gave you."
Kai chuckled. "Right. How about your abilities—still holding up?"
Nathan grinned. "You bet! Can't wait for schools to open again. And now that everyone's got abilities… the more, the merrier."
Kai placed a hand on Nathan's shoulder. "It's way more complicated than that. With the Shadows out there, things are dangerous."
Nathan sighed. "You're right."
He looked down at the scene below. "A VIREX agent, huh? They're all over the news now. People call them the Fallen Heroes."
Kai scoffed. "Yeah… we've heard that too."
---
Meanwhile…
Lila crossed her arms. "Virex. So you guys are made up of AEHR officials?"
Ryu stepped in. "Tell us how you produce the amplifiers—and what your goal is. Or I'll leak this video to the public."
Vale smirked. "And what credibility do you guys have? You're a group of low-class punks who assaulted an authorized agent.
Do you know the consequences for that? I could easily identify you and have you locked up.
But I won't need to…
Because your time is up."
Kai sensed something. He turned around. "Something's coming—fast."
Nathan looked too. "What? I already scouted the area. There's no—"
Before he could finish, another VIREX agent appeared behind them and slashed through their defenses.