The room came alive.
The clashing metal echoes.
Hundreds of surgical instruments floated behind Estelle.
Scalpels.
Forceps.
Bone saws.
Needles.
Each one pointed toward its next patient.
Estelle's smile never faded.
"Operation..."
"Begin."
Every instrument fired.
Kai rolled across the blood-slick floor as dozens of scalpels buried themselves into the wall.
Metal shrieked.
Concrete shattered.
Raya thrust both hands forward.
"Wind Blow!"
A violent cyclone erupted.
The storm caught dozens of flying instruments and hurled them back.
Instead of panicking—
Estelle simply raised one finger.
The spinning scalpels stopped in midair.
Then...
Slowly rotating around.
"As expected."
"You've become accustomed to your Gift."
"But..."
"You still lack mastery."
Estelle's moved her hand with a scalpel gently.
Like a conductor leading an orchestra.
The surgical tools changed direction all at once.
Raya's eyes widened.
"They changed course—"
"Wind Barrier!"
The cyclone burst around Raya.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Thousands of sparks erupted as steel crashed against compressed wind.
Each impact pushed Raya one step backward.
The floor cracked beneath Raya's feet.
Meanwhile—
Lin lunged forward.
Lin's elongated bone blades carved through the air with frightening precision.
Slash!
Kai barely leaned aside.
The white bone blade grazed Kai's cheek.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Lin's eyes overflowed with tears.
"Mmm..."
Every strike pleaded for someone to stop her.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Yet Kai refused to counterattack.
Kai only blocked.
Dodged.
Retreated.
The chain wrapped around one bone blade.
Kai pulled.
Lin stumbled.
For a single heartbeat...
The crimson threads trembled.
"Lin!"
"Fight it!"
Lin's body twitched.
The bone blade lowered.
Slightly.
Hope flickered.
Estelle sighed softly.
"My poor assistant..."
"You've become distracted."
Estelle lightly curled one finger.
The crimson threads tightened.
Lin's body jerked violently.
Lin's movements became even faster.
The hesitation disappeared.
Kai could only grit his teeth.
"...Damn it."
Across the room—
Raya burst through the rain of blades.
Raya's fist, wrapped in compressed wind, crashed toward Estelle.
BOOM!
The office shook.
Estelle slid backward several meters.
Estelle's shoes left thin lines across the blood-covered floor.
She looked down at the torn sleeve of her uniform.
"Oh."
"I'll fix this for a moment."
A crimson stitched the ripped clothes.
Raya's expression remained cold.
Raya's voice trembled with anger.
"...Why?"
"Why did you kill the Director!"
Silence.
Estelle blinked.
As though surprised someone had asked.
Then...
Estelle smiled apologetically.
"I wasn't on the plan but-."
"She keeps refusing my request."
"So it simply became necessary."
Estelle's eyes wandered toward the two skinned children lying in the corner.
Their breathing had become weaker.
Estelle smiled wider.
"They were such-such sweet little hostages."
"They behaved wonderfully."
"They cried exactly when I needed them to."
Estelle's smile remained warm.
Almost affectionate.
"The Director..."
"She was a regressor, am I right?"
"A remarkable woman."
"Someone who sacrifice."
"Someone who protects."
"Someone who care human lives."
"If we fought head on..."
"I would have lost."
Estelle tilted her head.
"So I gave her something more important than victory."
"A choice."
"Protect herself..."
"Or... Protect the children."
Estelle looked lovingly toward the children.
"And she chose correctly."
Raya froze.
"You..."
Estelle continued discussing, energetically with affection.
"Once her heart decided..."
"The operation became very simple."
"With the wrapped of the thread."
"She has no escape left."
"With the use of the scalpel."
"Slowly I cut her limbs, one by one."
"Of course without the use of any anesthesia."
"Hearing her scream makes me want to torture her more."
"Aaahhh..."
Estelle slowly touching her body toward the face like a madman.
"So I skinned the children in front of her."
"Scream, scream, and more SCREAMS!"
"Until their tears run dry."
Something inside Raya snapped.
"After I skinned the children."
"I cut the Director's stomach, remove all the organs, intestine, and specially the heart."
"And finally cutting her head."
The air pressure throughout the office become heavy.
"Stop."
The windows shattered.
The floating instruments pull down to the floor.
"Kai!"
"Stay back!"
Surge of wind erupted around Raya.
Wind gathered from every direction.
The storm screamed.
Raya's clothes whipped violently.
Even Estelle's hair fluttered.
"Hmm..."
"Interesting."
Raya lowered his stance.
"You're going to pay."
The cyclone compressed.
Layer after layer.
Denser.
Sharper.
Until the air itself began screaming.
"Tempest..."
"...Domain."
A deafening roar swallowed the room.
The floor cracked apart.
Every loose object was ripped into the storm.
Even Estelle's floating instruments were dragged off course.
Estelle narrowed her eyes.
"So this is your full strength."
At the same time—
Kai caught Lin's next strike.
The chain wrapped around both bone blades.
Kai locked them together.
Their faces were only inches apart.
Lin continued crying.
"Mmm..."
"Mmm..."
Kai could see it.
The crimson threads running beneath Lin's skin.
Like veins.
The White Flame inside Kai's chest pulsed.
Warm.
Gentle.
Purifying.
"Maybe..."
Kai whispered.
"Lin! This may work!"
"I only have to burn those threads."
White flames slowly ignited along the chain.
The fire spread toward Lin—
Not to consume her, but to reach the crimson strings controlling her.
______
Across the battlefield—
One battle became a raging storm.
The other...
A desperate attempt to save a friend.
And above them both...
Estelle watched with calm blue eyes.
Still smiling.
As though every outcome...
Had already been prepared.
To be continue...