*Genevieve's POV, moments before the assassination…*
She had felt it, the shift in the air.
One moment, victory was theirs. Beelzebub had fallen, the hive lay in ruins, and the key to the final floor awaited them.
The next… silence.
Not just a lack of sound, the absolute absence of it.
Her instincts screamed; something was wrong.
And then… a blade.
It sank into her back, sharp and absolute, carrying the finality and absolute stillness of death and silence, draining her HP.
Her breath hitched; her body froze.
Pain, white-hot and searing tore through her very being.
Genevieve could not feel it, after all, this was just her in-game Avatar, Soft Mist but with her headsets on and so immersed in the game already, she could sense it, the pain of her Avatar.
Her knees buckled, the world spinning around.
And as she fell, everything blurred.
Noah's voice. A flicker of movement.
Her teammates, stunned.