Power extraction

Chapter 7

Ronan leaned against the doorframe, pretending to be unbothered. "Yeah? Well, I don't do door-to-door sales. Try next door." He said casually.

Neither man laughed, obviously not impressed.

The taller one sighed, reaching into his pocket. Ronan's muscles tensed, but instead of a weapon, the man pulled out a small metallic badge, holding it up just long enough for Ronan to get a glimpse.

It wasn't police. Not government, either.

Something worse.

"Let's just say," the man continued, his voice smooth and patient, "we're very interested in your… recent developments."

Ronan's stomach tightened.

They knew.

And if they knew, that meant others probably did too.

His mind raced through his options. Slamming the door and pretending this never happened? Useless. They weren't the type to knock twice. Trying to fight them now? Stupid. He had no idea what they were capable of.

So instead, he kept his voice even. "Not interested."

The shorter man chuckled. "Come on, Vale. Let's not pretend you don't know what this is. You woke up different. You're not some random guy anymore. And people like us?" He gestured between himself and his partner. "We notice things like that."

Ronan's grip on the doorframe tightened. "And what exactly do you want?"

The taller man stepped forward slightly, just enough to make it clear that leaving wasn't an option. "Nothing unreasonable. We just need to know what kind of system user you are."

Ronan didn't respond, but the man continued.

"See, when someone like you pops up, we have three choices." He held up one finger. "Recruit." A second finger. "Control." A third. "Or eliminate."

Ronan forced himself to stay still. "You talk like you've already decided."

The man smirked. "Not yet. That's up to you."

Then the shorter man's smile widened. "But we do like to be thorough in our evaluations. And from what we've seen… you've got something to protect, don't you?"

Ronan's pulse spiked.

The man casually glanced over Ronan's shoulder, toward the living room. Toward Noah.

"That your kid?" The man tilted his head. "Cute. Must be hard, raising him on your own."

Ronan didn't move.

The man kept going, his voice light, but the weight behind his words was suffocating. "You know, it'd be a shame if something happened to him. Accidents happen all the time. A missing child here, a body found there… People like us? We notice things like that too."

A slow, creeping rage spread through Ronan's chest.

They weren't here to negotiate.

They were here to corner him, but they were wrong to think he was an easy target.

Ronan's fingers twitched. He wasn't going to let them walk away after that, He couldn't risk gambling, with the look on this man's eyes, he was dead serious.

But then something felt wrong.

His system wasn't activating.

No alerts. No stat boosts, no kill missions.

Nothing.

His system didn't sense danger.

Which meant…

These men weren't planning to kill him.

He could sense it, they were strong, but their intent wasn't bloodlust—it was control. That was why his system wasn't reacting. They weren't here to fight to the death.

That also meant he wasn't going to get any help from his system.

This fight was going to be his alone. He slowly closed the door behind him, not wanting Noah to know nothing of what was about to happen.

He barely had time to react before a fist blurred toward his face. He twisted to the side, dodging just in time, by inches. But before he could counter—

A heavy force crushed down on him.

His entire body felt like it had been wrapped in invisible chains. His limbs slowed, his muscles dragged, as if something was pulling him into the ground.

Gravity suppression.

They're ability users, which meant, they had a system of their own.

The shorter man grinned, watching Ronan strain under the pressure. "Not bad reflexes. But you're outmatched."

Ronan gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move. His left leg was sluggish, but he swung with his right—aiming a sharp kick at the gravity user's knee.

The man dodged, but Ronan used the momentum to break free, staggering back.

But It wasn't enough.

The taller man was already closing in again. A heavy punch slammed into Ronan's ribs— pain exploded in his side, knocking the breath out of him.

Fuck—he's strong.

His body was enhanced since after his reawakening, but without the system activated, he was just a slightly better version of his old self. And these guys? They weren't amateurs.

Another punch came—Ronan raised his arms to block, but the force still sent him stumbling backwards.

The gravity user moved in—faster than before. Ronan reacted on instinct, twisting just enough to avoid a direct hit.

But then—

The taller man grabbed him by the throat, raising him up with one hand.

And squeezed.

A crushing grip, he was damn strong, even though his abilities wasn't physical strength.

Ronan's vision blurred, his eyes bulging from the gripping force. His fingers clawed at the man's wrist, but his strength was fading. His lungs screamed for air—

"You're pathetic, I thought you'll put up a better fight, I guess the boss put his hopes on a powerless fool, I might as well just do him a favor and end you right her." The man growled, gritting his teeth in a mocking smirk.

And that's when it happened.

Bloodlust.

Not his. Theirs.

They weren't just trying to subdue him anymore.

They were going to kill him.

And the system reacted.

[THREAT DETECTED, ELIMINATION REQUIRED.]

[TIME REMAINING 4:59 ]

[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: POWER EXTRACTION]

Power surged.

And Ronan stopped struggling, a smirk curling on his lips.

"I thought you'd forsaken me." He mumbled to himself."

The taller man frowned. "What—"

Ronan grabbed his wrist, glaring at the man's eyes, and then...he pressed firmly and effortlessly, instantly crushing his bones.

The man screamed, his grip loosening and releasing Ronan. Ronan drove his knee into his gut, twisted his arm, and slammed an elbow into his throat that crushed his air pipes, killing him instantly.

He man collapsed to the ground, eyes wide with shock, blood pooling around his twitching body that stopped moving after a few seconds.

The gravity user moved, but Ronan was faster, faster than he had ever been.

He closed the distance in an instant—his fist crashed into the man's face. A solid impact that instantly cracked his teeth and broke his nose, blood sprayed.

The guy staggered, dazed...his eyes wide with disbelief, how could this have happened, he seemed powerless just a moment ago, how could this happen?

Ronan didn't give him time to recover.

He grabbed him by the back of the head—

And slammed his skull into the wall.

Once. Twice. Bone crunched.

The body slid to the floor, blood pooling around him.

Ronan exhaled, rolling his shoulders, he turned to look at his screen, wondering what it meant by power extraction. Thinking there was no harm in trying, he bent down near one of the dead men, as soon as he …placed his hand on the corpse, a strange sensation spread through his palm. A cold, tingling current crawled up his arm, and his screen flickered.

[POWER EXTRACTED:LOW TEIR GRAVITATIONAL SUPPRESSION]

Ronan's breath hitched. He flexed his fingers, expecting some kind of change, but nothing felt different. His eyes darted back to the screen, scanning for more details.

[POWER CAN ONLY BE ACTIVATED DURING BATTLE ]

His gaze snapped back to the other body. If he could take one ability, could he take more?

But then, he paused. He looked down at his hands. Blood. Warm, sticky. The system had forced his instincts, but it wasn't mindless.

It had given him exactly what he needed to win.

Nothing more.

Ronan turned to the security cameras in the hallway. Whoever sent these guys was watching.

One thing he needed to do first, get rid of these bodies and call Nathaniel. After this, His decision had been made, he was going to become a harbinger.