HIDDEN CARD
Chapter 16
Rictor's eyes narrowed as he spotted Aurum standing at the forefront, flanked by his two vice heads—Crinke and Singe. The infamous Terrible Twins, both at the peak of the Blue Plane. Rumors claimed that if they ever worked together, they could even rival Aurum himself. However, their mutual hostility made such a scenario unlikely, and it was this very discord that had earned them their title.
"To think you actually survived," Aurum's voice boomed across the arena, laced with amusement and disdain. "But you're a fool to return here. Do you really believe your new friend, a mere peak Pink Plane warrior, can save you from us?"
Rictor, unfazed by the overwhelming odds, simply smirked. His gun rested lightly at his side, fingers relaxed, showing not even a hint of tension. "Two against three? That doesn't seem fair. Why don't you sit this one out to even the odds?"
Aurum threw his head back, letting out a raucous laugh. His golden eyes gleamed with mockery. "Why the hell would I listen to you? Both of you, and your little friend over there, are as good as dead."
At that moment, Jayden stepped forward, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he reached into his small backpack, retrieving a black sphere. Aurum's eyes instinctively narrowed, his body tensing as he anticipated an attack. But the moment the object touched the ground, it erupted into a dense cloud of black smoke.
"Something's wrong!" Crinke, the bladed twin, shouted. "They're trying to escape!"
Without hesitation, he charged through the smoke, his sharp senses catching glimpses of movement. As the smoke cleared, his eyes widened in disbelief. Three figures—two Jaydens and one Rictor—were fleeing in separate directions.
"Get them!" Aurum bellowed.
Crinke bolted after Rictor, his sword gleaming under the light. Singe, the lightning twin, pursued the leftmost Jayden, while Aurum himself chased the middle one.
---
Crinke quickly closed the distance between himself and Rictor. With a sharp swing, his blade sliced through the air, colliding with Rictor's pistol in a shower of sparks. The force sent Rictor stumbling backward into a stack of wooden crates, knocking over several costumes—bandit disguises used by the Orbius Faction.
"You could have been useful," Crinke sneered, stepping forward menacingly. "But you chose the wrong side. Now, just die already."
He thrust his sword forward, spiritual energy pulsating as he unleashed a concentrated slash. Rictor barely managed to block it, the impact sending tremors through his arms. He gritted his teeth, forced back further.
---
Elsewhere, Singe had caught up with Jayden. Lightning crackled around his fingertips as he lunged forward, aiming a devastating strike at Jayden's chest. Reacting swiftly, Jayden formed quick hand seals—an earth wall rose between them just in time to absorb the blow. But as soon as Singe's lightning-infused strike made contact, fractures spread across the wall's surface like a spiderweb. The next attack shattered it entirely.
Singe smirked. "Not bad. Your defense is impressive for someone still in the Pink Plane. But against me? It won't matter. I'll finish you here and now."
Jayden, however, remained unmoved. His deadpan stare bored into Singe with disinterest.
"Are you done?" Jayden asked flatly.
Singe's smirk twitched. He hadn't even been listening?! His aura flared with rage. "For that, I'll make sure you die painfully!"
With a quick movement, Jayden created two shadow clones. The two identical figures sprinted forward, engaging Singe in rapid succession.
---
Meanwhile, Aurum was hot on the heels of another Jayden. His patience snapped as he roared, "Slow down, you little—"
He swung his fist, his strength enough to shatter bones, and felt it connect with Jayden's head. But instead of the expected impact, smoke erupted, and a wooden log clattered to the ground where Jayden had just been.
Aurum's eyes widened. "An illusion?"
His mind raced. Rare abilities were valuable enough, but Jayden had already displayed a unique power. To possess another rare ability? The potential was staggering. If he could recruit Jayden into the faction, their rise to B-rank—no, even A-rank—wouldn't just be a dream.
He whipped his head around, scanning the area. Then, he spotted him—perched atop a distant rooftop, eyes glowing an eerie crimson under the sunlight.
Jayden stared at him in silence.
His lips curled into a smirk.
"Let's make a deal," Aurum called out, voice smooth and calculated. "Join me."
Jayden tilted his head slightly, expression unreadable. Then—
"No."
Aurum's smile twitched.
---
Back with Rictor, the battle raged on. Crinke's relentless assault showed no signs of slowing. Yet something felt… off. Rictor wasn't firing his pistol, despite being backed into a corner. And then—
Crinke's sword finally pierced through Rictor's chest.
"Your time is up." Crinke's voice echoed with finality.
But something was wrong.
Rictor doesn't show any emotions.
No pain. No defeat. Just… blank.
Before Crinke could react, Rictor's hands flashed through rapid hand seals. The ground beneath Crinke's feet trembled, then suddenly collapsed. He sank nearly four feet into the earth, struggling to free himself.
"What the—?!"
Then, to his horror, the "Rictor" he had stabbed flickered—turning into white smoke.
Crinke's head snapped up. Standing a few meters away, perfectly unharmed, was the real Rictor, smirking.
"I've always been a genius," Rictor's voice rang out.
A flashback replayed in Rictor's mind—Jayden's smoke bomb earlier. At that moment. One of Jayden's shadow clones had transformed into him, leading crinke on a wild chase while he prepared for this exact moment.
Crinke gritted his teeth, realizing he had been completely played.
Rictor raised his pistol, a faint green glow pulsating from the barrel.
"Your time's up," he said, mirroring Crinke's own words from earlier.
With a click, a concentrated beam of spiritual energy shot forward, piercing through Crinke's forehead.
Back on Jayden's side, the battlefield crackled with static as arcs of silver lightning danced around his opponent. The twin, though heavily wounded, still exuded an overwhelming aura of danger. Jayden, breathing heavily, was in slightly better condition—but not by much.
The twin wiped the blood from his lips and smirked. "To think someone at the Pink Plane could push me this far… I'm impressed."
Jayden remained silent, his crimson eyes devoid of emotion.
Without warning, he flicked his wrist, sending a kunai hurtling through the air at breakneck speed. At the same time, he formed swift hand seals—Chidori erupted to life in his palm, the crackling energy illuminating his cold expression.
The twin's lightning surged wildly as he dodged the kunai with ease. "Too slow!" he sneered, his elongated lightning arm striking forward like a spear.
A sharp, sickening sound rang out.
His hand had pierced straight through Jayden's chest.
"Pity," the twin muttered, twisting his hand inside the wound. "You should've chosen the right side."
But then—
Poof!
Jayden vanished in a wisp of smoke.
The twin's eyes widened in horror as realization struck too late.
Behind him, the kunai he had dodged warped and expanded—Jayden's form materialized in its place, hands already forming seals.
CHIDORI!
A blinding bolt of blue lightning surged forward, piercing straight through the back of the twin's skull. The scent of charred flesh filled the air. His body spasmed before collapsing, lifeless.
Jayden exhaled sharply, his expression unchanging. "Sorry, but I'm not dying a second time."
Ding!
[Elite Enemy Defeated!]
Rewards: Silver Chest x1, 700 EXP, 30 SP.
You have leveled up.
Jayden scanned the message and sighed. "So, fighting is the only way to grow stronger…"
He opened the silver chest.
[New Jutsu Unlocked: Summoning Jutsu.]
For the first time, he acknowledged the system's usefulness. "This will make things easier."
But his moment of respite was short-lived.
A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield as nearly 300 faction members stormed toward him, their weapons gleaming under the moonlight.
Rictor, who had been making his way toward Jayden, froze mid-step. His breath hitched as he took a step back, pressing himself against the wall of a nearby building. His fingers trembled over his pistol, but deep inside, he knew—there was nothing he could do.
Even Jayden couldn't survive this… right?
Jayden remained eerily calm as he eyed the incoming wave of enemies. "I need to end this quickly… or I might actually die."
He had one trump card left—but using it would drain nearly all his chakra. Was he willing to risk it?
He clenched his fists.
No hesitation.
He muttered under his breath, "Giant Sand Coffin."
The battlefield trembled.
A monstrous tidal wave of sand erupted from the ground behind him, engulfing the battlefield like an unstoppable tsunami.
"What the hell is that?!" a terrified woman shrieked.
The faction members unleashed a barrage of attacks, their blades slashing and their spells bursting against the massive wave of sand. But their efforts were futile. The sand absorbed most of their attacks, swallowing them whole.
Jayden stepped forward, his palm pressing against the shifting dunes.
"Giant Sand Burial."
The battlefield fell into a deathly silence.
Then—
CRACK!
A horrifying symphony of snapping bones and muffled screams filled the air. The sand convulsed violently before settling, leaving only a grotesque sight—thick, dark blood seeping through the surface.
Jayden's body swayed. His vision blurred. He barely managed to remain on his feet before his legs finally gave out, forcing him to his knees.
Ding!
[20,000 EXP, 1500 SP gained! Level up! Level up! Special Roulette x1!]
[New Achievement: Mass Murderer.]
Reward: Special Roulette x1, Silver Chest x1.
Jayden blinked at the notification, his lips twitching slightly. "Mass murderer? Seriously, system?"
He groaned, pressing a hand against his forehead. His mind was already exhausted, and now the system was calling him a psychopath.
The battlefield, once filled with the chaos of battle, had now fallen into eerie silence. The towering mound of sand cast a long, foreboding shadow, marking the graves of nearly 300 warriors.
A few meters away, two figures stood frozen in place.
Fin who is several meters away and had remained hidden during the entire fight, and Rictor, who had been convinced Jayden was dead, were both drenched in cold sweat.
Their eyes darted between the sea of corpses and the lone figure kneeling amidst them.
Jayden wasn't human.
He was something far, far worse.
Their voices trembled as they spoke in unison.
"H-He's a… a monster…"
To be continued.