Chapter 24: The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Evelyn wiped the tears off her face with her hand, a small smile appearing as she chuckled. "I can't believe you saw me like this," she said, sniffing. "No one has ever seen me cry before. Heck, I don't even remember the last time I cried."

Selene raised an eyebrow and gestured awkwardly between them, trying to ask, "Does this mean..." but hesitated to finish the question.

Evelyn frowned, confused, shaking her head as if to ask her to explain what she meant.

"It's nothing," Selene replied, brushing it off. "Will you wait here, or are you going? Because I have to help the others."

Evelyn glanced at her, shaking her head slightly. "Vivian can handle herself, and Elena is powerful. So, I don't know who you think you're going to help."

Selene crossed her arms, slightly amused. "You don't think they might need some assistance?"

"They might," Evelyn admitted, trying to prove a point, "but you have to trust them."

Selene shrugged. "If you say so," she said, moving to stand beside her. As the two stood there, Evelyn turned to face Selene, who also turned when she noticed Evelyn's gaze. "What did you people want from Lucas the day you attacked the train?"

Selene glanced away briefly before answering. "We were going to recruit him. It would have been successful if you hadn't pretended to be a hero."

Evelyn smiled, proud of herself as she remembered the day. "Yeah, your friend didn't see that coming," she said, recalling when one of her soldiers sniped one of the attackers who was with Selene.

"That was his fault," Selene replied, rolling her eyes. "He always thinks he's superior to others. After the heroes arrived, I wanted to take you back, but I had already used a lot of my energy, and there was this red-haired dude who uses flames. He would have hurt me if I hadn't given you up."

"Donovan!" Evelyn exclaimed, recognition flashing across her face.

Selene looked at her, curious. "That's his name?"

Evelyn nodded. "He wanted to come after you."

Selene's face remained unreadable as she shrugged again. "What's your relationship with him?"

"He works for my father," Evelyn replied, smiling slightly. "Why are you asking?"

Selene briefly recalled seeing Donovan holding an unconscious Evelyn that day. She shrugged it off once more. "Just wanted to know."

Suddenly, a silhouette flew toward them, and they both noticed it was Vivian. She used her wind ability to stop herself from smashing into the tree beside them.

"Are you okay?" Evelyn asked with concern.

Vivian nodded, smiling at Evelyn.

Selene smirked. "I told you she would need some help."

Vivian shot her a glare. "I don't need your help."

At that moment, Caleb floated toward them on his bubble, sending multiple explosive bubbles their way.

"There's bubble boy," Selene muttered sarcastically. "What are we going to do?"

Vivian quickly turned to Selene. "Take Evelyn away from here."

Evelyn frowned, standing her ground. "I can take care of myself."

Selene sighed, crossing her arms defiantly. "And I'm done taking orders. I want in on the fun."

Vivian leaped toward Caleb using her wind ability, rotating herself rapidly in the air like a drill. This helped her disperse the explosive bubbles that came her way. When she reached Caleb, she slammed both her palms into his stomach.

Evelyn turned to Selene, growing impatient. "Do something about the explosive bubbles."

Selene raised an eyebrow. "What do you expect me to do?"

"Surely some little explosions won't hurt someone like you," Evelyn said, trying to push her.

"You really think so, huh?" Selene chuckled, breaking a branch with plenty of leaves from a nearby tree. With great strength, she swung the branch at the incoming bubbles, generating enough wind to blow them away.

Evelyn instinctively blocked her face from the gust.

Selene turned to her with a smug look. "Happy?"

Evelyn smiled, nodding. "Yes."

Selene shook her head in frustration but smiled faintly. However, the ground beneath them began to shake violently, and they both looked up to see Collin's gigantic wooden form falling toward them.

Selene's eyes widened. "We have to move away."

Evelyn looked toward Vivian in the distance, still battling Caleb. "What about Vivian?"

"Didn't you just say she could take care of herself?" Selene reminded her.

"How is she going to stop that?" Evelyn gestured toward the giant wooden figure plummeting toward them.

Selene sighed. "Let her do the thinking," she said, proceeding to go and pick Evelyn up.

"Don't!" Evelyn warned. "Moving that fast makes me dizzy."

The distance between the falling giant and the ground was rapidly shrinking as they continued to talk. Selene hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do next.

Suddenly, a group of figures landed beside them, and Sierra stepped forward with her friends. "Looks like you need some help," Sierra said with confidence. She threw a punch upwards toward the falling giant, sending an invisible force that shattered the upper body of the wooden form.

Sierra turned to Selene and Evelyn, crossing her arms and frowning. "How about a thank you?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

Evelyn looked at her in disbelief for a moment before breaking into a smile, the tension in the air lifting slightly as the threat of the giant faded.

The lower part of the giant stopped falling, perfectly balanced, while Collins, after the upper part was destroyed, turned in the air, facing down toward Evelyn and the others. He made a motion of grabbing something invisible in the air.

Selene glanced up, confused, "What's he doing?"

Sierra raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Evelyn, noticing Collins' movements, gestured upward, "Up there. Don't tell me he can manipulate the air."

Collins grabbed at the air as if it was a physical object, forming it into something akin to a lightning bolt. With a swift throw, he hurled it down at them. The bolt landed with force, generating a gust of wind that blew them away, scattering everyone in different directions. He followed up by throwing another bolt at the foot of his damaged wooden giant, causing the lower part of it to finally collapse.

As the group was separated, Evelyn found herself alone.

"Why did you not attack me?" she called out, her voice barely masking her fear.

Collins landed gracefully and smiled at her, his voice low and taunting. "You are my target. Why would I go to the trouble of sending you away from me?"

He touched a nearby tree, using his ability to create a wooden sword. Instinctively, Evelyn began to back away, her heart pounding.

Dust rose all around them as the lower part of the wooden giant crashed down, making it hard to see. Evelyn shielded her face from the dust and tried to locate Collins in the chaos. "You know what you're doing is wrong," she called out, her voice firm despite the fear growing inside her. "If you stop now, I can help you."

Collins' chuckle echoed through the dust. "Too late for that."

"Even if you kill me, you won't accomplish your mission. Everyone knows about your plans now. My father will find out you were responsible, and you won't be able to take over the serum like you planned."

Collins stepped closer, his silhouette just visible through the dust. "If we fail to kill you, my father will punish us. If we kill you, your father will punish us. Now that our plans are exposed, and you've all seen our faces, we have no choice but to fight until our last breath. I will kill you, and then we'll go after your friends one by one until we make sure everyone who knows is dead. That is how we will be safe from your father. And if everything goes well, the serum will become ours."

Evelyn's mind raced as she tried to reason with him. "Everyone that knows?" She paused, knowing she had to say something that would make him think twice. "You'll have to kill the Manager too, because he sees everything that goes on here. Do you really think you and your brother will be able to kill the Manager and all the guards on your own? If you surrender, I can talk to them on your behalf."

Suddenly, a sharp object flew toward her. She barely managed to dodge, but the object grazed her forehead, leaving a stinging cut. Blood began to trickle down her face, and she winced as she touched the wound, her fingers coming away wet with blood.

Collins' voice cut through the tension. "After we get rid of you, we'll gather reinforcements. The Manager will be nothing. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he is killed by a novice assassin like me."

Evelyn chuckled, despite the situation. "Two days at Phantom Edge, and you've already made enemies of two powerful families and a renowned assassin. You won't be free, not even if you get out of here. Leah's family won't forgive you for what you did to their daughter."

"I don't care," Collins replied with cold certainty. "Your father has given us a powerful resource— the serum. With it, we'll rule Veridia."

Explosions echoed in the distance, making Evelyn's heart race. Vivian! she thought. Desperation creeping in, she said, "I can bring her back to life. Everyone will forget what you did. Just surrender, and I'll speak for you."

Collins laughed at her suggestion. "You really think I'm going to fall for that?"

As the dust slowly cleared, Evelyn noticed Collins standing just an arm's length away from her, his smirk etched with menace. He lifted his sword and sneered, "Ask Leah for my forgiveness when you see her on the other side."

Evelyn's training kicked in. This is it, she thought. Time to make use of what I learned from Lucas. She spoke with more confidence than she felt. "I'm your only chance of getting out of this alive."

"You talk too much," Collins sneered and swung his sword at her.

Evelyn quickly ducked and pushed him away with all her might. He stumbled but quickly regained his footing, lunging at her again. With a swift kick to his left knee, she brought him down on one knee. Collins grunted in pain, but swung his sword at her while still down.

She stepped back just in time, her eyes never leaving the sword. With a well-placed kick, she sent it flying from his grasp.

"You're really going to use your gift against a giftless, harmless girl?" Evelyn taunted, taking a few steps back and bringing her fists up, adopting a fighting stance.

Collins got back to his feet, laughing. "You're going to regret this." He feinted a punch at her face, then punched her hard in the stomach, making her wince.

Gritting her teeth through the pain, Evelyn saw his next move coming. He aimed a kick at her thigh, but she blocked it with her leg. He followed up with a right hook, which she parried, but the force of it pushed her back. Collins pressed forward, delivering a left hook. The blow landed hard.

"I told you you'd regret this," Collins said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "I would have given you a painless death if you'd just let me finish. Now, you're going to suffer."

He sprinted at her, aiming a powerful swing at her head. She narrowly dodged, then countered with a sharp kick to his thigh, sending him crashing face-first into the ground. Collins groaned as he tried to push himself up, but Evelyn wasn't done. She delivered a solid kick to his stomach, driving the air from his lungs.

Collins wheezed, trying to stand again, but Evelyn stepped back, circling him slowly, her eyes locked on his every move. She was done playing defense.

Collins dug his hand into the ground, causing sharp spikes to shoot toward Evelyn. She tried to move out of their way, but the spikes were too quick, and she stumbled, falling onto her butt. Scrambling to her feet, she sprinted away, the spikes still chasing her. 

Desperate, Evelyn spotted a branch hanging low from a nearby tree. She leaped for it, hauling herself up just in time to evade the spikes. Clinging to the branch, she glanced down at Collins, who had risen to his feet, clutching his bruised stomach while glaring at her from below.

He can't reach me without touching the tree, Evelyn thought, feeling a momentary sense of relief.

But Collins wasn't done. He grabbed his sword from the ground and, with a powerful swing, hurled it straight at her. Acting quickly, Evelyn deliberately let herself fall backward, hooking her legs around the branch. The sword flew past her, missing its target. She swung back up, only to realize Collins had vanished.

"Where are you?" Evelyn muttered to herself, scanning the area for any sign of him.

Her senses flared just in time. Collins had snuck behind her, and she immediately jumped down from the tree, narrowly dodging his surprise attack. Without hesitation, she turned and started running, with Collins hot on her heels.

"Come back here!" Collins shouted, frustration creeping into his voice as he chased after her.

A few moments later, Evelyn spotted two figures approaching from her peripheral vision—Number Two and Number Three. Relief flooded her as they closed in from the side. Number Two reached Collins first, causing the novice assassin to panic. In his rush to defend himself, Collins stumbled and tripped. Seeing her chance, Evelyn whirled around and delivered a swift, well-placed kick to his jaw, knocking him unconscious.