Hide and Seek

I walked slowly, my knees slightly bent, placing each step carefully to avoid making any noise. I even made sure to control my breathing. The attackers currently knew my approximate location, but I could still attempt to ambush them.

I could hear footsteps in the hallway nearby. Another team of two people, walking at an extremely slow pace. It seems they tried to be quiet, but were failing miserably.

I plastered myself against the wall next to the gaping hole that used to be the front door of the apartment. I needed to kill them quickly and change my position.

That was going to be a bit difficult. Running would make too much noise. Jumping out of the window and scaling the walls would be a nice option, but I could be spotted. Unless they were complete idiots, they must have left some people stationed outside to observe the building.

My only choice was to create a diversion. Collapse some walls maybe, or ceilings. If I'm lucky, I might even crush someone in the process.

The two assailants in the hallway were getting closer. They were right on the other side of the wall. I waited, ready to attack at any moment. As soon as they reached the door frame, I jumped out of hiding.

I kicked one out of the way, making him crash into the wall. Then, with a well-trained move, I slashed the second one's throat.

The guy who hit the wall quickly pressed buttons on his walkie-talkie. But he was too slow. The knife I threw still managed to get stuck in his chest right before the space contracted.

It was simply too easy. None of them were any better than the guys from last time.

Not wasting any time, I reached out my hand, collapsing both the ground and the ceiling a few feet away from me. Then I jumped through the newly created hole to the floor above.

Just like that, I was able to make my location unknown.

Of course, that wouldn't last long. They all had their walkie-talkies, so they were probably in contact with each other. As soon as one team would spot me, they could let the others know.

I would prefer not to have two teams come at me at the same time. Not that they could pose a threat to me, I would still be able to deal with them easily, but they might run away and teleport before I kill them all. And that would be such a waste.

To be fair, I didn't really understand this tactic. Shouldn't they fight until the last breath? If they were just going to run away, then what was the point of attacking me in the first place? Unless…

They were trying to tire me out. That would be a reasonable strategy. Exhaust me before hitting me with full force.

Unfortunately for them, they were far too weak for that to work. Fighting with them has been a child's play so far.

I could hear another team climbing the staircase. At the same time, I noticed one more through the hole in the ground. I didn't even need to jump down to deal with them. I simply collapsed the ceiling above them, adding extra force to fully crush them to a bloody pulp. Then I turned to take care of the team on my floor.

Hearing all the noise made by the destruction I caused two floors below just now, they must have assumed that was my current location. They started descending the stairs, leaving their backs pretty much exposed to me.

I lifted a few big pieces of rubble scattered on the ground and threw them at the fighters, hitting the nearest one straight on the back of his head. He toppled forward, crashing into his teammate and knocking him off his feet. Both of them rolled down the stairs. Before any of them could recover, I jumped on them and slashed their throats.

This, however, alerted another team that was hiding on the staircase just one floor above. Since they were waiting motionless, I failed to notice them before. But now they joined the action, quickly positioned themselves, and started firing at me.

I raised my hand, stopping the bullets, and tossed a knife in their direction. The guy I was aiming at attempted to defend himself, and surprisingly, was fairly successful. The knife got stuck in his arm, not causing any critical injuries. He seemed to be better than the rest of their bunch.

He paused for a moment, wincing from pain, but didn't run away and soon resumed shooting.

Did they change their tactic? Well, that was better for me.

I only had two knives left, including my pocket knife. I should preserve them more.

Putting a lot of tension in the arm I used to block the bullets, I send all of them back at the shooters. This time, it seemed I managed to deliver a critical hit.

Suddenly, the man in the beige suit appeared on the staircase half a floor below me.

It was definitely the same guy, I had no doubt about that. But the feeling that came from him was incomparable. It was pretty much the same unsettling feeling, but stronger than what I felt from all the other assailants combined.

I got shivers from the extreme feeling of danger. It felt like this guy could really pose a threat to me.

Now that was exciting. I couldn't help but smile as my adrenaline levels spiked.

Holding a knife in my hand, I jumped straight at him.

But, the space contracted and he disappeared. What a disappointment.

I didn't need to wait long, however. Less than 5 seconds later, the same unsettling feeling assaulted me from behind. He reappeared exactly where I was just a moment ago.

I turned around to face him just as a soft bang coming from a gun with a silencer resounded on the staircase.

The man in the beige suit stood straight with a gun in his hand, having just pulled the trigger, aiming at my heart.