Kidding

Kane frantically rushed through the jagged coastal front, using weakened mana bullets to knock out every enemy he came across.

He could fire off around 250 before he ran out of mana, 70 if he wanted to make them teleport, which he had to do if he planned on actually hitting something.

Dull pain ached from the leg that'd just been shot.

Since it was only a lower caliber pistol, the bullet bounced off of him, but the impact definitely still hurt.

In Kane's current situation, he couldn't afford to use mana for numbing pain unless the wound was absolutely dreadful.

He checked the area with his scanner, turning his attention to a strange dark blur that seemed to flash around the battlefield.

It was Mark using his stealth skills, from what Kane knew, he had abilities similar to Shadow Step.

To a normal person, they'd see nothing amiss as Mark flawlessly manipulated the light around him, but for someone who saw through the lens of space? It created a strange dark spot that was no more hidden than any other soldier present.

Kane dove behind a large rock, narrowly avoiding an incoming drone strike.

Compressing the space beneath his feet, he launched himself into the sky, taking the drone out with a small black hole before plummeting back to the ground.

All it took to break the several-second long fall was a well-timed teleport, which seemed to erase inertia.

There were hidden cameras and live TV crews set up all over the place, broadcasting the event.

The battle was being used to publicize the existence of a superhuman military force, with Kane being at the forefront.

Kane was chosen because of his extreme growth and unique magic. Since he was also doing well with combat training and happened to be blind, they figured the public would latch on. (Looking at you guys).

As soon as Kane landed, a tank pulled up.

"Oh crap."

Kane panicked and teleported behind a shattered building.

He listened closely to his surroundings and collected himself.

"No, no panicking Kane, stop it!" He slapped himself and got up.

With his scanner already out, Kane teleported directly inside the tank and knocked everyone out.

Before leaving he made sure to destroy the tracks and bend anything that looked like it could shoot something.

It was all technically easy, but Kane was shaking the entire time.

If it weren't for the mana calming him down, every distant explosion would make him flinch.

Kane could handle being beaten up, hurt, stressed out, and whatever else, but those things can't even be compared to an actual war.

He was strong, but he wasn't a soldier.

The more he ran around the battlefield the more he came to respect the soldiers fighting, they came here without superpowers knowing they were probably going to die.

The thought of putting a country before his own life was incomprehensible, on that end he'd never understand why the hell they did all this. But killing and dying took a level of courage Kane didn't have, even with his powers.

A message came in over his earpiece, "Hey, Kane! You hear me?"

"Y-yeah, what do you need Mark?"

"We're pushing them back thanks to you, I'm sorry, but I need you to meet me over on the northern end of frontlines, there should be an abandoned power plant."

"Ah, I think I know what you're talking about, I passed it a few hours ago," Kane yelled over the nearby artillery.

"Thanks, and sorry for wasting your time like this."

Kane sighed, "If that place is quiet enough to catch a break then it definitely won't be a waste, don't worry about it."

'Beep.'

Kane made his way north, a break was overdue.

-------

"They can dodge artillery, break down entire squads, and turn battlefields into chaos! This new breed of soldier has been coined "Manalite," possessing superhuman abilities not unlike magic, they're said to be the result of the secret project the government has been working on recently. Dylan?"

A well-groomed man confidently turned to the array of cameras with a smile.

"That's right Carol, it has also just come to light that Treychla has declared war on us. We've heard from our exalted leaders that Treychla plans to 'liberate' us from our illustrious nation. As ridiculous as that sounds, with the Manalites involved, I'm afraid they won't take a single mile of land!"

--------

Kane pushed the heavy iron door off its hinges.

"Oops, you here Mark?"

He entered the rusting factory and scanned around, finding Mark sitting on a concrete slab in stealth mode.

Seeing Kane walk directly towards him regardless, Mark disabled the spell and waved him over.

"We need to have a serious talk, Kane... turn off your earpiece for a sec."

Kane apprehensively complied, switching off his communicator.

"Seems even my stealth skills don't work on you, that sure hurts my pride!"

With a chuckle, Kane took a seat next to him. "So what is it?"

"I'm working for Treychla."

Kane's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"... Huh?"

"You heard me, Kane... I wasn't born here, I was raised over in Treychla and immigrated here as a kid. To put it frankly, after comparing the two, this country is borderline evil."

Kane smiled, "Your secret's safe with me, I despise this place too, I was actually planning to overthrow the government at some point when I got stronger!"

Mark burst into laughter.

"Oh, I'd love to see that. There's a weight off my chest, for the time being, I need you to stop taking out so many of my men, you're completely shifting the battle against us."

Kane raised an eyebrow, "You're Rank-6, you telling me you can't just take down more of our guys?"

"They have too many ways of monitoring me. I've sabotaged all sorts of gear, like the commander's truck, but even I can't get away with directly taking out several of 'my own men.' The other problem is the media, I just can't let their first showing of manalites go well for them, that'd give the country way too much moral,'" he shook his head.

Kane frowned, "I can't do that, they have my friends and family in their palm Mark. I have to use this battle to gain more influence in the military, I can't just stop fighting all of a sudden. I can halve the guy I take down, how about that?"

Mark stood up and looked at Kane with a serious expression, "We'd still lose, and I can't blow my cover just yet... please Kane, sit on the sidelines, don't make me do this."

"I told you, I need to protect my family, I don't have a choice Mark!" Kane lamented.

Mark looked around at the rusted interior of the factory and clenched his fist, slowly walking up to Kane he spoke with a sad demeanor.

"Neither do I."

Mark lunged at Kane, taking him by surprise.

He gasped as his head slammed into the wall, Kane immediately teleported away to heal.

Kane staggered before shouted angrily, "Damnit Mark, you don't need to do this!!!"

He stayed silent, continuing to run at Kane while pulling out his specialized mana-knife.

With a quick flurry of sharp cuts through the air, Kane found himself rapidly slowing down time just to stay alive.

Several strange black marks shot out at Kane, Mark was manipulating the shadows.

Kane immediately figured out that the shadows had more range depending on the intensity of the light they were contrasting with, with this in mind he used space to forcefully close up some of the walls, creating a small safe zone.

By the time he did that, around 40 mana bullets were being launched at him, Kane had no choice but to teleport straight to the roof.

A dozen of them went into the wall, reopening the attack zone, while the rest follow him upwards.

Kane teleported behind Mark, the bullets all reabsorbed into Mark instead of killing Kane, but now he was being attacked by Mark's knife and the shadows simultaneously.

With a grievous slice to his face, Kane fell backward, Mark immediately lunged on top of him.

"F*ck you, Mark," Kane uttered through his sliced lips.

Kane found himself shaking as some teardrops landed on his face.

"Sh*t, why'd it have to be a kid, why'd they have to send someone like you?! Why couldn't they have sent some scumbag? I have to do this, I'm sorry Kane, I really am," Mark choked up while speaking.

Some tears pooled up in Kane's hollowed eyesockets, finding no way out.

As Mark steadied his hands to give the teen a painless death, Kane desperately clawed at survival.

Kane knew no matter how much he put into breaking Mark's barrier, nothing would happen, so he used space. Kane's body was forcing him to do whatever it takes.

Space magic tore open a hole in Mark's barrier, and with that, the last of Kane's mana formed up into a tiny black hole.

Right inside the stem of Mark's brain.

Kane felt the dagger stab into his shoulder as Mark's body collapsed.

After squirming from the pain, he cursed in frustration and slammed his hand against the ground.

"DAMNIT," he held back his sobs and yelled.

Kane pushed Mark's body off of him and laid there next to it, he just stared blankly up at the ceiling.

It was weird, he felt sad and pissed off, but it wasn't because he'd killed someone.

He felt strangely indifferent about having killed Mark, it was everything else about the situation that made him emotional.

If only he had the strength to protect his family already, he could've taken Mark's offer, or even joined him. Maybe he should've done what he asked anyway...

Kane pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and began cleaning it off, he'd bring it with him as a reminder of his first teacher.

------

Dim light pooled through the holes plastering the wall as Kane opened a large crack in the ground.

He teared up a little while resting the body in the hole.

"I'm sorry Mark... I'll make sure this country crumbles, don't worry."

Kane took a deep breath and covered the hole.

He wanted to bring Mark back and give him a proper burial... but who here besides Kane could possibly kill him?

He couldn't risk anyone catching on, it'd be better to say he left with Treychla. Since it was already a half-truth, Kane was sure they'd be able to find evidence supporting his claim if they looked.

Kane stumbled out of the building, feeling the warm sun spread out over the vast ocean as he made his way back to base.

(This is the end of volume 1! Should be around 59,000 words by now. I just felt this was a good place to end off. But fret not my children, for I shall soon return with ambition! Although I can't always promise consistent updates, I'll try my best on consistent quality... and updates if possible. I want to take this story at its own pace, it may take years, but it will eventually be full and finished, and when that happens you're all welcome to binge read my first complete book! I'll never be going premium on this or whatever they call it)