Typically, after executing the Flash Step ability, Emir would imdiately materialize at his intended destination.
But this ti, the Temporal Perception ability remained active.
Now, for the very first ti since he had unlocked this ability, he found himself able to witness his own flight through the street.
If the world around him hadn't been suspended in ti, he would have appeared to onlookers as if he were hovering just above the ground, moving forward with a deliberate, almost ghostly motion.
'Sorry Arthur, your girl will be ruffed up a bit...'
Within monts of this thought, he found himself floating right in front of Aria.
In one fluid motion, he stretched out his tensed right arm, swooping her off the ground and using his montum to spin around-a maneuver ant to cushion the impact of his sudden move, a force that would outright kill her due to her fragile fra.
Her face transitioned from cheerful snarkiness to shock in slow motion, her blonde twintails swinging in front of him, montarily obscuring his view.
But he had anticipated this, having already calculated his landing spot-right next to the massive gate that led to the upper district, where he had been just a minute ago.
Ti resud its normal pace, and Emir's left foot landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
Aria remained still, cradled in his arm.
"Ugh!" She managed to utter, still bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
At that mont, Emir paid little heed to the startled bystanders, who had nearly scread at the sudden appearance of a man right beside them.
Without offering Aria the opportunity to react, he clamped his fingers around her throat, exerting pressure that verged on suffocating, his grip nearly crushing.
Ensuring that she couldn't make a sound, he cast his gaze upon the towering buildings before him and chanted:
"Flash Step."
In the blink of an eye, he found himself perched atop a lofty building, overlooking the streets below.
His left hand was still gripping the fear-stricken Aria, her breath stolen by the unyielding vice of his grip as her struggles dwindled into re spasms and her efforts to break free proved in vain.
She couldn't even manage to lift her arms to fend off her assailant.
"Can you hear ?"
Emir's question sliced through the air, his tone incongruously casual, as if he was simply on a leisurely stroll through the park.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot that you couldn't speak with my hand crushing your throat like that..." "Wait, let help you."
With his words barely hanging in the air, his grip on Aria's neck tightened further.
He watched as her once-vibrant red eyes rolled upward, disappearing into their sockets.
Her pale face, already drained of color, turned even whiter.
The trembling that had once wracked her fra ceased, and her head slumped to rest upon her shoulder.
"Ah... My bad, I uhh... miss clicked yeah."
A snicker escaped his lips as he carelessly flung her lifeless body to the ground.
Thud!
His actions were chillingly thodical.
Retrieving Aria's terminal from her pocket, he crushed the device into pieces with his bare hands.
"But on a serious note..."
He discarded the remains of the terminal, his dark eyes unrelenting.
"It's better for you to be unconscious because what's coming next will seriously hurt you."
Emir then turned his attention to Aria's lifeless body, treating it like a macabre puppet.
He stretched out her arms and legs, extending them to their limits.
Raising his leg, he planted it on the edge of her right shoulder.
He then grabbed her hand and twisted it in an unnatural direction.
Snap!
Aria's arm was broken, left hanging limply over her body.
The grueso process repeated, each limb suffering the sa fate one by one.
And as he finished breaking her limbs, he manipulated them further, contorting her body into a grotesque semblance of itself.
Dropping his rucksack to the ground, Emir retrieved his weapon and strapped it to his body.
He then approached Aria's broken form and lifted her up.
Emir placed her in the cloak he wore, wrapping it tightly around her and stuffing the fabric into her mouth to stifle any sound.
He took the mask from his face and then placed it on hers.
Carefully, he placed her into the rucksack, her limbs fitting awkwardly within.
Zipping the bag shut, he surveyed his creation for a mont...
'It's done.'
He then sat beside the rucksack and gazed into the distance, leaning against it.
After a few monts of silence, he mused inwardly:
'Target captured... now to establish my alibi.'
His tone was matter-of-fact as if he was discussing a mundane task.
A grim smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Look at now," he said, his words soft, ending with a chuckle.
"Kidnapping, traumatizing, and ending lives without a trace of remorse I guess that's an advantage, though."
Emir straightened himself, hauling the rucksack onto his shoulder.
"No room for sentint... not when Magnus is my enemy."
He glanced at the rooftops leading toward the academy's training grounds, his intentions
clear.
"Flash Step."
--
"Hey, I'm back! I must say this is a serious piece of tech." Emir said as he stepped into the
shop.
The sa charming attendant looked at him for a mont and said:
"Welco back, Sir Emir. Will you confirm this purchase?"
"Yes, the price doesn't matter, I know that she'll love this~."
"Of course, do you require ammo with that as well?"
"Nah, I've got a lot of that back ho."
"Alright. Since you already paid the weapon price, I only need to scan your ID to complete this
purchase."
Handing his ID back to her, he asked:
"By the way, on the way here, I didn't see many students around where did they go?"
"Oh—that, I'm not sure... I've heard that Sir Elijah began panicking about after Aria suddenly
disappeared, but then the Goldleaf family ca by and said sothing about her escaping
from their watch like usual."
"And as you know, the students don't like to mingle in anything related to the Elite, so they
took off from here as soon as possible."
Her eyes twitched in frustration as she added:
"I don't even know why they co here, we're losing custors because of them and their shenanigans! Especially that Miss Aria, always a special day with her..."
'I see...'
Emir realized their plan of action.
They would say that she disappeared on her own accord, and they wouldn't send public search
parties because they would want to keep their image as an Elite family...
They don't want to show others their weakness after all.
Afraid that they might use it as leverage over them.
'Well, lucky for , I don't have to deal with them sniffing around.'
Seeing that her words might be counted as throwing hatred towards the Elite, she quickly
corrected herself:
"I an nothing bad by that, of course, it's just, you know..."
Nodding, he comforted her:
"It's alright. I get you, I've had several run-ins with people like them, and I can tell you that
those feelings you have are justified."
Smiling at his words, she handed back his ID.
"Thank you for that. I hope your sister likes the gift. Have a nice day, and please co back
again!"
"Good day." He replied while heading back out of the shop.
While he walked through the streets, he took out his terminal and began scrolling through a
list of ruins.
Finding what he was looking for, he paused at one of the most dangerous ruins nearby.
'Now then... Let's see if she'll break.'
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