Reinhart's eyes widened with shock as Lian's words reached his ears. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

  Layla and Riley who were close by fought their hardest to resist Kai's mind control, refusing to budge from their spots. Lian also managed to suppress her body's urge to obey Kai's command.

  But it was all in vain.

  Reinhart felt his legs give way and he collapsed to his knees. The strength and resolve that had fueled him until now instantly drained from his eyes. He looked up at the dark sky, where thick smoke obscured the stars.

  "I see..." he muttered softly, his voice barely a whisper. "So this is my judgement." He said, as if talking to himself.

  "Once again mum... I've failed." He sighed, his shoulders sagging with defeat.

  He had completely lost the will to fight. And this was Kai's plan, to crush Reinhart's heart completely.

  Levi and his friends, although a bit far but not as far as the other students behind them, were able to make out some of the words they uttered. Especially the solution Lian had given.

  "Exactly how does our situation keep getting worse," Kyle laughed nervously.

  "This whole thing is giving me a headache," Violet sighed. "Why did we have to be dragged into a fight between A Rankers..."

  While the two spoke, airing out their thoughts about the situation, Levi remained silent. Violet shifted her gaze to him and caught him staring at Kai who was also a bit far from Reinhart.

  But the look in his eyes wasn't fear or worry, it was sadness. A sadness she could not make sense of at the moment. After all, he was the one who spoke to them just some minutes ago, so what happened?

  Before she could ask, Levi took a huge step heading out of the barrier.

  "Hey, what are you doing?" Kyle grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, but he pulled away without turning back.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "What's gotten into him this time?" He looked at Violet. "Does that guy love death or something?"

  Violet also wanted to stop him but for some reason, she hesitated and sighed. "Just leave him Kyle..."

  Without looking back, Levi walked out of the barrier. Just like earlier, he wasn't affected by the effect of Kai's world. He didn't know why but he didn't seem to bother about it either.

  With a simple gust of wind, he rushed towards the direction of the sentinels and to their surprise, he rushed past them. He was heading towards Kai.

  "Look at this kid..." Kai chuckled as he saw Levi's approaching figure. "Thinking he can take advantage—"

  In his current situation, Kai was completely drained to the point where he could barely lift a finger without struggling. It was only natural that taking advantage of this to attack him was an optimal choice at the moment.

  But to his very surprise Levi just simply stopped before him and smiled. The kind of tired smile that came with a weary exhale.

  “I don’t know who Leo and Zack are,” Levi said quietly, “But I can tell they were really close. And I can tell that losing them must’ve felt like having your whole world ripped apart.”

  Kai laughed, shaking his head. “So now you resort to dialogue... Now you try to stand there an act like you understand—"

  “I don’t know everything, you're right” Levi admitted gritting his teeth. “But I do know what it feels like to lose people you consider family."

  “Before you say it, No… it doesn’t make us the same." Levi frowned slightly, his expression look more serious. "And that’s why I need to tell you something, Kai.” His voice grew firm. “You’re a god damn hypocrite.”

  Kai’s face instantly changed to a deep frown. “What did you just—?”

  “You say heroes abandoned you. That they turned their backs when you needed them,” Levi pressed on, ignoring him. “And maybe you’re right. Maybe they failed you."

  "But look at what you’re doing now, you’re turning your back on everyone else. You’re turning your back on the so called precious people you lost.”

  “Yeah sure, maybe I don't know what it's like to carry the kinda hate you have"

  “But I do know what it means to want to give up on everything. To stop caring. To let pain swallow you whole. And I’ll tell you something...” his eyes shifted to Reinhart, then back to Kai, “that’s the easy way out.”

  He clenched his fist. "And recently, I've learnt the hard way..."

  The look on Kai's face slowly faded as he became completely silent. Because at that moment when he looked into Levi's eyes, what he saw wasn't someone trying to buy time or someone trying to change his mind.

  What he saw was a cry for help. A cry similar to the one he let out years back.

  “I never cared much about sentinels or heroes. Honestly, I never even had someone I looked up to like that." Levi shook his head and continued to speak.

  "But then I saw him” He gestured toward Reinhart. “Even when he was exhausted. Even when he was hurt. He stood up against not one, but two abilities—and he didn’t even flinch."

  "He didn’t complain. He kept going, even when his whole body was begging him to stop.”

  His lips curved into that same tired smile. “And I couldn’t help but think… damn. This guy’s really awesome.”

  Levi stepped closer, lowering his voice as if speaking to a wounded friend. “I get your pain, or at least part of it. But revenge isn’t what you need right now. It won’t bring Leo or Zack back."

  "What you need is a savior.”

  Levi finally turned his head, glancing back at Reinhart.

  “So… please finish your job and save him.”