The sound of crashing bodies faded behind him.
Unaware of the chaos brewing elsewhere, Baam had already turned away.
Just a short distance away, Rachel stood stiffly, the blade pressed to her neck still trembling slightly in Hoh's grip.
"If Baam notices your Lighthouse has gone dark," Hoh muttered, "he'll come looking."
His voice cracked with emotion. "This is the only way. I have to climb the Tower. No matter what. You understand, don't you? After all, you also—"
A sudden voice cut through the air.
"Tell that idiot you don't understand him."
Hoh froze. He turned his head sharply—just in time to see a shadow step into view.
Quant had arrived.
The Ranker dusted off his hands as he strode forward, irritation radiating off him like heat.
"Geez, you're causing me way too much trouble."
Hoh's grip on Rachel tightened. His eyes widened. "What?! How are you here? You were supposed to be chasing our 'it'!"
Quant scowled. "I told you to shut up. I already handled the rest. Guess they were right."
"Who told you—? What is this?!" Hoh shouted, panic bleeding into his voice. "What's going on here?!"
"You're pushing it," Quant said coldly, stepping closer. "Put down the knife before I make you."
But Hoh's hands shook harder. "No! I just need to kill this woman! That's it! That's all I have to do!"
"Rachel!" a voice rang out.
Baam sprinted into view, panting. His eyes went wide as he took in the scene—Rachel held hostage, Hoh clutching a knife.
"Hoh…?" Baam's voice was soft. Confused. "What are you doing?"
"Why is this happening…?" Hoh whispered. Then louder: "Was I deceived? That letter—was it a trap?!"
Baam took a step forward, trying to make sense of it all.
"Why would you do this…?"
Hoh shouted, his expression twisting with frustration and pain. "Shut up! Just capture the Ranker already, you monster!"
He pressed the blade tighter to Rachel's neck.
"I'll kill her! Hurry up!"
Baam flinched, eyes locked on Rachel.
She looked back at him—not scared, not pleading, but waiting.
"We can't capture a Ranker, Hoh. Not even if we all worked together."
Baam's voice was calm, but the tremble in it betrayed his anxiety. "Please… don't do this."
His thoughts spiraled. The test doesn't matter. None of this matters if Rachel dies. What should I do…?
"This is all your fault!" Hoh screamed, eyes wild.
"I really don't understand…" Baam murmured, shaking his head.
"It's your fault for showing off!" Hoh accused. "Your power! Your potential! Everyone sees it—but no one sees us!"
He backed away, his knife still poised. "Don't come any closer! I'm not nothing—I won't be nothing!"
Baam's voice came soft, steady.
"Alright," he said. "I'll do it."
Quant raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Baam stepped forward, placing himself between Quant and Rachel. His fists were clenched, but his expression had gone cold, resolved.
He turned to face the Ranker.
Quant stopped mid-step and raised an eyebrow. "You serious, shorty? What good's that gonna do?"
Baam didn't flinch. He pointed directly at Quant.
"I'll defeat you… and save Rachel!"
Shinsu surged to life around him, a sphere of pressure gathering in his palms. A Baang began to take shape—unstable, but potent.
Quant sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Ahh, whatever."
In an instant, he vanished.
Before Baam could react, the world twisted. A strange pressure wrapped around his limbs, locking him in place. It felt like invisible hands had reached inside his body, rooting him to the ground.
What—?!
A shimmering layer of Shinsu bloomed around him for a second… and then shattered like glass.
Baam's body froze.
My muscles… they won't respond! What did he do?
Then, a faint chime echoed in his mind. A blue screen flickered into view before him.
> System Notification:
> Skill Acquired: Reverse Flow Control
> Skill Level: Entry
> Efficiency: 4%
Baam's eyes widened.
Reverse Flow Control? I didn't learn this… I've never even practiced it. Did the system copy it when Quant hit me?
He tried to speak, but even his mouth was sluggish. The Shinsu Baang he'd summoned dispersed harmlessly into the air.
Quant, now standing behind him, glanced over his shoulder.
"Can't move, huh?" He gave a short nod. "That's 'Reverse Flow Control.' I flooded your Shinsu pathways with my own, locking your body from the inside."
Baam could feel it now—trails of foreign energy disrupting his internal flow. But at the same time, something else stirred. With the system's help, he was beginning to feel the method. He couldn't replicate it yet—but he understood the principle.
Quant turned away, casually waving a hand.
"Anyway, I've got more important things to do. Your 'it' is still out there. Do something useful and stop making dumb declarations."
As he passed Baam, Quant tapped his shoulder.
In an instant, the pressure lifted. Baam stumbled forward slightly, breath catching in his throat.
Hoh flinched when Baam's eyes met his, but in that instant, his attention slipped.
Rachel, sensing the shift, acted.
With a sharp cry, she drove her elbow into Hoh's ribs. He gasped, staggering. Rachel seized the moment, wrenching his arm upward and twisting out of his grasp.
"Let go!" she cried, breaking free.
"Stop!" Hoh shouted, lunging forward again.
Baam reacted immediately.
In less than a heartbeat, he crossed the twenty-meter gap between them. But—
Too slow.
A flash of steel. A breathless shriek.
Rachel collapsed to her knees, a red blossom spreading across her back.
"Rachel!"
Hoh stumbled backward in a daze, staring at his bloodied hands.
Without hesitation, Baam placed a hand on his chest.
"Reverse Flow Control!"
A shimmering Shinsu field erupted around Hoh, locking him in place. His body froze mid-motion, eyes wide in disbelief.
Quant, watching from the edge of the clearing, narrowed his eyes.
He really copied it...
A low whistle escaped his lips. A monster in the making.
Baam took the knife and knelt by Rachel, his hands trembling as he pressed against the wound.
"Rachel… please, stay awake."
Her eyelids fluttered. Blood flecked her lips.
"Baam… why…?"
She lifted a hand to his cheek, her touch faint.
"I told you… not to come…"
Her hand slipped away, falling limp.
"Somebody help!" Baam screamed, lifting his head to the empty sky.
"Please!"
Quant sighed through clenched teeth, finally turning back.
"Damn it." He moved quickly toward them.
Baam's voice quivered. "Why? Why did you do this to Rachel?"
Hoh, still immobilized, struggled to speak.
"Isn't it obvious…? To stop you."
His voice cracked. "You followed her into the Tower, didn't you? Someone told me… if I got rid of her, you'd break."
Baam's fists clenched. "Who told you that?"
Hoh's head drooped.
"If you disappeared, then I could finally move forward. But the Tower… it didn't choose me. It chose you."
His voice hollowed.
"It's all over now."
Baam stared at him, pained.
"Was this… the only way? I thought… I thought we were friends."
Hoh chuckled, dry and bitter. "Friends? You mean that stupid list? That worthless scrap of paper?"
Baam's voice was soft. "You helped me. You taught me things."
Hoh spat the words. "I helped you because you were weak. Because it made me feel strong."
Baam's expression faltered. The wound cut deeper than the knife in Rachel's back.
Hoh's eyes were wet now, his voice cracking beneath the weight of his confession. "People like you… you don't understand what it's like to be powerless. You and Lauroe, you shine. But me… I've already lost everything. Everyone I cared about died before I even got here."
He looked up.
"Because I didn't have power. Because the Tower only rewards the strong. No matter what we believe, strength wins. Always."
"Hoh?" A familiar voice called out.
Serena appeared from the shadows, stopping short at the scene—the blood, the tension, the silence.
She rushed over, kneeling by Hoh, her face full of alarm and confusion.
"What happened? What… what did you do?"
Hoh didn't look at her.
His voice, barely audible now, trembled.
"I wasn't trying to kill her… to climb the Tower."
"Then why?" Baam asked, barely breathing.
Hoh's gaze drifted to him—quiet, full of guilt.
"I just… I hated you."
A silence settled over them all.
Serena touched his shoulder gently. "Hoh…"
He didn't meet her eyes.
"I failed."