Chapter 33: Kill Yourself

[Yes / No]

Caelan stared at the notification for a second, but before he could even think about what it meant, the two men standing in front of the last guy suddenly moved.

Both of them rushed toward him at the exact same time.

"Shit!"

Caelan immediately jumped backward as the first sword swung toward his neck. The blade barely missed him, but the second man was already coming from the other side.

*CLANG!

Caelan blocked the attack with his shadow sword, but the first man immediately swung again. He stepped backward, but he just received another swing.

"What the fuck?!"

Caelan continued retreating as the two men relentlessly attacked him. But after several exchanges, he started noticing something strange.

Their movements were too similar and forceful.

Whenever one attacked, the other immediately followed. Whenever Caelan moved to one side, both adjusted their positions almost the exact time. They weren’t even speaking to each other, yet they somehow knew exactly when the other would move.

That was when Caelan noticed their eyes. They looked completely dull and lifeless. The expression in them were almost completely blank.

Wait... Caelan’s eyes widened.

Don’t tell me...

How come he had just noticed that??

They were clearly being controlled.

"Fuck me."

One of the attackers swung toward Caelan’s head again. Caelan ducked and immediately kicked the man’s stomach, creating enough distance between them.

He didn’t hesitate anymore at the answer.

[Yes]

[Ding!]

[1 Hollow Fragment has been consumed.]

[Acquiring Mind Control...]

For a brief moment, Caelan felt something strange enter his mind. It wasn’t painful, but it felt as iff another sense had suddenly awakened inside him. Something he had never known existed was now there, and somehow, he instinctively understood how to reach for it.

[Ability acquired.]

[Mind Control (Lvl. 1)- Allows the Host to influence and control the actions of targeted people under certain conditions.]

[Maximum time of use: 5 minutes.]

Caelan didn’t have time to read all of that as the two men rushed toward him again.

Mind Control! Caelan instinctively activated the ability.

[Mind Control is being activated.]

His vision suddenly changed just as that notification rang in his head.

[5:00]

[4:59]

For a brief moment, he could feel something connecting him to the two attackers in front of him. But there was another presence mixed with it. The man behind them.

So that’s how you’re doing it.

The man at the back suddenly stiffened. For the first time since the fight began, he moved his body. His eyes widened as he stared directly at Caelan.

"Found you." Caelan couldn’t help but smile.

The two attackers suddenly stopped as the two abilities fought each other. Their swords remained raised in the sky, but their bodies refused to move any farther.

The man at the back immediately raised his hand and the two twitched.

He’s trying to get them back Caelan felt a force pushing against his control. His head immediately started hurting.

It felt like someone was pressing directly against his mind. Caelan gritted his teeth as the two attackers began trembling, their bodies caught between two different commands.

[4:31]

[4:30]

Caelan could feel the connection between them more clearly now. The two men were already tied to the person standing behind them, which was probably why taking control of them had been so easy in the first place.

But maintaining it was another problem.

The pressure inside his head continued getting stronger as the other man fought against him. One of the attackers suddenly managed to move his arm, forcing Caelan to strengthen his control again.

[4:18]

This is fucking annoying. Caelan gritted his teeth. At this rate, the entire five minutes would be spent fighting over these two men.

Then a thought suddenly entered his mind.

Wait... Why was he even fighting for control over them?

Caelan’s eyes slowly moved toward the man standing behind the two attackers.

If he could control people, then why was he trying to control the puppets instead of the person controlling them?

The moment Caelan thought about it, his focus immediately changed. He stopped pushing against the the two men and instead reached toward the presence behind it.

The change was immediate and quick. The two attackers suddenly jerked forward as the original man’s control returned to them.

The man seemed surprised by Caelan suddenly giving up, his expression quickly relaxing. He probably thought he had won.

Got you. Caelan smiled.

That was when he focused everything on him.

[Mind Control.]

The man’s eyes widened.

For the first time, Caelan felt a direct connection form between them.

"What...?" The man’s entire body suddenly stiffened.

His hand, which had been raised toward the two attackers, froze in place.

[3:42]

Caelan felt resistance almost immediately, but it was different from before. The man clearly knew what was happening and immediately tried to fight against it

[3:31]

"No..." he muttered as his body trembled.

Caelan’s head started hurting again, but he refused to release the ability.

"This isn’t possible." The man’s eyes widened even further.

Caelan raised an eyebrow.

"No..." he repeated, this time louder.

"You shouldn’t be able to do this!" The man’s breathing became heavier as he tried moving his arm, but it barely responded.

Caelan had no idea what he was talking about.

As far as he understood, Mind Control allowed him to control someone. But judging from this man’s reaction, apparently what Caelan was doing wasn’t normal.

"How..." The man gritted his teeth as his body continued trembling. "How are you controlling me?!"

Caelan didn’t answer.

Mostly because he didn’t know either.

[3:04]

[3:03]

The man desperately tried to break free, but Caelan could feel his resistance weakening. He hadn’t expected Caelan to target him directly, and that brief moment when he thought he had regained control of the other two had left him completely unprepared.

Then suddenly, the resistance disappeared. The man’s body stopped trembling his shoulders relxing.

The panic in his eyes slowly faded until the same dull, empty expression Caelan had noticed in the other two appeared on his face.

Caelan stared at him.

Did it work? He decided to test it.

"Raise your right hand."

The man’s right hand immediately rose.

"Holy shit." Caelan’s eyes widened.

The two attackers standing in front remained completely still as well as if waiting for the guy’s control.

That was when Caelan realized that the connection didn’t end when he controlled the man. Instead, they were still chained with him.

Caelan’s mouth slowly opened as he realized what that meant.

"Drop your weapons."

*CLANG!

*CLANG!

The swords in the hands of the first two men immediately fell onto the dirt with just one word from him. A second later, the man behind them dropped his hidden weapon as well.

Caelan stared at all three. It actually worked.

The man he had copied Mind Control from could apparently control these two because they were already under his influence.

Now, by controlling the source... he had gained control over everything connected to it.

[2:18]

[2:17]

The timer continued counting down in front of him.

Right. He still had a time limit.

"Kill yourself." The smile on Caelan’s face disappearred.

= = =

A/N: Just want to inform everyone that I will be lockinf the Chapters by tomorrow starting on Chapter 32.

Thank you for understanding and I hope you continue reading!