CHAPTER 27: BOUNTY HUNTERS [III]

Edward sighed.

"It’s just another day in the office," he muttered, lifting his chipped coffee cup to his lips.

The liquid was lukewarm by now, bitter and unsatisfying, but he slurped it anyway.

"I hate it, but it’s what gives me money in the end."

The office floor was quiet, filled with the monotonous tapping of keyboards and the occasional ringing phone.

Edward leaned back in his chair, stretching his stiff shoulders.

They were dozens of stories above the streets of the city, safe in one of those massive towers lined with reflective blue windows — the kind you couldn’t see into from the outside.

Nothing interesting ever happened here.

At least, until today.

The explosion hit like thunder.

The floor shook, computer monitors toppled, and Edward’s coffee splashed across his shirt.

He jumped from his chair, his eyes darting toward the huge reflective panes of glass — and froze.

Someone was running on the windows.

Not sliding.

Not falling.

Running.

His boots slapped against the vertical glass as if the world itself had forgotten what gravity was.

And in his arms, tucked close to his chest, he carried a young woman.

Then, without hesitation, the man leapt straight off the side of the building.

Edward screamed along with his coworkers. "WHAT THE ABSOLUTE HELL!"

...

[Ding!]

[You have reached 5 Million Subscribers]

[You currently have 30 Million viewers on Stream]

[You have received 2 Million Royals in Donations]

Luna couldn’t even register the notifications flashing in her periphery.

Her heart was hammering too hard, her body trembling with adrenaline as she clung to Lucius.

The sound of gunfire and missiles filled the air.

The whole skyline seemed to have turned into a warzone.

Even from so high above the ground, danger lurked everywhere — rooftops crawling with bounty hunters, drones buzzing through the air, windows shattering as enemies fired from within and outside skyscrapers.

"Luna, hold tight," Lucius said.

His voice was calm, but his grip on her waist was iron.

He launched himself from the skyscraper’s reflective surface, soaring into the open sky.

Bullets streaked toward them in a deadly storm.

Lucius twisted midair with impossible precision, weaving between them, before raising his free hand.

A sphere of warped space shimmered into existence.

The bullets froze inside it, captured like insects in amber.

Lucius flicked his wrist, and the entire cluster shot backward, piercing not only the original shooter but ricocheting into three others hidden across the rooftops.

The stream chat detonated.

[@DragonSlayer99: BRO HE JUST REVERSED BULLETS WTF]

[@SoftBunBun: protect Luna at all costs 🥺]

[@CrownlessKing: He dodging bullets with a girl in his arms?? unreal]

[@Shad0wSniper: Imagine missing THAT BAD]

[@StardustFan: My god they look like a couple straight out of a movie 😭]

[@PapiChulo42: BRO BUILT DIFFERENT]

[@AwkwardTurtle: Luna looks terrified poor girl someone hug her]

Luna gasped as another explosion boomed nearby.

Her wide eyes turned toward Lucius. "C-can’t you just blow them away?"

"Yes," he said evenly, his tone almost detached, "but there are innocent people in these buildings. If I unleash something wide-scale, I’ll kill them too."

She opened her mouth to protest, but the deafening roar of an incoming missile silenced her.

The warhead streaked toward them, smoke trailing.

Lucius didn’t panic.

His arm wrapped tighter around her, pulling her closer against his chest.

His other hand extended toward the missile.

It froze mid-flight, trembling as invisible pressure held it in place.

Then, with a flick upward, he sent it spiraling into the sky where it exploded in a brilliant flash of fire.

Luna gawked at him in disbelief. "...That’s—"

’Damn Awakener P.D. would fine me for property damage if I don’t keep this clean,’ Lucius thought with a bitter smirk. ’I don’t care about these people. But breaking half a district on stream? Too expensive. And too messy.’

Plus he was doing this for viewers too.

’I’m not even tired.’

He pressed his feet to the side of another skyscraper, launching them across the skyline in a blur of motion.

Within seconds, the bounty hunters were left scrambling in the distance.

Lucius landed smoothly atop a high rooftop, setting Luna gently down.

His breath fogged in the cool air, though he hid his fatigue behind a steady expression.

"Let me rest a bit," he muttered, crouching low.

Luna moved closer, her eyes scanning him worriedly.

But before she could speak, a laugh echoed across the rooftop.

"Kekekekeke..."

The sound was mocking, sinister.

Lucius’s eyes narrowed. He turned his head —

THUNK.

Pain exploded through his back as an arrow embedded itself deep into his flesh.

He groaned, collapsing onto one knee.

"Lucius!" Luna cried, rushing toward him.

Another arrow streaked through the air — but this one unraveled mid-flight.

The glowing strands whipped around Luna, forming a rope that coiled around her arms and chest.

She yelped as she was yanked back, the rope binding her tightly.

The archer stepped out from the shadows, short and wiry, his grin stretched ear to ear.

It was the same bounty hunter from before.

His bow pulsed with eerie energy as he nocked another arrow, aiming it directly at Lucius’s head.

"Caught you," he said with a sneer.

The stream went feral.

[@K1llerQueen: NOOOOOO 😱]

[@BigDaddyOrc: nah they HACKING how’d they hit him mid-leap??]

[@CynicalSage: Short king strikes again]

[@GachaSalt: Luna tied up... the fanfic is already writing itself]

[@MoistBread: not Lucius folding with 30 mil ppl watching 💀]

[@WifeyWatcher: this is PEAK drama, my god]

[@SilverLotus: don’t you DARE hurt him 😭😭😭]

Luna thrashed against the glowing rope, her eyes blazing with both fury and terror.

Lucius stayed on one knee, his face tight with pain.

"I wouldn’t move around if I were you," He said while taking hold of Lucius and throwing him next to Luna, "That arrow seals your ability to use Magic and guess what? It works for space too."

"What do you want?" Luna asked.

"Oh, I can’t escape from the others," The short man said as he walked toward them and positioned an arrow against Lucius’s neck, "So I’ll just trade him to them, how about that?"

[Author’s Note]

Phew done, I’m really glad everyone is enjoying the book so far.

150 PS for 3 more Chapters tomorrow.