The midday sun began to shine more intensely, but under the large beach umbrella, the atmosphere was cool and exceptionally relaxing. The heated photoshoot had ended, leaving behind a comfortable silence and a faint static charge that still lingered between the two of them. The waves continued to crash against the shore in a slow, steady rhythm, as if lulling this peaceful moment to continue.

Owen was meticulously packing Jace's expensive "ChronoFrame" camera into its aluminum case. His every movement was as careful as if he were handling a priceless antique. He felt relieved that this seemingly reckless mission had been successfully completed.

Sahara had put her thin silk robe back on over her bikini. She sat with her legs elegantly crossed on the lounge chair, slowly sipping a glass of fruit juice, while her eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, watched him with an unreadable smile.

"I have to admit..." she said, breaking the silence, her voice tinged with genuine surprise. "You really impressed me. I never thought someone with such boring fashion sense would have such a good artistic eye."

Owen chuckled softly. He closed the latches on the camera case with a click and turned to face her. "I'm just a novice photographer trying to do my best... especially with such a beautiful and cooperative model in front of me."

The direct compliment made Sahara's smile widen. "Sweet talker... But fine, you did very well today. I had more fun than I expected."

But as the relaxed atmosphere was about to continue, just as Owen was about to lift the camera case, his Awakened instincts screamed a warning! He felt two chillingly sharp killing intents aimed directly at his back, intense and menacing!

Fwip! Fwiss!

The soft sounds of objects cutting through the air, filled with murderous intent, came from behind him from two different directions simultaneously!

Owen didn't even have time to turn around. The instincts honed from combat and survival in dimensional gates shrieked a violent warning, making the hairs on his body stand on end. His body reacted before his brain could command it. He threw the camera case onto the sand and kicked off with all his might, throwing himself sideways and rolling across the hot ground!

His world spun for a moment. He felt the cold edge of a dagger slice through the air where his neck had been just a split second before, the chill of it stinging his skin. At the same instant, a low thud sounded. A silenced bullet buried itself in the sand where he had just been standing, creating a small hole with a wisp of smoke rising from it!

Owen sprang back to his feet, instantly in a ready stance. He turned to face the threat that had appeared so suddenly and silently. Two men in practical, dark casual clothes stood before him in attack range. Their eyes were as cold and emotionless as a viper's. The tattooed man was pulling a new dagger from his waist, while the scarred man was lowering his silenced pistol, surprised that their target had dodged.

What's going on? Owen was utterly confused. He had no idea why these two wanted to kill him. His once-relaxed eyes turned cold and serious in an instant. He clenched his fists, preparing for the unexpected fight.

Amidst the sudden chaos that erupted like a lightning strike, Sahara showed no signs of panic. Her composure was astonishing, as if she had anticipated this would happen. She remained seated, legs crossed on the lounge chair, moving only slightly to avoid the sand kicked up by Owen's dodge.

Her eyes, hidden behind expensive sunglasses, remained fixed on the confrontation before her. She let out a soft sigh, not of fear, but of annoyance that her peaceful rest had been disturbed.

Suddenly, a powerful and fierce woman's whisper sounded next to her ear. "Shall I help him, my lady?"

Sahara gave a knowing smirk and shook her head slightly. "Not yet, my love... I want to see for myself... just how capable the man I've chosen is."

"Hmph! At least I like him more than that pervert Jace. He keeps secretly taking pictures of your ass. If you hadn't stopped me, I would've flushed him down a toilet!" The whisper was filled with clear anger and dissatisfaction.

The comment made Sahara suppress a chuckle. "Don't be so hard on him, my love~ He's my best friend, after all. Even if he has some... strange hobbies."

With that, she calmly leaned back on her lounge chair, crossed her legs elegantly, and took a small sip of her fruit juice, as if waiting for an interesting show to begin.

.....

The men in black didn't give Owen much time to recover. They exchanged a look and attacked simultaneously, systematic and merciless.

The tattooed man was a C-Rank Power-Type Awakened. He immediately used his "Acceleration" ability! To a normal person, his body was just a blur, but to Owen, it was a shockingly fast movement. He closed the distance in an instant, the dagger in his right hand flashing like a silver streak, aiming for the vital points at Owen's neck and heart like a serpent, while his left hand raised the silenced pistol to fire, cutting off any path of retreat.

Swish! Swish!

Owen was under immense pressure. He used the footwork he had trained so hard for to dodge the continuous barrage of dagger strikes. The bullets fired to block his path forced him to change direction abruptly, causing him to lose his rhythm several times.

And as Owen was busy surviving the close-quarters assault, the scarred man, a B-Rank Elemental-Magic Type Awakened, stood calmly at mid-range. He slowly raised a small, black wooden staff. A brown jewel at its tip began to glow faintly.

"Arise... Wall of Sand!" As he roared, more than half of his mana was drained, sacrificed for the major spell. The sand around Owen and Sahara vibrated violently before a wall of compressed sand, over four meters high, shot up from the ground! It encircled them, cutting off all escape routes and instantly transforming the open beach into a searing arena of death!

'Damn it! These two work as a team!' The thought flashed through Owen's mind like lightning. Adrenaline surged through his body, his heart pounding. He glanced at the sand wall that had completely enclosed them before a cold analysis replaced his panic. 'One is a high-speed Power-Type to apply pressure up close, while the other is an Earth-Element mage to control the area and cut off escape... a professional coordination... This is a clear-cut slaughterhouse.'

The scarred man didn't let his enemy's shock last. Seeing his partner continuously pressuring Owen, he began to cast another earth spell to end the fight.

His palm touched the hot sand. Brown mana flowed from his body like roots burrowing into the ground. "Stone Spear!"

At his roar, the sand behind Owen, a perfect blind spot, sank slightly before a sharp spear made of solid rock shot up, silent and swift. It aimed straight for the center of Owen's back, intending to pierce through his body and end his life in one blow!

'Shit! I can't dodge this!' Owen swore internally. He was busy dodging the non-stop dagger strikes from the front. This coordinated, seamless attack left him with no options.

He had no choice but to use his [Avatar of Asura]!

Vwoosh!

An arm made of crimson mana, engraved with ancient patterns, appeared in the air behind him. It wasn't clenched into a fist, but open, a palm as strong as an iron shield.

CLANG!

The sound of the mana palm striking the tip of the stone spear was like metal hitting rock. The sturdy stone spear shattered into pieces, raining down on the ground. The surprise attack had cost Owen his focus and created a momentary opening... and that was the split second the high-speed assassin was waiting for.

"Too slow!" the tattooed man yelled, lunging forward at maximum speed.

SCHLICK!

The cold edge of the dagger sliced across Owen's left arm, leaving a long gash. A searing pain shot through his brain, forcing him to grit his teeth. Bright red blood seeped from the wound, staining his favorite grey t-shirt.

The fierce battle continued amidst the sound of the waves and wind trapped outside the sand wall. Owen was completely on the defensive. It was a dance of death, and he was being forced to move to his enemies' rhythm. He had to dodge the fast, dangerous attacks from the assassin before him while also watching out for the earth magic constantly being fired from a distance barrages of sand bullets and sand pits forming under his feet to trap his movement.

Owen used only the necessary amount of mana to defend himself. Asura arms were created and destroyed over and over, sometimes as a palm to parry the dagger, sometimes as a gauntlet to block sand bullets. But every time an Asura arm was destroyed and had to be recreated, it drained his meager mana reserves.

After several minutes of pressure, the tattooed man smirked, holding the upper hand. He saw the large beads of sweat on Owen's temples and his increasingly heavy breathing.

"You're better than I expected, but with an F-Rank mana level... you can't last much longer!" he taunted, before exploding forward again, this time faster and more ferocious than before.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Owen managed to summon an Asura arm just in time to block the dagger. The impact sent a shockwave through his body, forcing him back a step. He panted heavily, the salty sweat stinging his eyes. The enemy's taunt echoed in his head... he was right.

'My mana... is almost gone...' Owen thought, feeling the energy in his body about to run dry... In his desperate thoughts, the [Warp Reality] power emerged as an option... but he immediately discarded it... 'Not yet... It's not time for my last trump card.' He decided firmly. 'If I stay on the defensive, I'll lose... I have to risk it all!'

Owen made his decision in a split second. He feigned a misstep while dodging the latest sand bullet, his body stumbling sideways deliberately. The Asura arm he was using to defend himself dissipated, seemingly because he was out of mana, revealing a huge opening across his chest and torso.

The tattooed man saw it and smirked arrogantly. "Out of mana, you piece of trash!"

Carelessness took over. The thought of finishing this strong "prey" with his own hands was too sweet to wait for his partner's support. He shot forward at maximum speed, like an arrow, intending to plunge his dagger through Owen's heart!

But just as he entered the kill zone... Owen's once-weary eyes flashed with a cold, sharp light!

'You're in my trap!' Owen roared in his mind.

He exploded with a counterattack! And this time, he didn't use the Asura arms for defense, but to "capture!"

Vwoosh! Vwoosh!

Two crimson mana arms appeared in front of Owen with shocking speed. They didn't move to parry the dagger but shot forward, grabbing both of the tattooed man's arms with violent precision!

"Ah! What the!?" The tattooed man's eyes widened in shock. He struggled to break free, but it was too late. The Asura arms constricted around his arms like steel clamps, immobilizing him.

With his enemy momentarily frozen, Owen didn't let the golden opportunity slip. He reinforced both his fists with all his remaining mana, until they glowed with a faint red light. Then, he unleashed the most brutal and violent close-range assault he could muster!

THWACK! THWACK!

His right and left fists, reinforced with mana, slammed into the tattooed man's solar plexus and ribs! The faint sound of cracking bones could be heard. His body bent like a shrimp in pain.

THUD! THUD!

Owen hammered his fists into the same spots relentlessly. Every punch was packed with the destructive power he had learned from Nova.

"Ack... gurgle... cough!" The tattooed man coughed up blood, his eyes starting to roll back as he neared unconsciousness from the heavy blows.

"You! Let him go!"

The scarred man's furious roar came from behind. He was pale with shock seeing his partner fall. He quickly raised his staff to cast another major spell to save him.

"Stone Fist!"

The sand in front of him rapidly formed into a giant fist, which then shot towards Owen with immense destructive power, trying to force him to release his partner!

Owen cursed in frustration. He knew if he took this attack head-on, he'd be seriously injured. He reluctantly released the Asura arms and kicked off with all his strength, dodging out of the attack's radius just in time.

BOOM!

The stone fist slammed into the sand, creating a small crater. The shockwave and sandblast spread out.

Owen retreated to a safe distance, his body trembling slightly from using every last drop of mana in his last attack. He panted heavily, feeling the emptiness inside him make the world blur and his head spin.

The scarred man rushed to support his partner, who had collapsed to the ground. "Hey! Are you okay!?"

"Cough... cough... Damn it!!!... I think a few of my ribs are broken!" the tattooed man replied hoarsely. He struggled to his feet. Though heavily injured, he could still fight.

Now, all carelessness and arrogance were gone from their eyes, replaced by the utmost caution and seething hatred. They no longer saw Owen as "F-Rank trash," but as a monster hiding its fangs behind a weak mask.

The two stood side-by-side again, working as a team with much more caution, preparing to attack Owen, who now had almost no energy left to fight. The atmosphere grew tense once more…

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