David, Clark, what's wrong with you two?

Shwish!

As for the hunting rifle in Jonathan's hands, in Tina's eyes, it was no different from a fire poker.

The moment she leaped, blades of grass sprayed into the air, and the whole world's time seemed to slow a hundredfold. Clark darted out with agile grace, scooped Tina up around the waist, and carried her as he ran into the distance.

Even though he'd seen her "slow speed" and was confident he could subdue her, judging by how her kick had torn up the grass, her strength was no joke. Even a casual swing at the front gate could turn splintered wood into bullets.

Clark didn't want any accidents.

Once Clark and Tina vanished, David aimed in a direction and gave chase at the speed of a normal athlete.

"I'll help Clark, Dad. You protect Mom."

"David, don't go!"

Jonathan, gripping the hunting rifle, tried to call his son back, but his son was already out of sight.

David glanced back, confirmed his parents could no longer see him, and his speed suddenly skyrocketed.

On the suburban road, under the streetlights.

Clark slowed down to set Tina down, but before she could blink, she reacted. Clasping her hands together, she slammed them viciously onto Clark's back.

Thud!

A dull sound.

It felt like a car had smashed into his back. Caught off guard, Clark was flattened to the ground, cracking the pavement and making the pebbles on the road bounce.

"You've got powers too, Clark!"

Seeing that Clark hadn't died, Tina grabbed him by the throat and tried to lift him up.

Clark gripped her wrist tightly, restraining her movement, his expression grim.

"Tina, before you make an even bigger mistake, you can still turn back."

He'd caught a flicker of anger from her earlier. Maybe Aunt Catherine's death had hidden circumstances—maybe Tina hadn't done it. That would mean she hadn't killed anyone yet, just robbed a bank.

"Mistake?"

Tina sneered.

"I'm just using the abilities I have to fight for happiness. What mistake did I make?"

She was about to push harder, to see whose strength was greater—hers or Clark's.

Thud!

A cold figure shot in like a bolt of lightning, ferocious and overwhelming. His fist slammed into Tina's face. A shockwave erupted. Tina tumbled backward, spinning like a pebble skipped across a lake, colliding with the ground several times before crashing to a stop dozens of meters away.

Even Clark, still in her grip, was dragged along, flying seven or eight meters before hitting the ground.

"Who's there?"

Tina's face had a red, scraped-looking mark. She stood up, glaring furiously at the newcomer.

David's cold face appeared under the light. He rubbed his knuckles.

"Your bones are pretty tough."

That punch to her cheekbone had felt like hitting high-density alloy.

"David?"

Tina vaguely recognized him. Her gaze flicked between David and the rising Clark, her expression turning vicious.

"Brother's got powers, and the little brother's a monster."

"But your family shouldn't have come after me!"

Her speed surpassed a charging cheetah. In a few strides, she crossed dozens of meters, her fist whistling through the air as she swung at David.

Tina's shock +0.4, anger +0.6...

Thud!

Her fist came with bullet-like force. David dodged back, evading one punch. When she swung again, he caught her wrist. Tina tried to break free, but it felt like being clamped in iron pliers.

"Decent strength, but a shame—pure woman's brawling style."

No technique at all.

His eyes cold, he tightened his grip, applying hundreds of tons of pressure.

"Let me go!"

Tina snarled in pain, her other fist tearing through the air toward David's head.

As if he hadn't even seen it, David didn't move a muscle. He just suddenly cranked up the force—over a thousand tons. Under that terrifying pressure, even a steel ingot would be crushed into paste.

Crack!

Her fist stopped mid-swing. A bone-deep, searing pain shot through her wrist. Tina screamed, her body convulsing as if electrocuted. She dropped her arm and tried to pry David's hand off, but couldn't.

She stared at his handsome, icy face, as if facing a merciless, bloodthirsty monster. Fear crept into her heart.

"D-David..."

In that moment of crisis, Tina's face twisted like mud, morphing into a woman's face with fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, her expression deliberately contorted into agony.

Tina had taken on Martha's face. She thought that seeing his mother's pained visage right before him, David would instinctively let go.

And David did just that—he released his grip as if shocked.

"How dare you!"

But the next instant, he snapped back to reality, fury surging in his heart.

Before Tina could flee, she felt a hand like forged steel clamp onto her head, slamming her face-first into the ground.

Boom!

Stone chips flew. Tina's entire head was brutally shoved into the earth.

Crack, crack!

"Aah!"

Tina screamed, trying to lift her head, but that massive hand pressed down hard, her skull groaning under the strain. Fear of death flooded her body and mind.

"Help, help!" she cried out, her muffled voice seeping from the dirt.

David remained utterly unmoved, his face cold as ice as he raised his fist to strike.

Crack!

"Let go, David."

Clark rushed over and grabbed David's wrist.

This time, he didn't hold back, rapidly increasing his strength. But when he found he couldn't pry David off even at full force, his eyes widened in shock.

Clark was about to use both hands.

"Get back!"

David swung his arm back, flinging Clark away as if he weighed nothing, then brought his fist down.

Boom!

Tina's hands, flailing like a drowning person's, fell limp against the ground. Her head was buried in the dirt, motionless.

"Tina!"

Clark shouted, rushing to her side and flipping her over, unsure if she was alive or dead.

Thankfully, she was still breathing.

But... no matter what, she wouldn't wake up.

"You've turned someone into a vegetable again."

He glared at his brother, furious.

"Daring to take Mother's face—I was merciful not to kill her."

David stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked down at his feet, his tone icy.

From Tina: Fear +0.8, Confusion +0.3, Anxiety +1.0, Anxiety, Anxiety... Terror +1.2, Terror, Terror...

A complete process—she passed out, found herself still conscious, wondered why she couldn't control her body, then grew frantic trying again, realized what had happened, and finally, terror...

He hadn't killed Tina.

In maximum-security prisons, when violent inmates refused to comply, the punishment was often solitary confinement.

Just a sliver of light from the cell door crack, a cramped space where you couldn't take two steps, darkness with no one to talk to, not even able to see your own hand.

"Usually, even the most vicious criminals come out docile after three days in the hole."

And what awaited Tina was an enhanced version—decades of solitary confinement.

By the icy lake, where cold energy radiated, cars were parked along the shore, and campfires crackled.

A lively outdoor barbecue party on a holiday afternoon.

David, Chloe, and the others sat around the fire, grilling meat.

"David, Clark, what's wrong with you?" Chloe, dressed in a down jacket, asked curiously. "If I remember right, I haven't seen you two talk in days!"

"The atmosphere between you two is as cold as this lakeside," Pete said, deliberately rubbing his arms and shivering, pretending to freeze to death. "Oh god, save me."

He made exaggerated, goofy gestures, trying to lighten the mood and give the two a chance to reconcile.

"I don't feel cold," Clark said in a dull voice, flipping the beef he was grilling.

David took a sip of cold fruit beer, staring at the distant lake as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Did you two come from some frozen alien planet?" Chloe was baffled.

She had never seen them like this before.

What had happened between these two brothers?