BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

"Come on, kid, show me what you've got," Daniel sneered, swinging his hammer at him once again.

"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of hero. Didn't you come here to rescue your friends?"

Benedict gritted his teeth, channeling more mana into his halberd. He swung it around in a wide arc, trying to catch Daniel with his range advantage. But the thug was too quick for him, dodging out of the way and bringing his hammer down on Benedict's arm.

The kid cried out in pain, feeling the bones in his arm snap under the force of the blow. He stumbled back, clutching his injured arm.

"Is that all you've got?" Daniel laughed, extending his rope and wrapping it around Benedict's neck.

"Pathetic, and you even go to the Red Palace. Is this everything you guys amount to? Weren't you all mighty?"

Then Daniel, Benedict's opponent, used his power against the kid.

He could summon a rope that could infinitely extend, clearly depending on Daniel's mana reserves, and that could contract at will. The rope quickly coiled around the Red Palace student, and he gasped for air, struggling to break free from the rope.

He could feel the air being squeezed out of his lungs, and his vision was starting to go dark.

Suddenly, withering, snake-thorned vines came out from the ground and descended on Daniel, causing him to release Benedict from his constraint. Martha emerged from behind, her hands outstretched.

"Are you okay?" she asked, helping Benedict to stand on his feet.

He nodded, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"You owe us all one," Aaron said, stepping forward. "Did you really think we wouldn't have come here to help you?"

Mikey nodded, his flesh-eating bugs buzzing around his head. "Yeah, man. We're a team, remember?"

Benedict smiled weakly, gripping his halberd tightly. He then looked at his friends; he knew they would die if they stopped assisting the others. "Go help the others!"

His friends looked at him with admiration, but there was also anxiousness in their eyes. However, they did as he said and went, supporting the other students and parents in any way they could.

With renewed determination, Benedict charged at Daniel again. He swung his halberd with all his might, but it wasn't easy to catch him. Since the two had heavy weapons, the fight was not that fast, but a wrong hit meant death.

However, the real problem was not this guy's hammer but his brain crystal power. If he got hit by the rope, it would start coiling around him automatically, and at that point, he would be a sitting duck.

"Why did you become a thug with a power like that?" Benedict asked, standing in front of him.

"Mind your business, kid; you know nothing about life."

Daniel glared up at him but said nothing else. Benedict took a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He tightened his grip on his halberd as Daniel's rope transformed into a whip. With a flick of his wrist, the thug lashed out at the kid, the tip of the rope crackling with energy.

Benedict dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike, but Daniel was quick to follow up. The whip lashed out again, and Benedict wasn't so lucky this time.

The rope's end caught him across the chest, and he felt a sharp pain as the weapon got him.

He gritted his teeth, trying to shake off the pain as Daniel closed in, this time with his hammer raised high. Benedict knew he did not have enough strength to defend against this attack, and he had to evade the move.

Daniel cackled triumphantly as he swung the hammer down, but Benedict rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow.

Daniel hit the ground, creating a small crater where Benedict previously stood.

As the young man's eyes scanned the room, he saw the result of Daniel's attack, and a shiver went down his spine. If he got hit, he would have been dead by now.

"Damn…"

As he retreated, Benedict spotted a metal pole on the ground nearby and made a mad dash for it, dodging and weaving as Daniel's whip cracked around him.

He tore the pole from the ground with a desperate heave and threw it at Daniel. It was like a giant arrow aiming to kill the man.

The thug managed to deflect the blow with his hammer, and he did so with ease, as Benedict wasn't anywhere strong enough to be a threat to him.

However, the young man pressed his slight advantage, lunging forward with his halberd as Daniel was distracted, but the thug was quick to counter, wrapping the whip around it and tugging it from Benedict's hands.

***

During this whole ordeal, things weren't as straightforward for the others. If it weren't for Adam's older brother, Mikey's and Luisa's mothers, and Anderson's father, who could face 5–6 people at once, the kids would have already been dead by now.

Most of the thugs focused on the adults, but not all of them, as was shown by Erik's, Amber's, Gwen's, Benedict's, and Anderson's fights.

If Erik managed to fight against Mia thanks to his prowess, Amber and Gwen could fend off their attacker thanks to their joint effort. Thanks to Martha and the others, Benedict could do the same, but Anderson was in a different situation.

His was the hardest fight of the lot. It was true that the young man was strong, but he wasn't faster nor stronger; he simply had the technique and an insanely strong brain crystal power, which he couldn't use since he would end up killing everyone aside from himself if he did.

One of Erik's plans was for him to save the hostages with a rescue team, and then Anderson had to use his power to blow off the Red Lotus Lounge.

It was unclear if his mana was enough to surpass Matthew's and his men's mana defenses, but at least the chaos he would have created would have allowed him and the others to run away.

The problem, though, lay in what Matthew would have done if they had seen only Anderson going to him.

Would he have killed the hostages and, consequently, Erik and the others due to rage? Would he have killed him on the spot? Since there were too many unknown variables, Erik decided to use the "gain valuable time" approach. However, the fight was too hard.

The young man was using his claymore, but he didn't really like fighting with weapons since they hindered his movements, and he wasn't as skilled with them as without the weapon. However, his opponent was using a spear that had a long reach, which was hard to counter with his body alone.

Anderson gripped his claymore tightly as he faced off against his opponent, who had summoned a spear made of mana.

He knew he was at a disadvantage but had to keep fighting to get out of the club with the others.

He tried to attack Kevin, but the man expertly parried his strikes and countered with a thrust of his spear. Anderson managed to dodge it narrowly, but he could feel the wind of the attack on his cheek.

"You're a tough one," Kevin said with a smirk. "But you can't beat me with that big sword of yours."

Anderson gritted his teeth and lunged at Kevin again. But the man was too fast, and he dodged the attack easily.

Kevin then struck with his spear, hitting Anderson in the shoulder. Anderson let out a grunt of pain as he stumbled back.

"You can't win," Kevin taunted him. "You're fighting for a lost cause. Give up now, and maybe I'll kill you painlessly."

Anderson shook his head and raised his claymore again, but his movements were slower now. His wound was slowing him down, and he was losing strength.

Kevin noticed this and smiled cruelly. As the fight continued, the kid found himself pushed back further and further by Kevin's relentless attacks.

He had managed to block or dodge most of them, but his movements were becoming slower, and his breathing was labored due to the blood loss.

He knew he was in trouble. Kevin seemed to be getting stronger with every strike of his mana spear. Anderson had to think of a new strategy quickly, or he would surely fall.

After an assault by Kevin, Anderson backed away to try and regain some breath, but in doing so, he exposed himself. Sensing the opportunity, Kevin rushed forward, thrusting his spear toward Anderson's chest.

But Anderson was ready. He swung his claymore in a wide arc, knocking the spear aside and creating an opening in his opponent's defense in turn. He stepped forward and swung his claymore with all his might, aiming for Kevin's head.

The thug managed to dodge, but the sword cut a deep gash in his shoulder. He winced in pain but didn't back down.

"Two centimeters above, and I would be dead," Kevin said. "You are indeed a Red Palace student," he added.

The man thrust his spear repeatedly, forcing Anderson to keep his guard up and preventing him from going on the offensive.

The two continued to exchange blows, their weapons clashing loudly in the closed-off club. Anderson was growing weaker by the minute, his movements becoming more sluggish and his strikes less powerful.

He knew it was only a matter of time before his opponent landed a fatal blow.

"Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!"

"The fight is over, kid!" Kevin said. It was clear Anderson could do nothing anymore. He didn't have the power nor the strength to do so.

Kevin shot forward with great speed. Anderson saw him arrive and raised his claymore to kill the man. He angled it perfectly, and the swing came down beautifully. It looked like the god of death was going to harvest lives with its scythe. However, Kevin jumped, and while in mid-air, he spun on himself and avoided the swing. That was the opportunity he was searching for. He took advantage of Anderson's opening and thrust his spear straight at his heart as if on cue.

The young man tried to dodge, but this time he was too slow, and there was no one who could help him. The spear pierced his heart, and he watched the spear's tip go through his chest.