The system pinged.
[Territory Alert: School Grounds Under Attack]
[Threat Level: Moderate]
[Territory Leader Unavailable — Nearest Defender: Min Seo-Jun]
Echo wiped sweat off his brow, chest heaving from his last training set. His clothes clung to him, soaked, and his muscles screamed — but he grinned.
It had been two hours since Jin and the others left for the hospital.
And he was already bored.
"Finally," he muttered, cracking his neck. "Something to do."
He grabbed his jacket, shrugged it on, and stepped out onto the front steps of the school.
The sun glared overhead, casting long shadows across the courtyard.
Five figures stood near the gates, partially obscured by the crooked fence.
They weren't survivors.
Their stances were too sharp, their movements too deliberate.
One of them broke away from the group, moving fast. Too fast.
They blurred across the distance in an instant, a knife gleaming in their hand —
And went straight for Echo's throat.
