“Should we jump to the next one? What do we do?” Nolan finally asked, glancing at Ren, who still hadn’t decided on a solution. Ren, still deep in thought, turned to look at Lin, who sat calmly in place.

  “Is this what you meant?” Ren asked, and Lin nodded.

  “I didn’t expect it to use [Veil], though. It seems I also underestimated it,” Lin muttered, causing everyone’s expressions to sour. The remark struck a strange chord, as his admission of a minor misstep felt almost arrogant compared to their complete lack of foresight.

  “But won’t that still take time?” Sera interjected, her gaze fixed on her map. She still wasn’t convinced this was such a dire problem. Even if the Minotaur intended to move to the next region, the regions were all equal in size. Surely there was a significant distance between the center of one region and the edge of the next.

  “It’s the shortest path,” Ren said, enlarging his status window for all to see. He drew a line from the center of the [Snowy Region], where the beast had been teleported, to the edge of the [Swamp Region], where it could potentially slip through.

  “It might cross over before the timer hits zero,” he added. As the group studied the map, the implications began to sink in.

  (Distance from center to vertex vs. distance from center to midpoint of one side.)

  Since the group was positioned at the central vertex where all the regions converged, the beast would take approximately ten minutes to reach them. However, for any square, the distance from the center to a vertex is the longest, while the distance from the center to the midpoint of a side—perpendicular to that side—is the shortest.

  This meant that heading directly toward the next region’s midpoint would take the Minotaur less time than heading straight to their position at the vertex.

  “Eh, then shouldn’t we jump immediately? We can just draw it to the other regions,” a voice interrupted, suggesting a straightforward solution: move to a completely different region, away from the [Swamp Region], to nullify the Minotaur’s attempt to bypass the [Majority Rule]. While the Minotaur would still reach the [Swamp Region], it would still require more time to get to their exact position.

  The suggestion made sense, and the group immediately began considering it.

  “That’s the thing…” Ren said, turning toward Lin as if seeking confirmation. This time, Lin answered without hesitation.

  “It might be a bluff,” Lin said, pulling their attention back to their screens. He continued, “It could still be heading straight toward us while making us think it’s going to the [Swamp Region]. If we jump to another region, we’ll give it five more minutes to reach us,” he explained in one breath.

  The realization dawned on them. On the small chance that the Minotaur had used [Veil] to conceal its movement but remained on the longer path, pulling out now and jumping to another region would grant it extra time to close the distance—the time they wasted right now plus the five minutes required to trigger the [Majority Rule] for the second time.

  “But that’s... it might not reach us. Let’s just do it,” Sera said, as if weighing her options aloud. All they had to do was ensure the beast was teleported before it reached them—nothing more.

  As she spoke, Lin suddenly interjected, “You’re forgetting that the beast only needs to kill three of you, and everything you’ve done so far would have been for nothing,” he said coldly, reminding them how a single misstep could undo all their efforts.

  “You knew this all along?” Sera muttered, taking a few small steps toward Lin. Her voice was unnervingly calm, but her actions stunned everyone when they realized what she was doing.

  “Mmh?” Lin glanced at her, a flicker of worry flashing across his otherwise composed face.

  “W-what are you doing!?” Ren shouted, breaking the silence as everyone struggled to process the scene unfolding in front of them.

  Sera stood over Lin, her hand gripping a gun aimed squarely at his forehead.

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Sera muttered again, her tone even as she met Lin’s gaze. Lin quickly steadied himself and answered,

  “It’s not my plan,” he said simply, causing her calm fa?ade to crack entirely as her glare hardened.

  “Who the hell cares!?” she shouted, shoving the gun harder against his forehead. “Why didn’t you say anything!?” Her frustration spilled over, and the group seemed torn—some hesitated to intervene, waiting to hear Lin’s response, while others appeared visibly alarmed, preparing to act.

  “Sera, I think—” Nolan began, but was swiftly cut off.

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  “Shut up,” she snapped, her voice lower but no less intense, as though barely containing her anger. Her eyes stayed locked on Lin’s, his unflinching calm only stoking her fury.

  “Why do you keep defending this bastard? He tortured someone for some bullshit reason and made us feel bad for it. Why the hell is no one talking about that?! Why are you acting like he’s normal? This is not normal! Am I the crazy one?” Her words came out in a torrent, each one laden with frustration as she glanced briefly at the others. Overwhelmed, confused, and angry, she was voicing the thoughts that had lingered, unspoken, in everyone’s minds.

  Lin’s presence—especially with the emergence of a more approachable strategist like Ren—had become increasingly difficult to reconcile. A confrontation was inevitable.

  “You should calm down for now. We can deal with that later,” Nolan said, trying to soothe her, but his words barely seemed to reach her as she turned her attention back to Lin.

  “Start talking. Why didn’t you say anything? If you give me a stupid reason, I will kill you,” she said, her finger tightening on the trigger, poised to act without hesitation.

  She’s not bluffing, Lin thought, meeting her gaze. His voice remained flat and calm as he responded.

  “Do it,” he said simply.

  “Dammit, Lin!” a frustrated voice shouted from behind. The bald man stepped forward, seemingly intent on stopping her, but before anyone could intervene, a deafening gunshot echoed.

  “Mmh?” Lin muttered, his face betraying only mild surprise as he glanced down at his stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers as he clutched the wound, his body instinctively trying to stem the bleeding. Despite this, Sera remained calm, pressing the gun firmly against his forehead.

  “Answer my question,” she demanded, her threat now chillingly real. The others, visibly shaken, began to reach for their weapons, uncertain how to defuse the escalating tension.

  “Sera, you’re doing the exact t—” Nolan tried to interject again, but she snapped, turning toward him with a furious expression as she shouted,

  “Bullshit! Stop talking!” Her voice carried heavy, raw emotion as she continued, “You know very well I’m only doing this because he won’t actually die! Let’s not say stupid things, okay?”

  As she turned back to Lin, her arm was suddenly shoved upward. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Roben, already standing in front of her. Before she could react, he kicked her legs out from under her, sending her tumbling to the ground. In one swift motion, he disarmed her and pinned her to the floor.

  “W-why, you!?” she stammered, still stunned as she glared up at him.

  “Sorry, but you need to calm down,” Roben said, his tone firm yet apologetic. The tension in the air began to ease, but time was cruelly slipping away. They had already wasted two minutes, and with the looming threat of the Minotaur, they couldn’t afford these kinds of distractions.

  “Tsk, what did he tell you?” Sera spat, clicking her tongue sharply. Her tone sparked confusion as Roben furrowed his brow.

  “Huh? What are you—” he began, sounding confused.

  “What did he tell you when you were coming here? Did he feed you some sob story? Do you actually believe whatever that prick told you?” she pressed, her words striking a nerve as his eyes widened in surprise.

  “Huh? How did you—” Roben started, pausing as suspicion crept into his mind. Had she overheard them? Bugged him? Such ideas floated in his head, but all seemed implausible; they hadn’t interacted much before now.

  However, one fact remained – she knew about the conversation he’d had with Lin.

  “I saw your face. You kept giving him pitiful glances ever since you arrived here,” Sera said, her voice finally steady. Roben opened his mouth as if only realizing it now. He hadn’t been aware of it, but it seemed Sera had been observing them closely since their arrival.

  “Look at him. Do you really believe whatever bullshit he told you?” she demanded, directing Roben’s attention behind him. Slowly, he turned to look.

  Lin was already standing, towering above them. His small, enigmatic smile betrayed neither malice nor joy. Yet, in the tense atmosphere, it came across as deeply unsettling.

  Was he trying to manipulate me? That’s probably what he’s thinking.

  Lin mused as he stood over Sera, offering her a faint smile before stepping past her.

  She’s very manipulative, this one, Lin thought, slightly amused by the girl’s actions. Pulling a gun on him at such close range was a move most wouldn’t dare attempt, knowing full well what he was capable of. Yet, for some reason, she was confident he wouldn’t fight back.

  “How did the fight go? You guys don’t seem half as dead as I imagined. Maybe we can fight back?”

  Lin thought back to her first question, realizing now how calculated it had been. She was trying to gauge the extent of their injuries.

  Although he felt a tinge of shame admitting it, her blatant disregard for him and the pointed question toward Roben had caused him to make a reckless statement, effectively falling into her trap.

  “If you’re okay with getting a few fractured bones, then we can do it.”

  It might have sounded like a direct jab at Sera, but Lin wasn’t the type to throw assumptions without thought, especially not about someone’s physical abilities. Instead, his statement had inadvertently hinted at the injuries both he and Roben had sustained against the Minotaur.

  However…

  Roben hadn’t sat down once since arriving, so Sera must have concluded that the injuries Lin hinted at were actually his own.

  Seeing Roben stealing worried glances at him was likely the final nail in the coffin, leading her to the perfect conclusion: Lin is heavily injured.

  What amazed Lin most, though, was how she had recycled the same observation to brute-force a reaction from Roben. She knew nothing about the conversation they’d had, but because the two had been together for so long, she correctly deduced there was a high chance Lin had told Roben something he wouldn’t want the others to know.

  She had simply grasped at straws until she got a reaction, then pivoted in that direction to antagonize Lin by making Roben doubt himself.

  A very keen observer.

  “Since you asked so politely, I guess I’ll assist you,” Lin finally said, his tone laced with clear provocation.

  It had been a long time since such a thought had surfaced, but at that moment, as he turned to meet Sera’s gaze, he couldn’t help but admit to himself wholeheartedly.

  I was completely outwitted.

  Social manipulation was one of his strongest assets, so for someone to so effortlessly make him dance in the palm of their hand, amazed was all he could feel.

  However, unbeknownst to Lin or any of the other 18 Hero candidates gathered, the blonde-haired girl, helplessly pinned to the ground, was the most terrifying opponent anyone could ever wish for.

  ~psychological warfare, the second axis of Evol.