Novels by A.Paputungan

That streak of shadow wasn't just a metaphor. As Garou triggered the energy reserves stored in his muscles, the air around him seemed to compress, creating a small sonic boom that cracked the asphalt beneath his feet. The drones overhead detected an impossible energy surge; their thermal sensors flashed red because Garou's body no longer emitted human heat, but a cold, static radiation.Two mini-missiles launched, leaving trails of white smoke in the night air. Garou didn't dodge. He leapt, a single fluid motion that defied the laws of inertia. His right hand gripped the hull of the first drone, crushing the titanium metal like an empty soda can until its internal components exploded in a shower of sparks. He used the remaining momentum to spin in mid-air, his foot smashing into the second drone's body with a force that left the machine twisted and shattered before it could even detonate its missile.He landed on the roof on one knee, his breath coming in a strange rhythm not an ordina

Chapter 8: Breathing Collapse ProtocolThe rhythmic and threatening thud of boots on concrete echoed. Garou stood in the center of a circle, surrounded by over a dozen men in black tactical gear elite troops with no corporate logos, only numeric codes on the back of their gas masks. The black aura enveloping Garou's fingers began to crawl upward, like thick oil creeping beneath his skin."Target identified. Initiate Air Isolation Protocol," a cold voice crackled over the intercom of one of their commanders.Instantly, a faint hiss was heard from the ceiling of the cramped room. Garou didn't have time to ask what was happening before the air in the room was sucked out with brutal vacuum force. Whuuush!Oxygen vanished in seconds. Garou staggered; his lungs, which had been working with a mechanical rhythm, now protested violently. He tried to draw a breath, but all he found was a void pressing against his throat. The atmospheric pressure inside the room plummeted, making his eardrums th

The air around Garou suddenly felt like liquid mercury heavy, dense, and crushing. The silence surrounding his breath wasn't an absence, but an accumulation of suppressed kinetic energy. The Helix helicopter above roared, its blades slicing through the air with a deafening whirring sound, while the spotlight swept over the cracked asphalt of the old factory, searching for their target.Dark figures slid down using rappelling lines. They were professionals. Their movements were synchronized, calculated, and lethal. However, when they hit the ground, they didn't attack immediately. They stopped. The visual sensors behind their tactical helmets blinked red, as if their computer systems were detecting an anomaly in Garou's heartbeat which impossibly wasn't there."Target isolated. Vitality Null Anomaly detected," a distorted voice came from one of the units, a cold sound modified by electronic devices.Garou opened his eyes. His pupils were no longer their normal black there was a faint b

"Do it!" Garou snapped, his voice a low growl that resonated with a frequency that made the very air around them tremble.Irae wasted no more time on pleasantries. With a single movement of her hand graceful yet cold the shadows beneath the feet of the black-market traders lengthened, coiling around the support beams of the stalls ahead. Crack! Old wood and iron collided, collapsing with a deafening roar. Dust billowed, obscuring the vision of the increasingly suspicious crowd and creating instant chaos.In the heart of the mayhem, Garou didn't run away. Instead, he lunged straight into the opening.A voice from a hidden microphone echoed throughout the underground floor, cold and mechanical. "Subject 0 Garou detected. Capture Protocol: Tier Prototype. Activate kinetic restraints."Without warning, the floor in front of Garou slid open. It wasn't a mere pit, but a magnetic energy field that snared his movements. His boots gripped the floor with enough force to crack the concrete tiles

The sensation of being pulled into Irae’s shadow felt like being forced through a sewer pipe filled with shards of glass and cold waste. Garou’s lungs felt as if they were shrinking; holding his breath was the only instinct he had left as the pressure of the dimensional space squeezed his ribs. Seconds felt like hours; every inch of his body rubbed against something slick and dark, as if he were being forcibly shoved through a narrow crack between two realities.Suddenly, gravity slammed back into him with a vengeance. Garou collapsed onto the cold, damp concrete floor. The thud of his body hitting the ground echoed through the vast, stifling room. The air here was heavy, smelling of rust, expired chemicals, and something sickly sweet like meat left to rot under the sun."Get up. Don't be dramatic," Irae’s voice cut through the silence. She stood several meters away, her dark cloak still vibrating as if the shadows around her hadn't quite settled yet.Garou panted, his chest heaving w

The doorknob creaked, the sound of metal on metal ringing like a death knell in Garou’s ears. He didn't wait With muscles tensing like heated steel, Garou triggered the metal disc in his hand.Click.The disc didn't explode. Instead, it spewed a high frequency distortion wave that made the air around the room vibrate violently. Garou felt his ears ring, a nauseating sensation crawling up from his stomach. Before his eyes, the system flashed a quick warning.[SHOCK FREQUENCY UTILIZATION: 35% ENERGY].The door swung open. Two men, fully geared for combat black Kevlar vests, ballistic helmets, and assault rifles fitted with suppressors burst inside. However, they weren't prepared for the shockwave Garou had triggered. Their movements, which should have been precise, instantly slowed, hampered by the neural disorientation caused by the disc.Garou lunged. He didn't know any martial arts he only knew what it felt like to want to stay alive. With one powerful thrust of his legs, he kicked o