A sinister and menacing aura spread all across the department store, and multiple alarms blared, exerting a flashing red light as it alerted everyone in the area, assembling fear among the civilians inside, evacuating the store, and setting the entire mall on lockdown.

“Run, everyone! There seem to be two outlaws fighting with each other!” said one of the civilians, notifying everyone about the current state of the mall. Many tried to escape but were overrun by the debris that flew over them, severely injuring and even killing those who were unfortunate enough. The civilian was about to flee the department store, until he saw an unfaithful sight.

“Help me, please!” said a suffering civilian whose leg was brutally crushed by the ceiling of the department store. The civilian wanted to save him, but it was too late for that. 

He was entirely helpless, and couldn’t be saved with just one person alone, his wailing and painful groans could be heard across the entire mall, but the man had no other choice.

Instead of helping the civilian, he prioritized his own life and abandoned the civilian to be crushed by the remnants of the ceiling from above. 

As the ceiling fell down on him, he was left with no other choice but to accept his fate, and soon enough death was already knocking on his doorstep.

The debris kept adding up, injuring and killing more people in the store. Cracks formed on the ceiling of the department store, and fell down on any unsuspecting victims. The entire mall’s alarm system blared loudly, and it could even be heard from outside the mall, where it caught the attention of the Intergalactic soldiers in the area, though they weren’t allowed to interfere until a higher-up permitted them to.

While all of this was happening, Renzo was in a calm, relaxed state, his eyes were completely shut, and he seemed to be meditating and zoned out from the rest of the world around him, like the world was frozen in place, where nothing ever happened. 

The specters, however, did all the work for him, separating themselves into three. 

One of the Spectres was in charge of defending Renzo, ensuring that no enemy or opponent ever gets to injure him in any way, while the other two spectres walked menacingly into the department store, creating a ghastly aura from just their presence alone. The second spectre was in charge of examining the northern and eastern side of the store while the third spectre was specifically tasked to inspect the southern and western side.

The two Spectres searched through every narrow space and crevice that the second floor of the department store had to offer, due to the current state of the hitman, it was impossible for him to somehow be in the second floor, so Renzo focused his spectres into searching there.

One by one, they inspected the liminal spaces of the store, phasing through walls like it was nothing, since they were intangible beings that couldn’t be attacked unless an Essence User was capable of attacking someone from the soul, which not many could do.

Shortly after, the spectre that previously defended Renzo moved away to support the other spectres that he conjured to find the hitman who hid from him. He stood up after regaining his consciousness, his entire body surrounded by a ghastly aura that his spectres inherited.

“There’s nowhere to hide now… Reveal yourself, for your eventual demise is inescapable.” 

Renzo proclaimed, the pressure of his aura creating shockwaves that the hitman who hid, and his partner, who was searching around the store for the outlaws, immediately noticed and backed down due to his overwhelming presence.

“What the hell was that just now?! It felt like someone else’s Essence!” Dex panicked and held his poison-laced dagger in a combat stance, preparing to attack anyone who stood in his way.

Tanya’s eyes widened. “That has to be Renzo’s Essence Ability… I didn’t expect him to go this far, he doesn’t usually use it unless he absolutely needs to.”

Dex’s curiosity piqued. “Should we help him?” He questioned Tanya about it. “If he needs to use an ability like that, then he might need our help.”

In a state of complete worry, Dex hurried to the second floor to assist his comrade Renzo but was ultimately stopped by Tanya who held his hand in a way where he couldn’t move his legs at all, effectively keeping him in place, preventing him from stepping any further from the escalator a step ahead.

“He doesn’t need any help… I know it doesn’t sound right… But trust me, he doesn’t.” Tanya said to Dex while tightly holding his hand, freezing him in place.

Dex was stuck in a state of utter confusion, but he decided to let go of Tanya’s hand and stay on the first floor, where they would wait for Renzo to return, just as he promised to them.

“Fine, I trust you… But I don’t understand, why won’t he need help?” Dex wondered to himself, scratching his head at just the thought of it.

“His ability is summoning ‘Spectres’ to help him fight… If we were to interfere, it would just make it harder for him to focus.” Tanya replied.

The mall was surrounded with a wild breeze that swept anything in place, the neon lights were starting to aggressively flicker on and off, and only three of the hitmen still remained alive. One was searching for the other outlaws, while the cowardly hitman fled the department store, hiding within a nearby shop that sold cinnamon rolls thinking about the rash decisions that led him here.

The last hitman, who Renzo was searching for, was slowly healing his injuries by pulling in the energy around him, but minimized it to a point where none of his spectres could detect it. However, one of the Spectres was only a few meters away from eventually finding him, leaving him with no way to run.