Taboo Online

The spearhead entered Red Hound’s reach, but the hero’s hand snapped downward before Luke could complete the strike. Bare fingers closed around the blunt blade and stopped the attack instantly.

Luke’s body continued forward while the weapon remained trapped in place, nearly tearing the shaft from his grip. Red Hound still looked disoriented. His mind had not fully recovered from the false future, yet his body had already reacted to the danger.

His hand tightened.

A sharp crack echoed across the testing floor as fractures raced through the spearhead. The reinforced blade shattered between his fingers, scattering broken pieces across the padding.

Luke stumbled backward with the useless shaft still clutched in his hands. The gymnasium fell silent as Red Hound opened his fist and let the remaining fragments drop.

The hero’s strength was frightening, but his reflexes unsettled Luke even more. Red Hound had caught the attack while his thoughts were compromised. Years of experience had trained his body to defend itself without waiting for a conscious decision.

Luke had followed their plan perfectly, yet it still had not been enough.

Lauren took a careful step forward. "Did it work?"

"Yes," Red Hound replied, the mockery gone from his voice. "For a moment, my mind accepted the future you gave me. If I had depended entirely on conscious thought, his attack would have landed."

Luke looked down at the broken shaft. "Then how did you stop it?"

"My body remained alert. After enough real fights, you stop thinking through every defense. Your body recognizes danger and reacts before your mind catches up."

The gap between them became painfully clear. Red Hound had fought enough battles to protect himself even when his thoughts were compromised. Luke possessed strength and Lauren’s visions, but he still had to consciously choose every movement.

No ability could replace that kind of instinct.

A shrill alarm interrupted them.

The sensor near Lauren’s temple flashed red. She inhaled sharply and raised one hand to the side of her head while the other reached blindly for support. Nothing stood close enough to grab, and her knees folded beneath her.

"Lauren!"

Luke dropped the broken spear and ran to her, catching her before she hit the floor. Her weight pulled both of them onto their knees as the medical worker who had attached the sensor hurried toward them with two other staff members.

"Test over," Red Hound said.

Luke wrapped one arm around Lauren’s waist and steadied her shoulders with the other. Her fingers pressed against her temple, the color had drained from her face, and each breath came shallow and uneven.

"What happened?"

"It’s fine," she whispered.

"It doesn’t look fine."

"I only need a moment."

The alarm continued sounding.

"Keep your eyes closed," Luke said.

"They are closed."

"I know. Don’t try to open them."

A faint smile touched her lips despite the pain. "I wasn’t planning to."

The medical worker knelt beside them and checked the sensor.

"Her neurological activity spiked the moment she connected to Red Hound. We need to move her."

Luke looked toward the hero. "Did forcing the vision into you do this?"

"Most likely," Red Hound replied. "She has some kind of established connection with you. She doesn’t have one with me."

Lauren tried to straighten, but another wave of pain made her fingers tighten around Luke’s arm.

A memory entered his mind. Yvonne’s glowing blindfold had always covered her eyes when she used Oracle’s Glimpse inside Powerforge. Luke had assumed it belonged to her class or appearance, but perhaps it also served a practical purpose.

"Your Oracle class used a blindfold inside Powerforge," he said.

"I remember."

"Maybe closing your eyes isn’t enough. Light still passes through your eyelids."

The medical worker looked between them. "That’s possible. We can test her readings under complete visual deprivation once the spike settles."

Lauren managed a small nod.

Luke did not release her until the medical staff confirmed that she could stand. Even then, he rose with her and kept one hand around her arm.

"I’m coming too."

"No," Red Hound said.

Luke looked back and found the hero standing between him and the exit from the testing floor.

"She nearly collapsed."

"And she’s being taken to Bureau medical staff."

"I should be there."

"You should remain here."

Standing that close, Luke could no longer ignore how badly Red Hound outmatched him. Even so, he stepped forward.

"I’m not asking."

"Neither am I."

The remaining candidates had gone completely quiet.

Lauren found Luke’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Listen to him."

He turned toward her. "You don’t know exactly what happened."

"The doctors will examine me."

"What if it gets worse?"

"Standing beside the bed will not help them treat me."

Luke frowned, but she squeezed his hand again.

"He’s a professional hero. Stay here and learn what you can. I’ll be fine."

The medical staff began guiding her toward a partitioned corridor leading to the Bureau’s medical rooms. Lauren looked back once and gave Luke a reassuring smile before disappearing through the doors.

His hands slowly curled into fists.

Red Hound watched him for several seconds before speaking.

"Glaring at the door won’t make her recover faster. Watch the remaining tests and pay attention to what the others do wrong. You wanted experience, so start gaining it."

Luke’s gaze dropped to the broken remains of his spear. He wanted to follow Lauren, and part of him was ready to ignore Red Hound and force his way into the medical room.

However, she had told him to stay. She trusted him to learn instead of wasting the opportunity worrying outside her door.

"Okay," Luke said, clenching his hands once before forcing them open. "I’ll watch."

The two middle-aged men stepped onto the reinforced floor first. One possessed hardened skin across both arms and shoulders, while his partner could release compact bursts of force from his palms.

Their abilities looked useful together. The hardened man could hold an enemy in place while his partner attacked from a safe distance.

They did not fight that way.

The hardened man charged first, confident that Red Hound could not hurt him easily. His partner fired without waiting for a clear opening, allowing Red Hound to step aside before the first force burst landed.

It struck the hardened man between the shoulders and shoved him forward. Before either of them recovered, Red Hound caught the charging man’s wrist, redirected his momentum, and sent him sliding into his partner.

The test ended in less than fifteen seconds.

"You had a shield and a ranged attacker," Red Hound told them. "Instead of working together, you became obstacles for each other."

The younger woman and older man took their places next.

The woman possessed enhanced speed, while the older man could increase the weight of anything he touched, including another person for a short time.

Their plan was more thoughtful. She circled Red Hound while her partner waited for a chance to slow him, but she moved too quickly for the older man to follow.

Red Hound allowed her to complete the same circle twice. On the third, he shifted one step outward and placed an arm in her path. She struck it shoulder-first and spun across the floor.

The older man lunged forward to touch Red Hound, but the hero caught his hand before it reached him.

"You built your strategy around speed," Red Hound said, "but only one of you could keep up with it."