Chapter 164: Chapter 164 Completely Overpowered

Before Lana could even form her next sentence, Liam grabbed her hand.

“Liam—?”

There was no time.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t explain. He didn’t even look at her. His grip tightened as he pulled her with him, urgency in every step. Lana barely had time to slip her phone into her pocket as he led her down the hallway like a man possessed.

Each step echoed louder in Liam’s ears than the last. The walls of the house seemed to close in on him as his system screamed silently in the back of his mind. Danger. Run. Danger. Run. The message still echoed, over and over like a siren.

They reached the last door at the end of the hallway—a door Liam had not opened in years.

It was thick, metallic, and cold, completely out of place in a normal home. On the side, hidden behind a wooden panel, was a small scanner. Liam lifted the panel and pressed his hand against it.

A soft blue light swept across his palm.

[Identifying… Identity Confirmed: Liam Carter]

With a soft click, the locks disengaged, and the heavy door creaked open slowly, revealing the dark room inside.

This was his father’s private office.

Liam hadn’t stepped foot in it since the night his father died. Since everything changed. The memories were sealed in here with the dust and shadows, untouched and forgotten. But now, none of that mattered.

Right now, it was the safest place in the house.

“Get inside,” he said, finally looking at Lana.

“What’s going on?” she asked, frightened now. “Is someone—?”

He didn’t answer. He just pushed the door open wider and gently guided her inside. The room was cold, filled with the scent of aged books and polished wood. A faint hum came from the back, where the emergency power still worked.

Before she could say anything else, Liam stepped back.

The door slid shut with a soft thud.

Then, silence.

Liam stood alone in the hallway, his heartbeat echoing in his ears.

Good, he thought. At least she’s safe.

He walked back toward the sitting room, his senses high, his body tense. The front door was still closed. The lights were still on. Everything looked normal.

But it wasn’t.

That chill from earlier—the suffocating pressure—was gone. But in its place was something far worse.

Something… unseen.

Then it happened.

Every hair on Liam’s body stood on end. His instincts screamed so loudly that his body reacted before his brain could.

Move!

He leapt to the side.

And not a second too soon.

CRACK!!

A jagged spear of rock erupted from the floor where he had just been standing. It shot up like a deadly thorn, sharp and cruel, punching a hole through the ceiling. Had he moved a second slower, it would’ve gone straight through him and pinned his body like an insect on a wall.

Dust filled the air as Liam rolled across the floor, his eyes wide.

What the hell…?

Then he saw it.

A figure.

Emerging from the jagged stone like a shadow from a nightmare.

No—not emerging. The rock was part of him. It clung to his body, melting back into his skin like water evaporating into air. His form was tall, lean, and silent. His skin was pale but cracked in places, as though lined with seams of stone. His eyes… were dead.

Cold. Focused.

Liam stood slowly, instinct already whispering that this wasn’t a fight he could win.

The man cracked his neck, his gaze locked onto Liam without a shred of emotion.

Then—he moved.

One step.

That’s all it took.

In an instant, he was right in front of Liam, no sound, no warning. Just raw, terrifying speed. Before Liam could even blink, the stranger’s arm moved, and a massive, stone-covered fist came crashing down toward him like a meteor.

Liam’s reflexes kicked in.

Too fast!

There was no time to dodge. Not this time.

He crossed his arms in front of his body, channeling every ounce of strength he had into defense.

BOOOOMMM!!

The impact was monstrous.

Dust exploded across the room as Liam’s body was flung backwards like a ragdoll. His back slammed into the wall with bone-jarring force, and he crumpled to the floor with a grunt of pain. Books fell. A picture frame shattered.

Silence returned—but only for a moment.

Liam groaned, pushing himself to his knees. His arms trembled violently.

He tried to raise them into a fighting stance.

They shook.

Badly.

He could feel it—something wasn’t right. His forearms burned, his wrists throbbed. The pain that shot through his bones wasn’t dull—it was deep. Violent. Like the very structure of his muscles had been damaged.

He forced himself to stand fully, his legs steady, but his arms…

Useless.

He could barely move them. The force of that one punch had nearly disabled both arms entirely.

His eyes narrowed, chest rising and falling as he stared at the figure who hadn’t moved an inch since delivering that blow.

Who is this guy…? What is he?!

He wasn’t a normal enemy.

He wasn’t a gang member. He wasn’t police. He wasn’t even like the criminals Liam had fought before.

No.

This was something else.

Something terrifying.

—-

Liam coughed as he staggered forward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His arms still both trembling from the impact of that monstrous punch. His body screamed in pain, and yet—he didn’t run.

He couldn’t.

Not with Lana just meters away, locked behind that door.

His enemy took a single step forward. His foot touched the ground—and the marble floor beneath him cracked like glass. Rock shifted beneath his skin again, moving like armor—an extension of his body, as fluid as breath and as deadly as a blade.

Liam knew he had seconds. Maybe less.

System… give me strength. Give me anything!

[Skill Points Available: 10]

[Distribute all 10 points to Strength?]

[Confirm: YES/NO]

YES!

[Strength increased to 64/1000]

A sudden jolt ran through Liam’s muscles. His bones tightened, his veins surged. His fists clenched with newfound pressure, the pain in his arms retreating just enough for him to lift them.

But his enemy didn’t wait.

He launched forward like a missile.

Liam barely moved in time, sidestepping as the stone-covered arm grazed past his chest, ripping through the wall behind him like paper. Liam spun, throwing a heavy punch with his enhanced strength straight at the man’s face.

His knuckles connected.

Crack!

The sound echoed through the room.

But the man didn’t budge.

His head merely turned slightly with the blow before snapping back—unharmed.

Then, he smiled.

Liam’s breath caught.

What…?

A heavy, stony knee slammed into Liam’s gut with crushing force.

WHAM!!

Air shot out of his lungs. He flew back, crashing into the wooden staircase. The bannister exploded under the force of impact as Liam tumbled down and landed hard on the floor, coughing blood.

The man didn’t chase.

Instead, he lifted both hands as chunks of rock from the walls and floors lifted around him like they were drawn to his body. They swirled in the air before sharpening into jagged, lethal shards.

He pointed.

The rocks launched.

Liam rolled, barely avoiding the deadly barrage as shards stabbed into the floor and wall where he had been seconds before. One sliced across his back, another grazed his thigh, drawing blood.

He groaned, trying to rise.

Can’t keep this up…

The attacker marched forward.

Every step he took summoned more rock from the ground, growing and shifting around his limbs like armor. His entire arm transformed—fingers turning into spiked claws of stone, his forearm swelling into a jagged club of destruction.

He brought it down.

Liam lifted his arms to block.

CRASH!!!

The force of the hit sent Liam flying again, this time into the kitchen. He hit the fridge hard enough to dent it, glass shattering all around him. His vision blurred. His ears rang.

Blood poured from his nose. His lip was split. One eye swelled shut.

Still, he crawled to his feet.

The man walked into the kitchen, slow and steady, dragging his stone arm behind him like a massive executioner’s axe. His face never changed—emotionless, empty.

Liam staggered upright and roared, rushing forward in desperation.

He threw a punch.

It landed.

The man didn’t flinch.

He responded with a headbutt so brutal Liam felt something crack in his face.

Darkness swam at the edges of his vision.

The man grabbed him by the neck, lifted him into the air like a doll, then slammed him onto the kitchen table. The table snapped in half beneath Liam’s back.

He screamed as a wave of agony flooded his entire body.

I can’t beat him…

He couldn’t move.

He couldn’t think.

His bones felt shattered. His ribs screamed with every breath. One leg didn’t even respond anymore.

And yet… the man wasn’t done.

He raised a foot, now wrapped entirely in hardened rock, sharp edges forming at the heel. A single stomp—Liam knew—would end it.

Then he paused.

Liam saw it.

A faint glow around the man’s stone-covered body. Energy collecting.

The execution was coming.

The end.

Liam closed his eyes.

And then—

BANG!

The sound was thunder.

Not from the man.

From behind him.

He flinched.

Liam’s eyes snapped open as the man froze in place, his foot still hovering over Liam’s chest. Smoke trailed from a bullet wound in the back of his shoulder. Stone cracked where the shot hit, but didn’t break.

The man turned slowly.

His stone arm melted back into flesh. The rocks retreated into his skin like sand pouring into an hourglass. He stood there, tense, still.

Liam tried to look past him—tried to see who had shot.

But he couldn’t.

His vision was fading, blood loss pulling him under.

The man said nothing.

He simply turned fully toward the source of the shot. Liam couldn’t see their face. Just a silhouette in the hallway beyond. Smoke still curling from the barrel of the gun they held.

Whoever it was… they’d stopped the final blow.

For now.

Liam’s eyes fluttered.

His bloodied hand reached out in the air, grasping for anything.

Then everything faded to black.

—

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