The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 76: Breaking Through

The scent of gunpowder and scorched asphalt still lingered in the air as they moved deeper into enemy territory.

The sounds of the last fight had faded. No alarms, no shouting—just an eerie quiet, like the whole sector was holding its breath.

Jin’s boots crunched over scattered bullet casings as he led the team forward, eyes sharp, rifle raised. This wasn’t a ghost town. freewēbnoveℓ.com

It was a trap waiting to spring.

Echo walked a few steps behind him, rolling his shoulders. "Kinda thought we’d have more company by now."

"Don’t jinx it," Joon muttered, his Magnetron Spheres hovering lazily near his hands, crackling faintly with residual charge.

Haneul shifted uncomfortably, gripping his staff tight. "Feels too easy."

Jin agreed. The territory wasn’t empty.

Signs of life were everywhere—half-eaten meals left on crate tables, makeshift barricades shoved to the side, old jackets draped over railings.

They hadn’t abandoned this place.

They were watching.

Jin glanced toward a second-floor balcony, its railing bent like someone had leaned against it moments ago.

Eyes.

They were being watched.

Jin flicked his fingers in a silent signal—get ready.

The group adjusted immediately. Areum formed a glass shard in her palm. Doyun exhaled, loosening his stance. Echo let out a slow breath, tuning into the space around them.

They kept walking.

Then, metal scraped against concrete.

The sound was faint. Deliberate.

Jin’s grip on his rifle tightened.

And then—

The rooftops exploded.

A metal cable shot down from above, slicing through the air like a whip. Jin ducked, the razor-thin wire missing his head by inches before embedding into the pavement—then yanking back like a retracting claw.

A man landed in front of them, gripping the cable like it was an extension of his own body. He spun it once, the blade-tipped end carving an arc through the air.

"Should’ve stayed out," he said, voice smooth.

Then the ambush truly began.

A pulse of heat surged through the street.

Jin barely had time to register it before the air around them wavered—and suddenly, the temperature spiked.

Sweat beaded on his skin instantly. His lungs burned from the sudden shift.

From the shadows, a woman stepped forward, her hands glowing a dull, molten red. "Welcome," she said, smirking.

Jin clicked his tongue. A heat manipulator.

Doyun staggered slightly beside him. "I— I can barely breathe."

"Hold your ground," Jin ordered, shifting his weight.

Something shifted in the corner of his eye.

Movement.

Too fast.

He spun—just as a streak of violet light zipped through the battlefield, darting between them like a living pulse.

Jin barely caught a glimpse of the attacker—a slim figure wrapped in reinforced tactical gear, their body flickering as if struggling to stay fully solid.

Then, they were gone.

Then—they weren’t.

Jin twisted just in time to catch a fist aimed straight for his ribs.

He blocked with his rifle.

The impact sent a jolt up his arms.

The enemy disappeared again, their body phasing into a blur before reappearing behind Echo.

Echo barely had time to turn before the fighter slammed a knee into his side.

He staggered.

"Damn—" Echo coughed, recovering fast. "Alright, screw this."

He clapped his hands together.

The shockwave detonated outward, rattling the ground. The heat manipulator flinched, momentarily losing focus. The phasing fighter vanished again, avoiding the blast.

Joon reacted instantly.

His spheres shot forward— but the cable-wielding fighter lashed out, intercepting them mid-flight.

The metallic crack of impact rang through the battlefield, sparks flying as the cables tangled against Joon’s spheres.

Joon clicked his tongue. "Tch. Cute."

The heat manipulator grinned. "You have no idea what you just walked into."

Neither side hesitated.

The street erupted into chaos.

The cable-wielder lashed out first, his blade-tipped wire slicing through the air like a whip, cutting cleanly through stone and metal alike.

Joon barely dodged, electricity crackling between his fingers. "Okay, that thing’s annoying."

The heat manipulator pressed her hands to the pavement. The air shimmered, and suddenly, the ground became an oven.

Jin felt the heat sink into his bones. The recruits were already sweating.

Doyun coughed, struggling to breathe. "This is—way worse than before."

Haneul planted his staff into the ground, trying to steady himself. But their enemies weren’t waiting.

The phasing fighter flickered, vanishing mid-step.

Echo grinned.

He let them come.

The phantom reappeared behind him, already throwing a punch at the side of his ribs.

They didn’t even get close.

Because by the time their attack landed—

Echo wasn’t there.

A sharp, distorted hum split the air.

Echo was behind them now.

The phantom barely had time to register what had happened before Echo tapped two fingers to their spine—then snapped.

The focused shockwave blasted straight into their body, sending them flying forward.

They skidded across the pavement, body twitching violently from the internal vibrations.

Echo rolled his shoulders. "Yeah, see, I don’t like people sneaking up on me."

The phantom tried to stand, but their entire body flickered, struggling to stabilize.

Then they dropped.

One down.

Jin didn’t stop moving.

The cable lashed toward him, but he sidestepped it at the last second, flipping his rifle in his grip and firing two quick shots.

The cable-wielder dodged by inches, twisting his body unnaturally.

Then he flicked his wrist—and the blade at the end of his wire detached, launching forward like a projectile.

Jin’s rifle snapped up—too late.

A glass wall materialized in front of him.

The blade shattered against it.

Areum gritted her teeth, forming more glass shards in her hands. "You good?"

Jin exhaled. "Yeah."

The heat manipulator stepped forward.

The air rippled again, and suddenly, Areum’s glass began to warp, softening under the sheer heat.

Her eyes widened.

Jin reacted instantly. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "She’s targeting you."

Areum clenched her jaw. "Not for long."

She slammed her hands to the ground.

The glass shards melted—but she didn’t stop them.

Instead, she reshaped them.

The molten glass twisted, forming into long, spiked tendrils.

With a sharp flick of her wrist, they shot forward, slicing through the superheated air like piercing spears.

The heat manipulator barely dodged—but now, she was on the defensive.

Doyun moved next.

He took a deep breath, forcing his focus through the sweltering air. The pressure built in his lungs.

Then—

Shockwave Pulse.

The compressed blast of air shot forward, slamming into the heat manipulator’s stomach.

She gasped, her power faltering for just a second.

It was enough.

Areum’s molten glass tendrils wrapped around her wrists, hardening instantly, locking her arms in place.

A second later—Haneul’s staff cracked against the side of her skull.

She dropped.

Two down.

Joon grinned, dodging another cable strike. "That just leaves—"

He lifted a hand.

The Magnetron Spheres pulsed, then shot forward.

The cable-wielder dodged left—but Joon’s spheres curved.

The first hit him in the ribs.

The second struck his knee.

The electricity discharged instantly, sending violent shocks through his entire body.

He convulsed—then collapsed.

Joon stretched lazily. "You were saying?"

Jin exhaled.

All three enemies were down.

For a second, the street was silent.

Then—the sound of footsteps.

More.

Jin turned his head, and saw them.

The deeper they had pushed, the more attention they had drawn.

They had won the battle—

But the war had only just begun.

The next wave came fast.

They didn’t get time to regroup.

Didn’t get time to breathe.

One second, the street was cleared— the next, the air was alive with movement.

More fighters rushed in from alleyways, from behind abandoned vehicles, from rooftops above.

Jin didn’t hesitate. He moved first.

He grabbed his rifle—fired three quick shots. Two dropped immediately.

The third dodged, but Echo was already there.

A low hum rippled through the air.

The enemy froze for a split second—just enough.

Joon’s Magnetron Spheres slammed into his chest, sending him flying.

Areum twisted, glass forming in her hands. She sent shards flying, forcing another enemy to stumble back—right into Haneul’s strike.

The staff came down hard, knocking the fighter unconscious.

Doyun took a deep breath, bracing himself. His fingers twitched—then—

Shockwave Pulse.

The air trembled, the impact cracking the pavement. The enemy in front of him staggered, clutching his ears—then dropped.

They weren’t just holding their own anymore.

They were winning.

One after another, they cut through the remaining fighters.

Jin moved fast, using the rifle as a blunt weapon now that he was out of ammo. A strike to the ribs, a kick to the leg, another enemy down.

Echo disappeared in a blur—reappearing behind another attacker and sending them into the dirt with a devastating sonic burst.

Joon launched bolts of lightning, frying the last two standing.

And then—

Silence.

The last body hit the ground.

Jin exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. His pulse was steady.

The recruits were breathing hard, but they were standing.

Echo cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. "Well, that was—"

The air shifted.

A weight settled over them.

Jin felt it immediately.

The change was instant—subtle, but undeniable.

The recruits froze.

Haneul’s fingers tightened on his staff. Areum went completely still, her breath caught in her throat.

Doyun took an instinctive step back, his body reacting before his mind could.

Jin lifted his gaze—

And saw them.

Three figures, standing at the end of the street.

Unmoving. Watching.

One of them—the man in the center—Jin recognized immediately.

The same bastard who had come for them two days ago.

The one Echo knocked across the street like a ragdoll.

But something was different now.

Jin felt it.

This wasn’t the same man.

The aura surrounding him was overwhelming, suffocating—twisting the air around him like heat waves off burning metal.

Jin’s fingers instinctively flexed around his rifle strap.

He didn’t know why.

But this time—

This time, it felt like he was really facing a monster.