As Kalisto spoke, his fingers instinctively curled around a silver coin in his pocket.
The cool, familiar metal brought him a moment of clarity—a fleeting sense of calm in the storm. The rush of energy followed almost immediately.
[Coin Luck Accumulation has been activated.]
The power, born from the countless small acts of kindness he'd performed in recent days, surged through him.
It was as if all the positive energy he'd gathered converged at once, quickening his reflexes and sharpening his senses.
The power of his good deeds, bestowed upon him as the Walker of the Spirit with Goodluck, was now coursing through his veins, fueling him when he needed it most.
Before he could fully register the sensation, the door slammed to close behind him, and in an instant, Talon, Dax, and Selene burst in to rush towards him. The speed and precision of their movements were terrifying.
Dax was a blur, his actions almost impossible to track. Within a heartbeat, he closed the distance between them, his fist aimed straight for Kalisto's midsection.
But Kalisto's body shifted just enough—thanks to the coin's power—giving him a precious split second to react.
The punch missed its mark, but Dax's fist still grazed Kalisto's side, sending a shockwave of pain through him, rattling his ribs.
The sting of the blow was immediate, but Kalisto forced himself to stay focused.
At the same moment, Selene's voice sliced through the air—a high-pitched, shrill scream that vibrated with a painful intensity.
The sound was almost unbearable, but Kalisto's instincts kicked in. His eyes snapped shut, his teeth gritted against the piercing shriek, while his mind clung to the clarity brought by the coin's power.
Then, Talon lunged from behind, faster than Kalisto anticipated. His powerful legs moved like blurs, closing in from both sides.
Kalisto tried to block, but it was too late.
The combination of Selene's shriek and Dax's unrelenting speed left him no room to counter.
Kalisto, a seasoned ex-military combatant, was no stranger to battle. His muscles burned with the memory of years of training, and the coin's enhancement kept his reflexes sharp.
But the trio's overwhelming speed and coordination were pushing him beyond his limits.
He ducked under a powerful kick from Talon, narrowly avoiding a crushing blow to his chest.
With a growl, he retaliated, landing a swift punch to Dax's side—but the younger man was already back on his feet, eyes cold with focus and malice.
The fight raged on, intense and brutal. Kalisto's breath came in ragged gasps as he fought back with everything he had.
His punches landed with surprising precision, but the bodyguards seemed to anticipate every move, dodging and countering with expert timing.
Selene's relentless screeching reverberated in his head, adding to the chaos, while Talon and Dax closed in, striking from every direction.
The energy from his good deeds—though potent—was beginning to fade. Kalisto's strength, though considerable, was being drained by the continued assault.
His body was beginning to betray him.
He staggered back, trying to create some distance, but Talon wasn't allowing it. The bodyguard struck, and the world tilted as Kalisto's vision blurred.
The punch connected with his jaw, sending him stumbling, crashing hard to the ground.
Blood dripped from his lip, and each breath felt like a labor.
His chest heaved, fighting for air as his mind raced, but his limbs felt as though they were made of lead.
Kalisto pushed himself up, but his body refused to obey. Talon's shadow loomed over him, the bodyguard's cold gaze promising the final blow.
Kalisto's hand clenched tighter around the silver coin, his knuckles white against the cold metal.
His body ached with every passing second, blood soaking into his clothes, his breaths ragged and shallow.
The weight of exhaustion dragged at him, but there was something more—something that kept him tethered to this world.
No... I can't die here...
The thought was frantic, desperate.
My daughter still needs me... I can't—
The image of her smile, her tiny hands reaching out to him, flashed before his eyes like a beacon of light in the darkness.
It was the only thing keeping him grounded. His grip on the coin tightened, the edges digging into his skin.
His strength was slipping away, and his body was on the brink of shutting down. His vision swam, the world around him fading.
But his mind, despite the pain and the pull of unconsciousness, screamed in silence.
The coldness spread through him like a wave, the familiar sensation of [Coin Luck Accumulation] surging back into his senses.
The power activated, sharp and clear, pushing back against the pain and fatigue. His focus honed once again, though his body remained sluggish.
He wasn't ready to die—not here, not now.
...
At the Temple With Goodluck, Ivaim was about to step out when a strange system notification flashed before him.
It was a notification different from the ones he had received before.
[Your believer, Kalisto, seeks your help.]
Ivaim stood still for a moment, his gaze darkening. Without hesitation, he donned a hooded robe, his expression grim.
...
Back in the room, Kalisto's resolve was beginning to crack.
His vision blurred more, but just as he felt his body begin to surrender, a sudden movement caught his eye.
A figure—a hooded figure—appeared before him without warning, stepping into his line of sight as if he had materialized from thin air.
Kalisto's breath caught, but his vision was too clouded to make sense of what he was seeing.
The figure stood still for a moment, calmly surveying the three bodyguards. His presence, though silent, was commanding.
The bodyguards paused, confusion rippling through their movements. They exchanged wary glances.
"Who are you?" one of them barked, his voice dripping with suspicion.
The hooded figure remained silent, his eyes fixed on the three of them. Then, with a swift motion, he drew a coin from his robe and held it up for a brief moment, the silver gleaming in the dim light.
Talon, the most impatient of the three, wasted no time.
He lunged forward, aiming a heavy punch directly at the hooded figure's face.
But the moment Talon's fist moved, the figure was already gone, vanishing from view as if he had never been there at all.
The bodyguards exchanged bewildered looks. How had he moved so fast?
In the next instant, the figure reappeared with a strange leap, effortlessly dodging another of Dax's strikes.
This time, the figure's movements were deliberate, controlled—almost fluid, as if he were dancing around them.
Luck seemed to bend to his will, with each move placing him just out of reach.
Selene, furious, shrieked as she charged in with a barrage of high-pitched, piercing sound that cut through the room like a blade.
Kalisto winced, but the figure once again leapt with unearthly precision, avoiding the scream that would've incapacitated anyone else.
The bodyguards were left stumbling over themselves, unable to land a single blow.
The hooded figure's movements were near impossible to predict.
Every time they closed in, something—an overturned chair, a misstep, the flicker of a lamp—seemed to work in his favor, allowing him to evade their attacks without effort.
The sounds of footsteps grew louder. More people from the company were coming down the hall. The bodyguards paused, realizing they couldn't afford to stay any longer.
Dax and Talon exchanged a brief look before making a break for the door, but Selene stayed behind, determination hardening her face.
In the chaos, the figure—the stranger—seemed to disappear once again, only to reappear behind Selene.
Without a sound, Ivaim swept in, knocking her unconscious with a precise strike. Her body crumpled to the floor.
Dax and Talon, seeing their companion fall, hesitated, but they knew they couldn't stay. The two men dashed for the exit, vanishing into the shadows.
As the sounds of approaching footsteps grew closer, Ivaim's gaze shifted to Kalisto. The once proud man, now battered and barely conscious, lay on the floor, his life slipping away by the second.
Beside him, Reves stirred weakly, his eyes still glazed with confusion.
Ivaim paused, his gaze lingering on Kalisto's weakened form for just a moment longer. There was no time to waste.
With a flick of his wrist, Ivaim vanished, dissolving into the air like smoke, leaving the room behind in a blur of silence.
'The Spirit with Goodluck...'
Kalisto whispered under his breath as his vision closed.