The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 56: The Echo That Shatters

The system pinged.

[Territory Alert: School Grounds Under Attack]

[Threat Level: Moderate]

[Territory Leader Unavailable — Nearest Defender: Min Seo-Jun]

Echo wiped sweat off his brow, chest heaving from his last training set. His clothes clung to him, soaked, and his muscles screamed — but he grinned.

It had been two hours since Jin and the others left for the hospital.

And he was already bored.

"Finally," he muttered, cracking his neck. "Something to do."

He grabbed his jacket, shrugged it on, and stepped out onto the front steps of the school.

The sun glared overhead, casting long shadows across the courtyard.

Five figures stood near the gates, partially obscured by the crooked fence.

They weren't survivors.

Their stances were too sharp, their movements too deliberate.

One of them broke away from the group, moving fast. Too fast.

They blurred across the distance in an instant, a knife gleaming in their hand —

And went straight for Echo's throat.

The blade whistled through empty air.

Echo wasn't there.

He was sitting cross-legged on the top of the gate, balancing on one of the stone columns like he weighed nothing at all.

The attacker skidded to a stop, confused.

Echo tapped his chin, resting his elbow on his knee.

"I get it," he called down, voice echoing slightly. "You see an empty school, think you can take it over."

He tilted his head, grinning wide.

"But you really should've done your research."

The attackers snapped their heads up, locking onto him.

Echo yawned, stretching his arms behind his head.

"I'll give you one chance," he said, voice lilting with amusement. "Turn around. Walk away."

His smile sharpened, eyes gleaming with something feral.

"Because if you don't..." He snapped his fingers — and the sound rippled through the air, making the fence hum. "I'm gonna make you regret it."

The attackers exchanged glances.

Then they charged.

Echo sighed.

"Should've walked away," he muttered, hopping off the gate.

He landed lightly, barely making a sound — and the moment his feet touched the ground, he vanished.

The first attacker's eyes darted around, frantic.

"Where—"

A snap cracked through the air, and they were suddenly launched backward, crashing into the fence with a painful thud.

Echo reappeared behind the group, rolling his shoulders.

"Alright," he said, smirking. "Let's play."

The speedster came first.

They blurred toward Echo like a streak of lightning, moving fast enough to leave ripples in the air. Their feet barely touched the ground, their body nothing but a distorted blur of motion.

Echo didn't move.

He waited.

Listened.

And just before the speedster reached him —

He snapped.

The soundwave detonated like a grenade, warping the air in front of him.

The speedster slammed into the invisible wall of force, their body crumpling like a ragdoll as they skidded across the pavement, scraping against the concrete with a painful shriek.

Echo flicked his fingers, shaking off the lingering vibrations.

"Fast," he muttered, watching them groan and try to stand. "But not faster than sound."

The clone user came next.

Three identical copies rushed him, each one perfectly synchronized — swinging rusty pipes like clubs.

Echo dodged effortlessly, weaving through the barrage with fluid precision. The clones moved in unison, trying to box him in, their strikes almost mechanical in their coordination.

One swung high.

The second went for his ribs.

The third stabbed forward, aiming for his throat.

Echo's body blurred, and he split apart — a sudden sonic afterimage lingering for a fraction of a second.

The clones hit nothing but air.

Echo reappeared behind them, whistling.

"You gotta stop fighting like an NPC," he said, voice dripping with mock pity.

He clapped his hands together, and the sound amplified, a wave of concussive force slamming into the clones and dispersing them like smoke.

The real body collapsed to their knees, coughing blood, their skill forcibly canceled.

Echo crouched down beside them.

"You're too predictable," he said, voice almost gentle. "Try being unpredictable. Do something wild."

He tapped their forehead with a finger.

"Or just... stay down."

They passed out instantly.

The stone-skinned brute bellowed, lunging forward like a battering ram.

They smashed through a section of the fence, dust and debris flying everywhere as their rock-like fists pulverized the pavement. Each footstep left craters in the ground, the sheer weight of their body dragging them forward like a living landslide.

Echo exhaled slowly.

"Okay," he muttered, stretching his arms. "Let's test something."

The brute swung a massive fist, aiming to crush Echo in one blow.

Echo stepped into the attack.

Vanished.

And reappeared inside the brute's guard, inches from their chest.

He lifted his hand.

Snapped his fingers.

The resulting shockwave rippled outward like an explosion, the sound vibrating directly into the brute's body.

Their stone skin fractured, spiderweb cracks spreading out from the point of impact.

Echo tilted his head, watching the fissures crawl across their body.

He snapped again.

The brute collapsed, chunks of hardened skin crumbling like brittle rock as they hit the ground.

"You hit hard," Echo admitted, stepping over them. "But I can hit harder."

The shadow manipulator tried to stab him from behind.

A jagged spike of darkness erupted from the ground, aiming for Echo's back.

He caught the faintest vibration of the spike cutting through the air — and pivoted at the last second, letting it graze past his ribs.

The shadow twisted, reforming into long, bladed tendrils, lashing at him like whips.

Echo's foot tapped the ground, sending a low hum through the concrete.

The frequency spread, vibrating the ground beneath the manipulator's feet.

Echo snapped again — and the vibration amplified, shaking the ground violently enough to break their concentration.

The shadows dispersed, the tendrils evaporating like smoke.

The manipulator clutched their ears, screaming in pain as the lingering reverberations wrecked their balance.

Echo rubbed his jaw, flexing his hand.

"I really gotta work on that move," he muttered. "Feels kinda overkill."

The energy blaster was the last one standing.

They stumbled back, panic flooding their face as they charged up a final attack — a glowing sphere of light building in their hands, crackling with barely contained energy.

Echo tilted his head, watching the light grow brighter.

The blaster threw the orb, the force of the throw blasting them backward from the sheer recoil.

Echo didn't dodge.

He snapped both fingers.

A barrier of sound collapsed around him like an echo chamber, warping the air into a shimmering, vibrating wall.

The energy blast hit the barrier — and imploded, the sound waves crushing the energy inward until it blinked out of existence with a pop.

Echo lowered his hands, wiping his nose.

The blaster was already trying to crawl away.

Echo appeared in front of them, crouching down.

He knocked on their head, like knocking on a door.

"Hello?" he said, voice light. "Anyone home?"

The blaster whimpered, curling into themselves.

Echo sighed, standing back up.

"Man," he muttered. "I thought you guys would last longer."

He dusted off his jacket, stretching his arms overhead.

Then he froze.

Because the system pinged again.

[Territory Leader Approaching]

[Distance: 0.8 Miles]

Echo squinted at the notification.

"...Oh," he muttered.

Then he grinned.

He turned toward the road — toward the faint silhouettes of people approaching from the distance.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, stepping over the unconscious bodies, whistling.

"About time," he muttered.

Echo whistled as he stepped back onto school grounds, rubbing his neck like he'd just finished stretching after a light jog.

The unconscious attackers lay sprawled across the entrance, groaning or knocked out cold.

Echo didn't even glance at them.

He walked into the station, rummaging through a supply closet until he found a tangle of zip ties and some old extension cords.

"Good enough," he muttered.

Five minutes later, he had the entire group lashed together in a heap, arms and legs bound like they were part of some post-apocalyptic art piece.

One of them started waking up.

Echo squatted down, resting his chin on his fist.

"Welcome back," he said, voice cheerful. "Quick question — do you like breathing?"

The guy nodded frantically.

Echo smiled.

"Cool," he said, patting the guy's head. "Then stay quiet."

The guy immediately passed out again.

Echo dusted off his hands, feeling the faint hum of footsteps approaching in the distance.

He stretched, cracked his neck, then leaned against the gate, waiting.

A few minutes later, he spotted movement — the shapes of Jin, Seul, Joon, and the fifteen recruits appearing down the road.

Jin squinted, eyes narrowing as he took in the pile of tied-up bodies.

Echo lifted a hand, waving lazily.

"Hey," he called out, voice echoing across the street. "Missed you guys."

Joon tilted his head, staring at the wreckage.

"...What the hell happened here?"

Echo shrugged.

"We had some visitors," he said. "Had to take care of them."

Seul laughed, rubbing her face.

Jin just sighed, gripping the staff tighter as they kept walking.

Because he had a feeling that they were gonna have to deal with a lot more "visitors".