"This guy..." For so reason, Zane found himself growing increasingly irritated just looking at him.
The atmosphere among the team was tense. Having one of their own get parasitized was unsettling, and it left everyone hesitant to act—especially the young ice-elent Awakener girl.
She was usually the heart of the group, always cheerful and full of laughter. In a world as bleak as this, having soone like her around was a rare blessing.
"Damn it! Even she got taken over!"
"These monsters... they really don't leave any gaps, do they?"
"When did this even happen?"
"I... I don't think I can do it. What now?"
"Yeah, this is... this is tough."
"..."
The group stood there, their faces heavy with sorrow.
But the girl, now cold and unrecognizable, stared back at them with a vicious glare. There wasn't a trace of the warmth she once carried, no hint of the camaraderie they used to share.
"Tough? Then don't bother." Ethan stepped forward, his figure flickering as he moved with blinding speed. His tachi glead as it slashed through the air, aiming straight for the girl's chest.
If they couldn't bring themselves to do it, then he'd do it for them.
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Helping others—it was practically second nature to him by now.
The girl tried to fight back, her parasitic tendrils lashing out, but Ethan's blade shredded through them with ease. In one swift motion, his sword plunged into her chest.
With a precise twist of the blade, he extracted the crystal core.
His movents were sharp, efficient, and deadly—so clean it was almost srizing to watch.
Behind them, the battle was finally stabilizing.
After cutting their way through, the group had made it to the center of the hall. Many of them were bloodied, their bodies battered and bruised. Their chests heaved as they struggled to catch their breath, their energy reserves nearly depleted.
If this kept up, they wouldn't last much longer.
But from the depths of the hall, a suffocating, feral aura began to spread, growing stronger with each passing second. Sothing was stirring in the darkness, sothing monstrous.
"What's coming... we'll have to face it eventually."
Everyone tensed, their eyes fixed on the shadows ahead. They knew what was waiting for them—a fully evolved monster, likely S-class in strength. Maybe even stronger.
Robert, in particular, felt his nerves tighten. His star-like eyes flickered with unease as the lody in his ears faltered, disrupted by the creature's overwhelming magnetic field.
The parasitic monsters kept coming, their cold, lifeless faces a mix of familiar and unfamiliar.
Robert's Lightning Blade crackled as he swung it relentlessly, his heart growing numb with every strike.
But then, amidst the swarm of monsters, a figure erged—a graceful woman in an elegant red dress, her deanor calm and serene. Her face radiated warmth, her expression tender.
"Robbie, you're back."
"Uh…"
Hearing the familiar nickna, Robert froze. His gaze locked onto the woman's face, and a flood of mories surged through him like a tidal wave.
"Mom... Mom?" The word slipped out of his mouth, the once-familiar term now feeling foreign on his tongue.
The woman smiled gently. "It's good to see you again, sweetheart. I've missed you."
"Mom... I can't go back..." Tears welled up in Robert's eyes as he forced the words out. Because he knew—this wasn't his mother anymore. She had been taken, parasitized by the monsters.
And yet, seeing her face stirred sothing deep within him.
He knew she was a monster now, but he could still feel a faint echo of her warmth.
The mories were silent, yet deafening.
That warmth... it wasn't real. It was sothing he was clinging to in his own heart.
The woman's smile didn't waver. "Silly boy. If you join us, I'll still be your mother. We can go back to how things were."
"No. You're not her anymore." Robert wiped his tears away, his voice steadying as he pulled himself together. A brief mont of nostalgia was fine, but he couldn't let himself stay trapped in the past.
He stepped forward, his star-like eyes blazing with determination. "You're just a disgusting, ugly monster. And today, I'm going to make you pay!"
With that, Robert gripped his blade tightly and launched himself forward, his movents fluid and graceful, almost like a dance.
Activating his S-class Awakener ability, Night Legend, he pushed his speed to its absolute limit. The Lightning Blade in his hands shimred, transforming into a streak of light as he slashed at the woman.
But she was fast too. With a subtle step back, she narrowly avoided the blade's deadly edge.
"You really are an ungrateful child, raising your hand against your own mother."
"Don't you dare use her voice!" Robert's anger flared as he swung his katana again, this ti with even more force.
Clang!
This ti, the woman didn't dodge. Instead, she reached out and caught the blade with her bare hand. The clash of steel against her grip rang out like the sound of tal grinding against tal.
Robert's brow furrowed, his heart sinking in disbelief.
"What kind of monstrous strength is this?!"
Before he could react, a terrifying aura erupted from the woman. Her human facade began to crack, revealing her monstrous nature. A massive, tree-trunk-thick tendril burst from her back, whipping toward Robert with incredible force.
The air howled as the tendril lashed out, like a wall crashing down on him.
Robert barely had ti to raise his arm in defense before the tendril struck him with a deafening thud. The impact sent him flying over a hundred feet, slamming into the ground with a heavy crash.
"Huh?" Mia and the others noticed the commotion and turned their heads toward Robert, their expressions growing grim.
Robert wasn't weak—he was an S-class Awakener.
But he'd just been sent flying with a single strike.
That alone was enough to confirm it: this creature wasn't just S-class. It had to be S at the very least.
"Evolving this fast?" Zane's face darkened, his expression like a storm cloud ready to burst. He realized he'd underestimated the monster leader's strength. But there was no turning back now. They had no choice but to fight to the death.
"Everyone, attack together!" he shouted.
"Got it!" Two Awakeners from the rear responded imdiately, their focus sharpening as elental energy began to surge around them.
The pair—a man and a woman—were the 003 and 004 Awakeners from Rancho Cucamonga. Both were formidable in their own right.
Against a monster this powerful, their only chance was to work together.
"Ice Seal!" The female Awakener stomped her foot, and a wave of freezing energy spread across the ground in front of her.
Wherever it passed, the monsters froze in place, their bodies stiffening as a layer of white frost encased them. Within seconds, they looked like lifelike ice sculptures.
"Fire Dragon!" The male Awakener slamd his fists together, flas roaring to life around them. The heat radiating from him was intense, almost suffocating.
With a powerful push of his hands, a blazing inferno surged forward, twisting and coiling like a dragon as it barreled toward the monster leader.
"Kehehehe…" The elegant woman let out a raspy, guttural laugh, her voice suddenly deep and masculine. The sound was unnerving, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Her massive tendril slamd into the ground with a deafening crash.
BOOM!
The entire shelter trembled violently as cracks spiderwebbed across the floor. With a sudden, forceful sweep, the tendril sent chunks of debris flying forward.
The icy ground shattered, and the fire dragon was obliterated mid-flight.
"Watch out!" Mia's eyes narrowed as she shouted a warning.
Chunks of stone hurtled toward the group. Mia's tachi flashed as she swung it repeatedly, deflecting the incoming debris.
The hall echoed with the sounds of destruction, dust and smoke filling the air.
"This thing is insanely strong!"
The 003 and 004 Awakeners frowned deeply. After such a prolonged battle, their energy reserves were running low, and their attacks had lost much of their power.
It was clear now—this was all part of the monster leader's plan. It had waited until they were worn down before making its move.
As the dust began to settle, a figure erged from the haze.
Zane.
He had managed to slip behind the monster during the chaos, using his teammates' attacks as cover. His speed was unmatched, allowing him to circle around unnoticed.
This was the essence of assassination.
"Forgot about , didn't you?" Zane smirked, his short blade gleaming as he drove it toward the monster's back with lightning speed.
But the monster leader rely glanced over its shoulder, its expression almost bored. Another thick tendril shot out, slamming into Zane with pinpoint accuracy.
"You…" The monster's voice was cold and mocking. "You're not even worth rembering."
...
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