It hurts, it hurts so much. Crap, I’m not healing fast enough. My vision is blurring. Why me? The end of the world, my ass. I’m too weak to cause anything like that. Why do I have to die because of some stupid prediction? Why do you get to live? Why? Why WHY!-

  -Ah… right, I can just kill you too.

  Quinn slowly staggers upward—the gaping hole heals in an instant. Darkness radiates from his body, turning his white hair black. A dark mark circles around his wrist, his once-bright blue eyes become empty voids, and he now stands at 142 cm. Power seeps into every crevice, hardening and refining his body. No one dares to move as Quinn's transformation completes.

  Even Zeke feels helpless as he watches his son change right before his eyes. Zeke can sense his heart struggling with conflicting emotions. He’s relieved that Quinn is miraculously alive, but at the same time, the changes Quinn is going through remind him of the corruption.

  It’s just too similar to be a coincidence. Creatures lose their natural color and reasoning. But Zeke still holds out hope because the signature gray hue never appeared on Quinn; it was a weak black hue. The change Quinn is experiencing was almost like corruption, yet different—it isn’t the same, but a strange power is taking over him.

  “Now do you see? The vision was right. It’s not too late, Zeke. If we act together now, we can vanquish this abomination before its power grows and destroys us all,” Viktor declares, hoping that with the situation changing, Zeke will no longer stop them and might even help them kill Quinn for the sake of the world.

  “I-I can not,” Zeke replies with a weak voice.

  “Zeke, please, open your eyes. That thing is no longer your son…” Viktor points at Quinn, who is still struggling to find his footing. Zeke grimaces and looks away from his son.

  Viktor rushes over to Zeke and grabs him by the collar. “...Do not look away. I know you still have a few embers left. With your powers, we can end this now. Think of your family, think of all the hundreds of millions of families we will save. Be a hero, Zeke, one more time.”

  “Let go…” A quiet voice comes from Quinn's direction. Once again, everything comes to a halt, and everyone looks towards Quinn. “...I said, let him go!”

  It speaks? Viktor thinks. Nothing touched by corruption has been able to keep its ability to talk. At most, the noises that would come from their mouths are groans of anger and suffering.

  Zeke is also aware of this, which only strengthens his reasoning that this is not corruption. No, this is something else.

  Quinn, full of hatred, kicks off the ground and leaps towards Viktor. Luther stands in his way, pointing his spear at Quinn.

  “Move.” Quinn quickly jumps and delivers a spinning kick to Luther's head, completely shattering it on impact.

  Luther’s headless body drops in front of Quinn, who ignores it, steps over the body, and keeps staring at Viktor.

  “Luther! You are going to pay for that.” Ben exclaims as he rushes towards Quinn.

  “Ben, wait!” Viktor quickly throws Zeke down and tries to calm Ben down. However, Ben doesn’t listen. Strong emotions swell up within him as he sees his fellow angel, whom he mentored, get taken down in a single attack.

  Ben launched a series of attacks toward Quinn. Jabs, low kicks, even grapples—but nothing connects. Quinn effortlessly avoids everything Ben attempted. Frustrated, Ben summons all his strength and aims a strike at Quinn’s head. Quinn ducks under it. Instantly, countering with a punch directed at Ben’s stomach.

  -Boom!

  A translucent yellow wall shields Ben from Quinn’s fist, making a loud noise.

  “Shit, thanks, Viktor.” Sweat drips from Ben’s brow as Viktor's magic saves him. But Quinn's attack isn’t finished. He reels his arm back again and strikes the wall once more, this time with more force. It completely shatters it. “What the-” Ben is hit, the magic shield absorbs most of the attack, but the force is still strong enough to knock Ben to the ground.

  Quinn gets on top of Ben and proceeds to pummel him. Fist after fist hit Ben’s sturdy face. Leaving him a bloody mess, full of cuts and swollen cheeks.

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  “Enough!” Viktor flies into the air and starts casting a spell. Dark clouds form above their heads, and thunder comes raining down. “Die, you monster.” Viktor points at Quinn, and a ray of light engulfs the area, smiting Quinn.

  “Brother…Why?” Ben weakly says with his dying breath. Quinn shielded himself using Ben’s body, which is now burnt to a crisp.

  “Damn you!” Viktor casts many fireballs at once and launches them at Quinn, but before they can touch him, Quinn blitzes away. “Huh, where did you go?”

  Just like Viktor was once able to move faster than Quinn could recognize, Quinn is now able to do it too, but faster. Quinn reappears behind Viktor, his leg raised, and brings it down like a hammer.

  Viktor reacts just in time to cast multiple magic shields between them; however, each layer is quickly shattered by a single kick. “Impossible!” Viktor is sent crashing to the ground below.

  Viktor, bloody and beaten, tries to get back up but falls on his knees. He stares at Quinn’s eyes, which are filled with rage and murderous intent. Quinn walks over and stands in front of Viktor.

  “Can’t you just die, you monster?”

  “You first.” Quinn pierces Viktor’s chest, ripping out his heart, and crushes it in his hands. With that, Viktor has failed his mission. Quinn should be feeling better, now that he and his father are safe, but something else is off. The threat was dealt with, but his rage is still growing; his transformation isn’t over.

  “Ugh, ahh!” Quinn is clutching his head. His eyes flash red, black mana seeps from his body, and the markings on his wrist start creeping up his forearm. The darkness is consuming him.

  “Quinn!” Zeke, holding his wounded stomach, struggles to walk over to Quinn, who is screaming in pain. He recognizes this transformation. This isn’t corruption; it’s a demonic frenzy attack. His old companion had been overcome by the same frenzy when she lost control over her powers during the war. Without something to offset the influx of power, he will eventually lose himself and perish by the same power that gave him strength.

  Zeke, barely making it to Quinn without losing consciousness, embraces him. “You are okay. I am here, my son. Everything is going to be okay.” Zeke pours the last of his angelic power into Quinn, slowly offsetting the frenzy. After a moment, it finally stops. The darkness recedes. Quinn’s eyes go back to black, and the markings travel down his forearm, settle on his wrist, and fade away.

  “Dad?”

  “I am right here, Son,” Quinn says as he notices Zeke’s wound has worsened. Since Zeke has no angelic powers left, he is now just a normal human, and normal humans can’t heal a hole in their stomach. Zeke collapses to the floor, unable to summon enough strength to stand. Quinn shakes, drops to his knees, and cradles his father. He hesitates to heal him, but Zeke moves Quinn's hands away from his wounds.

  “Why? Why would you do that? Dad, you’re dying.”

  “What father would I be if I let my son die before me?”

  “But, look at me! Look at what I’ve done.”

  “It’s not your fault. No matter how you see yourself or how the world may see you, you will always be my son, and I will always love you. Remember that.”

  “Dad--I’m--I’m so sorry,” Quinn struggles to hold back tears, but still chokes on his apology to his dying father.

  “Take care of my boy,” Zeke manages to say weakly, offering his final farewell. Zeke’s body goes limp in Quinn’s arms.

  “No, no, no, Dad! Dad, please wake up. Mom needs you; she won’t be able to raise us alone, and Sam, too. Yeah, Sam’s about to get into the academy; he’s already going to have trouble fitting in as the youngest commoner there, surrounded by older nobles who will attend. He can’t be fatherless as well…” Nothing, not a single twitch, comes from Zeke’s lifeless body. “Dad, open your eyes. I need you…DAD!”

  Quinn can’t hold back any longer. As he wails, tears of blood fall onto Zeke’s smiling face. Quinn feels as if his heart has been ripped out again—no, worse than that. At this point, he wishes he had actually died back then. That way, his father would still be alive.

  I wish I had been the one to die. Dad would still be here, and I wouldn’t still be hurting. Quinn thinks. He looks over to where Luke’s body is and sees his spear lying right beside him.

  He lays Zeke down and scurries over to the weapon. Quinn picks it up and points the spear toward himself. Aiming for his heart, he extends his arms and pulls them back, stopping just before it pierces him.

  He can’t do it. Not because he’s scared, but because he doesn’t have the right to. Zeke died trying to bring Quinn back to his senses, killing himself after that feels wrong. This life, this second chance, isn’t something he has the right to end.

  “Damn it!” Quinn curses as he hurls the spear in a fit of rage. The spear is gone, tearing through countless trees in the woods. His strength is far beyond anything he'd ever had before. There is no denying it; Quinn has undergone some kind of transformation at the cellular level. It’s not just his body or his power, but his very core that’s different.

  He still recalls the overwhelming rush of power flooding his body as he rose from the ground after his heart was ripped out. He remembers his blood boiling and a strange mark appearing on his right arm.

  He’s not the same person anymore. How would his mother and brother feel about Quinn’s changes? Could they still see him as family? No, appearances aside, he had just killed people, his father included; wouldn’t they see him as a monster? He certainly fits the description. Quinn is sure of this.

  Quinn sits there silently for a few moments before getting up. He can sense people rushing toward him from kilometers away. They are probably soldiers and adventurers hurrying over to where the commotion was.

  The fight was anything but subtle. Even though they are more than five kilometers from the city’s gate, Viktor's magic towards the end definitely wouldn't have gone unnoticed.

  “I’m sorry, Sam, Mom, and goodbye.” Quinn turns away from the direction of Amber and his home. Blitzing away before anyone could see him, leaving behind a small gust of dust.