A deafening scream shattered the silence of the infirmary.
Vel burst through the hallway doors, Darius right behind him. Nurses lay scattered across the floor, groaning and dazed. A section of the infirmary wall had been completely obliterated, leaving a gaping hole that opened into the guild's backyard garden. Wind rustled the trees outside, petals and leaves fluttering through the breach like chaotic confetti.
In the center of the wreckage stood Shin, shielding Shuri and Bella with his arms. His cloak was torn, and his eyes narrowed at the scene before them.
"What the hell happened?!" Darius barked, scanning the room.
Bella's breath was ragged, her eyes wide. "She went berserk. One moment she was calm—then her eyes turned red, her strength spiked and she—she threw everyone aside like dolls."
"There was an intruder," Shin added grimly. "Just before this… her husband saw a cloaked figure escaping. We think they may have tampered with her."
Vel's face hardened. "There's no time to discuss this now. Focus on capturing her before she causes more damage." He turned to his team. "Shin, Darius—come with me. I have a plan."
Before they could move, Shuri stepped forward, her voice trembling but firm. "Please—be careful. Don't use anything too powerful. She's not in control… she's not doing this willingly."
Vel paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder at her. His expression softened just a little.
"Don't worry," he said calmly, a small smirk curling on his lips. "I have a plan. We'll bring her back—alive."
Without hesitation, the three leapt through the broken wall and into the moonlit backyard. Trees swayed under the force of the stormy tension, flowerbeds trampled and earth split open by the rampaging woman at the center.
Her form twitched with erratic jerks, muscles pulsing unnaturally beneath her skin. Her eyes glowed an eerie crimson, and deep snarls echoed from her throat as she crushed a tree trunk with her bare arms.
Vel stepped forward and drew in a breath. "I'll draw her attention. You two go for the capture."
He dropped into a martial stance, his fists glowing with wind-infused mana. With a powerful forward punch, he launched a compressed shockwave of air that blasted toward her, rustling the trees and blowing her hair back.
She snarled and snapped her gaze toward Vel.
"Come on," Vel muttered, launching another blast, "Focus on me."
The berserk woman howled and charged at him, her speed alarming. Vel danced backward, launching more wind bursts to slow her.
Meanwhile, Darius slammed his palms together. Water spiraled into the ground beneath her path, churning the soil to sludge. The moment her feet struck the muddy patch, she stumbled—her footing lost to the thick, sucking muck.
Shin moved in a blur. His fingers glowed faintly, conjuring fine strands of mana that lashed out like whipcords. The threads wrapped around her arms, pulling them tight against her body. With another spin, he tightened the binds and forced her to the ground.
She screeched, thrashing violently, the mud flinging around as she writhed.
A pair of nurses rushed in with cloth gags and quickly wrapped her mouth to muffle the screams. Vel stood above her, breathing steadily, as the last of the struggle left her body.
"She's not done," Shin muttered, watching the convulsions in her limbs. "She's still in that state."
"Let's move her to the reinforced mental ward," Vel ordered. "Before this gets worse."
Inside the guild, the reinforced mental chamber had been prepared long ago—reserved for the most unpredictable cases. They placed the woman carefully on the metal-reinforced bed. Thick leather and steel restraints locked her wrists and ankles down. Another wide strap was drawn tight across her abdomen, pinning her body. The cloth gag remained secured across her mouth, and though her body still thrashed and shook, her voice was now reduced to muffled growls.
Shin leaned against the wall, exhaling slowly. "That… was close."
Bella wiped her forehead, her eyes never leaving the woman. "If we hadn't stopped her here, she would have hurt someone else… or worse."
Shuri gripped her notebook tightly, her face pale but focused. "We need to act quickly. This is getting worse."
Darius stood by the reinforced door, arms crossed. "We bought time. But how much… depends on what we find next."
A long silence followed.
Bella stood over her, breathing hard, while Shuri jotted quick notes, glancing up with a mixture of concern and guilt.
The moment of calm was shattered as the door burst open.
Her husband limped inside, one arm clutching the edge of the doorway for support, his left leg still bandaged from the earlier attack. His face was pale, but his eyes were blazing with anguish and desperation.
"What have you done to her?!" he shouted, his voice cracking as he stumbled forward. "What did you do to my Liora?!"
"Sir, please, calm down—" one of the nurses tried to intervene.
"Don't tell me to calm down! You tied her up like some kind of beast! This isn't helping her—this is torture!" His voice grew louder, echoing through the corridor as he approached the bed, seeing his wife barely conscious, her face strained and eyes flickering unnaturally. "She was just sick—she needed help!"
"She's dangerous in this state!" Bella said, stepping between him and the bed. "She attacked several people. We had no choice!"
He ignored her, trembling with rage, his fists clenched and tears brimming in his eyes. "You call this help? This—this isn't treatment! She wouldn't hurt anyone. She's not like this!"
Then a soft cry echoed through the hallway. The sound of a baby—his son.
One of the nurses gently walked in, carrying the child wrapped in blankets.
The man turned, his breath catching. His arms instinctively reached out, and the nurse gently handed over the infant. He held his son close, clutching him like an anchor in a storm, his knees buckling slightly as he sank into the nearest chair, silent sobs racking his body.
Bella knelt down beside him. "We're not the enemy," she said gently. "We're doing everything we can to bring her back. We don't want to hurt her. But right now… she's being controlled by something we don't fully understand."
Shuri stepped closer, her voice quiet but sincere. "I believe there's a curse or something dark affecting her. We're going to do everything we can to study it and reverse it. But we need time."
He looked up at them, his eyes red. "You promise… you'll save her?"
Bella nodded firmly. "We promise."
He just sat there, clutching her arm, as if anchoring himself to that one promise — the only hope left in his crumbling world.
The only sound that remained in the room was the baby's soft cooing and the woman's muffled, restless struggling behind the iron restraints.
Outside the door, Vel stood silently for a moment, watching through the small window. His expression was grim.
"This is bigger than we thought," he murmured. "And we need to act before more families are torn apart."