In a hidden garden perched atop a three-story building, the night breathed softly. Lanterns swayed gently in the breeze, their warm glow mingling with the pale silver of the half moon above. The air was alive with the delicate perfume of night-blooming flowers, each fragrance threading into the silence like a quiet lullaby.
Amidst this serenity stood a girl. Her figure was graceful yet heavy with stillness, her gaze fixed on the moon as though it held answers she longed to hear. A thin veil draped over her face, concealing her features, but the restless wind tugged at it, unveiling strands of her hair—half black, half white—flowing like twilight caught between day and night.
Her fingers tightened around the rail of the balcony, the silk of her dress whispering against the stone. Her lips parted, a fragile murmur slipping out, carried away by the breeze.
"I wonder… how he's doing…"
Her voice trembled with unspoken weight—yearning, worry, perhaps even regret. It was the kind of tone that could only come from someone tethered to another, even across distance and darkness.
If only she knew.
Somewhere far away, the one she thought of bled beneath the stars, teeth bared, eyes glowing red, now a bunny.
And though the world kept its silence, the moon above bore witness to both—the girl's longing… and the boy's descent.
...
Bahamut's fist sank into the fox's skull again and again, each strike cracking the ground beneath its head. His crimson aura flared like wildfire, searing the air, choking everything around them. But it wasn't just power—it was unshackled brutality.
Ren flinched, his little bunny fur standing on end. "Oi, Bahamut… you good?"
No answer.
The boy's blind grey eyes shifted—flickered—then bled into beastly crimson, the slit pupils of a predator staring into prey. His jaw tightened, his teeth sharpening into fangs as guttural growls rumbled from his throat.
Brutality is not cruelty, the system had warned. But unchecked, it devours.
And now, it was devouring Bahamut.
Ren gasped as something tugged at him—deep, primal, suffocating. His tiny bunny body trembled, and then his own eyes flared red, his thoughts blurring into violent hunger. He could feel Bahamut's essence dragging him into the same spiral.
"Shit… what the hell is this?!" Ren snarled, his rabbit form no longer cute but feral, his fangs bared.
The crimson fox roared, unleashing a final surge of fiery power, its three tails combusting like miniature suns. But it didn't matter. Bahamut and Ren, united by the corrupted Brutality, pounced as one.
Bahamut tore into the beast's side with bare hands, his nails splitting skin, ripping flesh like a predator feeding. Ren darted under, his small claws and teeth finding soft spots, gnawing with savage precision.
The fox screamed, its body thrashing wildly, but the brutality was overwhelming. There was no finesse, no strategy—only raw destruction. Blow after blow, bite after bite, until the once-mighty Tier 2 beast was reduced to torn flesh and shattered bone.
Blood rained across the battlefield.
Then silence.
Bahamut stood over the carcass, chest heaving, drenched in gore. His crimson eyes glowed feral, his aura so heavy that even the trees seemed to bend away. Ren sat atop the fox's ruined skull, panting, his little bunny form shaking as the red glow flickered in his eyes.
"…We killed it…" Ren muttered, his voice trembling somewhere between triumph and horror.
But as Bahamut turned his bloodied face towards him, those crimson eyes weren't human anymore. They weren't Bahamut's. They were the eyes of something ancient, beastlike, terrifying.
Ren's throat went dry. "…Bahamut?"
No answer. Only a growl that sent a chill down even his rabbit spine.
The Brutality of the BEAST had taken root—and now, it was demanding blood.
...
The forest was silent, save for Bahamuth's growl. It was low, guttural—like the rumble of a predator moments before it lunges. His crimson eyes locked onto Ren, and in them, there was no recognition. No camaraderie. No restraint.
Only hunger.
Ren froze, his little bunny body trembling. His eyes still glowed faintly red, corrupted by Bahamuth's Brutality, but his instincts screamed at him: run.
"…Bahamut?" Ren tried weakly, his voice cracking. "It's me, damn it. Snap out of it!"
The boy didn't answer. He moved.
Faster than Ren could process, Bahamuth lunged, his hand a blur, claws extending as if his very flesh had transformed into the weapon of a beast. The ground split under the force of his leap.
Ren barely dodged, his rabbit body tumbling through mud and blood. He coughed, chest burning. The timer on his borrowed power was slipping away—his fake Tier 2 body was on its last legs.
"Shit, shit, shit! Not like this!" he cursed, dodging another swipe that shattered the rock behind him.
Bahamut's voice finally broke through, but it was twisted, guttural, more monster than man."Prey… mine…"
Ren's eyes widened in horror. "You fucking psychopath! It's me, Ren! The guy whose body you STOLE, remember?!"
But the boy didn't stop. He kept coming, crimson aura snarling around him like chains made of blood and rage. Every step shook the earth, every swipe carried the promise of death.
Ren couldn't keep up. His limbs were slowing, his lungs burning, his body screaming at him that the time limit was nearly up. One more hit, and he was done.
[Warning! Host's Brutality has gone rogue. Soul corruption at 78%.][Warning! Follower link destabilizing. Critical danger detected.]
"Then do something, damn it!" Ren shouted at the system as Bahamut closed in.
[…Intervening.]
The world snapped.
A crushing silence fell, and for a moment it was as if everything froze—wind, water, even Bahamut mid-leap. The crimson glow in his eyes faltered, like a candle snuffed in a storm.
[Emergency Suppression Protocol initiated.][Brutality restrained. Soul backlash redirected.]
Bahamut collapsed to one knee, clutching his head, his claws retracting. Blood poured from his nose and ears as he let out a scream that split the night air—a sound of agony, rage, and something deeper, something broken.
Ren, panting heavily in his rabbit form, slumped to the ground. His eyes dimmed as the Tier 2 illusion faded, his strength draining away. "Tch… that was too fucking close…"
The system's voice echoed, cold and mechanical:
[Warning. The concept of Brutality has not been mastered. Attempting to wield it without control will risk permanent possession.]
Ren's little bunny ears twitched as he glared at Bahamut, who now knelt trembling, his eyes flickering between red and grey. "…You almost killed me, bastard."
Bahamut raised his head, breath ragged, eyes wide as if waking from a nightmare. "…Ren?"
The wisp-in-a-bunny-body gave a bitter laugh, collapsing on his side. "Yeah. Don't fucking forget it again."