The observation room was shaking lightly.
At first, Examiner Holt thought it was only a system vibration. He stood near the console, eyes were fixed on the screens showing Kael's condition. The boy was still sitting in the center of the chamber below, drowning in pressure and blood pooling beneath him.
Only five minutes were remaining.
But then Holt's communicator rang.
He frowned and answered it"Yes?"
Static filled the line. The sound of heavy breathing was coming.
"H–Holt…" a panicked voice said. "There's been an outbreak, some people left the Mirror World portal was left open on the sixth floor. Monsters everywhere. You need to leave the building immediately—"
And then a loud crash echoed through the call.
"What?" Holt snapped. "Say that again—"
A scream ripped through the speaker.
"AAAAHHH—!" And the call cut off.
Holt stared at the dead screen for a second.
Clare was on her phone, turned sharply. "What happened?"
Holt's face hardened. "Outbreak," he said. "Low class devouring monsters. Sixth floor."
Clare's eyes widened. "Then the building—"
"Is compromised," Holt finished. "We have to evacuate and eliminate monsters on the way."
They turned toward the exit without another word, neither of them looked back at the Kael.
The corridor outside was already in chaos.
Alarms were screaming from every direction. Red lights flashing against steel walls. And the smell of blood and burning metal was filled in air.
A low-class monster burst from around the corner—its body twisted, mouth split too wide.
Clare reacted instantly.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small roll of thin metallic thread.
Her hand trembled for half a second.
Then she closed her eyes.
"I can't hesitate," she whispered.
Green flames ignited around her fingers—soft, sharp, alive as she fused her Rin with the thread.
The roll unraveled on its own and was floating around her like invisible lines cutting through the air. The green flame followed the threads, wrapping them in glowing light.
Clare stepped forward and the monster lunged at her.
She flicked her wrist and then the monster froze in mid-air and fell apart in two silently, like it had been sliced by air itself.
Holt clicked his tongue. "Don't slow down. We have to Close the Portal otherwise, high-class monsters will come."
He took two pistols from his back and raised both of his hands.
Two pistols fused with his Rin and the white Rin flames, covered it.
Bang.
Bang.
White shots tore through another monster's skull.
They moved together down the corridor, backs nearly touching.
Clare spun, threads flashing.
And Holt fired with pure Rin without reloading.
"Left!" Clare shouted.
"I see it!" Holt replied while shooting.
More monsters were coming in. Crawling and screaming.
Black blood splashed against the walls. The floor became slick.
Clare's breathing grew heavy. A claw tore across her arm. She hissed in pain but didn't stop.
"Holt—they are too many!"
"I know!" Holt snapped. "But keep moving!"
But below them, on the fifth floor, Kael was still sitting in the center of the test room.
Forty minutes had already passed.
The blood of Kael, was spreading everywhere. It soaked the floor and changed the texture was thick and dark. It was pouring endlessly from his eyes, ears, and nose. It didn't slow and didn't stop.
His body was shaking violently.
The four Newborns were still devouring him.
Kael's thoughts shattered.
He wanted it to end.
But then, his eyes were slowly turning into deep and burning red.
Flames exploded and covered all around his body, violent and alive.
The blood on the floor, started responding, shaking and then it rose slowly, then instantly violently. And four massive needles formed from his blood—sharp, long, pulsing like living weapons.
The Newborns screamed in fear.
Kael lifted his head slightly and then the needles shot forward.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Each pierced straight through the Newborn's head.
The devouring pressure vanished instantly, their corpse were in the cage.
Kael's body collapsed forward, he was unconscious, but alive.
He rose and started to walk out of the room. He was silent with zero emotions, like his powers were making it's move on its own.
Back in the corridor—
Clare was on one knee.
Her threads flickered weakly. Blood dripped from her fingers.
Holt was breathing hard and his shoulder was bleeding.
But then the air changed, something heavy was crawling from the darkness.
A high-class devouring monster, it was like a spider but big, too big with roo many legs and too many eyes, and its scream crushed the air.
"Oh no…" Clare whispered.
The creature lunged.
Holt fired—but the shots barely slowed it but a leg slammed him into the wall.
Clare tried to bind it, but her threads snapped and was been thrown across the floor.
"Holt!" she shouted.
The monster raised its body to strike, but then footsteps echoed.
It was slow and scary.
Both of them turned and saw Kael, he was walking up on the stairs.
His body was broken. Blood still was pouring from his face and red flames burning around him.
He was standing and saw Clare and Holt and then he turned towards the monster, and then he lifted his arm.
And then blood sprayed upward from his wounds and hardened into hundreds of sharp needles.
And then they rained down and then whole corridor exploded in red.
All the monster screamed at once—
And then many corpses of them were laying on the floor silently.
Kael took one more step, but then he collapsed onto the blood-covered floor.
Clare stared at him in shock.
"…Kael?" she whispered.
And the flames on him faded.