The battle was over.
Broken concrete and shattered glass covered the ground.
"Delete it!" a voice shouted from a distance.
I turned toward the sound and saw Captain Edmund standing on the other side of the street. He had a grip on a young man's shoulder. The young man was holding his phone, his face looking scared.
I started walking toward them, stepping over cracks in the road.
"Okay, okay! I'm going to delete the video!" the young man said quickly. His fingers moved fast across his screen.
I had already noticed several people earlier. They had been recording us from far away during the fight. Now most of them were gone, disappearing into the streets like nothing had happened.
Captain leaned closer to the young man. "Do you want me to turn you into something like that?"
The young man shook his head hard. "No, sir! I deleted it!" He turned the phone around to show the empty gallery.
Captain stared at the screen for a few seconds. Then he released him.
"Go home," Captain said, adjusting his coat.
The young man did not wait. He ran down the street, nearly tripping as he went.
I stopped beside the Captain. "What should we do now, Captain?" I asked, my eyebrows meeting.
He looked down the street toward the damaged restaurant. "We investigate Glow Beauty Co," he said. "Something about this is not random."
We walked back toward our companions. Damian was waving at us from near a broken lamp post.
"All of the civilians are safe, Captain!" Damian said.
"Good job," Captain replied. He gave Damian a pat on the shoulder. "But first, let me do something."
Without waiting, he walked toward the remains of the grotesque monster. What was left of it lay motionless.
He lowered his head and closed his eyes. His lips moved quietly as he spoke words I could not hear. One hand rested over his chest.
I stepped closer to Damian. "What is he doing?" I asked, tilting my head as I followed the Captain with my eyes.
Damian crossed his arms and watched. "He always does that. He gives honor to the dead," he said. "No matter what they became."
I glanced at Margaret and Theai. Both of them stood a little apart from the group. Theai kept her eyes on the ground, her expression seeming distant. They might have been more affected.
After a few minutes, Captain came back to us.
"Let's move," he said quietly, resting a hand on my shoulder and giving Theai a gentle pat with his other hand.
Cough. Cough.
I covered my mouth with my hand as I coughed again. My chest felt tight, and my body felt heavy.
When I pulled my hand away, I saw black blood on my palm.
My eyes widened. I coughed once more, harder this time. Black blood appeared again.
Captain grabbed my wrist immediately. His grip was strong.
"Are you cursed?" he asked, his eyes scanning my face.
"What?" I replied, confused.
Everyone turned to look at me.
"I saw you earlier in the car," Captain continued, his voice steady. "You looked at your hand when we mentioned about curses."
He lifted my hand and examined it closely. Many red rashes were spreading across my skin. His face slowly hardened as he studied them.
"I didn't know those rashes appeared," I said. "They came out of nowhere."
Captain did not answer right away. He extended his hand. Dark energy began to gather around his arm, moving toward his palm. In a few seconds, a scythe formed in his hand.
"What are you doing, Captain?" I asked, looking at him in confusion.
He did not speak. Instead, he tightened his grip on my arm and stretched it forward. Everything happened very fast.
He raised the scythe and swung it down.
The blade sliced through my extended hand in one clean motion.
"Aghhh!" I screamed in pain and fell backward onto the ground.
The severed hand landed near my feet.
[Chrono Heal has been triggered.]
A faint golden glow covered the wound. In just a few seconds, new flesh began forming. Bone and skin rebuilt themselves, and my hand fully regenerated.
Captain immediately stepped forward. He grabbed my shoulders and helped me stand up. Then he tapped my back several times.
"Be thankful that the curse hasn't been triggered yet. From now on, we will not keep secrets from each other," he said, turning to face all of us. His expression was serious. "We will speak honestly and help one another. I do not want any member of my squad to die again. Understood?"
"Yes, Captain!" we answered together.
After that, his gaze slowly shifted toward Margaret.
We all followed his gaze. Margaret stood still. The expression on her face changed as she noticed everyone staring at her.
"Me? I think I am fine. I do not feel like I am cursed," she said, her eyes moving around as she tried to avoid looking at us.
Captain nodded once. "We will rest for now. We will continue this case tomorrow."
He turned and walked toward our car.
We followed him without saying anything.
The drive was quiet. One by one, Captain dropped off my companions at their homes. When it was my turn, I asked him to stop at Isaiah's apartment again since it was close by.
He nodded and drove me there.
---
I woke up after resting for a while. I had been tired earlier, so I lay down to recover my strength.
"You woke up," Isaiah said while watching the TV. "How's your day as an Agent?"
"My day is very tiring," I replied while sitting up and stretching my arms.
He gave a small smile and was about to say something when the television caught my attention.
"Breaking news. Earlier today, a grotesque monster appeared in Sector 4 near a restaurant," the news anchor announced.
Isaiah and I both looked at the screen.
"Thankfully, Agents were there and no one got hurt," the anchor continued. Video footage of us appeared on the screen. Clips of the battle played, showing the monster attacking us.
More clips followed. Then my scene appeared, healing the man's severed foot.
"That was quite a healing, folks. Few of our Agents can regenerate a severed limb. One of them is Captain Seraphina. Will this new Agent surpass the Captain in healing?" the anchor said.
They zoomed in on my face.
"I believe this is a new member of the Grim Stalkers with a Sorcerer System. From what we saw, he didn't just heal the man's severed foot. It almost looked like time was reversed. Did anyone else notice that? Could this be Time Magic? As we know, Time Magic is extremely powerful."
"Well, if this Agent continues using powers like that, it could transform the healthcare system entirely. Such advanced healing abilities may force medical services to adapt," the news anchor said while watching the footage. "Captain Seraphina and her squad members have already healed many people, and now the public is questioning the future of our hospitals. The bigger question is this. Will he eventually rival the amazing reality warping abilities of Captain Malachi?"
"What a comeback for the Grim Reapers Squad. They are really back in action. But are they handling a case? Is the monster part of it? Let's find out in our next report. Night Vanguard is also investigating—"
I quickly stood up and grabbed the remote. Before he could finish, I turned the television off.
Isaiah looked at me and laughed lightly. "Wow, you are really famous now!"
"Yeah, right," I replied.
As I sat back down, I began thinking about the lady who helped us earlier. During our conversation at the salon, she had made a mistake. Now I wondered if she had done it on purpose. Maybe she was trying to protect the customers from something worse. The thought stayed in my mind.
Suddenly, a phone rang.
Isaiah reached for his phone on the table and answered it.
"Yeah, I heard the news. Ezekiel is right here with me. He is fine, don't worry," Isaiah said during the video call.
He turned the phone toward me.
Mrs. Harris appeared on the screen, her face full of concern. "Such a poor kid. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me, Mrs. Harris," I said, giving a small wave.
"Can you stay longer in Isaiah's apartment? Do you have enough food in there?" Mr. Harris asked through the call.
"Yeah, we have food here, Dad. Don't worry. I'm going to hang up now," Isaiah replied, holding the phone steady.
"They're really worried about you," Isaiah said.
"I'm really grateful to you and your parents. At least I'm not lonely," I replied, smiling softly.
"Of course. We are family now," Isaiah said while placing his phone down. He stood up and stretched. "I'll prepare our food."
I nodded and watched him walk toward the kitchen.