He moved—
Without thinking.
On four legs.
Faster than sound.
The ground shattered beneath each step — CRACK, CRACK, CRACK — sending jagged fissures spiderwebbing across the corrupted earth.
Dust and debris erupted in his wake like a trailing shockwave. Hiro launched forward, his body cutting through the heavy air with a low whine of displaced pressure.
Within seconds — no, heartbeats , he closed the gap. Appearing mere meters from the charging horde of Corrupted.
They were monstrous.
Ape-like. But wrong. So wrong.
Their limbs bent at angles that shouldn't exist — elbows reversed, fingers elongated into jagged claws, spines curved like question marks. Their gray skin wasn't just cracked; it was splitting, revealing raw muscle and pulsing veins beneath. And those veins glowed with purple corruption — a sick, radioactive light that thrummed with each beat of their twisted hearts.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Jagged crystals jutted from their empty eye sockets — not grown, but forced , pushing out from inside their skulls. The crystals hummed with unstable energy, occasionally sparking purple arcs that made the air hiss.
The presence alone was suffocating.
The air felt thick. Heavy. As if the Corrupted were exhaling something invisible — a pressure that pressed against Hiro's fur, against his lungs, against his mind.
But the smell was worse.
So much worse.
Imagine a landfill on fire. Now imagine that fire burning over a mass grave. Now add something sweet underneath — rotting flowers, maybe, or spoiled honey — that somehow made the stench more nauseating. That was the Corrupted. A cocktail of decay, chemical rot, and old death.
And with Hiro's enhanced senses?
It hit him like a physical wall.
His nose burned. His eyes watered. For a split second, his stomach lurched —
But he held.
"…So these are the Corrupted," Hiro said, his voice echoing inside Yurei's mind. Calm. Curious. Almost clinical.
Unlike the Abyssals which carried an otherworldly, almost elegant wrongness — these creatures reflected what they used to be. Creatures of old Earth. Before the Collapse. Before everything fell.
"Yes," Yurei replied from his back. Her small claws gripped his fur so tightly it burned. He could feel her body trembling — not from fear, but from focus. "Mutated remnants of life."
A pause.
Then softer — her voice dropping to something almost fragile: "Just like the Wastelands. We couldn't save any of them."
Another pause. Heavier this time.
"So our only option is to destroy them. They are a similar threat as the Abyssals."
Hiro stared at the creatures.
And for a moment — just a flicker — something tugged at his chest.
These poor creatures…
He remembered the old records. The stories. Creatures like these had once been wolves. Bears. Apes. Ordinary animals, living ordinary lives.
What happened to you?
But then his mindset shifted — sharp and cold, like a blade snapping into place.
No.
They are no longer residents of Earth.
They are prey.
And all prey must die.
Then—
He moved.
Not thought. Not planning. Instinct. Pure, primal instinct flooding his veins like liquid fire. As if he'd done this a thousand times before. As if his body remembered what his mind hadn't yet learned.
The world slowed.
He could see everything — the drip of purple saliva from a Corrupted's fangs, the twitch of their clawed fingers, the pulse of the crystals in their skulls. He could hear their gurgling breaths, their clicking joints, the wet squelch of their muscles contracting.
His left claw ignited.
Aether bloomed — bright white, then deep blue, then searing silver — wrapping around his talons like a second skin. The heat was intense enough to make the air shimmer. Droplets of moisture on his fur hissed into steam.
Then—
*Slash!!!
---
A few kilometers away.
The others who had stayed behind.
The armored jeep's engine ticked as it cooled. Dust swirled lazily in the dry wind. In the distance, the sky had turned purple — the same sick color as the corruption veins.
"The power of an S-Class Spirit Type is something else, ain't it?" Marian said, leaning lazily against the jeep's side. The metal creaked under her weight. She popped her neck — crack — and grinned.
"Maybe…" Daisy's voice was softer now. Reverting to how she normally spoke. No accent. No act. Just… her. "Maybe with it, we can finally have hope." She paused, staring at the distant horizon. "Making the Captain's dream come true."
"Yeah… you guys are right." Bailey crossed her arms. Her fingers tapped nervously against her elbow. "We might have a chance. But…"
She trailed off.
"I'm still concerned."
Marian grinned, teasing. "Our dear Vice-Captain. Worrying about everything, as usual."
Daisy ignored her. Turned. "What's got you concerned, Bailey?"
Bailey's gaze stayed fixed on that distant purple sky.
"I doubt the other princesses will allow her to keep such a powerful weapon by her side."
Silence.
Even Marian's grin faded.
Back on the battlefield—
A four-pointed arc tore through the air.
Silent at first.
Then—
BOOM.
The Corrupted in front?
Exploded.
Flesh. Bone. Purple blood. Crystals. Everything shredded instantly — vaporized, scattered, gone. The shockwave rippled outward, sending nearby Corrupted stumbling backward. Dust billowed. The ground trembled.
Yurei's eyes widened.
Did he just… learn another skill? On his second transformation?
She remembered the flames he'd summoned against the Class 5 Abyssal spider. The way they'd screamed through the web, how the heat had made her fur curl. But this—
This was different.
Faster. Sharper. More instinctual.
"…What power…" Yurei whispered.
Is this the power of an S-Class Spirit Type? Or just… his natural talent?
Hiro's lips curled into a grin. Sharp. Predatory. Satisfied.
"I think I will call that…" His voice dripped with dark amusement. "…Severing Claw."
---
Then he vanished.
A burst of wild, frantic movement — all instinct, no restraint. His body moved before his mind could catch up. Each landing sent another CRACK through the ground. Each leap tore a whirlwind of dust behind him.
And slowly… little by little…
Hiro stopped caring.
About the former lives of these creatures.
About Yurei's grip on his back.
About anything except the next kill.
What followed was slaughter.
Bodies flew. Limbs scattered like broken branches — thud, thud, thud as they hit the ground. Purple blood sprayed in arcs, painting the earth in sick colors. The ground became soaked — slick, warm, wet beneath his paws.
Unlike Abyssals, the Corrupted didn't dissolve.
They remained.
Broken. Mangled. Real. Eyes staring at nothing. Chests no longer rising.
But that didn't stop Hiro.
"More…" he muttered, his voice echoing — lower now, rougher, almost a growl.
Longinus Spear— Yurei shifted, about to enter her stance —
But Hiro's movements were too frantic. Too erratic. Too fast. She couldn't hold on. Couldn't aim. Couldn't even breathe without being jolted sideways.
"Hiro, are you still—"
She stopped.
A blood-red aura began emitting from Hiro's body.
Thick. Heavy. Hungry.
His fox grin widened — stretching too far, becoming deformed.
"More…"
His voice cracked.
"MORE…"
Twisted.
"MORE!!"
"MORE!!!"
"MORE!!!!"
His attacks became faster. More brutal. Less controlled.
Swipe.
Slash.
Rip.
Tear.
Crunch.
"It's already taking over…" Yurei gritted her teeth.
She knew what would happen if this continued.
Hiro's natural bloodlust — even sealed — was fueling his primal force.
---
Inside Hiro's mental mindscape:
An infinite ocean.
Dark. Deep. Endless.
The water was still — unnaturally still — reflecting a sky that didn't exist. Floating on that ocean — radiating an aura of royalty and mystery — was the crimson door.
Fortified with Yurei's chains.
They pulsed with silver light, holding firm.
But something was wrong.
From the other side—
Something pushed back.
Crack.
A single fracture appeared in the door's surface.
Then another.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
---
Back on the battlefield:
Chaos.
Bloodlust rising like a crimson tide.
And something inside Hiro…
Enjoyed it.
Too much.
*"HIRO!!!" *
A loud, sharp voice cutting through the red haze like a blade — resounded inside his head.
Everything stopped.
What tha—
For a split second, he froze.
Wondering what was going on. Where he was. Who he was.
And that was enough.
*BOOM!! *
A massive Corrupted Ape — easily three times his size, muscles bulging, crystals screaming with purple light — slammed into him from the side.
Pain exploded across his ribs.
CRACK — something inside him broke.
The world spun — sky, ground, sky, ground, sky —
And then he was flying.
The wind roared in his ears. Yurei's scream faded behind him. And somewhere, deep inside, the crimson door pulsed.
Hungry.
Waiting.