Klein's bloodied hand clutched Alex's ankle like a vice, his nails digging in with the last strength his battered body could muster.
"H–help me… please," he whispered, his voice breaking with desperation. His lips quivered, and though his eyes were dulling, a faint spark of will lingered in them.
Alex froze, staring down at him. "What do you want me to do for you?" His tone was flat, as though he already knew the answer.
"I–I don't want to die yet…" Klein rasped, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes, mixing with the blood caked on his face.
Alex's brows knitted together. He clenched his fists. "…I'm not a god. I can't save you." His words were cold, detached. He tried to step back, but Klein's grip tightened.
"What the hell do you want?" Alex hissed, his voice carrying louder than he meant.
The sound made several of the monsters stir. Their countless eyes twitched and swiveled toward the noise. Though they had no sight, their long ears twitched, honing in.
Klein coughed violently, blackened blood bubbling from his mouth. His voice was shaky but urgent: "B–be careful… they can't see… but they hear everything. Even a whisper."
He gagged again, his whole body convulsing. "We… we acted like fools. We didn't think. And now… they're all gone. I don't… I don't want to join them. Please, I beg you…"
Alex's chest tightened, but he forced his face into a mask of indifference. "I told you—I'm no god."
Still, Klein would not let go. His hand shook, his knuckles white, but he held Alex like a drowning man clinging to driftwood. "I don't care how you do it… just… don't let me die like this."
The words were barely out of his mouth before he coughed another spray of blood, the wet splatter echoing too loudly in the ruined hall. The monsters' heads snapped in their direction instantly.
"Damn it," Alex growled under his breath. Without thinking, he grabbed Klein and hauled him onto his back, sprinting deeper into the shadows. The monsters lurched toward the sound, their grotesque limbs scraping along the floor, but Alex's speed carried them just out of reach.
Once he found a corner far enough from the immediate threat, Alex dropped Klein gently to the ground. His breath was ragged as he glanced back. That was too close.
Raphael crouched beside Klein, his face pale with worry. "Can't you do something? Anything?" he whispered.
Alex shook his head. "I can't."
"Yes, you can!" Raphael hissed, his voice low but fierce. "You can do for him what was done for me. You can turn him into—"
Alex's eyes flashed with irritation. "That wasn't me. That was Arthur. I don't even know if it'll work again."
"But we can try," Raphael pressed, his voice desperate. "If he survives, he'll be bound to you. He'll fight for you. Isn't that worth it?"
Alex hesitated, staring at Klein's blood-soaked body. His jaw tightened.
"Your friend is right," Arthur's voice slithered into his mind, smug and unhurried. "In fact, I like this idea. But…" his tone darkened, "this will be the last time. I don't have the energy to waste on every pitiful human you drag in front of me."
Alex gritted his teeth. 'I don't want this. I don't need another one. I'm content with just him.' His gaze flicked to Raphael.
"No one's asking you to keep a crowd," Arthur replied smoothly. "But mark my words—in the future, you'll need them. And when that time comes, you'll wish you had more than one servant. Anyway, I'm not giving you a choice."
"Wait—!" Alex tried, but his body seized. His eyes slid shut, his head slumped forward.
When they opened again, it was not Alex's gaze but Arthur's. A smirk tugged at his lips as he looked down at Klein.
"This won't please your precious master," Arthur said to Raphael without looking at him, "but he'll come around."
Raphael frowned. "Am I… am I also just a servant to him?" His voice cracked with unease.
Arthur shrugged. "I don't know. That's his decision, not mine." He turned fully toward Klein. "Now then…"
Raphael looked away, his chest tightening. The thought of being just a tool made bile rise in his throat, but he stayed silent.
Arthur crouched, placing a hand on Klein's forehead. His eyes glowed faintly red. "This choice was yours. Once you cross this line, there's no turning back. Your life, your death, your will—they'll no longer be yours. Do you accept this?"
"I… do…" Klein whispered, his voice trembling.
"Good."
A searing light flared in Arthur's palm, seeping into Klein's skull. At once, Klein convulsed violently, a scream tearing from his throat so loud it shook the broken walls. His back arched unnaturally, his veins bulging black beneath his skin as his body writhed in agony.
The sound was like a dinner bell to the monsters. Their ears twitched, their grotesque heads snapping toward the cry. One by one, they began to crawl, shuffle, and gallop toward the sound.
"Damn it, they're coming!" Raphael drew his claws, standing between Arthur and the encroaching horde.
The first monster lunged. "Stop!" Raphael shouted, and for a moment, the creature froze mid-stride, trembling. Raphael's eyes blazed. "Blow up!"
The monster's torso burst apart in a wet explosion of gore.
Arthur smirked. "Not bad."
But Raphael barely had time to breathe before another rushed him, swinging its massive claw. He dodged frantically, but the thing pressed him relentlessly, giving him no chance to retaliate.
"Stop!" Raphael roared again. The beast shuddered to a halt—but seconds later, it snapped free of the command and slashed again.
'I don't understand how this works!' Raphael thought in panic, barely rolling aside as the claw gouged the floor.
Arthur's voice drifted lazily. "You're untrained. You don't control the power—it controls you. But… you're amusing to watch."
One monster broke away from the pack, charging toward Arthur himself.
"Hey!" Arthur snapped, irritation flashing across his face. "That's your job, boy!"
Raphael hissed and bolted after it. "Blow up!" he screamed, detonating the creature's arms. For a moment, it staggered—then, to Raphael's horror, two more limbs sprouted from its shoulders, fresh and slick with gore.
"What the hell?!"
The monster was nearly upon Arthur when Arthur casually lifted his hand. A pale beam of energy swelled in his palm, humming with lethal power. "Die," he whispered.
The beam fired, faster than lightning. It tore through the monster's chest, and in an instant the creature exploded into a storm of blood and shredded flesh.
Raphael froze, his eyes wide. "…He's… terrifying…"
Arthur dusted off his hand, unconcerned. "I've made enough noise to stir the whole nest. Kid, you'd better be ready."
The ground shook as every monster in the hall turned toward them, their grotesque forms converging from every corner.
Raphael's heart hammered. "Then teach me—teach me how to use this power properly!"
Arthur's eyes gleamed faintly red. "Fine. Focus on the energy inside you. Guide it. Imagine it flowing from your chest, down your arms, and out through your palms. Will it into reality."
"Got it!" Raphael nodded and closed his eyes, forcing himself to concentrate. He could feel it—an electric pulse thrumming in his veins. He gathered it, dragging it to his arms, his hands…
But he never saw the shadow creeping behind him.
"Behind you!" Arthur shouted, but it was too late.
The monster's jagged limb punched clean through Raphael's back, bursting out his chest in a spray of blood. He gasped, his eyes wide in shock, the gathered energy slipping from his control.
He tried to summon it again, to explode the creature, but the beast wrenched its arm free, tearing a ragged hole through his torso. Raphael collapsed, choking on blood.
"Damn it!" Arthur snarled—but his voice faltered. His eyes flickered. "…What? My energy—" His words cut off as Alex's body slumped forward. Arthur's grip vanished.
When the eyes opened again, they burned a different red.
Alex's.
He caught Raphael before he hit the ground. His arms shook with rage as the monster loomed behind him, raising its claws to strike again.
The moment it touched Alex, the air grew heavy. His eyes glowed like fire, and the monster froze. Its body trembled violently, as though realizing the predator it had awoken.
"Die," Alex whispered. His voice was calm. Too calm.
The monster's arm began to rot instantly where it touched him, the decay spreading like wildfire. The flesh blackened, peeled, and melted. It shrieked, thrashing, but it could not pull away.
The rot spread faster—up the arm, across its torso, devouring it whole. The creature's scream became a high-pitched wail before its voice cut off entirely as its body collapsed into dust and gore.