— A pleasure to meet you, Adrian. I am Vilan Grog—
CLANG!
Adrian's body tore through the air like a bolt of absolute fury, his blade wrapped in a black aura that crackled with restrained thunder. The impact was direct, without hesitation, striking Vilan square in the chest.
But there was no blood.
Vilan's body wavered, flickering like solid smoke. Intangible. Corrupted by the very essence of his being. A specter made flesh — or what was left of it.
— Fast... — Vilan murmured, his voice echoing behind Adrian, now at his back. — But still limited.
Adrian spun instinctively, his fist coming like a meteor. The impact reverberated, cracking the concrete for dozens of meters. The ground exploded. The air vibrated. But Vilan had already vanished, reappearing meters away, floating atop a tower of rubble and bones.
Vilan watched him with delight. It was like witnessing a bloody symphony conducted by a furious maestro.
— Of all the Kill Monsters... I always wanted to meet the first to evolve to this level!
No sound escaped the mouth of Foster City's protector. He merely walked slowly over the corpses, his silhouette wrapped in shadows, the sword dripping with dark electric sparks. The sky roared with thunder. The wind howled as if the world itself mourned the battle.
— You fight as if your pain is your purpose. As if your fury is your strength. — Vilan descended, his feet softly touching the blood-soaked ground. — But the truth, Adrian, is that you're fighting against evolution.
He spread his arms.
— The system gave us everything. It shaped us, raised us, purified us through massacre. We are the pinnacle of humanity. The new top of the chain. Kill Monsters weren't made to protect... but to rule.
Adrian remained still. But his gaze was locked on Vilan with murderous intensity.
— You still cling to old concepts... faith... redemption... city...
Vilan took a step forward.
— They no longer matter. Humanity has lost. The new era demands monsters to lead it... or destroy it.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
And then... Adrian moved.
Faster than sound, his blade sliced the air, creating a vacuum of energy that exploded upon impact with Vilan. The ground gave way, towers collapsed, shockwaves swept through entire neighborhoods. Every blow was an earthquake. Every defense, a storm.
But Vilan didn't retreat.
He danced among the attacks like a weightless shadow, dodging, reappearing, attacking with blasts of purple energy. Every time his palm touched something, it died. The ground rotted. The air burned. Reality twisted.
— You're hesitating, Adrian — he said, now floating above an abyss carved by the battle itself. His eyes, red as death, stared at his enemy with tranquility. — There's something in you... trapped.
Adrian stopped.
His chest heaved. The sword wavered.
For a second... just one second... he was human.
And the past exploded in his mind.
FLASHBACK
His daughter's laughter, running among the flowers.Melisa, smiling in the field, her soft voice saying "let's go home, love."The sunset over Foster City. The warmth of a home.
Explosions.Screams.Fire.
The flag of Foster City, torn, burning.Melisa in his arms. Cold. Lifeless.His daughter taken by invisible hands as she screamed "daddy!"The city collapsing. Hope dying.
The sound of prayers in the church.The cross breaking on the altar.Stains of blood.
Back...
— I never thought I'd use... my Persona again...
Adrian's voice came out as a hoarse echo, heavy. His body trembled. But not from fear.
From release.
His eyes rose. The fury was no longer fire — it was lava.
— May sanity... not abandon me...
The earth groaned. The air became heavy like lead.
— Because...
The concrete around him collapsed. The pressure increased like a nightmare gaining form.
— ...I'm going to unleash...
The band on his forehead began to vibrate. The letters pulsed. The mark of 1,599,205 deaths seemed to scream.
— ...THE BEAST.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The ground exploded into a thousand pieces. Waves of energy shot out in all directions. Buildings disintegrated. Glass turned to dust. The wind vanished. The world went silent.
The band fell to the ground, splitting in two.
[KILL MONSTER UNLOCKED: "PERSONA — THE BEAST"]
From the dust and destruction, something emerged that was no longer human.
Adrian. Or... the thing he had hidden all these years.
The black aura was now red and alive. Vibrant. Made of hatred, loss, pain... and instinct.
His eyes, black, carried pupils of burning ember.His veins glowed like electrical wires.Claws replaced his fingers.The roar that escaped his throat silenced even the thunder.
Vilan smiled.
The number 1,602,322 shone like a living curse. His body was covered in a grotesque black armor, organic, pulsating, as if forged in hell. In his hand, a colossal scythe appeared with a crack, made of bone and darkness.
— There you are...