The facility's assembly hall was full.
Not with cheers. Not with music. Just rows and rows of gray chairs and grayer expressions.
Hundreds of agents from other Units sat shoulder-to-shoulder, whispers fluttering through the air like moths. Above them, a massive projection screen displayed only one word:
MISSION BRIEFING
Max sat at a circular table near the front, surrounded by seven other figures — Unit Twelve. They were unmistakable.
No one else had a red-lined table. Or a red door entrance. Or cursed by Pure Vices.
Loyalty stepped up onto the platform at the front of the hall.
Her white hair glowed under the overhead lights, her voice crisp and calm.
"You've all been chosen, she began, "because you're anomalies. Cursed by forces the world fears. Vices are spreading — faster than ever. This facility exists not only to contain that threat… but to neutralize it."
She raised her hand.
A holographic display flickered above her palm: a man with hollow eyes, hunched posture, and skin that looked sallow and dry.
"This week's target is a B-Class corrupted anomaly infected by the Vice of Addiction. He's caused five civilian disappearances and at least two known deaths."
The screen shifted to a map.
"The location is isolated. Small town outskirts. High chance of public exposure. Three of you will be deployed."
Loyalty's gaze swept over the crowd.
And then landed on Unit Twelve.
She looked directly at Max.
Then Kaz.
Then Rika.
The rest of the room turned to stare.
"You three have been selected," Loyalty announced. "Gear up."
Later that day — In the Car.
The car was quiet.
Too quiet.
The driver had an emotionless expression like he did this a hundred times.
Kaz sat in the front passenger seat, hoodie up, arms crossed, jaw tight.
Max sat in the back, watching the trees blur past. Rika was beside him, earbuds in but not playing anything.
"You'd think they'd send more than three of us," Max muttered.
"They trust us," Kaz said dryly.
"No. They're testing us," Rika said. "This isn't a mission. It's an experiment."
Kaz didn't respond.
Neither did Max.
The silence stretched again until Max finally spoke. "You okay, Kaz?"
Kaz snorted. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Max stared at the back of his head. "You've been clenching your fists since we left."
"I'm ready," Kaz said, turning his head slightly. "Just don't get in my way."
Rika rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"
Max looked out the window. The green flame inside him stirred faintly.
Something about this mission didn't feel right.
They arrived at the mission site.
It was a ruined church.
They pushed open the warped doors, stepping into the hollow remains of the church. The air inside was carrying the smell of rot and dust.
Broken pews lay scattered across the floor, and faint light filtered through cracked stained glass, painting the room in warped colors.
At the altar stood a man — or what was left of one — his skin pale and veins pulsing with some black fluid, his eyes glassy with hunger.
As the three stepped inside, the air changed.
It was heavy. Thick with something Max couldn't describe — like desperation made solid.
Kaz cracked his knuckles.
"I'll handle it."
"Wait," Rika said, narrowing her eyes. "Don't just rush—"
Too late.
Kaz leapt forward, flames exploding from his fists as he closed the gap in an instant. He struck the cursed man hard — the impact shook the walls. The target screamed, convulsing, but didn't fall.
Instead, he grew larger.
Veins swelled grotesquely. Limbs cracked and elongated. A shriek burst from his lungs — not pain, but craving.
"Kaz, fall back!" Max shouted.
But Kaz didn't. His eyes were wild — pupils thin, fire flaring out of control.
Every punch was faster, harder, angrier.
His fire flared brighter. Wilder. His arms were trembling with fury.
He wasn't holding back.
He was overdosing on his own Vice.
Rika cursed and summoned her ability — her aura shifted, and two clones of herself appeared, rushing forward to intercept the monster's swings.
But Kaz was in the way.
The corrupted man swung wildly, and Kaz took a hit square in the ribs — but didn't stop.
"Kaz!" Max ran forward, flame crackling at his fingertips.
"I've got this!" Kaz yelled. His eyes were wide. Unfocused.
Max's instincts kicked in.
This wasn't bravery. This was bloodlust.
"Get out of my way!" Kaz screamed and swung at Max.
The punch grazed Max's cheek — and he felt it burn.
Max stumbled back. The green fire in his chest exploded outward.
"Enough!" he shouted, green flame erupting around his arms. The monster roared — but Max wasn't aiming at it.
He launched forward and tackled Kaz, slamming him against the church wall.
Kaz fought back. Hard.
Fire met fire.
Kaz's punches came fast and brutal — but Max blocked them. Not all, but enough.
The flame inside him didn't scream this time. It flowed — angry, but focused.
He countered one of Kaz's swings and blasted green fire into his side, sending him crashing to the ground.
Kaz groaned, the fire finally flickering out from his hands.
"I said stop," Max panted, his fists still glowing.
Rika stepped beside them, illusions surrounding the monster, keeping it disoriented.
"Max," she said, nodding, "finish it."
Max stepped forward with he's eyes flickering green.
The cursed person charged again, lurching erratically — movements twitchy and unpredictable. Its arms stretched unnaturally, clawed hands swiping in crooked arcs.
Max didn't flinch.
His breath slowed.
Focus. Don't freeze.
He dashed forward, lowering his stance as one of the monster's clawed arms slashed toward his head.
He ducked.
The second arm came swinging low — he twisted sideways, skidding beneath it, sparks flying as the claws grazed the concrete.
The cursed person hissed.
Max was already in its face.
The flame in his chest surged — green flickers trailing behind him.
His hand ignited.
The cursed person snapped its jaw at him, shrieking, but Max slammed a flaming fist into its chin — sending it stumbling back, twitching.
He pressed the attack.
Another dodge. Another flame-coated punch.
He ducked under a wild swipe, grabbed the creature by the shoulder — and with a shout, ignited his entire arm, using the momentum to spin and slam his elbow into its side, launching it through the wall of the church — sending it on the street outside.
Max stepped out onto the street — his eyes were a dark of green.
The monster screamed, its body glitching in and out of stability, its Vice energy going haywire.
Max ran — fire trailing behind him like a comet.
The cursed person lunged again, mouth open, crackling with hunger and madness.
Max slid under its arm and leapt.
"Burn."
He drove his flaming palm straight into its chest, a green inferno exploded from the inside out.
The scream didn't last long.
And when the flame vanished, only ash remained.
Then:
Silence.
Max stood there, panting. His arms were scorched, his jacket torn. His right hand was still smoking, the green fire flickering out dimly in his eyes.
Rika helped Kaz to his feet.
They both stared at Max.
He looked back, face unreadable.
"...It's done," he muttered.
Rika's voice came quiet. "You moved like someone who's done this before."
Max didn't answer.
But deep inside him… the flame pulsed.
Not out of rage.
Not out of control.
But something new.
Something he couldn't describe.
After that Mission, they rode back in silence.
Kaz sat slumped in the front, bruised and silent.
Rika stared out the window, arms folded.
Max leaned his head back.
When they returned to the facility, they didn't go straight to the dorms.
Instead, they were told to change into clean uniforms and report to the central atrium — a massive hall with high glass ceilings and marble floors, normally sealed off.
Now, it was full.
Dozens of Virtues in uniform lined the perimeter — researchers, handlers, agents, soldiers.
And at the center: a large elevated platform, where Loyalty stood with a mic in hand.
"All Units," her voice echoed, "we have received confirmation that the cursed victim of the Vice of Addiction has been purged."
Muted applause followed. Some respectful, some disinterested.
"But we've also confirmed something else…"
She paused.
Then slowly, she turned her head toward a single table — set off from the rest.
Eight teenagers sat there.
Max. Kaz. Rika. Ava. Mira. Renji. Samira. Noel.
Unit Twelve.
Loyalty's expression was unreadable — but her gaze lingered on Max longer than the others.
He didn't blink.
She stepped closer to the mic. "Those cursed teenagers — no, those weapons — are beginning to adapt. Their power – stronger. Their control — deeper. For better or worse… remains to be seen."
No one clapped.
Max leaned back in his seat, jaw tense.
Ava nudged his foot under the table.
"She just called us weapons again," she muttered.
Max didn't respond.
But the green flicker returned in his eyes, just for a moment.
He was starting to understand.
They weren't trying to save them.
They were waiting to see who breaks first.
[End of Arc I: Weaponization Arc]