Chapter 9: You're nothing...

Shin's flames burned brighter than any light in the room, casting long, twisting shadows across the walls. The air was thick with heat, but the cold fury in his voice was suffocating. The dim purple glow wrapped around him like an omen of death.

"I'm done," Shin said, his voice flat, void of any emotion except exhaustion and disgust. His gaze locked onto the leader. "Julius, right? Tell me… besides doing whatever the hell you wanted, did you enjoy it? Did you have fun killing people?"

Julius stiffened. His lips parted, but no words came out at first. Then, forcing a nervous chuckle, he straightened his posture. "I—Kay was weak. He was nothing. Just because you killed him doesn't mean you can kill us! Y-Yeah, that's right!" His voice wavered despite his attempt at bravado.

Shin didn't react. He simply stared.

Julius' body tensed. His breath became shallow. Something was wrong.

The longer Shin's gaze lingered, the more the world around Julius seemed to disappear. The room faded into darkness, cold and endless. It felt like he had been dropped into the depths of a vast, inescapable ocean. He couldn't see it, but something was circling him—something huge, something that saw him as nothing more than prey.

No matter how far apart they were, Julius felt it.

He wasn't safe.

And he realized, in that moment, that nothing he could say or do would change that.

Then, laughter shattered the tense silence. It started as a low chuckle from Shao, then Heids, then Ceasar—before it grew into something unhinged, a chorus of hysteria that echoed through the bloodstained room.

"Finally… a real monster," Heids exhaled, his voice trembling—not with fear, but with pure exhilaration. His usual cold, calculative demeanor shattered as his lips curled into a wide, manic grin. His fingers flexed, eager, twitching like a starving animal about to pounce. "Do you have any idea how long it's been since I found something worth killing? I can already picture it… your body torn open, your insides spilling out, and I won't even have to waste time breaking your defenses. Straight to the soft parts." He let out a breathy chuckle. "Just how I like it."

Ceasar cracked his knuckles, the sheer force sending tremors through the floor. His grin was toothy, predatory, eyes gleaming with sick delight. "I want to hear it. That first snap when your bones give in. That moment of realization, when all that strength of yours means nothing. I'll take my time with you… Let's see how much pressure it takes to turn you into a pile of broken meat."

Shao leaned lazily against a table, swirling the wine in her glass, watching Shin like a cat playing with its prey. "Mmm… such a shame," she mused, taking a slow sip, letting the rich liquid coat her tongue. "A body like yours wasted on something so fleeting as death. I could've made better use of you… could've kept you in one piece for a while." She tilted her head, smiling as the temperature around her plummeted, ice crackling along the floor. "But don't worry—I'll make sure your corpse is beautiful. Frozen in agony, forever."

The air was thick, oppressive. Not just with killing intent, but something worse—something rabid, hungry.

Shin let out a slow, exaggerated sigh. "Yuck. So you'd turn me into a sex slave? That's… disgusting." He glanced at Shao like she was a rotting piece of meat. "You women need to be locked up. Preferably underground. Forever." Then he shifted his gaze to the other two. "And you two? I dunno… I'll just kill you. You know—" He lazily twirled a finger near his head. "Koo-koo."

Heids let out a sharp, unhinged laugh. "You think you can kill me?! ME?!" He slammed a fist against his own chest, grinning wildly. "Oh no, no, NO! I'm going to rip you open, string your guts across the walls, and squeeze what's left of your lungs until they pop like wet paper!"

Shin blinked. "Yeah. That's not normal."

Shao smirked, swirling the wine in her glass as she shamelessly looked him up and down. "You know, I like you. What's your name?"

"It doesn't matter," Ceasar cut in, cracking his knuckles. "He's about to be a pile of broken bones."

Shin exhaled through his nose, unimpressed. "First, you're a creep." He pointed at Shao. "Second, the name's Shin." He looked at all of them, voice flat.

"And third? Fuck all of you."

Suddenly, Heids lunged at Shin, his movements wild yet precise. His grin stretched unnaturally wide, eyes blazing with sadistic glee.

"AFTER I KILL YOU, I'LL GUT YOU LIKE A PIG—THEN GO FOR EVERYONE YOU LOVE!"

His fist connected.

Shin barely had time to register the hit before the force sent him rocketing through the air, crashing through the debris like a ragdoll. The sound of breaking wood and metal screeched through the room.

Heids let out a sharp, breathless laugh, his body trembling with exhilaration. He stalked forward, slow and deliberate, savoring every moment.

"I will savor this," he whispered, voice dripping with ecstasy. "First you. Then your family. No one has ever survived my attack—your defenses mean nothing to me." He cracked his knuckles, licking his lips. "Kay's bullet couldn't even scratch you, but my fists?" He spread his arms wide, basking in his own power. "They tear straight through."

Shao giggled behind the rim of her wine glass, lazily swirling the crimson liquid. "Oh my," she purred, tilting her head. "I had such high hopes for that one… but it seems he'll be nothing more than another shattered corpse on the floor." Her tongue flicked over her lips as she took a slow, indulgent sip. "Shame. I wanted a taste."

Ceasar stood beside her, arms crossed, watching the unfolding carnage with detached amusement. "It's always the same," he muttered, voice deep and bored. "They all end up the same. A pile of mashed-up meat."

The force of the blow sent Shin hurtling backward, his body ripping through concrete like wet paper. The wall caved in, chunks of stone crumbling as thick dust flooded the air. The impact alone should've shattered bones, left him crumpled, gasping, broken.

Heids was already moving, his silhouette vanishing into the debris cloud like a specter. There was no hesitation, no wasted motion—just the pure, predatory instinct of something that had done this a thousand times before.

Then— BANG.

A deep, sickening thud.

BANG.

Something cracked. The sound of flesh meeting flesh, bone grinding, something twisting unnaturally.

BANG.

A gust of force rippled outward, shaking the very foundation of the room. A thick splatter hit the ground, dark and wet.

Shao tilted her head, watching the dust settle with a look of mild disappointment. The wine in her glass barely rippled. "Hmph," she exhaled, almost bored. "How unfortunate… I wanted to see more of him before he was reduced to paste."

Ceasar ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply as his fingers twitched. "Fucking shame," he muttered. "Was hoping to drag it out, but whatever. He never stood a chance. They never do." His eyes flicked toward the wreckage. There was no movement. No sound. Just dust and the faint, acrid scent of blood seeping into the air.

The room felt hollow, empty in the way all fights did after the struggle ended. Shao took another slow sip of her wine, the faintest smirk tugging at her lips.

Another corpse. Another kill. Another waste.

And yet, something felt…off.

A thunderous boom tore through the air. Something heavy crashed down, skidding across the floor with a sickening crunch. Heids' broken body came to a stop at their feet, his abdomen a grotesque mess of caved-in flesh and pooling blood. His fingers twitched, struggling to grasp onto something—anything.

He spat blood onto the floor, coughing violently before forcing himself to breathe through the pain. His head spun, his body screamed—but what burned hotter than the agony was the sheer rage boiling inside him.

"…I'm Heids," he snarled, his voice raw, shaking. "And this is my end…?" His bloodshot eyes locked onto the wreckage where Shin stood. His teeth bared. "Tch... No. No, that bastard didn't kill me—he spared me."

May rushed to his side, hands already glowing as she pressed them against his gut. "What did he do to you?!" she barked, her voice sharp with frustration. The damage was brutal, organs damn near ruptured—but not completely. The wound was devastating, but calculated.

Heids let out a wheezing laugh, the realization making his stomach churn. "He held back." His lips curled into a snarl, his fists clenching despite the pain. "That son of a bitch thinks he can toy with me?!"

His body trembled—not from fear, but from sheer indignation. He was Heids, a force of destruction. He had slaughtered without mercy, broken people beyond recognition, reduced countless victims to nothing but red stains.

And now he was the one lying in the dirt, with that bastard looking down on him?

A deep, guttural growl rumbled in his throat. "I'm going to rip him apart."

Shao tilted her head, watching the scene unfold with amusement. "Oh? You're still breathing?" she mused, twirling the stem of her wine glass between her fingers. "How embarrassing."

Ceasar exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "You look like shit," he muttered. His expression remained neutral, but there was a flicker of something behind his eyes—a twisted sense of interest.

He let his gaze drift toward Shin.

"Maybe he's worth our time after all."

Shin stepped out from the crumbling debris, dust rolling off his shoulders like mist. His movements were unhurried, deliberate—unbothered.

The air inside the grand hall had turned leaden, suffocating. The crowd of rich, corrupt onlookers—those who had once laughed, drunk, and indulged in the suffering of others—stood petrified. Too terrified to scream. Too afraid to even breathe wrong.

Then—

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING THERE FOR?! JUMP HIM!"

Oliver, one of the event's so-called 'hosts,' shrieked, spit flying from his mouth in sheer panic. He turned to the guards, demanding—begging—someone to do something.

Before he could say another word, his jaw snapped shut. Frost spider-webbed across his lips, encasing his mouth in an unbreakable prison of ice.

A delicate chuckle filled the silence.

"Oh, darling," Shao purred, swirling the last of her wine in its glass. Her crimson-painted lips curled into a wicked grin. "We do our thing, you do yours." She gestured toward Shin with a lazy flick of her fingers, her voice dropping into something almost loving. "And this man? Oh, he's ours to enjoy."

She placed the empty glass down beside her, stretching like a cat preparing for a hunt.

"It's been so long since we've had a real monster to play with," she sighed, tilting her head as if admiring him. "One that could actually kill us if we don't take it seriously… Mmm." Her eyes darkened with something hungrier.

Shao's tongue flicked out, wetting her lips. "Although… such a shame I couldn't have my way with him first," she mused, tapping a finger against her cheek. Then, in a voice that dripped with something deeply wrong, she added, "But I suppose I can still keep him… preserve him, even." A giggle escaped her. "Freeze his body—keep that gorgeous face untouched…"

She let the sentence hang, as if savoring the sickening implications.

Ceasar rolled his shoulders, exhaling sharply. "Enough talking," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Let's see if he's worth breaking."

Heids, barely standing, let out a low, feral chuckle. His fingers flexed. His body ached with fury, but his ego screamed louder.

The mood shifted.

The onlookers shivered—not from the cold, but from the sheer, unbearable presence of the three monsters before them.

Shin exhaled sharply, the weight of Shao's words still clinging to his skin like filth. He rolled his shoulders, shaking off the uneasy chill that crawled up his spine.

"God… You're one fucked up woman," he muttered, voice laced with disgust. But it didn't linger. His expression hardened, composure snapping back into place like steel being reforged in fire.

His gaze swept over them, cold and unwavering.

"Before I kill you all," Shin began, voice cutting through the tension like a blade, "there's something I need to know."

The room tensed.

His presence became suffocating, like the air itself had thickened, pressing down on every living thing in its grasp.

"Are you the ones who killed a few people back then and took their weapons?" His voice was steady, but beneath it—there was something wrong. Something too quiet.

He let the words hang, before adding,

"The daggers. The ones with a rose engraved at the edge of the handle."

For the first time, there was hesitation. A pause.

Then, from the far side of the room—

Laughter.

Forced. Arrogant. Desperate.

"We are…!"

A voice cut through the tension, belonging to none other than Julius, the supposed 'leader' of this collection of monsters. His laugh rang out, hollow and strained, the edges of it betraying an underlying nervousness.

"Those daggers were beautifully crafted! We have them! Are you here for revenge?!" He grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Shin's expression remained unchanged.

"Is that so…" He took a slow step forward, his tone eerily measured. "And tell me…"

A single breath passed.

"…You put their heads on spikes. Didn't you?"

Julius' smile faltered.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Hard.

"…Yes," he admitted. "We did."

He straightened his posture, forcing himself to regain his confidence, his pride. His fear made way for defiance, his ego unable to accept submission.

"And you'll suffer the same fate as them!"

Julius sneered, masking uncertainty with bravado.

But Shin didn't react.

He only stared.

Unblinking.

Unmoving.

Silent.

And in that silence—something shifted.

It wasn't anger.

It wasn't rage.

It was worse.

It was the certainty of death itself.

"Do it then," Shin said, his voice steady. He wasn't flinching. Not even a muscle moved.

Julius's breath quickened, his hands trembling as he gathered every ounce of his power. The fear gnawing at him only fed his anger. Pride kept him standing. Pride kept him from backing down. He couldn't let this thing—this monster—walk away after everything.

"Shut up!" Julius snarled, and with a roar, he hurled himself forward, flames crackling from his body, his power radiating like a furnace.

"I'm going to burn you alive, just like I did to those people you care about!" His voice was hoarse with desperation, his face twisted with rage. "I'll make you feel every bit of it!"

The flames surged toward Shin, swallowing him in an inferno of searing heat. Julius laughed madly as the fire raged, imagining his enemy burning. It would be beautiful. The heat would melt him, consume him, reduce him to nothing.

But as the smoke cleared, Shin stood. Unscathed. Unmoved.

Julius's laughter faltered, and confusion flashed across his face. His eyes flicked to his own hand, still raised, still burning with power, and then back to Shin. The flames were gone.

"How…?" Julius whispered, his breath catching in his throat.

Shin hadn't even used ascendance to shield himself. He was just standing there, like he was waiting for Julius to make his next move.

The silence stretched, thick with the realization that nothing Julius had done mattered.

Before he could react, Shin's hand was around his throat, squeezing with a cold finality.

"Do you think you're the first to try something like that?" Shin's voice was so quiet it seemed dangerous, as if the calmness itself was the threat.

Julius kicked and clawed at Shin's hand, gasping for breath, but it was useless. The grip tightened. His chest burned, panic clawing at him as his pride withered in the face of Shin's power.

From her spot, Shao finally spoke up, her voice dripping with scorn. "Idiot. If he survived Kay's bullets and Heids' attack, which bypasses every defense…" She sighed, swirling her glass lazily, as if the struggle in front of her was some minor inconvenience. "What the hell made you think your fire would do anything?"

Julius' eyes widened, his fear now fully overtaking him. The reality that he had failed in the most spectacular way possible settled over him.

Shin's grip didn't loosen.

"Here's the deal. I'll throw you off the window which will only break some of your bones if you tell me the location of the daggers or I will kill you slowly and painfully." Julius can feel the crushing weigh of Shin's hand tightening around his neck.

If he didn't cooperate he will die like Kay. With a crushed neck. "I will... Please spare me..."

And so the people say...

When they're in their last moments. They will show who they are.

"So you'll let your teammates die? And everyone here? For the sake of your own life?" Shin tilt his head.

"YES! THEY DON'T MATTER TO ME!" Julius desperately said.

"Tell me. Where are the daggers?" Shin said.

"Oddesa have them! She carries our stuff..."

"Will... You let me go now...?" Julius swallowed nervously.

"You fool. He won't spare you." Shao laughed

"You're a pathetic leader." Followed up by Ceasar.

May yelled out in frustration, her voice tinged with disgust. "You selfish bastard!" Her hands glowed with healing energy as she desperately worked to patch up Heids, even as the situation spiraled out of control.

"What...?" Oddesa dropped in fear.

Julius smirked, but his expression faltered when Shin, cold and unyielding, spoke up.

"Like I promised. I'm throwing you out of the window."

Julius's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh thank God... Thank you..." he muttered, breathing a sigh of relief as he thought he'd narrowly escaped death.

Shin's eyes were sharp, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. "You'll break bones, alright?"

Julius nodded, relief flooding his veins. "Yes... yes... Thank you..."

Shin didn't hesitate. In one swift motion, he hurled Julius through the window. The shards of glass flew in every direction, slicing through the air as Julius's body tumbled down to the ground below.

But as he fell, his back slammed into a nearby tree with a sickening, audible crack. The force of the impact shattered his vertebrae, the spine snapping under the pressure. The sheer brutality of the blow left his body crumpled and motionless on the grass. For a brief moment, Julius lay still—breathing raggedly, barely clinging to life.

Then, in a flash, his body went limp. The damage was done; his spinal cord was severed, and with it, the life drained from him. His body was broken, and death was swift.

"Called it." Shao's smirk was razor-sharp, the satisfaction in her voice evident as she watched the leader fall.

May froze in place, her hands trembling as she tried to heal Heids' ruined stomach. Fear clamped down on her chest, making it harder to focus. "He's... he's going to wipe us all out..." she whispered. Her healing slowed.

A sharp slap snapped her back.

"Focus," Heids growled. Blood still dripped from his mouth, but his grin stretched wide. "Once I'm patched up, I'm going to rip his heart out."

A sick amusement flickered in his eyes. "He held back on me... That bastard." His breathing grew heavier, anticipation thick in his voice. "Let's see how his body reacts when I make his heart explode."

Shin tilted his head slightly, his gaze drifting to the corpse outside. Julius lay crumpled on the wet pavement, twisted and broken. His glassy eyes stared blankly upward, locked onto Shin, as if still watching. Rain poured over his lifeless face, making it look as though he was crying.

Shin exhaled slowly. His voice was quiet, almost indifferent.

"I lied."

Then his gaze snapped back to the room, locking onto the remaining enemies—May, Shao, Heids, Caesar, Odessa, and the rest of the rich bastards who hunted humans for sport.

The weight of death pressed on the air. None of them would leave this place alive.

The weight of death pressed on the air. None of them would leave this place alive.

Shin tilted his head, exhaling sharply. "This shit is so fucking repetitive."

Then his voice rose like a war cry. "COME AT ME! I'LL END THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW! All of you are the same—people doing whatever the hell they want just because you have the power to bend everything around you. It's fucking bullshit!"

Shao chuckled, her smirk widening as she studied him. "Then why don't you try? You can control everything, take everything, make them fear you. You could be worse than us, Shin." Her voice was smooth, like poison slipping into a wound.

Shin's fists clenched. His body tensed, but his eyes remained locked on her.

That was all the opening Ceasar needed.

He lunged. Shin barely had time to react before a heavy fist drove into his ribs. Pain rippled through his side. Ceasar was fast—faster than Shin expected. Another strike followed, slamming into his stomach with enough force to send him skidding back.

Shin caught his breath, rolling his shoulder. His body ached from the blows, but nothing was broken.

"That all you got?" He wiped a bit of blood from his lip and met Ceasar's gaze.

Unfortunately May already healed Heids. And so he started to attack as well.

Heids moved next. His ability ignored physical defenses, meaning every hit would dig deep. Shin knew it the moment Heids closed the distance and struck. A sharp, stabbing pain shot through his torso—not just on the surface, but inside. His organs twisted.

It hurt. But pain was nothing new.

Shin gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand firm. If they thought this was enough to bring him down, they were dead wrong.

He grabbed Heids' arm before the next strike could land. And in that instant, everything shifted.

Shin's grip tightened like a vice.

Ceasar moved to help, but Shin twisted, hurling Heids into him with bone-crushing force. Both of them crashed against the stone floor, dust and debris flying from the impact.

Shin exhaled, rolling his neck. "You hit hard. But I doesn't mean it will kill."

Ceasar and Heids rushed toward the frozen and vulnerable Shin, their murderous intent thick in the air. They wanted nothing more than to shatter his body, to see red bloom upon the cold ice.

"Finally... I'll get to see your blood," Heids grinned, his voice dripping with anticipation as he charged forward.

Ceasar followed suit, but then—something felt off.

The moment they moved closer, an unsettling sensation crawled over them. As if they had stepped into a vast, endless cave, shrouded in darkness. The air grew heavier, the space around them stretching unnaturally.

"Wait! Heids!" Ceasar came to an abrupt halt, his instincts screaming at him.

"We have him!" Heids snapped, his composure cracking under the weight of his anger. His overwhelming desire to kill, to tear Shin apart, blinded him to the ominous shift in the air. The man who humiliated him was right in front of him, frozen in place—helpless.

And yet... something was wrong.

Ceasar clenched his jaw, his senses sharpening. This wasn't right. Not at all.

"Heids... just wait..." he warned, his voice low and tense. His eyes flicked toward Shao. "Shao, hit him again. Freeze him one more time. Create another layer of ice. Make it thicker."

Shao arched a brow, an amused smirk playing on her lips. "Oh? Getting scared, Ceasar?"

Her tone was mocking, but her fingers twitched slightly. She wasn't an idiot. If Ceasar of all people was hesitating, there was a reason. And it made her all the more curious to see what would happen next.

Without another word, Shao reinforced the ice, layering it until it became a near-impenetrable prison around Shin. "You do realize," she mused, crossing her arms, "that my ice is a hundred times denser and harder than normal frozen ice, right?"

She glanced at Heids and Ceasar with an unimpressed smirk. "He tanked Heids' punch, which ignores all defenses. He shrugged off your attacks like they were nothing, Ceasar. But this? He's not getting out of this."

She ran a hand along the thick ice, her fingers glowing with a faint frost. "So here's the deal—I'll soften the ice just enough for you two to damage him. My ice will weaken his flesh, making him easier to break." Her tone was firm, laced with condescension. "That is, if you two don't screw it up again."

Ceasar clenched his fists, but Shao ignored him. Instead, she added, "Get into position first. If you two can break my ice when I soften it, then so can he. And we all know what happens if he does." Her smirk deepened, cutting into their pride.

"He can kill us one-on-one. But he won't when he's up against all of us."

The two got into position. Ceasar still couldn't shake the bad feeling crawling up his spine, but he pushed it aside.

He stood in front of the bastard who tore through them like it was nothing. Shin was locked in solid ice, two thick layers trapping him in place.

Ceasar exhaled through his nose, fists clenching. "You're the strongest bastard we've ever fought… probably the strongest we ever will."

He narrowed his eyes. "I fucking hate you. I want to tear you apart piece by piece for what you did." His voice was steady, but there was no denying the anger boiling under it.

"But I'll admit it—you're a threat. You humiliated us, crushed us. But that ends here." He raised his fist, locking onto Shin like a hunter about to take its kill.

"We're not letting you walk away from this."

Before Ceasar could strike, Heids shoved him back.

"I should be the one to kill him. Step aside," He growled.

Ceasar clicked his tongue, glaring. "Stop being a fucking egoistic idiot. Yeah, your hits ignore defenses, but you don't have the strength to break through all this ice. What are you gonna do? Punch the surface and hope it fucks him up inside?"

Heids scowled. "And what? You think your brute strength is gonna do better?"

Ceasar grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back. "I know it will. I can shatter this whole damn thing in one go. You? You'd just soften him up. I don't soften people up—I end them."

Shao sighed, crossing her arms. The smugness in her tone was gone, replaced with cold logic.

"He's right, Heids. You're dangerous, but this bastard is built for destruction. Let Ceasar handle it."

A sound they hadn't expected cut through the air—a sharp, splintering crack.

"No fucking way... I haven't even softened the ice yet," Shao muttered, her eye twitching as a deep frown settled on her face.

Ceasar took a step back. Heids did the same.

Another crack. Then another. The ice groaned as it began to split apart. Shin's eyes shifted beneath the frozen layers, locking onto them.

The ice shattered. Exploded. Shin dropped to the ground, his body steaming from the cold. He stood up, arms wrapped around himself, shivering slightly.

"Do you people have ANY idea... how fucking RUDE it is to freeze a guy who was already freezing?" he snapped, his teeth almost chattering.

The tension in the air thickened, but Shin wasn't done. He exhaled sharply, shaking off the frost, his eyes burning with something far worse than anger—pure, unfiltered annoyance.

"I swear on my brother's life, I will burn this entire place to the fucking ground," he muttered, his voice low, deliberate. Yet, despite the deadly promise, his expression was more irritated than murderous—like he was personally offended by the inconvenience of being frozen.

He cracked his neck, stretching out his arms. "Now... which one of you assholes is getting it first?"

Heids grinned and lunged without thinking. "Your blood is mine—"

His fist was inches from Shin's chest, a strike that could rupture his heart in an instant.

Then—CRACK.

A fist collided with his skull, the force so violent it sent him crashing onto the shattered ice. A jagged shard speared through his stomach, pinning him in place like a discarded doll.

Shin lowered his fist. "Just because you have a strong ability doesn't mean shit if you fight like an idiot." His eyes bore into Heids' trembling form. "Now bleed out and die quietly."

"Heids! You reckless—" Ceasar swallowed hard, fists clenching. His glare met Shin's.

Shin pointed at him. "You have honor. Tell me, do you actually like how your group works for these bastards?"

Ceasar hesitated for a second. That was all Shin needed.

His fist tore through Ceasar's torso like paper.

"I'm sorry," Shin muttered, pulling his hand free as Ceasar staggered. "You worked for the wrong people. Got too many innocent people killed."

Ceasar collapsed. No time for last words.

Shin wasn't waiting anymore. No debates. No drawn-out speeches about right and wrong. Just cold, efficient elimination.

Shin looked at Shao. "Now you... You creep me out." He kicked Shao in the stomach.

"I don't give a single fuck if you're a woman." Shao gasped for air, nearly vomiting from the impact.

The others scrambled in panic, desperately trying to escape through the only door. Some even attempted to jump out of the window where Julius had been thrown.

Before they could reach it—

Shin tore a pillar from the ballroom and hurled it at those trying to flee through the window. Their bodies crushed instantly, flesh shattering into an unrecognizable mess.

He turned his gaze to the survivors. "I already promised that I would kill you all. So go ahead—run. Try to escape. But know this: I will hunt you for the rest of your miserable lives. And I will only stop when either I or every last one of you is dead."

Without hesitation, Shin uprooted another pillar from the ground—this time, instead of throwing it, he slammed it into the floor with a deafening crash. The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the marble, the ground trembling under its sheer force. A warning. A declaration. There was no escape.

As he walked past Shao, May stood frozen in place.

"I should kill you too... But no."

Instead, he turned his attention to the only one Julius had mentioned—

Oddesa collapsed onto her knees, tears spilling down her face. "Please... I... I..."

Shin crouched down, pressing his palm against her chest. The purple flames engulfed her—but instead of pain, she felt warmth.

"What...?" Her eyes widened in shock.

"Give me the knives with the rose on the edge," Shin ordered, his voice calm. He was reading her soul.

"You're the only one who showed concern for that mother when your team shot off her toe… And I'm correct. There's not a single stain of blood on your soul."

He met her gaze. "Tell me... Why did you choose to stay with these people?"

Oddesa stuttered. "I... I couldn't do anything about it... If I left, they would have killed me..." She sobbed harder.

Out of fear and anger, May screamed. "YOU—"

"Yell one more time, and I'll make your death painful." Shin's cold words cut through the air, instantly silencing her.

His attention returned to Oddesa. "Now, where were we?" He sat in front of her, his expression unreadable.

"I won't hurt you. I don't kill innocent people." His voice softened just slightly. "Tell me where the knives are. And one more thing… do you want to use your abilities for good?"

Oddesa sniffled, nodding rapidly. "Yes, please… save me..."

"Alright."

The flames flared up around her, wrapping her in warmth as she drifted into unconsciousness. He had done it to spare her from seeing the slaughter about to unfold.

Shin stood up.

"Now..." He cracked his knuckles, his gaze falling upon the remaining survivors, their faces frozen in horror.

"Let's get back to my promise."

To be continued.