Unforgivable

Chapter 19: Unforgivable

Emily sat frozen in the backseat, gripping the edge of her seat as she stared at Quinn. She had never seen him this angry before. His usual cocky smirk was gone, replaced by a cold, unreadable expression. His entire body was tense, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Her brother—who always joked around no matter the situation—looked like he was ready to tear something apart.

"Q-Quinn…?" she called out hesitantly, but he didn't respond.

Instead, he stepped forward, his gaze locked onto the monstrous Hallow crouching over the corpse. The creature's elongated fingers twitched as it slowly rose to its feet, its glowing white eyes watching him with twisted amusement.

Quinn exhaled slowly, his breath steady, but inside, his rage was boiling over.

What if Emily hadn't followed me?

What if she had stayed home?

She would've been caught up in this mess. She could've been one of the bodies lying in the rubble.

This stupid Hallow could've been eating her right now.

A sharp, robotic chime echoed in his mind.

[Quest Alert!]

[B-Ranked Hallow Detected.]

[Defeat the Hallow without using your magic.]

[Reward: Strength increases by a certain percentage.]

Quinn's fingers twitched as he read the notification, then a slow, twisted grin spread across his face.

"No magic, huh?" he muttered. His eyes flicked to the Hallow. "Fine by me."

The Hallow hissed, its long, blackened arms stretching as its nails extended into deadly, jagged spikes. With an ear-piercing screech, it suddenly launched a barrage of spikes straight at Quinn.

FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!

Quinn's body blurred. He ducked, twisted, and sidestepped, each spike missing him by mere inches as they shattered against the pavement behind him. The Hallow growled, then slammed its claws into the ground.

CRACK!

Dark energy erupted beneath Quinn's feet—black, jagged spikes shooting up from the ground in an attempt to impale him.

But he was already moving.

BOOM!

Quinn launched himself forward with explosive speed, weaving between the spikes with ease. He closed the distance in an instant, and before the Hallow could react—

BAM!

His fist slammed into the creature's stomach. The impact was so powerful that the Hallow's body bent inward, its eyes bulging as blood sprayed from its mouth.

The force sent it flying backward, crashing through a ruined car with a deafening BANG!

Quinn cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. "That's just the beginning."

The Hallow screeched in rage, dragging itself from the wreckage. It rushed forward, its long arms swinging wildly, claws slicing through the air.

Quinn didn't move. He let the creature come to him.

The Hallow's claw swiped—

Quinn sidestepped effortlessly, his movements fluid.

A spike shot from its nail—

He tilted his head, dodging it by a hair's breadth.

A burst of dark energy erupted from the ground—

Quinn leapt over it with ease, flipping mid-air before landing right in front of the monster.

The Hallow barely had time to register what had happened before Quinn's knee drove into its ribs with bone-crushing force.

CRACK!

The Hallow choked out a shriek of pain. But Quinn wasn't done.

He grabbed the creature's head and slammed his forehead into its skull—

BANG!

The Hallow staggered back, dazed, blood dripping from its mouth.

Quinn grinned. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

The Hallow roared and lunged at him again, but Quinn had already stepped in.

BOOM!

A devastating uppercut lifted the creature off the ground. Before it could even land, Quinn spun—

WHAM!

A roundhouse kick sent it flying, its body crashing through a wall.

The Hallow coughed violently, struggling to move. It tried to crawl away, but Quinn was already towering over it.

He grabbed its leg and swung it like a ragdoll—

SLAM!

Into the ground.

SLAM!

Into the wreckage.

SLAM!

Into the pavement, leaving cracks beneath the force.

The Hallow gasped, its body twitching, unable to withstand the raw punishment. Blood leaked from its mouth, its white eyes dimming with fear.

Quinn crouched down, grabbing the monster by the throat.

"You picked the wrong place to show up," he growled.

Then, with a cruel smirk, he clenched his fist—

And drove it straight through the Hallow's skull.

CRACK!

The creature's body convulsed—then went completely still.

DING!

[Quest Complete!]

[Strength has increased by 20%.]

Quinn slowly stood up, exhaling. His rage hadn't faded yet, but the fight had at least satisfied something inside him. He glanced back at Emily, who was still sitting in the car, her hands over her mouth.

She had just watched her brother brutally dismantle a B-ranked Hallow without even using his magic.

Emily swallowed hard. "…What the hell are you?"

Quinn wiped the blood off his knuckles, smirking.

"Your little brother."

Before Quinn could say another word, the sound of engines filled the air. Headlights beamed through the smoke and rubble, and within moments, two black SUVs pulled up beside them.

The doors swung open, and several AGC members stepped out, their eyes scanning the carnage. Some of them visibly tensed at the sight of the wreckage, while others exchanged silent glances, recognizing just how brutal the fight must have been.

Tobias was the first to step forward, his sharp gaze landing on Quinn. "Looks like you had fun," he said, taking in the blood-streaked ground and the mangled remains of the Hallow.

Quinn rolled his shoulders. "Wasn't much of a fight."

One of the AGC members whistled. "You beat a B-ranked Hallow without magic? Damn."

Tobias sighed, shaking his head. "I called them in as backup in case things got messy, but clearly, you didn't need any help."

Quinn exhaled, finally allowing some of his frustration to fade. "Since you're here, help me out with something. I need to go back to my apartment and grab whatever's still usable. If you guys can help move my stuff to my new place, that'd be great."

The AGC members glanced at each other. They could've ignored him—he wasn't officially their superior—but Quinn was an S-rank and personally favored by Cedric. That meant he carried weight in the AGC whether he wanted to or not.

One of the members shrugged. "Yeah, we can do that."

"Consider it done," another added.

As they spoke, Quinn suddenly felt a small hand wrap around his from behind. He turned to see Emily holding onto him tightly. Her grip was firm, but her voice was soft when she spoke.

"Quinn… why did you act that way?" she asked, her eyes filled with something between fear and concern.

Quinn's jaw tightened. "Are you serious?" His voice was sharp, but not out of anger—out of frustration. "Just imagine you didn't follow me today. Imagine you stayed home. You could've been dead, Emily. That thing could've been eating you."

Emily lowered her head, her fingers tightening around his hand. "But still…" she mumbled.

"But still nothing," Quinn cut in, his voice unwavering. He turned to fully face her, staring straight into her eyes. "I vowed to protect you. And I'll do it at all costs."

Emily bit her lip, looking away, but she didn't let go of his hand.

Before either of them could say anything else, Tobias stepped between them, a smirk on his face.

"Well, since it'll take a while to move your things, I do have a hostel you can stay in," he said casually. "A nice, temporary place—cozy, safe. Just until everything is sorted."

Quinn narrowed his eyes.

This guy just wants all my money.