Chapter 12 — Helpless
Rain poured harder now.
Cold water mixed with blood across the shattered square while smoke drifted upward from burning homes nearby.
Ashvale no longer looked real.
Only broken.
Screams echoed everywhere.
Children crying.
Villagers begging.
Buildings collapsing beneath the beast's rampage.
And through all of it—
the Blood Rank creature walked calmly through the center of the village like a king wandering his territory.
Zero forced himself back onto shaking legs while pain throbbed violently through both arms from the shattered spear impact earlier.
The beast barely acknowledged him anymore.
Weak.
Insignificant.
Its attention remained fixed on the terrified civilians trying desperately to flee through the square.
Another young dominator charged first.
Taren.
Wind affinity.
Zero remembered him from awakening day.
The boy had been smiling afterward.
Proud.
Excited to finally become a dominator.
Now fear twisted his face completely.
But he still charged anyway.
Wind spiraled violently around both arms while tears mixed with rainwater down his face.
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
He launched himself toward the beast at full speed.
Fast.
Too fast for someone who awakened barely days ago.
The creature caught him midair effortlessly.
One hand around his throat.
Taren struggled desperately while unstable wind exploded wildly around his body.
The beast stared at him for a moment.
Almost curious.
Then slowly—
it tightened its grip.
CRACK.
The sound echoed sickeningly through the square.
Taren's body dropped limply afterward.
No dramatic final scream.
Just silence.
A life ending instantly.
One of the younger children nearby started sobbing uncontrollably.
The beast stepped over the corpse without looking down.
Lina attacked next.
Water affinity.
Her trembling essence condensed into several compressed streams that shot toward the creature's eyes.
For one brief moment—
hope flickered.
Then the beast roared.
The sound alone shattered her concentration instantly.
The shockwave hurled her across the square hard enough to slam her body through a wooden storefront.
She stopped moving afterward.
Dren screamed and charged immediately after seeing her fall.
Essence spread heavily across his arms while jagged rock formed around clenched fists.
He slammed a reinforced strike directly into the beast's ribs.
CRACK.
The hit actually landed.
The creature finally reacted.
Slowly—
it looked down at him.
Then smiled.
The beast grabbed Dren's shoulder.
And instead of killing him immediately—
it squeezed.
Slowly.
Bone cracked piece by piece beneath its grip while Dren screamed loud enough for the entire square to hear.
The creature watched him carefully while doing it.
Enjoying it.
Zero felt something cold crawl through his chest.
It wasn't fighting.
It was playing with them.
The beast finally tore Dren aside and hurled him into a burning cart.
The screaming stopped afterward.
And Zero understood something horrifying.
People weren't prey to this thing.
They were entertainment.
Rain hissed against black fur while the beast scanned the square lazily again.
Searching.
Choosing.
The surviving dominators regrouped desperately near the civilians.
Fear filled every face now.
No confidence remained.
Only survival instinct.
The creature suddenly lunged toward another fleeing group.
A mother carrying two children.
Zero moved instantly.
He intercepted one child first, grabbing the little girl and shoving her behind overturned debris.
The beast's claw descended immediately afterward.
Zero barely rolled aside in time.
CRASH.
Stone exploded where he had stood moments earlier.
Pain shot violently through his shoulder from the shockwave alone.
Too slow.
Again.
The creature turned fully toward him now.
Crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
Watching him.
That strange unease returned briefly.
The same instinctive tension from earlier.
Like the beast sensed something hidden beneath Zero's human appearance.
Something wrong.
Something ancient.
The rain grew heavier between them.
Zero forced himself upright despite pain screaming through his ribs.
No essence.
No affinity.
No awakening.
Still nothing.
Yet he stepped forward anyway.
The beast attacked first.
Zero ducked beneath the claw barely in time before grabbing a broken support beam and driving it toward the creature's throat.
CRACK.
The wood shattered instantly against black fur.
Worthless.
The creature backhanded him across the square.
Zero crashed violently through a market stall before slamming hard into the muddy ground.
His vision blurred.
Pain exploded through his side.
Something was definitely broken now.
Nearby—
another familiar figure pulled himself from collapsed rubble.
Klaus.
Blood covered half his face while one arm hung unnaturally low at his side.
But crimson essence still flickered around him weakly.
Still alive.
The moment Klaus saw Zero standing—
relief crossed his face briefly.
Then the beast moved again.
Toward another group of trapped civilians.
Toward Finn's younger sister.
Toward terrified children too frozen to run.
Something changed in Klaus immediately.
His crimson essence surged violently outward.
Too violently.
The pressure around him thickened.
Changed.
His veins darkened faintly beneath his skin while something primal leaked from his aura.
Not human.
Not fully.
Wild.
Savage.
Like a beast trying desperately to claw its way out from beneath his skin.
The Blood Rank creature froze briefly.
Its crimson eyes narrowed.
Recognition.
Not equal.
Not kin.
But familiar.
The pressure surrounding Klaus felt primal and domineering.
Incomplete.
Immature.
Yet real enough for instinct to notice.
The creature tilted its head slowly.
Confused.
Interested.
Then it dismissed the feeling almost immediately.
Weak.
Still far beneath it.
Klaus roared and charged anyway.
Fast.
Faster than before.
Crimson essence exploded around his fist as he slammed directly into the beast's jaw.
CRACK.
Bone fractured.
The creature staggered slightly.
Then Klaus hit it again.
And again.
For one impossible moment—
he actually pushed the monster backward.
Hope spread instantly across the square.
The surviving villagers stared desperately.
Maybe—
The beast caught Klaus' arm.
CRACK.
The bone shattered instantly.
Klaus screamed.
The creature slammed him into the ground once.
Twice.
Three times.
The earth cratered beneath each impact.
Then it hurled him across the village square like broken garbage.
CRASH.
Klaus tore through the wall of a nearby home before disappearing beneath collapsing debris.
The crimson essence around him flickered weakly afterward.
Then dimmed.
Zero's chest tightened violently.
"KLAUS!"
But no response came back.
The beast slowly looked down at its own cracked jaw.
Then toward the destroyed building Klaus disappeared into.
Then toward Zero.
Its smile widened.
Cruel.
Mocking.
It enjoyed this.
Something inside Zero started shaking violently.
Not fear.
Rage.
Pure.
Violent.
Absolute.
The beast turned toward the civilians again.
A little girl stumbled backward crying while trying to wake her dead mother.
The creature raised one claw lazily.
Zero forced his broken body forward desperately.
Too far.
Too slow.
Again.
The claw descended—
—and someone appeared between them.
Mira.
Blood stained one side of her dress while weak healing light flickered desperately around trembling hands.
She shoved the little girl aside moments before the claw struck.
CRASH.
The impact hurled Mira violently across the square.
Zero's eyes widened instantly.
"Mother!"
The world slowed.
Mira hit the ground hard beside the shattered fountain.
Blood spread beneath her immediately.
The beast moved toward her again.
Zero's body reacted instinctively.
Ignoring pain.
Ignoring injury.
Ignoring everything.
He reached her just as the creature's shadow fell over them.
Mira looked up weakly.
Then at him.
And despite everything—
she smiled.
Small.
Gentle.
The same smile she gave him after nightmares.
After training.
After every meal.
"…Run," she whispered.
The beast's claw descended.
And something inside Zero finally broke.
THUMP.
A second heartbeat echoed through his chest.
Loud.
Violent.
Ancient.
The world stopped.
Then—
every scar across Zero's body erupted in unbearable pain.