The beastly instinct of the Abyssal Mav screamed as it took a step back. Kael, still locking eyes with the creature, tilted his head slightly to the side like a curious dog—but his expression was vacant, mechanical. He slowly raised his hand, palm aimed at the Mav.
Suddenly—CRACK!
The air around the creature shattered like glass.
Kael clenched his fist. The floating shards quivered for a brief second, then all pointed directly at the Mav.
SHHK! SHHK! SHHK!
The shards pierced one after another into the beast. It howled in agony and collapsed to the ground.
From deeper in the cave, the mother Mav's pained cries echoed—haunting and guttural—reaching the ears of the baby Mav.
The moment it heard her, it came crawling, limbs trembling with each attempt. It couldn't even walk properly yet, but its mother's cries stirred something primal. Rocks blocked its path, but that didn't stop its fury. The more it heard her pain, the more enraged it became.
Kael sensed another threat rising.
He turned his head.
Suddenly, the rocks blocking the baby Mav started glowing orange at their center—heating up rapidly.
BOOM!
The rocks exploded outward.
There it stood—the baby Mav. Its eyes glowing white, teeth clenched with fury. Even the mother, writhing in pain, looked shocked. She had never seen this kind of power before.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
Something was wrong.
The energy radiating from the baby Mav… it wasn't normal. It was ancient.
Since the origin of the Abyssal Mav species, only three were ever known to carry such a trait. They were called the Black Born—rare mutations born with a dormant terror nature, descendants of the hellhounds. This nature only awakened when their emotions—especially rage—exploded. And when it did, their Rampage Urge would obliterate everything in their path.
The last recorded awakening was over a thousand years ago.
And now, after a millennium of silence…
It bloomed again.
The baby Mav opened its mouth. It began inhaling the air around it, condensing it into a swirling ball of black and white energy. It spun violently, uncontrollably, and then launched the attack at Kael.
Just before it hit, Kael's pupils glowed—
The energy instantly shifted, turning fully black, and veered off course, slamming into the cave wall behind him with a deafening BLAST.
Kael extended a finger at the baby Mav. Black smoke oozed from his skin, coiling around his fingertip. In a blink, a thin, invisible force shot out—
THNK!
It pierced the baby Mav's shoulder.
The mother let out another thunderous roar as her child cried in agony—it was still just a baby.
Despite her injuries, the mother Mav stood up and charged.
But the Dark Host wasn't done yet.
Kael grabbed her face mid-charge and SLAMMED her against the cave wall, then the floor. With his palm pressed against her stomach—
BAAM!
An explosion of force sent her flying through the rock.
Still not finished, Kael planted his feet shoulder-width apart, lowered his head, left hand coiled tightly at his side, the other clenched forward. Everything around him—
Even time—
Slowed down.
Then he punched. Slowly at first, pushing the air forward.
The world snapped back.
The air he struck surged forward in a focused wave, piercing through the mother Mav again and again before burrowing straight into her heart.
She collapsed.
Dead.
Kael turned his head toward the baby Mav and began walking.
Suddenly—
"Hnng gaa!! Stop… stop it!!"
Kael's consciousness clawed its way back. He fought to regain control from the Dark Host. His breathing was ragged.
But the baby Mav… it had seen its mother die.
Its rage snapped completely.
The terror nature inside it fully took over.
The creature roared and charged. It slammed into Kael, sending him flying across the cave.
The interruption shattered Kael's grip over the Dark Host. He lost control again.
The baby Mav lunged, claws lengthening midair. It slashed Kael's stomach open.
His wound healed instantly.
Kael, unfazed, jabbed his fingers into the creature's eyes and kicked it square in the gut, sending it flying.
In a flash, black smoke materialized behind Kael and intercepted the baby Mav mid-air—grabbing it.
Kael surged forward, pummeling the beast repeatedly—
Until it shattered the smoke and bit into Kael's arm, shaking violently before hurling him onto a jagged spike of stone.
The rock pierced through him—
But Kael's flesh immediately began melting it away with heat as his body healed.
Rising again, Kael raised his palm toward the baby Mav.
Smoke erupted from the ground beneath it—
BOOM!
The creature was sent soaring into the air.
Kael dashed forward, fist clenched.
The smoke returned, coiling around his arm.
As the baby Mav plummeted, Kael leapt up to meet it—
BAAM!!
His fist smashed into the beast's face mid-air, sending it crashing back down. It reverted to its normal state, body limp.
The Dark Host sensed no more threats.
And deactivated.
Kael's eyes slowly opened.
The smoke retracted back into his body.
"Hnnng… my head hurts," he muttered, holding his temple.
He looked around.
The battlefield was unrecognizable.
The walls and floor—obliterated.
"What. The. Fuck…" he whispered, stunned.
He stood up slowly, wobbling.
"I remember getting knocked out by the baby Mav… did the Dark Host take control again?" he wondered.
His eyes landed on the unconscious baby Mav.
"Whatever… I shouldn't worry about this now. I gotta find a way out."
Meanwhile...
Back at his house, Adrian lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn't come.
STAB
STAB
The incident kept playing in his mind like a looping nightmare.
He saw someone die. For the first time.
And it clung to his memory like a parasite.
"I can't sleep…" he whispered, dragging himself out of bed for a glass of water.
As he walked down the hallway, a blinding light poured out from Evelyn's room.
"What the—Evelyn?"
He stepped closer, squinting.
And then—
His eyes widened.