From red to white, the barrier changed color the instance before the claws touched it. The change is too sudden, the momentum unstoppable. The claws pierced first, melting, then the fingers, then the arm. The was a screeching scream. The red fur burned as did the flesh and bones. It instinctively tried to take out its arm but his swords flashed, and its arm fell. 

It tried stepping back but it still had not balanced itself from that attack. It stumbled, looking to be falling but balance with its other arm.

He was already moving, his swords flashed, one cut the legs, the other its remaining arm.

It still had not completely come inside and with its front leg gone along with the arms, it fell. Again his swords flashed, cutting off its head.

“Why is it so easy?”

He wondered as the head rolled down stopping just before the young kid. The fire had been extinguished and all that remained being was a vulnerable kid. It only reinforced his action. That what he had done was good, after all, they were using kids barely above the twenties for dangerous activities.

He squatted beside the kid whose face was scared but unlike him, it made the kid look better. As he kept looking at his face he felt irritated. He could not understand why so he focused on the sensation. It felt like he could almost recognize, as though he knew him.

‘But a kid like this should be around 15 when I was imprisoned. How would I have interacted with him.’

Still, he tightly bound the boy and then slowly burnt off the wound across his neck. Afterward, he turned, looking out of the window. The monsters were still rushing while the screams were quickly reducing. As he looked at them rushing in without any resistance and the increasing numbers-

‘I can kill them all in one go!’

He chopped the kid on the neck and after making sure he was unconscious he closed the door of the room and jumped atop the mansion directly amid the swarm. His arms stretched, and the massive tongue of fire exploded out, then he spun. The fire melted the adjacent rooftops that it crashed against. Just a spin and all the roof was covered with red-colored haze.

He hummed while the monster all rushed toward him. His twin swords were out, flashing under the sun as he cut through the hoard. He kept on going until they started gathering but he still waited. Once they again filled the rooftop, his swords were gone and his palms spread, again the fire burnt through everything.

“Kekehakehaha”

The grin was spread atop his face as he massacred wave after wave of the monsters and caused a think red cloud to cover the rooftop.

‘How pleasant, killing both birds with one stone. Now the people will be safer.’

He remembered the empty homes he had seen all around this place. They were unlike the house much further away which had also been abandoned. They were abandoned because of the danger or because the monster had invaded. Here though he was confident that they had forced the owners to leave.

Now, these gangsters were killed by the monster while the monsters would be killed by him. He exterminated yet another wave of the red-colored monkeys.

Each time it took longer for the wave together. Still, they kept coming and he kept killing them.

Just like always, there were no words he could use to describe the massive blast of fire that engulfed the monsters. Within seconds the monster was burnt crips. The roof was again empty.

A massive group of monsters rushed out for the front gate down below. He only caught them by the time they were going to escape. He rushed, kicking the wall and jumping. Mid-air his hands moved and fire burst forth from his palm, then his palm moved and the fire followed.

Before the gravity could even pull hid down all of the monsters were burnt to crisp.

He landed upon an adjacent building and rushed back. Taking out his swords again he started banging them against one another, hoping that any monsters that were in the vicinity would come.

A few monsters came out on the roof but he easily took care of them.

He started shouting even louder, banging the swords even louder. It spread all across but finally, the quietness returned as the screams were no longer there.

***

“Huff … huff… huff… suuuuuuu…fuuuuu”

All around him was filled with red-colored lights that were appearing as the dead bodies of the monsters disintegrated.

Sitting down he waited for a bit, resting himself before going inside the building. There were few monsters remaining but this narrow space was to his advantage now that they no longer had those overwhelming numbers.

The monsters attacked him, fire bloomed and appeared above his palm, a small flame. It exploded the next moment, the sparks concentrated into a spear-like shape and then rushed towards the heads of the monsters.

After what felt like a long time, he started playing with the skills, changing them little by little each time, performing the tweaks to the way he used the skill. It was unnoticeable at the start.

Now that he knew how to establish the connection, especially with the wild flames, he wanted to do what he had been unable to since a long time ago. A flame appeared above his palm and burst but he kept pressuring the sparks to remain inside while splitting his focus towards the sparks. Now that he knew how to create the connection with the fire, he applied it here. It was a slow process as he connected with each spark. One at a time. It was much less energy-consuming somehow. Still, as the connection started increasing, from 10 to 50 to 100 and above, he started feeling a headache.

He could feel his limit. He could not create any more connections than this.

When the flame burst apart but the sparks did not rush out the link before. Instead, they kept sitting above his palm, keeping the shape of the flame. He willed and the sparks moved.

Suddenly they spread apart, covering the three monsters that rushed out of the room landing upon their sensitive parts; the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and any other place that looked to be sensitive.

He roamed the halls, not finding anyone alive. There were a few just on the verge of death and he helped them cross the line. The mansion was big, expansive, and now also quiet. All of the monsters seemed to have been killed.

He roamed the halls, and the rooms, looking for someone alive but finding none. He went back to the kid that he had tied up in the adjacent house. He slapped him lightly a few times making sure the wound does not open up. He had burnt the neck wound.

He did not wake up forcing him to give him a few sips from the elixir.

“Where is your boss, Kamran?”

“Who… ?”

Slap

The wound was sealed now, only leaving behind a line across half of his neck. He felt irritated. All the wounds somehow only added to his beauty instead of taking anything away. Then he looked at his hand and he saw the scars crisscrossing his arms and the marks from the fire which had twisted his flesh. He did not even want to see his face.

“Where is your boss?”

He shook him violently and only then did he open his mouth.

“He’s gone in the tower… that red one.”

He let go.

“Don’t be associated with these people kid, you have got a whole life ahead of you.”

“Haha… kid. I, Furkan am not a kid.”

“Furkan?”

He stopped, looking at the kid and the feeling from before came. He did recognize him. He grinned.

“Now that I look you do match with that bastard. What a good day.”

Sparks burst forth from both his hands rushing at the man who was already in the process of being covered by fire.

He rushed at Furkan, swords out, one stabbing other swinging. When his swords came into contact his opponent was already burning again with bright red fire. His sword cut through and as it cut through the fire. He felt no resistance but then Furkan moved back dodging the swing, then dogged the stab. His stab transitioned to slash and the arm was cut off.

Before Frukan could stop screaming his swords flashed, cutting off the other arm.  The fire disappeared from both of his arms as the cut of appendages fell onto the ground.

“You bastard... Huff huff. Who are you?”

“You have forgotten my voice? Even though we were such good friends?”

With the tip of his sword, he took off the covering. 

“Do you remember anything now?”

“W.. who are you?”

“Hey hey, you forgot about me after sending me into the prison.”

“... Ah! AIG! But! Yo..you, how are you still alive.”

“Haha, you don't need to worry about that anymore.”

He came closer and Furkan attacked, the fire covering his body turning red but a barrier appeared around him and took on a similar orange hue. The fire was blocked, unable to invade the barrier. It did not stop his attacks though.

Frukan kicked, and the leg passed through the flames remaining behind. His sword flashed, the leg cut off. He fell forward, stumps passing through the barrier and the stumps sprayed the blood all over him.

As Furkan fell, his leg slammed over his chest. The cracking sound rang out and cracks spread through the floor. His sword flashed and the remaining appendages were cut off. Looking at the bleeding, a flame appeared within his palm, exploded and the sparks rushed towards the appendages, exploding in fire and sealing the wounds. Once done, he willed the flames to be extinguished.

Screams pierced the room but they did not cause any change in his expression.

He lowered himself, picking Furkan up by his neck.

“Where is your second in command?”

The fires briefly re-ignited, his arm moved, a punch landing in his gut. He could not speak for a while. He waited.

“Cough cough… he should be in the building. Mostly likely dead though.”

He dragged him along with him. First, going to the room of their chief but he was not in there. The room, just like all other places was torn with things broken and in disorder.

He kept going from room to room searching for the leader only to find him on the ground floor in front of the gate that was torn off. This person similarly appeared too young, maybe in his twenties. 

“How did you get so young?”

“What do you mean? You too have regained your youth.”

“What do you mean?”

He touched his face. It appeared smooth. That was the only thing that he knew. He still had not seen it. Unwilling to see how much disfigured it had become.

He picked up a broken piece of glass, seeing his face for the first time in more than a year.

“How hideous.”

But it was true. He looked younger despite nearing his fifties. He threw it aside, his face had truly been deformed.

“So this is the one who made me loose.”

“Furkan, your boss is in that tower?”

He did not get an answer while he kept pointing to the red tower that was still visible to his eyes.

“Yes… are you going to let me go?”

“Why ask what you already know?”

“Haaaa… even after all these years you came to bite in our ass. Well, go on.”

“Farewell”

“Fuck you.”

And the neck was crushed. He wiped his hands and exited the gate, leaving behind the dead littered in the mansion, and walked towards the red tower. It took not long for him to reach there.