"I will never join you," Sero snarled. "I will never be part of something that takes innocent lives and justifies it as 'for the greater good'."
Dr. Malek sighed, stepping behind Casey. "I figured you'd say as much, though I had a spark of hope that you'd change your mind."
"Wait, what are you doing?" Amaya whispered. "Please don't hurt Casey."
Sero's heart lurched at the threat, but he forced himself to keep his eyes on Dr. Malek. "Don't touch him, Malek. Just take me and let everyone else go." Even as the words left his mouth, Sero knew they wouldn't make any difference.
"You and I both know this will only end one way," Dr. Malek said, pressing the knife to Casey's neck. "After we sacrifice the tributes and take your Class abilities, the Catastrophe will be invoked here. The plans will finally be set in motion."
"Stop," Sero strained against his obsidian cuffs, trying to activate his skills. But every time he gathered mana, the cuffs quickly drained it away. "Why are you doing this to us?"
Dr. Malek smiled bitterly. "I'm not the only mastermind behind this. Thaddeus figured that by luring you three and making you watch as the children are sacrificed may generate more energy for us to use. Those cuffs? Every time you try to cast a skill, it will drain away that magic to be used in calling forth the Catastrophe. Those outbreaks and pendants? Of course, they were diversions, but they also gathered energy from the dead."
Sero continued to strain against his handcuffs, desperately trying to reach Casey.
"As of now, we actually have the resources needed to execute the final phases of our plan. The only outlier was you, Sero. If it weren't for you, we would've gathered what we needed from the Ascendants Tournament long ago, from the match we thought would be Elena pitted against Liam. The alliance wouldn't have been formed so quickly, nor would we have to resort to flashy diversions to get what we needed. Simply put, in a way, you were directly responsible for where you are now, Sero."
Dr. Malek leaned in closer, his breath hot against Casey's ear. "But there is still time to make things right. Join us now, Sero, and I will spare your friend here. You can live out the rest of your days with us, helping to rebuild the world."
Several Culling members stepped forward, grabbing Sero, Amaya, and Elizabeth to prevent them from moving. Sero screamed in frustration, trying to break free from their grasp as he recklessly sent more mana into the handcuffs.
"Fuck you, Malek!" Sero snarled, his voice laced with desperation. "Don't you dare hurt Casey! I swear to god, I'll–"
"Mr. Sero," Casey smiled weakly at him, his eyes suddenly clear. "I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough, like you."
Sero's heart shattered as he saw the tears streaming down Casey's face. "No, it's not your fault. It's mine. I should've been able to do something," he choked out, struggling against the men restraining him. "I'm sorry, Casey. I got you into this mess, but I'll find a way out, okay? Just trust me."
"It's okay, Mr. Sero," Casey shook his head ever so slightly. "It's my fault you got stuck here, right? And Miss Amaya too, I didn't mean to make you guys... you know..." His voice trailed off, his eyes closing as he took a shuddering breath. "I'm just glad... I got to meet you."
"Casey!" Amaya's voice rang out, tears streaming down her face. "Don't you dare talk like that! You are strong, you are brave, and you are loved! We will get out of this, I promise you!" Her voice cracked as she struggled against her own restraints, her body shaking with sobs.
Elizabeth choked on the whip around her neck as she tried to reach for the boy. The obsidian handcuffs around Sero's wrist bit into his skin as he struggled against the men restraining him. He could feel the energy draining away with every attempt to break free, but he had to try. He had to save Casey.
"I thought I'd be alone after Grandma died, but thanks to you and Miss Amaya, I got to have a family again," Casey smiled at them as Dr. Malek moved the blade behind the boy. "Miss Luna, Miss Nala, even Miss Kit! Oh, and Mr. Gregor, too! I'm so happy that I met you guys–"
Casey's words were cut off as Dr. Malek closed his eyes and plunged the obsidian knife into the boy's back, right through his chest.
Sero could only stare in shock as he was numbly aware of Amaya screaming and thrashing against her restraints, her body shuddering as she sobbed uncontrollably. Elizabeth, while more composed, was still choking on the whip around her neck, her face reddening as she struggled for breath.
Blood gushed from the wound in Casey's back, pooling beneath him on the cold altar. His lifeless body was supported by Dr. Malek, his head lolling to the side, eyes staring vacantly into nothingness.
"Casey?" Sero whispered, his voice strangely calm. He saw the other Culling members pull out obsidian knives of their own, plunging it into the backs of the children as the blood began to irregularly stream towards the altar.
"Thaddeus, go ahead and deal with Amaya and the other woman. I will harvest the Scholar once these children are sacrificed." Dr. Malek nodded towards the other Culling Pillar, who grinned wickedly at the sight of the three.
Sero's world began to spin, and he could feel a drumming in his ears as he stared at the slaughter before him. His mind went blank, numb to the horror unfolding before him. He could only vaguely register as Amaya's struggles grew more frantic, her body thrashing wildly as she fought against her restraints. On the other side, Elizabeth had begun to suffocate as Thaddeus strangled her with the whip.
Just like before, something inside him snapped.
These cuffs annoy me.
Sero calmly gazed down at the bindings on his wrists. They were snug, but not for long.
"Sero?!" Amaya cried out as he suddenly raised his hands up. Without so much as a sound, he smashed his hands against the altar, over and over, until they were a mangled mess. It was so quick, so unexpected, that even Dr. Malek stared at him in shock.
Sero got up to his feet, watching as the cuffs slipped off his bloodied stumps. He took a deep breath, feeling the warmth of the blood flowing down his body. The pain was both numbing and unbearable. The noises around him seemed muted, and he could make out Dr. Malek's orders to the Culling members, figuring the doctor realized what had happened.
Even though the cuffs had drained a significant portion of the mana he recklessly wasted, Sero didn't think too much about it as he emulated Lawbreak, restoring his hands and resources without another thought. As the cultist closed around him, Sero simply turned his gaze to Dr. Malek, who frowned in confusion.
In the next moment, Sero let out a primal roar that stemmed from the depths of his soul, unleashing everything he had at his disposal.
Amaya had seen Sero lose it before, and the worst was when she witnessed him slaughtering the Culling members back at Dr. Malek's private practice. But this... what she was seeing was something else entirely.
As Sero roared, a dark green aura of mana flared forth, engulfing his body and blowing away the cultists that had surrounded him into bloody stumps. Amaya yelped as she was also blown away by the sheer force, catching sight of Elizabeth tumbling in the opposite direction.
Two dark portals cracked open next to Sero, spitting out two large figures that crashed onto the ground. With a shiver, Amaya realized they seemed to be an older, more sinister version of Moss and Lime. The dragon twins were about the size of bears as they roared at the Culling members.
13 green explosions fired off in rapid succession, summoning Sero's entire face card army including Sting. Seconds later, unearthly howls reverberated through the air as another army of bright green spectral reptiles rose from the ground with the face cards; Sero had used Synchronization for the first time, which was strange, considering it only used the reptilian familiars for strength.
It wasn't the only skill he used for the first time as Amaya watched dark green fire and lightning cover his body, the signature demonic skills Hellfire and Hellspark. With a jagged and wicked Soul Blade in his hands, Sero roared again, sending his summons to fight as he disappeared from view.
Amaya watched with fear and awe as he reappeared in front of Dr. Malek, swinging the blade at the doctor's neck. However, Dr. Malek's eyes flashed with a wicked energy as several of the children's corpses flew to take Sero's sword. The burning green blade quickly sliced through the corpses like butter, but it was just enough time for Dr. Malek to open up a portal.
"Seems like I've miscalculated," Dr. Malek muttered, waving a hand at the ground. Several more corpses and skeletons broke out the earth, stumbling towards Sero. "I need to retreat for now."
"You're... a Necromancer?!" Amaya cried out incredulously. "I thought... I assumed you were a Healer!"
Dr. Malek smiled dryly. "My apologies. It's a long story, and one that you might not want to hear right now. But yes, I am a Necromancer. However, my true calling has always been healing. I simply..." He shrugged. "I will continue my research, find a way to combine the two. For now, however, it seems I must take my leave."
Sero roared, quickly cutting through the hordes of undead to reach Dr. Malek. It seemed as if the Scholar was about to catch the doctor before he froze in place.
"Casey?" Amaya gasped in shock as she saw the boy stand in between Sero and Dr. Malek. But something was off, and Amaya realized that Dr. Malek had used some sort of skill to reanimate Casey's corpse.
"A bit distasteful, but necessary," Dr. Malek grimaced as he hopped through the portal, the entrance snapping shut. "I’m no match for Sero’s strength right now, but his emotions are a different story." As soon as Dr. Malek disappeared, Casey's body and the other undead collapsed, freed from the dark magic.
Amaya gasped, horrified at what she had just seen. "No..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. She looked at Sero, who was now staring down at Casey's body, his face twisted in anger and grief. "Sero..." she began, but the words died in her throat as he gave another anguished roar.
All around them, the Culling members screamed in terror as the reptilian ghosts, face card summons, and the dragon twins slaughtered them with horrifying ease, buffed by the copious amounts of mana Sero supplied them with. The Hellfire and Hellspark that radiated around Sero struck the unfortunate cultists within his range, torturing them as the Scholar ripped them apart with his Soul Blade and mana railguns. Sprays of blood were illuminated by a green sheen as Amaya watched the carnage in fear. The spectral reptiles ignored her, swarming the Culling that were around her.
"Agh, someone get me to safety!" Thaddeus's voice caught the attention of Sero, who whirled towards him with an uncharacteristic snarl. The Culling Pillar scrambled backwards, eyes wide with fear. Thaddeus noticed Elizabeth on the ground next to him, and he quickly grasped the end of the whip around her neck.
"Back off, Scholar! Or this human woman dies!" Thaddeus tugged on the whip around Elizabeth's neck harder.
As Sero's army decimated the Culling members, the Scholar himself narrowed his eyes at Thaddeus. He disappeared from view, reappearing in front of Thaddeus and grabbing him by the neck.
The whip around Elizabeth's neck had vanished, giving her the chance to breathe easier as she crawled away from the enormous pressure Sero was exerting. Amaya stumbled over to Elizabeth, and together they managed to distance themselves from the carnage.
They watched in silent terror as Sero lifted Thaddeus up, squeezing his neck harder. The stray elemental auras combined with Sero's own mana seared and burned away Thaddeus's body, causing him to grunt with pain.
"You're... too late... Scholar," Thaddeus spat at Sero with a sneer. "Your precious friends and family... it's all gone... You... you should have... seen it... coming." Sero's grip tightened, and Thaddeus's face turned a deep shade of crimson.
"Th-those to... be culled–"
Sero dispersed his Soul Blade, bringing up a free hand to cover Thaddeus's mouth. The Culling Pillar's eyes widened with shock as Sero casted Glassmake, filling his mouth with shards of glass. Thaddeus began to scream, struggling to break free from Sero's grasp, but it was futile.
As the last of the Culling was killed by Sero's army, the Scholar tossed Thaddeus up into the air.
With a final, unearthly howl, Sero casted a Lightning Bolt down onto Thaddeus. The dark green lightning struck the Culling Pillar's body with a force so powerful, all of Amaya's hairs stood on end as she had to avert her eyes from the flash. She should've covered her ears as well, because in the next moment, the resulting thunder quaked the room with a deafening bang.
Disoriented and confused, it took a while for Amaya to realize that Sero was still on edge, his mana and pressure radiating dangerously off of him as he wildly gazed around the room Elizabeth gasped and whimpered from his presence, shakily conjuring her Empress disk and slamming it onto her chest.
"Sero!" Amaya desperately called out to him. "Please, stop! There's no one else here but us!"
Her pleading words fell on deaf ears as Sero's army mutilated the corpses of the dead, while he himself seemed to struggle with the overwhelming power in his body. He joined his army in mutilating the corpses, an unfocused and crazed look in his eyes.
Elizabeth gasped as Sero's mana and pressure grew even stronger, his dark green aura shining brighter and hotter than before. The air around them crackled with energy, the floor rumbling beneath their feet. Amaya realized that even Elizabeth's A.R.E.S. Unit wouldn't be able to protect her much longer. She had to do something.
Amaya shakily got up, preparing herself to charge at Sero when she noticed the tears flowing down his eyes. Even in his rage-induced state, she could tell that he was hurting more than anyone else in the room. "Sero," she called out to him, her voice wavering. "Please, stop. It's over. You've won."
Her voice seemed to have broken through somewhat, causing Sero to halt in place. Amaya cautiously crept forward, keeping an eye on the ghostly reptiles watching her. Sero tensed as she drew closer, the older Moss and Lime growling softly by his side. The only one who seemed to be of sound mind was Sting, who watched the both of them with a sad look.
"Hey, Sero," Amaya said softly. "Look at me." Slowly, he turned his head toward her, his unfocused eyes still glistening with tears. She could see the anguish in his face, the pain he was trying to hide. Her own heart ached at the state he was in. She wanted nothing more than to tell him that everything would be okay, that she would help him through this.
"It's over now," she continued. "You don't have to keep fighting. You're only hurting yourself now." His eyes darted back and forth between her and the ground, his chest heaving with each ragged breath. "You can stop," she urged, taking a step closer.
The stray elements and his aura burned Amaya's skin, but she ignored it, stopping right in front of Sero. She looked up into his red eyes, seeing a hint of sanity beneath the madness. "Please stop."
"I... can't..." Sero struggled to get the words out, his eyes unfocused with rage. "I need... to protect... I've lost... everyone..."
"No," Amaya shook her head. "You haven't lost everyone. You're hurting so much, and I don't want you to hurt anymore. You're not alone." Her voice was soft, gentle, and she placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't push it away.
Sero tensed at her touch, and for a second, Amaya thought he would lash out at her. But he didn't, frowning as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "I can't... stop... feeling lonely..."
"I know," Amaya replied, her voice soft. "I know it hurts, and I'm sorry for everything you've been through. But you don't have to be alone anymore," the searing pain from Sero's auras was a dull ache to Amaya as she leaned closer to him. She didn’t know what she was doing, but her instincts took over. "I won't let you be alone again."
Before Sero could react, Amaya sealed their lips with a kiss.
