I let the currents of force run through my body.
A second later—
I dropped.
Straight down.
My weight spiked—unnatural, crushing—slamming me into the ground a meter from the main building.
"Almost turned into paste," I muttered, dragging myself out of the shallow crater.
For a moment, I'd weighed as much as solid metal.
"Still… useful."
I rolled my shoulders as the weight snapped back to normal.
I looked around.
Empty.
Of course.
They weren't going to keep us together.
My gaze slid over the cracked wall, then up to the sky. Pale clouds drifted lazily, doing nothing to block the sun.
"So… now what?" I muttered. "Just walk? 'Find the exit.' Real helpful."
I turned to retrace my path—
then stopped.
A scream.
Sharp.
Human.
From inside the building.
I frowned.
Of course.
Something had to be waiting in there.
Possessed.
Most likely.
I shrugged.
"Not my problem."
If it wasn't coming for me—
I wasn't wasting time.
I turned away.
Kept walking.
No traps.
No resistance.
Nothing.
Too clean.
Too empty.
How long had I been moving?
The scenery didn't change.
Trees.
More trees.
Endless.
This wasn't how it looked when we came in.
It had been sparse.
Not this.
Not a forest.
"…Where the hell did they throw me?"
Another scream.
Closer.
Male.
Desperate.
I stopped.
Then moved.
Fast.
The man burst into view—
running blindly.
Two behind him.
Closing in.
I didn't think.
Didn't hesitate.
A branch snapped free in my hand—force flooding through it, hardening it, adding weight.
Good enough.
The man tripped.
Hit the ground hard.
I was already there.
First strike—
the branch drove into the pursuer's gut.
Too much force.
He folded instantly, choking.
The second lunged from the side.
Too slow.
I turned—
swung—
drove the branch into his knees.
A sharp crack.
Bone.
He dropped, screaming.
"Now you," I said, turning to the man on the ground.
He froze.
Eyes wide.
Wild.
"Don't kill me!" he shrieked, scrambling back.
I stepped in—
cut him off—
pressed the branch to his head.
"What the hell is going on?" I said. Flat. "Talk."
"I—I don't know!" He was shaking so badly his voice barely held together.
Real fear.
I frowned.
Not possessed.
"Who are you?"
"I—I came with friends! We were attacked! Please—I didn't do anything!"
"What were you doing here?"
"We just—we just—"
"My patience is gone."
"We came to salvage stuff! It's abandoned! Nobody uses it! We thought we could strip it—sell what we find—please don't kill me!"
Pathetic.
I stepped closer.
"Don't move."
I pressed a finger between his brows.
"What are you—"
"Shut up."
Force slipped into him.
Quick.
Clean.
Nothing.
No corruption.
No trace.
Just a normal idiot in the wrong place.
"Stay down," I said. "Move, and I drop you."
I turned back to the two.
Unconscious.
Didn't matter.
I checked.
Empty.
Both of them.
Gone.
I didn't hesitate.
The branch punched straight through one's chest.
Pulled it free.
Second—
same.
Done.
I let the branch fall.
Turned back.
"Where's the exit?"
He pointed—hands shaking—back the way he came.
"Get up," I said. "You're walking."
I saw the wall ahead.
Too fast.
Too close.
I let it out.
The beast answered instantly.
Claws tore free.
Teeth sharpened.
My body shifted—
lighter.
Faster.
Sharper.
Alive.
I twisted midair, redirecting the fall.
A tree—
close.
I caught a thin branch.
It bent—
held—
just long enough.
I pushed off—
claws sank into the trunk—
and I slid down in a controlled motion.
Smooth.
No damage.
I exhaled slowly.
The claws retracted.
The fangs dulled.
Back to normal.
I scanned the area.
Wind.
Strong.
Building.
Too fast.
Wrong.
No rain—
but it was coming.
Something about this place—
was off.
"I hope Robert and Alan found cover," I muttered.
Then I moved.
Inside.
The door creaked behind me.
Loud.
Echoing.
I stopped.
Listened.
There—
A child crying.
A woman screaming.
A child can't be possessed—
The thought hit—
and I was already moving.
Fast.
Down the corridor.
First floor.
A sign—
faded—
Dining Hall.
I stepped inside—
and saw them.
A woman—
holding a little girl.
Five. Maybe less.
Shielding her with her body.
Two attackers.
Women.
Covered in blood.
Smiling.
Wrong.
Completely gone.
I didn't check.
Didn't need to.
They were lost.
That's why they were here.
That's why we were sent in.
I moved.
Shifted.
The beast took over.
This—
fit.
No weapons.
No hesitation.
Just kill.
First one—
my claws tore her throat open.
Blood sprayed.
Hot.
Heavy.
I didn't stop.
Second—
I was already on her.
Fast.
Brutal.
Done.
The woman screamed.
Sharp.
Raw.
It snapped me back.
She dropped to her knees, clutching the girl, shaking.
Alive.
Not possessed.
Just human.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, still half-shifted.
"Please—my daughter! Don't kill her! She's just a child!" she cried.
"How did you get here?"
"We didn't mean to! We had nowhere to go—we just needed somewhere to stay—please don't hurt her!"
I inhaled.
Slow.
Forced it down.
The claws faded.
"Stay still," I said, stepping closer.
She squeezed the girl tighter.
Eyes shut.
Waiting.
For it.
I checked.
Clean.
Both of them.
I exhaled.
"Relax," I said. "I don't kill people."
A glance toward the bodies.
"Only those things."
Wrong place.
Wrong time.
That's all.
I turned back.
Pulled the blade from my belt.
Ran force through it—
and drove it through both corpses.
One.
Then the other.
Done.
No hesitation.
No ceremony.
Burning them—
cleaning up—
not my job.
Not worth the time.