Ethan’s eyes snapped open. He stared at Xavier with an expression that shifted from surprise to incredulity to something perilously close to offense.

"When did I have a zerg inside me?"

He spread his arms wide, gesturing at himself as though inviting inspection.

"Can’t you see, Second Young Master? I am the one controlling the zergs. Me. Not the other way around."

"No." Xavier tried to shake his head, but couldn’t. "That’s exactly what they want you to think. The zerg—"

"Oh, shut up."

Ethan scoffed, almost rolling his eyes.

"You military types are all the same. If something doesn’t fit your neat little worldview, it must be enemy manipulation. Has it ever occurred to you that some people simply choose to do terrible things?"

He began pacing, the twin daggers swinging loosely from one hand. His footsteps left no sound as he walked.

"I chose this," Ethan said, his voice hardening in firm conviction. "Every step. Every decision. My body. Mine."

He stopped pacing and looked down at Xavier.

"I’m not some tragic puppet dancing on strings, like you, Hunter. I’m the one in control."

Xavier held his gaze, blood dripping from a cut above his eyebrow, trickling down the bridge of his nose.

Ethan shut his eyes. His fists clenched at his sides, the knuckles going white around the dagger hilts.

"Ugh." The sound was guttural, frustrated, torn. "Master said not to kill you."

When Ethan opened his eyes, something had changed.

"But he didn’t say not to touch you."

Ethan’s smile widened, cold and menacing.

"So a little injury should do it."

He stepped forward.

Xavier braced himself, body trembling as he anticipated the assault.

Then, he felt Ethan’s fingers closing around the collar of his combat suit. Ethan hauled him upward like he weighed nothing.

Xavier saw the world turned upside down.

BAM!

Soon, he felt his spine slamming against the trunk of a tree. The impact cratered the wood inward, splinters poking holes through his suit and into his skin.

An indescribable pain surged in Xavier, unable to think, unable to scream. He had a hard time breathing as his body processed his injuries.

He could feel his bones had been fractured at impact, splashing blood all over the place.

He could taste the blood coming out of his throat. Gathering in his mouth, seeping through his clenched jaw through the gaps of his lips.

He refused to close his eyes.

He refused.

Because not too far away from him, he could see his platoon was dying.

The forest became a clearing with blood pools and splatters everywhere he looked. Bodies of his men lay crumpled, mutilated all over the ground, mixed with the pieces of slain Lowborns.

And in the center of it all stood two figures he knew.

Captain Wen, with his combat knife, found the joint between the helmet and the neck guard of his comrade. His eyes were completely red, and the red intensified with each ’eating’ motion.

Lieutenant Park abandoned his broken blade and used his bare hands, fingers morphed into an insect’s forearms, poking holes at his comrades. He had the same red eyes as Captain Wen.

Every few seconds, a wet popping sound cut through the chaos. It was followed by a scream that went high and thin.

And then, it suddenly stopped.

Of the twelve soldiers who had entered this forest under Xavier’s command, six remained standing.

Three were actively fighting the two red-eyed officers. Two were clearing the increasing number of Lowborns around them.

And Lieutenant Hawn, who mostly stayed behind the desk, was forced into a survival fight, despite the fact that there was already a hole in his one arm.

As he lost blood in time, Lt. Hawn’s complexion increasingly turned pale, but his other hand was still holding his weapon and fighting for his life.

Xavier roared.

"HAWN!"

But his roar was drowned by the endless bombs and fighting.

Xavier found himself restrained by some kind of filament, keeping him pinned to the tree trunk.

As he tried to struggle, the filament tightened with every move. It made him finally scream as it literally popped his shoulder joint.

But he had no choice; he had to get away from here. He needed to save his men even at the cost of his arm.

Then, a shadow fell over him.

Ethan stepped close, close enough that Xavier could see the sinister intent inside those indifferent eyes.

His lips curled up in amusement.

"Can you see it clearly?" He asked, "Are you in despair?"

Xavier’s answer was a wordless snarl, blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and slid down his chin in a slow, dark line.

His golden eyes, bloodshot and wild, locked onto Ethan’s face, promising to tear him into shreds if he escaped.

Ethan met his gaze, cold.

"Good," he said quietly. "You have a great look in your eyes right now."

He tilted his head, almost admiring. "Keep it. Engrave this scene into your memory. Because this is probably the last time you will ever see your men again."

Xavier’s heart dropped, and something inside him snapped.

He roared, not minding the pain. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

As he struggled, his features repeatedly changed from a human to a semi-transformation to a full transformation without a break. He was mindlessly trying every means to escape, but to no avail.

Ethan knew that his ’filament’ could cut Xavier in half if Xavier continued to struggle. So he adjusted it accordingly, making sure Xavier was injured but still alive.

Then, he hummed while brushing off a leaf on his sleeve. Making all the noises turn into a background song.

Ethan reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and produced a syringe.

The liquid inside was colorless; it looked like ordinary water.

But the syringe itself had a needle thick and long enough to resemble that of a veterinary injector designed for large animals.

If Keres were there, he would have recognized the liquid inside as something similar to what he gave to Lilianna before.

Xavier’s struggles intensified as Ethan came closer. His hand found Xavier’s jaw, yanked it harshly to the side.

"This will make you more obedient."