3 Truly free?

With wide eyes, they watched as Miss Arisa's hair flew wildly around her and a red glowing aura outlined her curves.

"Nnnghh!" The female who had objected earlier, froze, unable to breathe. She opened her mouth, trying to take in air.

"Ma... 'am!" She choked on her word, her lower lid forced all the way upwards, showing the tiny veins on her sclera.

An ear-piercing scream could be heard from the female.

The others all took a step back in horror. They watched as their teammate's body turned pale, all blood visibly rushing towards her brain.

Krrr!

Krrr!

They let out a collective wince at the sound of a crack that came from the female's skull.

None had the will to object to what was playing before them, instead, they watched in dead silence.

Krrr!

That was the last sound before a final snap was heard, blood trailed out of the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth of the female.

Raising her hand, Arisa suspended the splash of blood in the air, preventing it from soiling her dress and Ren.

The other agents weren't so lucky as the blood spread in all directions, splashing on them, the walls, and the ceiling.

Thud!

The lifeless body dropped to the floor.

When it was certain that there was no way the splash was going to get to her and Ren, she dropped her hand and had an evil smirk on her lips.

All other agents were gripped in shock, with some of their mouths gaped open.

This wasn't a good sign, this had rarely happened to their leader. She was known to be quiet and calculative but wise.

What had happened in the space of an hour was surely influenced by the unconscious abomination their leader stayed close to.

"Does anyone else have objections?" She brought her hand close to her face, and a peal of crazed laughter could be heard.

They all shared a look, no one dared speak on what had led to their teammate's death.

"No one?" Miss Arisa frowned, dropping her hand and pouting in disappointment.

"We would never!" They all said in a chorus.

Miss Arisa brings her hands together in front, with the fingertips touching each other.

"You should be grateful to have been saved before you ended up dead as Makiki did!"

They all cast a gloomy look on the body.

"Yet, Ren shares a similar connection as my Sui, if not stronger and you term him dangerous?" Her face was red with fury.

They all stared back. The message she was trying to pass across was never going to sink in. All she did was trigger their anxiety about the sort of danger this recruit was to bring.

The whole foundation of the agency could be at stake if Ren wasn't contained.

Clicking her tongue, Miss Arisa shook her head in disappointment. Hands akimbo, her head drooped as she stared at the bloody floor.

A realization came rushing in at that moment. Pulling away from Ren, she hid the negativity that dared to rear its ugly head.

"Ma'am, you are a master in this, surely it would be easy to control your..." A male responded with the raise of his hand to identify himself, gulping as he looked down at the corpse of Makiki. "... Sui."

"Enough!" She raised her hand in dismissal, refusing to be convinced otherwise.

Her features softened as she looked down at Ren. He looked so peaceful while he slept. Memories of a time she had been in a similar situation came rushing back.

A sad smile graced her lips while she watched Ren's chest rise and fall to the rhythm of his breathing.

"If anyone tries to trigger his Sui when he hasn't gotten a grasp on how to control it, then it would be on whoever decides to prove smart." She said with a disturbing eye shut smile.

"Leave us!" She ordered in a loud voice.

Giving one final bow, they walked in a single file line and out of the room.

Click!

Staring at the door, she made sure distant footsteps couldn't be heard.

At the confirmation, she placed her hand on both sides of Ren, creases formed around her spread out fingers.

Leaning forward, her pigtails hanging down, framing his face while she stared down at him in close range.

She could feel his breath fan her face as she maintained the position before she spoke.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you." She said in a hushed whisper, "there are so many things we could share, and explore together."

Tracing his face with her red painted squoval fingernails. Leaned closer to hear him breathe out.

"Those voices can't work in here," she continued speaking to him as if he were awake. "It's safe here. It would be fun to watch you grow past your limitations."

'You're mine!' Her thought obsessed over him, her pupils dilating as she continued to stare.

Leaning lower so she could whisper in his ear, she placed her hand on his chest and spoke, "Wake up, Ren."

Ren's brows creased to the words, feeling something tug at his heart.

"Nnng!" He groaned.

Realizing her mistake, she pulled her hands from his chest.

Raising her head, she smiled. "See you soon!"

Digging her heels into the floor, she made a U-turn towards the exit, closing the door as lightly as she could.

Click!

[Awaken, Venator]

Ren jolted awake with a loud gasp, coughing right after.

A ringing sound lingered in his head. Blinking a few times, his blurry vision began to normalize and he could properly see his environment better.

His hand shot up to his face, then he looked at his hands.

'I'm alive?' He narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

Trying to rack his thoughts on how possible it was that he had survived that fall, his thoughts were foggy.

Choosing to ignore that piece of information in the meantime, he focused his attention on his environment.

His heart suddenly raced at the sight of a dim Alzbeta metal s-bar wall lamp which brought all focal attention away from the center of the room, casting a gloomy shadow on the wall.

'Where am I?! What is this place?!'

–––––––––––

Outside the room, Miss Arisa watched Ren through a one-way glass, studying his first interactions after waking up as instructed.

'Humor me.' She thought with a smile.

Ren looked around the room, his eyes locked on a red substance that had designed the gray wall.

'No, no... It can't be!'

He had not envisaged he could be taken back to another rehab center. The eerie silence piqued his interest.

'No voice! No monster!' He realized after a few minutes had passed since he had woken up and yet nothing had happened. A smile made its way to his lips.

The same putrid smell of blood engulfed his senses. Gagging, his hand pegged his nose as he tried to locate where the smell was coming from.

He slowly placed a foot onto the floor and shivered at how cold and wet it felt.

Retracting his leg, he brought his leg closer to have a look at the liquid imprint under his foot.

'Blood?! What the hell?!' He panicked, slowly looking over the edge of the bed, immediately he reacted by pushing himself back.

The bed creaked to the pressure and speed Ren had used to push back and pretend he never saw anything.

His heart thumped loudly, he had just witnessed the sight of a female's corpse on the floor in a pool of her blood. Skin as white as snow, blue veins showed branching on her hands and legs. Her face bathed in blood.

Slapping his cheek and hoping all that he had just seen was a mere figment of his imagination.

No voice interrupted his thoughts.

'It's gone!' he thought with a sigh and good cheer.

"It's gone?!" He raised his hand, not seeing the monster come at him after such a long while.

'Am I truly free?'