Agony

'Am I dead?'

That was the first thought of Kevin after opening his eyes.

The familiar darkness that spread throughout the entirety of his view caused Kevin to feel a certain deja-vu.

'In the end, I couldn't protect Sophia' Kevin recalled the scene of Sophia's dead body falling to the ground as his eyes flickered with killing intent, 'Ahh...I should calm down...It's too late to change anything'

Kevin closed his eyes, trying to procure some peace. However, the constant recollections of his girlfriend's hopeless eyes rolling backward were disturbing him. Endless anger and agony brew from inside of his soul as he reopened his eyes, once again looking around the darkness.

'I can't die yet'

Struggling, Kevin managed to regain the feeling of his hand and after some time, he could fully operate his body, which was already different from the last time.

However, something didn't feel right. Every time Kevin tried moving his body a strange pressure would overwhelm, coupled with the remote perception on the skin as if he was bathed in freezing water.

'Am I underwater?' Kevin guessed the current situation as he looked up, where a strange red light actualized far in the distance.

Not second-guessing anymore, Kevin moved upwards by performing stroking transits. Even though it seemed that he was somewhere underwater, Kevin could easily breathe.

'Come out, Wolf' Kevin tried to summon his servant yet nothing happened, which caused Kevin to stop in his tracks.

But after considering the current situation and countless mysteries about this darkness, Kevin decided to go with the flow and proceeded to move further into the blinding redness.

After a few moments of moving, Kevin finally reached the source of the light, which shone uncommonly as if the sun itself descended upon the ground.

Kevin spread out his hand forward as to not get dazzled by the ridiculous light and wryly inspected the origin.

An enormous red object floated in the air with visible traits of blue veins scattered around it, making it look somewhat stirring.

But what caught most of Kevin's attention were thick chains that came from the darkness, piercing into the red object from all sides, preventing it from revealing its true luster.

For some reason, Kevin felt immense animosity coming from those metal fetters.

Deep inside, a peculiar sensation of hatred conquered him as he swam towards the heart.

With every move, more prominent rays of redness fell on Kevin's body as visible smoke appeared on Kevin's skin. Although it was getting tortuously hot, Kevin didn't stop, still feeling the need to destroy these shackles.

After a few moments, Kevin was already right next to the red object, inspecting it more keenly.

Only now did he notice the constant pulsing of the object as he murmured:

'Why does it look like a heart?' Kevin thought as he extended his hand forward and touched the object. However, to his surprise, the surface of the organ was cold despite the heated temperature around it.

'How is this is possible? It's like a piece of ice' Kevin studied the surface more keenly until an idea rushed through his head, 'Is this because of these?'

Kevin turned towards the huge four metal shackles that penetrated the heart before slowly closing the distance towards them. All of them were shrouded in ominous black smoke that sent shivers down Kevin's spine because of the evilness he perceived.

Despite that, Kevin still climbed on one of the shackles and positioned himself in a squat, gripping the cold surface of the metal.

By using all the left-over force, Kevin began to rain numerous blows on the metal, yet it didn't even budge. Instead, Kevin felt the blows reflecting into his body as his breathing intensified.

'It seems that it's not possible to break them...then' Kevin moved toward the end of the dark chain, reaching the place where it was penetrating the heart.

After placing his legs on the heart, Kevin gripped the dark piece of metal, instantly beginning to push backward.

'Stronger' Kevin cursed as he applied even more pressure on both legs and hands, proceeding to push.

Slowly, but steadily, the dark restraint was getting shifted backward until eventually, it glid, causing Kevin to fall back into the darkness.

While falling, Kevin managed to notice all four shackles evaporating into nothingness, showing that Kevin's actions weren't in vain.

As soon as the heart was released, an even brighter redness covered the entirety of Kevin's view as he felt his skin getting burned because of the heat.

Nevertheless, Kevin couldn't do anything.

The redness completely engulfed his body while continuing to corrupt Kevin's skin. Yet Kevin didn't feel any pain.

Instead, Kevin sensed the insides and outs of his body growing more firm with most of the changes occurring near his mana storage.

In calmness, Kevin closed his eyes as the shifts in his body proceeded.

"Kevin, you have finally woken up" an elderly voice reacher Kevin's ears, disturbing him from the peacefulness as he reopened his eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling greeted him while Kevin tried to look around, only to feel a piercing pain in his neck.

'Was that a dream? I did not die?' Kevin thought before rolling his eyelid towards the source of the noise, noticing the familiar person with a scar on his face sitting on a wooden chair.

"General Oda?" Kevin said as uncertainty and anger once again engulfed him, "Is Sophia alive?"

However, Oda didn't answer. He simply looked towards Kevin with an unyielding gaze before turning his head sideways.

Kevin's breathing instantly intensified.

"Let me see her body" Kevin tried to get up from the bed, but the severe pain in the upper part of the body, forced him back to the couch.

"I don't suggest getting up, the mana inside of you is still unstable. It is a miracle that you didn't turn into a beast yet" Oda said before continuing, "As for Sophia...unfortunately I can't let you see her body"

"Why?" Kevin asked, unsatisfied with the man's answer.

"Sophia's mother has taken her body" Oda answered.

"Where is her mother?" Kevin didn't give up.

Despite her being a mother, it's still unacceptable to take away Sophia's body without informing Kevin.

"I would gladly tell you her location if only I knew it. No one has ever seen her since she took Sophia's body" Oda exhaled a deep breath in lassitude.

"Did Bud run away as well?" Kevin asked as his expression altered even angrier with each second.

"Bud died" Oda placed his head on the forehead as his eyes flickered with distress, "Thirty percent of the town have been annihilated"

'Tch...it seems that it wasn't easy on anyone, even Sophia's father died..but how can Sophia's mother be so selfish' Myriad of thought rushed through Kevin's head as he turned angrier and angrier to the point that his face reddened.

"Why didn't Okura show up? The death rate would definitely be lower. Isn't he the guardian of the town?"

Kevin still believed that if Okura showed up, Sophia and many others would be saved.

"My pops helped me to fight Valaar and in the end, both of them disappeared somewhere as Okura used his god's power to get the demon away from the town" Oda answered.

Kevin had already long predicted that Okura and Oda were relatives so the news wasn't shocking to him.

'Why am I trying to blame someone for my uselessness...if only I was stronger, Sophia would still be alive' Kevin cursed inwardly before muttering:

"Okura's strong, I am sure he will be alright"

Oda simply smiled after hearing Kevin's words as he stood up from the chair, turning towards the exit.

"Wait...can you tell how long was I unconscious?" Kevin asked, seeing the already wanting to leave general.

"3 days" Oda stopped in his track while turning back around, "We are in the hospital inside of the hunter union"

'3 days and I am still in such state? It seems that soul crystals are more dangerous than I imagined' Kevin thought before continuing to listen.

"As for your classmates, all of them were sent into the town of Osuka and signed up for the school there to finish their education. However, I believe you aren't so eager to go to school so I told the government to keep you here until rehabilitation"

"What are you planning, general?" Kevin instantly sensed something not being right and simply asked, believing Oda wouldn't need to keep anything in secret.

"Kevin, you are a smart kid," Oda smiled before tossing Kevin an unfamiliar white card that he couldn't catch because of the weakness in his body.

"It's a document that allows you to skip school," Oda turned back around beginning to walk towards the exit, "However, once you reach the superhuman realm, you still have to join the military and serve for two years."

'Skipping school? That's a great card,' Kevin thought before saying:

"Than--" However, all the desire to say something evaporated after not seeing Oda anywhere in the spacious white room.

Kevin's eyes once again flickered with immense anger and killing intent. Although he appeared to be fine during the conversation with Oda, the endless agony deep inside still didn't disappear. Kevin couldn't bear the fact that Sophia had really died.

He couldn't bear the fact that he would never see those two bluish eyes, touch her delicate waist, and observe the blooming smile on her face.

Kevin had only spent a few days in this new body, yet he already had lost the sole important person in his entire life. It's as if fate itself doesn't want Kevin to be felicitous.

"I will have my revenge, and no one will stop me ... Beasts, demons, or even humans, whoever stands in my way will be terminated"

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3 days ago.

In the center of the ruined building, two figures could be seen hugging each other intensely despite the blazing layer of fire around them.

Both of them were covered in crimson blood, which merged with the endless tears, raining down from the woman's face.

"Wake up Clive, don't pretend you're dead," Kate growled as more and more tears spilled from her eyes, "Come on, this isn't funny anymore"

However, no response could be heard from the lifeless Clive.

Only endless hits of rain against the ground, which synced with her crying, filled Kate's ears.

"Do you want your brother saved?"

Suddenly, an elderly voice resounded from behind Kate as she turned around, her eyes still watery.

An average-sized person, whose face was hidden under a dark robe, stood next to the blazing flame while extending the hand forward.

"If you want your brother to be saved, take my hand."

"Go away, Clive is already dead," Kate replied as she turned back to her brother. Even though she was distraught, Kate could still understand the fact that Clive was already dead.

"Oh, kids are such a nuisance," an entirely different voice screeched from under the robe as Kate instantly spun back around in alarm.

However, her sight suddenly went blank as she fell unconscious to the floor, hitting the ground with her chin.

"Not a bad harvest this time," the robbed man spoke to himself as he pulled a strange device from under his clothing and held it next to his ear.

"How many did we catch in total?"

"19"

"Alright, that should be enough. The army troops are already on their way, it's better if we retreat"