The Awakening

As they were about to leave, they heard the same gravelly voice of the leader. He approached them with a menacing look on his face. Both Zane and Sophia raised their guard, preparing to counter any attack. They were injured and exhausted, but they had no choice.

To their surprise, the leader didn't attack. Instead, he said in his heavy voice, "You sure made a mess here. Now I have to take care of these two."

Despite his calm demeanor, Zane and Sophia didn't let their guard down. The man continued, "Now, now, no need to be so tense. I'm not going to do anything."

Sophia spoke up first. "What do you mean? Then why did you kidnap me?"

Zane thought the same. He figured they would have to run or face the leader head-on, using Sophia's telekinesis if necessary. But the leader was calmly speaking, even after seeing his people die.

"Well," the leader said, "I did it on someone's order. He will pay me handsomely if I hand you over to him. But... as you can see, due to their mistake," he pointed at the dead bodies, "you are free. I can guess you also contacted your family and they are on their way to rescue you."

They didn't understand why he was so calm if he knew they were coming to save them. Seeing their silence, the man chuckled. "You thought I am so calm because I know your family is coming to help? Well, I will escape easily and hide for some time."

Sophia squinted her eyes. Zane was still standing beside her, holding a rusty pipe in his hand. He then tugged on Sophia's sleeve and whispered, "I don't believe him. He's saying all this, but he's still constantly checking our movements. And the red-haired woman is not here."

Seeing this, the man narrowed his eyes and suddenly made a hole in the ground. Zane and Sophia fell, but Sophia used her telekinesis to avoid the fall. However, she got hit by a fireball from behind. The red-haired woman emerged with an evil smile on her face. "Well, that was troublesome," she said.

Sophia fell to the ground, groaning in pain from the burn. She was exhausted and still not fully recovered from the potion. It took only one hit to make her lose consciousness.

The man said, "Let's hurry up and take her before they arrive."

The red-haired woman asked, "What about him?" pointing towards Zane, who was trying to escape with the pipe and climb out.

The man replied, "Burn him alive and also burn these bodies with him. He is useless. Well, I was hoping to use him for something, but it seems it's not possible anymore."

The woman threw the bodies at Zane and smirked. "Well, today will be your last day."

Zane trembled in fear. He was panicking, not knowing what to do. He clearly saw there was no way out now.

Still started to think of way out their knowing it is futile couldn't find anything then saw that he still had a spatial device with him that he took from one of the twins. searched in desperation to get something anything but it just had a D-rank core in it.

Meanwhile

The woman created a very large fireball, even bigger and more powerful than Lucas's. Lucas's fireball was like an ant in front of it. Zane closed his eyes, prepared to die, and the woman threw the fireball into the hole.

The man said, "You took so much time to finish it off."

"Hey, don't complain. I needed to make sure nothing was left."

"Yeah, yeah."

They put Sophia in the car and tied her hands.

"What will we do if she wakes up? We don't have any potion to suppress her ability," the woman said with a concerned tone. If Sophia woke up, it would be troublesome to control her telekinesis.

The man replied, "No need to worry. It won't take much time. We will reach our next stop soon, and we can inject the potion there."

As they were about to leave, starting the car, their eyes widened at the scene they saw. Zane, with some burnt clothes, appeared in front of them.

Zane's POV:

This is the end. While he thought he would die, he regretted how his mother would react when she found out he died. Or would she even know about his death? And what about Ameli? Zane cursed this world for being so unfair to him. While everyone else manifested their abilities around age 10, he waited for his to awaken. He remembered how he fantasized about what ability he would get, fight monsters, become an S-rank hunter, and be the strongest in the world. But that dream shattered when he didn't awaken his ability after turning 10, and then even 11. Still, he then worked hard to go into the research field like his father and achieve his dream of becoming renowned researcher.

As he recalled all these memories, Zane clenched hard on the monster core, which was red and shining, reflecting his face. He saw the fireball above the pit. He closed his eyes, but suddenly felt something warm in his body. Energy was flowing through him. He opened his eyes and saw the core shining. The energy enveloped Zane, and the fireball hit him, but nothing happened. It burned everything else except Zane. He saw the bodies vaporize in the fire in front of his eyes, but the warm feeling increased. Suddenly, hard scales formed around his body.

Zane felt strength surge through him. All the pain was gone. He stood, shocked, as he watched the scales on his body. They were dark, shiny, and tough-looking, covering him like armor. He felt lightweight and, without much trouble, jumped out of the pit. He stood against the car, his clothes burning from the fire which caught him while leaving the pit and stared at the man inside the car.

The man and woman looked at each other in disbelief.

"What is this?" the man muttered.

"He… he survived?" the woman stammered.

Zane took a step forward. His scales glinted in the dim light, and he felt an overwhelming power within him. He could feel the energy coursing through his veins, making him stronger than ever before. His eyes were sharp and focused, his senses heightened.

The man quickly composed himself. "It doesn't matter what happened. We need to take him down before he becomes a bigger problem."

The woman nodded, forming another fireball in her hand. "You won't get lucky this time, kid."

Zane clenched his fists, feeling the power in his new form. "I'm not the same as before. You won't hurt me again."

Sophia, still unconscious in the car, stirred slightly. Zane knew he had to protect her at all costs as she helped him too and she was the only person after Kevin and his family who didn't disgust him for being unawakened. He couldn't let these people take her away.

The man barked orders. "Burn him! Now!"

The woman threw the fireball with all her might. Zane braced himself, but the scales absorbed the impact, the fire dissipating harmlessly around him. He felt a surge of confidence. He could do this.

With a burst of speed, Zane charged at the car. The man tried to drive away, but Zane reached them in no time. He grabbed the door, his newfound strength ripping it off its hinges. The man and woman inside were stunned.

"What… what are you?" the man gasped.

Zane didn't answer. He focused on getting Sophia out of the car. He carefully lifted her out, making sure she was safe. Then he turned to face the man and the woman.

"This ends now," Zane said firmly.

The woman's eyes narrowed, and she moved faster than Zane could react. She lashed out with a kick that sent him staggering back. She followed up with a punch, but Zane managed to block it with his scaled arm.

The impact reverberated through him, and he realized that despite his new power, he was not invincible.

Zane threw a punch, but the woman dodged it easily. She countered with a blast of fire from her hands, and Zane barely managed to raise his arms in time. The flames licked at his scales, causing a burning sensation. He felt a moment of panic. Could his new armor withstand this level of heat?

"I don't know what kind of freakish power you've got now," the woman sneered, "but it won't save you."

Zane gritted his teeth, focusing on her movements. He remembered watching fights on TV, trying to mimic what he had seen. He threw another punch, this time aiming for her midsection. She twisted to avoid it, but he managed to clip her side, causing her to grunt in pain.

"Nice try," she hissed, "but it's not enough."

She launched another fireball, smaller this time but faster. Zane ducked, feeling the heat as it whizzed past his head. He lunged forward, tackling her to the ground. They rolled, exchanging blows. Zane's inexperience showed as he missed several opportunities, but he fought with desperation.

The woman managed to pin him down, her hand blazing with fire. "Say goodbye, kid," she spat, bringing her hand down towards his face.

Zane's hand shot out instinctively, grabbing her wrist. The heat seared his palm, but he held on, using his other hand to punch her square in the face. The impact stunned her, and he shoved her off, scrambling to his feet.

"You're stronger than I thought," she admitted, wiping blood from her lip, "but not strong enough."

Zane was breathing hard, his body aching. "I won't let you take her," he said, his voice firm