Chapter 212: Melting
Myles saw everything.
From his position with his attention fixed entirely on the center of the battlefield, he caught the moment Red’s fist connected and the next instant Michael’s body was sent flying, and the way the air seemed to shatter under that single blow.
It happened so fast that most of the others didn’t fully register it because they were still occupied with their own fights and survival, but Myles saw it clearly, every detail etched into his mind as the reality of the situation settled deeper.
His eyes twitched slightly as they remained locked onto Red.
"It doesn’t look like he is a human anymore."
The thought formed slowly. It became heavy and undeniable as he watched Red stand there, completely unbothered, as if everything that had just happened meant nothing at all.
Myles had already seen the regeneration once, but now that image replayed in his mind again. How the burned flesh had restored itself so effortlessly.
Red didn’t just get stronger. He changed into something else entirely.
A sharp frustration surged within him and filled his chest as his jaw clenched harder.
"Fuck me. Why does this always happen?!"
The thought came out bitter, filled with anger that had been building longer than this single fight.
Every time he faced something this important, something that pushed him to his limits and made the survival of his friends threatened, it always ended the same way. Something from beyond, something higher, interfered with the battle. Giving his enemy a Seed or making him vessels, or some other bullshit like that.
Power that didn’t belong to this world forcing itself into it and turning enemies into monsters far beyond what they should have been.
"Every damn time!" His grip tightened around his blades. "I’m sick of this."
Without warning, Myles moved again.
A few more of Red’s troops attempted to close in on him but they didn’t even get the chance to react. His short sword cut through one of them cleanly, the curved dagger following immediately to finish another.
He moved again without slowing, stepping into the next attack and killing the remaining ones in quick succession. His movements were still sharp and controlled like before yet carrying a clear edge of irritation that hadn’t been there before.
Bodies dropped around him once again, but just like before, he didn’t spare them a glance.
His focus returned to Red immediately.
Myles studied him closely while watching every subtle movement, shift in his posture, and reaction that might hint at a weakness.
He tried to break it down, to understand it, to find something that could be used against him.
But there was nothing for now.
"How do you even deal with something like that?"
He didn’t have an answer.
At the center of the battlefield, Red’s presence began to change again.
The aura around him thickened, no longer just a faint bloody mist but a heavier and denser mist that wrapped around his body like a living flame.
It flickered and moved with an unnatural intensity. It radiated heat that distorted the air even further as if his existence was starting to burn with high temperature.
The crimson light deepened around him, and the pressure that followed made the ground beneath his feet crack slightly with each step he took.
"HAHAHA!"
Then he laughed again.
The sound carried across the battlefield as he slowly turned his head, his gaze drifting away from Michael’s fallen body and toward the surrounding survivors.
His eyes landed on a man from Michael’s camp, someone who had been fighting desperately just moments ago.
Red walked toward him.
The man froze the moment their eyes met, fear instantly taking over as his body locked in place.
"W-Wait—" he tried to say, but the words never finished.
Red reached out and touched him.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the man screamed.
A horrifying change spread from the point of contact. His skin darkened as if something hot was seeping into him from within. His body trembled violently. His muscles convulsed as the strange thing spread rapidly, devouring him from the inside out.
The glow beneath Red’s cracks pulsed again, and in response, the man’s form began to break down.
His flesh softened and then melted like wax under extreme heat.
The scream stretched into raw and unbearable scream as his body collapsed in on itself, losing its shape as it turned into a grotesque liquefied mass that dripped onto the ground.
Within seconds nothing remained of him but a puddle of gore that steamed faintly on the ground.
Red watched it happen with clear satisfaction.
Myles’ eyes hardened.
The worry inside him deepened even further. Turning into bigger fear as he took in what had just happened. This wasn’t just strength anymore, or regeneration or overwhelming power.
It was something far worse. Red could corrupt people he touched and made them melt.
Myles felt the outcome of this battle slipping further out of reach.
—
High above the battlefield, where the crimson light painted everything beneath in a suffocating glow, two figures stood in silence in the air as they observed the chaos from afar.
The heat rising from below reached even their position. It was faint yet still clearly noticeable. It carried the oppressive weight of the power that had taken hold of the battlefield.
Seraphina’s gaze remained fixed on Red, her golden eyes narrowing slightly as she watched the thick aura surrounding him pulse like flame.
"The embryo has already taken root," she said, her voice calm but edged with certainty, as if what she was seeing confirmed something she had anticipated. She had that small smirk on her face.
Beside her, Lilian stood with her arms crossed lightly, her expression far more tense as her eyes followed the same figure below. The sight of Red’s transformation, the regeneration, the corruption spreading from his touch, all of it reflected clearly in her gaze.
"I didn’t think a human could carry something like that," she replied, her tone lower, carrying a trace of unease she didn’t bother to hide. "Not like this... and definitely not this fast."
Seraphina didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes lingered on Red for a moment longer, studying him as if measuring something else than what was visible on the surface.
The faintest curve touched her lips even higher, not quite a smile, but something close to intrigue.
"Then it means he’s not ordinary," she said at last, her voice thoughtful as her head tilted slightly. "A special human, perhaps."
Her gaze sharpened.
"And if that’s the case..." she continued, her tone shifting subtly, becoming more deliberate as her eyes traced Red’s figure once more. "Maybe we should consider bonding with him instead of Myles."
The words hung in the air between them.
Lilian’s eyes moved immediately.
She turned her head and looked down toward the battlefield again, but this time her gaze didn’t settle on Red. It shifted slightly and locked onto another figure instead. Myles.
For a moment, she said nothing. Her expression was unreadable as she watched him standing there amidst the chaos while still fighting and also observing. He was still refusing to step back despite everything unfolding around him.
Then she spoke.
"It’s not over yet."
—
