Chapter 16: A Bloody Message
The city was alive with flickering neon lights and the distant hum of traffic, but on a deserted rooftop overlooking the massacre below, two figures stood in eerie silence.
Nyx ran a gloved hand through her raven-black hair, a wicked smirk playing on her lips. She took in the carnage below—the bodies of Awakened torn apart, their blood painting the cracked pavement in dark crimson.
"What a good hunt." She exhaled, stretching her arms as if shaking off the remnants of a battle. "They put up a decent fight… well, for rats, anyway."
Veyron stood a few steps away, his glowing yellow eyes fixed on the distant cityscape. He said nothing, merely listening.
Nyx laughed suddenly, nudging him with her elbow. "One of them almost burnt you, though. That fire ability could have been nasty." She grinned at the memory, clearly amused.
Veyron finally spoke, his voice calm. "I will wait here for a while. You can go."
Nyx cocked her head, intrigued. "Hmm? I wonder what you want to do here." She stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "Well, whatever. You know where to find me."
With that, she turned on her heel and walked toward the edge of the rooftop. In a single, graceful motion, she leaped off, disappearing from sight.
Veyron remained, standing still as the cold wind brushed against him. His gaze lingered on the carnage below.
*******
Quinn knew the location before they even arrived.
The moment the AGC vehicle slowed to a stop, his stomach twisted. This was the Black Hound hideout.
His old workplace.
The same place where he had scrubbed blood off floors, listened to the gangsters boast about their crimes, and overheard whispers of stolen artifacts.
Now, there was nothing left but corpses.
The second they stepped out of the vehicle, the scent hit them—thick, overwhelming, metallic. Blood.
Quinn, Mira, Elise, and the AGC members approached cautiously, their boots crunching against the pavement. The hideout's entrance was wide open, the inside eerily silent.
Then they saw it.
A bloodbath.
Every single one of them… dead.
Bodies lay scattered across the room, slumped over furniture, sprawled against walls, limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Pools of blood reflected the dim light of the overhead bulbs. The walls were streaked with crimson handprints, as if some of them had tried to crawl away before they met their end.
But one thing stood out.
Each and every body had one thing in common.
Their hearts were missing.
Elise covered her mouth, her face pale. Even Mira, normally composed, narrowed her eyes, her expression unreadable.
Then she spotted two bodies near the back of the room.
Her breath hitched. "The same cut…" she muttered, kneeling beside them. "The same clean cut as the AGC member from earlier."
Quinn exhaled sharply, scanning the room. He already knew what had happened.
"They came feasting," he muttered. His voice was cold.
A Hallow's hunger was insatiable, but this… this was different. This was a message.
His jaw tightened. "Just how strong is our opponent?" His voice was low, thoughtful. "We have to be careful."
The others didn't respond. Elise looked disgusted, her expressions tense as she stepped over the lifeless bodies.
The AGC agents wasted no time, quickly packing the bodies into containment units. The work was grim and silent.
By the time they were finished, the sun had nearly disappeared beyond the horizon. Night had fallen.
The team boarded the vehicles, ready to head back.
As they drove through the city, Quinn suddenly spoke. "Drop me off here."
The AGC driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "You sure?"
Quinn nodded. "I'll walk home from here."
The car slowed to a stop, and Quinn stepped out, the night air cool against his skin.
The vehicle drove off, leaving him alone in the dimly lit street.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
Then he spoke.
"You've been following me for a while now." His voice was calm, but his muscles tensed. "I'm guessing you're behind the massacre."
A shadow moved above.
Then, Veyron landed gracefully before him.
The Hallow's glowing yellow eyes met his. A slow smirk formed on his lips. "You have a good sense. Impressive." He tilted his head slightly. "As expected from an S-rank who kill two A ranked"
Quinn's expression remained unreadable.
Then something clicked in his mind. Two A ranked hallows one hallow-like brute and another the serpent-like one.
Realization dawned.
Veyron saw the look in his eyes and chuckled. "Yes. I was talking about them. You killed those two." His gaze sharpened. "And soon, you'll be joining them in hell."
Quinn's lips curled into a grin. "That won't be happening."
Veyron's body shifted.
His right arm morphed into a long, curved blade. His left followed, shaping into a second weapon.
The air grew heavy.
Then, a familiar sound echoed in Quinn's mind.
[System Notification]
[Quest: Kill the A-ranked Hallow, Veyron]
[Reward: ??]
Quinn's grin widened. "Perfect."
The moment Veyron's bladed arms morphed, the air around them trembled with pressure. A vile, suffocating aura radiated from the Hallow, warping the space like a heatwave. The cracked pavement beneath his feet darkened, as if recoiling from his presence.
Quinn, standing a few feet away, remained unfazed. His gaze was sharp, his posture loose but ready. His boots pressed into the worn asphalt, small pebbles rolling away from the sheer force radiating from his body.
"You talk too much," Quinn muttered. "Let's get this over with."
Veyron's glowing yellow eyes narrowed. Then, with an ear-splitting BOOM, he lunged.
SHRRRRK!
Veyron's twin bladed arms cleaved downward like guillotines, aiming to slice Quinn clean in half. The sheer force of his attack caused the air to ripple, splitting the pavement beneath him before his blades even touched the ground.
But Quinn had already moved.
A pulse of Gravity Shift sent him sliding to the side at impossible speed, his figure blurring out of reach. The moment he dodged, Veyron's attack SLAMMED into the street, completely obliterating the asphalt.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening shockwave tore through the surroundings. The impact created a massive crater, sending chunks of concrete and twisted metal flying in all directions. The force shattered nearby streetlights, plunging the area into flickering darkness.
Veyron pivoted instantly, his arms elongating into razor-sharp tendrils.
"Hallow Sprawl!"
Dark, jagged roots erupted from the ground like spears, stabbing upward in a deadly forest of thorns. They ripped through the pavement, puncturing abandoned cars, impaling buildings, and shattering glass in an explosion of debris.
But Quinn was already airborne.
Gravity Jump.
A single push off the air sent him flying high above the battlefield, flipping backward just in time to evade the incoming spikes.
Below, the roots twisted, warping into monstrous tendrils that chased him through the air like living serpents.
Gravity Slide.
Quinn twisted midair, shifting his gravitational pull. He zipped sideways in an unnatural trajectory, sliding across an invisible path, dodging each tendril with perfect agility.
"Hunger Bloom!"
Veyron slammed his hands into the ground, his chest splitting open grotesquely. From the gaping wound, dark purple seeds shot out like bullets, embedding themselves into the surrounding buildings, cars, and rubble.
Then—they bloomed.
From every surface, grotesque black vines erupted, twisting into monstrous, clawed appendages. The city street was no longer a battleground—it was a deathtrap, a suffocating jungle of writhing, parasitic plants hungry for flesh.
Veyron grinned. "Now you're trapped—"
Quinn didn't let him finish.
Gravity Wave.
A colossal gravitational pulse exploded outward from his body.
The sheer force was devastating.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire battlefield imploded.
The vines were crushed instantly, collapsing under the weight of Quinn's ability. Buildings groaned before their entire facades caved in, windows exploding from the immense pressure. Cars crumpled like paper, their metal frames flattening into scrap. The street itself sank, forming a massive crater stretching over an entire city block.
Veyron barely had time to react before—
SHING!
A clean cut.
His left arm went flying.
Dark green blood splattered, sizzling against the cracked pavement. But before the limb could even hit the ground, it twisted, wriggled, and regrew.
Quinn clicked his tongue. "I hate that ability."
Veyron smirked. "Then you better make sure you kill me properly."
His body expanded grotesquely. His back split open, and monstrous, gnarled branches shot out, impaling nearby structures. His size doubled, his torso distorting into a horrific tree-like form. His yellow eyes burned with madness.
"Forest of the Fallen!"
A nightmare unfolded.
The entire battlefield became a twisted woodland of death.
Towering roots tore through buildings like wrecking balls, sending skyscrapers toppling with deafening roars. The ground itself buckled, veins of darkness splitting the earth apart. Streetlights flickered, struggling against the suffocating mass of shadowy branches that devoured the cityscape.
Veyron roared, his voice shaking the rubble-strewn streets.
But Quinn was already moving.
In an instant, he vanished.
Veyron barely had time to register—
CRACK!
Quinn reappeared mid-air, fist drawn back, wreathed in gravitational energy.
"Gravity Impact."
The punch connected squarely with Veyron's face.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The impact was apocalyptic.
A massive shockwave erupted outward, sending a sonic boom tearing through the city. Buildings collapsed like dominoes, their steel beams warping from the sheer pressure. Windows shattered in a five-block radius, glass raining down like deadly hail. The shockwave even ripped asphalt straight off the street, sending debris flying through the air like cannon fire.
Veyron was launched.
His body hurtled through multiple buildings, tearing through steel and concrete as if they were made of paper. Skyscrapers cracked and crumbled in his wake, sending massive plumes of dust and fire into the sky.
He crashed into the ground with an earthquake-like tremor, carving a deep trench through the ruined landscape.
Silence followed.
Then—movement.
Veyron coughed up dark green blood, his body shaking. His regeneration flickered, failing.
Quinn landed gracefully, walking toward him.
Veyron glared up at him, rage and desperation in his eyes.
"You… LITTLE—!"
Quinn appeared in front of him in an instant.
A flurry of fists.
One. Two. Three. Four—
Each impact sent Veyron reeling, his monstrous form collapsing under the relentless assault. The air cracked with each devastating blow, the very ground beneath them shattering into fractured pieces.
Then, with a final, devastating uppercut—
Veyron was launched into the sky.
Blood splattered through the air. His body twisted violently, completely overwhelmed.
Quinn raised his index finger.
A swirling black sphere formed above it, pulling everything toward it with terrifying force.
"Black Singularity: Attraction."
Veyron's body was caught in the gravitational vortex.
He screamed.
Then—SHRRRRIP!
His stomach ripped apart.
A massive chunk of his torso disappeared, erased by the singularity. Blood poured from the gaping wound, his body spasming violently.
He crashed onto the pavement, unmoving.
Quinn stepped over his dying form, looking down with cold amusement.
"Who's joining them in hell now?"