Markus's footsteps thundered down the corridor—each one heavier, faster, fueled by rage he could no longer contain. His blood felt like it was boiling, every breath sharp enough to cut.
He couldn't think straight.
Rose was dead.
His family was dead.
And somewhere out there, Satsujin was still breathing.
"Damn it…" he muttered, slamming his fist into the wall hard enough to crack the metal plating. The soldiers nearby froze, watching as dust and shards rained from the dent.
He stormed past them, his jaw tight, his hands trembling. Training hadn't helped—he'd torn through every target dummy in the hall until his knuckles bled. But no matter how much he hit, nothing changed.
Nothing filled the hole.
Revenge never did.
His steps slowed as he passed Andrew's office. Voices drifted through the half-closed door—familiar ones.
"…traitors," Vayne's voice said, calm but edged.
Markus's head turned slightly. He moved closer, pressing himself against the wall.
"Sovereign Calder betrayed his own people," Andrew said quietly. "He lost his life at their hands."
Vayne's tone stayed cold. "I just don't understand. He was a hero once. Goes to show… under the right pressure, anyone can crack."
Markus clenched his fist. Calder's betrayal meant nothing to him—not compared to what he'd already lost. He was about to walk away when another voice slipped through.
Crowne.
Smooth, almost amused.
"There's more."
Andrew's chair scraped faintly. "Go on."
"When the final invasion hit, the barrier around the city failed."
"I'm aware," Andrew said.
Crowne's voice darkened. "Are you aware it was destroyed from the inside?"
A pause.
Andrew's voice sharpened. "…What?"
"One of the workers turned himself in," Crowne continued, the smirk almost audible. "Said there were others—some soldiers, some civilians. Families taken hostage. Others…"
He chuckled quietly. "Others thought Lionel would win."
Silence.
"I see," Andrew said grimly. "I take it they're contained?"
"Of course. Lowest level of HQ."
Vayne's eyes suddenly shifted toward the door. Markus froze as that piercing gaze locked straight on him through the crack.
"Well," Vayne said softly. "Looks like we have an eavesdropper."
Markus didn't wait. He bolted down the hall.
Crowne's laugh followed. "Oh, he's not taking that well."
Vayne's voice dropped low. "Andrew—call Markus down. Now."
"Why?"
"The look in his eyes… he's out for blood. He's going after the prisoners."
Andrew slammed his hand onto the comms panel.
"Markus Sentryon—stand down!"
No reply.
"I said stand down!"
Still nothing. Only the echo of footsteps fading deeper into the facility.
Crowne smirked. "Told you. Someone better stop him."
Andrew switched channels immediately.
"Angel Squad—this is Admiral Handerfall. Markus is heading for the lower level. Stop him before he goes too far!"
Across HQ, alarms began to pulse red.
Kai, Aika, and Arnik were already in motion, armored and armed, sprinting down the corridor.
Arnik's expression hardened. "If he kills those prisoners, there's no coming back from it."
Kai gritted his teeth. "Then we stop him—no matter what it takes."
The three of them rushed toward the lower decks as the sound of Markus's boots echoed farther and farther below.
Arnik glanced sideways, his eyes narrowing. "Kai—what's this about? What's Markus doing?"
Kai didn't hesitate. The answer came to him in an instant, cold and heavy. "We're holding the traitors down there… and by the looks of it, Markus is going to kill them."
Arnik's jaw clenched. "Damn it."
Lightning crackled up his arms as he activated his mutation, the floor under his boots sparking. In a flash he was gone—blurring down the hall, weaving past startled soldiers and officers.
Behind him, Kai and Aika followed close, their comms filled with Andrew's frantic voice.
"Markus! This is an order—stand down!"
But Markus wasn't listening.
His boots hit the steel floors hard, his breath rough and uneven. The hallway blurred by, red lights flashing overhead. Ahead, the checkpoint guards turned, weapons snapping up.
"Halt!" one barked. "Last warning, Sentryon!"
He didn't slow.
The air cracked.
In a blink, Markus was gone from sight. The next moment, a shockwave erupted down the hall—guards slammed into the walls like rag dolls, weapons scattering across the floor.
"Sent—Sentryon! STOP THIS NOW!" Andrew's voice thundered through the comms.
Markus didn't respond. His voice came low, ragged, filled with fury.
"It's treason. They chose their side."
He reached the cell block doors—massive slabs of reinforced magic steel.
With one arm, he punched straight through it.
The sound echoed like a cannon shot, metal splintering, sparks raining across the floor. His knuckles tore open, but the wounds sealed just as fast, skin crawling back into place.
He gripped the door's frame—tendons tightening, eyes glowing red—and ripped it in half.
The prisoners inside froze.
A dozen of them—humans, demi-cats, demi-wolves—all huddled together under the dim blue lights.
"W-What is that…?" one of them whispered.
Markus stepped through the broken doorway, smoke and dust curling around him. His eyes—scarlet and bright as blood—burned through the haze. His face was calm, too calm, the stillness before a storm.
"Traitors," he said, his voice low and shaking with restrained rage. "Each and every one of you."
One man stumbled forward, hands up. "Please! They had my wife—my children—!"
Another shouted, trembling. "We didn't have a choice!"
A woman's voice broke through, cold, bitter. "Humanity deserves what's coming."
Markus's expression didn't change. He stared at them as if looking through them.
"You chose yourselves over the innocent… over everyone who trusted you…"
The air in the room shifted.
A low hum rose around him—the ground cracking under his boots as his energy flared. Sparks of red light danced across his arms, heat rolling off his skin.
Then—silence.
The lights flickered once.
The sound that followed was a single, heavy impact.
Metal shrieked. The walls shook.The air in the lower block was cold and stale, thick with fear.
The room behind them was a nightmare.
Corpses—torn, shredded, mangled beyond recognition—were scattered across the cold steel floor. Limbs lay in the wrong places, some still twitching from leftover nerves. The walls were painted in blood—thick streaks where hands had dragged desperately, splatters where bodies had hit the metal, dark smears where something had been thrown with force.
Rivulets of crimson dripped down the corners, pooling beneath the broken bodies. The stench of iron and death hung so heavy it clung to the skin.
The little boy buried his face in his sister's sleeve, sobbing so hard his whole body shook. She tried to shield him, even as her own legs trembled so violently she could barely stand.
In front of them, their parents lay still—lifeless.
"I-It's okay…" she whispered, voice shaking. "I'll protect you."
The boy sobbed into her sleeve. "Mommy's not moving… what did that man do?"
Markus stopped before them. His eyes, glowing red like burning coals, locked on the two children. He could see nothing but ghosts.
"Demons took everything from me," he muttered, barely human in tone.
The girl looked up at him, terrified. "W-We didn't do anything! Please… mister demon, if you have to—just let my brother go!"
That word hit him like a spear.
Mister demon.
He froze.
Then slowly, his lips curled into a grin that wasn't his own.
He crouched down in front of her, his gaze empty. "Say that again," he whispered.
She flinched back, eyes wide.
Before she could react—
WHAM!
His fist crashed into her stomach.
The impact knocked the breath from her lungs as she dropped to her knees, arms curling around herself. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked up at Markus—shaking, terrified, barely able to breathe.
He loomed over her like a shadow.
Markus's hand shot out, grabbing her by the hair. "You think I'm a demon?" His voice cracked into a roar. "Demons took everything from me!!"
Energy rippled across his arm—blood seeping from his palm and shaping into a crimson blade.
The boy screamed, clutching his sister tighter. "Please stop! Please!!"
Markus raised the weapon, the blood humming, shaking with his rage—
—and a flash of lightning split the air.
When Markus blinked, the children were gone.
Arnik stood several meters away, both kids now in his arms.
"Markus!" Arnik's voice thundered. "What in the name of the Great Spirit are you doing?!"
Markus turned toward him, expression twisted. "Serving justice."
"By killing them?!" Arnik snapped. "They were prisoners! We have rules for a reason!"
Markus stepped forward, energy still burning across his arm. "Rules mean nothing when your enemies laugh at them."
Aika knelt beside Arnik, tending to the girl's wounds. "You're safe now," she said softly.
The girl's eyes filled with tears. "Thank you…"
Arnik's voice shook. "Markus… this isn't justice. It's slaughter."
Andrew appeared at the doorway, his expression dark. "Markus Sentryon. You've disobeyed orders and executed captives. You've crossed the line."
Markus didn't even look at him. The blood weapon dissolved from his hand. "And what are you gonna do? Fire me? Dock my pay?"
Arnik muttered under his breath, "Wait… we're getting paid?"
Andrew's fists clenched. "You've put everyone here in danger!"
Markus turned, walking past them with a cold smirk. "You have no power over me, Admiral. I'll fight this war how I damn well please."
Andrew's glare hardened—but he said nothing. He knew he couldn't stop Markus without risking more bloodshed.
Arnik caught Markus's arm before he could leave. "Do you really think victory means anything if you become the monster you're fighting?"
Markus's stare was ice. "The fact you still think you can win with righteousness is disgusting."
He ripped his arm free and walked on.
"MARKUS!!" Arnik shouted, his voice breaking. "If you keep going down this path—you'll suffer! We all will!"
Markus stopped for a moment, glancing over his shoulder. "I already have."
Silence fell.
Arnik stood frozen, his hands trembling.
Arnik looked over the wreckage of the cell, voice trembling. "Aika… check if anyone's still alive."
She didn't move. Her fingers twitched. Her eyes were wide and unfocused.
"No," she whispered.
Arnik blinked. "…Aika?"
She lifted her head slowly, smiling in a way that didn't belong on her face.
"They deserved it," she said lightly.
Arnik stepped back. "Aika… what's gotten into you?"
Her smile widened, trembling at the edges. "What's gotten into me? Arnik, they betrayed us. They let demons in. They helped kill Rose." She giggled—a short, broken sound. "They deserved every last thing they got."
Arnik stared in horror.
Aika's hands shook as she grabbed his collar. "Don't pretend you understand! WE ALL MISS ROSE—NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT!" Her eyes were glossy, frantic. "But tell me, Arnik—did you care about her the way I did? The way we did?!"
She shoved him back, tears spilling down her cheeks, her voice cracking into something raw and unstable.
"You didn't lose your family to demons! You don't know what that feels like! Our whole lives—everything!—has been taken from us!"
Kai stepped forward.
"And that's exactly why she's right."
"Aika—Kai, listen—" Arnik tried.
Kai cut him off. "No. You don't get it. We're past morals."
He reached up and peeled off the synthetic layer over his cheek, revealing cold metal underneath.
"We'll walk that path," Kai said quietly. "All of us… one way or another."
Arnik looked between them—Aika shaking, smiling through tears, Kai half-machine—his heart tightening with fear.
At the end of the hall, Crowne leaned against the wall, watching with a lazy grin.
"Wow," he muttered under his breath. "The mighty Angel Squad… already tearing itself apart."
He chuckled and turned away, disappearing down the corridor—leaving the fractured team in uneasy silence.