Before anyone could realize, the blue sky changed to something the world has never seen before.
Buildings and tall skyscrapers fell simultaneously as people ran for their lives.
This was the apocalypse.
And Rio was stuck at the very center of it.
His body was sprawled in the middle of the road, his bones aching, his cheap shield broken beside him. He tried to stand up but a heavy boot slammed on him.
"Stay back, loser!" Marcus' harsh voice rang out.
Marcus is the S ranked hero everyone loves. On TV, he looked like a god that protected the city, but in reality he is a total scumbag.
He pressed his boot harder on Rio's face.
"Please!" Rio cried as blood choked out of his mouth.
"Please don't take her! Take me instead! I am the useless shield bearer right! I can die in her stead."
Marcus laughed. "Take you? Rio, look at yourself. You are bloody useless F-rank. Your magic is like a flickering candle. It's like a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of mana needed to close the rift."
A few feet away, two guards in silver armor held a younger girl. It was Ellie, Rio's sister.
She was only sixteen. They had her arm twisted behind her back so far that her shoulder blade was popping out.
A heavy metal muzzle was strapped on her mouth to keep her from screaming.
Her eyes were wide, darting back and forth looking for a way to escape.
"Let me explain something to you, Rio since you're still clueless about how this works." Marcus said and pulled a digital tablet from his belt and held it in front of Rio's eyes.
"This rift is an S-rank glutton. It is a hole that needs to be filled with a specific kind of mana. My scientist checked your family tree, Rio." Marcus's smirk widened as he continued.
"Your sister is a pure conduit bloodline. She is 99.8% match for the rift. A perfect human battery to serve the greater good."
"She is a person, you bastard!" Rio screamed and tried to grab Marcus's leg.
"No." Marcus corrected him
He kicked Rio's hand away. "She is a battery, Rio. If I throw her into that hole, the rift will close. The city will be saved. I will be the hero who saved the apocalypse."
He paused as if he was reconsidering his decision, but he was only enjoying seeing Rio miserable.
"If I don't throw her in, we all die in five minutes. She is just one useless girl for ten million people."
One of the guards got tired of Ellie's struggling as he punched her on the stomach. She fell over as a muffled cry was trapped in the muzzle.
"You planned this." Rio whispered, the realization hit him. "You didn't hire me for the raid because I am a good shield. You hired me because you needed her brother to be here. You needed me to sign the paper for her death!"
Marcus grinned, he dropped the stylus pen into Rio's shaky hand.
"Now, I love this smart side of you, Rio." Marcus smiled mischievously.
"You guessed right. I need a clean record. This paper says Ellie volunteered for a secret medical mission to save the city. It says you as her brother gave her permission"
"If you sign this, the guild will cancel all your debt. You can go home and start a new life. I could even give you a pile of gold."
"I won't…I won't ever sign it." Rio gasped with a mouth filled with blood.
Marcus' face went dark. "I didn't ask for your permission."
He grabbed Rio's face and slammed it on the tablet. The biometric sensor saw Rio's eyes.
[Identity Verified: Rio]
[Signature Verified: Consent for Sacrifice granted]
"There…"Marcus said, standing up and wiping off his hand.
"Now. It's legal." He turned to the guards. "Throw her into the rift, Now!"
"No! Stop ELLIE!" Rio tried to crawl, he dragged his broken body across the asphalt ground, his fingers clawing on the ground.
The guards didn't spare him a glance. They picked Ellie up by the waist and hair, and swung her into the swirling black void of the rift like a bag of trash.
Ellie looked back at Rio, the metal mask prevented her from speaking. But her eyes seemed to send him a message.
She wasn't mad at him. She felt sorry instead and looked like she would have preferred to say goodbye to her dearest brother in a better way. Not like this….
Then the black mist swallowed her. The sky closed up as it turned blue again.
"Beautiful." Marcus murmured. He checked his gold watch. "Right on time for the news.".
Suddenly, a tall demon that has slightly escaped the rift popped out, laughing at Rio, in his hand was a small red dripping lump, it was still pulsing with a small faint heartbeat.
"A gift for the survivor." The demon hissed and tossed the object at Rio.
It landed on his chest. It was Ellie's heart. They had devoured her body so fast and left him with this!!
Rio didn't scream because he was too tired. His heart turned into a cold stone and looked up into the sky.
Everything he loved, his sister and life was all gone.
Marcus turned his back and began to walk towards his private helicopter.
"Clean this up." He told his guards.
"That F rank died a hero fighting a monster. That's the story. Make sure his body is unrecognizable."
"Marcus…"Rio's voice was a dead rattle. "I will kill you…I will kill all of you."
Marcus didn't even turn around.
"In the next life maybe, in this one, you are no match for me."
A guard raised a heavy mast and made to crush his head as Rio closed his eyes tight.
Suddenly, it seemed like the world stopped. In the blackness of his mind, a bright red screen appeared.
[System Loading…]
[Detection: Infinite Wrath]
[Warning…The Soul is hurting..]
[Do you want a second chance to make them pay? Yes or No?]
Rio didn't hesitate. With his last bit of strength, he screamed a reply in his head.
"YES.."