Chapter 67: The Results
The aftermath did not come quietly.
It never did when power beyond mortal limits was forced into a body that had never been meant to contain it.
For a single heartbeat, silence hung over the ruined battlefield. Dust drifted lazily through the fractured air, and the shattered remains of Gregor Naught seemed frozen in place, as though the world itself had forgotten how to breathe.
Then everything broke.
"...Tch... NO!"
Monday's instincts reacted long before his mind could process what was happening.
BZZZZT!!
A violent surge of electricity erupted from his body without warning. Unlike the disciplined bolts he had mastered through years of training, these currents were wild, uncontrollable, and terrifyingly unstable. Brilliant streams of blue, gold, white, and violet lightning burst from every inch of his body, twisting through the air like enraged serpents before smashing into the ruined surroundings.
KRAK-KOOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
Chunks of stone were blasted skyward as jagged bolts ripped through the battlefield, carving glowing scars across the earth. The air itself trembled beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Monday's breathing became ragged.
His vision blurred.
"No... not now..."
With trembling fingers, he forced his right hand into the air.
His movements lacked the elegance and precision he normally displayed. Every gesture was frantic, driven by pure desperation rather than control. Even so, years of discipline refused to abandon him.
His fingers sliced through empty space.
One symbol appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Crackling sigils formed from condensed lightning materialized around him, each one glowing with unstable energy. They spun faster and faster, tracing brilliant circles through the air until dozens of symbols surrounded him.
"Haa... haa..."
His eyes widened.
"Contain... it..."
The sigils accelerated.
WHOOOOOM!!
A massive dome of lightning burst into existence around him, sealing itself shut with a deafening roar.
The instant the barrier closed...
Monday screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
It was not the cry of a warrior.
It was the scream of someone whose very soul was being ripped apart.
Inside the sphere, the imprisoned lightning erupted into complete chaos. Thousands of bolts ricocheted wildly between the floating sigils, crashing into them over and over with explosive force.
KRAK!!
BOOM!!
BZZZZT!!
Every collision sent violent feedback directly into Monday's body.
His muscles convulsed.
Blood vessels burst beneath his skin.
His body arched backward as another wave of unbearable pain coursed through him.
Blue lightning flashed. Then gold. White followed. Finally...Violet.
Each color burned brighter than the last.
Each surge carried more power than his body could possibly withstand.
Outside the sphere, everyone stared in stunned silence.
"MONDAY!"
Brandon lunged forward instinctively.
But before he could take another step—
THUD!!
Daito collapsed.
One moment he was standing.
CRACK!
The next...He slammed face-first into the fractured stone.
Blood poured from his nose.
Then his ears.
His eyes.
Even the corner of his mouth.
His fingers clawed desperately at the ground as his body began shaking with horrifying intensity.
"...Ghh..."
His breathing hitched.
Then the scream came.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
The sound echoed across the battlefield like an animal caught between life and death.
The earth beneath him began to tremble.
Not because of impact.
Not because of power.
But because his body itself was vibrating so violently that every tremor spread into the ground beneath him.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
Cracks splintered outward beneath his chest.
His entire body convulsed uncontrollably before suddenly spinning across the broken stone as though invisible hands had seized him.
His limbs twisted violently.
His muscles refused to obey him.
Every nerve in his body seemed to have declared war against itself.
Aerin's heart nearly stopped.
"...Daito...?"
Fear flooded her voice.
This wasn't exhaustion nor was it injury, it was something far worse.
Cassian's expression changed instantly.
The smug confidence that rarely left his face disappeared without a trace. Only cold calculation remained.
"...Shit."
He stepped forward immediately.
"Don't touch him!"
His voice cracked through the chaos like a blade.
Everyone froze.
Another scream tore from Daito's throat.
Only...it wasn't alone.
The sound deepened, split apart and layered.
As though several different voices had merged into one horrifying cry.
Then...something answered from within him.
KZZZZZZT!!
Red lightning burst from his body. A heartbeat later, purple lightning exploded outward. Then black but not ordinary black.
A darkness so absolute that it seemed to swallow the surrounding light. The three colors intertwined violently, ripping through the air with savage force.
BOOOOOM!!
The pressure alone blasted debris in every direction. Walls cracked and stone pillars shattered. Even the air distorted around him as though reality itself rejected whatever was trying to emerge.
"This isn't..."
Wei-Wan's voice faltered.
"...Lightning."
No.
This was something else entirely.
Something ancient and alive, Daito's body jerked violently again.
Then his skin...began to move.
Not figuratively but literally.
His flesh bulged outward in several places at once. At first, they appeared as shifting lumps beneath his skin.
Then they became unmistakable.
One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five.
Human hands pressed desperately against his chest and shoulders from the inside. Fingers clawed beneath his skin, stretching it until it looked ready to tear apart.
A face pushed against his side.
Another emerged beneath his back.
Half-formed torsos writhed beneath the surface as if imprisoned inside his body, each one struggling to escape.
The sight froze everyone where they stood.
Aerin staggered backward.
"W-What... what is that?!"
Her voice barely escaped her lips.
Daito's eyes remained shut, tears of blood streaming down his face as every muscle in his body strained against the nightmare unfolding beneath his skin.
"No..."
His voice trembled.
"GET... OUT..."
The figures pushed harder.
His skin stretched even further. Veins burst across his body. With every passing second, it became harder to tell where Daito ended...and whatever lived inside him began.
"GET OUT OF MEEEEEEEE!!"
His scream shook the battlefield.
The imprisoned figures screamed with him.
Dozens of voices overlapped into one impossible sound that seemed to come from every direction at once.
The atmosphere itself became unbearably heavy. Even breathing felt difficult.
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
"...So that's what you came back with inside you."
Without another word, he thrust out his hand.
A translucent wall of force erupted around Daito.
WHOOOOOM!!
A compressed barrier snapped into existence just as another eruption of black, purple, and crimson lightning exploded outward.
KRAAAAAAAK!!
The impact shook the entire barrier.
Cracks immediately spread across its surface like shattered glass.
Cassian gritted his teeth.
"...He pushed far beyond his mortal limit."
The barrier groaned under the pressure. Another explosion slammed against it.
BOOOOOOM!!
More cracks appeared.
His arm trembled.
Even someone as powerful as Cassian was struggling to contain whatever Daito had become.
to be continued.....