Noah stiffened after hearing the sound. He quickly turned his head to investigate who he had stabbed. He reeled away in horror. The person his knife was embedded in was Missy. He had plunged it deep into her chest. Hearing her wheezing breaths from the blood gurgling in her lungs, he knew the wound was fatal.

As he watched, the pink-lifeforce under her skin bled away. Dispersing whatever Ability she had activated. His thoughts became chaotic, causing him to deactivate his own Abilities while stumbling backward. Lord Raptor chuckled in delight at the outcome. There was a flare of lifeforce as he waved his hand dismissively.

“Swordsman, hold. This is most unfortunate, we must savour the moment,” Lord Raptor said while removing his Ability’s control over Meghan.

“Yes, Lord Raptor,” Swordsman responded.

The response was immediate, the Fallen and Meghan stopped advancing. Meghan desperately rushed to her twin's side, kneeling at her side. Noah numbly watched, too stunned to move. He was submerged in complex emotions stemming from all the people he sacrificed to defeat Ronan.

His will crumbled under flashbacks of their helpless screams as his mind was filled with images of people plummeting from the Fallen into the Kraken's hungry maw waiting in the ocean below. He was roused from his reverie by a scream of intense anguish. Missy's chest no longer rose as she stared lifelessly at the ceiling. Meghan futilely attempted to plug the gaping wound with both hands, thick blood seeping between her fingers to stain her hands red. Noah hurriedly retrieved his only [Grade 2 Potion of Healing] from the [Zero-Space Dimension Ring], attempting to offer it to the panic-stricken Meghan.

"Ahhhh! Missy! What have you done, you fucking monster? I'll fucking kill you! Argh!" Meghan screamed, leaping to her feet and charging toward Noah, smacking aside the potion from his hand. It smashed on impact with the ground.

"I-I didn't…" Noah quietly muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Shut up! My sister is dead. You killed her, you!" Meghan interrupted.

He weakly retreated, holding up shaking hands in supplication. She ignored his plea, pink-lifeforce flowing into her eyes as she activated her [Confusion] Ability. Her leg buckled, dropping her to one knee. It was obvious that the action taxed her greatly, but she ignored her fatigue to unleash a string of them at him after seeing how ineffective they were.

She collapsed further to the floor, catching herself on her hands and knees. Her head hung limply with her lustrous hair hiding her face. Her body shook with mournful sobs. Noah hesitated to attempt to comfort her. Lord Raptor took the opportunity to crouch at her side, gently stroking her back with his golden-clawed hand.

"Shhh, it's okay my dear. Let it all out, everything will be alright. This world is filled with chaos and tragedy. I will put an end to suffering. Under my rule, you will never have to feel pain again. Do you want that?" Lord Raptor asked.

Meghan nodded weakly in response. Lord Raptor leaned in closely to whisper something in her ear that Noah couldn't hear. Pink-lifeforce flashed at his throat, signalling the activation of his [Compulsion] Ability. Noah felt outrage welling up within him as Meghan resumed her wooden expression from earlier, climbing meekly to her feet.

"Let Meghan go, Marcus. Haven't you taken enough from her?" Noah resolutely said.

"Me? Taken from her? No, no, that would be you who killed her sister, my dear boy. Can't you see? I helped rid her of her grief. I have gifted her the name ‘Twin Fury’. She is no longer known as ‘Meghan’. What have you done to help her? Leading them both into harm's way before betraying them at the first chance you got. She's right, you truly are a monster. Sigh, I had really expected better from you, Noah,” Lord Raptor replied with a dramatic sigh.

“Your mind is twisted. You made them fight each other to the death and then attack me. You are to blame for this!” Noah vehemently exclaimed.

“I am not the one that did the deed. That was you. Such a pity, I was saving this [Ability Amplifier] for the Shadow Walker. Would you kindly be gone from my sight. Since you killed my men, earn your penance by clearing this city of Soulless, creating us a path. Fight until your soul leaves your body and you become one of them. Go now!" Lord Raptor instructed.

He crushed an unseen object in his hand, causing an immense burst of light to flow into him. Pink-lifeforce surged to his throat as his [Compulsion] Ability activated, several times stronger than previous times before.

Noah found himself involuntarily obeying the command without a chance to reply. He glanced toward the makeshift barricade Chad had moved aside for him to exit the building.

I can’t just abandon Meghan alone with that madman, Lord Raptor. That’s without considering his subordinates, the Swordsman and Chad. They’re all Fallen, after all. I have no idea what he plans to do with her, but it can’t be anything good.

I need to rescue her, but I can’t fight this compulsion Lord Raptor put on me. Why’s it so much more powerful than before? It’s exponentially stronger, almost like he suddenly increased a Grade.

He left the building with leaden footsteps. The ruined road outside was empty of any Soulless. The compulsion drove him to the end of the street. There, he discovered something indescribable. The Shadow Walker had returned. She was leading an endless horde of Soulless behind her, the child clutched in one arm. Noah was drawn to meet gazes with the child’s startling blue eyes.

He felt the tug of recognition toward the child which was matched by the excitement of his [Grade 1 Inferno Breastplate]. It suddenly drew excessive amounts of lifeforce from Noah to fuel the activation of the [Inferno] Ability of its own accord. Golden flames burst outward to blanket the street toward the horde of Soulless getting closer. The sheer stamina consumption caused Noah to briefly falter before the compulsion forced him onward. Seeing the flames nearing them, the Shadow Walker became agitated.

“No! Don’t stand in the way of me killing Raptor. The Dinosaur wouldn’t have risked sending me after him and I would’ve happily left that freak alone. Raptor was restricted to two Grades below him because he’s too dangerous otherwise. But he had to go touch what’s mine and make this personal!” the Shadow Walker’s angry female voice was strangely familiar.

She brandished the knife held in her off-hand, revealing its distinctive intricate design to Noah. He had seen the System weapon before, just after the Arrival. There was no mistaking the hunting knife shimmering with purple-hued lifeforce. He immediately connected the clues together.

“Ra…” Noah began to call out.

He was interrupted by a flare of green-lifeforce from the cloth ragdoll with the wooden face held in the child’s grasp. It was then that he noticed the faint blue-lifeforce in the muscles of his hand, signifying a Grade-2 User. A powerful ability sigil appeared above the ragdoll as Noah’s [Battle Instinct] responded. Moments later the spreading [Inferno] suddenly collapsed, leaving Noah reeling in recognition. The emotion Noah could feel from his armour wasn’t agitated like one would expect. It was ecstatic and unexplainably filled with pride.

The Child of Ruin!