Every part of my body was screaming for me to run, but my feet were locked in place.

Large amounts of black liquid slowly crept out of the rubble of Tolbert's mansion. And in an instant, it transformed into a sludge that stood over 40 feet tall. The mud started to detach in the middle, forming a mouth, and 100's of teeth instantly formed.

The teeth weren't long, but each of them looked as if they could crush anything into dust once it entered its mouth. Once it had a mouth, it started to smile as two giant red eyes appeared on top.

The eyes shifted all over its disgusting body. The revolting scene could send anyone over the edge.

I couldn't believe my eyes after the giant mass of black sludge appeared, but despite the distortion of its voice it indeed was Tolbert!

"Ugh.."I immediately cover my mouth and nose as the smell of sewage protruded from Tolbert's body. My eyes even started to water, and I looked around to see that I wasn't the only one suffering.

"Cough....cough...Baron....what is he?"I asked as I turned to look at the old man.

"Cough...I don't even know anymore! But after he ate the fruit, he started to gain weight in a matter of days!...until he was his previous form..." Baron said as he placed his hand over his eye-patch.

"I'll have you experience tenfold the pain you dealt me!!!" Tolbert shouted as numerous lumps of sludge started to project from his body as if they were bullets.

"Fay!"I shouted.

"On it!"

Fay instantly flew in front of the entire group and used her power to form a shield big enough to surround all of us. Her face rapidly became drenched with sweat as the sludge bombarded the shield causing her considerable discomfort.

"What should we do?!" I asked as I turned to Vivian.

"I'll..."

"AHHHH!!!"

A scream that could even awaken the dead would cut Vivian off before she could answer. I look back to see an unlucky merchant getting struck by the sludge with enough force to knock him off his feet.

"G-get it off! GET IT OFF OF ME!!!" The merchant shouted in terror as his entire body was swallowed by the sludge, leaving only a pool of blood on the ground.

"Run!"

The citizens of Renhart started to scream in terror after the scene as they tried to escape. However, the sludge managed to catch even more of them. No one was spared from the dreadful fate, not even the carriages of the Chinmoy fruit.

"Hahahaha! Oops! Clumsy me. All that fruit wasted... Oh well, I'll just get more!!"Tolbert increased the amount of sludge he was shooting as if he held an infinite amount.

Even more innocent citizens became pools of blood before my very eyes.

"Hah..." My breathing quickly became erratic as my entire body started to tremble. The chaotic scene brought back the images I've seen when I first went out of control.

"No..."My eyes instantly turn multi-colored as I fell to my knees.

"NOOO!! Ahhhhhhh!!!!" I screamed in pain as I unconsciously start to release killing intent.

(Not again! Not again! NOT AGAIN!!!)

"Boy! What are you doing?!" Baron placed his hand onto my back, but It was knocked away by my hand with enough force to send him flying across the ground.

"Ian what's wrong?!"Ellie exclaimed as she was about to touch me.

"Don't! He's doing it again! Something like this happened several days ago!"Fay said while glancing back as she continued to focus on the shield.

"But...he" Ellie halted the advance of her hand, but she became extremely concerned for the boy.

"Stop! Stop! Please Stop!!"The images became even more intense and vivid that I even started to slam my head against the ground with enough force to draw blood.

"Stop? Me? Hahahaha I'll stop when I WANT TO!!!".Tolbert shouted.

"POWER! I DEMAND POWER!!" I shouted as I instantly stood up and dashed madly toward Tolbert.

"Oh? Coming straight for me? Are you an idiot?!"Tolbert instantly stretched both of its arms towards me as if they were made out of flubber.

"Ian!" Ellie was the first to react as she gripped her chakrams tightly before throwing them into the air. She willed her power over the wind to spin the chakrams at insane speeds. The speed was enough to form a twister in front of her, blocking the oncoming sludge.

"Fay protect Baron!" Vivian instantly leaped out of the shield, tackling me onto the ground.

"Wake up, Ian! Wake up!"Vivian started to shake me, but I continued to squirm underneath her as my killing intent spreads out.

"Power-"

Vivian raised her right hand, "Snap out of it!!" She smacked my cheek with enough force to rouse me from my unusual state. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I don't..." I couldn't remember anything anymore, but tears started to fall from my eyes as I gazed up at Vivian.

"Hahahaha! Oh my, this is simply entertaining! But, unfortunately...I need to end this here!!"Tolbert's eyes exposed a deadly glint as he started to use even more of his sludge, overpowering Ellie in an instant.

"Ahh!" Ellie was blown out of her wheelchair from the force of her own wind.

"Ellie!" My eyes instantly turned multi-colored again as I slid out from underneath Vivian to catch Ellie. However, Vivian acted before me and caught Ellie in mid-air.

"T-thank you..." Ellie sighed in relief as she was immediately brought back to her wheelchair.

Vivian pushed Ellie behind me in her wheelchair before she stands in front of us, "Ian just stand behind me and watch me crush this bastard again!"

"I'll make sure that you stay dead this time!" Vivian clenched her fists tightly as she started to get a bit more serious. The ground beneath her feet began cracking under the pressure of her increasing strength.

"Hmm...I noticed I killed quite a few merchants who were my main suppliers.....Maybe I should track down that cyan-haired bitch to bless more people to get fruit. Maybe the Imperials know something about it." Tolbert said as he talked to himself despite the situation he was in currently.

"Huh?.." Vivian instantly thought of the only person they have seen with cyan-colored hair.

Thirteen years in the past/Vivian's POV-------

I found myself putting on the new clothes in the fastest amount of time, rushing out of the door.

"What am I doing?" I sighed as I made my way down the small hallway, and immediately I start smelling something delicious.

"Oh..." My stomach growled as I got closer to the source of the smell. I turned to the right at the end of the hallway, and I would see a variety of food on an ordinary wooden table. The cyan-haired woman was in the process of laying tableware down.

"Oh, There you are! Come have a seat."The woman smiled as I cautiously moved over to the table. I observed my surroundings and noticed everything was just like the room from earlier.

Simple but cozy.

I still didn't quite understand why I was ignoring all my training of being in an unfamiliar area. However, the woman before me made me at ease.

I gazed upon the different kinds of vibrant food as my nose was hit with a combination of lovely smells. The presentation was also simple, but I could already feel saliva dripping from lips..

"Go on. You can eat,"The woman said as I nodded.

I gulped a mouthful of air as I grabbed a fork, digging it into a piece of steak, lifting the entire thing to my mouth to eat. The gorgeous woman laughed at the way I grabbed the steak, but I disregard her as I take a small bite.

"Mm..."

The cooked meat had been so juicy and tender that it simply disappeared before I even realized. The flavor of the steak was a bit smoky, and it hid a nice kick of spiciness underneath although I tasted something else just from that little bit.

It was care. The main thing I tasted from the small bite was care!

"Ah..."Tears started to fall from my eyes uncontrollably as I could feel the amount of care the woman put into it. I began to eat more and more of the steak until nothing was left as I continued crying.

I reached for the other food to experience even more of this feeling welling inside of me. In no time at all, I would clear the entire table as if I never ate before. After I had finished, the woman brought me a single slice of pie on a plate.

"What's this?" I asked as a gazed at the pie. The sight of alone stirred my appetite.

"Oh, It's a pie I made with the Chinmoy fruit. I grow them outside."The woman pointed to the right side of me where there was a moderate sized window on the wall. I peered outside to see several tall trees bearing unique looking red fruit, and one thing that I also noticed was that parts of the tree were purple.

I have had long since calm down from earlier as I turn my attention back to the pie. I believed I made a fool of myself in front of the woman earlier, but she only gently caressed my head which helped me stopped crying.

(I won't cry this time!)

"Here it goes..." I slowly took a bite of the pie, and the effect from eating the food earlier was even stronger. I started feeling warmth spread throughout my body as I was choking back my tears. I felt as if I was bathing in the gentle rays of the warm sun.

Eventually, my inner emotions started showing as I began crying again.

I instantly turned towards the woman, "Wuu.....W-why... are you so nice to me?"

The woman showed a complicated smile as she wrapped her arms around me.

"It's all my fault. I wasn't strong enough to protect...."She cut herself off mid-sentence as her arms tightened around me and I even felt her tremble for just a moment.

I immediately wrapped my arms back around her to tell her that it's okay even though I didn't quite understand what she meant.

"Would you like to stay here with me?" The woman asked as she nudged me away gently, her hands clasping onto my shoulders.

"Stay?"

"Mhm....with me here. I promise you will never have to experience such pain ever again. I'll protect you. Wouldn't that be nice?"

I suddenly blurted out, "Mom..I.."

My cheeks instantly turn bright red as I became embarrassed. I already had a mother, but the cyan-haired woman felt more like a proper mother than my own just after several hours of interacting with her.

"Hehe..It's ok you can call me mom."The woman smiled with a warmth that was even more effective than the pie I just ate.

"Mom..I'll stay!" I hugged the woman tightly again as I felt as if I was flying. Today was the day that I felt the most emotion that I have ever felt in my 12 years of life.

The woman started to think as she glanced down at the little girl hugging her chest so tightly. "Oh, please forgive me, Vivian..." She thought as a single tear fell from her eye.

Meanwhile in the present/Vivian's POV------

Many things started to make sense, but also a few other questions formed in my head.

(However, one thing is for sure, that piece of shit insulted my mom!)

"How dare you...." I mumbled under my breath.

"No way I'm fighting too!!"Ian stood firmly beside me. He was angry at himself for being so useless and wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't by standing his ground.

"LISTEN TO ME YOU BRAT! THIS IS MY FIGHT", I snapped as my eyes were glinting with a fierceness that made Ian stand back. The ground beneath me started to cave in as I became even angrier.

Ian silently gazed at Vivian before walking back to Ellie. His back was drenched in sweat from the scare.

I nodded my head as Ian was out of the way and turned back towards Tolbert,"YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as the air around me seemed to tremble in fear from the amount of power I was generating.

"FIST OF THE RAGING TORRENT!!"