“She slaughtered 12 of our servants, then fled.” Chairman Johannes was furious. Kino and Pierre arrived at the Panelle House to see the bloody state of Solar’s bedroom until the hallways of the second floor. “Her cousin Agatha tried to stop her but she was left injured by Solar’s aggressive behavior, saying she was in her awakened wraith form and acting like a different Solar than they knew.”

Kino couldn’t look anyone in the eye. It was his fault Solar turned out like that. But he just didn’t want her to die. What else can be done? He took a glimpse at Pierre beside him. The guy was enraged as well, and so was the whole clan for sure. There was no one to blame in this mess but him.

Stellar clenched his jaw. “Then gramps, once we find my sister, are we going to kill her?”

“We don’t have any choice.”

“She’s maybe on a rampage right now somewhere, we must find her.” Pierre offered with determination. There was a slight hesitation in his eyes, but he believes it was the right thing to do.

“I-I’ll help. After all, it’s my fault Solar turned out like that. I’m sorry chairman, everyone. I-I didn’t intend for this to happen—”

“No one wanted this to happen, young Rosen. You shouldn’t keep blaming yourself for things you had no control over.”

Pierre scoffed behind him. “Even if I don’t like you, the chairman’s right. Solar probably couldn’t handle the power of the curse and she was controlled by it.”

“But my sister is the strongest! How come she couldn’t handle the power but Rosen can?”

Even Kino didn’t know the answer. He did not submit to the vow completely when he got awakened but took control of his body back, then managed to use Magnus’ abilities.

“We don’t have time for such questions. We need to find her and put her to rest immediately.” Pierre walked out of the hallway to begin the emergency search. Kino followed but muttered an apology once more.

They failed to find a trace of Solar’s whereabouts that night. With the help of night shift hunters, they gathered numerous reports of wraith attacks and murders from a girl with unbelievable strength and ergo abilities. The river under the grand bridge was the dead-end of a tip they’d received from one of her victims, but no Solar or wraiths were captured.

“Still no sight of Solar, chairman. But we will not stop until we find her. Please get some rest for now.” Pierre Yue told chairman Johannes via phone. “Hey, Rosen. Get up. We’re leaving.”

Kino was sitting by the riverbanks to view the town across the river. He could see the connected apartment buildings of a neighborhood street burning like candle matches under the moonlight. Just like across those Gates, Magnus was seen as a god. How could this happen? Stellar was right. His twin was too strong to be controlled by the curse. Kino was confident Solar will be back to normal. To the girl who was loud, childish, and a narcissistic comrade. He even disagreed with imprisoning her in the clan house. But he forgot that she’s also strong with her own abilities. Combining her power and Magnus’ power, she’ll be unstoppable. They both obtained the same power from one origin yet the difference in their abilities is very apparent.

Several weeks have passed, the raids mainly circled around finding Solar. Reports of attacks from a wraith girl were increasing every day. People were either burned or mutilated, while properties and public places were destroyed. It was the most chaotic attack they encountered in the city by a single wraith in history. The news was also filled with attacks and riots that began out of fear.

Crime rates and unrelated wraith attacks increased as well. Human criminals passed the blame to the wild wraith girl to excuse their actions, and slaughtered wraiths would declare it as their way of helping her to exterminate humans from this world. Anonymous users on social media began calling her the god who finally entered this world to end humanity for good. That 400 years of bringing terror to humans is already too long and it needs to end now.

Solar is the god they needed. The god they’ve been waiting for. Not me.

“Hey, we need to go. A B-rank gate has opened on a downtown road.” Parker called his new team. The members sighed in exhaustion. The terror Solar had brought didn’t stop the Gates from opening. It’s been an exhausting month for the hunters. Deaths among their members couldn’t be stopped as well. Kino couldn’t even remember the last time he attended school.

“Rosen! Behind you!” Using his enhanced instinct, Kino awakened 25% of his body to release a portion of his wraith form. His pale blue arms and black, sharp claws appeared to immediately punch against a horde of approaching goblins. The power was enough to crash the monsters into pieces like dust. Even Kino was amazed at the strength he had shown.

This is a skill of a wraith god…

A nerve-wracking roar was heard at the front lines. A huge goblin wearing a full suit of armor stepped out of the Gate.

“It’s the commander.” One of the team captains said. Kino awakened a portion on his legs and torso by 50% as preparation for another fight. Then ran toward the front lines.

Now that he was in his awakened form, he was able to see 30 seconds into the future to strategize what had to be done. Another horde of goblins came out of the Gate which he brutally slaughtered like a killing machine.

I have to get closer to the Gate so I can close it, but I have to beat that goblin commander first!

Kino could feel himself getting stronger from the sleepless nights doing raids and training in a short amount of time. Magnus’ power and muscle memory in combat were too much for his body that he had to adjust himself through training and practice. He used the reports of Solar threatening Itaport as a motivation to work harder with his power, but he knew it wasn’t enough. The time would come when he will encounter her and he cannot lose against her.

“Kill! Kill them all!”

He wiped out the monsters on his way to reach the commander. Using gravitational skill, he hovered in the air to make a large jump; targeting the giant goblin with his fists. He then delivered a series of punches as he landed at the body of the monster, aiming at weak points and keeping it off balance. He managed to destroy the fragile parts of its armor until the giant was left with its skin and flesh. The monster tried to fight back by swinging its axe in random directions. Most missed but those that didn’t were strong, chopping off Kino’s arms and limbs that would only regenerate at a timeless speed. As one of his limbs regenerated back, he sent a sharp kick to get rid of the goblin’s weapon–breaking it in half. An opening resurfaced from his action, so he delivered an uppercut from below the goblin’s jaw hard enough to destroy its helmet and shatter it to pieces. Without wasting more time, Kino resumed attacking with punches until the ugly face of the monster was left unrecognizable.

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Eventually, he detached its head from its large body, but the arms kept trying to grab him by any chance. Kino jumped over its body to avoid its large hands and got a grip of the head hanging on a few veins, then tugged it down from the back to decapitate it completely and destroy its core.

“Kill them all! For the sake of Agartha!”

“Stop talking to me! You’re distracting me!”

A few hunters who heard him eyed him awkwardly.

“There he goes again…” They would whisper.

What the fuck are you all looking at?

A wave of unexplainable anger emerged from his blood. He looked at the goblin head he now gripped by the hair.

Should I throw this freak to these weaklings?

“Kino! Hey! We need help over here!” It was Loki slashing some goblins away at the southern part of the fold.

How annoying. Should I kill him instead?

He was about to throw the head in Loki’s direction when he felt a sharp blade pointing at his throat. “What are you planning to do, Rosen? Calm your form down. You look like shit.” It was Parker. He saw his reflection from the guy’s other sword, half of his face, and the rest of his body from the neck was in the awakened form.

He did it again.

“S-Sir.” He toned down his state by 60% through deep breathing until his awakening portion stayed on his arms and legs.

I should stop getting carried away in a fight when I begin hearing his voice, or I won’t be able to control myself. I almost endangered everyone.

“I’ll aid Menken and the others. Don’t let yourself get consumed. And please close the Gate, now.” Parker pointed to his neck to remind Kino of the chip planted in his neck by his brother. “Remember how you can easily meet your death.”

After the captain left, Kino closed the Gate with one swipe of his hand. Then his eyes traveled to the hunters who were still struggling to defeat the smaller goblins. There was no more commander or goblin mages to worry about. Growling under his breath, he threw the commander goblin’s head across the fold aiming at the huge number of the monsters flocking his teammates at the center area.

“WATCH OUT!” Aria together with the other heralds chanted a smaller fold to shield everyone from the impact.

The throw Kino made was powerful as a rocket missile, wiping out the goblins in a straight line. The impact was so immense the scattered goblins nearby were also killed. It ended up cracking the fold, but it was fortunate the Gate had been closed after the second horde.

“You should learn how to calm yourself by now. It’s a part of your training, isn’t it?” Parker lectured him when they entered the van.

“I’m trying my best, captain. I’m sorry.”

He was also pissed at himself. He finds his awakened state pretty hard to control. He keeps getting carried away during battles as if his body was born for it. It seemed Magnus wasn’t only a prince but a great warrior of Agartha.

If he’s that powerful, why did he choose to die and passed me everything he has?

He heard his superior sigh from the front seat. “It must be hard. That girl we’re searching for couldn’t control it like you do. So, it’s still impressive on your part.”

“Yeah, Kino! We’re proud of you!” Loki and Aria gave him a thumbs-up. He exchanged them with a weak smile. Solar must be suffering under Magnus’ vows since she’d woken up. The power was probably too much to bear and she didn’t know how to stop it, and the only thing the hunters could think of was to kill her to end this madness.

Still, there must be a way to save her.

“Thanks, guys.”

“ARGH!!!” Beatrice couldn’t count the furniture she has destroyed from getting so angry. She didn’t have to care though, as the huge mansion she was occupying in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Itaport Hills isn’t hers, to begin with. The couple who owns it were killed by her own hands when she grew a sudden liking for their home. Staying in a small room that would pass as her old bathroom was torture that she needed a way out. How she misses the wealthy lifestyle she had when she found herself in that neighborhood, it felt like she was brought back to the empire. Right there, she knew that she had to stay in that place no matter what.

The last thing she tore down was the huge smart TV in the living room. The news was what was pissing her off. It was all about that wraith girl terrorizing the city and wraiths calling her their god.

“It’s not her! It’s me! It’s supposed to be me!!!” Beatrice hysterically screamed, eyes pooling from tears. “I’M YOUR GOD!!!” She is still indeed a child, even if she tries so hard to mature into a lady just to not be left out by her siblings. She is the youngest among the emperor’s children, with Magnus and Valerius having huge age gaps against Nero, Carmine, and her, as they were the kids of the emperor’s second wife and second empress.

“I will find that bitch and kill her in the most excruciating way!” She swore to herself.