The earth split open. It was not a natural tremor, but a wound forced apart by some unseen, giant hand. From the black fissure, monsters crawled out. They bore no crystals on their chests—proof they were creatures born from a surge of raw, unstable energy. They were nothing but flesh, fangs, and hunger.
"Monsters! Monsters!"
The villagers' screams shattered the silence. Chaos erupted in an instant.
I shrugged off my traveling cloak and tossed it to Alicia.
"Stay behind me. If you see an opening, run for the river."
"I will stay right here, Master."
I didn't draw my katana. For these soulless things, I wanted to feel them shatter against my knuckles. I needed the physical feedback. A reminder for my hands of who I truly was.
I launched myself forward.
Crack.
My fist connected with a hairless, wolf-like beast. Its skull caved in; matter splattered like a crushed, rotten fruit. I didn't stop. I became a storm in the heart of the village.
Every movement was pure efficiency. I tore away jaws and snapped spines with single, sharp motions, letting their black blood soak into my white shirt. Alicia stood a few paces behind me, her eyes wide.
She was watching me.
Seeing the other side of the man who watered radishes with her.
Seeing a monster far worse than the ones I was slaughtering.
I grabbed the neck of a massive, reptilian creature, hoisted it into the air, and crushed its throat until it gave way. Black blood sprayed across my face, dripping past the corner of my eye.
"Hah... haha..."
The laughter slipped out on its own. Dry. Sharp. I could feel my former self waking up. Amidst the stench of blood and the screams, Scorpion had finally come to life.
A few minutes later, the fissure in the earth sealed itself shut as the overflowing energy dispersed. All that remained were evaporating corpses and a ruined village.
I stood in the middle of a pool of black fluid. My breathing was heavy; heat radiated from my body into the cool air. Slowly, I turned to look at Alicia.
The girl was trembling. She stared at me—a man drenched in black gore, eyes still carrying an unextinguished intent to kill.
She stepped closer. Without fear.
Pulling a handkerchief from her pocket, with hands that still shook slightly, she wiped the black blood from my cheek.
"It is over, Master," she whispered. Her voice was the only thing keeping me from slaughtering anything else that moved. "Let us go home. The coffee is waiting."
The ringing in my head subsided. I looked at the ruined village, then back at Alicia.
"Yes. Let's go home."
Adventurer's Guild, City of the Sun's Son.
The atmosphere inside the Guild was drawn taut, like a guitar string pulled too tight. Everyone stood rigidly; there was no laughter, no clinking of mugs.
I walked in with my shirt still stained—intentionally left unchanged to convey the urgency of the situation at the border. Alicia walked beside me, head held high, ignoring the whispers around us.
"Quest report," I told the receptionist.
"Mister Scorpion... Right this way. He is already waiting for you upstairs."
I frowned. 'He'?