My hands… my hands are trembling. I can't bear the way my heart is pounding against my chest. I want to run—I don't want to die. Is that… a Hellborne? Why are you so cruel… Why?
I can't speak now—my throat is drying up.
Sister… where is she?
Why is there so much blood? Why are people being killed? What did they ever do?
Agh… I'm going to vomit…
The entire scene was truly intolerable. People were banging their heads against the ground in madness, some tearing their own hair out. Their hands and clothes were stained with blood. Others were attacking anyone nearby, blind with rage and confusion. No one could understand what was happening—it was as if some unseen force was controlling them, driving them to act this way.
That Hellborne stood silently before the hospital gate, its expression blank, almost… traumatized.
"Kill every person you see. People are the root of all trauma—they make you suffer, they weigh you down with their burdens. I know you want to be free… yes, death. Death can bring you freedom and salvation. Why carry that broken, traumatized body any longer? Just die… let your soul be still. No pain, no worry—only eternal peace awaits you."
The voice echoed from outside the hospital, trembling and hollow. It sounded as if the speaker was on the verge of tears—a voice soaked in sorrow and despair.
Now the Hellborne's eyes locked onto Ignis's.
"What?! Why… Why doesn't my authority work on you? Why are you standing there? Why are you still… still sane?"
Its voice rose in a sudden burst of fury, echoing through the air.
"I… I am Nocturo, the Hellborne of Trauma! When I appear, every being within a 250-meter radius falls under my power—the Authority of Ultimate Trauma! They lose their minds, they destroy themselves, they slaughter everyone around them! Then tell me—why are you unaffected?"
Ignis's mind quaked once again. I don't need to answer him… I just need to run. His vision blurred with fear. I'll get my sister, and then we'll escape. We mean nothing to him.
He bolted down the stairs, every step desperate and hurried, but his legs betrayed him. He stumbled, crashing to the ground.
"What?! How dare you underestimate me? Do you think you are stronger than I am? Let's see… who is truly powerful!"
Suddenly, the world around Ignis seemed to dissolve. Silence swallowed the chaotic cries outside. Then, a high-pitched, piercing "eee" erupted, vibrating through his skull, gnawing at his senses. The air thickened, twisting like smoke, and the shadows around him pulsed as if alive.
Nocturo pulled out a massive chain, its jagged spikes glinting like shards of malice. His face had shifted into something unrecognizable—haunted, twisted, as if the shadows of his own pain had taken form.
"I'm your saviour," he whispered, each word laced with a chilling conviction. "I'll save you from every suffering… every torment you've ever felt. You should thank me… smile." He tilted his head, eyes boring into Ignis with a predator's patience. "Why… why does your face look so frightened?"
The smile he forced was a phantom, unnerving in its intensity, as if he were trying to convince himself as much as Ignis. The air around him seemed to thrum with something dark, something alive.
Before Nocturo could finish his words, the jagged chain snapped from his hand, slicing through the air with a chilling whistle. Its spikes caught the dim light, sending flickers of steel toward Ignis like a predator closing in.
Time seemed to stretch. Ignis watched, every detail etched painfully into his mind—the cold glint of metal, the shadow it cast across the walls, the faint hiss of air as it cut forward. For a heartbeat, he saw himself crushed beneath it, life extinguished in an instant.
And then, strangely, the fear that had always ruled him dissolved, leaving a strange clarity. His eyes darted around the room, memorizing every stone, every crack, every corner of his world. "So this is how short my life could have been… next time, I'll be stronger," he thought, a steely resolve igniting within him.
He closed his eyes, not in surrender, but to steel himself. The chain hurtled closer, and Ignis's hands shot forward instinctively, muscles coiling, mind sharpening—ready to meet death head-on and accept it.
"Potential Barrier… Maximum Power."
The voice was firm, commanding—but familiar. A surge of relief hit Ignis.
It was Ava. Despite her injured leg, she had arrived just in time. Her magical energy enveloped him, forming a shimmering shield that pulsed with protective light. The Potential Barrier—a magical shield capable of blocking attacks up to five times the user's power—flared brilliantly around him, stopping Nocturo's assault in its tracks.
"Thanks, Ava… thanks for saving me again," Ignis breathed, turning toward her.
But then his eyes caught something—and his relief faltered. Ava's face was pale, her eyes wide in shock, fixed on his left hand.
"What is it, Ava…?" Ignis muttered, following her gaze.
His blood ran cold. Aah… my hand!
His left hand lay severed on the ground beside him. Ignis's fear surged back, raw and unrelenting, freezing his heart.
Nocturo's attack struck with brutal precision, slicing through Ignis's hand. Ava's Potential Barrier flared valiantly—but it failed. The magical shield shattered with a blinding flash, unable to withstand the sheer force of the Hellborne's power. Blood gushed from Ignis's wound, dark and swift, pooling on the ground.
A cold, mocking laugh escaped Nocturo.
"So… you thought you could block my attack so easily, Lumo? Foolish." His eyes glinted with cruel satisfaction. "Then I have no choice but to kill you."
With a flick of his wrist, Nocturo pulled his chains taut, the metal links groaning like tortured screams, and aimed them directly at Ava.