'That must be why I felt as if the pipe is an extension of my body...' Checking the now max-leveled pipe mastery, Otto couldn't help but realize how overpowered the system was and he hasn't even seen everything that the system can do.
This is just the tip of an iceberg and now, armed with the system, Otto could barely contain his excitement.
'I must not yield to power... What's the use of power that you must sacrifice your integrity? I must not lose myself in the process of acquiring broken power.' Otto sighed, his thoughts cloudy.
His judgement to decide his course of action for the future is blurry.
He looked at his hand where he held the pipe, recalling how it felt to hold with brutality and calmness, scares him.
"Otto?" Althea called out. She is a natural beauty standing at 5'7ft, the same height as Mina, maybe a little taller by a bit.
Otto was taken back to reality, looking at the reddened eyes of Althea.
A pang of guilt and empathy surged forth. Otto stood up, walked to her and without a word, hugged her.
Meanwhile, Mina could only watch in silence, the room somber.
Althea immediately broke down to tears as Otto and Mina could only hold her up in silence.
No words were said, given the situation where silence speaks the loudest.
It took a while and Althea finally regained her composure, Mina wiped her tears.
"Althea, what will you do from now on?" Mina asked worriedly as Otto took a step back, letting the two women talk.
The only way to connect and give Althea the strength to continue.
"I don't know... What will my children say when their father is in jail? The kids are asking when will their father return, I can't... I can't tell them, Mina." Althea said, her eyes teared up again.
"I will help you, Althea. Me and Mina will help you take care of both Finn and Sheila. Those kids... They are like my and Mina's children as well and I am partly to blame as well." Otto could only lower his head.
Deep inside, he knew what he did is not wrong. However, the guilt and conscience he had left cannot be ignored.
"That's right, Thea. Me and Otto will help you take care of the kids. You know how we love those children right? Please." Mina said, even though she knew how Otto's mind worked.
It has always been like that. Mina knew how Otto can sometimes be too helpful with others and she loved that about him and now, it rubs on her.
Althea nodded weakly, her breathing quickened, her eyes dilated, and then, her legs gave up as she fell unconscious.
Otto and Mina were immediately alerted as they quickly grabbed her from falling.
"She is tired, we should let her rest... Everything that has happened is too much for us to handle." Otto suggested.
Mina nodded as the cop stationed assisted them to the infirmary.
"Otto, what do we do now? I can't help but think of the kids... They are just kids, Otto. I don't know how they will handle this news." Mina trembled, her hands shaking.
Tears slipped through her eyes as her voice quivered.
Otto hugged her tightly, soothing her with care.
"Those kids are tougher than they look, Mina. But, you're right, this is too much for them to handle. The pillar of their family had crumbled and now, we will be the one to guide them." Otto said, his voice full of conviction.
'And with the system with me... I will do my best to help them and protect their innocence as long as I can till they grow up into someone we can proudly show to the world' His eyes sharpened, full of clarity for the future of both kids.
Soon after, everything was processed and Otto was finally able to leave the police station.
The three of them headed towards Sen's household... No, knowing the damage, it is already irreversible and now, it is the home of Althea's.
They took a taxi as silence filled over the cab.
No words were spoken aside from the driver's questions and the answers.
Otto looked at the fast-moving buildings as the cab took off.
Otto couldn't help but think of his future.
Not the future for the kids, the development onwards, and the life of Mina and him.
His future... What should he do now that he has the means to achieve power? Should he use it for selfish ways or to help others in need?
Maybe, along the way, Otto can find the answer he is looking for.
But, for now... He will focus on what he can and cannot do.
Because everything happened too fast... In one moment, he was just peeking at an alley and now, he got a system for killing someone.
For the first time in his life, Otto realized how fragile the human body really is.
With just a swing of his pipe, everything will end in the blink of an eye.
Otto realizes that to protect others, one must have the strength to be able to protect.
Otto could only shake his head as his mind wandered far beyond what he usually thought.
Recalling the details of the past events, Otto realizes how the process in the police station is fast and efficient.
Just some paperwork and a little interrogation was sufficient for him to be released.
He can't help but frown. It is too efficient... They didn't question how he got the strength to overpower three men and kill the other two with just a pipe and adrenaline.
It was too suspicious to leave it out that Otto comes to realize just now.
"It doesn't make any sense... From the time I got the system, everything seems to be fast forward... From the stories I have read occasionally, once a system appears, everything will go downhill from then on... Will this happen to the world or just through my specific actions and fate" Otto muttered, his mind going overdrive.
It was so suspicious like someone is pulling some strings over what is happening around him.
"System... Is it a curse or a blessing? I don't know anymore..." Otto felt himself standing at the grand scheme of the universe.
Like some mysterious powerful being just decided to toss around a system to him and gave him a mission he didn't know.
He is helpless.
Everything felt different than it was before everything that has happened to him. He could only dive deeper to thinking till he finally drifted to sleep.
.
.
.
.
In a hidden corner of the world where inhabitants usually pass by, a shimmering bloody red fissure of space that split apart opens in thin air as if tearing a wet fabric.
A hand of green with black sharpened nails appeared.
Slowly, the bloody red fissure widened and the hand slowly lengthened, its arm displayed with a battle scar, stretching till the elbow.
As time ticked, the fissure kept growing and a green bald headed with pointy ears, yellow eyes with reddish pupils appeared, its teeth jagged like a sharpened saw.
Its mouth is watering with a crazed expression. Now, the fissure is fully opened with a diameter of 3 meters. As the creature has been fully displayed like it came straight out of a fantasy horror film.
A familiar and unfamiliar figure that most avid readers and watchers would know upon seeing it on a first sighting.