The air in the room crackled with an unseen energy, a palpable tension that vibrated in the very bones of the room. Fine fissures spiderwebbed across the walls, radiating outwards from an unseen epicenter, the plaster groaning under the strain of some immense, invisible force.
Ragnarok crouched, his predatory grin unwavering as he met Mary's gaze. She tried to scramble back, a desperate instinctual reaction, but her body remained stubbornly rooted to the spot. The face before her was Adam's, the familiar features only subtly altered by the crimson hair, yet the essence was utterly alien. This wasn't Adam; this was something else entirely, something cold and terrifying. A chilling emptiness resided behind those eyes, a void where Adam's warmth and kindness once shone.
"I'm curious," Ragnarok purred, his voice a low, dangerous rumble, "what if I use just a hint of my dominance?"
A low chuckle rumbled in Ragnarok's chest, a sound devoid of humor. Then, it happened. An invisible wave, a humming aura of raw power, emanated from Adam's body, washing over Mary. It wasn't a physical force that pushed or shoved; it was something far more insidious, a silent invasion that seeped into her very being. The air thrummed with the sound of a low, keening wind, a sound that vibrated in her bones.
Mary's pupils rolled up. Saliva dribbled from her lips, her breathing ragged and shallow, as if she were drowning in air. A violent tremor seized her body, her limbs jerking uncontrollably, her entire frame wracked with a seizure-like fit.
Her body went limp, her back hitting the floor with a soft thud as she collapsed into unconsciousness. Ragnarok stood, a flicker of disappointment crossing his features. "You mortals truly are weak these days," he murmured, his voice devoid of any real emotion. "I can't even find a single mortal who can withstand even a hint of my dominance. And that wasn't even a hint; it was a mere speck." He turned, his crimson eyes scanning the room, his next move uncertain.
He raised a hand towards the ceiling, palm open. "No," he said, his voice low, "it's not the time yet." He lowered his hand. "These mortals get to live another day." The crimson in his hair began to recede, the vibrant color slowly fading to black, the hellish glow in his eyes extinguishing until they were once again Adam's, their usual warm brown returning. Adam was back.
Adam gasped, as if he'd been holding his breath against his will. His eyes dropped to Mary, lying still on the floor. She was unconscious, her eyes open but vacant, the pupils completely gone from sight. He knelt beside her, gently lifting her eyelids. Her pupils were indeed gone, rolled completely upward. He shook her gently. "Mary? Mary, are you all right?"
He looked around, confusion etched on his face. "What the hell happened?" His gaze fell upon the walls, now extensively cracked, the damage radiating outwards from where he'd stood. Ragnarok,he thought grimly. A cold dread settled in his stomach as he considered the implications, the potential consequences of what had just transpired. His mind raced, trying to piece together the events, to anticipate what might come next.
A wave of disorientation washed over him; the moments under Ragnarok's control were lost to him, a blank void in his memory. He didn't know what had happened while Ragnarok was in charge, what actions the god had taken, what had been done to Mary. "What have you done to her?" he whispered, the question hanging in the air, directed at the absent presence of Ragnarok. He half-expected a response, a mental echo of the god, but silence answered him.
His gaze remained fixed on Mary's still form. She was unconscious, her fate uncertain. What should he do? Where could he even take her? It was still early morning; the world outside was shrouded in the pre-dawn gloom. With a sigh, he decided on a course of action. He carefully lifted her onto his shoulder, her weight surprisingly light, and prepared to leave.
With desperate speed, he fled the school, taking the stairs two at a time, his movements blurring. He ran as if pursued by a phantom, his pace a frantic blur designed to keep him unseen. Accelerating to an impossible speed—a blur of motion that approached 4,000 kilometers per hour—he reached his home in the blink of an eye, the wind roaring past him in a deafening whoosh as he arrived. He glanced back, seeing the devastation in his wake: a scorched path, the ground gouged and torn where his feet had pounded the earth. He opened the door to his house, stepping inside, leaving the chaos behind him.
The moment he stepped inside, Mary stirred, a shudder running through her as consciousness returned. She tumbled to the floor, her eyes snapping open to meet Adam's gaze. A tremor ran down her spine, a wave of primal fear that propelled her backward. "No!" she cried, her voice trembling violently, "Stay away from me!" Adam stared, taken aback. Her terror was palpable, raw, as if he were a stranger, a threat. "Wait, no, Mary, it's me, Adam," he said gently, but she continued to recoil, her frantic denials echoing in the quiet house.
"Please," Adam said softly, "tell me what happened." Mary winced, a sharp pain lancing through her head, as if a bullet had pierced her skull. She clutched her head, her body wracked with tremors, her lips moving as if she were muttering, but the words were unintelligible, a jumble of whispers Adam couldn't decipher. She continued to shake, her grip on her head tightening. "Please, hold on," Adam said, his voice laced with concern. He quickly went to the sink, returning a moment later with a glass of water.
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Adam offered her the glass of water, saying, "Here." Mary looked up, her eyes meeting his—but then, in a horrifying instant, Adam's features were replaced by the crimson hair and blazing red eyes of Ragnarok. The transformation was instantaneous, a terrifying flicker that left Mary recoiling in terror. "No! No! No! Get away from me! Get away from me, please, please don't!" she screamed, scrambling backward, her fear a palpable thing. Adam, equally shocked and bewildered by the sudden shift, stood frozen for a moment before grabbing his phone, his fingers fumbling as he decided to call for help.
"Kim," Adam said, his voice tight with urgency, "you need to come right away."
"What happened?" Kim's voice was sharp with concern.
"Mary… Mary found out about Ragnarok," Adam explained, his words tumbling over each other. "Before I could stop her, before I could even explain…Ragnarok came out. I don't know what happened. I brought Mary back to my place, but she's acting…strange. She's scared, she doesn't understand what's going on. You need to get here quickly."
"Okay," Kim replied, his voice grim. "I'm coming right away."
"Please, hold on," Adam said, still clutching the glass of water in one hand and his phone in the other. He took a long gulp of water, then set the glass down on the floor. He sat beside Mary, watching her. Her face was pressed against the floor, as if she were trying to bury herself, her hands still clasped to her head. She trembled, muttering incoherently. Adam strained to hear, picking up only fragments of sound, but one phrase seemed to repeat itself, a desperate plea he pieced together from the broken whispers: "I don't want to die."
The door burst open and Kim stepped inside. "What happened?" he asked, his eyes scanning the room, landing on Mary's trembling form. Adam stood, his face etched with worry. "It's Mary," he said, his voice low. Kim's surprise was evident. Mary remained huddled on the floor, shivering uncontrollably.
"How did she find out?" Kim asked, his gaze shifting between Adam and the shaken girl.
"She… she took a DNA sample from me a while back," Adam explained, his voice strained.
Kim interrupted, his tone sharp. "What? Why would you let her do that?"
"It was a long time ago," Adam said, his voice laced with regret. "I didn't even know I had Ragnarok inside me then. This was way before the tournament even started."
Kim's gaze returned to Mary. He knelt beside her, his voice gentle. "Mary? Mary, can you hear me?" She didn't respond, the shivering continuing unabated. Kim, possessing the ability to perceive others' experiences through touch, decided to try and understand what had happened to her. He gently placed his hand on her head. She winced, a slight flinch that suggested pain, but didn't pull away. Immediately, a wave of her terror and anguish washed over him—a vivid echo of her ordeal. He felt a bit of it—a sliver of her fear, her pain—before recoiling, pulling his hand back sharply.
He looked at Adam, his eyes narrowed. "What the hell happened to her?"
Adam wrung his hands. "I don't know, I told you, Ragnarok just…came out, then went back in."
"Did anyone see?" Kim asked.
"No," Adam said, shaking his head. "It was just the two of us. It was still early, and you know there were no classes at the academy today."
Kim looked back at Mary, his expression grim. "I don't think I can help her," he said, his voice low.
Adam's eyebrows shot up. "What? Why not?"
"Considering what Ragnarok did…we're lucky she's even this coherent." Said kim.
"Lucky? What do you mean?" Adam asked, frowning.
"I'm saying she could have been brain-dead," Kim stated, his voice grim. Adam stared, shocked.
"Brain-dead?" Adam repeated, the word hanging in the air.
Kim nodded, his hand trembling slightly. He clenched it into a fist, forcing the tremor to subside. Looking back at Adam, he said, "I think he used a bit of his dominance. It's something Michael can do, too, but not to this extent."
"Dominance?" Adam questioned, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Kim explained, "It's when someone releases their aura to intimidate. But dominance is…different. It's hard to describe; I've never used it myself. Or rather, I can't use it. But now…now I know what it feels like. A little, anyway. I only felt a bit of it from Mary. But look at my hand." Kim's hand was still trembling faintly.
Adam saw the tremor, his surprise evident. The implications of what Kim was saying were sinking in.
"We can't retain her at this stage," Kim stated, his gaze fixed on Mary. " Michael used dominance to discipline the instructors—when they failed, you know—he'd use it. But it never resulted in this. People would be afraid, sure, they'd shake or tremble a little. But what's happening to Mary…it's beyond that. It's far more severe. We can't keep her here like this. We'll have to wait for it to subside. I hope it does. Whenever Michael used it, the effects always subsided in his victims."
A message popped up on Adam's phone: DMR. Below it, a brief announcement: The academy is cancelled for today. Tournaments will continue as scheduled. All participants who completed Phase One will advance to Phase Two. Adam read the message, the words clear on his screen.
Kim glanced over. "Did they alert everyone?"
Adam nodded. "Yeah, the messages just showed up."
"The tournament starts in about an hour," Kim said, checking his watch. "You should head there."
Adam hesitated, glancing at Mary. "But what are we going to do with her?"
"I know a place," Kim replied, his expression serious. Then, a thoughtful frown creased his brow. "But seriously…Ragnarok *only* used his dominance on Mary? Nothing else happened?"
Adam nodded. "Yeah, I think so. That's the only thing he did."
Kim fell silent, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Why would Ragnarok just come out and use his dominance? There has to be more to this. He wouldn't simply unleash his power on Mary without a reason." A suspicion began to form in his mind.
"Could it be that Ragnarok didn't want Mary to alert the others that he's still inside Adam?" Kim mused aloud, his voice barely above a whisper. "That might explain why he used his dominance. He probably knew Adam couldn't handle Mary on his own." He paused, considering the implications. "But if Ragnarok could just come out and do that…does that mean he could appear at any time? Just like that?" The thought sent a chill down Kim's spine. The unpredictable nature of Ragnarok's appearances filled him with a dreadful, gnawing nervousness.
"Yeah, you should probably go now," Kim said, his voice firm. "They won't be able to start the tournament without you. And with you and Mary both missing, they'll get suspicious."
"Alright," Adam said, his gaze lingering on Mary one last time. He turned and ran, his speed blurring as he left the house. The uncertainty of Mary's fate, and the mystery of Kim's plan for her, lingered in the back of his mind, a nagging worry. But for now, he had to focus. The tournament awaited, and he had a fight to win.