The stadium was plunged into darkness, illuminated only by flashes of spiritual energy. The rain continued to fall, forming glistening puddles on the field. Isaac stood motionless in the center of the pitch, his stance grotesque, unnatural—as if his body were a puppet controlled by invisible strings.
His hair, previously a distinctive raspberry shade, began to change color. Strands slowly turned white, as though the energy controlling him was burning away their hue. Long locks on the sides of his head rose upwards, resembling animal ears, adding to his ominous appearance.
His eyes, once filled with determination, now glowed with a cold, white light devoid of any humanity. They were like two empty lanterns gazing at the world with terrifying indifference.
Lucy, who was nearby, instinctively stepped back, her heart pounding wildly.
"What is this?!" she screamed in terror, witnessing her friend's transformation.
No answer came. Suddenly, a spiritual weapon appeared in Isaac's hands—a massive claymore sword that seemed almost too heavy to lift. Its blade pulsed with white, almost blinding energy, and the air around it trembled with power.
Isaac, or rather the curse that had taken control of him, lifted the sword with inhuman ease, as if it weighed nothing at all. His movements were fluid, yet each one carried an unnerving strength.
A deep, distorted voice emerged from his lips, a voice that seemed to emanate not only from him but from the sword itself:
"Time to play..."
The voice filled the stadium, echoing off the stands. It was laden with scorn and savage glee, as if what was about to happen was pure enjoyment for this entity.
Lucy stared at him in horror, her hands clutching her daggers. Cornelius, standing in the stands, kept his eyes fixed on Isaac, his fingers nervously brushing against his spiritual weapon.
"What’s happening?" he whispered to himself, a cold shiver running down his spine.
The stadium erupted with screams and the sound of rending steel. The children, hypnotized by the "Mother," did not perceive the danger emanating from Isaac. The first of them, a boy in a black sweater, charged at him with raised fists, shouting a battle cry.
Isaac moved with inhuman speed, his claymore gleaming in the dark like a deadly flash. With one powerful stroke, he nearly cleaved the boy in half. Blood spurted like a fountain, splattering the ground and other children. The boy’s body fell with a dull thud, his eyes frozen in an expression of terror he couldn’t even comprehend.
A girl with pigtails, standing nearby, let out a wild scream and lunged at Isaac from the side, trying to surprise him. But he turned toward her, his cold, merciless eyes seemingly looking right through her. The sword swung in a wide arc, the blade piercing her stomach and cutting through her. The girl let out a horrific, prolonged scream before collapsing. Blood stained the wet field, mingling with the rain.
Another pair of children—a red-haired boy and a girl in a yellow dress—charged at Isaac simultaneously in a desperate attempt to stop him. The red-haired boy leaped forward, aiming a punch, but Isaac deftly dodged and, with a reflexive motion, decapitated him. The boy's head rolled across the ground, stopping at the feet of another child who stared at it with indifference.
The girl in the yellow dress was next. Isaac raised his sword high above his head and struck with such force that she was driven into the ground. Her body split in two, and remnants of her dress fluttered in the air.
Cornelius, watching from the stands, widened his eyes, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.
"What is that idiot doing..." he muttered through clenched teeth, though his voice was almost inaudible amidst the chaos.
Lucy, standing nearby, froze momentarily, tears filling her eyes. Terror mixed with rage took hold of her body.
"Nooo!" she screamed with all her might, running toward Isaac.
Her daggers gleamed in the rain, but her steps were unsteady, as if emotions were draining her strength. Cornelius, seeing Lucy charge, raised his spiritual sniper rifle.
"Fool!" he barked, aiming at the ground near Isaac’s feet.
The first shot ricocheted off the wet field, sending splashes of mud into the air. The second landed just beside Isaac's feet, forcing him to step back. But it wasn’t enough to stop him.
"Stop it!" Lucy shouted, her voice trembling with fear and fury.
Isaac turned his gaze to her, his glowing eyes devoid of recognition, as if she were merely another target to eliminate. His movements were those of a killing machine, each action saturated with lethal intent.
The massacre continued, and the remaining children began to retreat, their hypnotic trance cracking under the weight of sheer terror. Yet some still advanced toward Isaac, as if their bodies were being controlled by invisible strings. They, too, fell one by one, dismembered, bleeding, lifeless.
Cornelius aimed at Isaac once more, trying to find a way to stop him, but his hands trembled.
"This isn’t normal... This isn’t Isaac anymore," he muttered, his voice almost lost in the chaos.
Isaac ignored Cornelius's gunfire. The bullets either bounced off the ground or passed by, as if the curse controlling his body perfectly anticipated every move. His attention was entirely on Lucy, who charged at him with raised daggers. Her speed was impressive, the daggers glowing neon yellow in the rain, but to the curse, she was nothing—a mere slow shadow compared to its inhuman perception.
When the girl came within range, Isaac raised one hand and struck Lucy to the ground with brutal force. The impact was so powerful that grass and mud exploded in all directions, leaving a sizable crater in the field. Lucy fell with a crash, pain shooting through her body, rendering her momentarily unable to breathe.
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She groaned in agony, trying to lift herself, but her arms were too weak to support her weight. Nearly all her ribs were broken, stabbing into her lungs.
"Stop, or I’ll have to kill you!" Cornelius shouted from the stands, his voice trembling, but his hands holding the sniper rifle steady.
He fired more shots, targeting critical points that might stop Isaac. But before any bullets could reach their mark, the boy vanished.
Cornelius squinted, his fingers already preparing for another shot when he suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold. He looked up and saw Isaac hurtling toward him at an unimaginable speed, the sword glowing with white energy, ready to strike. At the last moment, Cornelius leaped aside, but Isaac landed right in front of him, moving like a lightning bolt.
Before Cornelius could react, Isaac grabbed him by the throat with one hand and lifted him into the air. His fingers closed around Cornelius’s neck like a steel vise.
"Unlucky for you," the curse sneered, looking at Cornelius with a cold, mocking smile. Its voice, deep and distorted, filled the space. "That you got chummy with this brat. Now you have to die, kid."
Cornelius struggled, gasping for air. His hands vainly tried to pry Isaac’s fingers from his neck, but their strength was overwhelming.
"Isaac...!" he croaked with difficulty, his voice barely audible.
Those words, though faint, reached Isaac's mind, trapped deep within. In that endless darkness, a tiny glimmer of light appeared.
In Isaac’s head, his own voice resonated:
"Cornelius? What’s going on?"
For a brief moment, his hands trembled, and the grip on Cornelius’s neck loosened slightly. Cornelius, sensing an opportunity, broke free and staggered backward, gasping for air.
"Come back, Isaac!" Cornelius shouted, clutching his neck.
But that fleeting moment of control vanished quickly. The curse regained dominion over Isaac's body, and his eyes once again glowed with a cold, white light.
"That was annoying," the curse said, its voice full of disdain. "But it won’t happen again."
Isaac moved toward Cornelius, each step of his seeming to tremble with the power emanating from his body. Suddenly, however, his movement was brutally interrupted.
His body froze in place as if it suddenly weighed a ton. His legs buckled under the unexpected weight, and he crashed to the ground with a thud, leaving a deep imprint in the turf.
"Enough," said Jian firmly, appearing suddenly. His hand glowed with intense red energy, and his gaze was cold and resolute.
The Curse laughed throatily, its voice echoing.
"Do you think that will change anything?" it asked mockingly, looking at Jian. "Soon this body will adapt to my power. Then you will die like those children, you pathetic human."
Jian didn’t reply, clenching his fists. His stance was tense, and his eyes betrayed that he wasn’t underestimating the enemy, even if he had temporarily immobilized it. After a moment, though, Isaac lost consciousness.
Criminal investigation units stormed the stadium, surrounding the entire area. Leading them was General Adam Karski, a man with distinct red hair and olive-green eyes, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, whose presence exuded authority. Beside him walked Sarah Serafin, Lucy’s foster mother. Her eyes shone with tears, but her demeanor was resolute.
"Arrest them all," Adam commanded, pointing at the children and the "Mother."
The authorities swiftly sprang into action. The children, though many were still hypnotized, tried to resist. "Mother" was surrounded, her face contorted with an expression of growing rage.
Lucy, slowly getting up from the ground, suddenly felt cold metal handcuffs snap onto her wrists. One of the officers looked at her coldly, his voice curt.
"You’re coming with us too."
The girl wanted to protest, but she didn’t have time. At that moment, she saw her mother run up to her, kneeling right in front of her.
"I’m sorry, sweetheart..." Sarah whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you..."
Lucy felt her heart clench with pain. Seeing the tears in Sarah’s eyes, it seemed as if the world around her slowed down. She wanted to say something, to explain, but she couldn’t find the words.
Meanwhile, the authorities closed in on the "Mother." The woman stood upright, wild determination burning in her eyes.
"You think you’ve won?" she asked coldly, her voice filling the stadium. "This is only the beginning."
She raised her hand, and a sinister mark appeared on her palm, glowing with red energy.
Before anyone could react, the "Mother" roared with fury:
"If I can’t have my children, then no one will!"
Her words echoed as all the children bearing seals on their necks suddenly screamed in agony. Energy flowed from her hand, activating the seals, which glowed red and pulsed as if alive.
"Step away from the children!" Adam shouted to his subordinates.
The first child, standing closest to the "Mother," collapsed to its knees, clutching its neck. Its head exploded with a horrifying blast, spraying blood and fragments of brain and skull in all directions. The remaining children began dropping one by one, their bodies wracked with convulsions.
"No!" Lucy screamed, watching the massacre.
Blood mixed with rain, creating a chilling scene. The bodies of the children fell one after another; some exploded, while others simply dropped lifelessly as if the seals burned their souls from within.
Lucy felt cold sweat trickling down her back. Each explosion echoed in her eyes as if she were seeing them in slow motion. Her heart pounded wildly, and her breath became increasingly shallow.
"She’s going to kill them all!" Cornelius shouted from the stands, trying to aim his sniper rifle at the "Mother."
But Lucy knew that the shots wouldn’t change anything. Her gaze fell on her own neck, where the seal was located. Her heart froze in her chest as she realized she might be next. Yet, despite everything, nothing happened.
"Why... am I still alive?" she whispered, touching the spot where the seal was.
Then it dawned on her. The ritual that had been performed on her earlier hadn’t been completed. That saved her life, but the children around her weren’t so lucky.
Jian, rushing onto the field and seeing the horror, quickly charged at the "Mother." Her spiritual energy pulsed with increasing power, as if she intended to cause even more destruction. Jian used his abilities to shift the weight of his body, propelling himself toward her with incredible speed and striking her with his spiritual weapon.
The "Mother" staggered back, clutching her arm, but her face was full of rage.
"You won’t take me alive!" she shouted, attempting to end her own life.
But before she could finish the deed, Adam Karski appeared behind her. His swift movement and a brutal strike to the back of her neck rendered her unconscious. The woman collapsed to the ground, her selfish actions having cost the lives of so many children.