"I'm guessing you might have an idea of who this man is, don't you?" Amaya asked, a hint of concern in her voice. The two were in the liaison's sports car, driving back towards the center of the city.

"Yeah. To be honest, I’ve known for a while but I just... don't want to believe it. I mean, it doesn't really make sense, but at the same time, everything Luna described fit him perfectly."

"Then who do you think he is?" Amaya asked.

"I... don't want to say yet. I need to stop by the hospital again." Sero replied quietly.

"I'll come with you."

Sero grunted his thanks, nursing a mixture of disbelief and anger. His Rationality was active, reasoning that the man in his mind was indeed the culprit, but his denial to believe it continued to find any excuse not to. The more Sero agonized over it, the more enraged and hurt he became. It didn’t help that with everything he had gone through, there didn’t seem to be an end to it.

His Rationality doubled in strength, squashing the tumultuous emotions building up within him, but Sero couldn’t completely shake it off. It began to dawn on him that he would have to do things he normally wouldn’t in order to keep what he loved.

Finally, they arrived at the hospital and made their way through the security. Surprisingly, Enzo was in charge of the watch today, and Sero noticed that Amaya seemed stiff around the Demonic Judge.

If anything had happened between him and Amaya, Enzo either didn't show it, care, or realize it as he greeted the both of them casually.

"What're you planning to do there?" Enzo asked, waving them through the gate.

"Checking up on a hunch," Sero replied, consciously aware of how Amaya was hiding behind him. "Nothing important."

The Demonic Judge scowled. "Hope you're not gonna do anything stupid."

"Who, me?" Sero dryly shot back. Enzo shook his head as he watched the pair walk towards the entrance.

The two of them entered the hospital, where they approached a brunette receptionist. Sero had a moment of hesitation, but hoped that Amaya would forgive him for what he planned to do next.

"Hello, how can I help–"

Sero immediately emulated Lawbreak, casting Cat Paradox to force everyone to ignore the three as he shot the receptionist with a Dominate beam.

"Please tell me what you know about Dr. Malek's disappearance and where he lives," Sero calmly asked, hearing Amaya gasp softly beside him.

"Sero! What are you doing?" The liaison looked appalled at his actions, but then seemed to have a moment of clarity as she pieced together what Sero was thinking. "Wait, you don't mean to tell me that you think Dr. Malek was the one who kidnapped Casey?"

The receptionist, frozen by the Dominate beam, struggled to speak. "Dr. Malek... was announced missing. His body was never found, so the authorities assumed he was captured by Culling along with several other deceased patients. As for his address..."

She seemed to choke on the words, but eventually managed to continue. "I-I have it here. It's his private practice address, where he lives and works." The receptionist scribbled down the address on a piece of paper and handed it over to Sero.

"Thanks," Sero replied grimly, casting Cat Paradox on the receptionist. "When I release you from Dominate, you won't have any memory of this happening." He canceled the Dominate skill, making sure the Cat Paradox erased her memories.

The receptionist blinked, free from his control. "O-oh, excuse me," she quickly composed herself. "How can I help you two?"

Sero turned to Amaya, who still seemed shocked by his actions. "I know it's hard to believe, but it all fits. The timing, the description... everything. And now we have an address."

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They left the hospital and headed toward Dr. Malek's private practice, which was located near the outskirts of the eastern border. Enzo and the other guards were still stationed outside the entrance to the hospital, but Sero made sure to keep his distance from them.

During the drive, Sero sensed Amaya's discomfort. He knew she had to be questioning him, wondering how he could possibly think that Dr. Malek was the one responsible for Casey's kidnapping or about what he did to the receptionist. Under different circumstances and if Sero never had the skills he had now, he probably wouldn't have done something so immoral.

Truthfully, ever since his father died, Sero was well aware of how much he had changed over the past few days. His Rationality passive, while a powerful mental protection, also quelled any moral debates he had within himself. It didn't help that nearly dying from Malice pushed Sero's mindset further, making him more inclined to do whatever it took to protect those he cared about, even if it meant crossing lines he never thought he'd cross. He even killed a Culling member without a second thought, something he knew Amaya would never understand.

But there was no time to explain everything to Amaya. They needed to get to the address as soon as possible. When they arrived at the private practice, it looked like any other ordinary house from the outside, save for the fact that it was nearly 15 minutes away from the nearest neighbor. Sero's heart raced as he approached the door and rang the bell. After a few moments, an elderly woman in a black gown answered.

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"Yes, may I help you?" she inquired politely. She had short, white hair and aging wrinkles on her tan face. Her eyes were blue and oddly full of vitality.

Sero glanced at Amaya, who was still standing a few steps behind him. He hadn’t really expected anyone to be home. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Um, yes. We're here about Dr. Malek. We need to speak with him."

"Dr. Malek? You mean Grodley? I haven't seen him in a while," the old woman said, tilting her head curiously. "He left a while ago, saying something about an urgent matter. I thought he might be gone for a few days, but... I'm not sure. You should probably wait here. He might be back soon."

Sero casted Detect to check for anyone or anything else in the house but found it relatively safe. He looked back at Amaya with a worried look, an unnerving feeling washing over him.

"Thank you for your help," he said to the old woman, "but we really need to speak with Dr. Malek. It's rather urgent. If you could just tell us where he went or where we could find him, that would be a great help."

The old woman seemed hesitant, but eventually relented, widening the door. "Well, he left a note saying he was going to check on one of his old patients. The address is on the counter, next to the phone. I'm sure he'll be back soon, but I suppose you can go and speak with the patient in the meantime."

Sero made a move to enter, but suddenly halted as his Detect picked up something strange. He hesitantly stared at the elderly woman. It was faint, but there was something about her that seemed... off. He quickly cast a more powerful Detect spell, focusing on her. As the spell took effect, he saw it: the faint glow of a magic aura emanating from her. She was a Mage, and she was using some sort of illusion to make herself appear as an elderly woman.

It seemed as though the elderly woman noticed Sero’s observation as she quickly began to gather black mana around herself.

"Oh, fuck–"

Before Sero could react further, Amaya was already lunging forward, tackling the 'elderly woman' to the ground. Sero hurriedly stepped forward and pinned down her arms, keeping her from casting any spells. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice shaking with anger and fear. "What do you know about Casey?"

The illusion magic shimmered and disappeared, revealing a young woman with short, black hair. Her eyes were a piercing shade of blue, and she glared at Sero with hatred. "You have no idea what you're messing with, Ascendant," she snarled.

Sero felt a chill run down his spine. This woman was not only a Mage, but she was also one of the Culling. He glanced over at Amaya, who looked equally shocked and frightened.

However, there was no time for them to be paralyzed with shock as Sero sensed a hefty amount of wicked energy approaching their location. He cursed to himself as he realized that it was a trap.

"Amaya, we have to move!" he shouted, trying to wrestle the woman away from her. "They're coming for us!"

But it was too late. Even as Sero activated his skill rotation and summoned his dragon pups along with Sting, they were quickly surrounded by a legion of Culling members from behind.

"Those to be culled, have failed to–"

Before she could finish the chant, something snapped inside him. Everything he had been through came flooding back to him, causing him to feel a surge of various emotions. He had finally found a lead on Casey’s whereabouts, only to have it be a dead end.

Sero grabbed the woman by the throat, flinging her into the other Culling members as he let loose a powerful Lightning Bolt, zapping several cultists with a lethal chained voltage.

In the back of his mind, he noticed how easy it was becoming to kill without guilt as his Rationality completely banished such feelings. For him, his reasoning was that Culling members were no different than the monsters that came from outbreaks. Moss, Lime, and Sting lunged at the rest of Culling, the dragon pups doing their best at disrupting while the Joker struck them down with her rapier.

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Meanwhile, Amaya had been frozen in shock at the brutal savagery Sero was displaying. As she watched him kill the members of the Culling, a chill ran down her spine. "Sero..." she whispered, her voice shaking. "What are you doing?"

The remaining Culling members closed in on them, surrounding them like a pack of wolves closing in on their prey. They outnumbered Sero and Amaya by at least five to one, and they showed no signs of hesitation as they attacked.

Sero roared, emulating Harmony as he casted Provoke in conjunction with Undying Spirit, radiating an enormous pressure. Conjuring a Soul Blade, Amaya's eyes widened as she saw how jagged and sinister the formless green sword looked in Sero's hands.

With inhuman speed, the Scholar blitzed the Culling members before his summons could get to them, creating a storm of crimson spray as his blade tore through their ranks. Amaya, stunned by the ferocity of his assault, could only watch in horror as he cleaved his way through the cultists. She knew they were no match for Sero in this state, but something inside her cried out in protest at the slaughter.

As their numbers quickly dwindled, Amaya sensed a shift in Sero's aura. The madness that had gripped him moments ago was fading, and the man she knew was coming back to the surface. She tried to catch his eye, hoping to convey her fear and disgust at what he had become. But he didn't seem to notice her.

With a final burst of energy, Sero cleaved the last remaining Culling member in two with the Jury. The air was thick with the smell of blood and the stench of death. Amaya's stomach churned as she looked around at the carnage Sero had left in his wake. "Sero..." she whispered, her voice hoarse. "What happened to you?"

He turned to her, an unnerving calm in his eyes as his summons quietly dispersed. "What do you mean?" he replied evenly. "I killed all the Culling members. I saved you."

Amaya took a shaky step back, her hands trembling. "No, Sero," she said, her voice barely audible above the sound of their own hearts racing. "You didn't save me. You... you killed them. You killed them all."

He blinked, confusion flickering across his face. "But they were the ones who were going to kill me. And you. I was just defending myself." Sero walked over to a Culling member, who groaned painfully as he kicked him. "Besides, I left this one alive."

Amaya's heart ached as she watched him. She knew he was right about them being the ones who would have killed her, but the way he had slaughtered them all... it was so brutal. She couldn't find the words to explain how it made her feel. "Sero," she said softly, taking another step closer. "I know they were bad people, but... you didn't have to kill them all like that."

The Scholar didn't reply, kneeling down instead and casting Dominate along with Mind Search on the Culling member. After a few minutes, Sero stood up, a grim expression on his face.

"I have a faint idea of where they took Casey and the other children," Sero said, his voice flat. He turned to Amaya, his expression unreadable. "Come, let's go."

"Th-those to be... culled... have failed–"

Amaya yelped and turned away as Sero emotionlessly fired a mana railgun through the Culling member's head.