Sero had written down the address and given it to Amaya, who remained silent as she drove them to the secluded location on the northern border of the 25th and 17th Zone. He could tell that she was shaken by his actions, but he didn't know how to explain it to her. Part of him felt guilty for what he had done, but another part reasoned that that was the best outcome in that situation.

Granted, the Spellblade had a point about his unnecessary brutality, but Sero couldn't help but feel that it was warranted in that situation. After all, they were enemies, and they had attacked him first. And in the heat of battle, the rage had simply taken over, proving too much for his Rationality to handle. It wasn't like he had enjoyed it or anything.

Sero debated on informing the alliance about their discovery, but figured that they'd either prevent him and Amaya from going right away, or prolonging the siege until they gathered enough manpower to raid the place he was heading to. Either way, it'd be more trouble than it was worth. He'd just have to make sure they were careful, and that he had enough mana for whatever they might face.

"Sero," Amaya began quietly after a long silence. "I know that I don't have the right to ask you to forgive me for what happened, but I need you to understand. I'm not just some girl you saved. I'm your friend. And what you did... it's not who you are. It's not who I know you to be." Her voice broke, and she forced herself to calm down. "I don't want you to forget that. I don't want you to become that person."

Sero clutched at his stomach, remembering the pain and emotions he felt as Malice ripped out his guts. Images of his father and mother flashed through his mind, bringing up a wave of sadness. The rage he felt after hearing Casey was kidnapped, or when they were surrounded by the Culling members. All of his unstable emotions became suppressed as his Rationality took over, clearing his mind.

"Sorry, Amaya," he replied quietly. "I'm not sure what changed about me, but I just know that I can't... be the same person I was before the apocalypse anymore."

She looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words to express herself. Finally, she just nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said softly. "Let's just... let's just focus on getting Casey and the others back safely. We’ll talk about that later."

They pulled up to the secluded house, the night causing it to look much more eerie than it should. It was an old, two-story building that had been abandoned for years, but it now showed signs of recent activity. The front door hung off its hinges, and there were several footprints leading up to the house. Sero looked at Amaya, his expression grim. "You ready for this?"

Amaya swallowed hard, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. "As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, her voice trembling slightly. They climbed out of the car and quietly approached the house. Before they drew any closer, Sero sent out a quick text, putting his phone away in his Shadow Shift as he snapped his fingers, conjuring Moss and Lime. He casted a powerful Detect and ran his Perfect Analysis on the surroundings, trying to sense anything out of the ordinary.

However, both Sero and his dragon pups came up with nothing, even as they approached the steps of the house. They exchanged glances before Sero nodded, indicating that they should enter. The inside of the house was dark and damp, the air thick with the scent of mold and dust. The floorboards creaked ominously beneath their feet as they cautiously moved through the house, glowing mana blades in hand. They searched every room, but found no sign of Casey or the others. As they moved deeper into the house, Sero felt a sense of foreboding growing stronger within him.

After thoroughly searching the house, Moss and Lime came up to the pair, whining as if they were upset that they couldn't find anything. Sero could feel his frustration growing by the minute as he walked back towards the entrance.

"Sero... are you sure this is the right place?" Amaya asked him quietly, slipping her phone away as he joined her.

"Yeah, I saw it within that Culling member's memories," Sero scowled, his eyes darting around the place. "It's definitely the right place. But there's something else going on here... something I don't understand."

They walked out into the night, Sero feeling disheartened and confused. The memories he had seen within the Culling member showed the cultists using this house as a base of operations, but for some reason, it didn't seem like anyone was here now. It was almost as if they had moved somewhere else, or had taken extra precautions to conceal their presence.

"Do you think that the memories you saw were fake?" Amaya suggested, her voice trembling slightly. "Maybe they were altered or something."

Sero clenched his jaw tightly, realizing that the Spellblade brought up a good point. He cursed to himself, angry that he hadn't considered the possibility of the memories being altered. "It's possible," he admitted, rubbing at his eyes. "But it's also possible that they're just really good at hiding their tracks. Or maybe they've moved to another location. We'll just have to keep searching."

"I expected you Ascendants to catch on, but I didn't figure you were all this slow, nor did I expect to encounter just two of you," A new voice called out to the pair.

Sero and Amaya whirled around, their weapons at the ready. Standing before them was a tall, cloaked figure with his hood thrown back. His face was gaunt and pale, his eyes sunken deep into their sockets. He had thinned black hair that was slicked back flat. He smiled wickedly, revealing a mouth full of jagged, yellowed teeth. "Ah, I see I have your attention now," he said, taking a step forward. In front of Sero, Moss and Lime leapt forward, growling at the stranger.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I'll give you one chance to tell me where the children are," Sero calmly threatened the man, pointing the tip of his blade at him. In the back of his mind, he wondered how he didn’t notice the man’s presence at all, but pushed it away as a morbid sense of relief washed over him. There was now someone he could vent his frustration out on, and hopefully get one step closer to finding Casey.

The cloaked figure laughed, the sound cold and mocking. "Why, of course." He brandished an arm, conjuring a dark portal. Although his body buzzed with power, Sero was shocked to realize that even though the Culling member was using a skill to create a portal, he couldn't copy it.

From the portal, a small boy stumbled out, followed by a few more Culling members. They held a wicked obsidian knife to his throat, forcing him to walk forward. The boy was trembling with fear, his eyes wide with terror as he looked around desperately for any sign of escape. Behind them, the portal revealed several more children surrounded by cultists before it snapped shut.

Both Sero and Amaya tensed, ready to fight, but the Culling member that conjured the portal held up a hand.

"I wouldn't do anything rash, now," the cloaked figure warned, his voice cold and menacing. "I have one of the children here, and if you make even the slightest wrong move, I'll slit his throat, followed by the rest of whom I’ve shown you."

Sero's heart skipped a beat as he saw the terrified boy being held hostage. "Let him go," he said through gritted teeth, "and we can talk." The Culling member chuckled darkly.

"For someone with the Scholar class, you're not very smart, are you?" the Culling member taunted, taking a step closer to the boy. "Everything you've done, we have orchestrated. From the moment you were aware of our existence, you have been a pawn to us."

Sero felt a surge of anger rise within him at the man's words, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was right.. "Let the boy go," he repeated, his voice steady. "We can still talk, and perhaps we can reach some sort of agreement."

"Talk? No, Ascendant, you will not be talking," the Culling member snapped his fingers, causing his associate to press the obsidian blade harder on the boy's neck. "We will drain your strength and your life in exchange for this boy's freedom. A fair deal, no?"

"How is that fair?" Amaya protested, preparing to strike. She glanced over at Sero, who suddenly slackened his grip on his blade. "Sero?"

"Tell me," Sero whispered to the man. "Is Dr. Malek behind all of this?"

"Grodley Malek is but a part of a greater force in this, Scholar," the man sneered. "This is one of his machinations, but our Savior is the one who leads us. Grodley merely adjusted his plans to include the demise of you, Scholar."

"We… fucking fell for it. I fell for it," Sero croaked, a look of defeat on his face.

"W-what?" Amaya seemed nervous as she gripped her blade tighter. "Sero, what’s going on?"

Sero could feel himself reeling as he began to piece it all together. "I told Dr. Malek about my class, and I thought I sensed something weird during our talk. Then, all of this happened so quickly, and there was no apparent cause for it, right? The hospital where Casey was at gets attacked at the same time the Catastrophe candidate appears, and Dr. Malek vanishes without a trace. Then, Casey gets kidnapped during a massive outbreak that raises tensions to its peak. I bet he planned every moment so that I would be overwhelmed with everything to even realize it."

Amaya looked shocked and betrayed. "What? Why would he do this?"

"Malek is one of the Pillars of Culling, devoted to ensuring our success" the man before them sneered. "Alongside I, Thaddeus Yrie, we have decided that we need the Scholar's abilities no matter what."

"But... why?" Sero managed to choke out. "Why do you need the Scholar class?"

"The Savior can make use of its unique abilities to copy and recall," Thaddeus spat. "We can create a codex of knowledge and power, distributing it to the worthy of the new world we wish to form. Invoking the Catastrophes will hasten the reckoning and leave a blank canvas for Culling to build anew."

"Why are you telling us this?" Amaya brandished her blade, gathering mana within herself. "I've already called for help the moment we arrived here, and the alliance will be here any minute now."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too reliant on them," Thaddeus smirked. "I assume you two haven't noticed the barrier over us yet."

Indeed, as Sero and Amaya turned their attention away from the boy, they noticed a faint, sparkling black barrier that blended with the night and seemed to cover the area they were in. It didn’t seem much, but it was enough to prevent anyone from entering or leaving without Thaddeus' permission. "You see, we've been preparing for this moment. The Culling is always one step ahead."

"Sero, I'll distract the members while you try and rescue the boy–" Amaya stopped as she noticed that he had dispersed his blade and dragons. "What are you doing?"

"They got us, Amaya," Sero replied quietly. "We fight back, they kill the boy and possibly Casey and the other children. We surrender, they use us as sacrifices and kill the children anyway."

"Then what do we do?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Nothing, you foolish woman," Thaddeus cackled. "Not even the Scholar can find a way out of this, since I know he's realized he can't even copy our skills."

"How?" Sero asked, feeling an overwhelming wave of despair and helplessness.

Thaddeus raised an arm, revealing a small black tattoo on his wrist. "This tattoo is a symbol of our master's power. It's a piece of the banished gods. Even if the Scholar were to copy this, he would find it impossible to replicate, since you are blessed by the opposite force. It would simply cause you to implode from the clashing polarities."

Sero felt a chill run down his spine as he realized the hopelessness of their situation. The other Culling members stepped forward, wicked blades of black energy crackling in their hands. Sero cursed himself for letting his emotions blind him. Faced with this impossible situation, there was nothing he could come up with unless he was willing to sacrifice innocent lives. At least he and Amaya had sent for help. The only problem was if they would survive long enough for it to arrive.

Despite every fiber of his being telling him to fight back, Sero decided to surrender instead, hoping that whoever he and Amaya had sent for would come in time.

"Now then," Thaddeus drawled, "let's get started."