[Present Moment]

[Right Side Of Mikey's Hideout]]

“I couldn't keep the promise I made to myself back then. As a healer, I've failed countless times to protect or save anyone. All the people who died during my time in the Hira Family are dead because I was weak, I always had to be protected. Randy and Sam wouldn't have died if I did my job, they wouldn't have died if I was strong. Kite and everyone died at the black forest because I was too frightened to do anything. John died because I'm the one who captured him. I could see something wasn't right and I still couldn't save him. Everything is my fault. Claudia is right I'm no different from her, I'm just a person who leads everyone near me to their deaths"

Shelly had the will to drag herself to her knees, but she didn't put anymore effort beyond that. She knelt on her knees against the hardened concrete, her dress now plagued by the blood dripping from her face. Her head hung low, she was immobile. Shelly had reigned herself to die.

Claudia strolled towards her, each step she made was deliberate and methodical. “Giving up already huh? I guess you finally realize the truth. You've been sending people to their deaths as much as i have. But unlike you, I can live with that because Mikey will make it all worth it in the end.”

Claudia was a few steps away when something blocked her path. It was Viola.

“You're wrong!” Her voice echoed the entire room, prompting Shelly to lift up her head. Viola stood before her and Claudia, her arms spread out in a defensive gesture with tears streaking down her face. “Shelly's not who you say she is! She's a good person. If it wasn't for her I'd be dead, she…. saved my life…. So don't…. Don't you dare speak bad about Shelly!”

Viola's body quivered from head to toe after her words. But even though her eyes were watery, they did not flinch as they stared straight at Claudia's eyes. Viola stood on her spot, she was not going to move.

Claudia looked at her with a blank expression, and then…

Slap!

A piercing sound filled the room as Claudia unleashed a ferocious slap. The force behind her assault launched Viola across the room. Her frail body crashed into an iron cage, her spine rattling as she fell to the concrete. Claudia's hand print sprouted on her cheek, leaving her skin red and discolored.

Claudia's gaze shifted back to Shelly without her not saying a word. But the disgust in her eyes, expressed clearly how she was feeling. She took the steps required as she now loomed over Shelly's figure. She raised her staff high above her head. “Any last words bitch!”

Shelly's was silent, instead she just tightened her fists. Her eyes widened after what she just witnessed.

“Have it your way!” Clsudia said, before she brought down her staff with everything she had. It swung downwards slicing the air as it aimed to split Shelly's skull open.

A pale green light smothered Shelly's form and her right hand shot upwards in response.

Claudia's staff collided with the solid barrier around Shelly's fist. The stinging recoil propelled the staff backwards sending her staggering back as she struggled to maintain her balance.

“It won't happen again. I won't let anyone else get hurt in front of me again. I've had enough. I'll protect them all with my own strength. Thank you Viola.”

Shelly reclaimed her footing, the green aura pulsating around her figure growing brighter by the second. The barriers around her fists expanded, doubling in size. Her wounds closed and the blood staining her body was slowly washed away.

Claudia's eyes were widened, “what.. the hell…” her voice cracked as she looked on in disbelief. Shelly took a step foward, and that's when Claudia acted. As if fueled by her survival instinct, she blasted foward. Swinging the staff with all her strength.

Shelly raised her right arm to protect the side of her face. Claudia’s staff struck the arm, the impact sending tremors throughout the room.

But Shelly didn't flinch, she was immovable as she stood more solid than a statue.

Claudia's eyes widened, before Shelly's left fist slammed into her stomach. Blood erupted from Claudia's mouth her body bending slightly before she hurtled backwards uncontrollably. Her body smashed into the door behind her, an audible crack resonating with the air as she slumped to her knees.

She coughed hard, her body caving in as more blood flew from her moth. Her eyes were watery but as Claudia looked at her staff laying before her. She discovered something that should've been impossible. The staff had physically bent like rubber. She reached out to hold, to feel it. And as she did, she realized her eyes weren't deceiving her. The staff's shape had been altered.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

She lifted head to look at the perpetrator and could not belive a human had damaged a weapon harder than iron.

Shelly extended her arms to either side. The glowing light around her body shot out in both directions. It smothered all the cages blessing them with its embrace. It did the same for both Ed and Viola cloaking their figures.

All those touched by the light felt its effects immediately. The blood, wounds and injuries plaguing their forms vanished. All their pain and suffering was washed away by the light instantly. The children stopped sobbing and many of the unconscious slowly stirred back to life. [Skill Activation: Advanced Regeneration]

A mark found its way on Shelly's face. Black in color it it rained down in a straight line below her right eye mimicking the streak of tears. [Hidden Skill: Blessed Mark (Incomplete)]

[+100 Attribute Points To All Attrubutes]

[+300 Mana Pool Points]

Claudia couldn't belive her eyes, she clawed her way back to her feet, her eyes still widened in disbelief. “That mark…. That's impossible. You must be a member of the Hira Family.”

Shelly said nothing, instead she took another step foward.

“Out of all the people I could've faced. Why did it have to be a member of the Great Families. If I let that mark of hers fully form, it could be disastrous. I have to stop her now.”

Claudia gritted her teeth as she surged foward. Her mama now concentrated around her bent staff. She went at it again and unleashed all the strength she had in reserves in a full fledged swing.

Shelly didn't block, she didn't dodge. She did nothing.

The staff connected with bone rattling force. Another shockwave filled the air. And Shelly's neck tlted awkwardly under the pressure of Claudia's staff.

Claudia's lips curled into a smile. It was a direct hit.

But that smile quickly faded from her face.

Shelly's neck snapped back into place, releasing a crunching sound for all to hear. Even though Claudia's strike landed cleanly, there was no visible mark on Shelly. It was as If nothing had occurred at all. [Advanced Regeneration]

Before Claudia could even comprehend what was happening, another punch dug deep into her chest. Her body flew faster than a rocket as she collided with the door. This time it groaned under the pressure, cracks marring its surface

“I told you didn't I? You'll pay for what you've done!” Shelly's voice sent an icy chill throughout the entire room.

Claudia gasped for air, more blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes blurred, as she struggled to maintain consciousness. “No it can't end like this, I won't let it end like this!’

Claudia found her footing, her glare directed at Shelly. “You think it's easy living like us! Born with nothing to your name! Having to beg for scraps any chance you can get! You think anyone would want to live like that? You were born with the wealth and power of the Hira Family! Your life has been easy from the moment you were born! You could never understand our suffering. Sure I use kids! But so what! These children— this business! For people like us, this is survival!” Her voice boomed drawing everything In the room.

Claudia reached for a deep pocket in her dress. She retrieved a small glass bottle containing a red liquid. She uncorked the bottle, her mouth opened as she sent the liquid down her throat.

Claudia drank it dry before tossing it to to the side. She grabbed her staff before, veins bulged from her forehead. The same happened with the rest of her body. Her muscles expanded beyond their normal capacity. Her dress tore slightly as both her thighs and arms enlarged to unnatural proportions. The fingers around her staff grew rapidly. And in just a few seconds. She became a hulking figure that was almost doubled her original size.

[Physical Status: Unstable]

“Those kids belong to us! I won't let you destroy our business!”

The surface cracked under Claudia's weight. She blasted foward without a second thought. Her figure was barely traceable with the naked eye, with only the distortions in the air marking her approach. She launched herself to the sky in a humongous leap. She dwarfed Shelly's form before she brought the staff down with a colossal swing.

Shelly leaped back in a powerful jump. She could feel the sharp gust of the staff graze her face as it missed her by mere inches.

Claudia's attack struck the ground and spiderweb cracks marring the surface.

Shelly slid back by a few meters, when her momentum halted. She dashed forward at full speed.

Claudia was wobbly as she pulled her staff out of the ground. Her nasty eyes never leaving Shelly. Seeing her approach she swung the staff like a baseball bat.

But Shelly was too quick, she ducked under the assault with grace. She went low using one hand to brace herself. She twisted, her right leg sliding across the ground in a ferocious sweep.

Her foot struck Claudia's ankle, breaking it on contact. The loud crunch reverberated throughout the entire room.

Claudia screamed at the top of her lungs, her body falling spine first to the ground. The floor trembled from her weight, more cracks drawing the surface.

Before Claudia knew what happened, Shelly was already on top of her. She had one hand choking her kneck and the other covered by her barrier.

She then started hammering with consecutive blows. Bones shattered under the weight of her fists.

Claudia's face flattened and she could see consciousness slipping away. A single thought came to Claudia at that very moment. “Is she some kind of demon? Dammit, what monster…” with those thoughts Claudia's consciousness faded and everything went black.

Certain Claudia wasn't breathing, Shelly finally stopped. She heaved, before her hand rummaged through Claudia's pockets. She escaped with the keys she was looking for and a half smile formed on her face. Her eyes turned to Viola.

Viola was already sitting upright, her injuries healed completely.

Shelly regained her footing before tossing her the keys. Viola's eyes were still in shock, she fumbled the keys but held on to them in the end.

“Make sure you free all these kids.” Shelly said, her eyes turning to Mikey's room. “I'll deal with Mikey.”

She only managed a single step before her body collapsed to the ground. The light around her faded and everything was smothered by shadows. She could make out Viola's worried voice coming towards her before she lost consciousness.