Chapter 12

With a groan, Jacob slowly woke up, his eyes tiredly opened before he quickly remembered what happened to him. Panic set in and he tried to sit up, but realized he was tied to a chair in a dimly lit room. In front of him was a long table, with a few shadowy figures in suits sitting at the opposite end of the table with computers. They noticed he was awake and one of them pulled out a device to speak into it.

"He's awake," the man said.

"Please, I promise, I won't say anything if you let me go," Jacob pleaded, his arms struggling against the bounds. "Please, I'll do anything!"

Then the door opened, and three more men walked in. Jacob was going to continue begging for his life, but then he froze when he caught the sight of one newcomer.

He blinked, his mouth hanging open for a moment.

"Jason!?" he called out in shock. "You were an alien this whole time?!"

Jason scowled at him, wearing simple black clothing instead of his police uniform.

"I should have known why I didn't like you," Jacob exclaimed, now struggling more than ever to break free.

"Oh, shut up, Jacob," Jason said with annoyance.

"Boys, boys, settle down. We have business to attend to after all," a woman with short blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sky said with amusement. She walked down the room, her heels clicking on the floor. She wore a tight-fitting black dress that hugged her curves and accentuated her long legs. She smiled down to Jacob. She looked like she was in her late 20s. "Hello Jacob. I'm sorry for the rope, but I'm just making sure you won't freak out and end up hurting someone," she said.

Jason rolled his eyes. As if Jacob could hurt anyone…

Jacob, naïve as always, chuckled with arrogance.

"Yeah, they're lucky I didn't kill one of them!" Jacob announced out lout. He didn't notice no one was taking him seriously. He turned to the woman with hesitation, though, based on how confident she carried herself. "So… who are you guys…?" he asked wearily.

"Hm… let's say we work for the government," she responded and motioned to Rafael to come over, which he did with a tablet and folders in hand. He placed the tablet in front of Jacob. "And our mission is to protect humanity from monsters," the woman revealed.

Jacob had told himself he would believe no one ever again if they told him they worked for the government, not after that one woman tricked him and took his demon. So, right away, he wanted to scoff at the blonde woman for trying to trick him as well, but then again… based on how the men in the room were giving him a very serious vibe… and how Jason looked slightly nervous, made him hold his tongue back.

The woman played a video for Jacob and his eyes instantly widened as he saw an enormous creature with horns roaring before a boy appeared on a flying stick and fought the creature. Then he saw police shooting bullets at the creature before it seemed to jump up before the video faded to black. Jacob assumed the camera was set up in the police car.

"What… the heck?" Jacob let out, not sure what he had just seen. A large demon and... a child flying around?!

"Lovely, isn't it?" the woman chuckled with amusement, referring to the demon. "We were told you caught a demon-like creature that could turn into a child," the woman said calmly. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, I totally did, but it looked nothing like that," Jacob responded right away.

"I see… well… Do any of these kids look familiar to you?" she asked as she played another video, wondering if one of the teens in the second video was possibly the demon Jacob had caught.

The second video showed the large demon turning into an old man before three teenagers ran by him.

"Wait, stop!" Jacob said right away. The woman paused the video. Jacob leaned as best as he could while being tight up and squinted at the frozen image of the old man.

"That's… the old man," Jacob gasped, his heart racing at finding out the old man from earlier was actually a demon this whole time. "He came to the museum I work at, and those teenagers... that blonde and that smaller one was also with him as well! And wait a minute... that girl in the video... is the one I caught the other day!"

"Oh?" the woman asked curiously.

"Yeah, yeah, that's her. I remember her very well," Jacob said in a serious tone. "She was disgusting, and that woman… totally stole her from me and left me locked inside a cage as if I was some wild animal," he grunted with annoyance. "She's crazy. Like, how can you have a demon creature living with you at your house?"

"You know where the demon child is?" Rafael asked based on what Jacob just said.

"Oh yeah, I know where she is," Jacob said. "Wait… what if… that larger demon also lives with her?" His eyes widened at the thought.

"They're most likely sticking together, and those other magical children may be as well," the woman said before she lifted herself on the table, crossed one leg over the other, the hem of her dress riding up just enough to reveal a sliver of her thigh. "Well, I must say, Jacob, you seem to attract demons a lot, don't you?"

"Probably that's because they know I'm on to them with their evil plans," Jacob scoffed with pride.

"Well, it's a good thing you're going to help us locate these creatures, aren't you?" The woman asked with amusement, making Jacob blink. "To make sure we protect humanity from them."

"Wait… are you going to fight that big one?" he let out in shock. "Like, are you insane? I just saw he got shot by some bullets and it didn't stop him."

"Oh, my dear Jacob. We have our own ways to fight demons," she said with amusement, making Jacob stare at her with confusion as Rafael handed the folder he had on him to the woman before she opened it and revealed countless pictures of other demon-like creatures. "You're going to love what we have to show you soon… and what we're capable of," she said as Jacob couldn't help but smile in awe at the pictures presented to him, and at the fact he wasn't so alone when it came to believing in monsters.

It had been several nights since Philip had left the house. The young witches would take turns checking Belos every four hours, always finding him knee-deep in dirt by the riverbank. Hair was now loose again and now his facial hair showed more. From dawn until dusk, he relentlessly dug hole after hole, searching for the Titan's blood. Each time he reached a depth that was impossible to find the Titan's blood in, he would refill the hole and start anew, barely resting. He had lost track after digging 14 holes and didn't care how long he had to continue as he had a mission to accomplish.

Philip would just dig.

'You can't stop,' the dark voice would remind him, urging him to continue despite his aching body and weary mind. His limbs would tremble with exhaustion, but he kept pushing. 'You can't let them win…'

He also kept trying to distract himself from the memory of the kids inside the church, trying to forget how he didn't burn.

'Philip, you have to listen to me. Everything they told you is a lie,'

What if… Caleb was right…?

The sudden thought made him feel almost heave, and he quickly shut the possibility aside.

'They aren't what you think they are!'

He felt anger rise within him this time, but that led him to wrap his arms around his torso, his teeth clenched in pain as his body, for a second, contorted out of control while he fought hard to stay in control.

He pushed his emotions aside.

He had to stay calm…

'Keep digging…'

But… he felt so tired… so cold…

'Keep digging…'

But… what if he couldn't find the Titan's blood…?

What if… it was long gone, just like it was in the Boiling Isles?

No… he couldn't think that way.

He had to continue.

After all…

'You have to complete your mission…'

Philip closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths to steady himself before he forced himself to dig again into the earth with all his might. He wasn't sure how long he had been going at it, but it didn't matter. It didn't matter if he didn't find anything at that moment, since he would just move to the next spot along the river. And he would keep going and going…

And going…

From above, Hunter watched him one evening, with Willow by his side while both were perched atop their staffs. They said nothing as they watched him dig. He was covered from head to toe in dirt and mud. They weren't entirely sure how long he would take breaks if he did, but they imagined he was sleeping at times since they once found him asleep in one hole one morning. Hunter, still aching from the horrible things Belos told him the other day, still couldn't help but also hate seeing how tirelessly the man worked and how he once found him sleeping in the cold hard ground. Not once did Belos try coming returning to Luz's home, probably taking Camila's words seriously that if he wanted to come back, he had to apologize, which… there was no way Belos would apologize to anyone… Especially to him.

As the dark clouds loomed overhead, Hunter and Willow reluctantly left Belos to his task and made their way back to the back of the house.

"I guess it is going to rain soon," Willow said.

"Yah…" Hunter looked back to the dark forest. They had seen on the weather channel they were going to be hit with a bad thunderstorm that night. Both walked into the house and made their way to the living room to find the other teens were watching a music video in the living room. Camila came over to them.

"Still digging holes," Willow told Camila who sighed.

Camila was still furious with the man, especially at the way he refused to apologize to Hunter. But she couldn't ignore the other part of her that was feeling bad for letting the man out there alone with his obsession with 'completing' his 'mission.'

Yes, that's what she thought. Philip was obsessed with his 'mission'. Have been consumed with it for probably the past 400 years and leaving him alone with his disturbed mind was kind of torturous.

"He's not going to say sorry, is he?" Camila asked Hunter, who shook his head dejectedly.

"Maybe we should just let him back in…" Hunter muttered.

Camila's expression hardened. "No, mijo, we can't give in," she said firmly. "Just wait. I don't think he's going to stay out there when it rains." Everyone in the room turned to her and gave her a skeptical glance. Camila could tell she wasn't the only one who thought Belos was stubborn as a mule...

"I don't want him coming back without learning a lesson," Camila continued, her voice cold. "What he said to you was cruel, and he can't get away with that kind of behavior."

"He's never going to apologize," Hunter said with a sigh.

"Well, he should," Amity interjected while her head was resting on Luz's shoulder as both were sitting on the couch together. "I know what it's like to have a terrible 'parental' figure. My mom has done some awful things and never once apologized. But if people like that don't learn that what they did was wrong, then they'll never change."

"Belos is never going to change," Luz added simply.

"And besides, if he does come back and apologize, how can we be so sure he means it…?" Amity pointed out. "He's really good at lying, after all."

"Yeah. Good point. We won't know if he's manipulating us," Willow chimed in, agreeing with Amity's concern.

Camila was growing increasingly tired of the constant worries they had to deal with Philip.

"I… have an idea," Gus spoke up, making everyone turn to him. "Instead of Belos apologizing, maybe Hunter can pick, I don't know, some way to 'punish' him, but I don't mean like, really punish him. Maybe, I don't know, something that he can do for Hunter?"

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Vee let out.

"It's a terrible idea," Luz also said, as she sat up from her slouching position. "We can't let him get close to Hunter again. He literally told him to kill himself the other day," she said while Hunter winced at the memory. "You're better off without him. You don't need him," she told the boy.

Hunter looked away from everyone for a moment. Luz was right. He didn't need him, and probably was better off without him, but… Hunter couldn't help but press his lips into a thin line before he glanced back at them.

"Shouldn't all of this be my choice?" he asked.

"Hunter…" Willow said, quietly.

"He's the one who has hurt me," Hunter said firmly. "I should be the one to decide if I'm done with him or not."

Camila wanted to argue with Hunter, knowing the dangers of letting Philip get too close. But at the same time, she couldn't take the boy's choice away, even though… he probably wasn't sure what really was the best thing for him.

"I'm not stupid enough to fall for his lies again," Hunter said. "And if he stays out there, it's not good for any of us, either. He's not resting well. Willow and I just saw him struggle with the curse for a moment too, so if he loses control again, well, that's just going to cause us problems. So yeah, I want him to come back, and maybe having him do something I want can be a compromise in a way."

"Well, what do you want him to do?" Willow asked curiously.

"Um… I don't know…" Hunter let out, as he wasn't prepared for such a question. "I kind of want him to do something with me. Maybe… weld some stuff in the garage? He's really good at inventing things. I always enjoyed watching him make stuff."

"No, no, maybe think of something where both of you are engaging," Willow said.

"Like… sparring…?" Hunter asked lamely.

Camila sighed. That poor boy… Then again, she shouldn't be surprised by his response. Hunter didn't have any sort of hobbies when he arrived on Earth. And she doubted Philip would knit with Hunter, even though picturing him engaging in such activity was pretty funny. Then Camila had an idea.

"What about a jigsaw puzzle?" she suggested, making the witch children look at her with confusion.

"What's that?" Amity asked.

"Oh, let me show you guys!" Vee said with excitement and eagerly went upstairs.

Luz wanted to continue arguing with Hunter about letting Belos back into the house, but… she knew she shouldn't. Just like she couldn't tell Amity what to do with her relationship with her mother. She could give her girlfriend advice, but she couldn't demand anything. Though… she could think of something to make sure Belos doesn't try to manipulate Hunter…

"Don't worry, mija, they won't be alone," Camila told her daughter. She had seen Luz's troubled expression. "I'll be there."

Luz sighed.

"Mama…"

"Mija, I told you to have more faith in your mom."

Vee returned with a puzzle depicting a starry night, glued on a thin wooden board. All the teen witches gathered around it.

"Whoa," Gus let out, amazed.

"So, you take pieces of different shapes and images and put them together to create a beautiful picture," Vee explained.

"That's cool," Hunter said, though he couldn't imagine Belos doing a puzzle with him. It just seemed out of character for the old man. However… the boy didn't have any better ideas, so he guessed he could try to do this activity with him.

Camila suggested to Hunter they should go to the store to buy a puzzle for him. She also said she had to pick some stuff up from the store. So, Gus, Camila, and Hunter went together to the store, leaving the rest behind at the house.

Camila stopped at the men's clothing aisle when they first arrived at the store.

"Should probably pick a few things for him," she said as she grabbed some sweatpants and long sleeve shirts. She had somewhat estimated the man's size based on the jacket and help from Hunter.

"You know, it's so weird to see him wear stuff like these," Hunter said as he held up one of the long sleeve black shirts.

"Yeah, but I can't really imagine him wearing anything else by the way he carries himself," Camila said and grabbed a hoodie too before she went to a different aisle to pick up some scrunchies for Philip's hair. She imagined he didn't want to cut it off based on how long it was, so he probably would like it tied up more often. She even picked up some socks and some boxers. Did… men like Philip wear… underwear…?

They finally arrived at the toy aisle, where Hunter and Gus would spend some time looking through toys in awe. She had offered to buy them some in the past, but they would always be so quick to refuse. They always seemed like they felt bad at having her spend money on them.

"Oh!" Gus let out as he found the perfect puzzle for Hunter, but quickly kept it hidden behind his back when he approached the other two, who looked at him with confusion. "We should keep it a secret what the picture is till you finish putting it together," the boy suggested.

"Hmm… sure, why not?" Hunter offered him an amused smile, now excited to work on the puzzle more than ever.

Camila paid for everything, and she couldn't help but also smile at the puzzle that Gus had chosen. She knew the boy was going to love it.

When they walked out, they were met with heavy rain. They quickly ran into the van so they wouldn't get too wet. As they drove back, the rain just got worse. Camila noticed Hunter, who sat in the passenger's seat, quietly petting his palisman softly. He looked deep in thought. Flapjack just stared at him, giving him a worried look.

"I'm coming with you," she said to Hunter.

"It's okay. Willow said she'll come with me," Hunter said, not looking at her.

"You know, you can change your mind if you want," she said. "You don't owe him anything."

"Yeah, I know," Hunter responded, his gaze fixed on the window as raindrops pelted against it. "But… something is telling me to do this…"

The body should be ready…

Philip approached a green-looking hand sticking out of the red soil inside a dimly lit room. His tired blue eyes eyed the limb.

"I don't know why you keep making them," the shadow of the collector whined as it appeared on a wall beside Philip before moving around the room's walls. "They're all just going to betray you in the end."

Philip ignored him and used the stone of his staff to cast an enchantment on the hand. Bit by bit, the hand gained an ivory color as he continued to send energy into it. The fingers twitched, which made Philip stop his spell and go over to the soil and dig through it before pulling out a body, but to his shock… it was…

A small one…

"Awww, he's soooo cute," the collector cooed at the small child that was curled up on Philip's lap.

Philip stared down at the child, who looked like he was around 6 years of age.

But… How did this happen?

He followed through the steps he had always taken to make the clones, and they always came out as young adults. They never were… this small. Philip expected to be furious at the turn of events, especially as others would start asking questions as to what happened to his 'right hand' man, yet…

He felt calm.

"Can I please name him? Pretty please?" The collector begged as he 'flew' around the walls and ceiling.

Philip wrapped the child in his cloak before he carried him close to his chest as he made his way out of the room. He had to step out of the place before the boy woke up.

"I'll be back for you later," Philip told the shadow as he walked out of the area, leaving the Collector to whine about how he hated being left there since he was alone and had no one to talk to.

Philip walked through the dense forest, carrying the boy bundled in his robe, while he tried to plan his next moves. He felt the boy stir in his arms, which made Philip halt on his steps and look down to meet pink eyes groggily opening before they gazed up at him, dazed and confused.

"Wh…" the little boy had a difficult time speaking his first words.

Usually, Philip was ready to just tell the clones what he was, and what their mission was, but… Things were different now, since the clone was so young. The boy might, accidentally, tell someone without realizing it. So, he decided to handle this clone differently.

"Are you alright, Hunter?" he asked, bestowing a name upon the child. With a sigh of 'relief' he continued. "I was so worried you wouldn't wake up."

The little boy blinked at him with confusion, completely lost.

"Who… are you?" he asked quietly. "And… who's Hunter…?"

Philip feigned a somber expression. "What's the last thing you remember, my boy?"

"I… don't remember anything," the child replied in a hushed voice. "I… everything is… blank…"

"My poor boy… Your name is Hunter. I'm so sorry I was too late. I tried saving your parents, and I'm afraid whatever those wild witches did to you erased your memories," Philip explained.

"Wild… witches…?" The boy tried to make sense of things, especially as he didn't remember a thing.

"Don't worry, Hunter, I'm here," Philip said, adopting a solemn tone. "I'm your uncle, Belos, and I'll protect you no matter what from now on," he said, giving the boy a gentle smile. "I won't let anything bad happen to you while I'm alive."

Hunter regarded him before letting out a small smile, before he snuggled his head against Philip's chest, his tiny hands gripping the man's shirt, as if his life depended on it. The closeness made Philip freeze.

No clone… has ever gotten that physically close to him before.

"Okie…" the boy murmured as he closed his eyes, trusting the man completely, before drifting off to sleep once more.

Philip stood motionless, holding Hunter in his arms, and felt an emotion he hadn't experienced in ages in his chest. It felt so...

Warm…

For so many years, he had thought he had imagined such a feeling a long time ago…

Yet now…

'He isn't real…' the dark voice hissed in his head. 'Don't be so pathetic to believe one second he is…'

Philip closed his eyes, ignoring the voice in his head, and pulled the bundle closer to his chest before placing his chin on top of the boy's head, letting himself, for once, to feel something more than just hatred… and emptiness… even though he also felt… sad…

The boy's tiny form reminded him how small he was himself when his older brother became in charge of him as kids…

When he felt safe… and loved…

Thunder rumbling in the distance pulled Philip from his dreams. His eyes flickered open, tiredly, feeling empty… and so cold… For once, he wished he was back in his memories, even though he knew he shouldn't waste his time remembering such moments from the past. He wasn't sure why he remembered when Hunter was 'born'. He figured he dreamt it because of digging so many holes and from the things he had said to Hunter the other day.

As he slowly set up, he realized he had once again slept in one hole he had dug and found himself this time with a small puddle of mud beneath him. He looked up to see that it was pouring rain, and he was drenched from head to toe, making his whole body feel like ice and ache. He raised a hand, feeling the cold droplets of water landing on it. It had been so long since he had felt human rain… Slowly, he climbed out of the hole, with a bit of difficulty due to the wet soil. Once he was out, he walked over to the river, the same one he had last seen his brother before he left for the Boiling Isles.

'Wrong,' the voice hissed.

Right…

His brother didn't leave, he was taken away…

He looked away from the river and tried not to get irritated by the storm that kept him from digging further.

He began to walk alongside the river, silent, listening to the lighting strike the earth, making him recall when he was a young boy, he was so terrified of them. He wondered if Hunter would have been as well if he had heard thunderstorms on earth back in the day…

'Pathetic,' the voice hissed.

Philip agreed with the voice and tried to shove any thoughts of Hunter aside and tried to just focus on the sound his boots made when he stepped on wet ground.

He hoped the storm would end soon, since he didn't want to feel so cold.

Sleeping in terrible weather wasn't new to him. Back in the Boiling Isles, especially when he first arrived there, he had to get used to the terrible weather all by himself. He would desperately try to find cover, like a cave or under a tree, to hide from the acid rain.

'Look at that pathetic human,' a memory replayed in his mind, as he recalled how witches laughed at him when he first experienced their rain. He recalled how cold he felt those days…. how weak he felt… And how he felt so…

Philip clenched his teeth to ignore the last bit and tried to focus on something else, which led him to something that has been trying to crawl on his mind.

Once he fulfilled destroying all magic at the Boiling Isles, what… would he do when he returned to Earth?

Would humans go back to being normal?

He imagined humans were tainted by some magic reaching to Earth, and once that was gone…

Philip shook his head, to shake the exhaustion that was plaguing his mind, as the thoughts began to not make sense to him.

After a while, he stopped walking, not entirely sure where he was going or how far he was now from Luz's home.

He was about to turn around, but then something caught his eye and before he knew it, he was struck from behind, sending him tumbling to the wet ground hard. His heart racing, he ignored how the impact had rattled his bones and scrambled to his feet. He found himself surrounded by four figures wearing black attire and helmets, each of them armed with weapons that had fiery auras.

The one that had tackled him loomed over him, his bulky frame was larger than the other three and it was encased in a gleaming suit of metal. Another of the figures raised their hands, a pair of metallic gloves blazing with the fire glyph Philip knew all too well. Philip's mind raced to the first thought.

Witches.

Sharp claws formed at the ends of his fingers before he sprang aside just in time to avoid the fireballs the figure hurled his way, then narrowly dodged a savage blow from the wielder of a fiery blade.

He countered with his mutated mud-like arms, lashing out with vicious blows, but his foe was too quick, dodging each attack. The sword-wielder swung their blade down, and this time Philip caught it with his left hand, a searing pain radiating through it. Philip lashed out with his other arm, razor-sharp claws slicing into the attacker's head. His foe narrowly evaded the attack, but their helmet went flying off of them before it hit the ground with a wet, loud clang, revealing the attacker's round ears.

Philip's eyes widened in shock. Time seemed to stand still for him as he stared at the human in front of him.

"You're… human," Philip let out in disbelief, but a brutal punch that slammed into his face interrupted his shock, sending him crashing to the ground once more. The metal suit man towered over him, landing another blow to Philip's head, making it spun in agony. The man was ready to deliver another bone-shattering blow, but Philip caught the incoming arm with his mud-like arm out of pure instinct.

He used the strength of his cursed body to haul himself up with the metal man's arm and to jump over the group of men surrounding him. He landed a few feet away from them and turned to face them, chest heaving for breath. He grabbed on to his head in pain as green ooze dribbled down his nose and mouth, body aching as well.

So many questions were racing through Philip's head. He honestly believed his attackers were witches, but somehow, they were humans that wield magic.

Were these humans corrupted by witches or were they attacking him because they believed he was a demon himself, especially since he did kind of recall attacking humans that one night when he lost control… They probably thought he was a threat.

But were all of them using magic? And if so, how was that possible?

The attackers surged forward, forcing Philip to step back, unconsciously trying to put some distance between himself and the humans. He quickly forced his claws away before he raised his mutated hands.

"Wait," he rasped, his voice rough with exhaustion. "I'm not your enemy. I'm human. My name is Philip Wittebane," he tried to explain himself as he quickly added, "I'm not here to harm anyone."

But the man that was missing his helmet sneered at him, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"As if we're going to believe a monster," he spat, gripping the handle tighter of their fiery sword before lunging at him again. Philip jumped far off from them again before dodging a few fireballs coming his direction.

The human's hostility towards him confirmed one of his suspicions.

"Listen to me. I'm not what you think I am. I'm not a monster. I'm also a witch hunter," Philip tried to explain, ignoring the frustration growing in him as the sword wielder closed on him. "I'm on your side!" He blocked the swing of the fiery blade. The flames on it grew blue, and it tore through Philp's right arm. He ignored the agony radiating through his body and took this chance to lash out with his left hand, striking the person's sword arm and knocking the weapon out of their grasp. The sword clattered to the ground just as Philip knocked the man back by landing a front kick to the man's stomach.

"Just listen!" Philip snapped at them with desperation before suddenly feeling a sharp pain shoot through his left leg. He looked down and saw a metallic wire coiled around his ankle before it sent electric bolts shooting through him. He gasped as excruciating agony made his body tremble and convulse just as another metallic wire shot at him, but this time around his one arm and torso, sending more bolts through him; the rain falling on him made the pain worse.

Philip hit the ground, writhing in pain as he tried to struggle against his restraints, but the shock coursing through his body was too much for him to bear. He could feel his muscles seizing up and his limbs going numb as the wires tightened around him. His vision became a blur and his head spun more than it was already. He could barely see through the haze of pain as he saw the figure who was attached to the wires got closer to him. Philip closed his eyes hard as he also felt his body contort again, his skin morphing to the green substance.

No, no, no… he couldn't lose control right now. But if he did nothing soon, he was going to lose consciousness soon and who knows what these men were going to do to him.

"They're corrupted," the dark voice hissed. "Fight back!"

But he couldn't harm his fellow humans. He was supposed to be protecting them!

Maybe if he was able to break free, he should run off, so he doesn't end up hurting them.

The pain grew, and for a moment, his mind became foggy.

'Kill them!' the dark voice screamed at him.

Rage and desperation consumed Philip as his eyes shot open with a blue flash. He roared as he let the curse surge a bit, breaking free from the wire restraints around his upper body and tore through the wire around his leg. He leapt at the man closest to him. The man tried to shoot another wire at him, but Philip jumped to the side fast, then lunged at him, claws piercing through the man's chest.

Philip didn't think twice as he flung the man's limp body to the side. He tackled the sword-wielding man down to the ground and smashed through his skull with a sickening crunch with his fist, blood spurted on him. With one fluid motion, his arm shot out to seize the fiery sword lying on the ground and hurled it with all his might. It sliced through the air with a fierce, blazing trail before it impaled into the fireball shooter's chest, killing him instantly.

"I told you… I didn't want to hurt any of you," Philip's voice growled darkly before he looked up with his blue glowing eyes full of rage at the last man standing. "Why didn't you listen to me?!" he roared with anger as the green substance spread over his whole face.

The armor man stood tall, his hands crackling with energy. He aimed and sound waves slammed at Philip hard. Philip's whole body screamed in agony, but he pushed against it, his rage growing worse and with a monstrous roar, Philip let the curse flow more as his arm shot forward, tearing the metal arms off one by one from the armored man as if they were made of paper.

The man stumbled back as Philip charged, slamming him to the ground before Philip ripped the metal armor off him piece by piece and without realizing it, Philip was ripping flesh and bones, blood splattering everywhere. Philip's furious roars and the thunder from the storm drowned the man's screams, leaving nothing of the man's chest except torn flesh…

The rest of the story is in archive of our own under the name Nisroc Chico : ), incase anyone wants to read the rest. I will be posting up the rest of the story, but in a timely manner for peeps who don't have access to archive of our own.

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