"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" someone shouted.
"HEY—HEY—what the—?!"
Outside, beyond the fractured edge of the building, debris rained down the slope in clattering bursts.
From a ledge overlooking the structure, a young man sat casually beside a massive slab of stone. A dead body in a suit lay slumped nearby, its lifeless arm hanging off the edge.
The young man barely spared it a glance.
His focus was on the laptop balanced on his knees.
The screen displayed the entire ruined room below—the scattered fighters, the collapsing walls… and the girl standing at the center.
His grin widened.
Eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Haha…!"
"Finally found you…"
His fingers tapped the side of the laptop as he leaned forward. "And that power…"
Wind tugged at his coat while small pieces of rubble clattered down the cliffside below.
"I knew it," he murmured softly, satisfaction filling his voice.
"I was right about her…"
Dust drifted through the shattered room.
My eyes narrowed.
Slowly, I reached for the restraint still locked around my wrist.
My fingers slid under the warped metal cuff, feeling where the structure had bent during the explosion.
Blackened stress marks spread across the metal.
Blue flames began to surge through it.
I desired to have a power like her…
Ever since I was a kid....
To become a hero…..
Just like her....
Even though it came at the cost of my favorite hero…
My grip tightened.
The chain glowed red.
Blue flames crawled along its length like living veins of lightning.
Links strained.
Bent.
Then snapped straight under pressure.
The cuff shuddered violently.
The only thing in my mind—
Was the man who killed her...
And took everything from me...
"So…"
My voice trembled with rage.
"I can't die here…"
"Not until I kill him…"
"With the very power Storm tried to save me from."
"I swear on my life...."
"Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil…!!"
The flaming chain lashed forward.
Fire erupted from my body.
A storm of blue heat swallowed the room.
Walls cracked.
Dust exploded into the air.
The entire building trembled under the pressure.
So lend me your strength…
My eyes ignited like molten gold.
Another voice shouted in disbelief.
"That power… could it be—?!"
"NO WAY… SHE'S—?!"
I planted my feet.
The chain dragged across the ground behind me.
But it didn't move like ordinary metal.
It coiled.
Lifted.
Curved through the air.
Like a blue serpent obeying its master.
The barbed links flexed and tightened in rhythm with my anger.
From the ridge above, the watcher leaned closer to his screen.
His pupils sharpened with excitement.
"An Imprint user…!!" he whispered.
The chain snapped forward.
The sound tore through the room like steel ripping from hell.
Rubble crunched beneath my boots as the gang froze in place.
"I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S AN IMPRINT USER OR NOT!" seller spat, clutching his burnt hand.
His face twisted with rage.
"JUST KILL HER!!!"
The others scrambled to grab whatever weapons they could.
Wooden planks.
Rusty pipes.
Broken blades.
Someone kicked off a shattered slab of concrete and lunged forward.
"Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!!"
Seller's scream echoed, his voice blending with the others until it became a single ugly chorus.
They charged.
The distance collapsed instantly.
Feet pounded against stone.
Bodies leaned forward with murderous intent.
The air split with the sharp sound of movement.
VUSH!!
Without hesitation—
I swung the chain with everything I had.
SWOOSHHH!
The weapon tore across the ground like a living wall.
Metal shrieked as it carved a trench through stone and earth.
Debris blasted upward in a violent storm.
Then—
BOOM!!
The chain slammed into the man who was holding the metal bucket earlier.
The impact detonated against his chest.
"GAHHHH—!!"
Blood exploded from his mouth.
His eyes rolled back.
His body collapsed to the ground like a broken puppet.
"I'm not done yet…!!" I said quietly.
My fingers tightened around the chain.
"Burn...!!"
The flames surged.
Blue fire crawled across the metal and spread onto his body.
"AAAAAAAGH!!"
"I DON'T WANNA DIE—!!"
His screams filled the ruined room as his skin ignited.
The smell of burning flesh spread through the air.
The others stared in horror.
Frozen.
Unable to look away.
"It's those chains!" one of them shouted.
"She must be an Enhancer!!"
Seller's face turned pale.
"Without the chains—she can't use her imprint!!"
The man lunged forward with a pipe.
Swinging low.
Aiming directly for my hand.
WHACK!!
The pipe smashed into the chain between us.
Sparks exploded outward.
Metal rang loudly as the blow landed clean.
"RIGHT ON THE MONEY!!" he shouted, grinning wildly.
The chain whipped loose.
Its broken end recoiling violently.
Then His eyes widened.
Realization spreading across his face.
As I raised both hands.
Flames gathered instantly.
A huge burning shape formed between my palms.
"Whoa!"
"For real!?" someone gasped from the sidelines. " THAT'S CHEATING...!!!"
The fire condensed.
Growing brighter.
Hotter.
Until it formed a massive sphere of blazing energy.
I grabbed it with both hands.
For a moment—
He froze.
His expression collapsed into pure terror.
Sweat poured down his face.
His pupils trembled violently.
Then the realization struck him.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU—?!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion obliterated him.
His body disintegrated into ash.
Silence fell over the room.
Broken only by ragged breathing.
"Hiiii… hiiii…"
Seller staggered backward.
Blood dripping from his burned hand.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
I began walking toward him.
Slow.
STEP! STEP! STEP!
My eyes locked onto him.
I picked up the chain.
Igniting it again with my flames.
He looked up.
His vision unfocused.
"…Yo… you…"
STEP! STEP! STEP!
My footsteps echoed like hammer strikes.
"JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" he screamed.
My eyes widened with fury.
"Go to hell."
"GO TO HELL!"
" YOU FLAME DEVIL!!"
The insult was still echoing when I moved.
"DIE!!"
My arm pulled back.
The chain rose for another crushing strike—
Then—
Grab.
A hand caught my wrist mid-swing.
"Hey now…"
The voice was calm.
I froze.
A man stood behind me.
His grip firm around my wrist.
Stopping the attack without force.
"It's okay," he said quietly.
"LET GO!!" I shouted.
My arm twisted violently.
Rage shaking my body.
But his grip didn't move.
He leaned slightly closer.
Voice calm.
"Just let him be."
"…It's you…" I rasped weakly.
My flames began to cool.
The chains around my wrists and ankles finally cracked apart under the heat.
Falling to the ground in broken pieces.
"Yes," the man said casually.
"I'm the guy you saw in the containment wing."
"The one who saved you."
"…What just happened…?" I said.
His hand rested gently on my head.
My breathing became heavy.
Pant. Pant.
"My name is Darius," he said. " villain name... Smoker..."
"....And that much power…"
"…as expected..."
"Your body can't handle it yet..."
I flinched.
Looking up at him sharply.
"Are you the one who sold me to those bastards?!"
"No," he said calmly.
"But this is still partly my fault...."
"After I got you out of there, someone managed to snatch you from me just as we were about to cross the border into this city."
"So while you were trapped here…"
"I hacked their cameras."
"I wanted to see what I was dealing with."
He scratched the back of his head.
"…Looks like I arrived a bit late though."
I looked down.
"…Thanks… I guess."
He met my eyes again.
"To make up for putting you in danger…"
"I'll teach you about this world."
"And I'll teach you how to control your power."
He turned toward me fully.
"But in return…"
"…?"
" I want you to join my faction."
The words felt strangely casual.
Like he had just asked me to grab lunch.
Despite the destroyed room around us.
The burning bodies.
The shattered walls.
"I see a lot of potential in you," he continued.
"And my faction needs that kind of potential."
I stared at him.
Face streaked with dirt and sweat.
Breathing uneven.
"…I'll…"
My jaw tightened.
"I'll pass."