Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Heart of the Beast (Part 1)
A few minutes earlier...
"Yui!"
Haori’s scream tore through the battlefield as her daughter’s body suddenly went rigid.
Just moments before, both Juno and Haori had approached their mind-controlled daughter with careful determination, ready to free her from Vincent’s grasp.
The statistical analysis had been straightforward - Yui possessed virtually no combat experience or physical training.
A gentle soul who preferred healing others to fighting, who’d spent her pre-apocalypse life studying medicine and volunteering at shelters.
Juno’s calculations suggested she’d most likely developed support-type abilities rather than combat skills.
Both parents felt confident their sweet girl would be coming home soon.
But as they finally moved to confront her, Yui - who had been advancing with those vacant, mind-controlled eyes - suddenly spurted dark blood from her mouth.
The next moment, she collapsed to her knees like a marionette with severed strings.
*Splat!*
More thick, viscous blood erupted across the ground, so dark it appeared almost black under the strange light.
Her face drained of all color as violent tremors wracked her petite frame.
"What... what’s happening to her?!" Haori’s voice cracked with pure maternal panic as she rushed to support her collapsing daughter.
Juno’s analytical mind kicked into overdrive despite the fear clawing at his chest.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Their daughter - their precious, kind-hearted Yui who saw good in everyone, who’d cry over injured animals and spend hours comforting frightened children during the early days of the apocalypse.
They’d raised her to be compassionate, to maintain her beautiful optimism even in darkness.
Perhaps that had been their greatest failure as parents.
In this brutal new world where survival demanded hardened hearts, people like Vincent specifically targeted those with gentle souls.
Yui’s trusting nature, her instinct to help others before herself, had made her the perfect victim.
The realization hit Juno like a physical blow - they’d failed to prepare their daughter for predators who wore human faces.
All their careful protection, all their efforts to preserve her innocence, had only made her more vulnerable to manipulation.
But self-recrimination would have to wait.
"Based on observable symptoms, this appears to be poison," Juno muttered frantically while cataloging each horrific detail. "But the presentation suggests complex magical enhancement rather than simple toxins..."
*Splurt! Splurt!*
More dark blood poured from Yui’s mouth as she doubled over, her entire body convulsing with such violence that Haori could barely keep her upright.
"Y-Yui...?!" Haori’s voice broke as she gathered her daughter into her arms, hands shaking as she tried to provide comfort while feeling utterly helpless.
Yui had always been their miracle child.
Born after years of trying, arriving when they’d almost given up hope of becoming parents.
She’d been such a happy baby, always smiling, always reaching for others with tiny hands.
Even as she grew, that fundamental kindness never wavered.
While other teenagers rebelled or grew cynical, Yui volunteered at homeless shelters and animal rescues.
She’d chosen pre-med specifically to help people, talking excitedly about becoming a doctor who could ease suffering.
And now she was dying in agony because of her own good heart.
"J-Juno, please!" Haori’s desperate plea cut through his analysis. "Do something! Anything!"
*Drip... drip... drip...*
Dark blood began seeping from Yui’s closed eyes, creating grotesque tracks down her ashen cheeks.
Her nose started bleeding the same viscous black substance.
The sight shattered what remained of Haori’s composure.
This was her baby girl.
The child who used to crawl into their bed during thunderstorms.
Who’d bandage the stray cats she found and beg to keep them.
Who’d insisted on packing extra medical supplies for their group "just in case someone gets hurt."
Watching that same gentle soul convulse in torment while choking on her own blood...
"YUI!"
Haori’s anguished scream echoed across the entire battlefield, raw maternal grief and terror that demanded immediate attention from everyone within hearing.
"NERO!" Juno’s voice carried analytical panic despite his attempts at control.
"Something is wrong with Yui! She’s... she’s poisoned!"
***
"YUI!"
The desperate scream made Nero’s mind blur for a bit.
...
"Of course I poisoned them!"
And then there’s this asshole’s proclamation as if he had done a good job pissing him off.
But despite that, Nero’s mind focused on the bastard’s words...
Them.
Plural.
... It means that Kaito and Haru were going through the same torture right now.
The trio who’d trusted him to keep them safe.
They, who followed his lead and believed in him and Aurelia though they haven’t said it all this time...
They... they are now all suffering because some manipulative psychopath couldn’t handle rejection.
*Clench.*
"..."
Nero’s metallic fist tightened as the Heart of the Beast passive skill amplified every protective instinct screaming through his system.
The enhancement stripped away hesitation, social conditioning, and rational thought.
"..."
Without warning or announcement, Nero launched himself forward.
The recent memories came flooding back within Nero’s mind without permission.
*BOOM!*
His legs exploded with power, launching him toward Vincent like a missile with a single-minded purpose.
"Stop him!" Vincent’s frantic command barely registered as the 6 wives moved to intercept.
*CRASH!*
Ice spears materialized directly in his path.
But he punched through them without slowing.
Yui Naguya... a sweet, selfless girl who’d become like a little sister to him over a month they were together along with the other two.
At first, Nero was sure that the girl along with the other two of her friends were nothing more than a bunch of teenagers who he and Aurelia happened to stumble upon during the apocalypse...
*WHOOSH!*
Bone constructs erupted from the ground to trip him.
His metallic legs shattered them like dry kindling.
During their first week together, the timid eye-glassed girl insisted on treating a minor cut on his hand despite barely having any medical supplies left.
While the two idiots made up the atmosphere and offered their own help even though they were annoying most of the time.
*ZAP!*
Shadow tendrils wrapped around his torso while spatial distortions bent reality to knock him off course.
"MOVE!"
*SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!*
His enhanced strength tore through every restraint like tissue paper.
... Yui’s excited chatter about different healing techniques she’d read about in medical textbooks.
Kaito’s disgusting "soup" and "dishes" that he made as he said they were nutritious...
And then there’s Mr. Hoodie Smart guy who reminded him of his past appearance.
*Woooommm...*
Regeneration kicked in instantly, healing cuts and bruises as his mana burned to fuel the process.
And then there’s Yui...
With the way she would share her food portions with anyone who looked hungry... even when she was obviously still starving herself.
How she’d stayed up late during night watches, not because it was her shift, but because she was worried someone might need help and she wanted to be available.
Her bright laughter during the few moments of peace they’d managed to find.
That stubborn determination to see good in people, even when the world kept proving her wrong.
Before he knew it, during the past month they shared time together, he felt like he now had a younger sister who looked out for him and two idiotic brothers who kept him company...
As much as Nero didn’t want to admit it, he would be lying to himself if he said he hasn’t grown quite attached to these kids.
"..."
Carmen’s psychological influence tried to cloud his thoughts, but the Heart of the Beast made his intent too pure, too focused.
Kill the threat.
Protect the others.
Everything else was irrelevant noise.
*CRASH!*
More coordinated attacks hammered his back and sides as the wives desperately attempted to stop his advance.
Ice, bone, shadow, spatial distortion, mental pressure, life-draining threads.
All of it struck simultaneously.
All of it was dismissed as inconsequential.
Although the damages were slowly stacking up to the point his regeneration was hitting the limits and his mana reserves were burning fast...
Nero didn’t care.
*THUD! THUD! THUD!*
Each step brought him closer to Vincent, whose confident expression had transformed into wide-eyed terror.
The businessman was scrambling backward now, finally understanding the kind of monster he’s provoking.
"W-Wait! The antidote! Y-You need me alive for-"
*SLAAAM!*
Nero’s metallic fist connected with Vincent’s sternum before he could finish.
*CRAAACK!*
Multiple ribs shattered as Vincent’s body flew backward, slamming again into a support post hard enough to splinter wood.
"AAGGGGGHH–!"
Blood erupted from Vincent’s mouth as the shout turned into a silent scream of pain.
But he has no time to relish the agony of his broken ribs since Nero was already there.
*Whoosh...*
Metallic claws closed around Vincent’s throat, lifting him off the ground with contemptuous ease.
"You know."
*WHAAM!*
*CRACK! CRACK!*
His free fist crashed into Vincent’s remaining ribs once more with bone-crushing force, ultimately causing internal injuries while turning the bones into sharp pebbles at this point.
"You’re the first person to piss me off this much."
*WHAAM!*
Another devastating blow to the solar plexus, driving all air, guts, blood and food out from Vincent’s lungs.
"I’ve dealt with monsters."
*WHAAAM!*
This punch targeted Vincent’s kidney, making his entire body spasm, while his kidney turned mulch.
"Fought psychopaths and killers."
*WHAM!*
This one was directed to his face.
"But you?"
*CRACK! WHAM! CRACK!*
"You’re something special."
As Nero continued to brutally pummel the bastard, his voice continued to remain stoic and cold despite the burning rage from his heart.
... Behind him, the wives continued their desperate assault, but Nero couldn’t care less.
Ice spears pierced his back and sealed instantly.
Bone spikes stabbed through his shoulders and healed within heartbeats.
Shadow tendrils wrapped around his limbs only to be shredded by raw strength.
Those shits hit his body and it was painful.
His body regeneration was barely keeping up at the rate the attack was going, but Nero didn’t bother or stop.
Despite the metallic scales from his body burning and scraping off his skin, and despite the internal and external damage that made him spew out a bit of blood from his mouth...
Nero ignored all of that.
His will to kill was so solid at this point...
It came across as,
VINCENT. HAS. TO. DIE. TODAY.
*WHAM! CRACK! WHAM!*
"... There’s a fucking limit."
Vincent’s face had become an unrecognizable mess of blood and swelling... But,
Nero didn’t care and continued.
*WHAM!*
"To how much you can exploit people."
*CRACK!*
"How much you can hurt kids who trusted you."
*WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!*
"How much damage you can do before someone stops you."
Three more punches landed at that pretty face of his.
And then finally, Nero’s brutal eyes settled in the man’s precious gems...
He then smirked with a demonic grin that made Vincent who caught his look shiver with a pale and horrified face,
"You like to fuck high-class women, yeah?"
***
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