Do you know why we rangers are so feared? It’s not because of the superhuman strength our transformers grant us, nor because of our ability to rival Awakened of a higher rank than our own. We are feared because of the monster genes we awaken within ourselves through our transformers. And right now, I have just recovered my arsenal.

  Manu, who had been analyzing the seal for over fifteen minutes, managed to find the flaw. He deduced that to open the chest, all that was needed was a password: “THE QUEEN.” Once the chest was opened, three things were carefully kept inside, far from the world: a golden man’s ring, a photograph of Céline in her youth, and finally, a USB drive.

  The joy I felt was almost unbearable. As I picked up the ring—a ring with a golden appearance—it became clear, upon closer inspection, that it was not made of gold. Instead, it seemed to be composed of extremely advanced technology. I had just recovered my most faithful weapon, the one I had obtained through countless tears, sweat, and spilled blood.

  “We’re done. Let’s go,” Manu hurriedly said, making sure to grab the USB drive and the photograph. “It seems Céline had a lot to hide.”

  We rushed toward the direction where we had left Shin holding off Grid. My heart pounding, I feared that something might have happened to Shin. Manu was worried about his friend, and I about the person who held the only antidote capable of saving my son—the same person who had poisoned him to ensure my obedience.

  To our surprise, by the time we arrived, the fight was already over. And standing there, against all expectations, was Shin, while Grid lay on the ground.

  “SHIN! Are you okay?” his friend worriedly exclaimed, grabbing Shin as he was about to collapse, no longer able to stand on his own.

  “I’m bursting with energy, as you can see! I kept my promise on my end… what about yours?” the young hero said proudly, even though his body was in a pitiful state.

  “We recovered his transformer. We can leave now. We have less than fifteen minutes.”

  Manu’s remark was sensible. But leave for where? Who could possibly be the third associate who had been helping them all this time?

  “Shin…”

  My voice made the two young men tremble slightly as the ring began to liquefy and wrap around my entire body. I felt my heart race, my head suddenly grow heavier. The liquid seeped deep beneath my skin, reshaping my bones, muscles, and even my epidermis.

  Obsidian-like scales burst from my skin, covering my entire body except for my head. My feet warped into claws, while my fingers elongated into talons. Four angelic-looking wings emerged, accompanied by a reptilian tail over two meters long. My hair turned into blazing black flames.

  “If you want to live, I suggest you hand my son over to me,” I said, as all the hatred and rage slumbering in my heart boiled over at the thought of my son dying and suffering in their hands.

  Ready to commit any atrocity for my child, I prepared to kill them.

  “Hoho, are you trying to betray us again?”

  To my surprise, this time it wasn’t Shin who answered me, but Manu.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “The situation has changed somewhat now that I outclass you. Even Céline wouldn’t dare foolishly offend me in this form,” I sneered, proud and powerful, a feeling I had almost forgotten after everything I had endured.

  “Too bad for you, because if that’s the case, all I have to do is blow your son up,” he sneered back.

  Fear and doubt suddenly flooded me. No… that wasn’t possible. Even if they threatened my son, they had ensured he stayed alive to use me. They had poisoned him, but they gave him the antidote regularly. They wouldn’t… go that far… would they?

  My original plan had been to threaten them with death—or even torture them—until they returned my son to me…

  Seeing my hesitation, Manu pulled out Céline’s photograph. It seemed to be infused with some kind of powder.

  “You doubt we can do it? Ask the whole city if I was bluffing when I blew everything up,” he said confidently, tossing the photo into the air. It exploded midair, making me regret my choice as I reverted to my human form.

  They had me… completely. They were fully prepared, and they would do it without hesitation.

  “We don’t have time for this. Let’s go.”

  “But go where? There’s no safe place for us with all the police forces on our tails,” I finally gave in, following them against my will.

  “You’d be surprised by how many things the police can’t do,” Shin coughed with a grin, even as his condition worsened.

  I hope they’re not lying.

  In the distance, as our victorious heroes successfully escaped, police and special forces struggled amid flames, blood, and terror to rescue surviving civilians and extinguish the fires while minimizing the damage.

  Above it all, in the air several meters above the ground, Céline hovered, floating thanks to her gravity manipulation ability.

  “What could possibly have caused all this…?” she murmured to herself, when Tom’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

  “Céline, we’re done on our end. Are there still people left or not?”

  he shouted from the ground.

  It had been almost an hour since the two of them had been handling the southern zone, while the others took care of the rest. Closing her eyes, she scanned the surroundings and detected no signs of life.

  “All clear. Let’s put out the fires!”

  she replied to her friend, even though everything felt suspicious to her. Why would this incident happen now?

  A terrorist attack? If so, why Speedwagon? The capital would have made more sense. Otherwise, if it was the work of a murderous lunatic, why had zero deaths been reported? And it was certainly not a bad joke.

  That was when something shining amid the flames caught Céline’s attention.

  With a flick of her wrist, a fan appeared in her hand. It looked utterly ordinary, except that once opened, it bore an emblem shaped like a shattered star. This was the ability Awakened gained upon reaching Level 2: the materialization of their inner world in a physical or spiritual form—and this fan was Céline’s.

  With a gentle wave, she unleashed storm-like winds, sweeping away the flames and revealing a burned-out building—once a former retirement home in the middle of the city. These criminals had made sure the building was no longer in use, yet had caused enough chaos to force the authorities to move. Who were they, and why?

  Approaching what had drawn her attention, she spotted a brick plated in shining silver under the moonlight. Drawing closer, she saw crude letters carved into it, as if done with a knife.

  She read: “I won, old hag.”

  The moment Céline read those words, the brick exploded in a small blast, throwing her backward—though it was nothing serious for her. That was when Céline realized a crucial detail: all of this had been done using a deductive art, the one she herself had practiced in her youth—the art of the Blue Sage.

  The only person in the city skilled in that field and with a reason to do this was…

  “Damn it! The police station!”

  she realized as she shot off at full speed toward the precinct.

  “Céline, where are you going? We’re not done!”

  Tom shouted.

  Céline no longer heard him. Her heart pounded wildly, hoping she was wrong—but when she saw the police station from afar, its windows shattered and a crowd gathered outside, she knew it was already too late.

  The crowd parted as they saw her, allowing her to land. That was when she saw the extent of the damage: the shattered ground, the broken windows, and… Grid, unconscious on the ground. She guessed he must have suspected something and stayed behind to deal with it, but it seemed he had failed.

  Céline felt utterly humiliated as the answer lay before her eyes: they had escaped, and they were behind everything.

  “You’ve won this time…”

  she growled, biting her lips until they bled.