Chapter 9: Corrupted Minds

For a moment, the tunnel was silent. Joe’s grip on his arm loosened, and something like guilt flickered across his face. Lily was crying harder now, but they were different tears, tears of confusion and maybe regret.

“Vell, I…” He started, his voice uncertain. “Maybe we should have listened, maybe we should have—”

Then something changed.

It was subtle at first, like watching a cloud pass over the sun. Joe’s eyes, which had been filling with doubt and remorse, suddenly went blank. Not unconscious, but empty, like someone had reached into his head and flipped a switch. Lily’s tears stopped mid-sob, and Derek’s confused expression smoothed into nothing.

They all stood perfectly still for maybe two seconds, and then their faces twisted into identical masks of rage.

“Murderer,” they said in unison, their voices flat and strange.

’What the hell?’

“Guys?” He stepped back, genuinely confused. “What’s wrong with you?”

Joe lunged at him with a speed that shouldn’t have been possible for a drunk, unawakened human. His fist connected with Vell’s ribs before he could fully dodge, and the impact was like getting hit with a huge hammer.

’That’s not normal strength!’

He rolled with the blow, using his agility to create distance, but Lily was already there, her fingernails raking across his face with enough force to draw blood. These weren’t the weak, normal humans he’d grown up with, something was boosting their physical abilities to dangerous levels.

[Master, I’m detecting that same corrupted mana signature from the Association! They’re being controlled!]

’Controlled? By who?’

Derek grabbed a broken bottle and swung it at Vell’s throat with mechanical precision. Vell ducked under it, but Joe was right there with a kick that caught him in the shoulder and sent him spinning into the wall.

“Stop!” He shouted, dodging another attack. “This isn’t you! Someone’s controlling you!”

But they didn’t respond, just kept attacking with that same blank expression, like puppets on strings. Their movements were coordinated too well, covering each other’s openings, herding him toward the dead-end section of the tunnel.

He tried to run past them, to escape without hurting them, but they formed a wall of bodies. When he feinted left, they moved as one to block him. When he tried to jump over them, Lily grabbed his ankle with that unnatural strength and slammed him into the ground.

[Their bodies are being pushed beyond human limits. If this continues, they’ll die from the strain even if you don’t fight back.]

’There has to be another way!’

Joe picked up a piece of rebar from the ground, rust flaking off as he gripped it. He swung it at his head with enough force to cave in a normal person’s skull. Vell caught it with his bare hand, the metal bending under his grip, but the effort of holding back was costing him.

“Please,” he begged, looking into Joe’s empty eyes. “Fight it! I know you’re in there!”

For just a second, something flickered in Joe’s expression, a hint of the person underneath struggling to break free. His mouth moved, forming a single word: “Run.”

Then the blankness returned, and he drove his knee into Vell’s stomach with brutal force.

Vell doubled over, gasping, and Derek took the opportunity to grab him from behind in a chokehold. Even with his enhanced durability, the pressure on his windpipe was dangerous. These weren’t trained fighters, but whatever was controlling them knew exactly where to apply pressure for maximum damage.

[Master, you need to fight back! They’re going to kill you!]

’But they’re my friends!’

[They’re not your friends anymore! They’re weapons being used against you!]

Lily approached with another broken bottle, aiming for his exposed throat. Time seemed to slow as Vell realized he had no choice. If he didn’t act now, he would die here, and his friends would probably die too from the strain on their bodies.

With a surge of mana, he broke free from Derek’s hold, the motion sending the man flying into the tunnel wall. Before he could check if Derek was okay, Joe was on him again, that rebar swinging for his ribs.

This time, Vell didn’t hold back as much. He redirected the swing and drove his palm into Joe’s chest, feeling ribs crack under the impact. He flew backward, blood spraying from his mouth, but he started getting up immediately, that corrupted mana forcing his broken body to keep fighting.

“Stop!” Vell screamed. “You’re killing yourselves!”

Lily rushed at him, and he tried to just push her away, but she twisted at the last second and the broken bottle scraped across his arm, drawing a line of fire across his skin. The pain made him react instinctively, his hand closing around her throat before he realized what he was doing.

She clawed at his hand, her enhanced strength leaving bloody grooves in his arm, but her eyes remained empty even as her face turned purple.

[The corruption is killing them anyway, Master. Their organs are failing from the strain.]

Tears ran down Vell’s face as he felt Lily’s pulse racing unnaturally fast under his fingers, her heart about to burst from the artificial enhancement. She had maybe minutes before her body gave out completely.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and then squeezed.

The crack was quiet, but it echoed in his heart like thunder. Lily’s body went limp, and he gently lowered her to the ground, closing her eyes with shaking fingers.

Joe was still trying to get up, blood running from his mouth and nose, his body destroying itself to keep fighting. Derek was crawling toward him with one arm, the other hanging uselessly at his side.

“Why?” Vell asked the empty air, his voice breaking. “Why are you making me do this?”

Joe finally made it to his feet and stumbled toward him, rebar raised. Vell caught his wrist and looked into those empty eyes one last time, searching for any sign of his friend.

“I’m sorry, Joe. I’m so sorry.”

He pulled Joe close and drove his hand through his chest, making it as quick as he could. Joe’s eyes cleared for just a moment at the end, and smiled.

“Not… your… fault…” he gasped, then went still.

Derek had stopped crawling, his body finally giving out from the damage and strain. He was looking at Vell with eyes that flickered between blank and aware, fighting against the control even as he died.

“Vell,” he managed to say, his voice his own for these last moments. “I remember… some… one… at… Association… They… made… us…”

Then his eyes rolled back, and he was gone.

Vell stood in the tunnel, surrounded by the bodies of his friends, their blood on his hands in the most literal way possible. The fire had died down to embers, casting everything in a hellish glow.

[We need to leave. Whoever did this might send more.]

But Vell couldn’t move, couldn’t think past the weight crushing his chest. He’d just killed three people he’d loved, three people who’d been forced to attack him against their will.

“My heart aches,” he whispered, falling to his knees. “Was this really the right choice?”

[You had no choice, Master. They were already dying.]

“I know,” he said, his voice hollow. “That doesn’t make it hurt less.”

He stayed there for a few more minutes, memorizing their faces, burning this moment into his memory. Someone had done this, someone had turned his friends into weapons just to hurt him, and that someone was connected to the Association.

When he finally stood, his tears were gone, replaced by something colder. He picked up one of the unbroken bottles, weighing it in his hand.

“System,” he said quietly. “Can you track that corrupted mana signature?”

[Yes, Master. The trail is still fresh.]

“Good.” His grip tightened on the bottle until it cracked. “Someone’s going to pay for this.”

He walked out of the tunnel, leaving his past behind in the darkness. There was no going back now, no chance of a normal life or reconciliation. Someone had made sure of that, and he was going to find out who.

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