- THE SECOND KILLING
Cold. Sharp. Unforgiving.
That was all Gabriel felt as he skidded across the ice, his body twisting in agony.
The punch had landed before his senses could even register it. One moment he was squatting beside the little girl—the next, his world had turned sideways.
The pain was raw and searing. And the impact of bashing against the wall? Even worse.
Gabriel sat there, staring at the man who had sent him flying, blood trickling down his forehead.
He weakly raised a trembling hand to his stomach. His fingers met only rough concrete—no flesh, no bone—just a void where part of his torso should have been.
A strangled, wet gasp escaped his lips as his vision began to blur.
Then—
A voice, low and furious, followed not long after.
"You should’ve just stayed in bed."
Gabriel forced his gaze upward. The man from before was standing over him, fists clenched, mana crackling around his hulking frame. His breath came in slow, controlled exhales, but his eyes burned with something dangerous—something Gabriel knew too well.
Fear took root in his chest and spread, deep and cold, until it reached the furthest corners of his mind.
Then everything went dark.
---
There was static. Then a voice crackled through:
"Bulk? Bulk, what happened? Why aren't you fucking responding?"
The commander’s voice came sharp and urgent through Bulk’s earpiece, but he barely heard it over the pounding in his skull.
Kathlyn.
She lay in the boy’s arms, seemingly unmoving. There were marks on her skin—they must’ve struggled. And now she lay on the concrete, still and silent.
A surge of rage flooded his veins, but before he could burst, something else gnawed at his ears—a voice, steady and cool, cutting right through his thoughts.
"Don’t act rashly now, Benjinn."
Bulk exhaled sharply, hands still shaking. That damned know-it-all again.
The doctor continued; "Harming the boy too much could destabilize him. He’s not normal, Bulk. We need him intact."
Intact? Bulk’s jaw clenched.
"If you kill him now, you might destro—"
The commander’s strained voice cut in.
"Damn it, Bulk! Report! What the hell is going on?! If you can't contain the damned thing, kill it!"
Bulk barely registered the words. His grip tightened around his mace as he looked down at Kathlyn. His breathing turned shallow. His thoughts were torn.
It didn’t take him more than a second to consider. And in the very next, he dropped his mace—and went straight for the kill.
***
Everything was fading to black. Gabriel never even saw it coming. One moment, he was drifting in and out of pain, staring at the hero’s hulking frame—and the next, he was gone.
Bulk’s fist tore through him, mana surging with explosive force. Wind displaced. Lights flickered. Flesh, bone, sinew—obliterated. Gabriel’s chest caved in, torn apart in a single, merciless strike.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, finally, Bulk exhaled. His shoulders sagged.
"You should’ve just stayed in bed... Threat neutralized."
The words left his lips heavier than he expected. He turned to Kathlyn and knelt beside her.
A second passed. Then another.
And then—Kathlyn stirred. A groan escaped her lips.
Bulk looked down, relief flickering in his chest. He lifted her gently, steadying her as her eyes blinked open.
"You look out of breath," she rasped.
He snorted. "You’re one to talk."
She managed a weak smile. "What... happened?"
Before Bulk could answer—
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The lights flickered. Then came a grotesque, wet squelch reverberating through the hall.
Every muscle in Bulk’s body tensed as he slowly turned.
He saw him.
The boy.
What was left of him was pulling itself back together.
Hot steam hissed from his form as the wounds began to mend, black tendrils sewing his broken frame back into existence. His arms twitched unnaturally, his spine arching at an inhuman angle before snapping upright.
And then— the boy moved.
No. Not moved—lurched.
He raised his head. His eyes found Bulk’s.
Empty. Cold.
Bulk’s instincts screamed.
He shot to his feet, fists raised, mana crackling along his knuckles.
What the hell was happening? What the hell was he?
The boy was already moving, far quicker than Bulk had expected.
The next moment, he was in front of him.
What followed was the sound of bending metal.
Then Bulk was sent barreling down the hallway.
Kathlyn’s eyes went wide with shock, her body rattling from the tremor—but the boy paid her no heed.
Bulk was already back on his feet.
And as he stood, something clattered to the ground. A piece of his dark-plated armour– the armour that had wrapped around his abdomen.
Bulk grinned.
And the next moment, golden mana surged around him, enveloping his body like warmth from the sun.
His frame expanded, growing an entire head taller in seconds. As he did, a fresh set of armour materialized around his new form—larger, denser, and forged to match his hulking stature.
There was something else too—wrapping around his head until it formed a helmet resembling the head of a black bull, complete with two curved horns.
"That hurt," he muttered with a smirk.
Gabriel stared back at him, utterly unfazed. His head tilted slowly to the side, his neck clicking at an unnatural angle.
There was this silent anger that burned in the boy's eyes. Raw and primal.
The next instant, the two collided.
Their exchange was thunderous—each blow sending shockwaves through the ruined hallway.
Bulk moved like a living wall, every punch packed with destructive weight, but the boy met him evenly, his strikes precise and unrelenting.
But it didn’t last.
Bulk suddenly ducked under a punch, grabbed Gabriel by the waist, and—with a roar—lifted him clean off the ground.
Then came the suplex.
The two crashed through the floor, slamming down into what looked like a break room on the lower level.
Metal bent and concrete cracked beneath them.
Bulk rolled to his feet, breathing controlled. He spared his armour a short glance, taking in all the dents the boy had managed to get on it.
His body was aching too, but he could win... or at least hold on for a while longer.
He had noticed it immediately after they first clashed– That wasn't the same kid as before. This one was more forceful with a different fighting style and everything.
No longer calculated. No longer controlled.
Now, it was feral. Wild. Pure instinct.
Bulk frowned.
Then the doctor’s voice crackled into his earpiece.
"Bulk. Where's the boy?"
"With me," Bulk growled. "Kathlyn’s above us, she needs assista–"
The doctor’s tone sharpened. "I'm not asking about Kathlyn. Where’s the boy?"
That made Bulk pause. Bile rose in his gut. Still, he answered.
"Lower east quadrant. Break room."
No answer came. Just static.
When Bulk looked down at the boy’s body, a sick feeling overcame him. His spine—twisted out of place—was already shifting back into alignment with a sickening crunch.
It wasn't long before he was back to his usual form, only this time, there were patches of black clinging to his skin in long curves and patterns.
Before Bulk could even come to terms with what he was seeing, the boy lunged again.
And the fight resumed.
Blows were exchanged.
Bulk had already begun to increase in size to compensate for the boy’s still-rising power. He was trying his best not to hold back, but the boy wasn’t letting up.
Each strike that connected with Bulk's armour bent it. He was already getting pushed back—
—when something unexpected happened.
Something weaved through the air like silk threads. Silver strings lashed out from the shadows, wrapping around Gabriel’s arm mid-swing.
"What the—"
Bulk didn’t waste the opening. His punch landed squarely, sending the boy stumbling back.
More strings appeared, snaking through the air, binding his other arm—then his legs.
The boy tried to break free, snarling with rage. But the strings only tightened.
Another hit. Then another.
Bulk landed blow after blow.
The child's fury surged, but the bindings held firm.
Within seconds, he was completely restrained—arms and legs bound in shimmering silver wire.
From the corridor beyond, a figure stepped into view. A man in a long white lab coat, his spectacles catching the flickering lights.
Beside him was a young woman with dark black hair, calm and silent, several silver threads coiled between her fingers as she struggled to keep her feet firmly planted on the floor.
She still held though.
Bulk turned, eyes narrowing. "Where is Kathlyn?"
The man adjusted his glasses. "In my lab."
Bulk growled, golden light dimming as his size began to shrink. Then with a shake of his head, he turned away.
"I'm done."
With that, he walked off, the sound of his heavy boots echoing into the hall.
Only the man and the girl remained.
The boy writhed in the bindings, rage boiling beneath his skin.
The doctor stepped closer, gazing down at him with clinical fascination.
“You and I,” he said softly, “are going to do great things.”