Reborn As An Evolving Monster

A chilling scream filled with pain resonated through the darkness.

But about three seconds after that scream had started resonating, it was cut short.

Gasp-

Gasp-

Mark brought his bloody index and middle fingers to his mouth and passed the claws at their ends over his lips.

He was crouching next to the Monster's head once again.

Mark had tried not to dig too deep into the Monster's throat. Anatomy wasn't something he had much knowledge on, even less so when it came to random Monsters.

Still, he was pleased to see the Monster's scream cut short and replaced by short and weak gasps.

Luckily enough, the Monster's vocal cords had, as he wanted, been damaged.

Muffled growling exited both the Monster's mouth, and the hole in its neck.

The pain and anger allowed it to produce enough force to break the ice covering its arm, not without leaving the skin covering its palm.

The Monster quickly reached towards the white-scaled Monster. And the latter did the same just as quickly.

Mark's right hand intertwined with the Monster's left hand.

The Monster squeezed and pulled as it tried to free itself from the ice, the grip, and the Spear impaling it.

With a detached look in his eyes, Mark started curling his fingers and wrist.

Through the Monster's resistance, he curled his fingers and wrist.

Through the joints' resistance, he curled his fingers and wrist.

Until one by one, the Monster's fingers cracked and broke.

Mark swiftly readjusted his grip and continued curling through.

The Monster's wrist broke, turning its growls into weak whimpers.

It freed its second arm suddenly!

But it was stopped by Mark's hand before it could reach him.

The broken wrist was slowly lowered to the ground, before ice covered its once more, freezing it to the ground.

Mark then, methodically, grabbed the Monster's right wrist with both hands.

He stood up, before twisting the Monster's thumb inwards, and its pinkie outwards.

Due to the bleeding, the Monster couldn't resist as much as it had earlier.

But that made no difference.

The hand and elbow spun.

Block-

Mark spun them further.

Crack-

The shoulder joint had rotated further than it was capable of.

Crack.

The sound usually wasn't pleasing to the ear. This time, it surprisingly was.

Crack.

The joint had been taken further than it could handle.

Crack.

Did this mean that the shoulder had been broken? Or had it simply been dislocated? Mark wasn't sure.

Stepping on its shin earlier had definitely broken a bone, if not multiple ones.

Crack.

The sound that had resonated was similar, but that still wasn't enough to tell.

Even after the -crack- Mark hadn't let go of the Monster's arm. He pulled it upwards until the ice cracked.

The Monster's stomach moved up the Spear's blade impaling it.

Its upper body was off the ground.

The Monster's -member- wasn't as excited as it had been previously.

Mark quickly let go of the Monster's wrist and roughly grabbed the top of its head with a hand before its body could even start falling to the ground.

"Mine." He repeated, as his thumb dug into the Monster's left eye.

A final act of struggle.

The Monster extended its left arm.

Mark grabbed it at the elbow and lightly jumped off the ground.

With his body and that arm parallel to the ground, they spun.

Joints were dislocated. Bones were broken. And the flesh gave out.

SPLASH-

Massive amounts of steaming blood poured out of both the shoulder and the torn-off arm.

Mark looked down on the bleeding Monster, holding its arm in his hand.

His eyes were wide, but the rest of his face screamed indifference. Detachment.

He crouched once more and grabbed the Monster's head from the inside of its mouth with his thump.

"Mine."

The Monster's resistance had long stopped.

"Anyone who tries to take them from me... To take from me..."

With one swift motion, Mark pulled his hand to the side. And with it, the Monster's cheek.

  "No one... Is taking them from me. No one... Is taking from me."

He stared for a bit before standing up.

He walked over the Monster's body before,

"They won't... Be taken away. Mine. I won't... Let anyone take them. Mine. I won't... Lose them. Mine. I won't..."

A thick and moist fog exited his mouth as breathed out.

"Let go of them."

The Monster's second shin was broken.

With his left hand, Mark pulled the Dark Corrupting Spear out of the Monster's stomach.

He walked away as the weapon dissolved back into his left arm.

After having taken six steps away, he turned back towards the Monster and sat on the ground.

With one arm over his knee and the back of his fist against his lips, he stared.

The Monster was bleeding out from two wounds.

It wasn't shaking. Perhaps because it couldn't spare the energy necessary to do so.

Both legs broken.

It couldn't stand or walk.

Both arms incapacitated.

It couldn't crawl or push itself off the ground.

All it could do was lay there, waiting for death to arrive.

Mark stared profoundly at what seemed more like a corpse than anything else.

A cold darkness hung on his face.

Mine.

Mine.

I'm not letting anyone take them.

Mine.

I'm not losing them.

Everyone comes and goes.

I'm not losing them.

Everyone stays for a bit then leaves.

I'm not losing them.

Mine.

I won't be left again.

Mark! Come play with us-

Oh, you can't? Well, watch us, okay? Watch us-

They're leaving. I won't be left again.

Huh? You're not coming to school anymore? Lucky-

We'll come see you from time to time-

Sorry, we can't come anymore-

They're leaving. I won't be left again.

We're in this together, aren't we? I love you, Mark-

The two of us will get better, and we'll leave this place together-

I'm all better now so-

They're leaving. I won't be left again.

Everyone comes and goes.

Everyone is leaving.

Everyone leaves.

Everyone leaves me eventually.

No! Not now. Not anymore. I won't be left alone-

[You have defeated...]

The sudden message sent a chill up Mark's spine.

With a touch, the Monster was turned into a blue sphere of energy, and Devoured.

Mark started at the wall he had made in the distance. He looked away for a bit, before walking towards Elisa once more.