With a motion faster than Ziltris could follow, cut the braces binding him to the metal net.

Ziltris felt his powerlessness as he simply fell, unable to move a muscle, apart from the lacerations from being whipped, the metal net had dug into his back to leave an imprint.

The man caught Ziltris and gently placed him on the ground facing upwards.

"You poor thing" the man said. He had tossed Larson to the side.

Ziltris was too weak to even build up enough energy to move his finger, he simply lay and with eyelids threatening to shut tight, witnessed the man loom over him. 

"Such an enormous grudge. It\'d be a waste to leave it unfulfilled"

Slitting his wrist, blood dripped out into Ziltris\' mouth.

A minute later, Ziltris quivered, his chest bobbed and throbbed.

Veins snaked all over his body, almost stretching out.

Before long, Ziltris began shaking as if placed in ice, froth fell from both sides of his mouth.

His eyes rolled in to reveal a blank whiteness, and his nails elongated. Then, he rose like a man possessed, still frothing from his mouth.

Smiling, the man pulls back his clothes and outstretches his arm and cuts it off.

He flings it towards Ziltris. "Eat"

Ziltris pounced upon it, munching down the slim pale hand like a dog with his bone.

Once done, he fell on his back and his body returned to normal. Letting off steam, his veins receded and his complexion became much healthier.

A minute passed, and Ziltris\' eyes came back to normal.

With his exhaustion having vanished, he lifted his arms without much of a thought, feeling surreal at the sight of his recovered skin.

Even more astounding, all the lacerations had faded, not a scar to be seen.

"Amazing, is it not"

The man\'s voice brought him back to reality.

Now though, he felt closer to the man for some reason. 

"What happened to me?"

"All in due time" said the man. "Don\'t you have a grudge to settle?"

Larson entered his sights at that very moment, the man\'s throw had him lying unconscious, and all the anger within Ziltris came to the forefront.

Ziltris walked by the man as if he had turned invisible, grabbing the unconscious Larson by the leg. 

Dragging him to the net, he clasped his limbs with braces at such a speed and ease that even Ziltris was surprised.

With that done, Ziltris rendered a hot slap first and foremost to wake up the bastard. 

Abruptly awoke, he finds himself in torn clothes and his movements restricted.

His eyes cleared and he came eye to eye with his latest torture victim.

And when their eyes met…

"Heh" 

Ziltris gave a most frightening grin. 

"Heuk!" 

Larson\'s drowsiness was driven away, and anxiety quickly settled in.

Nevertheless, the man didn\'t outright burst into panic, and used his brain-a very rare occurrence.

"W-What are you doing?!" he shouted. Trying to hold an air of authority.

Alas…

*Pah*

All he got was a slap for his efforts, a loud one.

But Larson wasn\'t giving up so easily. "Do-

*Pah*

Five slaps later, Larson\'s cheeks had swollen, rendering him speechless-literally.

Now content with the silence, Ziltris walked to the side, grabbing the whip, the one that had been used to lacerations, Ziltris relished the feeling, savouring the moment.

For Larson, it was the beginning of an untold nightmare.

*Whip*  

Ziltris gave it a shot, still relishing his new reality.

With the whip affirming it, Ziltris got to work, expending his newly gained strength paying his oppressor back tenfold.

Maybe owing to the fact of how much he had been whipped, he wielded the item expertly, whipping him at least ten times every minute, and with his body strengthened, he felt neither tired nor sore.

It was the greatest day of Ziltris\' life to date, and he had the grin to prove it.

Meanwhile, Larson got to eat from the fruits of his labour, letting out shrills and screams all through, until finally…h(huán)e went quiet.

Larson had breathed his last, his corpse lacerated to the point of being unrecognizable.

With his death confirmed, Ziltris\' well of motivation dried up and he slowly recovered from his frenzy.

He tossed away what remained of the whip, falling on his butt caressing his head, he took in the sight of Larson\'s lacerated corpse.

Now in his right state of mind, he found he was covered in blood. Larson\'s blood.

Water dripped from the edge of his eyes as he squeezed his palm till it hurt, Ziltris punched out to the sky, savouring his big win.

\'Levin, I did it\' he rejoiced, looking at his palm. \'I got revenge for you\'

Right then…

"Seems you\'re done"

"Ah!" Ziltris was frightened. Turning around, he found the man standing.

\'I didn\'t feel anything\'

Moreover… \'How long has he been standing there?\'

Shivers went down Ziltris\' spine and he was quickly reminded of his weakness.

Looking at Larson\'s corpse, the man spoke. "Are you done here?"

Taking a final glance at the corpse, he nodded.

"Good, follow me. We have a lot of ground to cover"

The man turned around without another word and began walking.

It was so abrupt that Ziltris froze.

Three steps in, the man turns to him. "You don\'t want to?"

With his skin crawling, he rose to action. "Not at all" he replied, tailing the man.

In minutes, they reached the hidden stairs, whose entrance had been destroyed.

Along the way, he saw the corpses of Larson\'s henchmen, strewn apart. 

Walking out, he finds himself a view of desolation awaiting him.

Not his memory of neatly lined houses, instead, scorched earth, wrecked houses and corpses strewn about.

Black smoke billowed, building into the sky.

Surprisingly, seeing his hometown razed brought no particular emotion. 

His only genuine connection was Levin. With him gone, he couldn\'t be bothered.

Besides, most of the townsfolk were disgusted by him and Levin, simply because he was a shifter. 

It was also unlikely that none of the townsfolk noticed the disappearing children, rather. It would make much more sense if they simply ignored it.

Well now fate had caught up to them, leaving them reduced to the piles of filth they were.

He would have loved to search for the body of his former owner, but with all the buildings wrecked, that could take him several days at the very least.

 Committing the scenery to memory, Ziltris was once again intrigued by the mysterious-no, by his saviour.

But he held in all questions and toddled behind him in the sunrise.

Still reeling from the experience, Ezra was overjoyed. 

At this moment, his vision whirred and then...

His eyes snapped open, to his all too familiar.

\'It was a dream?\' 

*Ack!* 

He gripped his head, grunting as his memories were rapidly restored.  

Blood trickled down his nose, dripping onto the floor.

 Ezra felt his mind heating up because as his memories restored, the sensations of torture he felt while a host in Ziltris\' body hit him afresh.

The pain turned his eyes bloodshot as he found himself in a pitch black space.

Looking around, each step had the floor rippling.

A whisper penetrated his eardrums. "Do you now understand?"

Turning, he finds Ziltris standing behind him with a smile.

At the same time, his dormant body came to life, absorbing the demon blood he actively resisted prior to this and began healing himself.

"Do you see it now? Humans should not be allowed to live" Ziltris walked till Ezra and him were less than a feet apart. "Look how they tortured us, enslaving us for our heritage, even after all we\'d done"

Looking Ezra in the eye, he goes. "Is it fair that we let them do the same to others?"

A minute goes by, with Ezra gripping his head.

\'What-

His thoughts were convoluted and interrupted, his ability to reason was suppressed.

While the word "No" continuously echoed. 

Ezra simply replied what he heard "No"

The process of assimilating the  demonic blood increased.

"Then let us save them. We must save them from themselves, should we not?"

Three minutes elapse, Ezra replies with the new echoing word.

"We should"

"So, join me" he said, raising his arms in both direction" and let us bring salvation to all"

Ezra nods, "Yes"

*Boom*

Demonic energy erupted from his body.

On cue, Ziltris pronounced a statement. "It is done"

Soon after, his expression morphed, a grin stretching from side to side as he burst into hysterical laughter.

The black space melded like liquid.

Ezra\'s eyes snapped open right after, his thoughts no longer interrupted.

Quickly coming aware of the demonic essence gushing out of him, he moved to stop it.

But, his body didn\'t listen to his command.

\'Don\'t be in a such a hurry\'

In actuality, another had gained access to his mind.

The corruption.

Now out of the frying pan, Ezra finds himself in the fire.

His thoughts were slowed down and interrupted before, now, his mind was being encroached, and he was losing control over his own body.

He had one incessant thought.

\'I should never have trusted a demon worshipper!\'