Hearing Seraphina's name burst from the guard's lips, a primal fury ignited within Rune, incinerating all thoughts of caution. He no longer wanted to lurk in the shadows; he wanted a confrontation, now. No elaborate plans were needed, just a straight path to the traitor.
Inside the warehouse, the faint light spilling from Seraphina's office was a deadly invitation. He allowed his Flesh Manipulation ability to sweep through his body. A rigid, bone-like biological armor erupted, covering him in gnarled, scaly plates. His claws elongated, curving viciously, and strange, sharp protuberances jutted from his elbows. His eyes blazed redder than ever, like hellfire, a testament to his absolute control over the surging rage and power.
Rune was no longer human. He was a storm.
With a furious roar, Rune charged the reinforced steel door leading to Seraphina's office. He didn't use his hands; his entire colossal frame became a living battering ram. CRASH! The door burst from its hinges, twisting into a mangled wreck of metal. The two strongest Night Hunters Guild guards, the one with enhanced strength and the other with movement detection, immediately spun around, their faces contorted in horror.
"Intruder!" The enhanced guard roared, lunging forward, his fist carrying enough force to shatter rock.
But Rune was faster. He didn't dodge. He absorbed the full force of the punch, the bone armor on his chest ringing with the impact. Simultaneously, a razor-sharp bone spike shot from Rune's elbow, impaling the guard's hand, then straight through his throat. Without a whimper, the guard fell. Rune retracted the bone spike, not a single drop of blood staining his biological weapon.
The second guard, eyes wide with terror, tried to retreat and call for reinforcements. But Rune was already close. With a brutal thought, the muscles in the guard's legs violently contracted, bones cracking. The guard collapsed, writhing on the floor, his limbs grotesquely deforming in agony.
Rune didn't stop. He stomped on the man, and a familiar energy surge. With a sickening hiss, the guard's flesh began to melt, Rune's veins bulging as he absorbed the biomass, further strengthening himself.
The warehouse erupted into chaos. Screams and gunshots echoed as the remaining Night Hunters Guild members realized the presence of the destroyer. But Rune didn't care. His blazing red eyes were locked onto the figure standing in the ruined office – Seraphina.
She stood there, amidst a cluttered room of maps and documents, her emerald eyes wide with shock, then quickly shifting to utter hatred. She no longer held her usual deceptive charm; now, she was simply a exposed traitor.
"Rune... You're alive?" Her voice trembled, but she immediately regained her composure. "Impossible! You should be dead!"
Rune advanced, each step resonating with the presence of death. He extended a claw, each word dripping with venomous hatred: "You... betrayed... me."
Seraphina sneered, her smile twisted and devoid of warmth. "You were too blind, Rune. You were just a useful monster, a tool! Vorn is smarter than you think! He saw my true vision! All you know is destruction!"
She raised her hand, and a powerful green light enveloped her. Rune's muscles suddenly spasmed violently, and he felt thousands of needles piercing his flesh. Her mind manipulation ability was stronger than he thought; now she could even affect him physically.
"You think you can stand against me, obsolete experiment?" Seraphina scoffed, her eyes gleaming with madness. "I'm not just a mind manipulator, Rune. I'm a Blood Vessel Controller! I can make your veins explode with a flick of my wrist!"
At that very moment, the door behind Rune, where he had just burst through, was flung open again. A massive shadow lunged in, followed by another Awakened he hadn't seen before.
Thanos stood there, his massive frame like a mountain, but beside him was someone even more terrifying – a gaunt man with ice-cold eyes, holding a sword glowing with dark energy. It was Valerius, one of Vorn's top enforcers, an Awakened renowned for his brutal Spatial Manipulation abilities.
"We've caught the big rat, Guild Master," Valerius said, his voice cold as ice. "And you won't escape this time, Rune."
Rune turned, facing his three most dangerous foes. Seraphina with her blood vessel control, Thanos with absolute physical might, and Valerius with his deadly spatial power. His fury erupted, but now it mingled with the eagerness of a predator who had found even bigger prey. The real battle, now, had truly begun.