Published at 3rd of October 2026 9:53 am

Chapter 257: Only A Hero

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Chapter 257: Only a Hero

Min stood frozen. With everything happening around her, she couldn't be sure she'd heard the naked stranger right.

"Are you stupid? I'm a Beast Binder. I can't"

A soft groan from Granny Boil ripped her attention.

"I need pots! She's"

"Quiet, child. I'm dying, not deaf."

Granny's eyes cracked open, her voice barely carrying as a wet cough brought blood to her lips.

Min's heart hammered against her ribs. She could see it now in the old woman's face.

"Don't talk. We'll get you healed up, okay?"

Granny Boil managed a weak smile.

"It's past that, dear. You know that."

Turning toward the naked man, Boil shook her head, what little strength remained in her face softening.

"You and your secrets. To think you were so handsome."

She raised a trembling hand, and the man lowered his head until she could reach him. Her fingers moved through his long hair, scratching his scalp with what little strength she had.

Watching them, everything finally clicked for Min.

"You're that dog..."

He raised his face, and Min saw the black spreading through the veins beneath his cheeks. His breathing had grown shallow, and when he spoke, his voice came out low and exhausted.

"Please. I'm almost out of time."

Everything was happening too fast. She wasn't in any state to make decisions like this. She knew she wasn't strong enough to stand against Blight or the Woons, but right then, she would've rather been fighting either of them than standing here. Fighting she understood. She didn't know what the hell to do with goodbyes.

So when Granny Boil laid her frail hand over hers, shame tightened her throat. The old woman was the one dying, yet somehow the old woman was calmer than she was.

"I know you're confused. But there is nothing anyone can do to save me. Instead, allow Fen to have a better death. Through you, he can continue doing what he loves. I always felt bad keeping him cooped up. He belongs in battle. Please, Min."

Tears blurred her vision as Boil's voice weakened with every word. Her breathing slowed until Min found herself waiting between each breath, terrified the next one wouldn't come. With what little strength she had left, Granny Boil pulled toward Fen.

"I'm sorry. I love...you..."

Her chest fell, and it didn't rise again.

A tear struck Granny Boil's face, then another, falling from Fen as he leaned over her. Min stared at the old woman's open eyes, waiting for something. A cough. A curse. For her to complain about there never being enough customers...

Nothing came.

"GODDAMMIT!"

She threw her head back and screamed until her throat burned.

Granny Boil was gone.

"Fuck this! Fuck all of this!"

She shot to her feet because she couldn't stay beside her body anymore. Her fists clenched hard enough for her nails to bite as she kept her face turned toward the sky, jaw locked against the sounds trying to force their way out.

"If I do this....you'll still die."

Fen looked up at her with a weak smile, black veins covering most of his face.

"I'm dead either way. The demon's poison has already reached my heart. Just make it quick."

Looking from him to Granny, Min wiped her face hard with the back of her arm. Fen bent over Boil, pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead, sat back up and closed his eyes.

"I'm ready."

Min motioned toward the Professor.

"Take her somewhere safe."

The old man watched Min for a moment. His mouth opened, but whatever he was about to say never came. He motioned instead, and several of his puppets moved in to gently carry Granny Boil away.

Min watched until the old woman's white hair disappeared behind them. Only then did she turn back.

Fen was still kneeling...waiting for her.

Her throat tightened.

"I'm sorry."

She moved before she could stop herself. Both hands locked around his head, and she twisted

A clean crack cut through the street.

She caught him before he hit the ground. For a moment, she stayed there on her knees, holding his dead weight against herself, staring over his shoulder at nothing.

A faint yellow light leaked from Fen's body and crawled over her hands. It moved up her wrists, warm against her skin, while the protocols inside her Beast Binder class opened in response.

[Beast Soul Detected]

[Fenrir (Alpha)]

[Beast Soul Slot Available]

[Bind Soul?]

[Yes/No]

She stared at the words through wet eyes, one arm still wrapped around Fen's body.

Please, Min.

Her jaw clenched.

"Yes."

Yellow system-light flooded out from between Min and Fen, swallowing them both as the dead weight in her arms began to disappear.

----

Oblivious to everything happening on the other side of the city, Snare was dealing with problems of his own. He'd been healed by Sin, but being able to see did absolutely nothing to stop the Warlord.

"Not imps. How interesting. You don't even taste the same."

Holding Law's limp, headless body in one hand, Blight bit into him. Bone cracked between his teeth as he chewed through what remained and swallowed.

One of them had already died.

The rest lay broken.

Panic, Hex, Synapse, Widow, Tomb, Sin, Fang, Bug, Slims, John, and even Pain. Some twitched or tried to rise, others barely moved at all. Not one of them had been able to stop Blight.

Snare pushed himself up and reached for his broken staff lying beside him. His claws tightened around the splintered shaft before he let it fall. With only one leg and a hole in his gut, he couldn't stand. All he could do was watch as Blight floated down from the sky and landed beside Synapse's dome.

His teeth clenched until his jaw hurt. The broodlink raged inside him, filled with pain from every direction. He had tried. They all had. Now there were no options left, something he wasn't used to dealing with, and his mind scrambled for something...anything

"We're not done! Afraid of finishing us off?!"

Snare glanced around for anything he could use. Spotting a chunk of broken stone, he snatched it from the rubble and pulled his arm back to throw

And his head disappeared.

Snare's body dropped forward, the rock slipping from his fingers as he hit the ground.

"I'll have no further interruptions. This is an important reunion."

Bloody teeth showing through his wide grin, Blight turned back toward the dome of meat.

"Wohan Seo-jin. I've heard so much about you. Can you imagine how surprised I was? Well, I'm not sure if you knew about me...but I am such a big fan of yours."

Leaning closer, Blight ran his oily black hands across the dome's bone and muscle, his fingers pressing into the flesh as his lips quivered.

"Without you, we all wouldn't be here. I was so happy when you destroyed that gate. Did you know you almost killed Father? A lowly imp brought the mighty Skinsmith to his knees. His suffering was so beautiful! It pained me to end it."

Lifting his hand, he gathered black smoke into his palm. It twisted tighter and faster until it formed a spinning drill. Sparks sprayed across his face as he pushed his hand deeper without slowing.

"We have so much to talk about, little ashkin. It's time you"

His smile faltered.

Looking down, he found a heavilyinjured Panic clamped onto his ankle, teeth gnawing on his flesh.

"You are so adorable."

His tail twitched

"BROOD BEAM ATTACK!"

Blight tilted his head, and found his entire view filled with blue light. He raised one hand just before the beam struck. His smile vanishedand a moment later, so did he.

Explosions ripped through the city as the beam drove him back, his raised hand fighting against the attack. The destruction continued for nearly half a mile before the blue light finally faded.

"Take that, evil-doer! Ahhh-hahaha!"

Something enormous landed with a crash that shook the city, throwing up a thick cloud of dust. As it cleared, something other than Ash stood in the middle of ita giant ape-shaped robot. Silver covered most of its body, with red plating arranged across its chest, shoulders, and limbs like armor. The machine pounded both fists against its chest, each impact booming through the ruins while Ash's laughter blasted from its speakers.

"Don't worry, guys! The hero is here!"

Plates shifted across the ape's body as machinery whined beneath its armor, the sound climbing until the whole frame vibrated. With a mechanical roar, it launched forward, dropped onto its arms, and charged toward where Blight had stopped.

From inside the ape robot's chest, Ash sat strapped into a white chair that wrapped around his entire body. He was wearing a skin tight red suit and a glowing helmet covered his head. It had multicolored lights blinking across its surface while the cockpit screens shifted faster than he could follow.

"You need to calm down. Strong emotions interfere with the signal. Try to remain calm."

Mr. Gates' mechanical voice came through a speaker inside the helmet, but Ash barely heard him over the beat of his own heart.

"Calm down?! I'm in a mech! No one could do that!"

"True. At least try."

"Quiet! I'm lockin' in!"

His hands didn't move. They didn't need to. The machine responded directly to his thoughts, every shift of its massive body feeding back through the chair around him. He focused on the screens filling his vision until the targeting system found Blight.

"Close combat mode, activate!"

"You don't need to shout"

"Shut it!"

Outside, the ape skidded to a thundering stop, pavement breaking beneath its feet as it brought both giant hands together and slammed them down. The impact cratered the street, but its fists struck something solid and bounced back hard enough to throw the machine off balance.

"Bastard!"

Roaring, Ash attacked again. Panels snapped open across the ape's shoulders, back, and arms, unleashing hundreds of rockets as both fists came crashing down through the barrage.

"Human science...how primitive."

A massive spear of black smoke tore through the explosions and dust, striking the robot square in the chest. Metal groaned from the impact as the entire machine was lifted into the air.

"Ha!"

Both of the ape's hands were clamped around the spear, having caught its tip inches from its chest. Servos screamed under the strain before Ash twisted the machine and swung back toward Blight, light building across its chest mid-air.

"Brood Beam!"

"Childish."

Red warnings flooded Ash's screens.

"Evasive action!"

A giant shadow surged from Blight's body until it matched the robot's size. A tail ripped toward Ash, but a jet blast from the ape's shoulder threw the machine sideways, the strike missing by feet.

Landing hard enough to shake Ash against his restraints, he almost squealed as he stared up at Blight's rising form. A giant monster battle was almost too much for his child mind.

What was coming next nearly made him cry.

Achieving a dream was alot for the boy.

"Transform."

As Blight's real body rose into the chest of his shadow and the giant form stood to its full height, towering over Ash's robot, the ape began to change. Heavy locks released throughout its frame with a chain of metallic cracks. Its shoulders pulled back and rose, the long arms shortened at the joints, and its hunched spine unfolded until the machine stood upright. The red armor plates began moving, locking over its chest, shoulders, waist, and legs as the broad ape head compressed into a plated knight's helm.

At the end, something detached from its back with a heavy clang, and a massive broadsword shot up, flipping through the air and dropping toward the machine as its armored hand snapped around the grip.

Across from it, Blight watched without moving, but his tail lashed violently.

"I used to scold my father for playing with his victims too much. Children really do pick up their parent's habits."

His laughter rolled across the ruined city hard enough to break apart the clouds above, while the newly transformed knight tightened its grip on the sword.

"For the Broodfather!"

Ash charged, and Blight welcomed him with open arms.

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