OP Absorption
Chapter 71: Warning

Chapter 71: Warning

Rowena watched, that infuriatingly calm smile still playing on her lips. "All that power," she mused, loud enough for Meg to hear clearly from where she huddled near the kitchen doorway, "and still so predictable."

She stepped closer, ignoring the splintered remains of the door, ignoring the barely contained violence radiating from him. "Your little act in the hospital? Quite convincing, for a time."

Her eyes narrowed, glittering with sharp intelligence. "But the energy signature doesn’t lie, Hunter Carver. The Mana Cell. A prized artifact belonging to my masters."

She tilted her head. "Why hide it? What secrets are buried beneath that ridiculous amnesia routine? How does a D-rank nonentity suddenly wield power that shatters seasoned Hunters?"

Her voice dropped, becoming smooth, possessive. "So many questions. Questions my superiors are very eager to ask."

She gestured dismissively. "That Mana Cell belonged to them long before you stumbled upon it. And now... by extension..."

She let the implication hang.

"You belong to them too."

Silence. The house seemed to hold its breath. Even the rain outside felt muted.

Fin stopped struggling. He went utterly still, sandwiched between the two towering beastmen.

Then he laughed.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t warm. It was a cold, sharp sound that scraped against the silence, devoid of humor, full of something chillingly empty. It sent a shiver down Meg’s spine, made the beastmen tense instinctively, and even caused Rowena’s smile to flicker for a fraction of a second.

The green energy pulsing around him didn’t just fade. It transformed.

It bled away, replaced by a torrent of pure, blinding silver light. It swirled around him like liquid moonlight, cold and potent, pressing outwards against the beastmen, forcing them to take half a step back despite themselves.

His eyes changed. The normal brown irises dissolved, replaced by the sharp geometry of cube pupils. But they weren’t green anymore.

They glowed with the same intense, cold silver as the aura engulfing him.

He slowly lifted his head, his silver gaze pinning Rowena. "You come into my home," his voice was different now, still flat but resonating with power, deeper, colder. "And you threaten my girl."

"You talk of masters," he continued, the aura intensifying. "Of belonging."

"I read about your Association," he stated, a simple fact delivered with chilling weight. "I know organizations like yours exist. Crawling in the shadows. Powerful." He paused. "Perhaps somewhere, someone you serve could kill me."

"But right now?" His eyes locked onto hers, freezing her smile in place. "Here?"

"Can you handle me?"

The pressure slammed down.

It wasn’t physical. It was pure, crushing intent. Directed solely at the beastman on his right.

The massive creature choked, eyes wide with sudden, primal terror. Its knees buckled audibly. It crashed heavily to the floor, forced into a kneeling position, head bowed, thick arms trembling under an invisible weight. It didn’t fight back; it couldn’t. It was utterly subjugated.

He didn’t spare the kneeling guard a glance. His gaze slowly, deliberately, shifted back to Rowena.

Meg could see the flicker of genuine fear behind Rowena’s eyes now. The calculation. The rapid reassessment. The woman understood power, and right now, the power in this room belonged entirely to Fin.

Continuing this confrontation felt like... suicide.

She took a small, almost imperceptible step back. She forced the smile back, though it looked brittle now. "Perhaps," she conceded, her voice tight, losing its earlier confidence, "there has been a misunderstanding."

She gestured stiffly towards the kneeling beastman. "We will take our leave."

"No."

The word was flat. Absolute.

Fin’s gaze shifted to the remaining beastman, still standing, though visibly unnerved. "Before you go," he said, the silver light around him pulsing slightly, "I need to vent."

"You," he looked back at Rowena, "are apparently too important to hit." His eyes flicked to the standing beastman. "But he isn’t."

Before the creature could react, before Rowena could protest, Fin moved.

Not a blur this time. Just pure, explosive force.

His fist, wreathed in silver energy, slammed into the beastman’s gut.

WHAM!!!

The sound wasn’t a dull thud. It cracked through the air like a gunshot, sharp, violent, echoing off the walls. The beastman folded instantly, air exploding from its lungs in a silent scream. It flew backward, smashing into the hallway wall with enough force to crack the plaster before crumpling to the floor, unconscious or worse.

He lowered his fist slowly, the silver light receding slightly, though his eyes remained glowing cubes.

He looked back at Rowena, his expression unreadable.

The message was brutally clear.

Then they were gone, melting into the night.

The silver energy around him pulsed once more, then receded like a tide. His cube pupils dimmed, shifting back to warm brown. He watched the empty doorway for a long moment, unmoving.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked, not turning around. His voice had returned to normal, the otherworldly resonance gone.

"Y-yeah," Meg managed, still pressed against the kitchen doorframe. "What... what the hell was that?"

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he moved to the broken door, examining the splintered wood frame.

"I’ll fix this tomorrow," he said simply.

---

They sat in silence in the small living room.

Rain drummed against the windows, the steady rhythm filling the awkward void between them. The temporary seal Fin had rigged over the broken door rattled slightly with each gust of wind.

Meg perched on the edge of the couch, hands clasped tightly in her lap. She sneaked glances at Fin, who sat motionless in the armchair across from her.

He just... stared at her.

His eyes were normal now. Yet somehow they felt like they belonged to a stranger.

The silence stretched, became a physical thing between them.

Finally, he spoke.

"Are you scared of me?"

The question hung in the air, simple, direct. His voice was soft, almost vulnerable.

She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. The automatic denial died on her lips as his gaze held hers, patient, knowing.

"No," she said at last.

"You liar."

She flinched slightly. There was no accusation in his tone, just quiet certainty.

"Okay, fine," she admitted, heat rising to her cheeks. "I’m a little freaked out. You just... you broke a man twice your size with one punch. Your eyes were literally glowing. And that silver light..." She shook her head. "What happened to you in that dungeon, Fin?"

He looked down at his hands. They appeared normal now. No sign of the devastating power they had unleashed.

"I changed." Simple words. Profound understatement.

"No shit," she snorted, a trace of the old Meg breaking through the fear. "Changed how? What was that silver thing? And those cube eyes?"

"It’s complicated."

"Try me."

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I went in with two simple cores. I came out with... something else."

She waited for more. When nothing came, she rolled her eyes. "Seriously? That’s all you’re giving me? After I just had my house invaded by some creepy lady and her furry goons?"

"Your house?" One eyebrow quirked up, a ghost of the old Fin.

"You know what I mean," she huffed. "Your house That I happen to be living in."

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"There he is," she said softly.

His smile widened just a fraction.

"What?"

"My Fin," she explained. "For a second there, behind all that... silver scary stuff, I saw you."

Something shifted in his expression, softened. "I’m still me, Meg. Just... upgraded?"

"Upgraded," she repeated skeptically. "Is that what we’re calling it?"

"Would you prefer ’cosmically enhanced’?"

She couldn’t help it. A small laugh escaped her lips, surprising them both.

His smile grew more genuine. "See? Not so scary."

"You called me ’your girl’ back there," she said suddenly, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. Her cheeks flushed immediately.

"I did."

"Do you..." she hesitated, looking down at her hands. "Do you hate it? That I called you ’my Fin’ just now?"

"No!" The response was immediate, emphatic.

She looked up, startled by his vehemence.

Their eyes locked. Something unspoken passed between them, warm and electric.

"Do you?" he asked quietly. "Hate that I called you my girl?"

"No," she whispered. "I don’t hate it at all."

The rain drummed against the windows, but the silence between them wasn’t awkward anymore.

---

They talked for hours.

Not about cores or cube eyes or the Association. Just... talked. About nothing and everything. Bad jokes. Childhood memories. Favorite foods.

Meg found herself laughing more than she’d expected, the tension gradually bleeding away. This was Fin. Her Fin. Different, yes. Powerful, terrifyingly so. But still him.

She watched him as he recounted some ridiculous adventure from their childhood, his hands animated, eyes bright. ’I am so stupid,’ she thought suddenly. ’Why did I think... nevermind, it’s just my Fin.’

She yawned, the night’s adrenaline finally catching up with her.

"You should sleep," he said, noticing immediately.

"Probably," she agreed reluctantly. She didn’t want this moment to end, this glimpse of normalcy.

She stood, stretching. "You coming?"

"I’ll be up a bit longer," he said. "Need to think."

She nodded, understanding. At the hallway, she paused, looking back at him. "Fin?"

"Hmm?"

"Whatever happened... whatever’s happening... we’ll figure it out. Together, okay?"

He smiled, and for a moment, all the power and mysterious changes seemed distant, unimportant. "Together," he agreed.

"And this isn’t my house, it’s our house, our home."

She smiled and disappeared down the hall. He listened to her footsteps fade, heard the soft click of her bedroom door.

His smile faded.

He moved to the window, staring out at the rain-slicked streets. The power inside him stirred restlessly, like an eager beast.

"Together," he repeated softly. A promise. A vow.

Whatever he had become, whatever was hunting him now... he would protect her. At any cost.

He had no idea how high that cost would soon become.

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