The Last Esper [BL]
Chapter 31: Irreversible

Chapter 31: Irreversible

"Ah, yes," Rong Ye murmured, dragging the words out as if savoring them. "The valuable information I gave you... and look at you now. Almost dead, covered in blood and filth like a run-over dog."

Rong Ye walked slowly around Arthur, hands behind his back, like a teacher examining a failing student.

It had been surprisingly easy to find the old radio hidden in the basement. With the rest of the group busy in the city and unguarded, Rong Ye had had plenty of time to manipulate the device and fine-tune the frequency until he found the Research Center’s. But he didn’t contact Blackwood. Not yet. Instead, he chose to contact Arthur.

He wanted to give Eun-woo one last chance. If the Esper chose him to bond with, then Arthur would no longer be useful, and Rong Ye would have easily discarded him. But that wasn’t the case. Eun-woo rejected him.

And with that rejection, everything changed.

Rong Ye allowed Arthur to come. He cleared the way for him like a rabid dog released from its chain, waiting for him to do what he did best: destroy. With any luck, Arthur could take care of Rhys. Maybe even Caelan. Two fewer obstacles. And then, finally, the path would be clear for him alone.

Now he had him in front of him. Bleeding, broken, and barely alive.

A complete waste.

Rong Ye stopped in front of him, bowing with a poisonous smile.

"So much effort, so much drama," he continued, "and you didn’t even manage to cause a bit of decent mayhem. What a disappointment." Rong Ye’s eyes sharpened. "And to think Blackwood once believed you to be a reliable weapon... I guess we all make mistakes."

Arthur looked at him with a grimace of pain, but it was quickly replaced by a mocking smile. He coughed hard, staining his hand with dark blood.

"Your plans won’t go as expected," he said. "Because I told Blackwood what happened. Everything. And he wasn’t exactly happy to learn it was me you called and not him."

Rong Ye stood still, his smile faltering for just a moment.

Arthur noticed it.

"Yes. Your mother is going to pay for that," Arthur spat with satisfaction. "They must have already removed the employees from her clinic. Maybe even her."

Rong Ye turned pale.

"You’re lying," he said.

The image of his mother appeared clearly in his head: her face furrowed by fatigue, with deep dark circles and lines that time had mercilessly etched. Her hands always smelled of disinfectant, stained by years of work. She wore her hair awkwardly tied back, as if she didn’t have time to care for herself.

And yet, she always found a moment to look at him sweetly. She smiled as if exhaustion was never enough to dull the affection she felt for him.

Rong Ye had spent years protecting her, keeping her out of reach, away from Blackwood. And now, an impulsive decision had put her at the center of the storm.

Arthur raised a trembling hand and pulled a small vial from his inside jacket pocket. An injection. The liquid inside was thick and red, like overly thick blood.

"Blackwood was generous with my loyalty," he whispered. "He gave me this."

Rong Ye’s eyes widened. He took a step back, his heart hammering against his ribs.

"Arthur," he said, his voice no longer mocking. "If you inject that, you’ll never be yourself again. Never."

Arthur bared his teeth. There were red stains on his gums. When he opened his mouth, you could see the color spreading to his tongue.

"Too late."

And then, with a shaky movement, Arthur jabbed the shot into his neck.

The change was almost immediate.

His body arched back with a stifled cry. The veins in his arms began to swell, coiling beneath his skin like live wires. His eyes turned completely black, pupil-less. His jaw unhinged with a click and elongated slightly, distorting his face.

The skin on his back cracked, revealing expanded and deformed muscles. His teeth grew sharp, overlapping each other like those of a wild beast. His nails turned into black claws that scratched the ground with a terrifying screech.

And then he growled.

Not like Arthur anymore.

But as a Butcher.

Rong Ye took a step back, but Arthur was faster. He grabbed him by the hair and slammed him against the wall. The blow resonated with a crack dry and Rong Ye’s vision blurred for a second.

Arthur smiled, showing his stained fangs, the saliva mixed with the red still clinging to his teeth.

"You’re nothing but a dirty bitch," he said, digging his claws into Rong Ye’s neck. "Pretending to be something you weren’t all this time."

The pain was immediate. The claws cut through the flesh like hot blades. Rong Ye screamed, the shriek tearing at his throat. His entire body shook with the spasm, and he felt the blood rush to his collarbone.

But he did not give in to the pain.

He clenched his jaw, panting through his teeth, and looked up at Arthur, forcing himself to hold it.

He couldn’t let him see him break. Not in front of him.

Not in front of anyone.

He did not intend to die humiliated.

And then, he smiled.

A twisted, bloody, but still defiant grimace.

"Do what you want. I’m still useful to them. When they return, you’ll face an end even more humiliating than mine..."

Arthur punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. He grabbed him by the hair and yanked him forward, dragging him stumbling to the sink. There, with a shove, he slammed Rong Ye’s face against the metal rim, immobilizing him.

"More humiliating than this?" the Butcher asked hoarsely.

Rong Ye closed his eyes tightly, shook his head, and let out a broken laugh.

"Nothing humiliates you more than being surpassed by Rhys."

With a barely audible grunt, Rong Ye slammed his elbows back, slamming into Arthur’s torso. He felt Arthur flinch back a mere few inches, just enough for Rong Ye to pivot sharply, sliding to the side and lunging for the door.

Rong Ye tripped over a fallen stool, but didn’t stop. He pushed off with one hand against the kitchen frame and staggered out into the hallway.

He knew he couldn’t outrun Arthur, but if he could make it to the portable lab in his room, if he found something, whatever it was, maybe I had a chance.

He didn’t make it.

Arthur caught up with him before he could make it up the stairs. The Butcher, with that superhuman strength now vibrating beneath his deformed skin, grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him so violently that Rong Ye fell face first onto the floor. The air was knocked out of his chest in a single burst. He tried to turn, kick, scratch, but Arthur was already on top of him.

He immobilized his wrists with one hand and used the other to grab his jaw, forcing him to look at him.

"You were always weak," Arthur whispered, his breath hot and rotten against Rong Ye’s face. "Your mind is the only thing that ever had any value. Not your strength."

Rong Ye spat in his face. Then, with a desperate effort, he freed one hand and clawed at his cheek. His nails sank into the mutated flesh, but it wasn’t enough.

Arthur knocked him completely to the ground, pushing him back onto his back. He positioned himself over his chest and wrapped both hands around his neck.

Rong Ye gasped. His body jerked, but Arthur’s fingers dug in deeper. The pressure grew, closing his throat, cutting off his air. His hands rose in vain, scratching Arthur’s forearms, searching for vulnerable spots that no longer existed.

Darkness was beginning to creep into the edges of his vision. Still, he kept fighting.

Rong Ye couldn’t die like this.

A loud bang shook the house.

The window shattered into a thousand fragments with a loud bang. The roar that followed wasn’t human. It was deep, savage, guttural.

Rong Ye, his vision blurred and his lungs collapsing, barely managed to open his eyes when he felt the weight on his chest suddenly disappear.

Arthur was ripped off him like a rag doll.

A mutant wolf had him in its jaws. Its jaws clamped down on the Butcher’s torso, biting down so hard his bones crunched. Arthur screamed, clawing at the animal’s back with his deformed claws, but the wolf wouldn’t let go. It thrashed him around in the air as if trying to tear him apart.

The two bodies collided with another window. This time, the glass collapsed completely, exploding in a shower of splinters and dust. The frame ripped with a metallic screech. And then, in a single movement, they both disappeared outside, swallowed by the forest mist.

Rong Ye gasped.

His throat burned. His chest rose and fell in frantic rhythm as he gulped down air, his body trembling with adrenaline and pain.

He slowly turned onto his side, the icy ground against his cheek, and that’s when he saw him.

Through the gap left by the destroyed window, a silhouette was advancing.

Rong Ye narrowed his eyes, still panting.

Who...?

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