Simi had already taken her stance.
She faced the Morduk head-on, trying to calm her breath as it approached.
But the closer it got, the more she trembled.
Its eyes—those soulless, dripping eyes.
The way it drooled.
The way it seemed to enjoy her fear.
Her courage cracked.
"How foolish of me…Thinking I could even last a second…"
She took a step back.
Then another.
The Morduk picked up speed, its stride quickening the more she retreated.
Like it didn't want her to escape.
That's when I appeared behind her and leaned in close, my voice a whisper in her ear—low, calm, cold.
Deji, now upright, shouted from the back, "Get her out of there, now! Akenzua!"
But before he could respond, Simi turned and bolted into Deji's arms, shaking, breathless.
I stepped forward. I honestly had no idea what the outcome of my actions was going to be. For all I knew, The power that came out months ago might have been long gone. I might have been possessed by fallen and simply manifested. So right now, I might be as good as the villagers, but even after all these thoughts ran through my mind, they didn't stop me from taking that step. In fact, it did the opposite, it propelled me even further. Whatever the outcome would be. I had made my peace with it.
For safe measures I made an announcement to the people behind me.
"Stay back," I warned. "Please stay back. Do not come close to me. Do not cheer. Do not speak.
No matter what happens.
Not until I'm gone." I pleaded.
Quite frankly, everything I had just said might come back to stab me in the foot.
Their interference could very well save me if things went wrong.
But that wasn't my concern.
My only fear was simpler:
That this act of heroism would spiral into the same tragedy I'd been running from.
That it would happen again.
Whispers broke out.
"What is he saying?" someone muttered.
Tor scoffed. "This boy's insane."
"What does he think he's doing?" he said to himself. "He couldn't even survive the Madarikans—and now he wants to face a Morduk?"
He spat on the ground.
"I'm starting to think they wanted you dead because of your stupidity."
But then the Morduk stopped.
Suddenly still. Eyes locked on my tender frame. Like it was studying me. And gazing beyond my physical appearance.
I walked forward—slow, steady, with a palm wine bottle in hand.
I tilted my head back slightly and spoke.
"For three months, I've asked myself why," I began. "How could I have done something so horrific?"
Staring down at the bottle in my hand.
"This thing… this thing of pleasure…" I muttered. "How could this… bring out something so ugly from me?"
"I feel disgusted thinking about it. But that's nothing compared to how I would feel if I did nothing. I will not bear witness to another massacre."
I took one light sip—just a few drops—and let the bottle fall.
Standing face to face with the Morduk. It growled, massive and shaking with fury.
And then it happened. Just like before.
My eyes glowed—deep, sharp red, as if something had been awakened inside of me.
A faint vapor escaped my mouth, curling into the air like smoke rising from water poured over fire.
Bone-like spikes, jagged and silver, shot out from both of my wrists—Fallen-crafted, shaped like weapons.
The Morduk lunged.
But I didn't flinch.
Instead, I met the beast's full slam with a single block—and in one slice, my right-bonespike cut straight through the creature's arm, tearing it clean off.
Gasps filled the air.
Even Deji's jaw dropped.
"Not even at my peak…" He said
The Morduk roared in pain, swinging wildly with its other arm—only for me to cut that one off too, just as easily.
Then a smile appeared on my face.
And the Morduk… stepped back.
It hesitated.
Tried to flee.
But I was faster. At this very moment all I could feel was an insatiable hunger to kill anything standing before me.
Grabbing it—I plunged both of my arms into its chest and began ripping its insides out, piece by piece.
In rage.
In release.
In the terrible relief of freedom.
I was no longer the boy they had rescued from the Madarikans.
This was the reason the Madarikans wanted me dead.
And now Deji understood.
"What is he?" he muttered
The Morduk howled until its last breath was gone.
But it wasn't over.
Three more Morduk emerged from the trees, drawn by the chaos.
The villagers froze again, paralyzed by disbelief.
But I turned to Morduk's approaching—and my smile got wider.
Charging at full speed, which looked unreal to the witnesses, I struck the first, then the second, then the third—each one trying to escape, but chased down mercilessly as my bonespikes tore through their bodies.
The villagers heard it all—the cries, the slicing, the snapping of bones and flesh. A child whimpered, but no one dared comfort them. Not until the sounds disappeared into the forest.
For hours, the noise continued.
Not a single villager moved.
Everyone stayed put.
Not even the wounded stirred.
Until—finally—the sound stopped.
Minutes passed.
Still, no one moved.
They waited.
And waited.
Even the Hands, barely conscious, remained frozen in place.
No one could speak about what they had just witnessed.
It wasn't until they noticed the faint orange glow stretching across the village roofs that they realized—
They had been sitting there the entire night.
The sun was rising.
Deji, now barely able to stand, limped to his feet.
He regained only enough strength to move.
He turned to Simi. "Watch over them," he said quietly, then made his way toward the forest.
He followed the trail—
One Morduk corpse after another, their bodies torn apart with terrifying precision.
Then he saw it.
A clearing—wide and hollowed out. A nest.
The truth settled heavily in his chest.
There had been more than a dozen of them.
These were no random attacks.
This was a family.
The two Morduks he had fought… they were parents.
And this… this was where they dragged victims to feed their children.
He ran a hand through his matted hair.
Twin Morduks were rare enough.
But this? An entire nest?
Something is wrong.
None of this makes sense.
That's when he saw me.
Curled up against a rock.
With dim eyes.
Quiet.
Sad.
Deji instinctively checked for the spikes—
None in sight.
He walked over slowly and sat beside me.
"This is why they were after you isn't it?" he said gently. "You really did kill your people."
Major Deji's claim was correct. I often wondered how I had been able to carry myself up until this point. Without willingly killing myself. I had thought of it but was never able to bring myself to do it. And of course, Chuba would never allow it.
I nodded, signaling to Major Deji that what he said was the truth.
I nodded again.
And again, repeatedly.
My head trembling with each motion.
"I slaughtered them all. Every single one of them."
My voice cracked—raw and uneven.
"I remember their pleas… their shock… the horror in their eyes. I—I tried to stop. I did. I swear I did, but…"
I broke.
The words fell apart in my mouth.
My breath stuttered—half-gasp, half-sob.
Deji stayed silent.
He watched the boy before him—
Dirty.
Broken.
Dangerous.
And so deeply human
"I don't deserve life," I concluded.
"I don't. How can I keep living after what I had done?"
I looked up, wild-eyed, desperate.
"Where's their justice, huh?!"
My body jerked as I began to shake, as if the weight of it all had finally found a home in my bones.
Deji didn't speak.
He just reached out—
And held me.
I was no longer trying to hold it in.
I clung to Deji, trembling, broken open for the first time.
And in the quiet of that cursed forest, I cried.
***
The new day came with new resolutions.
The people of Okusuwei had been tested. More than tested.
They had barely made it out alive.
This village would've been history if not for the Hands—and that young man.
The villagers spoke of him like he was a messiah.
The Chief couldn't stop telling the story: how Akenzua had come asking for palm wine, and how he, the Chief, had thought the boy just wanted to get high.
He laughed as he told it—over and over again, laughing with the others.
Because of what Akenzua did, the Chief declared that this day would be Palm Wine Day.
A day to remember.
To drink as much as their hearts could hold.
To celebrate survival—and to honor Akenzua for saving them all.
Everyone was happy.
Everyone… except Tuedon Akenzua.
While the people praised the good he had done, all he could remember was the bad.
"Where was someone like Tuedon Akenzua when my people needed saving?" I thought to myself
I couldn't find a single drop of joy in all the noise.
Simi, who had said what she now knew were hurtful things, came to me quietly.
She didn't speak at first. Just gave me a hug. Long and soft.
Then, almost in a whisper:
"I said a lot of things… not knowing what you were carrying inside.
And you didn't say anything back.
I feel ashamed. Disgusted with myself."
"You shouldn't," I said.
"You did what any kind person would've.
You helped me when I was nothing but a stranger.
That kindness… I can't repay it.
But I'm grateful.
Thank you."
Tor, too, tried to apologize.
His pride made it hard—but every time he looked at me, I could tell the image of me slaughtering the mMorduks flashed on his head and moved him to action.
So he swallowed it down, and apologized the best he could.
More people came.
Villagers brought food, gifts, anything they could offer.
They danced around the room I stayed in.
Sang songs and went as far as to praise me.
I sat quietly, watching it all.
Shocked.
How could something that had brought me so much pain…
something that turned my world upside down…
now be celebrated?
It left me conflicted.
When the celebration ended, Deji received the promised payment and prepared to leave with his Hands.
But before they set off, he came to me.
"You should come with us," Deji said. "Let me take you to my Master."
One would think after witnessing such a terrifying sight and the danger that lurked within me. Keeping me far away would be the smart choice. Or just as those Madarikans, execute me as soon as possible. But the opposite seemed to be the case when it came to the divine. They were not just different in ability and power from the Madarikans, but in character. Under normal circumstances I would have accepted such an offer. It was my dream to become a Madarikan after all. And the divine families were leagues above them. So this was a one way ticket to greatness. However I could not accept.
I shook my head.
"I told you before. I belong in the forest. Now you understand why. You saw what I became. I can't be around people." I explained
But Major Deji didn't back down.
He took me outside, led me to the edge of the gathering, and pointed around.
"Look," he said.
The villagers were laughing. Children playing.
Elders watching over.
Youths already rebuilding what had been damaged.
"All of this… is because of you," Deji said. "You gave them life.
And there are other villages out there.
Other people who might suffer the same fate.
You could help them too."
He had a point.
I had saved them—because of my Fallen nature.
But… what if it had gone wrong?
It made me recall that moment—how something inside me wanted to turn to the villagers and charge at them. I shared this with Major Deji
How I almost did turn
And if I had, the outcome would've been as tragic as that of my village, but not surprising to me.
"What if next time, on a whim, I turn? Who will stop me then?"
Then—Deji placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I will," he said.
"I'll be there. Every step of the way.
We'll figure it out—what you are, how to control it.
But you have to trust me.
Let me carry this burden with you.
We'll make it lighter. Together."
Was this the assurance I needed?
Was this what I had been waiting to hear?
Could Deji really stop me if the worst happened?
I stood there, thinking.
That's when Simi stepped forward.
She didn't ask.
She just took my hand and locked her fingers into mine.
"You're not going back there," she said softly.
"Not when you can be so much for so many."
Then she looked at me with a warm smile.
"No—you don't get a say in this."
"Hey!" Tor jumped in, mock-jealous.
"You've never held my hand before!"
"Did you save the village?" Simi asked.
Tor turned away, hiding his face as Deji laughed.
And for the first time in a long while…
I smiled.
A real, honest smile.
"Okay," I said.
"But on one condition."
Deji raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
***
Tuedon Akenzua had joined Deji's Hand unit.
He wore a spare navy cloak—slightly oversized, worn at the edges, but it marked his place among them. Before they returned to the House of Adesina, Akenzua had a few stops to make.
This was his request.
The first was where Chuba had been killed.
The creature's body still lay there. Lifeless. Unmoving.
Akenzua stood over it in silence for a long while. Then he dropped to his knees and began digging.
He didn't ask for help.
He needed to do this alone.
So Deji, Simi, Tor, stood back—watching from a respectful distance—as Akenzua buried the only friend he had in the forest. His hands trembled. His tears fell freely, mixing with the soil.
He whispered something as he covered the grave. No one could hear it.
When he was done, he didn't speak. Just stood, brushed the dirt off his hands, and nodded once.
The second stop… was his village.
The one he had destroyed.
It looked exactly as he'd left it—frozen in the aftermath of horror.
When Deji and the others saw it with their own eyes, their breath caught.
The place was in ruins.
The ground itself had been reshaped. Homes leveled. Structures splintered. The scent of smoke still clung to the air.
Bloodstains marked the earth—most of it washed away by the rain, but the traces were stubborn, etched into the land like scars.
Simi gasped, covering her mouth.
Tor stood frozen.
Even Deji, for all his composure, could barely believe it.
How could one person have done all this?
Akenzua walked through the village slowly, like a man retracing the path of his own execution.
Then, at the edge of the ruins, he stopped.
Knelt.
The sky darkened above him. Rain threatened again.
And there, with his head bowed and voice low, he made a vow.
"I can never be forgiven.
Never can I be saved.
But I must—
And I shall—
Pay for my crime to all of you.
I will only exist to ensure that evil like me never harms the weak and innocent again.
And when the day comes that life no longer flows through my body, human or Fallen…
I will find you all in the afterlife.
And I will accept whatever judgment you give me."
The rain began to fall.
He stayed kneeling.
His cloak soaked.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
The sky wept with him.
***
Boma, the Madarikan, led his unit with a storm in his chest. By the time they arrived at Okusuwei, the rain had stopped, but the roads were still wet with its memory. They'd come too late. Again.
But he wasn't alone.
Marching beside them was a unit of five—cloaked in deep green, their uniforms marked with a twin-horned emblem on the shoulder.
Whispers spread through the villagers like smoke.
"Is that… Master Haruna of the Husafi Brothers?"
"One of the Husafi Masters?"
"What's he doing here?"
They weren't wrong.
Master Haruna walked at the head of the Husafi unit—tall, quiet, and calm in a way that made people uneasy. His attire was simple, dark, and layered, but his stillness was not.
Every step he took felt too measured. Too deliberate.
Like the land itself made way for him.
They said he once stared down a raging Fallen Creature—and it backed away first.
Whenever he took a contract, it ended in the most peaceful way possible.
No bloodshed.
Just a man who could silence any Fallen Creature by simply being near.
Boma gestured toward the village. "This is where the Hand Major brought the beast," he said, voice edged with disgust. "It's already begun leaving its mark."
But before Haruna could reply, the village chief stepped forward, staff in hand and face steady.
"You speak too quickly, madarikan," the chief said. "What happened here was no attack. That boy helped defend us. Saved lives. Whatever he is… he is not your beast."
Haruna raised a brow, intrigued.
He turned to Boma, voice calm but cutting. "A beast that saves villages?"
Boma gritted his teeth. "He's dangerous."
Haruna said nothing for a long time. Then, with a slight smirk:
"What have the Adesina family stumbled upon, I wonder…"
He turned toward the direction of their departure, his voice dropping low.
"Very well. I shall see him for myself. And if he truly is the beast you claim, Boma… then I will slay him myself."