When they hit the ground, John had Guion's neck locked under his armpit with his smaller arm. However, Guion easily broke free by piercing his tail through John's shoulder, rendering it numb. John retaliated, striking him again with his left limb, but Guion deftly dodged and seized it with his left hand, delivering a brutal elbow strike to John's right eye, gashing it open.
John endured the pain and retaliated with a powerful punch from his massive right arm, yet Guion skilfully evaded and raked his claws across John's armpit, leaving a deep scratch as he maneuvered to the left. Then, turning sharply to the right, Guion ripped off John's left arm with a vicious swipe.
As John spun backward, attempting a kick with his right leg, Guion countered with a rapid, spinning lower kick that sent John crashing to the ground. Before John could regain his footing, Guion struck the ground with both fists clenched. A colossal, sharp bone erupted from the earth, skewering John in the back and lifting him upward as it rose.
Towering like a baobab tree, the bone grew taller than the highest skyscraper. When John touched it, he passed right through, as if dematerialized. In the blink of an eye, he found himself standing before John's headless corpse, holding its still-talking head in his right hand.
As blood from the severed neck stained the expansive surface of the pure white bone, the head spoke its final words. "According to your norms, you have delivered justice for those I have killed. In a few years, some will come to you seeking justice for me. Be cautious, for this world is cruel. To them, you are a hero; to loved ones, you are nothing but evil. It does not matter the good in your heart; there is always darkness."
Guion looked down and saw the world gazing back at him with fear in their eyes. Bloody tears streamed from beneath his blind skull, for he realized that no matter what he did, he would always be considered a monster by humankind. Despite this, he raised his head and roared.
The shockwaves from his roar caused friction in the clouds, summoning lightning that illuminated the entire town. When the police arrived, it was too late; a portion of the city lay in ruins. Although they could see him clearly, they stood frozen, just like everyone else. "God save us all," the sheriff whispered.
From the crowd, Annika and Erick managed to catch a glimpse of the scene. "He is a monster," she said. The moment Guion saw her, he dropped the head, leaped into the sky, and vanished into the clouds. Erick, however, appeared unfazed. As the police began to evacuate the area, he noticed a mysterious young man, but soon lost sight of him.
When the sun rose, they found themselves in the sheriff's office early that morning, but Guion was absent. Annika couldn't shake the feeling that she had started to grow fond of him. They sat in silence, lost in thought. "I can't believe he was the monster all along," the sheriff said. "I had my suspicions," Erick replied. "I could tell by the way you looked at him.
What tipped you off?" the sheriff asked. "His jealousy," Erick answered, and they both stared at him, bewildered. "Any regular person can feel jealousy, it's part of human nature," the sheriff remarked. But Erick shot him a silent glare, prompting the sheriff to quickly rephrase his words. "You don't think they're " he began. "Overwhelm," Erick interjected. "Impossible! Those were just bedtime stories told to children, they are mere fairy tales," Annika countered. "That would explain why the government is so afraid to act," the sheriff said. "What do you mean, sir?" Annika asked, intrigued.
The sheriff played a video on his computer, showing footage of John just before he transformed from his human form. "These aren't just monsters; they are humans with god-like powers. I've seen them," he said.
As he recalled, the sheriff shared the true story of Overwhelm. He explained that long ago, there were individuals who could hone their emotions and manifest them into physical forms, allowing them to transform into monsters to combat other creatures. This ability was known as Overwhelm.
Society did not accept their existence; they were terrified and sought to annihilate them. The sheriff had barely turned eighteen when he joined the military, where they threw everything at these beings. He had believed they had gone extinct, but Erick revealed that they had not, the government had signed some sort of coexistence agreement with them, granting them the night while the rest of humanity retained the day.
"Bull! Why would the government do something like that?" Annika exclaimed. "Is that right? Let's stop pretending for a moment that they aren't cowering from us," Rick said. "Why do you think they haven't intervened yet?" Annika replied, her voice laced with skepticism.
Just as she finished speaking, the morning news came on. "The stories circulating about monsters are false. Residents have testified that they experienced an earthquake and nothing more," the reporter stated. "What the hell! She's lying!" Annika shouted.
As they faced the darkness together, Annika realized that The Blind One was not just a guardian of the lost; he was her guiding star, illuminating her path even in the bleakest of times. And though the world may have labelled him a monster, to her, he was a hero a testament to the power of love that could conquer all.
In the end, it was not the absence of sight that defined The Blind One, but the clarity of his heart. Together, they forged a bond that would echo through eternity, a love story written in the stars, forever illuminating the shadows of their world.
After witnessing first hand the overwhelming might of an Overwhelm, Annika began to grasp the situation, yet she remained in denial. It felt easier to believe that the entire army was terrified of them than to accept the truth. "There you have it, satisfied?" Erick said, frustration evident in his tone. "This doesn't make any sense.
Why would the military be afraid of them?" Annika replied, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Weren't you listening? They've already tried to kill them, but weapons just don't work," Erick explained.