KIA SHOTO POV
With arrows covered in poison and fire raining from above and the streets filled with hundreds of murder-driven soldiers chasing after me and my siblings, we are currently hiding in an abandoned house in the slums of the city.
The smell of feces and rotten corpses filled the air, most of which were of people who tried to escape like us. We sit there quietly for a while, waiting for the soldier to pass, and after a second or two, a ball comes flying through the glass. I fly out the window and take off running as my feet touch the blood-stained ground.
A few seconds later, the whole building is encapsulated in a black aura, and suddenly, it vanishes. Horrified, I pick up the pace, hoping to whatever god exists that my siblings are safe. My worries are cut off. An arrow flies right past my head with a bomb attached to it. I jumped backward, but not enough to save me from the explosion. I'm sent flying into a building and go straight through it before colliding with a wall behind it. I land on my hands and knees and cough up an outrageous amount of blood.
Pain slams through me. My whole body felt like someone had broken all the bones in my body and was trying to see if he could crush them more with a hammer, so running was out of the question, and so was calling for help unless I wanted to die faster.
"DAMN, IT!!"
"DAMN IT!!!!"
"DAMN THIS FUCKING WORLD TO HELL!"
There are no other ways except that.
My fear was gone, my frustration was now boiling rage and the targets of my rage were the species I originally thought were humans, but now I have accepted the truth. This isn't Earth, and the people chasing me aren't humans. With my newfound resolution
I say, "Status".
I shouldn't care what happens to them.
A blue window appears, containing all the details about me. It still bothers me how they got everything down to the tiniest detail, but it's not important right now.
I scroll down and find a lock. I tap on it, and a smaller window pops up.
{Are you sure about this? You will become a monster if you agree.}
I laugh at the system's sudden concern for my situation.
I show him the middle finger and say, "Hope that answers your question."
Suit yourself, but don't think I'll forget what you just did.
"I know you won't," I say with a confident smirk.
{Unlocking Kai's true nature}
A sudden surge of energy courses through my veins; as it increases, my pain decreases by a remarkable amount, and I can finally stand. I have grown considerably taller; my nails have become longer and sharper; my scales seem to partially cover me; and my vision and senses have become considerably sharper. I felt someone behind me and turned around sharply, using the momentum to swing my hand forward, aiming slightly lower to end it with one attack.
But the voice of my little brother stops me; he screams out of shock. I cover his mouth with one hand, and with the other, I raise a finger to my mouth, signaling for him to shut up. Apart from the crumbling buildings and occasional explosions, the place had gone quiet. Without a second thought, I ask the system to give me a quick rundown of mana.
{It's the energy inside you.}
"Any more relevant information," whispering so the humans think I don't know I'm onto them,
{You can use it for stuff.}
I want to curse at it right now, but I can't in this situation. I decided to think back to when I felt that unusual energy. It had this feeling of living water—cold and hot, ever-changing. I gather as much as I can in one spot, but even with me concentrating this much, barely any of it is gathering.
{You can't do that on your first try. Do you think you are special or something?}
{Either way, the amount you gathered should be enough for this scenario at least; just let it go out of your mouth. It is the most effective method.}
I can't argue with it; I do as it says, and a terrible taste of vapor comes out, colorless and odorless. It spreads around the area. I signal for my brother to hold his breath and cover his eyes, and he does so without any questions, thankfully. We wait, and all the humans that were in hiding start to choke with tears streaming down their faces and run away from the area.
{That was magic tear gas, and this is the part where you thank me}
As we run, I ask the system, "Why did I have to release it from my mouth, though? It's only good when it's a let-it-all-out situation; in an actual fight, it wouldn't be useful."
{Oh, that's why I didn't finish earlier. It's the most effective method of entertainment for me because you won't be able to taste food for at least a week.}
"This fucking thing," I think to myself, making a promise to figure out how to make it feel painful.
I just noticed I am much faster right now, so I can make it. I sped up towards the gate and released the gas randomly to ward off pursuers, and just like that, somehow we got out of the hellish city. Just as we got into the forest, I suddenly began losing strength and started slowing down, but I tripped and tumbled for a while before stopping completely. The last thing I see is a tall man with silver hair appearing out of the darkness of the forest, almost as if they were watching. My vision is blurred due to the impact. I try to speak, but then a ringing goes off in my ear, and that damn blue panel appears again.
{Warning: You are being forcefully sealed. You will now lose consciousness.}
Without being able to do anything else, everything turns black as my consciousness fades away.