E-Rank or SSS-Rank: I Awakened a Skill That Shouldn’t Exist

Aiden tilted his head, his lips curling into a faint smirk as his eyes locked onto Quint. Then he shrugged.

"No. The one who killed them isn't here," he said flatly. "But if he were, you'd already be on your way to join your friends."

Quint's exhausted expression didn't falter, but deep within his gaze burned a fury so heavy it was suffocating. His chest rose and fell, his blood-soaked armor hissing faintly with steam.

For a moment, he simply dragged a hand across his face, smearing crimson further across his features, as if trying to wipe away both pain and rage.

"Oh, is that it?" he muttered, his voice hollow but edged with venom. A beat of silence passed before he continued, his tone low and icy.

"Then I'll kill you first… and once I'm done resting, I'll track down that man you're talking about and rip him apart too."

Aiden's eyes narrowed. His instincts screamed — something in Quint's aura shifted. The calm, calculating warrior he had been facing was gone.

The Dark Emissary had entered a berserk state. Underestimating him now would be suicide.

Quint lunged, his speed almost untraceable. Aiden surged forward to meet him, both figures colliding with a force that cracked the ground beneath their feet. Sparks and shadows erupted at the impact.

"Die!" Quint roared.

The bloody stump where his arm had been twitched violently, then in the next instant — shrrkk! — a fully restored arm burst forth, regrown at lightning speed.

The battle resumed with terrifying intensity. Quint no longer bothered with evasion or defense.

He fought like a beast unleashed, his every strike carrying monstrous force, his restored body feeding his relentless assault. His style was raw and wild, but frighteningly effective.

Aiden felt the pressure rising. He was still landing devastating blows — claws of darkness, waves of corrupted essence, crushing kicks — and each strike tore into Quint's flesh, breaking armor and drawing blood.

But it didn't matter. Each grievous wound was healed in seconds, his body knitting itself back together as though reality itself refused to let him die.

It became a war of attrition. Destruction against restoration. Predator against monster.

Every second, the question loomed larger: would Aiden's Dawn Overflow burn out first, or would Quint's grotesque regeneration finally hit its limit?

Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Clara's fight against the Scorpion Beast reached its own breaking point.

The canyon floor was a graveyard of metal and fire. Out of the ten combat drones that had accompanied her, only three remained.

Their once-polished steel frames were now riddled with cracks, their energy cores flickering erratically.

Clara's armor was scratched, her breathing labored, her mind racing as she calculated strategies at lightning speed.

The scorpion beast, despite its massive wounds and dented carapace, was still standing tall. Jagged cracks split its armored body, its six tails battered, but the monster's presence was as terrifying as ever.

Fire, ice, wind, earth, and lightning surged from its tails in a deadly symphony, making every approach a nightmare.

The only reason they had managed to inflict so much damage was because of the drones' synchronized bombardments.

Their combined firepower had created openings that Clara exploited, but each coordinated attack came at a cost. Every time the drones drew close enough to deliver devastating blasts, they were exposed to the beast's counterattacks.

That was why seven of them now lay in pieces across the battlefield.

Clara's eyes narrowed as her drones circled, firing in bursts of coordinated light. Her brain worked furiously, running through dozens of tactical possibilities.

But no matter how many simulations she formed, one truth gnawed at her relentlessly.

To kill this beast, I'll have to sacrifice the last of my bots.

The thought made her chest tighten. She didn't want to do it — they weren't just machines, they were her companions, her creations.

Yet hesitation wasn't a luxury she could afford. Her jaw tightened, and her resolve hardened.

"Forgive me," she whispered.

The last two drones flared to life, their energy cores glowing dangerously bright as they prepared to unleash one final suicidal assault.

The golden lines etched across Clara's radiant armor pulsed brighter and brighter, each second feeding into the storm of power building within her.

Her body trembled from the sheer intensity, not with weakness but with the strain of holding such overwhelming energy.

She was preparing another super-charged Omega Beam—a strike powerful enough to end even this monstrous abomination once and for all.

The Scorpion Beast sensed it. Its many eyes flickered with primal fury as it realized what Clara was attempting. Instinct screamed at it—whatever she was preparing, it would not survive.

With a furious screech that shook the battlefield, the beast lashed out, thrashing with its massive claws and whipping its obsidian tail in a desperate attempt to disrupt her.

But the two remaining Tech-Bots—loyal to the end—intercepted. They flanked the beast, unleashing a relentless barrage of concentrated blasts, forcing its attention back onto them.

Explosions lit the gorge as their combined firepower hammered against its armored hide. The beast shrieked again, snapping its pincers and slamming the ground, but the bots did not yield.

They gave everything, holding nothing back to buy their commander the time she needed.

Meanwhile, Aiden was locked in brutal close-quarters combat with Quint, their clash echoing like thunder across the canyon.

Steel-like vines clashed against Quint's regenerating flesh as both warriors fought with reckless abandon. But Aiden couldn't help but glance toward Clara. She was nearly ready.

Then—it happened. The Scorpion Beast, enraged beyond reason, tore the two remaining bots apart.

Metal limbs scattered like broken toys across the battlefield, their lights flickering out. But even in destruction, they had fulfilled their mission.

Clara's armor now shone like a miniature sun. The golden veins pulsing across her suit glowed so fiercely they left trails in the air as she moved.

Her eyes narrowed, her expression calm yet resolute. With a flash of blinding speed, she dove down from the sky like a meteor.

The Scorpion Beast whipped its massive tail, its last remaining weapon slicing the air with lethal force. But Clara twisted midair with inhuman grace, slipping past the strike as though she had rehearsed it a thousand times.

Its pincers lunged, snapping shut like towers collapsing—but again, Clara danced between them, her movements sharp, fluid, and absolute.

She found her mark: one of the beast's deepest, most grievous wounds carved open earlier by the relentless assaults of the bots.

Without hesitation, Clara thrust her glowing hand into the wound, piercing through the charred carapace.

Her lips moved, calm and unwavering.

"Omega Beam."

A deep golden light erupted from her arm, surging directly into the monster's core. For a single breath, the world seemed to freeze—then a deafening, world-rending explosion detonated from within the beast.

Its screech turned into a final, broken howl as fire and light tore through its body.

When the smoke cleared, the Scorpion Beast collapsed with a resounding crash that shook the gorge. Its massive legs twitched once… twice… then stilled forever. The nightmare was over.

Quint, still grappling with Aiden, froze mid-strike. His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched his lifelong companion fall. Aiden's fist smashed into his face, sending him hurtling across the battlefield. He crashed into the dirt beside the Scorpion Beast's lifeless body.

For a moment, the dark emissary simply lay there, his chest heaving. Then his eyes—wild, desperate—locked on the empty, glassy stare of his fallen beast. His lips trembled.

"...Crit…?" His voice cracked. "Crit…!"

But there was no answer. His companion was gone.

Quint closed his eyes. For a heartbeat, his body stilled as if death itself had finally claimed him.

But then the silence shattered. The sorrow on his face twisted—contorting into rage so thick it was almost tangible.

His eyes snapped open, blood-red and burning like coals, and he raised his gaze to Clara, who hovered calmly above the battlefield, her radiant armor glowing faintly in the haze of smoke and destruction.

Her calm eyes locked on his.

Then Quint shifted his gaze toward Aiden. His lips curled into a snarl, voice low and venomous.

"You two… you're the reason for this. For its death."

Aiden held his stance, though his breath was uneven. He could see it now—the wounds across Quint's body, so grievous that even his unnatural regeneration was failing.

The tears in his flesh no longer closed as before. Each movement left blood dripping freely into the broken earth. That meant only one thing. Quint had reached his limit.

Aiden narrowed his eyes. "Give it up. It's over. You've lost."

For a moment, silence. Quint's crimson eyes lingered on him, unreadable, and then—

He laughed.

It wasn't joy, or mockery. It was madness. A horrible, raw, manic laughter that sent shivers crawling up Aiden's spine.

"Lost? Oh no… no, no, no. You think you've won? Let me crush that fragile little hope of yours… right here, right now."

He clenched his eyes shut. His body began to tremble violently, his veins glowing with a sinister black light.

The air itself warped around him, suffused with an oppressive darkness that felt like it could choke the life out of the world.

Aiden's face drained of color. "No… he can't… He's exchanging his lifeforce—to restore his core?"

It was unthinkable. A reckless act that would burn away his own existence. Why would Quint go so far?

When the shuddering finally stopped, Quint raised his head. His long, disheveled hair whipped wildly in the chaotic wind that swirled around him.

His aura was different now—unstable, feral, destructive—but focused. His gaze locked on Aiden, and a wicked grin slithered across his lips.

"You care for your partner, don't you?" he asked, his voice laced with mockery.

Aiden froze. He didn't answer—but his silence was answer enough.

That was when it hit him. A tingling sensation deep within his chest. Familiar, yet far more overwhelming than before.

The strange, suffocating pull he had felt upon arriving on this cursed island… now magnified a hundredfold.

Quint lifted a single finger and pointed at him.

Aiden's system flared.

> Warning! A foreign force is attempting to take control of host.

Taming Protocol Activated.

Attempting Neutralization…

Neutralization Failed.

Attempting Suppression…

Suppression Failed.

Alert: Host is now under complete control of the enemy.

A cold dread sank into Aiden's gut. His limbs went numb. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. And then… nothing. His body was no longer his.

"What… did he do to me?" Aiden thought, panic clawing at the edges of his mind. He could still think, still feel, but he could no longer command his own body. It was as if he were trapped in a dream—watching, powerless.

Quint's grin widened, madness burning in his crimson eyes.

"Why don't you kill your partner yourself?"

It wasn't a suggestion. It was an order.

"No!" Aiden screamed inside his mind. But his body—his traitorous body—obeyed.

Slowly, with mechanical inevitability, he turned toward Clara. His arm shifted, the flesh warping grotesquely into a deadly claw. A low, feral growl rumbled from his throat.

Inside, Aiden's mind reeled. He felt the horrifying truth settle into his chest like a knife.

"He… he's tamed me."

TO BE CONTINUED…...

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Author's Note:

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