Jon had met Alex and Alexa on the same day, and over time, they became inseparable friends.
Alex, fiercely protective of his sister, had always struggled with the thought of who might date her.
He wanted only the best for her, and after seeing Jon's character, he wouldn't have objected to him. But would Alex really push his friend to date his sister? No. Now it was late.
The sister Alex sought to protect had been violated—repeatedly—and Alex himself was dead.
By now, the group that Jon had entered unhinged had taken notice of the turmoil and were closing in on Jon's direction.
Despite the rage building inside, Jon's innate trait kept him grounded, preventing the explosion of fury he wanted to unleash. He managed to ask one pivotal question, a single word that carried a world of meaning: "Who?"
Since the beginning, Alexa had been sobbing, but at Jon's question, her grief turned to fury. She screamed as if it meant everything to her.
"IT WAS JOE! HE JOINED KRAD! THEY KILLED ALEX AND—AND—"
She couldn't finish, and Jon didn't need her to. He already knew.
Nearby, Cynthia too had heard the scream and came out to witness the scene.
Then she saw Jon, standing with fury and mana radiating off him, and Alexa crying in front of him. However, she didn't know the why, but she felt getting involved would not be a good idea.
Soon, others who had been having a meeting nearby, including Jenny, Tunde, and several others, came to see what the commotion was.
When the Krad members spotted Jon, an unfamiliar face causing an uproar, they moved swiftly toward him.
Jenny, noticing Jon had awakened, was surprised, but couldn't fathom why he was so angry. They overheard Alexa's shout—the death of Alex, the betrayal by Joe—the pieces of the story began forming, but it still wasn't complete.
Even Joe, standing within the Krad area, emerged at the call of his name. Seeing Jon made him frown, he frowned. 'Is this Jon?' he couldn't believe what he was seeing, this wasn't the Jon he knew. How had he changed so much in just one day?
As for Jon, his feelings were clear. His friend was dead, another friend had betrayed him, and that same friend had violated his sister.
BANG.
The aura emanating from Jon suddenly expanded, and something within him snapped.
"KRAD! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" he roared, his eyes locking onto Joe. "YOU WILL REGRET IT, JOE!"
Without hesitation, Jon moved. His fists and legs charged with moon energy; he appeared before the closest Krad member.
BANG.
And the Krad member's head exploded from the impact.
And a shock rippled through the crowd. "H-H-H-He killed a person?" Nobody knew who said that but, the cafeteria became rowdy again.
Everybody started running away. Not minding the chaos, another head was gone.
Two days ago, Jon would never have imagined killing anyone. Even when the world started to collapse, he hadn't seriously considered taking a life. But now, he had done it, he strangely didn't feel wrong about it. His trait numbed any crisis of conscience.
It was quite a strange situation, he was angry, but his mind was still calm, maybe even calmer than normal. That was the reason he could see this,
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED LEVEL 2 'JOHNSON MARK' REMAINS]
[YOU...]
But he ignored it, he didn't even need their remains. He just wanted them to die and nothing else. If it was before the fall, he didn't know what he would have done if this also happened. But he knew, he wouldn't back down.
In mere minutes, the entire Krad group was wiped out. The strongest of them that had been causing trouble died just like the weakest—no one stood a chance.
Joe's face drained of color, as did everyone else's. The once-feared Krad gang had been massacred down to its last man, and Jon stood among the carnage, covered in blood, his aura continuing to pulse.
Wisps of red began flickering all over his normal light blue energy, swirled around him.
The red wips continued to flicker and grow in number, yet as quickly as his fury had flared, his trait calmed him, pulling him back from the brink of exploding. He didn't know what was happening, but he was planting the seed to what would be later known as bloodlust.
'It was worth it,' Jon said in his mind. That was the only thought he made as he looked at the corpses and blood pooled area he was now in.
And without hesitation, he moved toward Joe, who now shook uncontrollably. Jon, who was usually shorter than Joe, was now the same in height. But to Joe, he might as well been a giant in that moment.
Silence stretched between them as Joe trembled under Jon's gaze. He knew he had done something unforgivable—something not even thirty years in prison could completely redeem—but he had still done it.
The truth was, Joe hadn't actually raped Alexa. Before they could, Cynthia and Jenny arrived, so they stopped. And as for Alex, Joe had only watched as it unfolded, too focused on gaining favor with the Krad gang to care about the consequences.
But none of that mattered now.
"J-Jon, it's all a misunderstanding. I—" Joe stammered.
"You betrayed us, Joe. What misunderstanding?" Jon cut him off coldly. "Alex is dead. WHAT MISUNDERSTANDING?!" His voice grew louder.
His hand, now pulsing with moon energy and flickering orange, shot out. In one swift motion, he severed Joe's hands and legs.
"ARGHHHH!" Joe's screams echoed as blood gushed from his limbs, joining the sea of blood that covered the ground.
The crowd, already breathless from the massacre, couldn't believe their eyes. They had never imagined they would witness such bloodshed, and now it flowed like a river.
Jon didn't do anything else and turned his back on Joe's agonized cries, and left him to bleed. The Jon before the fall would have asked more questions, sought more answers, but this new Jon already knew everything he needed to know.
He knew Alexa hadn't been raped, but almost. His moon gaze had been active and he scanned her body. And even if Joe hadn't directly killed Alex, he had watched it happen, doing nothing to stop it.
Jon then moved toward Alexa, his blood-soaked form halting just before her. He didn't try to touch her—she was still too fragile for that—but he looked at her with deep sorrow.
Jenny then stepped forward and silently stood beside Jon. She knew Alexa needed someone to support her now. Though there was a possiblility Jon might have rejected her help, she still wanted help.
Jon then nodded at Jenny in quiet understanding and walked away. The crowd parted, giving him space as he returned to the spot where he has been before he come out.