CHAPTER 75: HUMANS FIRST

"You seriously expect us to feel bad for a giant killer bug?"

"Who cares if she thinks that kid is her baby? She’s a Void beast!"

"She’s a threat. He’s a threat. Burn the whole nest!"

End them both!"

The crowd’s shrill, hate-laced jeering echoed across the devastated plaza like poison riding on wind.

Hermes stood motionless at first, hovering just above the battlefield as the Cloud Nine Squad stared up at him, waiting for his next move. Below him, the makeshift iron cage around the Megamantis shimmered in the morning light. Inside, the Void creature shuddered and trembled, clicking her limbs as if searching for a path toward the trembling little boy.

And that little boy—still clutching his ragged plush mantis—was huddled on the broken asphalt, not even flinching at the cruel words thrown at him like stones.

Hermes could hear it all.

Every thought. Every whisper. Every accusation dancing in the minds of the mob.

["He’s dangerous."]

["He brought this thing here."]

["He needs to be put down."]

["It’s not a child, it’s a weapon."]

["Filthy monster. Just like the rest."]

His blood boiled. His vision pulsed red. The meteor storm of his thoughts began again, smashing against the walls of his restraint.

"Hermes..." Somner’s voice was quiet but cautious. "What are you thinking?"

Hermes didn’t respond. His eyes were locked on the crowd.

A woman in pearls sneered, clutching her sign: MONSTERS DISGUISED AS CHILDREN ARE STILL MONSTERS.

A man with a red armband screamed: "Motherfucker, do your job! Kill the beast and put the kid down before he summons another one!"

A chant started. Ugly, rhythmic, hateful.

"Burn the boy! Burn the bug!"

"Burn the boy! Burn the bug!"

Hermes gritted his teeth, breath catching like frost in his lungs.

Inside his mind, something stirred.

A voice—not one born from lungs or lips, but from marrow and memory—slithered across his thoughts like a serpent around a flame.

’They hate you.’

He flinched.

’They hate him.’

’They always will.’

’How many times have you tried to be good? How many times have you begged for their understanding?’

Hermes shook his head. ’Shut up...’

The beast’ grasp on his brain coiled tighter, like a snake.

’You’ve been patient. You’ve held back. And for what? For THIS?’

Images danced across the back of his mind. Each more brutal than the last. His memories. His pain.

The way the elders told him to behave and control himself.

The things that Eirwyn said to him.

Hearing the word ’Threat’ used like a curse.

Watching someone smile while calling internally wishing for his downfall.

’Let me out,’ the beast whispered. ’Let me teach them fear.’

’No...’

’They want you to be a monster. So show them what a monster really is.’

He dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.

Somner shouted something, but it was distant, muffled like words underwater.

’Let me protect the boy.’

’Let me destroy the ones who would harm him.’

’Let. Me. Out.’

And in that moment, Hermes felt his control slip, like trying to hold water in a fist.

His skin cracked.

Half of it turned to obsidian stone, magma pulsing beneath. The other half froze, shards of ice splintering over muscle and bone.

His pupils became slits. And the beast smiled from within.

Hermes’ shout crackled like lightning.

"ENOUGH!"

The first thing that changed was the silence. An unnatural hush swallowed the chaos.

Then the frost appeared.

It crackled over Hermes’ skin in jagged shards, crawling up his shoulders and down his spine. Simultaneously, magma erupted on the other side of his body, bubbling like molten anger given form. Half of him became ice, the other fire. His fingers were claws of obsidian and glacial glass. His face was split by glowing veins of red and blue.

The beast was awake.

The crowd faltered.

"H-Hey, what’s he doing?"

"Is he turning on us?"

"H-He’s one of them—!"

They still tried to get closer to the boy, thinking that the beast would die if they killed him.

Hermes raised his head slowly, eyes burning gold.

"I said..."

He growled, voice rumbling like a storm—

"LEAVE. HIM. ALONE!"

He opened his mouth and breathed fire.

A sweeping arc of flame danced over the protesters, not touching skin, but close enough to blister air and send them screaming backward. Their signs caught fire. Banners curled and blackened. They scattered like cockroaches in the light.

Smoke clouded the air as Hermes dropped to the ground, molten footprints burning beneath his heels. He raised both hands and slammed them into the concrete.

An enormous wall of ice shot up, jagged and thick, cutting off the boy and the Megamantis from the mob entirely.

"Stay back." He hissed, standing guard before the boy, magma dripping from one palm, ice blooming from the other.

The Cloud Nine Squad froze.

Victorina had her wand up. Cam had a camera-eye locked on Hermes’ beast form. Fiero’s fists were raised defensively.

But they didn’t move.

"...Holy shit," Fiero whispered. "He’s going full monster mode."

"Should we stop him?" Vera murmured, visibly unnerved.

Somner was already walking forward, his hands up, his tone soft. "Leave it to me."

He stepped cautiously past the crumbling ruins, his voice now dipped in Sirentone—low, soothing, persuasive.

"Hermes... I know how you feel. But this won’t solve anything."

"They want him dead." Hermes spat. "They were cheering for it. They’re not afraid. They’re enjoying it."

"They’re scared," Somner said calmly. "Fear can make people cruel. Desperate. That doesn’t make it right... but don’t become the monster they expect you to be."

Hermes’ hands trembled. Magma hissed and popped beneath his feet. The wall behind him thickened with more ice, like a shield growing with his will.

The boy peeked up at him from behind.

Hermes turned slightly, his breath uneven.

"I wasn’t going to let it out." He said. "I didn’t want to be like this. But the more they screamed, the more it wanted to protect him."

"I know." Somner nodded, stepping closer. "And I’m glad you did. You protected him. That’s what matters. But you can’t protect him from everything."

The flames along Hermes’ arms began to flicker.

"You have us," Somner said. "We’re with you."

Finally, Hermes let out a long, ragged breath.

The magma receded. The frost melted.

He collapsed to his knees, the beast form dissolving into glowing embers around him.

Silence fell again... until a sound pierced it.

Click.

Everyone turned.

A figure emerged from the crowd, ducking under scorched signs and debris.

He was old. Wrinkled. Gray. Wearing a protest shirt that said "HUMANS FIRST" in big black lettering. His hands were shaking, but not with fear.

In one hand was a pistol.

Cam gasped. "Gun!"

"Get back!" Somner shouted.

Hermes spun around, eyes wide, instincts screaming.

The old man raised the weapon. Hermes reached toward the boy, but he was too far away...

The boy’s plush mantis dropped from his hand, bouncing once on the pavement.

And then—

BANG!

A/N I love reading comments! It helps me know what you think of these Chapters, and let’s me know that someone is reading. It gets a little lonely sometimes, so please leave some! Gifts, golden tickets, powerstones and reviews are also appreciated!