(Erza's POV )
The moment I saw him, my world stopped.
Yuuta… was inside a glass tube.
Suspended in thick, glowing fluid. Half-naked. Wires pierced through his arms, chest, and legs—strapped like a puppet with no strings of his own. His small frame was curled slightly, shivering. Lips pale. Eyes wide.
He was awake.
Conscious.
Terrified.
The tube buzzed faintly, surrounded by arcane seals and control panels lit in cold, sterile blue. Everything about this room screamed control. Domination.
Around him, five men in white coats circled like predators—scientists. Their faces weren't human anymore. Not to me. They had the expressions of vultures… waiting for a meal to die.
"Begin the injection," one of them said, adjusting a dial. "If this fails… we're out of serum."
Another stepped forward, holding a long needle filled with glowing red liquid.
"Subject Zero," he said. "The Dragon Killer. This time, it has to work."
Dragon Killer?
My hands trembled. I took a shaky step closer. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, louder than the machines.
And then… the needle pierced his neck.
Yuuta jerked violently.
"AAAHH—! AAAHHHHHHHH!!"
His scream wasn't just loud—it was pure, unfiltered agony.
It echoed off the steel walls. It made the lights flicker. It made me fall to my knees.
He wasn't crying.
He was breaking.
"It burns!! It's burning me—!! Please! Please, I'm sorry—I won't ask to go outside again! Please!!"
His voice cracked. Pleaded.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'll be good—! Please—!!"
Each word tore into me like claws.
My claws dug into my own skin. My breath came in broken gasps. The child inside that tube wasn't some "subject." He wasn't a monster.
He was a boy.
A child.
Begging to go outside. Begging for forgiveness for things he never did.
Begging… for mercy.
"Help me… it hurts…"
He thrashed inside the fluid, body arching, veins lighting up with mana. His skin began to blister—raw and red—like the serum was eating him alive.
He was too small.
Too fragile.
He shouldn't have had to survive this.
But no one stopped it.
None of them cared.
Except for the lead scientist—who smiled.
Smiled.
"Good," he whispered. "Keep screaming, little monster. My ultimate weapon is almost ready. The Dragon Killer will soon be born."
I felt something crack deep in my chest. My aura flared, lighting the memory-space with streaks of crimson. The walls shuddered.
I wanted to rip them apart.
Every. Last. One.
But then—
A firm hand gripped my shoulder.
My grandfather.
"Stop," he said quietly. "You must not interfere. It will break him... and you."
"Why?!" I gasped, barely holding back the fire in my throat. "Why is this happening?! Who are these people?!"
He didn't answer right away.
He just looked at Yuuta. At the boy drowning in pain, eyes wild with terror. My grandfather's voice was low. Tired.
"Eden scientists," he said at last. "A rogue human faction. They built illegal labs in forbidden zones—abducted divine beasts, experimented on humans. All to forge weapons."
His voice trembled. Even he couldn't hide the shame.
"We thought we destroyed them all. But this… must be from before. Or worse… a hidden facility we never found."
I stared at Yuuta. At the child who had screamed until his voice cracked, then faded into hoarse, broken sobs.
"Then Yuuta… he…"
"He was a victim," Grandfather whispered. "That aura he holds… it's not natural. It was forced. Constructed."
Inside the tank, Yuuta's body convulsed one last time.
"Output: 99%," the machine blared.
His face was barely visible now. Eyes glassy. Blood mixed with the fluid.
But even in that moment…
Even half-dead…
He looked at me.
Right at me.
His lips moved. Weak. Barely a whisper.
"Help… me…"
Then—
"Output: 100%."
The machine hissed.
The lights dimmed.
Yuuta went still.
The fluid quieted.
His small body floated, arms limp. His head tilted to the side. A doll with no soul left to speak.
"What's happening?" one of the scientists snapped. "Why isn't he changing?!"
"Vitals are dropping—!"
They moved in a flurry, panicking.
"He's not awakening. The Dragon Killer failed."
The lead scientist snarled in disgust.
"Worthless trash."
He slammed the emergency release.
The tube opened with a hiss, spilling Yuuta out like garbage. He hit the ground with a dull thud—skin pale, soaked, barely breathing.
And then—
The man kicked him in the ribs.
"Get this trash out of my sight! Throw him into the Death Well!"
"But sir—"
"NOW! I won't waste another drop of serum on this failed thing!"
They dragged him.
By the ankles.
Across the floor like an unwanted corpse.
No one said a word. Not a name. Nothing.
Just… silence.
I stood there, frozen.
Erza. The feared crimson queen. The dragon's daughter. The warrior with lightning in her blood.
And I couldn't save him.
All I could do…
Was watch.
Yuuta was unconscious when they dragged him away.
His small body hung between two men in white coats, arms limp, legs dragging across the metallic floor, leaving faint trails of serum and blood. His head lolled to the side—barely breathing, barely anything at all.
And yet they treated him like spoiled meat.
"Failure," the head scientist spat. "Throw it into the Death Well."
The other man hesitated try to save him. "He's still—"
"I said throw it away I inject most expensive serum to transform into beast, yet he is still human."
They obeyed him.
I followed, silent, invisible in this memory-space, my fists clenched and trembling.
The corridor led into an open courtyard, bordered by crumbling machinery and long-dead lights. In the center stood a pit—old, rusted, its rim laced with dried blood.
I didn't know what it was at first.
Then the stench hit me.
And I understood.
Death Well.
They didn't slow down.
One scientist grabbed Yuuta by the shoulders, the other by the legs.
And without ceremony, without a word—
They hurled him in.
His body fell through the air like a discarded ragdoll, spinning once—twice—before landing with a wet, bone-splitting thud. The impact echoed in my ears long after the silence returned.
I stared down.
The pit was filled with bodies.
Small ones.
Children.
Some whole, some not. Arms severed. Eyes missing. Ribs cracked open like cages. One still had wires trailing from its spine, pulsing faintly.
I didn't look away.
I forced myself to see it all.
This is where they put the ones who failed.
This was the price of "progress."
Yuuta's body lay still for a moment, buried in the rot and bone.
Then—
A twitch.
His hand moved.
Fingers scraped against a broken femur.
He let out a faint gasp, curling into himself like he was trying to vanish. I could see his breath quicken. His chest rising, falling. Panic settling into his limbs like fire.
He tried to sit up—winced.
Looked around.
Then the terror hit.
His eyes widened. Mouth trembling. Tears forming before he even understood why.
"D-Doctor…?" he whispered, voice cracked and raw. "Doctor, it's… it's dark… It's cold…"
He tried to crawl.
His hands slipped in the blood-soaked dirt.
"P-Please… don't leave me here…!"
His breathing turned ragged. The fear clawed into his lungs. His sobs came soft at first—confused, broken sounds. Not screams. Not anger.
Just a child who didn't understand why.
"I did everything right… I took the medicine… I didn't cry this time…"
"I'll do better… I'll be good… Please…"
Then, a voice from within the pile.
Soft.
Monotone.
Female.
"They're not listening."
Yuuta froze.
His eyes found her—a girl, maybe nine. Wedged between ribs and bone, her eyes sunken and hollow. Hair pale pink, matted with grime. Skin gray-blue like the life had been drained out of her long ago.
"Once you're here," she said, voice flat, "no one hears you anymore."
Yuuta shook his head. "N-No… they said I was special… they said I'd be better…"
"You weren't. You failed."
"T-They said I was the Dragon Killer—!"
"Lies. They lie to everyone."
Her words were emotionless. Not cruel. Just empty.
Yuuta began to scream.
But not loud. Not wild.
He screamed like someone alone in the dark, like he had no voice left, like his soul was cracking.
"HELP—! Someone… it hurts—!! I don't wanna die down here—!"
He clawed at the walls of the well. Slipped. Fell.
Again.
Again.
"Please… anyone… please…"
And I just watched.
Frozen.
Claws clenched. Aura trembling beneath my skin like a blade trying to unsheathe itself.
I felt nothing in my chest but a cold fire—burning from the inside out.
Not grief.
Not sadness.
Just hate.
Pure, sharpened hate.
I lowered my gaze and whispered:
"You'll all burn for this."
To be continued…
Author's Note
Hey everyone, it's your author here. I know a lot of you are probably shocked by the dark twist in the recent chapter — but hear me out!
Don't worry, everything you love will return after this arc. This part of the story is meant to show why Yuuta cares so deeply about his family, and why he carries that strange aura despite being someone who was never supposed to have one.
His aura is actually linked to his emotions — when he's happy, the aura weakens or doesn't work properly. There's a reason behind all of this, and you'll see it unfold very soon.
Just hang in there for a few more chapters — you'll see our happy Yuuta again, chilling in his cozy apartment, probably getting into some ridiculous trouble like always 😄
Thanks for sticking around! ❤️