The first strike came from the left, a Holy Knight lunging with terrifying speed, sword arcing down like a silver guillotine.
Joshua twisted on instinct, ducking low. The blade hissed above him, slicing through air where his head had been. He spun, sweeping a leg outward, catching the knight's shin and sending him toppling sideways.
Before the knight even hit the ground, another charged from the right. Joshua barely had time to parry, claws scraping against metal with a shriek. Sparks erupted. The force pushed him back, boots dragging lines into the cobblestones.
He leapt backward, flipping in midair and landing in a crouch.
"Joan! Grace!" he barked, his voice echoing through the cathedral square. "Why are you doing this?!"
He locked eyes with Joan and froze.
Her pupils were narrowed into sharp slits, and in the center of each iris glowed a brilliant golden cross, glowing like molten steel behind ice.
Grace stepped forward beside her, lifting her blade with slow precision. Her own eyes bore the same golden mark, burning, divine, inhuman.
"So you really," Joshua whispered. "trying to kill me..."
"You are the infection," Joan said coldly. "You led the Princess into blasphemy. You defiled the House of Light with that beast's blood inside you."
Joshua's expression twisted. "You don't even believe that."
"You think this is about belief?" Grace said softly. Her voice trembled. "We were healed by His light. After Blanchette's betrayal, we were saved. This strength… it was a gift."
"You don't look healed," Joshua snapped. "You look possessed."
More knights surged forward.
Two from the front, spears thrust toward his ribs.
One from behind, sword sweeping for his neck.
Joshua dove sideways, landing on his shoulder and rolling just beneath the spearpoints. The sword behind him missed by inches, slicing off a lock of his hair.
He flipped up to his feet, claws slashing in an arc that forced two attackers to retreat.
Then the witch attacked.
The noble witch who brought him here, now floating in mid-air, eyes glowing like twin suns. Her arms stretched wide as a halo of golden constructs swirled behind her like an angel's wings, except jagged, pointed, and writhing like spears.
She thrust her hand forward.
Whhhiiirrr-CRACK!
A golden spike burst from her halo, darting toward him like a divine javelin. Joshua sidestepped, but another came, then another... faster, more precise.
He dodged right, a spike slashed across his shoulder, searing hot.
He flipped back, another grazed his thigh.
The third hit square in the gut.
"UGH...!"
Joshua flew backward like a ragdoll, slamming into the base of the cathedral steps, the stone cracking from the impact. Dust rose. He coughed violently, blood spattering from his mouth.
Grace was already on him, blade raised overhead for the killing blow. Her body trembled.
His vision blurred.
She stared down at him.
But her hand… didn't fall.
"Do it," Joan barked from behind. "End him."
Grace's sword hovered.
Then, her grip faltered, just for a second.
A second was all Joshua needed.
With a burst of momentum, he shoved himself up, twisting to the side. Grace's sword drove into the stone just where his neck had been. He rolled back, snarling.
From his crouch, his hands slammed into the ground.
His breathing grew ragged.
His eyes…
began to glow.
A searing, luminous green, swirling with primal energy. His pupils sharpened into slits.
His canines extended, teeth lengthening, jaw shifting as his bones cracked into a half-beast form. His muscles bulged and tightened beneath his coat, and his fingers became claws, longer, sharper.
His thick black tail bristled and lashing the air like a whip.
He dropped to all fours, body low and trembling.
A low, bestial growl rumbled from his chest.
His mind was spinning.
And then came the thought, clear, sharp, primal...
They see you as a monster.
Then show them how monstrous you can be.
He roared, the sound shaking windows in nearby buildings, a mixture of fury and agony and wild defiance. The knights hesitated.
Joan didn't.
"Grace," she said, blade pointed at Joshua, "next time you hesitate, he will kill us. Either you finish your strike or I will finish you."
Grace's jaw clenched. She nodded slowly, eyes burning brighter.
Joshua raised his head, blood dripping from his lip, and smiled, savage, feral.
"Alright then," he growled. "Let's dance."
Then he launched forward like a missile, claws extended, tail whipping behind him, fangs bared, straight into the next wave of Holy Knights.
Blood sprayed like crimson mist as Joshua tore through the Holy Knights.
A claw slashed across a helmeted face, metal peeled like paper, bone shattered beneath. Another knight screamed as Joshua pounced on him, driving his claws into the man's ribs and ripping through his chestplate like butter, spine cracking beneath the pressure.
A third knight tried to raise a shield, Joshua bit through it, jaw unhinged like a wolf from Hell. His fangs crushed steel and flesh alike, chewing into the man's shoulder until his scream became a gurgle.
The courtyard ran red.
Ten knights. Fifteen. Twenty.
Joshua moved like death on all fours, his black tail lashing, claws soaked in gore, body crouched and low like a beast cornered, desperate, furious. The ground beneath him was slick with blood. He didn't care.
Not anymore.
His glowing green eyes darted like a predator's, locking onto targets before they even moved. Every heartbeat was a cue. Every breath was another kill.
When the last knight fell, gasping, Joshua stood in the center of the massacre, his mouth soaked in flesh and red, panting like an animal. Only three remained.
Joan.
Grace.
And the Witch.
The Witch hovered above them, robes swirling in the air, her golden aura pulsing like a second sun. Her face, once calm and composed, now twisted in fury. "You savage, rabid abomination…"
She raised both hands.
CLANG.
Gold constructs flared to life behind her, dozens this time, razor-edged disks, swirling daggers, and massive spears rotating like the arms of some heavenly war machine.
"DIE!" she shrieked.
A storm of golden constructs launched down toward Joshua.
He moved, unnaturally fast.
Every twist, every duck, every bound was pure instinct, guided not by thought but by raw survival.
A construct sliced past his cheek, carving a deep gash across his face.
Another hit his shoulder, he spun with the momentum, tail slamming into the earth, shattering flagstones and launching him high into the air.
Straight at her.
The witch's eyes widened.
Too late.
He crashed into her, claws digging into her sides. She screamed as he bit into her shoulder, tearing flesh from bone. Her golden light flickered and spasmed.
They plummeted.
Joshua hit the ground on top of her, pinning her beneath his knees.
She screamed.
He didn't stop.
He sank his fangs into her neck, and the golden constructs flared violently, then winked out.
"Joshua...!!" Grace yelled.
The Witch's body convulsed, red blood spraying as he ripped her throat open, shaking his head like a wolf with prey in its jaws. Her eyes glazed. Her arms twitched.
Then silence.
Joshua stood, face dripping with crimson blood and flesh hanging from his claws. His lips curled into a smile.
Joan's sword rose.
She didn't hesitate.
She charged.
He met her with a leap so fast she barely reacted, his claws tore through her midsection, armor splitting like fruit rind, blood bursting from her mouth.
She fell backward, body twisted unnaturally, eyes still open in shock.
Dead.
Only Grace remained.
She stood alone now, knees shaking, hands trembling around the hilt of her sword.
Joshua walked toward her slowly, fangs bared, each step a thunderous crunch on shattered bones and bloody stone.
"I didn't want to believe it," Grace whispered. "But now I see…"
She raised her sword with both hands, voice cracking.
"You really are a monster."
They collided.
Steel met claw in a shower of sparks. Grace swung with righteous fury, blade cutting the air with precision honed through years of faith and discipline.
Joshua ducked low, claws raked across her leg.
She stumbled, spun, slashed, he dodged right, twisted her arm, and kneed her in the gut, sending her sliding across the blood-slick courtyard.
She coughed and rose, swinging wide.
He blocked with one clawed arm, her blade bit into muscle, but he ignored it, his other hand grabbed her throat, lifting her off the ground.
She kicked and drove her sword through his shoulder. He roared and slammed her down, shattering the earth.
They rolled.
She punched him in the jaw. He bit into her arm, cracking bone.
She stabbed his side. He slashed across her stomach.
Blood. So much blood. Hers. His. The ground drank it.
They separated, panting.
Grace collapsed to her knees, sword broken, face smeared with crimson.
Joshua walked to her slowly.
His right arm lifted, claws extended.
Grace looked up at him with those same golden cross eyes, full of disgust.
"So it's true," she said softly. "You're nothing but a monster."
He swung.
The claws stopped, inches from her neck.
Because his left hand caught his right, clawed fingers digging deep into his own flesh, stopping the deathblow.
Blood poured down his arm as his claws buried into his forearm.
He trembled.
Kill her. Do it. End it.
They called you a monster. You became one.
You like it.
NO.
Then look at her. Look how she's judging you. She'll never forgive you.
I'm not a monster… I'm not…
His mind fractured.
Grace stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.
His lip curled. Teeth grit.
Then...
WHAM!
A fist slammed into the side of his face with the force of a battering ram, sending him flying sideways like a missile.
He tumbled across the blood-slick ground, limbs flailing, claws carving trenches in the stone as he skidded to a halt on all fours.
He looked up.
Raphael. Coat torn, hair wild, eyes glowing gold.
Beside him stood Jack, chest heaving, blood dripping from his knuckles, red fury burning in his eyes.
"Back off, mutt," Jack growled.
"Joshua…" Raphael's voice was calm but sharp as steel. "We are here to end you, you won't hurt another person, you monster ."
Joshua blinked.
The wind howled through the shattered courtyard.
Blood dripped from his claws.
And all around him… the bodies of those he'd slaughtered lay in pieces.