CHAPTER 311: CHAPTER 311 RAMPAGE

Arthur raised both hands and spread his fingers wide. Flames exploded outward in every direction, instantly engulfing the room. It wasn’t a controlled burst this time. It was a reckless, full-force eruption of heat and power. The walls couldn’t take it. The air was filled with smoke and sparks, and the floor cracked under the intensity.

Liam braced himself, but just as the fire surged toward him, a hand gripped his shoulder.

In a flash, Vanessa teleported the three of them out of the building.

Boom!!!

The moment they appeared outside, the house behind them exploded. The shockwave blew outward in a violent blast of heat and debris. A chunk of flaming wood rocketed through the air, spinning fast, aimed directly at the girl beside Liam.

"Move!"

Liam didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him, dragging her clear just as the burning timber smashed into the ground where she had been standing. The impact sent embers flying in every direction.

He turned to her, eyes narrowed. He couldn’t afford to let her die now. Not before he figured out how she knew about the serum. She was still a mystery, and one he needed answers from.

Liam turned back to the burning house, scanning for any sign of Arthur. The flames had already consumed most of the walls, and smoke poured into the sky. There was no movement. No silhouette. Nothing.

He squinted into the fire, jaw tight.

Nothing.

"Oh oh, this is bad," Vanessa said, her voice low but tense.

Liam turned to her sharply.

"What?"

Vanessa pointed past him.

He turned.

That’s when he saw it.

A crowd had gathered outside the mansion gate. Dozens of people had already arrived, drawn by the explosion and the fire. Some were standing still, staring at the flames, while others had their phones out, recording everything. Lights blinked from multiple angles as they zoomed in on the fire, the yard, and the house itself.

"Shit," Liam muttered.

The girl beside him shifted awkwardly, wrapping her arms around herself. She was still in nothing but her bra, pants, and boots. Her body was exposed, and now dozens of phones were pointed in their direction.

Without a word, Liam slipped off his jacket and handed it to her.

She took it quickly and threw it around her shoulders, tightening it.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Liam’s eyes stayed on the crowd. Most of them hadn’t seen their faces yet. They were standing behind the trio, meaning the cameras were only getting their backs.

"Liam, look," Vanessa said suddenly, her voice tense again.

She pointed to the part of the building where the fire burned the brightest, near the collapsed upper floor.

Liam squinted.

There was something moving in the fire. The flames shifted unnaturally, bending and separating like something was cutting through them. The structure groaned and creaked. Then—

Whoosh.

A figure launched through the burning wreckage, leaping from the second floor with impossible power. It soared through the air and landed hard on the scorched ground, just a few meters in front of Liam, Vanessa, and the girl.

The impact shook the area slightly. Smoke and dust billowed upward around the figure.

Silence fell.

The murmuring from the crowd outside the fence stopped instantly. Even the people recording froze, their phones slowly lowering as everyone stared at what had just landed in front of them.

It wasn’t human anymore.

Arthur stood tall, his body covered in burning rock and glowing magma. His skin cracked with fire beneath the surface, and steam hissed from his back. He was alive and still radiating heat like a walking furnace.

Liam clenched his fists, his jaw grinding.

"Oh my God..." someone whispered from the crowd.

"This isn’t real," another voice said.

Jaws dropped around the fence. Some people backed up, already realizing this wasn’t natural. This was something else entirely. Something beyond anything they understood.

Liam didn’t take his eyes off Arthur.

Inside, he was raging.

If the system hadn’t crippled him, this would’ve been over already, Arthur would’ve been nothing more than a distraction.

But now, Arthur was standing like a goddamn monster.

Liam forced himself to stay calm.

At least the crowd couldn’t see them clearly yet. From behind, they were still just silhouettes. No one had a clear shot of their faces.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded handkerchief. Without a word, he tied it across the lower half of his face.

"We need to be quick," Liam said, eyes still on Arthur. "Before the police show up."

Vanessa nodded beside him. Her own expression was unreadable, her body tense, ready to move again.

Arthur’s molten body pulsed with heat, but he wasn’t attacking yet. He just stood there, facing them, chest heaving as steam curled off his shoulders.

——

Liam tightened his fist. His eyes were locked on Arthur. He was about to strike. Every muscle in his body was ready to move.

But Arthur moved first.

With a sudden burst of energy, Arthur shot into the air. The heat from his leap cracked the ground beneath his feet as flames blasted in all directions. He jumped clean over Liam’s head and sailed past him with ease.

Liam’s eyes followed his arc and his heart sank.

"This is bad," he muttered.

Arthur was heading straight for the crowd.

He landed outside the fence with a thunderous impact, sending a shockwave through the panicked onlookers. People screamed and tried to run, but it was too late for some.

Arthur reached out and grabbed the nearest person—a woman—by the throat. She gasped, but her scream never made it out. His molten hand had already melted through her skin. Her eyes widened in pain and horror as fire consumed her from the neck down. She twitched violently before collapsing, her body turning black and unrecognizable in seconds.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The crowd went insane.

People scattered in every direction. Phones dropped. Screams echoed in the air. Some were too close, caught in Arthur’s sudden wave of flame. They burned where they stood. Hair ignited. Skin blistered. Bodies crumpled to the ground, some of them still moving, others already gone.

Vanessa reacted immediately.

She teleported from one spot to another, pulling civilians out of danger, yanking them away from the blaze just before the fire could swallow them whole. She saved who she could, but even she was moving on instinct now, overwhelmed by the scale of destruction.

Liam stood still, fists clenched at his sides, watching the chaos unfold.

He was furious. Absolutely livid.

This wasn’t just another fight anymore. Arthur was killing innocent people and there was nothing Liam could do to stop him. His speed was dragging. His strength was a joke.

And the system still wouldn’t return control.

He stared as Arthur walked toward another woman—young, maybe in her early twenties—who had fallen to the ground. She was crawling backward on her elbows, crying and screaming, her voice broken and desperate.

"Leave me alone! Please! Don’t kill me!"

Arthur didn’t slow down.

Liam’s heart pounded. His fingers twitched. Then something inside him snapped.

He didn’t know what triggered it—maybe the screams, maybe the smell of burning skin—but he felt something shift deep inside. It was like another power, something raw and untouched, woke up inside his body.

Energy surged through him.

It poured into his muscles like liquid fire, sharp and alive. His veins lit up with a white glow that pushed through his skin. The girl standing beside him took a step back in shock, eyes wide as she watched his body react.

Then Liam moved.

He didn’t run.

He leapt.

What looked like a simple jump carried him high into the air, soaring several meters above the burning street in the blink of an eye.

[DING!]

[Unknown Energy Signature Detected]

[Analyzing...]

[Suppression Protocol Activated]

[Attempting to Limit Energy Output by 80%]

[Suppression Failed – Energy Source Not Recognized]

[Override Incomplete – System Control Compromised]

Liam didn’t even look at the notification.

"Fuck off," he growled.

He shot down like a meteor, landing between Arthur and the terrified young woman. Flames licked at the edges of his boots, but he didn’t flinch. He turned to the girl, who had frozen in place, shaking and still crying.

"Get up," Liam said, voice firm. "Run."

She didn’t argue. She stumbled to her feet and ran, then saw another victim nearby—a man with his leg burned halfway through. She turned and rushed to him, throwing his arm over her shoulder and helping him stand.

Others followed. People who hadn’t been burned were now helping those who couldn’t walk. Panic turned into action, and they began fleeing together.

Liam turned his attention back to Arthur.

His face was no longer calm. It was full of rage.

The more he watched what was happening, the more the fire inside him burned brighter. His power kept climbing. Whatever had awakened in him, it wasn’t fading. It was building.

Arthur grinned, but that grin didn’t last.

Boom!

Liam exploded forward with a burst of speed and power. His body blurred. In the same breath, his fist connected directly with Arthur’s chest.

Booooom!

The impact echoed across the street. Arthur’s entire body was lifted clean off the ground, launched backward like a cannonball. His flaming form smashed through a parked van and crashed into the side of a building, cracking the stone and flattening the metal behind him.

For a brief second, the fire seemed to dim.

Liam stood where he had punched from, his fist still clenched, steam rising from his forearm.