Gifted

"I didn't think it would actually-" Isabelle's excited voice died down when a certain someone that really gets on her nerves, entered her line of sight.

June, Isabelle and Sharon just exited the room where Halberd is resting, when a beautiful man with blonde hair entered their vision and halted their steps.

"Hello, my name is Arthur; Master Scott's second in command." Arthur politely introduced himself.

"Yeah, we already know." Isabelle said, not even bothering in hiding her hostility, as she crosses her arms over her c.h.e.s.t. "What do you want?" Isabelle asked impatiently.

"I got wind that one of my guildmates was brought here. As Master Scott's second in command, it is my duty to make sure that all Gifteds under Master Scott is safe and is doing well." Arthur responded graciously, not letting Isabelle's attitude get to him.

"I understand-" June said, which Arthur mistakenly thought that they were giving him access to the room. Arthur was about to walk towards the room, when June lifted an arm to block his path.

"I think you misunderstood, sir. I said 'I understand' but you didn't let me finish." June said with a voice that oozes authority. It was stern and cold.

"I sincerely apologize. Please do continue" Arthur said with a hint of impatience in his voice. He couldn't believe that mere new recruits has the audacity to stand in his way. Although he was annoyed, he still kept his composure as he is currently in Lady Maria's territory. That in mind, he didn't have a choice and just let this low lives in front of him speak.

"I was just going to say that I do understand your position, but it doesn't mean that I'm allowing you enter to the room." June said with a voice that's as sharp as a blade, as his body started oozing out an intense and oppressive aura.

"I don't think you understand-" Arthur began arguing, only to be cut off by June.

"No, I think you are the one that doesn't understand. You are not allowed to enter this room." And with that, it was just a flash for a brief moment but Arthur swore that he saw the young man in front of him, sprout a pair of pure white wings on his back, while a halo of blazing golden flames floated above his head. Golden flames danced around the young man, as his piercing eyes blazed and glowed with the same golden fire.

Arthur wasn't the only one who saw, as Sharon, once again got a brief view of the same angel that she saw inside Halberd's room.

Arthur staggered back as fear started creeping up on him. He actually broke out in sweats, as his heart started beating like crazy from the incredible but dangerous aura that the young man in front of him is emitting.

"Sharon, can you kindly lead Arthur to the medical facility, where all of his guildmates are, currently" June requested, to which Sharon immediately agreed to.

"Please follow me" Sharon politely said, while she not so politely pushed Arthur to the direction of the medical facility.

Arthur was still in deep shock, that he wasn't even able to argue back and automatically followed behind Sharon quietly. It was like his fight or flight response went into overdrive, which led him to follow Sharon, since he still valued his life. That means, in his eyes, June is a threat. How huge? Arthur is not sure yet.

"That person is dangerous" Arthur thought as he sneaked up a glance over his shoulders, where June and Isabelle stood, only to notice that both pair of eyes are still on him, which made him swiftly turn his head forward, in fear.

"What do you think of that guy?" Isabelle asked, as her eyes stayed on Arthur's back.

"Not good" June just answered, as he also kept his eyes on Arthur.

June didn't know what got to him, but the moment he laid eyes on Arthur, a sinking feeling started looming over him, which prompt him to keep his guard up. June couldn't shake off the feeling nor pinpoint what it actually meant, but he was sure of one thing: Arthur is bad news. It was very faint, but June could feel an ominous aura oozing out of Arthur, that he is masterfully concealing, that even Maria couldn't trace.

Then when they saw Arthur standing outside of Halberd's room, June's protective instincts kicked in, like how he felt with Andrew and Jordan. He knew for sure that he must not let Arthur get anywhere near Halberd, while the latter is still resting. He doesn't even want to think of the "Or else" scenario, as he himself will make sure that Arthur doesn't get close to Halberd.

When June showed Arthur a small portion of his power, he succeeded in breaking Arthur's composure, which caused a small leakage that the latter didn't notice. It was very small, but June was sure that once enough of his true aura has leaked, it will finally reveal the true colors of the man that hides behind his kind and polite smile.

"Well, we can agree on that. That guy gives me the hibbie jibbies" Isabelle said, as she visibly shivered with just the thought of the man.

"Let everybody know to keep their guards up whenever he's around, even Maria" June instructed, to which Isabelle nodded.

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Meanwhile, back at Master Scott's Guild mansion.

While the escape and rescue mission where commencing, Scott faced Darius on an one-on-one battle. Their battle was so intense that it actually blew off the roof of the mansion. In the end it was a one side fight, with Scott coming out as the victor.

Scott stood in all of his 7 foot tall glory, as he looked down on Darius with contempt and disgust. Scott's actual height is 6 foot 3, but with his Gift he can grow up to 7 feet. Scott believed that he had already won, but what happened next shocked him.

"That's it! You never disappoint, Titan Berserk!" Darius said with a manic smile on his face. The ecstasy that he felt when battling Scott was so addicting, that he wanted and craved for more. Every punch and every kick that he received actually aroused him to high heavens and he wanted more. Everything around him became so boring, but in his current state, Darius truly felt alive and he didn't want it to end.

"I want more, so much more!" Darius said as dark flames started to engulf his whole body.

The atmosphere around Scott suddenly became so heavy, that even moving a single finger takes too much effort.

"What is this power?" Scott thought as he gritted his teeth. His body started becoming so heavy, that he felt like gravity has multiplied.

"Now, Titan Berserk, let's go for round two!" A deep echoing voice spoke from inside the pillar of black flames. It was so menacing that it sent shivers down Scott's body.

Just as the voice finished speaking, the black flaming pillar erupted. Emerging from within was Darius, now in his full incubus form.

Darius grew a pair of horns on his head and a long tail on his backside. His skin became obsidian black and ash-like. Darius' transformation caused all his clothes to be incinerated, which was why his body is now b.a.r.e and n.a.k.e.d, not that he mind. The crevices and valleys in his muscular body glowed brightly as magma flowed through them. Big and long dragonic-bat like pair of wings sprouted from his back. His eyes blazed with bright orange flames. The nails on his fingers and toes grew with jagged pointed tips. His teeth also became jagged and pointed, like that of a shark. And yes, he's letting it all out, as his genital hangs out in the open, while the imprinted markings on it glowed. Every incubus's greatest and sharpest weapons are their genitals, so Darius flaunted it out in the open with every bit of pride and joy.

"Let's see what you've got Titan Berserk!" Darius taunted, as he lifted a finger to Scott and motion for Scott to come at him.

"I didn't think it would be true but it turns out that your arrogance is really compensating for something that's lacking." Scott taunted back with a huge smirk on his face, as he mockingly eyed the low hanging fruit in between Darius' legs.

"Is he really f***ing mocking my precious sword?!" Darius though as he gritted teeth, while veins started bulging out on Darius' forehead and neck when he heard what Scott had just said.

"No one insults my precious d*** and gets away with it!" Darius growled as his eyes blazed in fury.

"Ho? Is that insecurity I hear?" Scott asked with a smug smile on his face, while lifting a brow. His taunting went to a whole new level, but it might've been a big mistake on his part.

"That's it, you're f***ing dead!" Darius said with a low growl before charging at Scott at such a blinding speed.

Darius was so fast that Scott didn't even had the time to properly react before getting sucker punched in the face, which sent him flying. Even before Scott could crash to something, Darius already moved at a blinding speed and kicked Scott on his side torso, causing his ribs to shatter.

Scott's body broke through wall after wall, because of the sheer power of the attack the sent him flying. As Scott's body finally hits the last wall, he suddenly coughed out a huge amount of blood.

"So you think my d*** is still inferior?" Darius smugly asked, as he looks down on Scott's pitiful state.

"You know what I think? My d*** is still superior to yours!" Scott said as he spat his blood near where Darius stood. Scott might be hurt, but he still looked cool doing it.

At that moment, the ground suddenly rumbled, which startled Darius, causing him to fly all the way back to create distance from Scott. He knows that Scott didn't even show a 10th of his capabilities when they first fought, so Darius is keeping his guard up.

Suddenly green sparkling lights enveloped Scott's whole body a began healing all his wounds. Even his shattered ribs started regenerating. Once all his wounds and injuries were healed, Scott stood up, cracked his neck from side to side, while cracking both of his knuckles. When he felt his muscles loosened up, Scott assumed a boxer's pose, as markings, that looked liked tree roots, spread through out his now exposed muscular torso, neck and up to his cheek. His right eye glowed red, while his left eye glowed green.

"Well, he isn't called Titan Berserker for nothing, alright." Darius thought as he started to feel a powerful aura oozing out Scott.

Titan Berserk, a title given to Scott for being borned to a titan mother and berserker father, where he inherited both of his parents' Gifts. His mother's titan blood allows him to manipulate and harness nature's energy to his will. His father's berserker blood allows him to enhance his power and strength to a certain extent, but with the risk of going mad if not kept under control. It also gives him the ability to become even more strong, the more hurt, wounded and injured he is. With such great risks of madness, Scott's titan blood was the one that was able to control his breserker's blood. Now, free of any risks, Scott is considered to be one of the most powerful Gifted alive.

After letting out a deep breath, in a blink of an eye Scott suddenly appeared in front of Darius. Scott's fist was like the lightning, when he threw out a punch.

Darius, now in his incubus form, was able to keep up with Scott's speed and was able to lift up his arms to defend himself. But when Scott's fist connected, Darius felt like a mountain just rammed on him. Darius was able to endure and was just knocked back a little, but even before he could regain his composure, Scott is already on the assault.

Scott dempsey-rolled his way to Darius, before letting out a stream of lighting fast jabs and punches. Darius attempted to throw out a punch, but Scott easily dodged it by leaning his body backwards, before unleashing a devastating blow on the back of Darius' head, that literally made his body bounced on the ground. As Darius' body bounced up, Scott did a 540 twist before unleashing a powerful kick that sent Darius flying.

Darius crashed on the brick wall, causing a huge explosion. Scott didn't go after Darius this time, as he once again assumed his boxer's stance, before taking a deep breath.

It didn't take long before Darius to recover, as his gigantic wings swept the dust around him. Darius crouched down, before he shot up into the air. Darius raised both hands upwards, as dark energy started forming on his palms.

"You know, this is really fun!" Darius poke with a wild and excited voice, before releasing the big ball of energy towards, Scott's direction.

Scott immediately gathered energy from nature, creating a strong barrier around him, as he lifts up both of his arms, assuming a defensive stance.

Once the energy ball collided into Scott's barrier, Scott gritted his teeth, as he dug his heels on the ground to prevent himself from being flung away. Scott hated to admit it, but his opponent is really strong.

"I have to finish this quick!" Scott told himself, as things might not turn out in his favor if the battle continues on.

As Darius looks down, all he can see is a huge cloud of dust that's covering everything on the ground. It was this same cloud of dust that Scott took advantage of, expertly using it as a smoke screen to hide himself.

When Darius got too impatient of waiting for the cloud of dust to disappear, he took it upon himself to remove the hindrance in front of him. With just a single flap of his gigantic wings, Darius was able to sweep away the cloud of dust below him. Now that he can scan the ground clearly, Darius searched everywhere, but there's not a single trace of Scott, which brought a little panic into his heart.

"Looking for me?" A low voice suddenly entered Darius' ears, which physically stunned him.

Darius didn't have to turn his head to know that Darius is already behind him. Scott took Darius' brief disoriented state as an opportunity to send the demon back to the depts of the earth. Scott's right fist blazed with red fiery aura, while ribbons of green aura spiraled his left arm. Scott balled his fists together over his head and with a loud roar, he swiftly swung his fists downwards, hammering Darius' unprotected back. Darius descended from the sky, like a shooting star, causing a huge and powerful explosion upon landing on the ground, creating a deep and wide crater.

Scott on the other hand, landed on the ground on both feet, cracking the earth below him; creating a powerful shock wave when his feet connected to the ground. Scott didn't want any loose ends, just like last time; so he wanted to make sure that his opponent was really done for. As he gets closer and closer to where Darius landed, Scott suddenly heard a familiar voice that he hasn't heard for a very long time, causing his calmness to break, which in turn made his body shook uncontrollably.

"Son-...."