Gifted

A burst of golden flames erupted from June's hand, summoning his gigantic broadsword. With a swing of his broadsword, June released a wave of golden flames that rippled across the training facility, purifying the harmful and toxic miasma in the air. The golden flames not only cleansed the air, but it also empowered all of his guildmates. Everyone felt like a warm blanket has enveloped them, when the golden flames touched them.

"You know, for someone who is very smart, your actions are surprisingly stupid." June said with a hint of ridicule in his voice.

"Ha! And you think your little trick can scare me. What can a bunch of weakling can do?!" Arthur said with great arrogance oozing out of him.

"Well for starters -"

As June was talking, a gigantic skeletal hand zipped through the air and swatted Arthur like a pesky fly, taking him by complete surprise.

Arthur flew across the training facility and crashed on the wall made out of tungsten. Considering that tungsten is the strongest metal there is, it was truly a great surprise when the impact of Arthur's crash almost busted a hole through it.

Although it looked like it might have hurt a lot, Arthur was pretty much unscathed, but he is now sporting a raging feral expression on his face. Everything happened so fast that he was completely taken off guard.

"- you are surrounded by that so called weaklings" June said, looking very majestic and intimidating with his blazing eyes.

Arthur didn't even got the chance to recover when sparkling gems rained down on him. Arthur was able to fend off the attack by producing a dark shockwave, but once again he was taken off guard when a straight punch went straight towards his face. The impact was so strong that it actually produce a loud sonic boom. Anyone on the receiving end of such powerful punch would've had their heads already blown off in a instant, unfortunately Arthur is not just anyone.

Seeing that Arthur's head was still intact, a series of powerful punches came over his face, with the intensity of a pile driver and the consistency of a jackhammer.

"Zzaaaaaammmnnnnnn!~ Homegurl is carrying a lot of pent up aggression" Fleur said is awe, but also a little bit disturbed.

Chen could just let out a helpless laugh as he watches Minerva ruthlessly punch a hole on Arthur's head. "or maybe she's trying to blow his head off, who knows" Chen shook his head as the thought came up.

"I think it's about time - Ack!" Arthur was trying to say something with a menacing voice, but he was immediately cut off by another fist in the face.

"That's it, I've had - Hmff!" And another punch.

"How dare - Urg!" And other punch.

"Should we maybe stop her?" Alisa asked, getting a little concern as she watches Minerva brutally punch the living daylights out of Arthur.

"What?! NO! Can you not see that Minerva is creating a beautiful piece of art? It would be a crime to stop her." Fleur said like it's the most normal response anyone could ever give.

"You're right, I want a refund for my two seconds of sympathy. I say, create the most beautiful piece of art Minerva!" Alisa then said, totally agreeing with Fleur's reasoning.

"Dang, women are scary" Jordan said in a low voice, careful to not let the women hear what he had just said.

"Truer words have never been spoken" Caleb agreed, as he solemnly nodded his head.

His memories brought him back to the time, when Isabelle had her period. It was a truly scary time for everyone, as she reigned terror over them. Isabelle would one second shout at Caleb, then another second she would be all lovey dovey over him. Her emotions were so unstable, that it really traumatized Caleb. But at the end of the day he still wouldn't exchange her for the world.

"I've really have had it with you, SC.U.M!" Arthur said before releasing another shockwave, but this time it was more powerful and intense as it easily threw Minerva into the air.

Chen immediately rushed towards Minerva and was able to catch her, just in time.

"Oof!" Chen held his breath as he stumbled to the ground, cushioning Minerva's landing with his body.

"You okay?" Chen asked in concern, but he couldn't help release a groan that escaped him.

When Minerva didn't say anything Chen started getting worried.

"Hey, Minerva you okay, say something!" Chen said as he shot up to a sitting position and forcefully turned Minerva's body to face him.

What greeted him however startled him, when he saw Minerva's bright red face. Minerva was bushing so hard, that she couldn't even speak.

"Minerva are you okay? Are you having a fever?" Chen said with full concern as he gently touched his forehead to Minerva's to get a good feel of her temperature.

"Boy, you are about to give her one if you don't stop what you're doing!" Fleur said, "Honestly, kids these days, just shamefully grabbing handfuls of a woman's b.r.e.a.s.t."

When Chen heard what Fleur had said, his eyes widen as he took some much needed distance between him and Minerva.

"Is what she said true?" Chen asked, feeling dread slowly taking over his body.

When Minerva just blushed even harder, Chen knew that he's done the unforgivable.

"I'm so sorry Minerva!" Chen immediately apologized, as he kowtowed in front of Minerva.

It was when Chen had caught Minerva, that he accidentally grabbed a handful of her left b.r.e.a.s.t and not so gently squeezed it in the process.

"I-it's alright, I-it was an accident anyway" Minerva said, looking all cute and embarrassed.

"My baby's all grown up" Fleur said as she dramatically wipe a non-existent tear of her cheek.

Fleur has been hanging around Minerva a lot and has thought her to embrace her inner girlishness a little more. So when Fleur saw Minerva acting a little girly and soft, she was having a proud mom moment.

"Aren't you f***ers forgetting about something?" Arthur said with a menacing voice, as dark misty aura swirled around his body as he slowly stood up.

"Uhh... No. I don't think so. Are we forgetting about something?" Fleur said, then asked Alisa beside her with heavy sarcasm.

"No, I don't think so." Alisa went and play along with Fleur's antics.

"June, did we forget something?" Fleur then ask, just to rub more salt in to the wound.

"Did we? I dunno." June said, also playing along with Fleur.

Truly, if you want to burn a person till kingdom come, then Fleur is the woman for you.

"Welp, you heard it here folks, we are not forgetting something. I repeat, we are not forgetting something, thank you!" Fleur said with the most sarcastic and taunting way possible, while also looking very natural doing it.

"You really are an annoying sc.u.m!" Arthur said through gritted teeth.

"Gasp* How dare you call me annoying. I'm so offended. I might be a sc.u.m, but I'm never annoying." Fleur dramatically said, as she puts a hand over her c.h.e.s.t, as if her feelings were hurt. In the contrary, Fleur looked like she was really enjoying herself. It had really been a while, since she burned someone to the ground. "Ah, Good times!" She thought with a hidden smirk.

Having enough, Arthur finally snapped. And inside him is a black egg, that hatched an abomination.

Seeing Arthur's body contort, Jordan suddenly felt a looming danger coming.

"June, this is not good" Jordan warned June with a serious tone in his voice. "It's like the black raven night, all over again."

"Everyone be careful. What's coming now is no joke" June said with a voice that everyone could hear.

Looking like something that came out of a horror movie, Arthur now looked like a gruesome mix of human and bird. His hands and feet became talons, he grew a long and pointed beak, while black feathers sprouted out from his arms and h.i.p.s down to his legs. Arthur's body grew in size, ripping all of his clothes, exposing his muscular torso, stained with sinister marking. A fist sized glowing violet rock could be seen on the center of his c.h.e.s.t, pulsating with dark energy. Arthur's marble black eyes didn't change, but his irises now glowed red. His long blond hair became stained with dark energy and turned black.

Letting out a loud and unholy screech, Arthur busted through the ceiling of the training facility. Since the training facility is underground, Arthur erupted from the ground of the back garden, and shot up to the sky.

"It's that bird thing again, but more ugly!" Pan exclaimed

"Guys, we can't let that thing wreck havoc!" June said with a loud voice filled with urgency.

"Don't worry we got this!" Jordan said in assurance to June, "It's not just the three of us fighting that thing anymore."

"You're right" June said, feeling a little bit of hope washing over his body. The first time he faced a gigantic raven, it was really a traumatizing experience. So, when June saw one again, let's just say that he was less that happy to see it.

While everyone from Maria's original members, were dealing with Arthur, Maria and Scott has been tending to the infected Gifteds to the best of their abilities.

Thankfully, Trace was able to rewind himself back to the time when his body was still not infected. Gabe was able to cleanse the infection on his body by letting his plants absorb it. Although, he's not physically in top condition, like Trace, he was still able to tend to his other guildmates.

Since Gabe's method of cleansing the infection in one's body is slow, he couldn't immediately help everyone of his guildmates.

Jae is doing his best to heal as much as he can but his still weak body is hindering him from doing too much.

Scott harnessed the power of nature and imbued it to his guild members. Though it didn't heal his guild members, it still help slow down the infection process.

Although, Sharon is doing her best to take away the pain of the infected, but that's all she could do. It didn't stop the infection from spreading.

June was about to also head out of the training facility when a familiar searing pain flared on his upper back once again, making him stagger to the ground and drop to his knees.

His anguished cry immediately got Andrew and Jordan's attention, causing them to swiftly rush to his aid.

"What's happening, bro?! Talk to me!" Andrew asked with an anxious voice.

"Ugh! It's happening again." June said through gritted teeth as blinding pain once again flared on his upper back. It was then that he heard Halberd's anxious call for help.

He turned his head to Halberd's direction to see him keeling on the ground, cradling a young gifted on his arms. Halberd's eyes were full of helplessness and fear, that June could clearly see the begging in them.

When June and the others were confronting Arthur, Halberd heard a familiar voice call out to him. He immediately turned his head and scanned his surroundings, to look for a specific individual. Once Halberd spotted a certain pure white haired young man, he rushed to his side and gently cradled his body in his arms.

"Big bro *Cough* *Cough*" The young man's voice cracked as he coughed out an extensive amounts of blood, after speaking.

"I don't want to die. Please, I don't want to die, yet" The young man said with a raspy voice, as tears started streaming doing his face.

"It going to be okay, Haseo. You're going to be okay" Halberd said in assurance, as he gently brushed the stray strands of hair out of the young man's face.

When Haseo coughed out blood once again, Halberd knew that the young man in his arms is already in front of death's door. Not knowing what to do, Halberd felt helpless, but then he remembered a certain someone that was able to pulled him out of death's door.

With all the hope left in him, Halberd called out to his brother "JUNE!"