Leave The Monster Alone

It hurt. That light did hurt when it touched Mark right in the face. Although something had decided to cover him at the very last second, a huge portion of Mark's body had already come in contact with the light.

"Kuro, get off of me. You're heavy" the beast gave off a worried purr but hurriedly got off of Mark. Nothing had broken on the contact and Mark was still fully mobile. This was a good indication and would increase their chances of escaping.

Mark expedited Alan to still be at the same place he had left him to be but there was no one there currently. The whole room was also empty of all the monsters.

But also of the few people who had been there beforehand. 

The light had not only made the monsters disappear but also the humans who were fighting alongside them. Nothing like this had happened with Kuro but circumstances had been vastly different then and now.

So, what conclusion should Mark draw from here? It was obvious that the core was still not stable inside Alan. It was also not a compatibility issue with the body because then the core would have just not sunk inside the other.

"Kuro, can you smell Alan? We need to keep an eye on him" this was the most important factor they had to take into account - the base safety. If Alan was deemed unfit at any point, he would need to be disposed of.

Although the thought brought a pang of sadness and guilt inside Mark's heart, it was not given time to bloom under his new mental state. Emotions had no place inside a rational outlook after all.

Kuro growled in agreement and Mark hurriedly followed behind the feline. The trail led them outside the base which indicated that Alan was not out to hurt humans at least. And it did not take long to find the teen either.

The teen was right in the middle of a group of monsters, disposing of them off with a soft smile on his face. The familiar face looked foreign all of a sudden. The features on that face were Alan but they are also Suzy.

The black hairs of the teen had white strips in-between which were more characteristic of Suzy than his own. Then there was the glint in his eyes. 

Mark could spot the red hue in those brown eyes from even this far which was saying something, Alan did not look stable and comfortable in his own skin and Mark wanted to help.

His brain was already planning three different routes he could take this and none of them sounded good to him at all. 

"Alan, stop it and come here" Mark made the decision to call out to the others. It would be best to gauge it out before he proceeded any further. Besides, the core was pulsing inside the other right now and it was radiating all its energy around.

"Have you come to play too? You seem familiar to my senses. Come play, come play" Mark had not braced himself for the impact when Alan decided it was a good idea to jump him. Mark had to barely dodge the heavier body as it charged at him.

Alan twisted his body to grab Mark and it was a show of flexibility and reflexes which left Mark almost breathless. His arm was taken hold of and the grip hurt.

"Alan, stop playing around. We need to clear this place up and get everyone out to safety" the teen seemed not to pay full attention to him, his eyes glowing soft red.

Mark felt his world spin around him as Alan twisted his body like a doll. The already great strength of the teen was enhanced even further by the core and he was making full use of it.

"Mark? Mark! Mark! Come play with me Mark" The teen dragged his body forward while also skillfully dodging Kuro who lunged at him. It was clear that the teen was not fully here from his words and actions.

Kuro should have attacked but she was being careful to not hurt the body. Alan was still there and he would be back as soon as he regained control. Till then, they had to make sure this person here does not cause any problems for you.

Alan also manoeuvred himself and Mark out of an attack and Kuro bared her teeth at the would-be attacker. The monster looked like a boar on two legs with humanoid physiology. And he did not look happy.

Instantly Mark's senses were attacked by the condensed energy and he knew this was a high-level beast he had been feeling till now. It was no way Oractus level, not even close but it was strong.

It charged once again and Alan once again twirled out of the way. This time, he shoved Mark away and Kuro broke his fall.

"A bummer. Are you really that keen to die? Well, I suppose I can give you what you want before the kid completes his trail and takes back over" this was not Alan? Of course, this was not since it felt too different.

Maybe it was the core who had taken over in the meantime. Mark had so many questions he wanted to ask but the core was busy and would likely ignore him.

The monster raged and attacked once again and Alan's body just dodged for a few seconds. Mark decided to take a few shots as well but Alan manoeuvred his body in such a way that made it impossible.

Besides, the gun was not going to work out that well against such high-level monsters anyway.

"You do not need to worry about these small pests. After all, they are mere ants for our ambition. Forever working for a goal they don't even care about but also not having enough to evolve themselves" for a second Mark felt like those words were spoken directly in his ears. 

Alan's body had disappeared from the field and it reappeared seconds later a little further away. However, he did not attack the monster at all.

The monster took this chance to gather himself and launch an attack, not at the higher beast in front of him but at Mark. Perhaps he wanted to eliminate competition or maybe it was all instinct.

Mark shot at him in an attempt to drive the other away but it was of no use.

"So, will you take control of it now?" Mark paid no attention to the short whisper session that was going in but those words somehow reached him. But they were likely not for him, they did not feel like they were for him.

Kuro took a swipe at the monster, her body moving in front of Mark but the monster dodged that attack and raised his arm to swipe at Mark instead.

Then his body sagged, an arrow poking out of its body and small shocks running all over the surface. The monster died not even two seconds later and disappeared into dust.

As soon as that obstacle disappeared, Mark's eyes met a familiar brown one and a panting teen.

"I, I did it. Somehow, I managed to make it in time. Mark, I made it" this was undoubtedly Alan, their Alan and not the core or something that had taken him over.

To Mark's senses, he felt like a mix in between the old Alan and the entity who had just taken over his body. The teen's knees were wobbling but they did not give up on him either.

"Do you need to lie down?" Mark asked the teen who did not look stable on his feet. The teen took the hand Mark offered and steadied himself.

"I'm alright. The energy running through my body is just too much to handle right now. I'll be alright in a few seconds" Mark gave him the time the other needed. Clearly, the teen did not want to show any weakness in front of Mark and it was understandable.

"Take your time. I'll check for the situation" Mark pulled up his map. There were not a lot of monsters left now. The earlier display of power combined with stabilisation of the core meant that the general population of monsters had decreased more than half.

"Let's make use of the bodies. We'll drag all the monsters here and take them out in one hit" Mark received a look his brain could not place at all.

"Is something wrong?" Mark asked the teen who stared at him like staring at an interesting sample. Mark was not that interesting was he? He was the plainest looking guy he knew of.

"You just seem different. You feel colder and almost detached? Weird, I'm not used to feeling these sensations. Is this a part of my new power?" the teen asked Mark but he had no answer for him.

At this point, he did not even remember the system setting or other related things. For his brain, this was his current reality.

"Let's think about it after we clean up" the teen did not complain over the order and they started the cleanup.