Chapter 51 – The Darkness Within Gino

The fog had grown thicker by nightfall, choking the forest in a suffocating shroud. The small campfire the group had built sputtered as if fighting against an unseen force before finally going out with a hiss. Darkness swallowed the clearing whole.

Zareen lay on his bedroll, staring up at the faint outline of the trees overhead. The forest was too quiet—no rustling leaves, no owl calls, just the faint buzz of insects that sounded distant and wrong.

He was just about to close his eyes when he heard it.

A low, ragged breathing.

It wasn’t the normal, calm rhythm of someone sleeping. It was strained, harsh, like someone choking on their own breath.

Zareen sat up immediately. His eyes darted toward the edge of the camp.

Gino was sitting hunched over, his entire body trembling. His hands clutched the sides of his head as if trying to keep it from splitting open.

“Gino?” Zareen’s voice was careful, almost afraid to break the fragile silence.

Gino looked up.

And Zareen froze.

Those were not Gino’s usual golden-brown eyes. They blazed crimson, glowing in the darkness like embers. Black veins had crept up his neck, pulsing as though something inside him was trying to escape.

“Stay back…” Gino growled, his voice deeper, distorted—no longer fully human.

---

### The Transformation

His entire body convulsed violently. The sound of bones cracking filled the clearing. His muscles swelled, stretching the fabric of his tunic until it tore apart at the seams. His skin darkened, hardening like iron. From his back, jagged spikes erupted, dripping with a dark, oily substance that hissed as it hit the ground.

An oppressive aura of black energy poured out of him, pressing down on everyone like a storm wind.

Sari scrambled back on all fours, her face pale. “Z-Zareen! He’s—he’s turning into something else!”

Yuna was already on her feet, her dark sword drawn, her expression grim. “Dragon’s corruption… and far stronger than I imagined.”

Gino let out a roar that split the night sky, a sound so primal and raw that the very earth seemed to shudder. When he rose to his full height, he was taller than before, his frame shrouded in shadow, his glowing red eyes fixed on them with predatory hunger.

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### The Desperate Fight

The first attack came without warning.

Gino’s corrupted fist slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave that knocked everyone off balance. Trees toppled like matchsticks under the force.

Yuna lunged, her blade clashing with his inhumanly hard arm. The impact sent her flying back several meters, dirt spraying as she skidded to a stop.

“Chain Bind!” Sari’s chains of shadow lashed out, coiling around Gino’s limbs.

For a single heartbeat, they held.

Then, with a single violent jerk, Gino tore them apart. The fragments of shadow scattered like smoke.

“Rain Meteor Shot!” Doni shouted from a distance, loosing a barrage of blazing arrows. They rained down like falling stars, striking Gino’s broad frame.

He didn’t even flinch.

Zareen’s hands shook as he gripped his staff. He shouted buff after buff, pouring everything he had into his team.

“Defense Up! Regen active! Barrier on Yuna!”

But the longer the battle went on, the clearer it became.

This wasn’t a fight they could win.

Not like this.

---

### On the Edge of Collapse

Sari’s voice cracked as she shouted, panic finally breaking through her usual bravado. “If this keeps up—we’re dead! We can’t stop him!”

Yuna staggered to her feet, blood dripping down the side of her face. Her breathing was ragged. “Zareen… we need something else. Buffs and barriers won’t be enough.”

Zareen’s heart pounded. His lungs burned as he gasped for air.

*There has to be a way. There has to be something—*

And then, his staff lit up.

A symbol appeared on its surface, glowing with a soft, pure white light. Letters—ancient, runic—spelled out two words.

**Perfect Cure.**

Zareen’s eyes widened.

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### A Fragile Hope

Without a second thought, he slammed the staff into the ground.

“Perfect Cure!”

The magic circle that bloomed beneath him was unlike anything he had ever cast. It radiated a pure, blinding white light that pushed back the darkness in an instant.

A wave of energy rippled outward, washing over the battlefield.

Their wounds closed. The crushing aura of despair lifted from their chests. The black mist around Gino burned away, hissing as if in pain.

Gino roared, thrashing violently as if fighting against invisible chains. The darkness peeled away from his skin, piece by piece, until it shattered and vanished like smoke in the wind.

When the light faded, Gino collapsed.

---

### The Aftermath

Zareen barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Gino’s breathing was shallow, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead, but the crimson glow was gone.

Sari sank to the ground, her legs giving out. “Hhh… I thought… I thought we were done for.”

Doni’s bow hand was still trembling. “Bro… that wasn’t a normal skill. That was something else. I swear it felt like… divine magic or something.”

Zareen looked down at his staff. His hands were still shaking. The glow had faded, leaving only the faint hum of residual energy.

“I… I don’t know what that was,” he admitted, his voice hushed. “The skill just appeared on its own. But it wasn’t just a heal. It was… purification.”

Yuna stepped closer, her expression unreadable but her tone heavy with meaning. “Zareen… you’re not like any player I’ve ever known. Whatever you are, whatever brought you here—if you hadn’t used that skill, we would all be dead.”

Zareen lowered his gaze, staring at Gino’s unconscious form resting against him.

*Rival… don’t die on me. I still have to catch up to you.*

The night was silent once more, but the weight of what had just happened hung heavy over them all.

And Zareen couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.