That was the day Hermes’ adoration for Ymir Glace disappeared.
How can someone slap their fan for expressing their desires to be a hero like them? How can someone get mad at wanting to be helped?
It did not make any sense to Hermes at all!
So the only explanation he can think of was that Mr. Glace just despised him because of his ranking, just like everyone else.
’They will always look down on you if you keep your head down. What are you, a dog? Why do you have to follow everything that this bastard says?’
’No! ’What separates man and beast is the patience to not fall to impulses....’
Hermes repeated the mantra that Elder Thales taught to him over and over as the maddening voice in his head got louder.
’You know what you have to do. A kiss or a bite— Which one do you prefer?’
Hermes shook his head. ’I’m a man, not a beast. I’m a man, not a beast. I’m a man, not a—"
Mr. Glace’s words suddenly pushed him off the edge.
"I know what you are, Hermes. Just like your powers, you’re a copy cat. You want to mimic those you admire, to steal what they have."
He stepped on Hermes’ head. "Kissing the director’s son and then spending such a long time in the HR office? Are you whoring yourself out now to have someone save you? Still foolishly believing in that ’friendship is magic’ bullshit?"
Mr. Glace grinned. "It’s not my first time meeting leeches like you. You act all nice and naive, but deep down you just want to suck up to others, huh?"
That was the last straw for Hermes.
Hating him was one thing— But accusing him of being the manipulative bastard here!?
All while he’s being tortured in private, while this pathetic excuse of a ’hero’ put on smoke and mirrors for fame!?
’Hah! Hypocrisy at its finest.’
His hands moved faster than his mind, and his fingers found themselves wrapped around Mr. Glace’s throat!
"How dare you!? You are the one who is being two-faced!"
Ymir Glace’s glasses were askew, revealing one of his eyes that were wide with shock.
"I had nothing but respect for you. Even when you degraded me, I never talked back. I never insulted you behind your back, never secretly plotted your downfall. Because you are still a hero, because you still saved others..."
His grip tightened, his eyes bloodshot.
"But deep down I know you are nothing but a leech. You are sucking up everyone’s adoration while thinking of them as beneath you."
[Stealing Cryoshift in progress....]
But Hermes could not hear anything besides that roar in his ears. The roar of a beast that wants to consume everything.
"You think only frost bites? Dogs bite too. Especially when they had enough of their owner."
He unhinged his jaw wider than what was normal...
He tasted blood as his teeth sank on his slaver of a boss’ neck.
Ymir panicked, and tried to use his powers to freeze this.... This monster above him. But he could not move, and nothing shot out from his cold eyes.
[Successfully stole Cryoshift
Duration: 5 minutes.... 10 minutes... 60 minutes...
Strength: 55%... 60%... 65%....]
A part of Hermes was screaming for him to stop, but his body was no longer his own. It was owned by the vindictive part of him, that primal self that were only whispers before.
The beast was now fully awake.
"Blood! More blood! MORE! MORE! MORE!!!!!!"
He started growing sharp spikes all over his body that looked a lot like Ymir Glace’s ice daggers. He grew long canine teeth and sharp claws, skin turning ice blue.
The whole room was being encased in ice as Hermes kept feeding off him.
Ymir Glace could not believe it. The surprise overridden the pain, and he spoke just before he himself would also get encased in ice.
"You’re... A Void beast...."
Upon hearing the word ’beast’, something snapped Hermes off it. He slowly retracted his teeth from his flesh....
He stared at Ymir Glace’s eyes. They were like a mirror showing how hideous he had become.
And at the same time, it felt like a window to Ymir Glace’s soul. He can see it dissipating. Those eyes were slowly losing life in them, if he doesn’t act now.
"No.... SOMEONE HELP! HELP US!"
Ymir looked at his blue hands then the blood oozed from Ymir’s neck. He then remembered the freeze branding earlier.
Can he close the ruptured veins with ice?
It was his only option.
And so he used Cryoshift to close the punctures his teeth had made on Ymir’s neck, making a permanent white mark on it like a tattoo.
He tried to make the ice in the room retreat and turn back into water particles. Then, he transformed himself to look as normal as possible, trying to raise his temperature to what a normal human would have.
Fortunately, he managed to do all this before someone barged in the office.
"MR. CRYOSHIFT!!!" The fanatics cried out.
"QUICK, CALL AN AMBULANCE!"
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?"
"A Void beast attacked." He said without showing any emotion on his face. "It bit him on the neck."
It wasn’t a lie. It’s just that he took advantage of the fact that nobody would ever believe he was the beast who did this.
A weakling F-class like him?
"Maybe it’s one of Magnarok’s goons!?" One of them suggested.
"That lava monster is truly despicable! Let’s hurry and get Mr. Glace to a medic!"
Hermes was left alone with his system.... Wiping the bit of blood on his lips that nobody noticed.
He thought he would be scared, but he only felt numb. In fact, he felt both physically and figuratively cold, just like Mr. Glace.
With his eyes, he created an ice dagger and used it to cut the ice chain that was still on his neck.
[You have stolen the Cryoshift Ability.
Duration: 6 days 6 hours and 6 minutes