CHAPTER 39: THE MAN WHO KILLED H.I.M
The air was cold, still, and heavy with the weight of vengeance.
The alleyway where they stood was silent—moonlight dripping over broken bricks and flickering neon signs. The rain began to fall, soft at first, then harder, echoing like war drums across the city.
Jack Stellman stood there, soaked, his gun trembling in his hand.
His eyes—those cold, soldier's eyes that once showed no remorse—now showed something else. Fear.
From the shadows ahead, a dark mist began to crawl across the wet ground.
A low hum filled the air as if the earth itself was whispering.
Then came the voice.
> "You said you'd finish this… Jack."
From within the mist, H.I.M stepped out, his long coat flowing, his eyes burning red beneath the hood. The rain turned to steam each time it touched his aura. The ground cracked under his feet as the black energy radiated outward.
Jack steadied his breath and raised his weapon. "You don't scare me, monster."
H.I.M tilted his head, smiling darkly. "No, Jack. You should be scared of what's left of me."
Lightning flashed—
and the fight began.
---
Jack fired first.
Bullets laced with blessed mercury and holy dust tore through the air—each one meant to pierce dark energy.
But H.I.M moved like a phantom.
Each shot passed through an afterimage, vanishing in black smoke.
Jack rolled to the side, reloaded, and fired again, but H.I.M was already behind him.
A deep voice whispered against his ear.
> "Remember her voice, Jack? The last scream before you burned the house?"
Jack turned and swung the butt of his gun like a club, connecting with H.I.M's face—but the dark being didn't flinch. His red eyes just glowed brighter.
With a slow, chilling motion, H.I.M grabbed the gun—and crushed it with his bare hand.
> "That was my daughter's favorite lullaby you interrupted… before you shot her."
Jack stumbled back, panic creeping into his chest. He pulled out a dagger glowing blue with sanctified runes and slashed wildly. Each strike sparked against H.I.M's aura, scattering black lightning across the rain.
But then H.I.M raised his palm—
and the dagger froze midair, suspended by invisible force.
> "This blade took my wife's life."
The aura around H.I.M darkened, swirling violently like a storm.
> "Do you think I've forgotten the smell of her blood, Jack?"
Jack fell to his knees, gasping, the pressure unbearable. He tried to speak but his voice broke.
"Y-you don't understand… it was a mission. They said—"
> "They said?"
H.I.M's voice deepened, echoing through the alley like thunder.
> "And you listened. You killed an innocent family because your superiors told you to. Because you were too afraid to question your orders."
The black mist rose around Jack, choking him. He coughed, clawing at his throat as his vision blurred.
> "Please… forgive me…"
H.I.M's eyes flickered—
for a second, humanity flashed behind them.
Then the thunder roared.
> "No forgiveness for the damned."
He lifted his hand—and a dark spear formed from his aura, jagged and pulsing with red light.
Jack looked up just in time to see it pierce through his chest.
The world slowed down.
The rain stopped falling.
Time seemed to kneel.
Jack's breath caught, eyes wide, as he coughed out blood.
H.I.M walked closer, looking down at the man who took everything from him.
> "Now you'll feel what I felt. The silence. The emptiness. The weight of every scream that haunted me."
Jack reached for him weakly, eyes trembling. "Hanks… I—"
H.I.M pressed the spear deeper.
> "Don't call me that."
He twisted his hand, and the black aura erupted—engulfing Jack entirely. The light in his eyes faded.
When the mist cleared, all that remained was ash—blown away by the cold rain.
---
H.I.M stood there alone, the aura slowly fading from his body. His shoulders shook—not from exhaustion, but from something deeper.
Gina arrived moments later, running toward him. "H.I.M! What did you do?!"
He didn't turn to her. He just whispered, voice breaking for the first time in years:
> "I killed the past."
She looked at him, seeing tears mix with rain on his face. The monster that the world feared now stood broken under the storm.
> "But why does it still hurt?" he said softly.
Gina reached out to him—but before she could touch his shoulder, H.I.M vanished into smoke, leaving only silence behind.
The storm raged on.
And somewhere in the darkness, the echo of his pain whispered through the city:
> "No forgiveness… not even for myself."
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