POTENTIAL: THIRTY-THREE

**ALEX POV**

I looked at my watch and realized that I had been fighting this monster for half an hour. This was my first violent encounter. I had already exhausted all my grenades and ammunition, left without any weapons. My psi balls were ineffective too, as they needed time to form. If I kept relying on them, I might be caught off guard.

The monster continued its relentless attacks, but my force field kept it at bay. However, this couldn't go on. I needed to actively engage and weaken this creature. Were they able to escape?

I glanced at the exit and wondered why the membrane didn't revert to its previous state. It seemed incapable of regenerating once burnt. But how did its eyes regenerate?

Looking at its eyes, I realized that it hadn't regenerated them but covered them with new tissues, creating new eyes.

It appeared I had identified the weakness of this monster. Burnt cells couldn't regenerate, so all I had to do was burn this creature into ash. But how? Before that, I needed to deal with these annoying tentacles that had been bothering me.

Glancing at the guns, now out of bullets, gave me an idea. I grabbed five guns and turned them into makeshift swords. I flattened and sharpened their edges until they resembled blades.

"A little bit of heat." I focused my energy on heating the blades, and soon, they were glowing hot. Three sets of tentacles dashed towards me, but I anticipated them. With my heated blades, I managed to cut them off. The monster screeched in pain as I severed its tentacles.

Another five sets of tentacles were about to hit me, but with a swift motion of my hands, I cut them off too. The ground shook from the monster's movements each time it felt pain. "You're in trouble now."

******

**MAICA POV**

"DOCTOR!" Carlo shouted, prompting us to look at Dr. Deguro. We were surprised to see three cables piercing through his body. If I'm not mistaken, those wires belong to—

"Quinn," I muttered. The door burst open, revealing the mischievous face of Quinn. She was grinning deviously as she walked into the laboratory.

"So, you were just here." I was about to grab my gun, but Quinn beat me to it. She took my gun, not just mine but the others too. With her wire-like tentacles, she now held our only weapon against her. "The old me said that you have something she needs. And if I'm not mistaken, this is it, am I right?" she asked while looking and caressing the tank containing Acey. She then glanced at Dr. Deguro lying lifelessly on the floor. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I never wanted this to happen to you. But what you did years ago gave me enough reason to kill you."

"You're not gonna last long," the doctor retorted between breaths.

"Did you mean yourself?" Quinn made another attack on Dr. Deguro, ensuring that this time it hit his heart. All of her five wire-like tentacles pierced through the doctor's heart like paper. I looked at Carlo, who couldn't move after witnessing this. I wondered what Dr. Deguro did to him that caused such a reaction.

"I'm leaving you," Quinn bid farewell while carrying Acey. It seemed like the weight of the tank meant nothing to her.

Is she that strong?

"And by the way, Trisha," she called to Trisha, who had been glaring at her with anger. "You have such delicious friends," she added, surprising all of us. I looked at Trisha, who nearly lost her balance. Luckily, Sky supported her. She was dumbfounded, entering into a trance after hearing Quinn's statement.

We just watched Quinn move her way out of the laboratory. Once she left, I immediately approached Trisha, while Carlo went to Dr. Deguro. But he's too late. Based on the size of the hole in his heart, it was impossible for him to still be alive. Two gunshots caught our ears, causing us to stop what we were doing.

"The children," Trisha murmured weakly as she ran out of the laboratory. Sky and I followed suit, but I paused when I thought of Carlo.

"Carlo?"

"You go ahead. I'll follow," he replied sadly, which I understood. I felt sorry for him, but it was too late. Grieving couldn't bring someone back to life.

I left him immediately and went to find Sky. I saw Trisha and Sky standing just outside the warehouse as if watching something unfold. A few meters away from them, I stopped running when I smelled smoke.

When I reached the warehouse's exit, I realized that the houses were already on fire. Every house was ablaze. I searched the entire place for someone, but I found no one. The vehicles were also gone. Only we and the burning village were left.

"Where are they?"

"Quinn took them." When I heard Trisha say this, I quickly remembered Quinn's statement in the laboratory. I covered my mouth as I realized the possible fate of the children.

"Maica?"

"Yes, Alex?"

"The monster escaped. I don't know why, but he went somewhere."

"Sky, Alex told me that the monster escaped."

"It's following its core."

"What is happening up there?"

"Just... get up here."

A man stopped beside me, and it was Carlo. He stoically stared at the scene. After a while, he bowed his head. I patted his shoulder to comfort him.

"The children are alive, but Quinn took them. But we need to save them. We must."

******

**ALEX POV**

I was on my way back to the entrance. I had this feeling that something wrong happened up there. Sample 45A escaped and I didn't know why. I was about to deliver my final blow but he escaped. I didn't know why, but I had this feeling that this might have something to do with what was happening up there.

When I reached the entrance, I quickly went back up. Upon getting out, I immediately ran out of the forest. After a minute or two, I was finally out in the clearing. But I was surprised when I saw the village.

Fire and thick black smoke caught both of my eyes. I was stunned for a bit, but I instantly remembered Sky. They might need my help and so I ran as fast as I could until I reached the burning village.

I instantly looked for survivors, but I couldn't find any, not even a corpse. I quickly checked the warehouse and felt a bit of relief when I saw that it was not on fire. I immediately ran towards the warehouse when two bodies caught my vision.

I quickly went to them, hoping to save them. As I approached, I realized that this was Dr. Deguro's bodyguard. I saw a gunshot wound in his abdomen. Most of the victims of this wound survive, but if too much blood is lost, it could be lethal.

I immediately checked his pulse, but I was too late. His body had lost too much blood.

"A...lex," someone called out to me. I quickly turned to face him and was glad that he was alive. At least one of them survived. I approached him and positioned him comfortably even though he was wincing in pain due to the wound. The wound was in his left shoulder, but it was far from his heart.

"Let's get you to a safer place." Using my telekinesis, we started moving away from the hellish place we were in. The fire was too hot, so I quickly created a force field. We could still feel the heat, but barely, unlike earlier. We continued walking until we were out.

I looked at the warehouse and saw Sky and the others waiting just outside the structure. I kept walking until I reached them.

"Thank goodness you're fine," Maica expressed her gratitude, but I just walked straight to where Dr. Deguro was sleeping. I moved the table using my ability and laid the injured bodyguard on the bed.

"Grab some first aid, Carlo. Maica put some pressure on his wound." Carlo immediately left, while Maica quickly approached the bodyguard to stop the bleeding.

I approached Sky to talk to him, but I looked at Trisha, who had been silent since earlier. "What happened to her?"

I sensed Sky's hesitation. "She lost the children."

"WHAT?!"

"Just leave her for now. She needs some time alone," Sky suggested. I couldn't help but get annoyed with myself. I even promised her, to them, that I would save them no matter what. But I couldn't do it. I just let out a frustrated groan, causing me to throw the table.

"Hey, calm down. It's not your fault."

"I hope so." I just sat on Dr. Deguro's table. What was happening right now was too exhausting. Just thinking about it made me feel like I was already doing it.

"Quinn has the core. That's why the monster escaped. It's following them." Just great! Isn't there anything worse happening here? "And we failed to figure out how to kill it."

"I know." I quickly headed to the laboratory to explain to Sky how to defeat that colossal creature. But even before I entered, Dr. Deguro's lifeless body greeted me. There was a hole in his chest as if something pierced through it. But knowing that Quinn was here, I knew she did this.

I continued and entered the laboratory. The tank where Acey was contained was gone, but the sample we got with Maica was still there. I approached it and looked through the microscope at the sample. I could see tissue cells, but not white blood cells (WBCs). White blood cells are responsible for removing dead cells. But since this creature doesn't have any, that means it can't heal damaged and dead cells.

"It lacks WBCs."

"I know. I noticed that earlier."

"That's the solution."

"What do you mean."

"Without the WBCs, it can't remove damaged and dead cells. It can only accelerate cell division. That's why it's expected to grow. The best example for this is keloids."

"Keloids?"

"Keloids are thick scars because of excess fibrous tissue, making it look big. Under that new set of fibrous tissue is a graveyard of dead and damaged tissue cells."

"So you're saying that this creature can't actually regenerate," Sky implied, to which I nodded. "Then how are we going to defeat this thing?"

"We'll set it on fire... every corner of it."

******

**MAICA POV**

We just finished giving first aid to Henrix with Carlo. He's stable, and luckily, he didn't lose too much blood. Trisha remained silent while Alex was still in the laboratory.

Carlo caught my attention as he stood facing a shelf. I looked at the shelf and saw a photo of a couple. I approached, and it seemed he noticed me. He cleared his nose and wiped his tears before I could see them. He cleared his throat and let out a sigh. I looked at the photo.

"Is that Dr. Deguro?" I pointed to the young man in the picture.

"Hm," Carlo nodded. "And the girl beside him is Elaiza, my mother." I was surprised by what he said. The girl was pregnant, so that meant— "And that's me, inside my mother's womb."

"Does that mean Dr. Deguro is your father?" Carlo nodded while my eyes widened. "Why does it feel like I he wasn't?"

"He doesn't know."

"Why not?"

"They separated before I was born."

"May I ask why?"

"According to her, Papa was too engrossed in his research. He stopped calling Mama, and he didn't reach out anymore. That's when my mother decided to leave. My mom delivered me alone, and I'm disappointed in my father because of that. But I admire Mama. Every night she prayed for Father's safety, and on the day, she told stories about how she and Father met. She loved my father so much that even hatred didn't stand a chance. And on her last breath, she asked me to find my father and forgive him."

"And did you?"

"I never hated my father so why should I forgive him?"