Fred’s mind raced, panic warring with confusion. Why was a teenager—gifted or not—engaging a beast that had easily defeated a team of trained EVA agents?
Fred tried to speak, tried to warn Jayden, to tell him to get out of there. But his throat was too damaged, his lungs too full of blood. Only a wet, choking sound erged.
Jayden didn’t look back again. His attention was entirely on the Ancient Flare as it rose from the debris, shaking its head to clear it. The beast’s eyes locked onto this new threat, and a deep, rumbling snarl emanated from its chest. It was really pissed.
Jayden didn’t flinch. He didn’t even take a combat stance. Instead, he calmly reached into thin air—accessing his inventory—and pulled out two glass vials. One contained a liquid that glowed soft green in the moonlight. The other shimred with a deep purple hue.
Without looking, he tossed the green vial underhand toward Fred. It arced through the air, and Fred’s working arm moved on pure instinct, catching the vial despite his injuries. He stared at it in shock.
It was an healing serum. The boy had just given him a healing serum.
Before Fred could process this impossible gesture, Jayden uncorked the purple vial and downed it in one smooth motion. Almost imdiately, the system screen appeared with a notification.
[Stamina Serum Consud]
[Host’s stamina has been increased by 50% for 10 minutes]
Jayden felt the serum take effect imdiately, warmth spreading through his body, his muscles feeling lighter, more responsive. He tossed the empty glass vial aside and sighed in satisfaction. He needed every drop of stamina for what ca next.
Across the clearing, the beast’s patience snapped. With a deafening roar that shook the trees, it charged, its massive body moving with terrifying speed despite its size. Flas erupted in its wake, leaving a trail of scorched earth.
Jayden’s lips curved into a smirk. Then he started running too, sprinting directly at the charging beast.
Fred watched in horror. It was suicide. The kid was strong, sure, but a frontal assault against the Ancient Flare? It was madness.
Knowing he had to do sothing, anything, Fred bit the cork off the green vial and chugged the serum. The magic worked instantly, knitting flesh and soothing burns, but it still wasn’t enough to get him back on his feet. He would need a stamina serum for that. But Jayden didn’t give him one.
So Fred just sat there, healing but unable to move his limbs. That was just how exhausted he was.
Jayden and the beast were re ters apart now. The Flare leaped, its massive body sailing through the air, claws extended to tear the foolish human to pieces.
Then Jayden did sothing that made no sense. He pulled out a dagger, and without hesitation, slashed it across his own left wrist. Blood sprayed from the self-inflicted wound.
Fred frowned, confused. "Why would he—?"
Then Jayden jumped.
And what happened next scarred Fred for life.
The mont Jayden’s feet left the ground, his body began to change.
It started with his torso, expanding outward, his jacket and shirt tearing away like tissue paper. But this wasn’t his size manipulation ability—Fred had seen footage of that, the clean, proportional growth. This was sothing else entirely. Sothing wrong.
Jayden’s body bloated grotesquely, muscles swelling and bulging beneath his skin. His arms lengthened, the bones cracking and reforming with sounds like breaking branches. His legs twisted, joints reversing, feet elongating into digitigrade haunches.
All of this happened in less than a second.
Then thick, brown fur sprouted from his skin in milliseconds. His jaw unhinged and elongated, pushing out into a terrifying, lupine snout. Razor-sharp fangs snapped into place, and his human hands morphed into massive paws tipped with obsidian claws.
[Full transformation (Lycanthrope) Complete]
[All Stats have been tripled]
The entire transformation had taken only three seconds. Three seconds to go from human to Lycan.
anwhile, Fred was completely and utterly petrified. He had just watched a human transform into a beast. A wolf-like monstrosity that was nearly three ters tall.
His breath ca in ragged gasps. Sweat poured down his face despite his injuries. Every instinct in his body scread at him that he was in the presence of an apex predator.
"How?" Fred’s mind reeled. "How is this possible? He’s human. He’s a human with a size manipulation ability. He’s not supposed to be... he can’t be..."
But the evidence was right in front of him, impossible to deny.
Jayden had just revealed himself to be sothing that shouldn’t exist outside of ancient myths and horror stories.
High in the air, ti seed to slow for Jayden. He had debated using this form. He knew Fred was watching. He had hoped the agent would be dead or unconscious by now, but seeing Fred alive after the initial punch left him with a choice: hide his power and die, or reveal it and win.
It wasn’t a hard choice. Jayden chose to reveal his power. He would deal with the witness later. But right now, he needed the stats. The boost from the moon—100% increase to his stats—combined with his Lycan form’s natural 200% boost ant he was currently operating at 300% of his base capabilities. That was x4 of his normal stats.
He felt invincible.
The Ancient Sabertooth Flare and the newly transford Lycan t in midair, the collision point halfway between ground and sky.
But where the beast had expected to et a human, it instead found itself face-to-face with another apex predator. Its eyes widened fractionally—the first sign of genuine surprise it had shown all night.
Jayden didn’t even give it ti to process. He cocked a massive arm back, and....
BAM!
His fist connected with the Flare’s jaw with enough force to create a visible shockwave. The sound was like a cannon shot. The Ancient beast’s head snapped sideways, and its entire body was sent hurtling back the way it had co.
CRACK!
The Flare crashed into the ground with earth-shaking force, creating a massive crater.
Jayden dropped from the sky, aiming his knees for the beast’s chest to crush it.
The Flare’s instincts scread danger. It rolled aside at the last possible instant.
BOOM!
Jayden’s foot slamd into the earth where the beast had been a split-second before. The impact cratered the ground, sending cracks spider-webbing out in all directions. Dirt and rock exploded upward in a fountain of debris.
The Ancient Sabertooth Flare recoiled from the display of raw power, taking several steps backward. Its flas flickered uncertainly. For the first ti since the battle began, sothing other than confidence showed in its eyes.
Intimidation.
This creature—this other beast—had power that matched its own. Perhaps even exceeded it.
But the Flare was an Ancient-class beast. It had its pride. Its territory. Its dominance to maintain.
It would not back down.
The Flare snarled, flas roaring to life around its body with renewed intensity. Then it charged again, abandoning strategy for pure brute force, raising both claws to tear the Lycan apart.
Jayden t the charge head-on. He raised his own claws.
CLANG!
Bone t bone. The sound was like two freight trains colliding. A visible ring of force rippled out from the point of impact, snapping small saplings in half.
Fred, pressing himself flat against the tree roots to avoid being blown away, watched with wide, unblinking eyes.
The Ancient Flare pushed, its muscles straining, flas licking at Jayden’s fur. Jayden pushed back, his massive biceps bulging, his feet digging furrows into the ground.
Neither gave an inch.
They were deadlocked.
Jayden stared into the beast’s eyes. The Flare stared back.
And then, slowly, the Lycan’s lips pulled back. It wasn’t a snarl of effort. It was a grin. A feral, terrifying grin that promised violence.
The Ancient Flare saw it. It felt the immovable wall of strength opposing it. And in the depths of its fiery soul, the beast realized the truth.
It had finally t its match.
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