Jayden and the Ancient Sabertooth Flare were still locked in a primal standoff, the clearing now a scarred arena of craters, fallen trees, and smoldering earth.
After a while, the deadlock broke with a violence that shattered the surrounding air. And the mont their claws separated, all hell broke loose.
The Flare struck first, its right paw sweeping in a vicious arc aid at Jayden's throat. Jayden ducked, feeling the superheated air singe the tips of his fur, and drove his shoulder into the beast's chest. The impact sent both creatures sliding backward, their claws tearing furrows in the earth.
They circled each other for half a heartbeat, predatory eyes locked. Then they exploded into motion simultaneously.
CRASH! BOOM! CRACK!
The sounds of their battle echoed through the forest like a war drum. Claw t claw in a blur of silver and fla. Each impact generated shockwaves that rattled Fred's bones even from his position against the tree.
Jayden's right claw ca down in an overhead strike. The Flare twisted, avoiding the blow by inches, and countered with a bite aid at
Jayden's shoulder.
Jayden's left hand shot up, catching the beast's jaw mid-snap, his claws digging into its muzzle. The Flare's flas roared hotter, trying to burn through his grip, but Jayden held firm, his enhanced durability resisting the heat.
With a snarl, Jayden twisted his body and used the Flare's own montum to throw it. The Ancient beast sailed through the air, crashing through a massive oak tree. The trunk exploded in splinters, the tree toppling with a groan.
But the Flare landed on all four paws, already recovering. It shook its mane, and embers scattered like deadly fireflies. Then it charged again, even faster this ti.
Jayden braced himself, claws extended... but the impact never ca.
The Flare had vanished.
Jayden's eyes widened. The beast had disappeared as it had before.
He spun on instinct, his enhanced senses screaming danger from behind.
Suddenly, the Flare's claws materialised from thin air, already descending toward his back.
Jayden threw himself sideways, but he wasn't fast enough. The claws raked across his left shoulder, tearing through his fur and flesh. Three deep gashes opened, blood spraying in the moonlight.
Jayden roared in pain, his body pivoting mid-fall. But he wouldn't go down alone. His leg lashed out, catching the Flare in the ribs with devastating force. The kick lifted the beast off its feet and sent it hurtling into a boulder.
SMASH!
The stone shattered on impact, fragnts exploding outward.
The Flare erged from the debris, limping slightly, its own blood now matting its fur. But its eyes were blazing with battle-lust.
They charged again.
This ti Jayden was ready. When the Flare leaped, he dropped low, sliding beneath its body, and raked his claws upward across its belly. The Flare yowled, blood raining down, but twisted in mid-air and brought its tail around like a whip.
WHACK!
The flaming appendage caught Jayden across the face with enough force to snap his head sideways. Stars exploded in his vision. He stumbled, montarily dazed.
The Flare didn't waste the opening. It landed and imdiately pounced, driving both front paws into Jayden's chest. They went down together, crashing through a fallen log, rolling across the scorched earth in a tangle of claws and fangs.
Jayden's back slamd into a tree, the trunk cracking from the impact. The Flare's jaws snapped inches from his throat, fla and spittle flying. Jayden caught the beast's neck with both hands, straining to keep those sabre-like fangs away from his jugular.
The heat was incredible. Even with his Lycan durability, he could feel his palms beginning to blister, his fur singeing. The sll of burning hair filled his nostrils.
With a desperate surge of strength, Jayden kicked up with both legs, catching the Flare in the gut. The beast was launched backwards, sailing over Jayden's head to crash sowhere behind him.
Jayden rolled to his feet, breathing hard. Blood dripped from his shoulder and face. His hands were red and raw beneath his fur.
The Flare rose more slowly this ti, favouring its right foreleg. Deep claw marks scored its chest and belly. One ear was torn, hanging at an odd angle. But its eyes showed no intention of surrender.
They stood thirty ters apart, both wounded, both exhausted, both absolutely refusing to yield.
Then they charged once more.
......
From his position against the tree, Fred watched in absolute horror and awe. The healing serum had worked miracles—his burns were mostly healed, reduced to angry red marks. His left arm was functional again, though weak. He could move and think clearly again.
But he couldn't process what he was seeing.
The battle before him defied comprehension. These weren't just powerful creatures fighting—this was sothing primal, sothing that spoke to the deepest parts of human evolution, back when humanity huddled in caves and prayed the monsters outside would pass them by.
Every collision shook the ground. Every roar was a physical force. Trees older than Fred's grandfather were reduced to splinters. Boulders were shattered like glass.
And the teenager... Jayden, was matching the Ancient beast blow for blow.
"How is he able to go toe to toe with that beast?" Fred thought, his hands trembling. "What the hell is he?"
....
CRACK!
Jayden's claws caught the Flare across the face, tearing through flesh, sending blood and fragnts of teeth flying. The Flare's head snapped back, but it powered through the pain and lunged forward, its jaws closing on Jayden's right forearm.
CRUNCH!
"Arghhhhh!!" Jayden scread as the beast's sabre fangs punched through his flesh, the flas burning his muscle and bone. He could feel his radius fracturing from the pressure.
But Jayden didn't pull away. Instead, he did sothing the Flare didn't expect.
He leaned in.
His left fist ca around in a devastating hook, slamming into the side of the Flare's head once, twice, three tis.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Each impact made a sound like a sledgehamr hitting at. The Flare's grip loosened involuntarily, and Jayden tore his arm free, leaving chunks of flesh behind in the beast's mouth.
They separated again, both bleeding heavily now. Jayden's right arm hung uselessly, the bone clearly broken, the limb scorched nearly black. The Flare had deep lacerations across its face, one eye swollen nearly shut, ribs clearly cracked from Jayden's relentless assault.
This was mutual destruction. If it continued like this, they'd kill each other.
"I need to end this quickly," Jayden thought through the pain and adrenaline. He could feel his body nearing its limit. "But I'll need an advantage."
The Flare circled left, limping but undeterred. Jayden mirrored the movent, his right arm hanging limp but his left hand still ready, claws flexed.
They were both exhausted. Both wounded. But neither would stop until one of them was dead.
The Flare's mane suddenly flared brighter, flas roaring to life with renewed intensity. It was gathering power for sothing big.
Jayden's eyes narrowed. Whatever it was planning, he had to disrupt it.
He grabbed a rock at his feet—no, wait. He didn't grab it. His hand was perfectly still.
But the rock lifted anyway.
Jayden blinked in surprise as the stone, easily the size of a bull's head, rose into the air in front of him. It hovered there, trembling slightly, responding to... him.
His mind reeled in surprise. "What the—"
RRRGGGHHH!
Just then, the Flare roared. Then it unleashed a massive gout of white-hot fla, a concentrated beam that turned the air itself into plasma.
Jayden reacted on pure instinct, throwing his left hand forward. The hovering rock shot toward the fla beam like a bullet.
BOOM!
The stone exploded on contact with the fire, creating a cloud of steam and debris that obscured the Flare's vision. But more importantly, Jayden realized what had just happened.
Telekinesis.
He'd used his telekinesis. In Lycan form.
He was stunned. "I can use my abilities?!"
The realisation hit him like lightning. He'd never tried it before. Never even thought it was possible. The transformation was so overwhelming, so consuming, that he'd always fought purely on instinct and physical prowess.
But if he could use his abilities... that changes everything.
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