Xallon’s fist descended like a falling teor, but Lucas wasn’t where he was supposed to be.
The human rolled sideways, his broken ribs grinding against each other with audible cracks, but his eyes—his eyes burned with sothing beyond pain, beyond reason. Sothing primal had awakened in Lucas, sothing that recognized only one truth: kill or be killed.
"CO ON!" Lucas roared, his voice raw with desperate fury as he launched himself at Xallon’s knee. No lightning this ti—just brutal, animalistic determination. His fist connected with Harbinger cartilage, and for the first ti, Xallon actually winced.
"Interesting," the three-horn mused, swinging a backhand that should have decapitated Lucas. But the human dropped flat, rolling between Xallon’s legs and driving his elbow into the creature’s Achilles tendon with every ounce of strength his enhanced physiology could generate.
Xallon’s laugh was genuine delight. "Oh, you’re learning! Pain makes you creative, doesn’t it, little human?"
Lucas didn’t answer—he was already moving, using Xallon’s massive fra like a jungle gym. He clambered up the Harbinger’s back, wrapping his arms around the creature’s throat and squeezing with strength that could crush steel. His forearm muscles bulged, veins standing out like cables as he poured everything into a chokehold that would have killed a dozen normal n.
Xallon reached back, grabbed Lucas by the skull, and hurled him forward with enough force to crater concrete. Lucas hit the ground hard, rolled, and was already pushing himself up when Xallon’s foot caught him in the ribs.
The impact sent Lucas tumbling, but he used the montum, rolling to his feet and imdiately launching himself back at the Harbinger. No hesitation, no fear—just pure, unfiltered aggression.
"That’s it!" Xallon exclaid, catching Lucas’s punch and following up with a devastating uppercut. "Show the beast inside!"
Lucas twisted mid-air, using Xallon’s own montum against him. He wrapped his legs around the Harbinger’s arm and wrenched sideways, trying to dislocate the shoulder joint. Xallon spun, trying to shake him off, but Lucas held on like a rabid dog, his teeth bared in a snarl of pure hatred.
"Sir!" Torres’s voice cut through the chaos. "Alpha team has eliminated the one-horns! We’re moving to assist!"
"STAY THE FUCK BACK!" Lucas scread without looking away from Xallon. "THIS IS MINE!"
Xallon’s free hand slamd into Lucas’s ribs, finally breaking his grip. The human flew sideways, crashing into a concrete pillar with enough force to spiderweb the entire structure. But instead of staying down, Lucas pushed himself off the pillar and charged again.
This ti, Xallon was ready. His fist t Lucas’s advance head-on, the impact creating a shockwave that shattered any standing structure near them. Lucas’s left forearm t Xallon’s knuckles, and the bone snapped with a sound like a gunshot.
Most humans would have scread. Most humans would have fallen.
Lucas looked down at his shattered arm, bone protruding through skin, blood streaming down his fingers. Then he looked up at Xallon and smiled—a expression so feral, so completely unhinged, that even the three-horn took a step back.
"You know what?" Lucas said conversationally, grabbing the protruding bone and wrenching it free from his arm in a spray of blood. "I’ve been fighting you wrong."
He held up the jagged piece of his own radius, its point sharp as a spear, blood dripping from both ends.
"I’ve been trying to beat you like a soldier. But you’re not facing a soldier anymore, you sick fuck. You’re facing a goddamn animal!"
Lucas lunged forward, his makeshift bone spear aid at Xallon’s throat. The Harbinger caught his wrist, but Lucas was already pivoting, driving his knee into Xallon’s solar plexus while simultaneously trying to drive the bone spike into the creature’s eye.
"BEAUTIFUL!" Xallon roared, genuinely impressed. "You mutilated yourself to make a weapon! I haven’t seen that level of commitnt in centuries!"
"I’M JUST GETTING STARTED!" Lucas scread back, using his montum to swing around Xallon’s arm. He drove the bone spike into the Harbinger’s shoulder, piercing through natural armor that could deflect plasma fire. Harbinger blood sprayed across his face, but Lucas didn’t even blink—he twisted the bone, grinding it deeper into Xallon’s flesh.
Xallon’s backhand sent Lucas flying, but the human tucked and rolled, coming up with his bone weapon still in hand. His left arm hung useless at his side, but his right arm was steady as a rock.
"You want to see what fear looks like?" Lucas snarled, advancing on the Harbinger with predatory grace. "Look in a fucking mirror!"
He feinted left, then dove right, sliding between Xallon’s legs and driving the bone spike up into the creature’s inner thigh. Xallon’s roar shook the ground, but Lucas was already moving, climbing up the Harbinger’s back like a spider and driving the bone toward the base of Xallon’s skull.
Xallon spun, trying to grab him, but Lucas was everywhere at once—biting, clawing, stabbing with his improvised weapon. He fought like a man possessed, like sothing that had abandoned every human instinct except the need to kill.
"Rodriguez!" Torres called out, unable to contain himself as he watched his commander battle the impossible. "We have to help him!"
Before anyone could stop him, Rodriguez broke from cover, sprinting toward the battle with his rifle raised. "Sir, we’re coming!"
CRUNCH!
Xallon’s casual backhand caught Rodriguez mid-stride, the impact folding the soldier in half around the Harbinger’s fist. Rodriguez’s body flew backward in pieces—literally in pieces—blood and viscera painting the concrete in a pattern that would haunt his squadmates forever.
For a mont, everywhere when silent. For half a second, it seed as if all activities seized. The rest of the team stared, eyes wide in shock at how fast that happened. Death was almost certain in this situation but the way it ca left them breathless.
"RODRIGUEZ!" Lucas’s scream was pure anguish, but it transford into sothing else—sothing darker, more primal. "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM!"
"One soldier dies and you lose control?" Xallon taunted, catching Lucas’s wild swing and slamming him into the ground. "How many of my kind have you humans killed? How many worlds have you—"
Lucas’s headbutt caught Xallon in the nose, the impact creating a shockwave that rattled teeth. The Harbinger’s grip loosened just enough for Lucas to wrench free, and he imdiately drove his knee into Xallon’s throat.
"I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR KIND!" Lucas roared, his voice cracking with rage. "I CARE ABOUT MINE!"
He grabbed Xallon’s head with his good arm and drove his forehead into the Harbinger’s face again. And again. And again.
Each headbutt sent shockwaves through the air, but Lucas didn’t stop. He was beyond pain now, beyond exhaustion, beyond everything except the need to make Xallon pay for Rodriguez’s death.
"EVERYONE ELSE, STAND DOWN!" Lucas scread between headbutts, his forehead now bleeding freely. "I SAID STAND DOWN! THAT’S AN ORDER!"
Xallon tried to push him away, but Lucas wrapped his legs around the Harbinger’s waist, holding on with desperate strength. His headbutts were getting faster, more vicious, each impact creating visible cracks in Xallon’s facial armor.
"You’re... actually... hurting ," Xallon gasped, genuine surprise in his voice.
"GOOD!" Lucas scread, his forehead connecting with Xallon’s orbital bone. "I’M JUST GETTING FUCKING STARTED!"
Xallon managed to get Lucas off him and that’s when they started trading blows.
Sothing was happening to Lucas—sothing his team could see from their position. His movents were getting faster, more fluid. His punches were starting to generate the sa kind of shockwaves as Xallon’s, the sa impossible force that shouldn’t have been possible for a human.
"Jesus Christ," Patel whispered, watching his commander move like a blur. "He’s... he’s matching him."
Lucas had abandoned his bone weapon, abandoned his lightning, abandoned everything except pure, unfiltered violence. He was moving faster than human eyes could track, his punches creating sonic booms that shattered concrete and sent debris flying in every direction.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each impact resonated like thunder, Lucas’s fists eting Xallon’s in exchanges that would have leveled buildings. But Lucas wasn’t just keeping up—he was pressing the attack, driving Xallon backward with a combination of speed and fury that defied everything they knew about human limitations.
"How are you doing this?" Xallon demanded, his voice tinged with sothing that might have been concern. "You’re just a human! You shouldn’t be able to—"
Lucas’s uppercut caught Xallon in the jaw, sending the eight-foot Harbinger stumbling backward. The human followed up with a combination so fast it looked like his arms had multiplied, each punch carrying enough force to crack mountains.
"I’M NOT JUST A HUMAN!" Lucas roared, his voice carrying over the sound of breaking concrete and Harbinger screams. "I’M THE LAST THING YOU’RE EVER GOING TO SEE!"
He was moving faster now, faster than he’d ever moved in his life. His enhanced physiology was responding to sothing beyond adrenaline, beyond training, beyond human limitation. He was becoming sothing else—sothing that could stand toe-to-toe with a three-horn Harbinger and not just survive, but win.
Xallon swung a haymaker that should have removed Lucas’s head from his shoulders, but the human ducked under it and drove his fist into the Harbinger’s solar plexus with enough force to create a crater beneath Xallon’s feet.
"FASTER!" Lucas scread, his voice cracking as he pushed himself beyond every limit. "I NEED TO BE FASTER!"
And he was faster. Faster than physics should have allowed, faster than human biology could sustain. His punches were becoming invisible, his movents a blur that even Xallon couldn’t track.
"This is impossible," Xallon gasped, trying to land a hit on the human tornado that was dismantling him piece by piece. "You’re just a three-dinsional being! You can’t—"
Lucas’s fist connected with Xallon’s throat, cutting off his words. The Harbinger staggered, and Lucas pressed his advantage, driving a knee into Xallon’s sternum with enough force to crack the creature’s natural armor.
"I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Lucas scread, grabbing Xallon’s head with both hands. "I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR RODRIGUEZ! FOR EVERYONE YOU’VE MURDERED! FOR EVERY WORLD YOU’VE BURNED!"
He pulled Xallon’s head down and drove his own forehead into the Harbinger’s face yet again. The impact created a shockwave that knocked his entire team off their feet, but Lucas didn’t stop.
CRACK!
Another headbutt, this one aid at Xallon’s left eye socket. The Harbinger’s orbital bone caved in with a sound like breaking glass, Harbinger blood spraying across Lucas’s face.
CRACK!
A third headbutt, this one connecting with the bridge of Xallon’s nose. The cartilage collapsed, and the Harbinger’s roar of pain was cut short as Lucas imdiately followed up with another devastating strike.
CRACK!
Xallon’s cheekbone shattered, his face beginning to cave in under the relentless assault. But Lucas wasn’t finished—he was just getting started.
"FEEL THAT?" Lucas scread, his forehead now a bloody ss but his eyes still burning with murderous intent. "THAT’S WHAT FEAR FEELS LIKE!"
CRACK!
Another headbutt, this one aid at Xallon’s temple. The Harbinger’s skull began to show visible cracks, hairline fractures spreading across his forehead like a spider web.
CRACK!
Xallon’s jaw dislocated, hanging at an unnatural angle as Lucas continued his assault. The three-horn’s arms had gone limp, his massive fra beginning to sag as his brain struggled to process the massive trauma.
"STILL ENJOYING THIS?" Lucas roared, his voice hoarse but unrelenting. "STILL THINK THIS IS FUN?"
CRACK!
The sound of Xallon’s skull beginning to collapse was like thunder, but Lucas didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. Not until the creature that had murdered Rodriguez was dead.
CRACK!
Xallon’s eyes rolled back, his massive form beginning to topple. But Lucas held him up, his hands wrapped around the Harbinger’s throat, his forehead positioned for one final, devastating blow.
"This is for Rodriguez," Lucas whispered, his voice deadly quiet. "This is for every human you’ve ever killed. This is for every world you’ve ever burned."
He pulled back, every muscle in his body coiling like a spring.
"And this is for underestimating what we’re capable of when you threaten our family."
CRACK!
The final headbutt drove Xallon’s skull completely inward, the Harbinger’s cranium collapsing like an eggshell. Brain matter and Harbinger blood exploded outward, painting the concrete in a pattern of absolute finality.
Xallon’s massive form toppled backward, his three horns scraping against the concrete as his body hit the ground with a sound like falling timber.
Lucas stood over the corpse, his forehead a bloody ruin, his left arm hanging useless at his side, his entire body trembling with exhaustion and adrenaline crash.
But he was alive.
And Xallon was dead.
"Rodriguez," Lucas whispered, his voice barely audible. "I got him. I got the bastard."
Then he collapsed, his body finally giving in to the massive trauma it had sustained. But as he fell, his lips curved into a smile of absolute satisfaction.
The three-horn Harbinger was dead.
And humanity was still standing.
______
anwhile sowhere else, in a containnt pod, an unconscious human was floating within. Noah’s broken body hung suspended in viscous fluid, life support systems maintaining his barely-there vital signs while his captors monitored from outside.
"Readings are stable," a one horn reported to the Harbinger Widow, studying displays that showed Noah’s cellular activity. "The asset will remain unconscious for transport to Commander Kruel."
What they couldn’t see were the system ssages blazing behind Noah’s closed eyelids.
[EVOLUTION PROTOCOL: ACTIVE]
[CELLULAR RECONSTRUCTION: 23% COMPLETE]
[GENETIC MATRIX RESEQUENCING...]
[WARNING: UNKNOWN MUTATIONS DETECTED]
[VOID ENERGY SATURATION EXCEEDING SAFE PARATERS]
[HOST PHYSIOLOGY UNDERGOING UNPRECEDENTED CHANGES]
The monitoring equipnt began to fluctuate, readings spiking and dipping in patterns that defied explanation. Deep within the containnt fluid, Noah’s body began to emit a faint, pulsing purple glow.
[EVOLUTION COMPLETION: 47%]
[NEW ABILITIES MANIFESTING...]
[POWER LEVEL CLASSIFICATION: RECALCULATING...]
[ERROR - ASURENT PARATERS EXCEEDED]
[EVOLUTION COMPLETION: 72%]
The one horns near the pod exchanged concerned glances as their instrunts registered energy signatures that shouldn’t exist. Sothing was happening to their precious asset, sothing beyond their understanding or control.
[EVOLUTION COMPLETION: 99%]
[FINAL INTEGRATION PHASE INITIATED]
[WARNING: HOST AWAKENING IMMINENT]
[POWER LEVEL STATUS: ████████]
[EVOLUTION COMPLETE]
[WELCO TO YOUR NEW EXISTENCE, NOAH ECLIPSE]
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