The battle seemed to be reaching its conclusion, with one side clearly emerging victorious. The human forces, consisting of Hunters and citizens wielding beast weapons, had managed to slaughter over half of the Granian forces. Led by Lance, the city’s chances of survival appeared promising, but there was a sense of unease in the air.
Despite their success, Lance and the other Hunters were completely exhausted. The strain from using their beast soul weapons was taking a toll on their bodies. Lance’s arms, fused with his powerful beast weapon, were severely damaged, his once-pinkish-brown skin now resembling cooked chicken.
As pieces of his skin fell off and he coughed up droplets of blood, Lance’s condition was worse than that of the other Hunters, whose weapons were not as strong or high-tiered.
"Lance," the woman who had stood by his side moments ago called out, limping towards him. Her lasso weapon was fused with her arms, making them twenty feet longer, thinner, and more brittle. "Are you alright? Your arms are in bad shape."
"Don’t worry about me," he replied, dropping his swords. "Don’t let your guard down just yet. This fight is far from over. The aliens haven’t even deployed their technology, and we’re already worn out."
"What should we do?" she asked, concern etched on her face.
"There are Gifted students hiding in this city. Look around and find them. They’re the ones the aliens are after, not us. We should be able to-"
Just as Lance was about to complete his sentence, the sides of Grim’s ship ripped open with four colossal Granians running through them. The creatures hissed, grunted, puffed, and roared as they run forwards. While in their rampage-like state, the four Elite Granians trampled upon those who were too slow to move out their way.
The Hunters, who were watching from the safety of the tall buildings, gasped in horror at how the creatures mercilessly slaughtered their comrades and the civilians who stood paralyzed in fear.
"Hurry, go now!" Lance ordered, picking up his swords once more and activating their soul skill. "We don’t have much time!"
As the short Hunter rushed in to handle the creatures, the woman advanced further away with two more Hunters by her side. The three then split up and searched the buildings desperately, looking for a couple of students based off of Lance’s description.
Meanwhile, Lance fused his soul weapon again and advanced quickly toward the Elite Granians, with his fellow Hunters following closely behind. With his energy waning, Lance signaled his soldiers, who understood his command and smashed through the glass windows of the surrounding buildings.
As the Hunters struggled to keep the Granians at bay, the civilians with beast weapons surrendered them to the Hunters as they too escaped, fearing that they’d lose their lives fighting creatures that were far superior than they were.
[A few yards away from Grim’s Ship.]
In the city, the three blood mutants were experiencing severe attacks on their human bodies. After the Granians infiltrated Ace’s system, he and his sister began experiencing headaches, muscle spasms, vomiting blood and flesh, and feeling feverish.
Jim, hiding in a building at the city’s edge, suffered the most. His body reacted negatively to some unknown factor, causing intense agony. General Jack, observing from a corner, watched his puppet master’s suffering with a mix of pity and satisfaction. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
"Are... are you alright, Jim?" Jack asked, feeling a twinge of sympathy but also relishing in Jim’s demise. Meanwhile, Jim, a golden blood mutant, was on the ground, gasping for air. His lungs felt compressed, and his blood raced through his body at an alarming speed, causing his organs to struggle to keep up with the demand for oxygen.
Jack approached Jim, witnessing his body undergo grotesque transformations. His skin melted off repeatedly, only to regenerate and repeat the process. His eyes stretched across his skull, which broke and rearranged itself. Bloody-white substance foamed from his mouth as he convulsed, his eyes rolling back.
"Wow," Jack smiled, squatting next to Jim. "Look how the tables have turned. It seems the aliens have a mechanism that’s killing you from the inside."
"Fool," Jim mumbled with anger. "I’m not dying... I’m... I’m hungry..." His eyes fixated on Jack, seeing him not as a human but as a walking blood bank. "I haven’t been feeding too much, fearing addiction. My body can’t handle it anymore..." Jim lied, hoping to manipulate Jack’s belief.
Jack scoffed, gripping the blood mutant’s convulsing head. "You made a mistake giving me all those serums at once, Jim. I’ve been trying to bring you back to your senses, but your thirst for revenge blinds you, even if this child likely had nothing to do with it."
"Get... away from me!" Jim cursed, attempting to claw Jack’s skin off. "I swear, I’ll drain you like a raisin if you dare touch me. Besides... what can you do? Your body only listens... to me..."
"On the contrary," Jack smiled, his hands glowing bright green. "I’ve secretly been cultivating these serums, which have taken a toll on my body. However, you no longer control me. But I can control you."
Jack covered his mouth with his right hand, while his left hand hovered over Jim’s head. Jim felt as if hundreds of arms were touching his body, lifting him slowly above Jack’s head. But just as quickly, Jim’s body fell back to the ground as Jack leaned back, coughing up a few drops of blood.
"It’s just a demonstration, but you get the idea, Jim," Jack smirked, getting up and leaving the building. "I’ll leave you to die now. I can’t let these aliens capture that boy. There’s something special about him that’s driving these beings to such lengths."
"You’ll....pay for...this...." Jim said as his body slowly went through the same process Ace experienced when his lust was too high.
[A certain mechanism known for weakening Blood Mutants has been deployed. You will not be able to use your strengths until it’s taken down. Act quickly before it’s too late.]