Flames engulfed the Flesh Titan. The explosion's shockwave sent debris flying as the monstrous entity reeled back, its mutated flesh blackening and bubbling from the intense heat. The fire spread like a plague across its grotesque body, igniting its tendrils and bony protrusions.
Leon rolled onto his back, coughing as a wave of heat washed over him. His leg throbbed from the deep gash where the Titan's tongue had wrapped around him. Evelyn grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet.
"We have to move before it—"
A deafening roar cut her off.
The Titan did not fall.
Instead, its charred skin cracked open, revealing a fresh layer of writhing muscle beneath. The fire hadn't destroyed it—it had triggered another transformation.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mia yelled, stumbling backward.
The Titan's new form was even deadlier. Its muscle fibers hardened, turning into razor-sharp exoskeletal plates. The tongue that had been severed grew back—longer, barbed, dripping with blackened venom. Its claws extended into curved talons, glinting with a metallic sheen.
Evelyn's stomach twisted. "It's adapting... it's getting stronger."
The Titan launched forward.
With terrifying speed, it slammed into Reaper, sending him crashing through a rusted fence. Lucas tried to fire his rifle, but the creature swiped at him with a jagged limb, the force hurling him into a wrecked van.
Mia emptied her clip into the Titan's exposed chest, but the bullets ricocheted off its new armored hide.
"We need to get out of here!" Evelyn screamed.
The group scrambled toward the alley behind the ruins of a collapsed diner, the Titan hot on their heels. Its massive bulk crashed through a brick wall, sending rubble raining down around them.
Leon turned, pulling a grenade from his vest. He yanked the pin and hurled it directly into the Titan's gaping mouth.
The Titan's head snapped back, an explosion of black ichor and bone fragments spraying against the walls. It staggered, momentarily dazed.
Lucas groaned, gripping his ribs. "That didn't kill it… but it pissed it off."
Reaper climbed out of the wreckage, blood dripping from his forehead. "I'm out of ideas. Anyone got a nuke?"
The Titan's body twitched. The flesh at its neck twisted unnaturally, bones shifting and reforming.
Evelyn's eyes widened. "It's healing again."
A low growl filled the air, but it wasn't coming from the Titan.
From the darkness behind them, dozens of glowing red eyes emerged. The Pale Swarm.
Leon tightened his grip on his knife. "Well… shit."
The Titan turned toward the approaching Swarm, its razor tongue flicking out hungrily. The two horrors faced off.
Reaper smirked. "Looks like we got ourselves a monster fight."