Despite being surrounded by a pack of wolves, Kai remained calm. He rolled his shoulders, stretching lazily as he counted them. Six, maybe seven, circling him in the gloom. Their low growls vibrated through the air, their glowing eyes locked onto him with hungry intent.
But Kai barely saw them as a threat.
He was a mutant now - something he had already come to terms with. The limits that once bound normal humans no longer applied to him.
"I'll handle this quickly," he muttered to himself, cracking his neck. "Then I'll wait things out before heading back to the Fight Club."
The wolves snarled, hackles raised, but to Kai, they seemed almost pathetic compared to the abomination he had just torn apart. He barely saw the point in wasting effort.
Then the trees trembled.
Something else was coming.
A hulking figure emerged from the shadows, its steps heavy enough to shake the earth beneath him. At first glance, it looked like another wolf - but it was bigger. Much bigger. Nearly the size of a bear, its body was warped, twisted by mutation. Its fur was thick and bristling, its jaws oversized, dripping with saliva that sizzled as it hit the ground.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
'Oh, come on. A beast?'
Unlike regular monsters, mutated beasts weren't just mindless freaks of nature. They were stronger, faster, and worse - smarter. And this one… this one radiated raw power beyond the monster he had just fought.
'I really gotta stop jinxing things,' he thought, exhaling through his nose.
The beast let out a guttural snarl, and as if on command, the wolves lunged.
"Can't I catch a break?" Kai groaned as he prepared to face the wolves pouncing on him.
-
Kai sidestepped, avoiding one of the wolves, then raised his arm as another wolf lunged. Its jaws clamped down with brutal force, fangs sinking deep into his flesh. Pain shot through him, sharp and searing, but he gritted his teeth and didn't flinch.
Instead, he seized control of the blood spilling from the wound.
A split second later, it exploded outward.
Scarlet spikes erupted from within the wolf's skull, puncturing outward in every direction. Its glowing eyes went dull as blood and brain matter splattered across Kai's face. He wiped the mess away with the back of his free hand, barely reacting before twisting his body to evade the slashing claws of two more wolves.
He landed low, his senses sharpening. The metallic scent of blood filled the air, his own mingling with that of the fresh corpse beside him.
'I've got some ammunition now.'
His gaze flickered to the deep bite marks on his arm, still dripping, then to the pooling blood from the dead wolf. He focused. The moment he willed it, the liquid responded, shifting unnaturally, as if awaiting his command.
A grin tugged at his lips.
"I guess I can use animal blood as well," he muttered, amused.
The crimson essence lifted from the ground and swirled around him, forming twisting tendrils in midair. He experimented, shaping them with precision, testing the weight and movement. The remaining wolves hesitated, their glowing eyes flickering with something close to unease. Instinctually, they understood - Kai was a threat.
Meanwhile, the red-eyed figure immediately noted the difference. 'Nothing feels as potent as wielding my blood.' Even human blood lacked the same raw, seamless connection he had with his own. But he didn't have the luxury of being picky.
And before he could dwell on it further, a deep, resonant howl cut through the night.
The pack instantly snapped back into action. No more hesitation. Only unrelenting, crazed desperation.
They surged forward.
Kai reacted instantly, wielding blood with deadly precision while his enhanced body pushed itself to the limit. Every movement was fluid - dodging, weaving, countering. He hurled a blood javelin straight through one wolf's torso, only to see it continue its charge despite the gaping hole in its side.
Kai barely had time to register it before he had to evade another attack, his foot planting firmly as he twisted, kicking the wounded wolf away mid-lunge.
'No hesitation. No survival instinct.'
Something wasn't right. These weren't normal animals. Even in packs, wolves valued self-preservation - when outmatched, they fled. But these wolves? They kept coming, mindlessly throwing themselves at him even as he tore through their ranks.
Kai's eyes flicked toward the towering beast watching from a distance.
His breath hitched.
Its slitted yellow eyes gleamed with eerie intelligence. Unlike the wolves, it wasn't attacking recklessly. It was watching. Studying him. Calculating.
And it was enjoying the slaughter.
Kai exhaled, narrowing his eyes.
'That thing's controlling them.'
The beast made no move to stop him as he carved through the last of its pack. Blood drenched the cold earth, and soon, only silence remained.
Then, finally, it stepped forward...