At this moment, time seemed to fracture, stretching into an eternity of agonizing slowness. For Marcus, the world had shrunk to the space of a single breath. The air was cold on his skin, carrying the feral scent of wet fur and pure, unadulterated rage from the creature that was once his friend. The three razor-sharp claws on Ethan's hand, glinting under the dim cavern lights, were less than half an inch from the exposed skin of his neck. They were so close he could feel the chilling absence of heat they radiated. His face was a mask of terror, but beneath it, his heart was a chaotic storm of confusion and pain. Why? Ethan, why? Why would his closest friend, the brother he had just resolved to die for, look at him with such murderous intent?
From the side, Seraphina's world had also slowed to a horrifying crawl. A scream was trapped in her throat, a choked, useless thing. She saw Marcus, frozen and vulnerable. She saw Ethan, a monster wearing her friend's face. She slowly raised a trembling hand, a futile, desperate gesture, trying to will him to stop, to somehow prevent the tragedy she was being forced to witness.
The cultist captain, on the other hand, watched with a near-fanatical excitement. His eyes were wide, a twisted, feverish anticipation in his gaze, as if he could already foresee the bloody, beautiful scene of the perfect specimen disemboweling its former attachment. This was the pinnacle of his work! The ultimate proof of concept! The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a cruel, triumphant smile, as if he were savoring this exquisite moment of tension and excitement.
Just as Ethan's claws were about to break the skin, about to sever flesh and friendship, they stopped. They froze in place as if a stop button had been pressed on the universe itself.
The captain's smile faltered. He leaned forward, a little confused. "What's going on?"
Suddenly, Ethan's monstrous, wolf-like body began to change once again. The coarse, gray-white vest of fur on his body began to shrink and smooth out, the material changing, gradually turning into a sleek, one-piece garment similar to a girl's halter top. The fur receded, the muscles shifted, and a glowing green Omnitrix symbol suddenly pulsed into existence on his abdomen.
An internal, synthesized voice echoed in the very core of his being:
[DNA modification complete. Host's original DNA consolidation complete.]
[Remaining tasks: one, repair damaged host body. Beginning to reduce non-essential energy conversion...]
Ethan twitched his brow, a flicker of humanity returning to his features. Then he opened his eyes. His originally feral, blood-red irises had now shifted, replaced by the familiar, vibrant green of his own true eyes.
"I..." he rasped, his voice hoarse. "Where... where am I?"
Then, a wave of memories, sharp and agonizing, flooded his mind. He understood. The Omnitrix, in order to protect his sanity, had sealed a part of his consciousness, burying it deep beneath the feral instincts of the wolf form. Otherwise, after being tormented by that unimaginable pain for three full days, any human would have gone completely, irrevocably mad.
Now, he had finally broken free from the endless pain and torment. He had regained his sanity. The red fog in his mind gradually dissipated, and his memories returned to him like a violent, crashing tide. He remembered every scene that had happened in these three days. He remembered how those people had treated him not as a person, but as a thing, a demon to be prodded and tortured with morbid, clinical cruelty. They had tormented him with those volatile, agonizing potions, forcibly raising his rank without a care for the consequences, just to satisfy their ridiculous, insane experimental needs. And what was most unforgivable… what made his blood boil with a righteous fury… was that this person behind him, the captain, had actually tried to use him, to turn him into a weapon to kill his own best friend.
Thinking of this, Ethan trembled with a rage that was now entirely his own, his green eyes filled with burning flames. He turned his head fiercely and glared at that culprit, the captain.
Marcus, seeing the familiar yet transformed figure before him, seeing the green in his eyes, felt his heart fill with both shock and a fragile, burgeoning joy. He opened his mouth cautiously, his own voice carrying a trace of uncertainty, but also full of a desperate anticipation, "E-Ethan… is it really you?"
Ethan slowly turned his head fully towards his friend, a determined, reassuring light flashing in his eyes. He nodded forcefully, his new form still imposing but no longer mindless. "Relax, Marcus," Ethan's voice was low and powerful, a mixture of his own and a low, guttural growl. "I'm back!"
AWOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Suddenly, Ethan tilted his head back and let out a deafening, soul-shaking wolf howl. But this was not the mindless roar of a beast. This was a declaration of war. His body hunched slightly, as if transforming into a fierce wolf king, a mythic being overlooking the entire world. Following this howl, his entire aura suddenly erupted, carrying with it an incomparably fierce presence. He shot forward like a bolt of black lightning, pouncing directly towards the captain. Now that he had regained his sanity, he would no longer be so easily invaded by simple mental attacks. And even if his opponent was a mental-type psionicist who had been modified by monster parts, it was impossible for him to defeat such a fierce, intelligent wild beast! The beast-tamer was down, the sound-wave user was still embedded in the wall; no one could save him now!
The captain was terrified, his body trembling, but his own survival instinct still made him pounce towards Ethan, trying to mount a desperate defense. But one of Ethan's powerful arms was still torn off by a savage swipe of his claws.
"Aah!!!" The severe, agonizing pain shot straight to the captain's brain, and cold sweat continuously flowed from his body. But what was more severe was the gushing, fresh blood from his severed shoulder.
Ethan wasn't going to give him a chance. He split his mouth into its four parts and let out a focused, powerful sonic blast.
Bam!
The powerful sonic wave hit the captain's body, continuously pushing him back, before finally slamming him hard against a nearby wall. His body was squeezed and crushed by the relentless sonic blast, as if it were about to be torn to pieces.
"No! I don't want to die!" At this moment, his body was already being torn apart inch by inch, and fresh blood was constantly flowing out.
Suddenly! A brilliant ray of light, sharp and impossibly fast, flew from the distant entrance of the cavern. It was a spear formed from pure, condensed psionic energy. That psionic energy spear directly hit Ethan's body, sending him flying back thirty meters!
"I was only gone for a little while," a familiar, powerful voice echoed through the cavern, "and this place is almost turned completely upside down."
It was the Tiger Deacon! Seeing the newcomer, the four Rank Three psionicists—the two agents and the two cultists—also immediately stopped fighting, a tense ceasefire falling over the battlefield. The wounded captain crawled over from the ground, on all three of his remaining limbs, and scrambled towards the Tiger Deacon. He said with a face full of tears and snot, "Deacon! Deacon! He is that experimental subject! Our experiment… it succeeded! It far exceeded our wildest expectations! Not only did his genes not collapse, but they also mutated and became even stronger! This… this is the perfect experimental material, Deacon!"
Hearing his words, the Tiger Deacon looked at Ethan with a new, intense interest. "Oh? So, you're that little brat?"
Ethan got up from the ground and patted the dust off his furry body. "What? After tormenting me for so long, you've forgotten me now? Are you guys from the Evolution Cult all scumbags with bad memories?"
Hearing Ethan's mockery, the Tiger Deacon not only didn't get angry but laughed out loud, a deep, booming sound. "Hahahaha! Not bad, not bad at all. I had thought the experiment had failed completely. I didn't expect you to actually give me such a big surprise! Originally, when the Beastification Potion was first developed, its current stage, even if successful, would only turn people into irrational, mindless beasts. Not only do you not look stronger in a mindless way, but you also seem to possess additional, unexpected abilities and you still possess your former consciousness and memories. Unimaginable. Just what kind of mutation—no, evolution—has the Beastification Potion undergone inside your body, and to what extent has it evolved? If I give you to the Doctor, he will definitely be heavily, heavily rewarded!"
Ethan said with a sly, dangerous smile, "A reward? What reward? You think you'll actually get to see a monster with your own eyes?"
Tiger Deacon: "That's right. Suddenly turning into a monstrous beast is indeed hard to believe, and the human spirit would be on the verge of collapse. But it's also understandable. Look at your appearance now. You are clearly a perfect werewolf. Why deceive yourself any longer? Join the great evolution and become a glorious member of our cause!" The Tiger Deacon raised his head to the sky, his hands spread wide, looking both devout and immensely great.
Ethan looked at him expressionlessly and scoffed. "Sorry, I'm quite good at being a human. I have absolutely no interest in being a half-man, half-beast thing. What was it you called yourselves again? Oh, right, a half-beast!"
The Tiger Deacon said angrily, his fanatical expression cracking, "It's a half-beast! Not a beast-man!"
"Okay, okay, beast-man, no problem, beast-man," Ethan said with a dismissive wave of his claw.
The Tiger Deacon clenched his own tiger-like fists in anger and pointed at Ethan: "Do you really think you can get away now? Haven't you also been transformed into a werewolf, never, ever to be able to go back again!"