Ezekiel groaned while he straightened his bent body. The HUD function in his Headgear flashed, warning him of multiple bone fractures. But he didn't dare let down his guard, a thermal sword quickly appeared in his hand before he swung down at the unconscious Hurricane, separating the werewolf's head from his body.
After that, it seemed the activities of the cells within the body halted, causing the transformed body to return to its normal human form, revealing an average looking man with remorse and anger still apparent on his stiff expression.
_
You have defeated a mid (boosted) D rank Awakened, 437 Exp acquired.
Level: 12 (849/1200).
_
Only after seeing the system's notification did the mechanic let his muscles rest and allow himself crash onto the ground, devoid of strength. And after the receding adrenaline, came the searing pain that sought to assault his mind causing him to hiss in pain, almost fainting on the spot.
Luckily Vahn arrived soon, utilizing the spare mana he had to reduce the pain his friend felt. "How's your body?"
"A lot of fractures." Ezekiel's expression gradually eased as the pain he felt receded bit by bit under the influence of the Life mage's mana. "How's your arm?"
Vahn smiled, his face revealing an exhausted expression. "Dislocated. But, thankfully, the suit is able to fix it back into place for me, I'm using whatever spare mana I have to reduce both of our pain."
Yuri heard this as she descended to the ground and smiled with displeasure. "This could have ended much sooner if you guys allowed me to be more proactive."
""Impossible!""
The two boys spoke simultaneously, disapproving of her preposition. They would never allow their delicate sister fight at the frontline if the situation wasn't too desperate. No, even if it were, they would use their bodies to shield her retreat.
This was true even for Ezekiel who wasn't blood related. After so many years with Yuri, he also considered a sister and would never allow any harm befall her.
Listening to the two, Yuri could only pout. She really couldn't decide whether to be angry or happy at their attitude towards her safety. But, in the end, she let it slide.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Plus, we had it quite easy." Ezekiel glanced at the words "boosted" that was displayed by his system. "This guy isn't a genuine peak D rank, he probably advanced with a quick but unsteady method."
"But that doesn't mean he should be able to turn into a cross of a human and Lycanim." Vahn glanced at the man's dead body with a hint of fear. After all, this was the first time he had seen a case of beast transplants.
Ezekiel kept quiet for a while before suddenly standing up and glancing to the side, the location where the battle between the remaining two masked men and his parents was occurring. "Connect to the reconnaissance drone." The AR styled HUD setting in his headgear flickered, linking to one of the drones he had let out earlier to observe his parents.
His eyes then narrowed as the camera zoomed in on the four figures. He noticed that the two masked men, Mad Dog and Thorn had abandoned their human forms and had transformed into beasts just like Hurricane. The former had transformed into what looked like the humanoid version of a Flame Strag, Taia's equivalent of Earth's lion, possessing hair that flowed down to his chest and back like a mane, flickering with a crimson red glow akin to a flame. His muscles had expanded just like his teammate, his height reaching a terrifying 2.5 meters height and sharp claws that burnt a bright hot red like heated steel.
The latter seemed to have transformed into a Druid with no apparent increase in bulk and height. The only change to his body was his now green skin and hair, the latter which floated by his side releasing spores that fell to the ground to produce trees and vines that acted as his attacks.
But those weren't the two that Ezekiel truly focused on, he controlled the drone to focus on the side of the opposition but was stunned when he saw what his parents had become.
Matthew and Evelyn had completely abandoned their human bodies, their bodies now seemed to be composed of the elements themselves. His father had transformed into a body of dark gas that constantly shifted while assuming an overall humanoid build, but would flicker from time to time to slip into the shadows and avoid the attacks that rained upon him. His mother was the same and had transformed into a humanoid composed of electricity, dispersing and reappearing at different locations in the battlefield, raining a barrage of lightning bolts that tore through her opponents' mana shields and numbed their muscles long enough for Matthew to appear around them with a solidified shadow blade in his hand to tear at their defenseless bodies. Unfortunately their bodies seemed to be extremely tough, disallowing him from ending the battle immediately.
The battle seemed to be at a stalemate but any smart person could easily see that his parents were on the winning side. And it seemed the two Blood Rose cultists knew this too.
Mad Dog gritted his teeth, which really didn't look nice since his nose had now transformed into a snout, and growled lowly. "You two traitorous bastards. You managed to achieve the most perfect transformations with the help of the organization and have the guts to leave?! We probably can't win against you, but we can definitely take you down with us!"
Thorn's expression suddenly changed as he heard his companion's voice and immediately spoke nervously. "William, don't you fucking think about it."
Mad Dog, whose real name seemed to be William, simply growled with a fervent and crazed light in his eyes. "We'll be dead anyways if we head back empty handed, better to die this way!"
Upon saying this, the were-stag immediately smashed a device in his large palm. Immediately his and his companion's bodies suddenly began to expand to a bloated up size, their stomach regions expanding like a blown balloon while a vortex of mana appeared around them.
"Dammit, you crazed bastard!" Thorn howled with anger and despair as he lost control over his bodily function.
Ezekiel immediately became shocked as he saw this and read the intensity of mana his drone was reading from the area. He then stared worriedly at his parents through the machine, only to see them smiling calmly at the drone, staring accurately at it as if they could pierce through its manaless state while their lips moved.
'We'll be fine, kiddo.'
Then a massive explosion erupted and sent the three teenagers flying.