The Sovereign's howl tore through the night, shaking leaves from trees and rattling loose tiles from rooftops. Its eyes burned with savage fire, unbroken even under the weight of Aiden's blows. The beast's massive frame heaved, blood dripping from split flesh, but instead of faltering, its aura grew sharper—deadlier.
Rank 6 monsters did not die easily.
The hunters scrambled to reposition, desperation etching their faces. Their commander, Darius, barked hoarsely, "Form a ring! Keep pressure on it—don't let it recover!" His spear trembled in his hands, but he forced himself forward, planting his feet against the terror clawing at his spine.
A handful of others followed. They hurled themselves into the fray, shouting battle cries more to silence their fear than to bolster courage.
The Sovereign's head snapped toward them.
Its paw swiped wide—one hunter caught full force, hurled screaming into a wall that cracked under the impact. His cry cut short. The others staggered but pressed forward, thrusting spears and axes at the beast's legs. Their weapons scraped shallow wounds, barely drawing blood. But every scratch bought seconds.
Seconds Aiden needed.
He dragged himself to his feet, vision blurring from blood loss. Each breath was jagged, his chest burning. His body was on the verge of collapse—but the hunger surged beneath, alive and ravenous. It demanded release, demanded flesh.
Take it, the whisper curled in his mind. Its strength is yours for the devouring.
"No…" he rasped, pressing a trembling hand against the dirt. His claws began to show again, unbidden, his body caught between what he was and what he fought to remain.
The Sovereign wheeled, swatting aside two hunters, and barreled toward the cluster of villagers huddled behind Miriam's protective barrier. Its jaws gaped wide, teeth flashing in the moonlight.
"No!" Aiden's voice cracked.
His body moved before thought.
He sprinted, the earth tearing under his feet. In a blink he was there, his shoulder slamming into the beast's snout, forcing its massive skull sideways. Bone crunched. The two forces collided with an impact that rattled every soul watching.
The Sovereign staggered, but so did Aiden—blood sprayed from his lips, his knees buckling. Yet his eyes glowed brighter, crimson bleeding into the whites, his teeth bared in a feral snarl.
"Stay away from them…" His voice carried a rumble not entirely human.
---
Miriam's barrier flickered as she held her staff high, sweat streaking her face. Her eyes widened, catching the subtle shift in Aiden's aura—raw power, but unstable, dangerous. Her heart tightened.
This boy… what exactly are you becoming?
The villagers clung to each other. Some whispered prayers, others whispered curses. The word "monster" slithered again through the crowd, low but insistent.
---
The Sovereign, undeterred, roared and lunged again.
Aiden met it.
Their clash was primal, savage. Claw against claw, flesh against flesh. The beast's paw raked across his shoulder, carving deep, but Aiden gripped its wrist, bones straining under impossible strength. He pivoted, using the monster's own momentum, and threw it.
The ground shattered as the Direfang crashed into a ruined house, the structure collapsing atop it in an explosion of dust and splinters.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then rubble exploded outward as the Sovereign burst free, even more furious, half its face mangled and bleeding.
Its aura surged. The air itself seemed to crush inward.
Rank 6. True sovereign of the night.
Hunters faltered. Their legs wavered. One dropped his spear entirely.
"We can't… we can't win…"
---
Aiden's knees buckled. His body screamed surrender. His blood painted the dirt. Yet as he stared into the monster's burning gaze, something inside snapped taut—not breaking, but sharpening.
He saw flashes—his old life, the endless grind, the suffocating weakness that had chained him. Then this life, the chance to be something more, the faces of villagers who now clung to hope even as they feared him.
If I don't stand here, there's nothing left. No one left.
The hunger surged again, roaring louder, demanding release.
Aiden let it in.
But only a little.
Power tore through him, searing his veins, setting every nerve ablaze. His body shifted—eyes blazing red, teeth sharper, muscles coiled with unnatural strength. The line blurred between man and monster.
The villagers gasped, some stepping back in terror.
Aiden didn't care.
He launched forward, faster than before, a blur even the Sovereign's eyes struggled to follow. His fist crashed into its jaw, then his knee into its gut, then both hands locked onto its throat. He lifted it.
For a single, surreal moment, the hunters saw it—one boy holding a beast that towered over houses, forcing it down by sheer will and power.
Aiden's roar split the air as he slammed the Direfang Sovereign into the earth.
The ground ruptured, a crater blooming from the impact. Dust engulfed the square.
---
When it cleared, the Sovereign writhed, broken but not dead. Its chest rose and fell, shallow but furious.
Aiden knelt over it, trembling, his claws digging into its flesh. The hunger screamed at him, urging him to bite, to devour, to claim the power that pulsed inside this Rank 6 monster.
His jaw tightened. His teeth ached. His lips curled back.
And for a terrifying heartbeat—he leaned down.
---
Miriam's voice cut through.
"Aiden!"
It struck him like a bell. His head jerked up, eyes wild, sweat streaming.
The villagers stared, breathless.
Hunters watched, too afraid to move, unsure if they should help him… or kill him.
The Sovereign twitched beneath his hands, half-dead but not finished. The battle wasn't over—but the true fight, Aiden realized, was with himself.
---