The night was too quiet.
Every villager, every hunter, even the wind seemed to hold its breath as Aiden crouched atop the Direfang Sovereign, claws pressed to its mangled throat. His chest heaved, his breath half-growl, half-human gasp. Blood trickled down his chin—some his own, some not.
The beast's body convulsed under him. Its heart still thundered, its veins still surged with primal strength. A predator of its caliber did not yield so easily.
The Direfang's single good eye flared open. Its jaws snapped.
Aiden jerked back, barely escaping teeth that could shear iron. The monster surged upward, its massive paw swinging blindly. Aiden took the blow across his ribs, the impact launching him into a shattered wall. His body cracked through the timber, dust and stone raining down.
"Aiden!" Miriam cried, her barrier flickering dangerously as her focus broke for a second.
The Sovereign staggered to its feet. Blood drenched its hide, bones jutted through ragged flesh, but its aura expanded once more, darker, heavier. The hunters froze as it unleashed a howl—not of dominance, but of desperation.
The sound was unbearable.
Windows shattered. Several hunters dropped their weapons, blood streaming from their ears. One collapsed entirely, clutching his head as if it might split open. The villagers huddled together, some sobbing, some praying louder, others staring at the collapsing barrier with wide, hopeless eyes.
---
Aiden pulled himself from the rubble, his chest screaming, his left arm half-numb. Yet his gaze burned brighter than before.
He staggered forward.
The Sovereign turned, its eyes locking on him again. For a moment, predator and predator regarded each other—one bleeding but unbroken, the other human only in appearance.
The beast lunged.
Aiden charged.
Their collision shattered the square once more. Claws raked, fists hammered, bones snapped. Aiden's body was torn open, blood spraying with each hit, but he refused to fall. Each wound only stoked the fire burning inside.
He caught its paw mid-swipe, claws digging into tendons, and snapped its wrist. The Direfang howled in agony, thrashing, but Aiden was already moving—slamming his elbow into its jaw, his knee into its chest.
Hunters watched, half in awe, half in dread.
"That's… not human strength…" one whispered.
"He's… fighting like a beast."
---
The Sovereign's last reserves of power exploded outward, its aura rippling like fire across the battlefield. The air grew heavy; even drawing breath was a labor. Its fangs glowed faintly, venom dripping like acid.
It lunged once more, this time aiming not for Aiden—but for the villagers.
Miriam's eyes widened. Her barrier cracked audibly, threads of light breaking. She cried out, pouring everything into holding the line.
The Sovereign's fangs met the shield.
Light screamed.
The barrier shattered.
Gasps erupted from the crowd as the glowing fragments rained down like falling stars. Children screamed. Hunters surged forward, reckless and desperate, even as they knew they couldn't stop what was coming.
The Sovereign lunged into the breach.
But Aiden was already there.
His claws hooked into its skull, yanking it back with impossible strength. His eyes were no longer just red—they glowed, feral, consuming. His teeth bared, jaw unhinging unnaturally, as if ready to sink into the monster's flesh.
The villagers froze, horror twisting with hope.
Monster. The word beat in their skulls. Was he saving them… or about to become something far worse?
---
The Direfang thrashed, slamming Aiden into the ground, then into a wall, then across the shattered square. His body broke, healed, broke again. Each time he rose, weaker—but the hunger stronger.
Finally, he pinned the beast again. His claws sank deep into its neck. The Sovereign writhed, its strength ebbing at last.
Aiden leaned down. His teeth grazed its flesh.
The whispers in his head screamed. Devour it. Take its strength. End this.
His breath came ragged, lips trembling, torn between restraint and surrender.
Miriam's voice pierced the storm again, raw and desperate:
"Aiden! Stop—you'll lose yourself!"
The hunters shouted too, voices cracking with terror. "Kill it! Finish it! Don't let it rise again!"
Two cries—two paths.
The beast's pulse thundered beneath his claws, slowing, fading.
Aiden's body shook, caught between hunger and humanity.
The Direfang's last breath rattled in its chest.
And then—
---