Episode 12 — Pack of Revenants
The ruins of Nexus were never quiet, but tonight the silence was unnatural. Even the gangs Kairo had bent into his service refused to step outside. Every alley, every rooftop, every shadow felt loaded.
Kairo Shin sat on the hood of a wrecked cruiser, cigarette glowing against the dark. His tentacles coiled lazily beneath his skin, eager, restless. His intelligence—razor sharp at level 19—felt it before it happened.
"They're not sending one this time," he muttered. "They're sending the litter."
The ground shook.
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The Pack Arrives
Six shapes dropped from the sky, crashing into the cracked streets like meteors. Smoke cleared, revealing them: Revenants. Not copies of him, but evolutions. Taller, bulkier, faster. Skin dripping steel, claws shifting into blades, spines bristling with weapons.
Their molten eyes locked on him in unison.
One roared, shaking windows. Another hissed, its body splitting into writhing tendrils.
Kairo smirked, flicking his cigarette into the blood-stained street. "Cute. Guess I get to play zookeeper."
The pack lunged.
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The Blood Ballet
The first Revenant tackled him through three buildings, claws slicing into his chest. Kairo laughed through the spray of his own blood, healing as tentacles exploded outward, skewering its skull.
But another was already on him, biting into his shoulder with metal fangs. A third wrapped tendrils around his waist, trying to rip him apart.
Kairo smirked, calm even as his body tore. "Three on one? I'm flattered."
He erupted in a storm of steel. Tentacles lashed, spikes firing like bullets. One Revenant's head popped like a watermelon. Another was ripped in half.
Blood painted the walls.
The pack didn't hesitate. The survivors adapted. Their bodies shifted, claws forming into railguns, tendrils sharpening into drills.
They weren't just copies. They were evolving mid-fight.
The Struggle
For the first time, Kairo felt the edge. His tentacles clashed against theirs, each strike met with equal force. His immortality held, but their claws carried the same infection that birthed him. Wounds took longer to heal. His blood boiled blacker.
He grinned through the pain, calm, cigarette somehow still in his mouth. "So that's the game. They built me playmates."
One Revenant rammed him into the street, claws digging into his ribs. Another leapt from behind, tendrils wrapping his throat.
Kairo's eyes glowed. "Playtime's over."
He unleashed everything. Tentacles from his arms, his chest, his back, his legs — dozens, maybe hundreds, flooding the street like a steel hurricane.
The Revenants screamed as he tore them apart piece by piece. Heads ripped off. Spines cracked. Limbs shredded.
[Pack Members Eliminated.]
[Level Up: 20.]
[Intelligence Increased.]
Explicit Comedy in Carnage
The last Revenant staggered, body twitching, molten blood leaking from its jaws.
Kairo pinned it with a dozen tentacles, holding it up like a crucifix. He walked closer, calm, cigarette glowing in the dark.
"Tell your masters thanks," he muttered. "This was fun."
The Revenant hissed, jaws opening—only for Kairo to shove the lit cigarette straight into its eye. It screeched, convulsing, before he ripped it in half.
Smoke drifted as its body collapsed into twitching gore.
Kairo chuckled. "Guess smoking really does kill."
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The Aftermath
The street was nothing but blood, rubble, and twitching remains. Gangs that had followed him peeked out of hiding, their faces pale, eyes wide.
One muttered, "He killed the monsters…"
Another whispered, "He is the monster."
Kairo smirked, lighting another cigarette. "Both. Get used to it."
His intelligence hummed sharper than ever. He saw the Council's desperation — the Revenants weren't just weapons. They were proof. Proof that the Council had lost the human war. Proof they had nothing left but monsters.
And proof it was time for him to leave Nexus.
The Empire Expands
That night, in a blood-soaked warehouse, Kairo gathered his new pawns: ex-gangsters, deserter cops, terrified killers.
"We're done babysitting this city," he said, voice calm. "The Council wants me gone? Fine. I'll go. But I'm not running. I'm spreading."
They stared at him, pale, silent.
Kairo smirked. "We're taking this circus off-world. Every galaxy. Every system. Every cartel that whispered my name? They'll whisper louder. And every cop who thinks I'm prey? I'll show 'em predator."
One gangster swallowed. "Boss… what about the Council?"
Kairo chuckled. "They built monsters to kill me. I killed their monsters. Next move's theirs. Until then? We build."
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The Anti-Hero's Climb
Later, standing on a rooftop staring at the stars, Kairo exhaled smoke. His mind mapped the routes, the factions, the weak spots across galaxies.
His empire wasn't Nexus anymore. Nexus was just the beginning.
The galaxy was the board.
And he was already playing the endgame.
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[Current Level: 20 | Intelligence Status: Galactic strategist. Sees beyond cities — now mapping whole worlds and empires. Cold, untouchable, evolving faster than his enemies.]