[A/N: Not sure what tags to add for this novel—feel free to suggest!]
As Kai stood there, he forgot one crucial thing—
His bandages were gone.
What remained hung in torn strips across his body, barely holding together. They covered only what was necessary, but even that felt accidental. The rest of him was exposed.
Through the gaps, his physique was revealed—compact, defined, and unnaturally perfect. Each muscle looked sculpted, not trained. As if something—or someone—had crafted him with deliberate precision.
Even his face had changed.
Sharper.
Calmer.
More… dangerous.
Kai didn't notice.
But everyone else did.
Hundreds of survivors stood behind the reinforced barricades of the military base—soldiers gripping rifles with shaking hands, civilians clutching their loved ones, the wounded barely able to stand.
All of them were staring at him.
And beyond them—
Monsters.
Dozens… no, hundreds.
Creatures of twisted flesh and broken evolution surrounded the base. Some still resembled what they once were—livestock like cows, pigs, goats—but warped into something unnatural, something wrong.
Yet none of them moved.
Their instincts screamed.
Fear.
Not just of Kai—
But of what was coming.
A low, guttural groan rolled across the battlefield.
The humanoid bull.
The creature Kai had sent flying began to rise from the crushed remains of a titanium alloy wall. The metal groaned as it shifted, bent inward from the sheer force of impact.
Its red fur darkened.
Deepening into a near-black crimson.
Mana surged through its body.
The air around it warped, bending slightly as if reality itself struggled to remain stable. Pressure built—heavy, suffocating—coiling around the creature like a living storm.
The ground beneath its hooves cracked.
Above—
The sky answered.
Dark clouds twisted together unnaturally fast, swallowing the fading light. Heat pressed down on the battlefield, thick and suffocating.
Then—
From beyond the barricades—
BOOM.
Another aura erupted.
Wild.
Savage.
A massive bear burst into view, its entire body wrapped in crackling lightning. Arcs of electricity lashed out with every step, scorching the earth black.
It moved—
Too fast.
Its form blurred as it charged straight toward Kai.
At the same time, the humanoid bull roared and lunged forward, its body igniting. Flames consumed it completely, burning so intensely that the air shimmered and distorted around it.
Two monsters.
Two overwhelming forces.
Both locked onto him.
Kai's heart skipped.
Then dropped.
I should run…
I don't know how to fight…
That punch earlier—I didn't even think… I just swung…
That minotaur… was that even me?
Panic flooded him.
This wasn't a story.
He wasn't some chosen hero who suddenly understood everything.
He had never trained.
Never fought.
Never prepared.
He was just—
A normal guy.
So his body chose the simplest answer.
"RUN!"
His voice cracked through the tension like glass.
Behind him, the General's daughter froze.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
He's… running?
Kai turned, rushing toward them.
"I've got you—just move!"
He reached out—
And stepped on something.
Soft.
Large.
His wings.
Massive feathered wings spread behind him, unfamiliar and completely out of place. His foot tangled in them—
And he fell.
Hard.
Pain exploded across his back as the air was forced from his lungs.
"…What the—?"
He twisted, looking behind him.
Wings.
His wings.
His mind went blank.
"When the hell did I have wings…?"
Panic surged again.
He pushed himself up—
And the world changed.
Everything slowed.
No—
It crawled.
The lightning bear, mid-charge, now moved as if trapped in thick liquid. The flaming bull's roar stretched unnaturally, its fire flickering in slow motion.
Dust hung frozen in the air.
Even screams became distant, dragged-out echoes.
Kai blinked.
"…What is this…?"
No answer came.
But instinct did.
He moved.
Fast.
Faster than thought.
He grabbed the General's daughter, then Miss Cambrian, then Ashley—pulling them effortlessly despite their weight and panic.
"Move!"
He shoved them out of the monsters' path, pushing them behind cover.
Then—
He stepped beside them.
And waited.
The monsters passed him.
Slow.
Distorted.
Until—
CRASH!!
They slammed into a military truck with devastating force.
Metal twisted inward.
Glass exploded outward.
Fire and sparks erupted into the air.
And just like that—
Time snapped back.
Sound returned in a violent rush.
Gasps echoed across the battlefield.
Silence followed.
"…Are they dead?" someone whispered.
Kai blinked.
"Who?"
"The people! The ones who were standing there!"
A man turned toward him, his face pale, his eyes filled with confusion.
"…How the hell did you get here?"
Kai opened his mouth—
But no words came.
Because the truth was—
He didn't know.
Then—
Something changed.
Kai turned back toward the battlefield.
The two monsters had recovered.
They stared at each other.
Growled.
And then—
They clashed.
A devastating collision of fire and lightning erupted, tearing into the ground and shaking the base itself.
"Everyone!" the General roared. "Get into the trucks! SUVs! Move! We're evacuating now!"
Chaos exploded behind Kai.
Engines roared to life.
People ran.
Screamed.
Pushed past one another in desperation.
The General turned to his daughter.
Their eyes met.
She hesitated—
Then nodded.
Her expression hardened.
And then—
She released it.
Her power.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Then kept dropping.
Colder.
Colder.
Until the air itself felt unnatural.
Impossible.
Frost spread across the ground in seconds, racing outward like a living thing. Ice crept over metal, over concrete, over the battlefield itself.
Her blonde hair began to change.
Not all at once.
Slowly.
Strand by strand—
Turning snow white.
Snow began to fall.
Soft.
Silent.
Deadly.
Her skin grew pale, her breath visible in the freezing air as she stepped forward, her gaze locking onto the battling beasts.
And then—
She joined the fight.
A third force.
Ice colliding with fire and lightning.
The battlefield became chaos.
Behind them, vehicles sped out of the base at full speed, fleeing the destruction.
Kai stood there.
Watching.
Frozen in awe.
Then he turned—
Just in time to see Ashley and Miss Cambrian climbing into a military truck.
The engine roared.
They didn't wait.
They drove off.
Leaving him behind.
"…They left me."
Miss Cambrian leaned out slightly, her voice barely reaching him.
"Please come back safely! Don't get hurt… we're counting on you!"
The truck sped away.
Kai stood there, staring after them.
"…Why me?"
For a moment—
He looked… abandoned.
Then—
Something inside him shifted.
His thoughts quieted.
Simplified.
I have to fight.
He closed his eyes.
"…Fine."
Then take it.
This instinct…
This destruction…
You want to come out?
Then come.
He let go.
Power exploded from him.
His expression changed—
A smile spread across his face.
Wild.
Unhinged.
A battle maniac's grin.
His eyes snapped open.
And in the next instant—
He vanished.
A streak of lightning tore across the battlefield.
His wings spread wide—
And with a single powerful flap—
Kai shot into the sky at blinding speed.