Chapter 91 – Crimson Night

  The Beast Unleashed

  The Titan roared, and the mountains trembled.

  Gorm was gone; what remained was instinct wrapped in flesh. He tore through the blizzard, eyes burning red, each breath a plume of heat that warped the air. Trees splintered under his charge, snow vaporizing in his wake.

  Seventy-six stumbled through the drifts below, lungs burning, cloak shredded by flying shards of ice. The shockwave of Gorm’s bellow nearly threw him off his feet.

  “Fascinating…” he rasped, ducking behind a ridge as a blur of movement thundered past.

  Gorm crashed through a pack of Wild Magical Beasts, his fist catching one mid-pounce. The creature—a Frost Wyrm the length of a wagon—screamed once before it burst apart in a spray of snow and blood. Another lunged from behind; Gorm seized it by the neck and slammed it into the ground hard enough to split the ice beneath. The scent of ozone and raw mana filled the air.

  76 shielded his face as frozen chunks rained down. “Stronger… faster… reflex latency nearly halved.” He tapped the glyph on his wrist; red and violet sigils flared along his arms, stabilizing his breathing. The glow of his number—76—pulsed faster, synchronizing with the Titan’s distorted rhythm.

  The scientist in him won out over the survivor. Even now, as death rampaged before him, he couldn’t look away.

  When Gorm turned, his massive head sweeping toward the faintest sound, 76 triggered his displacement glyph. The world flickered, his body ghosting several meters backward just as a clawed hand carved through the air where he’d stood.

  The shockwave flattened the snow around him. One blow—had it connected—would have pulped him.

  76 exhaled a trembling laugh. “So that’s your limit? No… not yet.”

  He fired another vial into the wind—red this time. It shattered mid-air, releasing a burning mist that clung to Gorm’s hide. The Titan roared again, half in fury, half in agony, as mana flared across his veins like molten metal.

  But when 76 blinked through the haze, Gorm was gone. The beast had leapt—vanished into the white blur, chasing new prey. Distant crashes echoed as other creatures screamed.

  76 wiped frost from his visor, pulse still racing. “Even giants bleed reason,” he whispered. “And the data… exquisite.”

  He turned south, the storm swallowing him, unaware that the crimson vapor drifting behind him was already spreading—hungry, alive.

  The Calm Before

  The storm had weakened, but the cold had grown cruel. Each breath crystallized instantly, falling as glittering dust.

  Inside the reclaimed outpost, the air hummed with faint heat from the fractured crystal. Seven adjusted the power regulator, watching the light pulse unevenly. Kael slept restlessly nearby, bandaged ribs rising and falling with shallow breaths.

  “...Kael,” Seven murmured, fastening his cloak. “I’m heading out. We need points—we’re too far behind.”

  The rabbit stirred, half-awake. “You’re sure that’s smart? You’ve barely slept.”

  “I’ll rest when we’re not starving,” Seven replied, tightening the strap on his rifle. “I’ll be back before dawn.”

  Kael’s ears twitched faintly. “Don’t get killed, human.”

  Seven smirked. “Not planning to.”

  The door sealed behind him with a hiss, cutting off the warmth. The world outside was silver and endless, the full moon swelling huge over the frozen horizon. Mana shimmered in the air—visible currents twisting like faint ribbons of light. Every creature beneath that moon could feel its pull.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  So could he.

  Seven moved through the silent forest, breath fogging in slow, steady bursts. The cold gnawed at the edges of his stamina, but the stillness was worse—too quiet, too expectant.

  He knelt and exhaled, focusing. “Examine.”

  The mark on his neck burned, light bleeding through the collar of his coat. Mana surged outward in concentric waves. His vision warped—then expanded.

  For a heartbeat, the entire forest unfolded inside his mind: glowing silhouettes, faint heartbeats, trails of warmth and mana threading through snow and stone.

  Then he saw her.

  Fluffy – Height: 8′0″.

  Heart rate – elevated. Barrier integrity – 34%.

  Location: 12.3 miles east.

  And closing on her—another signature, wild and wrong.

  The backlash hit him like a hammer. His vision snapped black to white; his bionic arm spasmed with static. He dropped to one knee, gasping.

  “Holy hell…” He wiped frost from his lips. “Twelve miles. That’s new—too much output.”

  But the information was burned into his mind. Fluffy was in danger. And something else—something that stank of corrupted mana—was moving fast in her direction.

  He rose, rifle slung, and broke into a run.

  The Red Mist

  Far ahead, the snow had turned the color of old blood.

  76 crouched beside a fallen tree, the last of a crimson vial dripping from his glove. The liquid hissed where it touched the ice, spreading outward in veins of vapor.

  He watched with rapt attention, a spark of curiosity lighting up his eyes. “I wonder what unfolds when instinct sheds its civilized facade,” he mused, eager to witness the untamed nature beneath.

  The mist thickened, curling upward like smoke before spreading on the wind. It drifted between the trees, drawn toward life, toward mana. Toward beasts.

  In the distance, hulking shapes stirred—Frost Wolves, their breath pale blue in the moonlight. They froze as the vapor brushed their coats. Then their eyes ignited crimson.

  One howled. Another answered. The forest erupted in chaos.

  76 straightened, pulling his hood tighter against the gale. “Beautiful,” he murmured. “Adaptation in real time.”

  He glanced east, where a faint light shimmered inside a cave’s barrier field—soft, warm, and unmistakably artificial. His smile sharpened.

  “Oh,” he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. “A little rabbit… how delightful!”

  He turned toward it, cloak snapping as he vanished into the drifting red haze.

  The command hall was dim except for the glow of mana screens. Erik sat at the console, a mug of cold tea forgotten at his elbow. The snowstorm outside still rattled the guild’s high windows, but all eyes were fixed on the feeds.

  One Howlcrest member leaned over his shoulder. “You’ve been watching that cave for hours, sir. She’s fine. Sleeping.”

  Erik grunted. “She doesn’t sleep through a storm. But she may have burnt out all her energy now; she is still young.”

  Then motion flashed across the projection—just a flicker of shadow slipping into the camera’s range. Erik straightened instantly, ears snapping upright. “Who—? Zoom in!”

  The feed sharpened: a cloaked figure moving against the wind, small, deliberate. Too small to be a War Rabbit. Too still to be a beast.

  Erik’s pulse hammered. “That’s not one of ours.”

  He hit the alarm rune. “Miss Hopps, we’ve got movement—human silhouette approaching Fluffy’s sector.”

  Inside the cave, Fluffy hugged her knees near the small campfire. The flames crackled weakly, casting gold light over her tired face. Her twin swords rested across her lap, dulled and chipped from days of fighting.

  “Okay, okay,” she whispered, trying to steady her breathing. “Just a storm. Just a long night.”

  But her pulse wouldn’t slow. The full moon’s light leaked through the barrier, brushing her fur in silver. Her pupils widened, red beginning to ring her blue irises.

  She rubbed her temples. “Ugh, stupid moonlight. Why does it always make me feel—”

  Crunch.

  The sound froze her mid-sentence. Something was outside, moving with deliberate rhythm.

  She rose slowly, blades in hand, barrier flickering at her back. A shadow crossed the mouth of the cave—humanoid, cloaked—a faint blue glow pulsed at its neck.

  “...Seven?” she breathed.

  The figure stepped closer, hood falling back. A human face—yes—but the number wasn’t 07. It was 76, as it flicked blue to a reddish hue.

  Her smile vanished. Her ears flattened, heart hammering for reasons that had nothing to do with moonlight.

  The man’s smile was composed, almost eerie, as he gazed at the towering figure before him. “Incredible,” he mused, tilting his head slightly. “Another specimen. Eight feet tall—such captivating symmetry.”

  “Who are you?” Fluffy demanded, blades rising.

  "Seventy-six tilted his head, a glint of curiosity in his eyes. 'Someone is trying to enhance the design of this world,' he murmured thoughtfully. With a swift motion, he let a vial fall to the ground, shattering it at his feet.

  Red smoke exploded outward, alive and writhing, curling between her legs and up her arms. It burned sweet in her throat—iron and honey.

  Fluffy coughed, stepping back, mana flaring around her in a reflexive barrier. “Stay back!”

  76 only watched, eyes reflecting the glow. “Let’s see how Bunny Folk handle temptation.”

  The mist pressed harder. Her barrier shimmered, then cracked like glass. Heat surged through her veins; her breath came faster, ragged.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” she hissed, voice dropping an octave as her aura erupted in lavender light. The cave shuddered with pressure. For a heartbeat, she looked unstoppable—pure instinct and mana fused.

  76 offered a subtle smile, their eyes sparkling with satisfaction. "Outstanding," they remarked. "It follows the same response pattern as the others, yet it completely surpasses our expectations."

  Fluffy’s eyes widened. “Others?”

  “You’ll see their data soon enough.”

  He snapped another vial into his launcher. She lunged. The second vial burst mid-air; crimson fog swallowed the chamber.

  Fluffy’s blades cut through it blindly, but her movements slowed, the heat in her chest twisting from fury to confusion. Her vision swam—fire and moonlight, red and silver.

  When the mist cleared, she was on one knee, trembling, breath sharp and uneven. The human was already retreating into the storm.

  Far away, Seven vaulted between trees, red glitch sigils flaring along his limbs. The smell of metal and blood thickened with each bound.

  He slid to a stop at the ridge. The moonlight painted the world in silver and scarlet. “Fluffy… what's going on?”

  He could taste the mana corruption in the air. His rifle hummed. Every instinct screamed that he was already too late.

  The Cave and the Mist

  The crimson haze coiled through the cracks of Fluffy’s shattered barrier, licking across the floor like smoke with a heartbeat. The small fire hissed out, leaving only red light and the sound of her uneven breathing.

  “Wh-what’s… happening…?” Her knees buckled. Her twin swords pulsed with faint light, reacting to the storm of mana inside her body.

  Outside, Frost Wolves howled—a dozen voices, distorted by madness. The storm had become a symphony of hunger.

  Not far away, 76 watched from the trees, unbothered by the cold. The wind caught his cloak, revealing the crimson glow beneath his skin.

  “Accelerated primal response… higher resistance threshold than humans,” he murmured. “Excellent.”

  He turned the red vial in his hand, liquid swirling like molten glass. “The moon amplifies it beautifully.”

  He tucked it away and cast one last glance toward the cave. “Test complete.”

  Then, almost gently: “Next subject.”

  He vanished into the trees, leaving behind the faint hiss of the crimson mist—and a trembling War Rabbit whose shadow now flickered red against the cave wall.