Beast Evolution Forge

Chapter 76 Battle 3

Two days.

Two days they'd hunted through the forest, the air thick with the smell of blood. Two days since they faced death in the face and the day vell was yet again changed.

He was stronger, faster, and the way he moved, was like a beast, and sometimes, the look in his eyes made Yenna's breath catch in her throat.

"Stop." He raised his arm, his predator eyes scanning further than they ever had. The others froze. Wren's ears twitched, her nose testing the air. The twins huddled close to Yenna, their small bodies trembling, not from cold, but from the the dangerous mana all around them.

"Do you smell that?" he whispered, his gaze sweeping the trees, his senses heightened, sharper than any blade.

Yenna inhaled deeply, the scent of pine and damp earth filling her lungs. Then, beneath the familiar smells, she detected something else. Something acrid, metallic, the scent of blood, but not the clean, sharp scent of a fresh kill. This was old, stagnant, laced with something... dark.

Wren let out a low growl, the fur on her back bristling. "Something's close," she hissed. "Something... wrong."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

A rustling in the undergrowth, a snap of a twig, then silence. The air thickened, the shadows seemed to deepen, pressing in on them. Yenna's hand instinctively went into a combat pose.

A guttural snarl ripped through the silence, followed by a high-pitched shriek. A creature burst from the bushes, a twisted mockery of a wolf, its fur matted and patchy, its eyes glowing with a sickly yellow light. Its flesh was rotting, revealing bone and sinew beneath.

It lunged at Mia, its jaws snapping.

Vell moved.

He was a blur, a shadow detaching itself from the trees. Yenna barely saw the movement, only the flash of his sword, the sickening thud as the creature's head flew through the air, landing with a soft plop in the leaves.

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More creatures emerged, their forms twisted and grotesque, their eyes burning with a hungry light. They snarled and snapped, their movements jerky and unnatural.

They encountered more of the corrupted creatures along the way – twisted birds with razor-sharp beaks, giant spiders that spun webs of shadow, and hulking beasts with skin like rotting wood. But nothing could stand against Vell's power. He fought with a savage grace, his movements precise and deadly, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake.

As they traveled, Yenna watched him closely.

He was different now. Not just stronger, but... colder. There was a distance in his eyes, a darkness that she couldn't quite penetrate. He still protected them, still cared for them, but there was a wildness, a recklessness in his actions that worried her.

'He is worse than back then, i wonder if i will be able to help him, maybe i can sing to him again?' She couldn't help but worry, she has grown attached and does not want him to go down the wrong path.

They camped beneath a massive oak tree, its branches reaching towards the sky like skeletal fingers. They made a small fire and just sat there without saying word. His kids feeling lonely all huddled close to him with smiles on their faces.

Despite this, he felt distant, his gaze fixed on the darkness beyond the tree. He was silent, withdrawn, lost in his own thoughts.

Yenna watched him, her heart aching. She wanted to reach out to him, to bridge the growing distance between them, but she hesitated. She didn't know what to say, how to reach the man he was becoming.

"Vell?" she finally whispered.

He turned to her, his eyes glowing with a faint red light. "What is it?"

"Are you... okay?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, a slow smile spread across his face, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm better than okay," he said, his voice low and soft. "I'm finally... powerful."

He patted his kids and locked back into the darkness. "Mother is close," he said, his voice barely audible. "I can feel her. And tomorrow... tomorrow, we end this."

He turned back to Yenna, his eyes holding a promise, a threat. "I will make her pay for what she did," he said, his voice hardening. "For what she did to me, to you and my precious kids."

Yenna shivered, the bloodlust in his voice was overwhelming. She knew, with a chilling certainty, that tomorrow would change everything.