Hunter flexed his massive, silver-furred hands and watched the claws extend like switchblades. He swiped at the air and felt a rush of raw kinetic energy that made his old human form feel like a cage of twigs.
Beside him, Beltrom clicked his mandibles together and admired the lethal sheen of his organic armor.
"Incredible! I feel as though I could slice through the mountain itself."
"You see?" Vanderznak spoke from behind them. "My theory was flawless. I upgraded your genetic structures and yet you retain your cognitive functions. You are not dumb, mindless animals like the failures in the cages."
The purple titan crossed his arms and looked down at Zareth with a golden eye that gleamed with malice. "Although you lack my perfection, you are close enough to serve. Now, kill the Priest."
"With pleasure," Hunter growled. A feral grin split his wolf-like snout. "I've been eager to test this power. This old man is the perfect target."
"I'll take the legs," Beltrom announced. "You take the head."
SWISH!
They moved in unison. They were blurs of silver and green that dashed toward Zareth with predatory speed. They split at the last second to surround him and strike from two angles simultaneously.
Beltrom swept his serrated mantis blade low to sever Zareth's ankles. At the same moment, Hunter leaped high and aimed a downward claw strike at Zareth's skull.
Zareth didn't panic. He planted his feet. He slammed his mutated left arm downward to block the mantis blade.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as the dark scales deflected Beltrom's scythe. In the same motion, Zareth ducked under Hunter's aerial assault and drove his human elbow into the werewolf's gut.
THUD!
Hunter didn't even flinch. His silver fur absorbed the impact as if Zareth were a child.
"Is that all?" Hunter laughed. He twisted his body in mid-air and blasted Zareth with his knee.
The impact sent Zareth skidding backward. Before he could regain his balance, Beltrom spun around and lashed out with his other scythe. He aimed directly for the neck.
SLASH!
The blade connected. Beltrom grinned and waited for the spray of arterial blood.
TINK.
Instead of tearing flesh, the blade rang out as if it had struck an iron bell. The scythe stopped dead against Zareth's skin.
"What?"
Beltrom gasped and pulled his blade back. There was not even a scratch on the Priest's neck. "How? How can his skin be so karking hard? Is this the effect of the mutagen?"
"No," Vanderznak corrected him from the sidelines. "That is one of those detestable Priestly Arts. Divine Standing, I believe they call it. It reinforces the user's density until they are hard as steel."
Vanderznak scoffed. "Stop underestimating your opponent and go all out!"
While Beltrom stood frozen in confusion, Hunter saw his opening.
"Hard as steel? Let's see about that!"
Hunter lunged from Zareth's blind spot. He swung a massive claw at Zareth's exposed back.
CRASH!
Divine Standing shattered under the werewolf's immense strength. Zareth hit the floor hard. Faint claw marks appeared on the back of his coat and blood began to seep through the fabric.
"Got him!"
Hunter pounced on the fallen Priest. He slammed his heavy foot onto Zareth's spine and pinned him to the concrete.
CRACK!
The floor tiles splintered under the pressure.
"Finish him, Beltrom!" Hunter yelled. "Cut his head off!"
"With pleasure!"
Beltrom crossed his mantis arms to form a giant pair of scissors. He dashed toward Zareth's exposed neck.
"Die, old man!"
The blades closed in. Inches from decapitation, Zareth's eyes snapped open.
"Enough!"
FWOOSH!
A shockwave of intense heat exploded from Zareth's body. It blasted Hunter and Beltrom backward as if a bomb had detonated between them.
Hunter skidded across the floor and dug his claws into the tiles to stop. Beltrom tumbled and crashed into a metal cart.
"Where is this heat coming from?" Beltrom shielded his face.
"Hmm?" Vanderznak leaned forward. His interest was piqued.
Zareth stood up slowly. The air around him distorted and shimmered in waves. Smoke rose from his feet.
"Is he finally using it?" Vanderznak whispered.
"Pons De Flamontz."
BOOM!
Zareth's toenails ignited. A volatile mixture of azure and orange flames burst forth and illuminated the dim lab.
Zareth glared at the two beasts. He felt the familiar burn in his feet, but he also felt something else. Because he had unleashed his Gospel, he was no longer suppressing the mutagen.
Squirm.
The black scales on his left shoulder began to creep toward his neck. The blue eye in his palm swiveled frantically.
'These bastards have compelled me to unleash my Gospel. I have to take them down before this mutation spreads further.'
"So that's the old man's Gospel," Beltrom analyzed as he stood up. "I don't have experience with Priests, so I've never witnessed it firsthand. But this is..."
"...vastly mediocre," Hunter finished. He sneered. "So what if your toenails are blazing? I'm not afraid of a little fire. Die already!"
"Wait for me!" Beltrom yelled.
They charged again.
Vanderznak observed the flames and tapped his chin. 'Is that really his Gospel? I must say, even I am a bit disappointed. Nevertheless, this works in my favor. If he had some unusually overpowered Gospel like those nuns from the Convent, that would be problematic. At least I can manage to squash this…'
WHAM! WHAM!
Two cries of pain cut Vanderznak's thought short.
Zareth moved. He delivered two lightning-fast kicks. His burning foot grazed Hunter's chest and then clipped Beltrom's arm.
BANG!
Hunter flew backward and crashed into a row of glass pods. Green fluid sprayed everywhere. Beltrom spun through the air and slammed into a pile of medical equipment.
CLATTER!
"Damn it!" Beltrom crawled to his knees. He looked at his arm. The chitin was scorched, but not broken. "Just a burn? Is that it?"
But then he tried to inhale.
"Gah... h-hah..."
Beltrom clawed at his throat. His lungs seized. It felt as though he were breathing solid lead.
Hunter was in worse shape. He lay in a puddle of suspension fluid and gasped like a fish out of water. He clutched his neck and his eyes bulged in terror.
"Wh... what...?" Hunter wheezed. "Can't... breathe..."
They glared at Zareth in horror. Why were they suffocating? Zareth had barely touched them.
Zareth stood still. The flames on his toes flickered and died. He lowered his foot and smoke curled from the tips of his toes.
'They've both been seared by my Gospel. Now they are under the effects of the Heat Vacuum.'
He focused inward and rerouted his internal rhythm to halt the spreading scales on his neck.
'The flames of Pons De Flamontz do not just burn flesh. They consume oxygen upon contact. The air in their lungs and any they try to intake is used as fuel for the fire's residue. They were only grazed, so the effect won't last long. But it is more than enough.'
If his opponents were Tumors, the Heat Vacuum would be useless since they didn't require oxygen. But these mutants? They still had lungs. They still needed air.
"Goddammit!" Hunter coughed roughly. He wiped slime from his snout. "I can't believe... he disabled us... with a few simple kicks."
"Impossible..." Beltrom wheezed. "We are... superior..."
They refused to accept the humiliation. Despite the agony in their chests, they forced themselves up. Desperation replaced their arrogance.
"I won't... lose!" Hunter roared, though his voice was weak.
They charged at Zareth again, stumbling and gasping, driven by a rage that eclipsed their need for air.