Two bloodied corpses lay at the end of a dark alley, unrecognizable with parts of their bodies missing and expressions of horror and shock frozen on their faces. Next to the bodies stood a young woman, calling the police while trembling in fear at what she saw: a young man, wounded in the leg and covered in blood, barely standing on his feet, was facing off against a towering humanoid wolf-like monster—also injured, this time at the nose. The two fighters seemed to understand each other and were ready to continue their battle.
As I tried to keep my breathing steady and avoid passing out, I saw the wolf hesitate for not even a second and leap at me with all its might. But now that I was in such a pitiful state, I didn't hesitate either and activated Boost at full power. I ducked to dodge its claw strike and landed two jabs to its throat, cutting off its air for a moment. I took advantage of the opening to land an uppercut, sending it a few centimeters off the ground, and finished with a low kick, smashing it into the wall.
"We're even with the wall."
To my surprise, the wolf used the smoke blocking my vision to tackle me to the ground. I couldn't resist and collapsed under its weight. It was ready to tear me apart, now that I was at its mercy.
"Spit."
I spat the blood filling my mouth into its eyes to blind it and used that brief moment to strike where its genitals were supposed to be, making it howl and retreat, freeing me from its grasp.
"Congratulations, castration successful."
I said, laughing as I painfully got back on my feet. My body was starting to slow down and couldn't keep up due to all the blood I was losing. Worst of all, the side effects of Boost were kicking in. The wolf took advantage of my lack of concentration to land a perfectly calculated right punch to my jaw, almost knocking me to the ground.
"I did say it was going to be a boxing match…"
Suddenly, I heard Haru's voice echoing in the alley. She was standing now, with a terrified crowd behind her.
"I called for reinforcements—they'll be here in a minute. You just need to hold on until then."
Her voice trembled with panic, as if she was worried about me. Still, I didn't think I'd last a minute—but losing? That wasn't me. Accepting defeat so easily, especially when I could win? Never. I still had Jack to make eat dirt, a beautiful woman to find and marry, my parents to make proud, and above all, my dream: to reform this shitty society.
As my laughter gradually faded, the monster got hit by a powerful right punch, leaving it stunned for a second—the exact second I needed to land another right, then another, and another, over and over. The sound of my knuckles slowly smashing into its snout echoed through the alley, the smell of blood filling my nostrils, and I couldn't stop smiling. Keeping the wolf from regaining its senses, I continued, each punch stronger than the last. My arms burned in pain, but I didn't care; my lungs were on fire, but to hell with them; my vision was blurry, but that didn't matter—I'd rely on my hearing. My hearing started failing? No problem, I'd rely on touch.
Taking advantage of the momentum, I stepped forward with my good leg and rotated my hips to add power to my next strike. Taking a final breath, I landed an uppercut from below into my opponent's snout, shattering its jaw and part of its skull.
Out of breath and trying to recover, I stopped. The monster finally collapsed, succumbing to its injuries.
"In your face, motherfucker."
I said as I deactivated Boost, coughing up a lot of blood while my legs gave out. I ended up face down, soaked in blood, breath weak, skin burning. The cold ground provided a little relief as I began to lose consciousness.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Shin had done it… He managed to defeat the monster, even if it was probably only level 0. To defeat one, you'd need to be at least one level higher, or have several level 0 awakens working together. I ran to him, checking his pulse—luckily, he was alive, and the monster was definitely dead under Shin's blows. He never ceases to impress me: getting into the Special Forces, known to be nearly impossible for a national internship, all without support—just his skills and talent. I wonder what drives him to fight like this? He reminds me of my idiot boyfriend, always stubborn for who knows what reason.
That's when I heard the unmistakable sound of police sirens—they had finally arrived.
"Move aside! Haru, you're here, I got your emergency call, where's the monster…"
As he finished speaking, he understood what had happened. Shin had somehow managed to kill the monster, but worse, he realized there really was a monster. This news would shake the world no matter how you looked at it—monsters were back. Yet one mystery remained: how had Rubis managed to do all this?
"Let's return to the station—Shin's in terrible shape. I'll explain everything there, but it seems Rubis isn't as simple as we thought."
Tom rubbed his temples, trying to process everything that was happening, then sighed and followed Haru's orders. They headed back to the station, where machines could treat Shin, taking the body for analysis as well.
As they departed, a figure stood in the shadows, watching the scene with satisfied eyes, turning on their cellphone and saying joyfully:
"The Telos product is ready."