Israel looked down from the sky.
"…He's gone again?" he muttered.
"Tch. Damn that dude."
The heat from the flames below rushed up to meet him.
"I need to get down…now."
Israel dropped.
He slammed into the ground and immediately took off running through the school compound.
Buildings were collapsing.
Fire spread across classrooms.
Students screamed as they ran in every direction.
"Abdul! Ben!" Israel shouted.
He grabbed a fleeing student by the shoulder.
"Have you seen Abdul and Ben?!"
"I…I don't know!" the boy cried, pulling free and running away.
No one stopped.
No one listened.
Israel's chest tightened.
He sprinted toward his classroom.
Then…
He saw them.
Abdul was kneeling on the floor, holding Ben's body in his arms.
Ben wasn't moving.
"Ben…?" Israel whispered.
Abdul looked up.
Tears streamed down his face.
"Where were you, bro?!" Abdul cried.
"Where were you?!"
Israel rushed forward.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice shaking.
"Who did this?"
A low, distorted growl answered him.
"I did."
Heavy footsteps echoed behind them.
Israel turned.
A figure stepped forward.
It had a human shape… but its head was that of a rooster.
Blood dripped from its claws.
Abdul trembled.
Israel stepped in front of him.
"Take Ben and get out of here," Israel said calmly.
Abdul hesitated.
"Can you handle this?" he asked, shaking.
Israel didn't look back.
"Go."
Abdul swallowed hard, then lifted Ben and ran.
The beast laughed.
"You'll wish you never existed," Israel said quietly.
The rooster beast screeched and charged.
To Israel…
It was slow.
Painfully slow.
"…Woah," Israel muttered.
"It's like everything's in slow motion."
The beast swung its claws.
Israel stepped forward and kicked it in the face.
BOOM!
The creature flew through the classroom wall and vanished into rubble.
Before Israel could breathe..
Another fist came at him.
He caught it effortlessly.
"…Two of you?" Israel said, glancing at the attacker.
This one had the body of a man… but the head and limbs of an ant.
Suddenly…
A shadow loomed overhead.
Israel looked up.
A massive bear-shaped beast was already mid-air, roaring as it came down.
"…You're a big one," Israel said.
Without hesitation, Israel swung the ant beast by the arm…
CRASH!
He smashed it into the bear mid-air.
Both beasts were sent flying across the yard, crashing through walls.
Israel turned back briefly.
"Abdul!" he shouted.
"You good?!"
Abdul nodded, wiping tears from his face.
"Y…yeah!"
"Good."
Israel stepped out of the classroom.
The three beasts regrouped, standing together.
They growled.
Then…
They charged at once.
The bear swung a massive fist.
The rooster lunged for Israel's face.
The ant moved low, fast.
Israel leapt backward, dodging effortlessly.
Claws missed him by inches.
The ground shattered where he had been standing.
Suddenly…
WHAM!
Something slammed into Israel's side.
He was sent flying, crashing into a broken wall.
Dust filled the air.
"You think you can take all three of us alone?" the ant beast sneered.
Israel coughed and pushed himself up.
"…What was that?" he muttered.
He wiped blood from his lip and smiled faintly.
"Guess I got careless."
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Israel disappeared.
In the next instant…
He reappeared directly in front of the ant beast.
But before he could strike…
BOOM!
The bear's fist smashed him into the ground.
The concrete shattered.
Israel lay still for a second.
Then…
He slowly stood up.
His eyes burned.
"…Alright," he said quietly.
"Now I'm annoyed."
The rooster charged toward Israel.
In a flash, Israel caught it by the neck.
The beast gasped, claws flailing uselessly in the air.
Israel's eyes turned golden.
"I told you," he said coldly,
"I'm annoyed."
The bear..type beast roared and charged.
In the next instant
Israel vanished.
The bear froze.
Then Israel appeared, standing calmly on top of the bear's head.
Before the bear could react
The ant beast rushed in at full speed.
Too fast.
Too reckless.
Israel moved first.
He slammed the rooster beast downward like a weapon.
BOOM!
The rooster crashed into the ant beast, and both were sent flying into the rubble, disappearing beneath broken concrete and dust.
Israel leapt down.
He landed directly in front of the bear.
The massive beast raised its arms..
Too late.
Israel drove a heavy punch straight into its stomach.
CRACK!
The impact sent shockwaves through the air as the bear's body folded around Israel's fist.
Israel leapt into the sky, his body hovering effortlessly above the ruined school.
"Let me try this pocket dimension stuff," he muttered.
He stretched both hands outward.
In an instant, the sky changed.
The sun turned crimson, bathing the battlefield in blood..red light.
"What's this?!" one of the beasts growled.
"I thought you guys would know about pocket dimensions," Israel said calmly.
"Anyway…"
The beasts snarled in confusion.
Then all three charged at him at once.
The bear…type beast reached Israel first, its massive hands clamping around him.
"You can't get free now," the beast said with a twisted smile.
Israel grinned slightly.
The bear didn't notice.
It lifted Israel high into the air, then jumped…trying to slam him into the ground.
But in the next instant…
Israel was gone.
He reappeared directly in front of the ant beast.
Before it could react, Israel grabbed it by the neck and slammed it straight into the bear.
BOOM!
The rooster beast leapt backward, but again, Israel vanished.
He appeared behind it and kicked it hard into the ground.
Israel didn't stop.
He flashed in front of the bear beast and slammed it into the ground with both hands, cracking the earth beneath it.
Then another flash.
Israel appeared before the ant beast again.
"Next time," he said coldly,
"you won't hurt my friends."
In a single motion, he ripped off the beast's arms.
The ant beast collapsed, screaming.
Israel landed lightly on the ground, staring at the injured beasts.
"Time to finish you guys off…."
Suddenly…
Femi appeared in front of him.
Israel's attack hit Femi instead.
The impact sent Israel sliding several feet backward.
"Hey, bro," Femi said casually.
"What's wrong with you, dude?" Israel snapped.
Femi burst out laughing.
"The school was on fire," Israel said angrily,
"and you just vanished like that!"
Femi didn't respond immediately.
After a moment, he said calmly,
"I knew you could handle it."
Israel narrowed his eyes, suspicious.
"Then why did you stop me from finishing them off?" he asked.
"I don't want you killing humans," Femi replied.
Israel froze.
"Humans?" he repeated.
"Those are beasts."
"They're not," Femi said.
"They're mutations… human and animal fused together."
Israel stared at him, shocked.
"Don't worry," Femi continued calmly.
"I'll fix them."
Israel clenched his fists.
"Who would do something this evil?" he asked.
Femi's expression darkened.
"Apanirun."
TO BE CONTINUED…..