Mutant awakening: My evolution knows no bounds

Silas dashed out of the academy's building and swiftly made his way to the backyard. The cold air slapped against his face, but his focus remained razor-sharp. The moment he arrived, his feet screeched to a halt. His breath caught in his throat, eyes widening in sheer horror, and his jaw dropped as a wave of dread washed over him.

Just a few meters away, Vic knelt beside a lifeless male student. The student's torso had been savagely torn open, a gory cavity exposing mangled organs.

Vic's hands, soaked in crimson, plunged deep into the corpse as he ripped out glistening innards with terrifying focus. Blood coated his mouth and dripped from his chin, evidence of the grisly feast he had been consuming. The grotesque scene seemed like it had been torn straight from the pages of a horror novel.

The ground beneath Vic was a slick pool of scarlet, reflecting the faint light like a nightmare mirror. The metallic tang of fresh blood was suffocating, filling Silas's lungs and clinging to his senses. His mind recoiled, struggling to process the horrific reality unfolding before him.

[Name: Victor Hardcastle]

[Race: Malcavore]

[HP: ?????]

As Silas's gaze remained locked on Vic, a notification screen materialized in front of him. His eyes darted toward the screen, his mind barely comprehending what he was reading.

"What the hell?" he muttered, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. His gaze flicked back to Vic, his thoughts spiraling into confusion and disbelief.

He hadn't expected this. When Vic had been infected, Silas had braced himself for a full transformation into a Shifter. After all, a Shifter had scratched him. The expectation was clear: claws, fangs, and a monstrous hunger. But Vic's transformation hadn't followed the pattern. The creature before him—this Malcavore—was an abomination Silas had never seen or even heard of.

"What the hell is a Malcavore? And why would Vic turn into that instead of a Shifter?" he wondered aloud, his voice trembling with frustration and fear. None of it made sense, and the unknown only made his chest tighten further.

Yet questions would have to wait. The evidence of Vic's monstrous nature lay sprawled out in a pool of its own blood. Silas's best friend had killed—no, butchered—a fellow student. The realization burned like acid, and the weight of it pressed down on Silas's shoulders. The hope he had held, fragile as glass, shattered into a million pieces.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening under the strain. The choice was no longer his to make. If Vic remained alive, he would continue to slaughter anyone in his path. It was a painful truth, but one Silas couldn't ignore.

"I should be able to end this without using any of my abilities," he told himself, his voice flat and resolute.

The notification flickered out of sight as Silas dismissed it. His fists tightened further, and a surge of glowing blue energy flared to life around his hands. The power radiated with an intensity that vibrated through the air, making the ground beneath him tremble. Vic paused, his black eyes narrowing as he turned his attention toward Silas. The predator's gaze held no warmth—only the cold calculation of a hunter tracking its prey.

Silas adjusted his stance, his muscles coiling in anticipation of the fight to come.

WHOOSH!

Before he could launch his attack, Vic blurred into motion. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Silas, his clawed fist arcing forward like a bullet.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Too fast!" Silas's mind screamed as his eyes widened in shock. He barely managed to cross his arms in front of him before impact.

BAM!

Vic's punch collided with Silas's forearms, the force detonating like a bomb. His bones shattered instantly, pain erupting in white-hot flashes. The blow hurled Silas backward, his boots scraping deep grooves into the blood-soaked ground.

[Host has undergone a critical injury.]

[Passive Skill: Superfast Healing will now activate.]

[-10 Soul Points]

Warmth surged through his limbs, the broken bones knitting back together almost immediately. The pain ebbed away, leaving only a dull ache as his arms returned to normal. Silas clenched his fists, flexing his fingers as he straightened up, his jaw tight.

"He's not just fast; he's strong too," Silas realized, dread curling in his stomach. "His strength and speed match mine. What kind of monster did he become?"

Vic gave no time for reflection. He charged again, claws glinting in the dim light. Silas dodged to the side just as Vic's talons slashed through the air, missing his chest by a hair's breadth. Before Silas could react, another set of claws came from the opposite direction.

Silas's instincts screamed. He sidestepped just in time, the claws whooshing past his face, missing by inches. Drawing on pure reflex, he swung his fist in a sharp counterattack.

BAM!

His punch connected squarely with Vic's face, the satisfying crunch of bone echoing around them. Vic's nose twisted grotesquely, fangs scattering from his mouth like broken glass. Blood spurted, splattering the ground, but Vic didn't react. He simply stood there, bleeding and silent, like the pain didn't register at all.

Silas's stomach clenched. "What the—?"

Before he could finish the thought, Vic's shattered nose snapped back into place with sickening speed. The bleeding stopped, the damage erased as if it had never happened.

"He heals as fast as I do," Silas muttered bitterly. "Fantastic."

Vic's eyes narrowed again, and without a word, he lunged. Silas leapt into the air, performing a flawless frontflip. He landed behind Vic and whipped out a kick aimed at his spine.

The blow connected, driving Vic a few steps forward. But it wasn't enough. Vic steadied himself almost instantly and whirled around, claws flashing.

Silas ducked low, avoiding the deadly swipe, and launched an uppercut. Vic danced back, evading the strike effortlessly. Before Silas could retract his arm, Vic's claws shot forward.

SLASH!

"Argh!" Silas grunted as Vic's talons ripped through his forearm, hot blood spilling from the wound. The pain seared through him, but he gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with determination.

""""

A/N: Vote with your tickets and power stones! The book hasn't received a promotion in months And I really need those for the promotion. Without promotion I won't be able to continue, so help me. Thank you!