Chapter 111 - 472 - 480

Chapter 472 Proud Patriarch

"You are firing up the ramp," Kiba observed with an appreciative smile. "Don't let my presence disturb you."

On the stage, Teresa felt tantalized by his gaze and his devilishly handsome face. She felt as if her swimsuit disappeared in thin air and her skin making direct contact with his body. Her nipples hardened and the wet sensation between her thighs turned stronger.

"What was that?!"

Teresa was surprised by the arousal she felt. The more she looked at him, the stronger the sensation she felt turned.

His presence alone was a source of arousal. It wasn't due to his powers or his body features that would put even Gods to shame.

No, it was due to his disposition and the charm he gained from hundreds of successful conquests.

His body radiated an aura of an expert seducer and only a woman could feel it, experience what he was capable of in the bed.

In a way, this was similar to how a person killing countless people would carry killing intent. That intent would make others feel dread and afraid for their lives. Both the killing intent and seductive intent were proofs of an individual's capability to kill and seduce...

In the seating area, Lager Kestone's expression cramped as he saw Teresa entering a trance, and the outline of her nipples becoming clear against the fabric that covered her breasts.

"Teresa!" He called out her. "Continue your walk."

"Ah! Yes!"

Teresa turned around and resumed her sultry walk. As a model, she has plenty of handling herself in unexpected scenarios. This was rather important in tackling wardrobe malfunction and other situations a model might face. Something frequently tested in a pageant.

Kiba looked at her retracing figure. As a judge of the upcoming pageant, he felt it his moral responsibility to ensure not only the contestants but even the host model was treated right.

At the same time, Lager was no longer in the mood to stare at Teresa. Her glistening, soft ass cheeks were seductive, but when he looked at them, he remembered what Kiba said a few minutes ago.

"Why stare at that milky ass when you couldn't even get an erection?"

That question stung him like a hornet since it was false. The reason was simple. He was the chief organizer of the pageant and the most influential fashion tycoon, and yet, he was insulted.

As he was thinking, Kiba teleported to the chair next to him. Kiba stretched his legs and placed them on the chair in front of him.

"Old man, it has been a while," Kiba finally greeted him.

"...Yes, it has," Lager replied, not letting his anger show.

The last meeting was still fresh in his mind... it was at a party hosted by White Angel Corporation where he invited Kiba to judge the pageant. Alas, in that meeting, he was insulted in a far worse way, that too, in front of a sizable audience.

If not for the plan he has in mind, he wouldn't have taken these slights from this carefree rake with a warm smile on his face.

Kiba studied his expression and smiled. He knew psychology and understood more than he let on.

"Old man, can I enquire something important?" Kiba's voice turned heavy.

"Sure."

Lager looked at Kiba and noticed a serious look on his face. He wondered what was so important for this mannerless mutant to have such an expression.

"Do you have a wife?"

Kiba asked the most important question.

"What?!"

Lager rubbed his ears to ensure he was hearing right. He then looked at Kiba and seeing the same serious expression, he knew he didn't hear wrong.

Bewildered, he answered, "Obviously yes. I have a wife."

He might be over seventy, but people of his status had a lot of women and that included a wife.

"I see," Kiba nodded, and then in the same heavy tone, he further said, "You know, we are going to cooperate in the pageant and work together. And till now, you didn't even introduce me to your family."

It was common for professional partners to become personally acquainted. This included meeting with families to establish a strong bond.

Lager was surprised by Kiba's interest in forming a deep bond. Pleased, he thought this golden-haired mutant wasn't truly a gone case in conducting business.

With a smile, Lager took out a cellphone from his pocket and tapped on its screen. A few seconds later, a holographic projection streamed out, displaying a family photo.

In the photo, Lager was at the center. Next to him was a woman in the late twenties. By the closeness and body language, it was evident she was his wife.

And then there were his children, most of them in the late forties, sitting alongside their spouses and their own children; some of them even married with kids of their own.

As the proud patriarch of Kestone family, Lager started introducing his family members, declaring their individual achievements.

Kiba ignored the introduction. He was fixated on the image of Lager's wife. She was a blonde with gorgeous features, suiting the picture of an ideal trophy wife.

"God, thank you!"

Kiba was truly happy to know Lager's wife was a young attractive woman and not a granny. Then again, given Lager's standing in the modeling industry, it was to be expected.

Kiba then checked Lager's daughters and daughters-in-law, and he was further impressed.

"This old codger's previous wives and mistresses must be stunners!"

Kiba thought as he checked Lager's daughters. They were gorgeous and he more than happy to appreciate their features even if for now it was just a holographic picture.

Meanwhile, Lager continued to introduce each family member by their achievements. While doing so, he looked at Kiba and noticed his earlier serious expression melting into awe.

"Haha! As I expected, he is impressed!" Lager thought. He was obviously proud of his family and their achievements. Sure, there were a few black ships, but most of his children have done very well.

Kiba moved his eyes from the holographic projection to Lager. With a smile, he put an arm around Lager, and said, "Old man, we started off on the wrong foot. Let us forget the bitterness of the past and restart our relationship with respect."

Lager was stunned. As far as he has known, Kiba has never been the type to respect or say something like this, no matter the status of the opposite party.

"I guess he isn't truly brain dead!" Lager noted in his heart.

Again pleased, he replied, "I would like that."

"Great!" Kiba put his free hand forward for a handshake.

Lager stretched his hand out and they had a formal handshake.

As they did, Kiba said, "Lager, from now on, I will consider your family as mine!"

"I would like that!" Lager laughed happily.

He reasoned it was just a general statement, something often said with no real intent. Still, he was proud. No other businessman was able to make Kiba say such a thing!

"I'm sure you would like it," Kiba patted him and smiled. "I'm sure."

A few minutes later, they left the ramp walk hall. Lager's mood has not been any better, and he happily guided Kiba to various parts of the building. He made Kiba familiar with areas where the pageant rounds would be held.

"You have spent a lot of money," Kiba remarked. The entire building radiated luxury and money, suiting the vanity of the fashion industry.

"Of course," Lager smiled proudly.

"Well, I look forward to seeing the pageant."

Kiba then noticed various staff, including professional models, helping in preliminary audition and other preparations such as makeup, wardrobe, conducting, and so on. All over, the preparations were going strong, and it didn't look like he needed to contribute anything for now.

Half an hour later, they stepped into an elevator which took them to the third floor.

"I have a meeting with our broadcasting partners," Lager informed as they stepped out of the elevator. His office was at the end of the floor where the meeting would take place.

"Broadcasting partners?"

"Yes," Lager nodded. "Miss Delta Pageant's broadcasting rights have been sold to SBC News' and its sister channels."

SBC News?!

Kiba's lips spread into a grin as he looked at the office room. The room was closed, and even without his powers, he knew he was going to meet acquaintances.

"Let me acquaint you with our partners," Lager said.

"Sure," Kiba replied.

The clueless cuckold-to-be guided Kiba to the office room to meet a man who was already a cuckold...

Chapter 473 Sudden Changes!

Inside the office room, the owners of SBC News - Sarah and Daniel - sat. Months ago, their love for each other was tested due to the involvement of a third party, but now, their relationship was strong than ever. There was no mistrust, hatred, or any negative emotion between the loving couple.

Daniel looked at his wife and felt like the luckiest man in the world. He has everything he ever desired. A good business, great children and an amazing wife who has supported him in everything.

"I nearly lost everything back then."

He thought as he recalled the most embarrassing episode of his life.

Sarah felt her husband's gaze and looked at him. She smiled by the love she felt from him. And she was happy by how things played out after the big setback they suffered months ago.

"I love you!" Sarah said.

"I love you too!" Daniel replied.

As the loving couple expressed their love verbally, the office door opened.

"My my! Isn't this the Good Husband of the year?"

A voice from behind shocked the couple to the core.

Daniel flinched as he remembered the day when he became the Good Husband. He was confined in a hotel room where he watched the live feed of his wife fucked by the owner of this voice. Engaged but also aroused, he pleasured himself at the sight of his wife being hammered. This resulted in him being conferred the holy title of Good Husband.

Sarah's back turned cold and a chill ran through her body. She knew what her husband did and also knew when the secret was exposed to her, he got a stroke. It was far too embarrassing for him.

Afraid of him getting another stroke, she grabbed his arm and said, "Love, you are the best husband a woman could have. Please don't think of the past."

Daniel nodded. He could feel her concern and knew their relationship was stronger than ever.

Sarah then turned and locked her eyes on Kiba. She clenched her teeth, offended by his words.

In response, Kiba smiled. He turned towards Lager who has a confused look.

"Lager, could you get me something really sweet?"

"Sweet?"

Lager was surprised but nodded. He ordered staff to bring out a sweet drink.

Unknown to him and Daniel, when Sarah heard the word sweet, her pupils constricted. She swallowed hard and remembered the last time Kiba said sweet.

It was after the embarrassing incident. She has decided to rebuild the trust and become the best wife but then Kiba arrived to fuck her. Her husband was next door, and during the intense fucking, he even met her... not knowing her ass was being plowed by Kiba! In fact, it was due to Daniel's arrival that Kiba got to enjoy her 'sweet' ass.

The memory of that day made Sarah's anal ring wriggle.

"No! I swore that day I would never cheat on Daniel again!" Sarah pacified her rapidly beating heart. "And I promised... Daniel would never know about it!"

Meanwhile, a staff handed Kiba a drink made of blueberries. He took it and sat down on a free chair.

Daniel and Sarah looked at him but he didn't return their gaze. He was fixated on the drink as he savored it slowly.

"It is really sweet and delicious," Kiba remarked with a look of reminiscence on his face. "But not as much as..."

Kiba sighed.

"Not as much as what?" Lager asked as he took the host chair.

Sarah waited nervously. She prayed he wouldn't disclose her secret to her oblivious husband.

"A forbidden fruit," Kiba answered with a smile.

Lager and Daniel were bewildered by his answer. Sarah flinched at the mention of forbidden but was relieved nevertheless.

"I really hope to get my hands on that fruit," Kiba placed the drink on the desk. "Please pray for my success."

"O-ok."

Lager was confused but nodded. Daniel was similarly confused, but nevertheless he was happy that Kiba didn't say anything related to the embarrassing incident that nearly broke his family.

To thank him for that, Daniel replied, "Sure, I will pray for you to get that fruit again."

Kiba smiled and then looked at Sarah. She was stunned by what her husband prayed for.

"Even your husband is praying for me... what about you?" Kiba asked.

Sarah swallowed hard. She knew her husband was clueless so she couldn't blame him. It took her a few seconds to calm down and reply, "Sure, I will pray for that as well."

"Thanks!" Kiba thanked Daniel and Sarah. "I'm sure as long as I have your blessing, I would definitely succeed!"

"What a strange guy!" Lager thought. He cleared his thoughts and changed the topic.

"Let's discuss how we will handle the pageant."

***

Evening.

After returning to the city, Zed has not attended a single session at Royal Heart Academy. News of his return has spread through, and seeing him not coming today, Felicity decided to visit him.

She was accompanied by Jessica, Loren, and even Olly. The last two came here by chance.

A few hours ago, they were at Felicity's house along with their parents - Morgan and Suzane. They had paid her a courtesy visit as Felicity has recovered, and when she stated her intention of going to Zed's place, Morgan told his children to do the same.

Morgan has a very good impression of Zed. And why wouldn't he? Zed was an ideal youngster without any character flaws. Furthermore, despite his achievements, he was neither arrogant nor overly proud, unlike a certain golden-haired man.

The group of four arrived at Dream Rise House...

The villa has a large pool and pool house with dramatic lighting. The rest of the open space was an astounding garden, featuring vivid colors. Its perimeter fenced by tiny plants, hedges, and wooden accessories to make it more welcoming and relaxing.

The stress-free environment of the villa was the perfect place to relax and unwind.

Presently, Zed lounged under the pool house with a digital tablet in his hands. Now that he was free, he worked on a project close to his heart: a physical body for Claudia.

He continuously swiped on the tablet screen, creating new designs and analyzing them.

"It is more difficult than I thought."

Despite his vast knowledge of genetics and machines, it was a challenging task to create a body that could suit advanced Artificial Intelligence.

"There you are!"

Felicity said as she stepped into the pool house.

"Felicity?"

Zed lifted his head and was surprised to see the visitors, especially Loren and Olly.

"Please have a seat."

As was his nature, he politely requested them to sit. Felicity jumped on a lounger next to him and laid down. She then looked at him, and with a smile, said, "I'm happy to be alive and kicking"

"So am I," Zed responded with a warm smile.

Jessica and Loren sat on another lounger. Olly, on the other hand, sat across a table and looked around with awe in his eyes.

He was awestruck by the grand and luxurious design of the villa. So far, he has only seen the outside of the villa and was more than amazed. He looked at the villa entrance and wondered how grand the insides were.

Looking at the waterfall upon which the villa was partly built, he has a feeling the interior was bound to be more than stunning.

"Just how rich is he to make such a villa?!"

Olly wondered while glancing at Zed. He knew Zed was rich when he visited Sweet Love Club but not to such an extent where he could spend money like water to satisfy vanity!

At the same time, at the back yard of the villa.

Red Tiger and her cubs played with each other. Claudia has told them about the visitors and as such, they arrived at the back yard. None of them mind it though as not once were they treated as pets or slaves...

Suddenly, Red Tiger's face fell and she sniffed the air. She felt the smell of freshness being replaced by a corrosive smell.

Her innate sense of smell was powerful enough to identify Zed and Kiba as one and the same.

Now, even though no one noticed the changes, she did, even before the sensors embedded outside the villa parameters.

She sniffed the corrosive smell again and felt a dense monstrous aura.

Red Tiger got on her guards and looked pensive. She growled to warn Claudia. The moment she warned, Claudia also noticed the changes through the sensors, but by then, it was too late.

Zed engaged his visitors in a conversation and handed them energy drinks. Suddenly, from the corners of his eyes, he noticed multiple dark figures rushing through the hedges. By the time he noticed, one of the dark figures raised a beastly claw and slashed out.

Enormous light claw marks surged out, ripping through the air.

An ominous aura filled the area and rattling sound numbed the eardrums.

The light claws rapidly closed to Zed, slicing through the tables and cushions in between. Quickly, he enveloped his hands with flames and stretched them out. A blast of hot air rippled out, turning into a heat blast.

BANG

The light claws slammed into the heat blast, and heatwaves crashed out. Felicity and others jumped away to escape the range of heatwaves.

As the air exploded, the counterforce pushed Zed to the back wall of the pool house.

The heatwaves and smoke cleared to show five beastly figures standing at the edge of the pool.

Their grotesque appearance and their monstrous aura didn't match any species of Earth...Chapter 74Chapter 77In Chapter 89, Kiba took Sarah's virgin ass. Daniel unknowingly helped him.

Chapter 474 Attack of Dark Beasts

Felicity, Jessica, Loren, and Olly were shocked by the sudden turn of the events. A few seconds ago, they were lounging under the pool house and now, out of nowhere, an attack aimed at Zed bombarded everything.

Thankfully, most of the villa property was prepared with enhanced and durable materials to survive against supernatural battles. So, even though the tables and other amenities shattered, the pool house remained.

"What are they?!"

Olly felt repressed as he looked at the five beastly, monstrous figures with complete dark bodies.

They were on their fours, like savage beasts, but their bodies were far too extraordinary. Shiny scales enveloped their vitals like a protective armor and their claws sparkled with corrosive energy. The scariest parts were their squinting eyes, emitting an eerie glow that made Olly and others feel as if they were stuck in an abyss.

"It is not the time to be shocked!" Felicity got over her shock and reminded everyone. She didn't know what was going on, but there was no doubt the five intruders had no good intentions.

Green energy seeped out of her palms and wrapped her body. The energy turned into emerald vines, protruding with sharp thorns.

"You are right!" Loren placed a hand on her forehead and stretched the other. From the center of her stretched hand, psionic ripples surged out, distorting the air.

Jessica nodded in agreement. She lifted her arms and her hands cascaded out a dazzling glow; radiating a strange healing power.

An energy chain manifested in Olly's hands and he twirled it.

At the end of the pool house, Zed locked his senses on the five monsters and studied their corrosive yet savage aura.

"Dark Beasts!"

Zed identified them based on his knowledge of Celestial Elysian Plane. From what he knew, they belonged to a monstrous species enslaved by mighty figures of that plane.

"Why would they appear here?"

Just as he wondered, one of the Dark Beasts pounced at him. The beast was extremely agile, and as it rushed forward, its body was a blur, arriving in front of Zed in less a second.

The remaining Dark Beasts rushed at Felicity and others...

The previous time, Zed was caught off guard by the attack out of blue. Not now though.

A vast quantity of burning-hot energy surged out of him, instantly turning into a sea of fire. Just as the Dark Beast sliced out with its claws, the sea of fire violently slammed on to it. Blistering heat mass washed over the beast, and a deep growl came from its throat. The beast was pushed by a couple of steps, but despite the burning heat, its body remained unscathed.

Zed didn't really expect the Dark Beast to be harmed. Still, he was able to confirm the beasts here were very weak though it gave him no joy. Because the weakness was with reference to his alter ego's powers and not Zed; something rather expected given the beasts' background.

He got no more time to think as he felt a surge of wind. The beast's claw sliced through the sea of fire.

Zed retraced the remaining sea of fire onto his body, amassing the fire around him. He aimed his hands at the floor, and as the claw neared him, two streams of fire shot out of his palms. Using them as a propelling force, similar to a jet, he flew up.

"Claudia, open the ceiling!"

The glass ceiling of the pool house opened up and he flew out. The ceiling closed the next moment, and just as he thought he got an opportunity to sneak into the villa to transform, a series of dark slime-like substance seeped through the closed glass ceiling.

Just like how wisps of smoke seep out of closed-door, the slime-like substance did the same. After arriving above the pool house, the slime fused together to turn into the Dark Beast.

"Haah~ Seems like a fight is unavoidable!"

Zed landed above the glass ceiling. He lifted a hand and strands of fire energy streamed out. They concentrated to converge into a whip of dazzling flames.

"Claudia, you know what to do."

Claudia made a silent acknowledgment. She wouldn't interfere or use the defensive system of the villa unless she has made a few confirmations. And till she did, he couldn't afford to transform outside the villa.

The Dark Beast pounced forward and Zed waved the whip out. It drew a full moon and ripples of flames blasted outward...

Under the pool house, battles similarly raged between mutants and the Dark Beasts.

Felicity opened her arms and rows of vines spread out.

As a Dark Beast rushed at her, the vines closed into it from all directions. The beast found itself entrapped by the vines. It was like a cocoon of emerald vines has caged the beast, and the inside of it stabbed the beast with horrifying sharp thorns.

Felicity's expression remained serious and she clenched her fists. The vines around the beast contracted, shutting tightly to increase the pressure.

Suddenly, her eyes flickered and she jumped back. The very next moment, a column of black energy exploded out of the vine cocoon, creating a destructive storm. The extremely durable floor toppled and the vines crumbled to pieces.

"This is going to be fun!"

Felicity's eyes sparkled. She wanted to experience a proper battle without any restraints where stakes were high. Something she couldn't get in the city, until now.

On her serious face, a smile appeared and her battle intent surged.

Some distance away, Olly found himself to be the target of bad luck.

He has just lashed at the beast attacking him with a chain when the shockwaves from the black column of energy crashed into him. He toppled back and coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

"Damn! I had great luck for the last two months... but ever since that pussy hound returned, my luck has once again turned bad!"

Olly wanted to cry but had no tears to shed...

Chapter 475 Dark Beasts At Dream Rise House I

From the perimeter of Dream Rise House, around twenty insects flew out of bushes, plants, and trees. These insects were small, radiating life vitality, but they weren't living. In fact, they were artificially created with nano-size mechanical implants.

The insects spread of the villa range for reconnaissance.

There were hidden cameras and motion sensors in the vicinity, but thanks to the speed of the Dark Beasts, Claudia didn't sense the presence of the invaders until it was too late.

The villa did have a state of art defense mechanism where the sensors were far more advanced. They could detect the faintest moment in real-time and stop them, but this system was only for the main property.

The other properties of the villa didn't have such an advanced mechanism. It was to ensure no enemy noticed anything suspicious or become wary of the state of art. In a way, this resulted in the present crisis...

Presently, at the underground facilities. Floor: (-) 2.

In the Claudia's chambers.

Over twenty new virtual screens flashed out, showing the data collected by the insects. Alongside, new digital screens appeared, showcasing news headlines.

Surprisingly, a few news headlines were regarding attacks of Dark Beast in different locations of the city. No news mentioned how these beasts appeared or why they attacked.

Claudia studied the pattern and was startled by what she noticed.

[[The beasts have attacked the power centers of the city. Mayor, City's Chief Supervising Officer, military base, and important corporates. In these strategic locations, it is almost like a horde of Dark Beasts have attacked...]]

[[But why will they attack our house and only with five?]]

Claudia hoped the surveillance insects could confirm there were no more beasts in the vicinity or at least, no one was spying the villa. If not, she would have to use one of the plans she made years ago to handle such type of situation.

***

Sky Fiend Group's headquarters.

In the command room, Joshua observed hundreds of virtual screens upon which the attack of Dark Beasts was projected.

"Hehe, this is just a warm-up to make them afraid."

Joshua smirked.

Suddenly, an officer dashed to him with a pale face.

"What's wrong?!" Joshua's squinted his eyes and looked at the officer. Based on the latter's face, he knew something bad has happened.

"Sir, as you know, we sent a specific unit of Dark Beasts and our top force to BSE-79," The officer started.

"I know so don't waste my time and answer me what's wrong!" Joshua barked.

"Well, sir, we don't know why... but just before reaching BSE-79, five Dark Beasts turned berserk and left..."

"WHAT?!"

Joshua almost stumbled. He refused to believe the beasts could betray. They were slaves lent to him by the reverend titan... betrayal wasn't in their blood.

"Wait. That special unit was sent for a specific mission to BSE-79... if five of them left... could it mean?!"

Joshua thought of something and commanded the officer.

"Be quick and track those beasts! Help them if are in need! I don't want any excuses!"

***

Dream Rise House.

Above the glass pool house, the whip of flames hurtled at the Dark Beast rushing at Zed. The beast leaped high in the air to dodge the tempestuous fire energy bombarded by the whip.

At the same time, in mid-air, the beast opened its mouth. A ball of black energy flashed out and shot at Zed.

A circle of fire imploded under Zed's feet and the resulting force increased his agility and helped him jump back. The moment he jumped, the ball of energy crashed on the glass panel he was previously standing.

The energy ball dispersed into a stream of corrosive mist. Even though the glass panel was more durable than steel, it corroded and molten glass began to drip down.

By now, the beast has landed back on the glass ceiling, eyeing Zed. The beast sinisterly shrieked and then turned into a series of blurs, rapidly rushing at him.

Zed swept the whip to slam on the beast, but its senses were extremely sharp and its speed terrifying. It evaded the whip by a hairbreadth, and at the same time, opened its mouth to launch another black energy ball. Alongside this, it rushed forward, making Zed face multiple attacks at such close range.

Zed aimed his free hand at the incoming black energy ball and projected out a fireball.

BANG

They collided and intertwined into each other in the air. A burst of strange energy crashed outward.

Meanwhile, the beast closed the gap. Just as the beast lowered its forelegs to rip him to shreds, Zed jumped to the side and rolled on the glass panels. As he rolled, sparks cascaded out of him and fell on the glass panels.

GROWL~!

The beast neither lacked in flexibility nor experience. In mid-attack, the beast changed its direction and pounced on Zed who was in the middle of rising to his feet.

"You are not the only one who knows a thing or two about battles."

As the beast swiped its claws, from the glass panels, the sparks on the glass rushed at the beast's eyes, like iron bolts to a magnet.

Even before the beast could detect them, the sparks imploded into dazzling flames. Zed wasn't expecting the sparks to prove anything more than a distraction. They could at least obscure the vision of the beast, even if it was for a moment.

It was difficult to use the whip of flames at such a close range for a killing move.

So, ever since he rolled on the ground, he has started concentrating high-density fire energy in his free hand. It converged into a sharp knife which he now swiped forward to stab in the beast's head.

ROAR

The beast might have lost its vision for a moment but its other senses remained. As the knife arrived, the air rustled with exploding heat, and the beast sensed it. Before the knife could stab, the beast twirled its body to avoid a fatal stab.

~stab~

The knife made of fire energy stabbed into one of the hind-legs. The energy stored inside the knife erupted, and at the portion where it stabbed, the flesh and blood exploded. Half of the leg rolled through the air while the other half remained with the beast.

"GROWL~!"

The beast growled and a menacing aura seeped out of its body. Zed retrieved the whip and reduced its size to slice the beast.

Just then, the fine hair on the back of his neck stood up. Without wasting any time, he crouched down.

At the same time, from behind, the exploded half-leg of the beast rustled through the air. With its claw in the front, the leg flew just an inch above Zed.

"Well, I could have expected high-speed regeneration but not prehensile limbs."

Zed thought as the exploded leg portion returned to the Dark Beast and joined back with the missing portion. Ghastly flesh popped up between the two joints, connecting the two portions. Then, a crackling sound erupted and in a moment, the leg returned to its original condition.

Meanwhile, under the ceiling, in the pool house.

Jessica somersaulted through the air and avoided a fatal stab from a Dark Beast. Since she was a healing-type mutant, she learned martial arts to make up for the defect as much as she could.

The moment she landed on her feet, the beast's mouth closed on to her. It gnashed its teeth and eyed her sinisterly.

So far, this human girl seemed the weakest of the humans here. All she knew was jump here and there. She kicked but her legs had no weight to make any difference.

Jessica while afraid, didn't panic at the closeness of the beast. Soft white light erupted from her and washed over the beast's face.

"?!"

The beat was startled. For a second, it thought the light would be destructive, but as it landed, the beast felt a pleasing sensation.

Due to its vast battle experience and long life, it has gained many hidden injuries and ailments. They weren't fatal or dangerous, but they did prove painful.

It was similar to normal humans having back pain or joint pain.

Now, as the white light washed over the beast's face, the injuries and ailments began to disappear. The pain faded and the beast felt relief like never before. It was like its face was massaged by the soft, white light.

This human girl must be crazy to heal an enemy! Or maybe she is tempting me with the benefits she could provide in exchange for her life! The beast reasoned.

Regardless of the reason, the beast wasn't about to stop her.

Let this stupid girl think she could live!

The beast mused as the healing light continue to enter its face. Since the beast offered no resistance, the healing light passed through its skin and entered into depth.

A few minor cracks on its jaw filled up and the beast growled in happiness. Its face returned to the state of child-birth, with no defects.

The healing power continued to seep inside. Now, as there were no more defects to cure, the healing power mixed with the skin cells and blood cells.

In the body, every component needed to be in a stable range for it to function properly. It didn't matter if it was sugar, salt, blood pressure, vitamins, or anything. If the range was below the stable range, the body would have negative effects, and if it was greater than the range, there would be negative effects.

Since the cells reached the top, natural performance state, the healing power started trying to advance them further... the result of which broke the balanced state and did the opposite.

Suddenly, the pupils of the beast dilated and its body turned cold. Just like how cancer tumor grows up, every cell in its face multiplied and evolved at a speed that was simply incredible.

In the blink of an eye, the beast's face swelled like a balloon.

GROWL~

The beast growled violently.

For Jessica, the simple growl was no less a punch in her guts. A punch that was so violent that it sent her flying back.

BANG

She slammed against a wall on the edge of the pool wall... resulting in a raging pain throughout her body.

"Argh!"

She grunted in pain, but a smile appeared on her face.

"Felicity was right... no one expects me to create any danger and that's my strength!"

Wiping the blood off her mouth, she looked in front.

The beast has turned berserk! The cancerous cells occupied its entire face, including eyes and nose, and now, it began stumbling here and there.

"Watch out!"

Felicity shouted to Loren as this Dark Beast rushed in her direction. Loren evaded and others similarly backed away. Before the other Dark Beasts could stop this beast, the beast violently rushed at a wall and slammed on to it.

The beast has terrifying strength and now that is slammed in berserk state, powerful strength coursed out, resulting in the spreading of web-like shockwaves to the base of the pool house.

These shockwaves joined the pressure from the battles so far, including Felicity's, and the accumulated force entered the foundation.

~!~

The foundation blocks of the pool house began to tremble. A crack line erupted in one foundation block and spread to others like roots.

On the floor, everyone felt violent tremors from the ground. The Dark Beasts sensed it first and they leaped out of the house.

Felicity arrived before Jessica and grabbed her with vines.

"We have to leave!"

The vines on her body stretched out and wrapped around a tree. The vines pulled her and Jessica, and they left the pool house in a flicker of second.

RUMBLING~!

Above the ceiling, as Zed and Dark Beast battled, an intense rumbling sound ringed out from below.

For a second, they both paused and looked through the sturdy, transparent glass panels to see below: Everyone leaving the pool house.

The Dark Beast and Zed didn't need to be genius to know why. Just as they decided to follow the suit of those below, the glass ceiling sank and then instantly collapsed.

Chapter 476 Dark Beasts At Dream Rise House II

Zed and the Dark Beast now found themselves in free fall, rapidly descending to the base of the crumbling pool house. Alongside them, glass panels fell and they gazed at each other through those panels.

The Dark Beast let out a roar and pounced on him in the middle of the free fall. It swept out a claw, slashing through a glass panel.

As the glass panel shattered into sharp fragments and the claw approached, Zed snorted. A few of the glass fragments stabbed him and blood splashed out, but he didn't let out a single grunt.

"I might not lack money, but I hate seeing my property destroyed!"

The whip of flame in his hand slithered through the glass fragments and coiled around the dangerously-close claw.

The moment the whip coiled, heat needles exploded out of it, and stabbed the other foreleg, preventing the other claw from being used momentarily.

Alongside this, Zed tapped his feet on a falling glass panel below him, and leaped forward. He leaped through glass fragments and metallic supports that were initially holding the panels, and arrived above the Dark Beast.

In mid-leap, violent heat erupted out of his eyes. He stretched his free hand down to put it on the head of the startled Dark Beast.

"Incinerate."

Spiraling flames rushed out of his palm to envelop the Dark Beast. Before the Dark Beast could react, its body finally arrived close to the toppled floor, giving it no time to react. The beast realized this was a heaven-sent opportunity for the human, using the action of gravity and the surrounding for his benefit...

Wrapped by spiraling flames, the beast slammed on the floor with a thundering bang sound.

BOOM!

As its body slammed, explosive shockwaves spread out, roiling volcanic heat. The crumbled pool house exploded into a blazing firestorm!

Outside, Felicity and others leaped backward as terrifying fire waves splashed out along with burning splinters and glass fragments. The engulfed in fire splinters and fragments smashed into the grass, sending grass and mud flying in all directions.

Alongside, the scorching heat washed through the swimming pool. The water instantly evaporated into mist. The statues and grass withered to ashes.

"He has turned stronger!"

Felicity thought as she looked at the place where the pool house used to be. In the middle of dancing wild flames, Zed stood like the god of fire.

Electrical wires and digital circuits continuously exploded around him, making the flames stronger.

He lifted a finger and swiped it down. Simultaneously, the flames snuffed out like candles being extinguished.

Meanwhile, some distance away, the sudden shockwaves from the pool house gave an opportunity to the Dark Beast fighting Loren.

Earlier, she used her psionic strength to slow down or numb the Dark Beast's body parts whenever the beast attacked and then retaliate by inducing nightmares in the beast's mind.

Now, the beast used the opportunity from the exploded pool house to pounce on her. By the time she raised a hand and rippled out psionic strength, the beast's claw occupied her entire eyesight. The claw glowed with black energy, like the manifestation of the scythe of the death god. She could only wait for the scythe to swing and slice her head.

BANG

A banging sound reverberated and she saw flame slamming into the claw rushing at her, pushing it away. Startled and thankful for the chance, she retreated.

Finally, she saw what saved her. A rotating column of flames.

It shot out of Zed's hands and slammed onto the beast. Having being caught off guard, the beast backed away and made a safe distance.

At the same time, flames erupted under Zed's feet and his speed exploded. In an instant, he arrived in front of Loren.

With a polite expression, he asked, "Are you fine?"

Loren was surprised but she nodded.

Zed noticed a cut on her right cheek from which blood streamed down. The crimson droplets of blood had a trace of black...

"The cut is most likely infected with black energy. Let me clean it."

He wiped the blood with his right hand, making her stunned.

Some twenty meters away, Olly was facing another beast and survived so far mostly due to luck, even if it was mostly bad luck. Whenever he was about to die, the shockwaves from other's battle would push both him and the beast attacking him.

Now, as he tried to create some distance and swing his energy chain, he looked in his sister's direction for some help. What he saw made him shocked.

His sister's face being caressed by Zed!

Zed wasn't truly caressing her face, but simply wiping blood from her wound. Alongside this, he emitted some heat to kill the black energy inside the wound.

But from Olly's direction, the cut wasn't visible as it was on another cheek. So, he only saw Zed's hand moving on Loren's cheek, rubbing it slowly, and her sister staring at Zed.

"Fucking bastard! He is romancing with my sister in the middle of a battle!"

As a brother, he has a protective instinct for his sister. This situation naturally made him angered.

He cursed the gods and then asked them if they weren't satisfied with that devilish Kiba turning his life hell?

THUD

Sadly, he found the wrong time to be distracted even if it was for a few seconds. All his luck disappeared as the Dark Beast attacking him cut through the energy chain. The backlash of which rattled his body and sent him flying.

He slammed against a tree and landed on the ground, vomiting a mouthful of blood.

The beast leaped at him.

Olly quickly lifted both hands to summon another energy chain, but by then, the beast closed in. It stepped on his hands and a crunching sound rang out.

Olly screamed with a pale face. Satisfied, the beast opened its ghastly mouth to consume him.

"Gods! Please save me! I was wrong! You weren't making my life hell!"

Just as the mouth began to close to consume him, two spears made of flame whistled through the air. Blistering air mass rose as the spears rushed forward, and the beast sensed their presence. Instinctively, the beast jumped back to evade the spears.

Olly was stunned.

"The gods really listened to my prayers?!"

As he wondered, a hand arrived in front of him. It belonged to Zed.

"Olly, quickly stand up!" Zed politely said while offering him support.

Olly was shocked by the help from the person he has taken a recent dislike. Now wasn't the type to think of such a thing and he tried to grab his hand, but sadly, they were crushed by the Dark Beast.

"Don't give up!" Zed motivated him.

Olly clenched his teeth and moved his hands to take support, but once again failed. He became dejected.

"Olly, don't let a temporary set back affect you!"

Zed held Olly by his shoulders and made him rise.

"Everyone is relying on you!"

Olly rose to his feet but when he heard these words, his heart skipped a beat.

He knew Zed was saying this to motivate him in the middle of the crisis, but when he heard everyone relying on him... terrifying scenes popped up in his mind.

In those scenes, a certain golden-haired man always relied on him. In fact, that certain golden-haired man was the only person who ever relied on him...

"Hmm?"

Zed let go of Olly and looked at the ash ruins of the destroyed pool house. Black slime jumped out of the ashes and joined together.

"Cockroaches!"

Chapter 477 Dark Beasts At Dream Rise House III

Among the ashes of the destroyed pool house, fragments of dark slime crawled through. These slime fragments gathered together and began to intertwine with each other, rising through the ashes.

Barely forty meters away, Zed sensed an odd aura. He turned towards the fusing slime.

"Cockroach!"

He lifted a hand and aimed at the rising slime. A fireball flew out of his hand, leaving behind a trail of flames.

BANG

Before the fireball could smash the slime, a Dark Beast appeared and destroyed the fireball with a movement of a claw.

"Damn! That beast rushed past!"

Felicity said.

A movement ago, she was facing this Dark Beast, and now it bought valuable time to give chance to one of its species to revive.

The slime began gaining shape in the form of a Dark Beast. A corruptive aura boomed out, making the ashes and mud in the vicinity twirl.

GROWL

A savage roar erupted as the slime fully transformed into the Dark Beast.

"This sure is an overpowering ability!"

Olly muttered in shock.

He has thought the beast facing Zed was incinerated, and now seeing it revived... his body turned cold from horror.

In the true sense, only one beast was knocked out... the one affected by Jessica's ability. That beast has turned unconscious but it hardly gave any joy to Olly seeing this absurd ability to revive.

"Just what on Earth are these beasts?!"

Not only Olly, but the others were similarly astonished. How were they supposed to face beasts with such reviving ability?!

"An Immortal-class species!" Zed's eyes narrowed.

"Immortal-class?!"

Jessica and others looked at him in bewilderment.

"Living organisms of this species are almost impossible to kill... they could revive again and again."

Zed explained while amassing a vast amount of spiraling flames around his body.

"The only way to kill them is by destroying all traces of their existence... if even a blood drop remains, they can revive."

Years ago, during his expedition to BSE-79, he has freed living organisms of Immortal-class species to distract Castor Damon and escape.

Just as he completed his explanation, the beasts pounced on him and others. The one attacking him was the recently revived best, and based on its savage attacks, the experience of being incinerated wasn't at all pleasant.

Propelled by flames, Zed jumped up high in the air and shot out a spirling column of fire at the beast.

Meanwhile, Felicity and others found the strength of the beasts far greater than they experienced before.

"Were they holding back till now?!"

Loren wondered as she used psionic ripples to slow the beast attacking her and retreat.

"They must be toying with us!"

Felicity guessed as hundreds of vines stretched out of her hands to pierce the beast rushing at her. The beast's body flashed with black energy and slammed against the vines.

BANG

The vines ripped apart, and through the ripped pieces, the beast pounced forward.

Felicity's eyes glowed with an emerald light and she backed away.

Shua~!

As the beast closed in, the ground around her rumbled and dust rose up.

Through the dust, hundreds of sharp roots shot out like spears and stabbed the Dark Beast. But against the scale-covered body, the sharp roots proved completely useless. They were like eggs smashing against a steel wall...

The beast retaliated by slashing out, and an energy projection of enormous claws swept forward. But much to the surprise of the Dark Beast, the claw projection slashed nothing but thin air.

Felicity was nowhere in sight!

Startled, the beast looked down at the ground and noticed a deep hole in which a few roots retreated. The beast guessed a few roots took the female human into the ground.

Just then, from a distance, a cold, feminine voice rang out:

"Domain!"

The moment the word was spoken, hundreds of thick vines ruptured out of the ground.

The Dark Beast was startled. Not by the appearance of the extraordinarily thick vines, but by the sudden burst of wood element energy in the area.

All around, there was nothing but a whirling barrage of flora! They whirled like carnivorous plants... waiting to derive healthy nutrients from the beast.

There were strange plants, enormous trees, soul-stirring orchids, mutated cactus, and hundred more varieties of flora!

The Dark Beast felt as if it was transferred into an ominously dense forest!

Shocked, the beast jumped back to retreat, but much to its horror, it couldn't. The vines whipped in the air and formed a barricade, preventing it from leaving.

If given a few seconds of time, the beast could destroy the barricade, but there was no time with the sudden onslaught of the flora.

"ROAR~!"

The Dark Beast opened its mouth and let out a terrifying roar. Cold winds erupted and black energy swirled out, slicing the incoming flora.

Swoosh~!

The beast released more energy which turned into a black storm. The storm swept through the sea of fauna, surging with ferocious blades of black energy. Wooden trees sliced up, vines shredded to fragments, and flowers turned to dust.

Throughout the terrifying storm, the disintegrated pieces of vegetation rolled up in the air...

But to the horror of Dark Beast, there was no end of flora. Plant matter has the most extraordinary regeneration ability out of all living beings in existence, and the resilient flora showed this ability to the terrified beast.

Through the black storm, the fauna stretched out, emitting extraordinary physical powers. The weight and the size of the fauna ripped through the storm, wiping out the black energy.

GRRRR!

The Dark Beast was shocked by the result. The female human was physically weak, but she has the means to overpower through the number.

GROWL~!

Angered and desperate, the beast lashed out with its sharp claws, dicing hundreds of plants that have no end. The more flora the beast sliced with its claws, the stronger the attack of the field of flora turned.

The thick vines crawled on its body like venomous snakes, slowing down its movement. From sides, man-eating plants opened up and sprayed out a toxic green liquid that began to corrode the scales.

BANG

From above, tree trunks viciously slammed down!

Swoosh~!

Grains of pollen spread out, emitting a delicious fragrant that dulled the senses. Every action of the fauna was to overpower the beast!

In less than a minute, the beast found its body pulled down by vines to the ground, into a field of emerald.

ROAR

The beast let out a desperate roar as the process continued. Out of the struggling vines, needle-thin vines emerged out like branches in a tree. Without any warning, they rushed into the orifices of the Dark Beast!

ARGH!

Its body trembled as it detected the actions of the vines inside its body. They spread around and opened up to implant glowing seeds!

"GRRRR!"

A painful grunt escaped the beast's mouth and its eyes shut as the seeds in its eyesockets began germinating.

Soon, countless flowers bloomed out, radiating powerful vitality. The sight of flowers of myriad colors was beautiful, mesmerizing to the soul, but equally terrifying.

"Eternal Rest!"

The cold voice from before ringed out.

Simultaneous to the voice, the field of flora enveloped the Dark Beast in the shape of a casket.

Inside the casket, as the vitality of beautiful flowers turned stronger, the beast's aura turned weak. All its energy flew into the flora that made up the casket, making its body rapidly decay.

Fifty meters away, Felicity collapsed near the empty pool. Her face turned pale from exhaustion and she made a final hand movement.

Simultaneously, the vines began to absorb the body parts of the beast to completely assimilate it.

"This was more taxing than I thought!"

Felicity thought as blood leaked out of her orifices...

***

Thirty-five miles away.

A group of mutants rushed through the gaps between the buildings, trying to find clues of the missing Dark Beasts. Suddenly, one of them stopped and looked at an energy detection device.

"A Dark Beast has died!"

The others in the group were stunned.

"That should be impossible!"

"Have you forgotten the reviving ability of Dark Beasts?! No one here would know about it!"

"Just like he said! As long as even a cell remains, the beast would remain alive!"

"So, there is no way the beast could have died!"

The others in the group refused to believe it. Even if someone destroyed the body of the Dark Beast, it was bound to be impossible to wipe out every single cell! That was what it meant to be an Immortal-class species!

Alas, they didn't consider the possibility of the Dark Beast being used as a living fertilizer...

***

Dream Rise House.

Claudia observed everything through the sensors. As the destruction caused by the Dark Beasts spread, she turned angry.

Everything here was hers as much as it was her master's. Now, her home was being ravaged by uncivilized beasts. She had enough of it...Chapter 264

Chapter 478 I Would Do That!

Jessica arrived before Felicity and used her powers to wipe out the brutal effects of exhaustion. While doing so, she glanced at the casket made from exotic flora... glowing brightly, radiating a savage presence.

"I didn't know you have mastered your ability enough to summon Domain!"

Jessica said as healing light emitting from her cleared all signs of internal backlash suffered by Felicity.

"I only achieved it recently... after awakening from the long sleep."

Felicity explained.

She was close to achieving mastery before the nanite attack. Now, a few days ago, when Zed made her recover from the genetic disorder, the serum he injected partly increased her strength and control over her powers since it was made from rare, powerful materials. This was enough for her to cross the borderline and summon Domain.

"This was the first time I actually used it."

Felicity added while jumping on her feet.

She spread her arms and then brought them together to make the casket assimilate with the ground.

"Haah."

She let out a breath of air and sighed.

Jessica was able to heal the internal injuries she got from overusing her strength, but the physical exhaustion remained. Domain has fully drained her...

"Hmm?"

Felicity felt something and grabbed Jessica with roots. The roots pulled them both to the side, and they narrowly avoided a projection of black energy. The energy projection smashed on the ground some meters away, sending mud in the sky.

Felicity turned back and saw the Dark Beast facing Loren looking at her, a paw raised in the air. Loren bombarded the beast with psionic energy and the beast focused back on her.

"This is really bad!" Jessica said.

So far, only Felicity was able to kill Dark Beast. For others, it was almost impossible to achieve her level of success given the revival ability of the immortal-class species.

Not even Zed was able to kill the Dark Beast as the latter was on guards after the close encounter with death...

KA-CHA!

The Dark Beast attacking Loren broke through her defense. Her psionic energy disappeared and a claw stabbed at her.

Whoosh~!

At the same time, the main sliding door of the villa opened. A thick metallic hand emerged, its front surface open like a tunnel.

An eerie glow erupted from the open surface and a beam of red light boomed out!

BOOM

A deafening boom reverberated through the villa.

As the beast stabbed the claw at Loren, an extremely chilling sensation crawled up its body. Before it could guess why, the beast saw a burst of light before its eyes.

BANG

The light beam smashed right on its forehead! The strength of the red light was so strong that it made the beast stumble back and collapse on the ground.

"WHAT?!"

Loren was shocked to find a large hole on its forehead! The hole literally ran through the head of the beast, exposing monstrous brain matter.

BANG

More deafening booms ringed out in quick succession.

Olly, who was barely clinging to his life, was shell-shocked to discover a large hole in the neck of the beast.

"What the hell just happened?!"

Olly wondered as he saw the other beasts suffering the same fate, except the one fighting Zed.

"!"

Jessica, Loren, and Olly were stunned.

The powerful beasts were overpowered in a matter of seconds by some light beams?!

Everyone turned towards the source of the deafening booms and noticed a metallic body - over ten feet - stepping out of the villa.

The metallic body was entirely silver except its face where an inverted 'U' arc was inscribed, glowing with a shiny red liquid. There were no eyes, ears, mouth or any feature associated with humans despite having a humanoid shape.

"A robot?!"

Jessica muttered in shock.

"No, not a simple robot," Felicity said, her eyes studying the metallic body. "It is a battle robot specialized for war combat."

Meanwhile, inside the holes of the three fallen beasts, slime emerged and the hole rapidly filled up. In a matter of seconds, the beasts rose, their bodies radiating strong killing intent.

ROAR

One of the beasts roared and pounced on the robot. The two sets of claws radiated sharp black energy that shrieked through the air, creating energy fluctuations.

Dust and mud rose up as the beast arrived in front of the robot, its claws aimed straight at the head of the robot.

But before the claws could make contact, one of the robotic hands rose. From the open tunnel-like surface, metallic fingers emerged, quickly turning into a fist.

Just as the claws closed to stab, the metallic fist smashed down on the beast's head. The sound of skull cracking rang out and the head caved in.

A single punch sent the beast rolling to the ground!

"This is real?!"

Olly was taken aback.

"Such overpowering robots would not only need money but resources that only military and top factions could afford..."

He then eyed Zed - who was facing another Dark Beast - and tried to think of a possible explanation that could make sense.

"Just who the hell is he?!"

Olly wondered. So far, he assumed Zed to be a very nice guy whom everyone likes due to his honest and friendly persona. Someone whom even his father admired for his down-to-earth personality...

"Claudia."

Felicity looked at the robot and smiled. For her, it couldn't be more obvious on who was controlling the robot.

As one beast crashed on the ground, the two other beasts rushed at the battle robot. Their bodies turned illusory and they sent out claw projection, slashing vertically.

In response, from the bottom of the robot's feet, streams of blue light erupted. The light propelled the robot high in the air, and the claw projection passed right under it. Ultimately, they smashed against a glass window of the villa.

Thankfully, the villa was countless times more durable and enhanced than the pool house. There were no scratches.

At the same time, as the claw projection failed, the robot landed its feet - erupting with streams of blue light - on another beast's face.

The streams of blue light were nothing but combustible volatile flames, and when the flames came in contact with the face, the face caught fire.

[[No one has the right to wreak havoc at my home.]]

Claudia's cold voice ringed into the beast's ears.

From behind, another Dark Beast created a safe distance, ready to tear the robot to pieces. The beast opened its mouth, and a powerful black energy ball began to form.

Before the energy ball could fully converge, the back of the robot split apart and a rocket launcher moved out.

GRRR~!

The beast's eyes turned wide in shock. The launcher fired a mini rocket!

The rocket flew like a bolt of lightning, its speed simply incredible and indescribable. There was nothing the beast could do as the rocket flew right into its open mouth!

BANG

The rocket collapsed into the converging black energy ball. Two sets of explosives broke apart, resulting in a terrifying explosion.

BOOM

The beast's head exploded and its headless body began to collapse.

"My god! That robot is savage!"

Olly was shocked by the viciousness of the robot. It could have defeated the beast with means that were far less violent, and yet it chose such a brutal method.

"It is almost like the robot wants to vent!"

Jessica muttered.

"The robot doesn't have a reason to vent, but Claudia does!" Felicity thought with a smile.

Just then, as the third beast collapsed, a slithering corrosive aura washed over the entire villa. Every form of vegetation corroded.

"This...!"

Jessica looked in disbelief at the source of the aura. It was coming from the three defeated Dark Beasts.

Much to her surprise, the three beasts instantly dissolved into a transparent slimy liquid. The liquid spread out, moving towards each other, and then bonding with each other.

"What the hell is going on?!"

A chill crawled up Olly's senses and he turned pale from terror.

"Assimilation!"

Felicity's forehead creased as she realized what the beasts were doing. They were fusing with each other.

Claudia didn't do anything but observed the assimilation process through the robot. The reason was simple... she couldn't stop them as the slimy liquid was almost incorporeal.

[[The information master acquired on Dark Beasts was incomplete. An immortal-class species is truly wonderful.]]

Claudia mused as from the slimy liquid, a new beast emerged.

This beast was similar to the Dark Beasts from before, but its body was small, barely ten feet. And instead of standing on four, it stood on two.

The corrosive presence the beast radiated made everyone feel as if they were in an abyss. Their breathing turned heavy...

At a speed that could not even be detected by Jessica and others, the beast appeared before the robot like a puff of smoke.

Claudia retaliated by making the robot smash down with its two fists. The beast stretched out its glowing claws and grabbed the incoming metallic fists.

BOOM

The moment the two made contact, terrifying shockwaves boomed out. The ground sank by dozens of meters and a crater appeared.

Some distance away, Felicity and others retreated to escape from the explosive shockwaves.

Swoosh~!

Black energy cascaded out of the claws and swept into the robotic fists. The metallic surface turned dull and the energy sliced through the surface like a knife through butter.

Just as the fists were about to be crushed, the beast felt a gust of wind from below. Startled, the beast lowered its head and saw the robot lifting a knee for a vicious kick.

The beast might have noticed the incoming kick but it was too late to avoid it.

BANG

The moment the metallic knee smashed onto its chest, pain erupted and the beast felt its bones crack.

GRRR

Even before the force from the kick could send the beast back, the raised knee of the robot opened up and a drill rolled out! It burrowed right through the beast's chest!

Black blood splashed along with ghastly gore.

The robot has no sense of pain nor emotions, and the newly assimilated beast was the same. Ignoring the pain, the beast opened its mouth and roared.

Black ripples boomed out and smashed onto its enemy like an avalanche.

The effect of the simultaneous attacks from each other pushed the robot and the assimilated beast back by a couple of steps.

[[The gained strength from the assimilation is not additional but multiplicative. The beast is almost as strong as a Level V mutant.]]

Claudia made an observation.

***

As an advanced AI, she could carry out multiple tasks at the same time, and that's what she was doing now.

The mechanical insects she sent earlier for reconnaissance has sent a piece of important news.

On the ground, as Zed and the Dark Beast clashed with each other, flames and black energy surged out. Zed crashed against a corroded tree and wiped stains of blood from his lips.

"I hate this cockroach ability of not staying dead."

After the first time, he was not able to obliterate the beast attacking him. Somehow the beast would always manage to keep a cell alive and revive back.

*beep*

Zed has barely risen to his feet when a virtual screen popped in front of him.

[[Sir, we aren't being spied.]]

When Zed heard the news, his expression relaxed.

He looked at the pouncing beast and attacked with a column of flames. He just needed to find an opportunity to transform and end this cockroach's life.

[[But a group of mutants is rapidly moving in the direction of this neighborhood. They have a tracking device, most likely to track these beasts... if they come here, we will lose what we have built.]]

Zed's face fell and his eyes turned cold.

The Dark Beast broke through the column of flames and slashed out with black energy. Zed didn't block and allowed the energy to smash onto him.

Crimson blood splattered and he was sent flying back through the air. He propelled the flying force and made himself crash towards the villa.

Just as he was about to smash against a window, the window opened up and he fell inside. The moment he fell, the window shut back and turned opaque.

"Transform!"

A golden glow emerged in his eyes...

Meanwhile, outside.

Felicity and others noticed Zed crashing.

"Zed!"

Both Felicity and Jessica rushed into the direction of the villa when two ear-piercing roars erupted. The roars were brutal, of biblical proportions.

Shocked, Felicity covered her ears with a shield made of vines to protect herself.

Behind, the assimilated beast and the normal beast have turned berserk. They both charged into the direction of the room where Zed has crashed into.

Their eyes flashed with an eerie glow and they dashed forward... as if they have found what they have been looking for!

The battle robot stopped the assimilated beast with a powerful punch and launched a rocket to stop the other beast.

The Dark Beast barely avoided the rocket, and rapidly jumped forward.

"Watch out!"

Felicity warned as she saw the beast was about to land near the place where Jessica was. If those monstrous feet landed on her, Felicity knew even a corpse of her friend wouldn't remain.

Jessica froze from both the crazy aura and fear.

As the worst was about to arrive, a horizontal vortex of flames rushed above her head and smashed onto the Dark Beast.

"Phew~"

Felicity's eyes lit up from relief but a frown appeared on her face.

"The energy the flames emit is far too different!"

She thought as the flames engulfed the entire body of the Dark Beast.

"These flames are far more powerful than what he could summon even when he is using Domain!"

Felicity lifted her head to look at an open window from where the horizontal vortex rushed out...

***

Fifteen miles away.

The group of mutants from Sky Fiend Group rushed past the chaos of the city and arrived in a relatively peaceful area with more greenery.

"There are a few neighborhoods and get-away places ahead."

One of the mutants read the information displayed on a digital tablet.

"These neighborhoods are for the rich... they are no different than exotic locations. Rarely does anyone live here."

"Isn't that great then? We wouldn't have to concern ourselves with erasing our traces!" A female mutant said with a grin.

Before the others could respond, a chilling voice emerged.

"Don't worry about erasing your tracks. I would do that for you."

The group of mutants was dumbstruck...

Chapter 479 First Conflict With Sky Fiend Group

"Don't worry about erasing your tracks. I would do that for you."

Barely fifteen miles from Dream Rise Home, the group of four mutants froze as the cold voice ringed out.

"Who is there?!"

The group looked all around and noticed nothing but the silent road and the scarce vegetation.

Just as they wondered if the voice was their collective imagination, the space in front of them warped with a dazzling flash of white light.

"Teleportation portal?!"

A mutant named Tuffnut muttered.

From the teleportation portal, an incredible presence surged out, making the group of mutants step back.

They looked in amazement as alongside the powerful presence, a golden-haired man slowly stepped out of the portal.

"Kiba?!

"What's the meaning of this?!"

A female mutant named Carrie was taken aback.

"Carrie."

Kiba nodded in greeting.

Delta City was large but almost all the rich and powerful knew about each other. Kiba has worked as a mercenary of sort for White Angel Corporation, thanks to which he became acquainted with the few Beta-rank mutants of the city.

"Did White Angel Corporation sent you to intercept us?!"

A mutant named Kami asked.

Kiba didn't answer and lifted a hand. Telekinetic energy rippled out and enveloped the digital tablet within Kami's hands. Before Kami could react, the tablet was pulled away, flying right into Kiba's waiting hand.

The tablet was encrypted with an advanced mechanism. He wasn't concerned though.

All he has to do was to generate and interpret digital signals through his powers, a child's play for him.

On the tip of his fingers, digital circuit engravings erupted. These circuits extended to the tablet and enveloped them fully.

~buzz~

The screen of the tablet flashed with multiple sets of data as if a virus was hacking its security, bypassing all enhanced encryption.

"Sky Fiend Group headquarters... Dark Beasts' biological imprint... BSE79 map... attack on the city."

Kiba began to perceive everything recorded in the tablet.

Barely three seconds has passed, and in that time, Kami opened a scroll upon which a dinosaur was drawn.

"Animate!"

Kami ran a hand over the scroll. The dinosaur in the scroll opened its eyes and literally crawled out, rapidly expanding in size.

It turned huge, heavy, and radiated an imposing presence. Its large talons emitted a sharpness that could penetrate anything and tear everything to shreds.

"Kami, don't!" Carrie shouted.

She has met Kiba in passing but has heard enough about him to know he was one of the strongest mutants in the city. She didn't want to start a battle that would delay them from carrying out their task.

Kami ignored her request and commanded his creation to attack while the enemy was still busy studying the data on the tablet.

"Kill!"

The enormous size and weight of the dinosaur didn't hinder its speed. The dinosaur erupted with explosive speed and raised a foot before bringing it down to smash Kiba to a bloody pulp.

"!" Carrie flinched.

The simple act of smashing down the foot carried the entire strength of the dinosaur, and knowing how quickly it acted, the fate of Kiba couldn't be more obvious. He was caught off-guard, having no time to escape!

As the foot slammed down, the pressure emanating from the sharp tendons made the winds howl, air screech and the road sank down in the shape of a footprint.

RUMBLE~!

A tremendous force blew out in the form of visible shockwaves, and everyone was violently pushed back.

Dust stirred up in the air, turning into a storm, making others not able to see anything ahead. In the dust storm, a hue of blood appeared.

"Ah!" Carrie grunted as she realized Kiba has burst into bloody pieces, mixing with the storm.

Tuffnut placed an arm around Kami, and with a grin, remarked, "You simply overkilled!"

The remaining mutant named Lanky joined in by added, "Wait till the cuckolds of the city learn about it. You will become the hero of the city!"

Both Tuffnut and Lanky began laughing and expected Kami to do the same.

"Hey?" Tuffnut felt something amiss. As his arm was around Kami, he felt the latter's shoulders sweaty and cold.

A few steps away, through the dust, Carrie noticed Kami's expression. It was pale with no traces of blood, almost as if he has seen a ghost in broad light.

An eerie feeling squirmed through her and she forced herself to look in the front just as a loud bang rose up.

BANG

The dust storm ripped apart and faded, exposing the dinosaur and its victim. The victim stood in the middle of an enormous crater that was in the shape of a dinosaur's foot. His eyes still on the digital tablet...

"No way!" Carrie stumbled back, a look of shock planted on her face.

"You gotta be kidding!" Tuffnut rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing it right.

Kiba stood with not a single cut on his body. Yet there was a hue of blood in the dust storm earlier...

Tuffnut swallowed his saliva and lifted his head to look at the dinosaur. It was an animation but no different than a living existence. It was alive but half its raised leg was missing. Looking at the dripping blood and flesh, it was like the leg burst apart when the foot smashed down.

What was supposed to be the fate of Kiba became the fate of the leg...

"Just what the hell happened?!"

Lanky was confident of his powers, but seeing an overpowered animation suffering such a fate, his back turned cold.

Carrie has an ability related to spatial energy. She could detect the flow of energy and noticed a thin sheet of circular energy floating horizontally above Kiba.

"The tendons must have slammed on that circular shield!"

Carrie guessed.

"But he shouldn't be having such an ability...! He should be a teleporter with strong physical strength!"

Everything took a long while to describe but it has barely been 30 seconds since the dinosaur attacked.

Losing half its leg, the animated creation boiled in fury. Its gigantic tail snapped and surged out violent winds that uprooted trees. The tail moved forward with rage, ready to burst Kiba to a shower of blood.

Without emitting any sound or fluctuation, the energy shield above his head twirled and arrived before him.

BOOM

The tail smashed on the shield, creating explosive shockwaves, before bursting into blood and gore.

Even before the dinosaur could feel the pain, strands of gravitational force erupted from the surface of the crater and pulled the dinosaur down.

BANG

The entire body of the dinosaur crashed down in a series of blurs and disintegrated... the sight of which was from the depths of hell.

"Impossible!"

Carrie and others reeled from shock.

While shock engulfed them, Kami trembled as the backlash of having his animation destroyed swept into him.

"Cough!"

Blood burst out of his mouth and numbness crawled over his skin.

"I have to create more animation and retreat!"

He suppressed the backlash and pulled two more scrolls. The scrolls barely opened up to reveal two mechas and he ran a hand over them.

While trying to animate the mechas, he looked in front just in time to see Kiba flicking a finger out from his free hand.

Kami's eyes constricted as a burst of energy struck his guts, ripping right through the scrolls. The mechas have barely animated into incorporeal forms, but the burst of energy destroyed them to ashes.

"AHHHH!"

Kami let out a blood-wrenching scream.

It was like he was smashed by a world-shattering hammer, and his body exploded back. He flew through the air under the explosive force for over two miles before knocking on a three-storied building.

When he knocked down, the only thing denoting his existence was a crumbling skeleton...

Carrie and others only felt a strong gust of wind brushing past them and nothing else.

Ahead, the digital circuits on Kiba's fingers faded as he completed studying everything recorded in the tablet.

He transferred the tablet into his storage dimension and lowered his head before looking at the group of three.

He then slowly stepped forward.

His steps were light but the sound from them was like the eruption of a raging volcano. The surviving mutants of Sky Fiend Group felt lava locking them.

"Now that introductions are over," Kiba said, his voice plain. "We should move to the topic of what you guys are doing here."

Carrie has a feeling he wouldn't like the details...

Chapter 480 End of Conflic

"Kiba was this strong?!"

Carrie had a hard time believing the might she just witnessed. She has joined Sky Fiend Group years ago and was a part of the secret team nurtured by the group.

While not overly powerful, she believed she was one of the strongest mutants in the city, just like Kiba. But after witnessing how easily he killed Kami, she lost her belief and self-confidence.

~step~

The sound of his steps awakened her from thoughts.

"Why are you tracking the Dark Beasts?" Kiba asked, his face expressionless. "And why exactly are they attacking important bases in the city?"

He has a guess on why his house was attacked when he thought of how Dark Beasts reacted when he started transforming to his present form. But what he had was only a guess and not confirmation.

"Like hell, we are going to answer you!"

Tuffnut grunted and overpowered the pressure locking him.

"I don't know about others, but I'm not a traitor!"

He removed all his natural inhibitors, and his arm muscles expanded, growing as thick as a tree trunk.

BANG

The ground below him split apart and malevolent energy erupted. His muscles surged with malevolent energy, giving him a terrifying look.

"You have been genetically enhanced," Kiba observed.

Swish~!

Tuffnut turned transparent and jumped ahead, crossing the sonic barrier in an instant. Hundreds of speed clones flashed all around, making it impossible to identify the real him.

The speed fluctuations made Kiba's hair float in the air. He didn't change the direction of his head but his eyes moved to the extreme right and locked on a specific clone.

He lifted a hand and stretched an index finger out.

Multiple speed clones launched out punches so strong that the space distorted and all passed through him, but one.

"No way!"

Tuffnut gasped as the index finger pressed against his real fist. The malevolent energy burst out like an exploding volcano, emitting a force so strong that it could shatter through a mountain, but it couldn't stand an index finger!

Tuffnut didn't let this setback cower him.

He punched with another fist while retracing his earlier fist. Just as Kiba moved the finger to block the descending fist, the fist spilled out with blades of malevolent energy, tearing through space.

Kiba's eyes narrowed. Two blades sliced through his shirt, ripping it to pieces, and exposing his awe-inspiring trunk.

"Fuck! You are a monster!"

Tuffnut's face cramped from shock. He expected the sneaky attack to cut through Kiba, making his blood splatter like a geyser, but all it did was fill the air with pieces of his shirt.

"How could you have such strength and no one knows about it?!"

Tuffnut retreated, using hundreds of speed clones to back away, though he no longer had any faith in the clones.

Meanwhile, some distance away, as Lanky saw Kiba raising a hand to attack Tuffnut, he shouted, "Carrie! We need to act now!"

"Ah!" Carrie got over her shock and nodded.

From Kiba's hand, rays of golden light erupted and swept forward. The rays passed through the speed clones like a blade through butter, and the clones disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Tuffnut's pupils widened to the limit as he felt the rays of golden light closing in. He has a feeling they could penetrate his enhanced body, and rupture him to shreds. Sadly, the rays of light caught him, bombarding his body.

"Hmm?"

Kiba's expression visibly changed. The rays of golden light touched Tuffunt but they passed right through him, without creating a scratch.

Kiba's eyes moved to Carrie and noticed her pinning a hand on the ground while the other raised in the air.

"Aversion Field!"

Streams of intangible energy erupted from her and coursed through the ground and air, forming an incorporeal field for almost half an sq. mile.

In this field, as long as she willed it, all forms of attack would avoid her and others.

"A type of spatial ability," Kiba said, his voice filled with surprise. "I assumed you were an agility mutant."

Carrie didn't reply to this, and instead, she said, "Kiba, we have no enmity. Leave us and we will let this matter past."

"Tell me what I want to learn," Kiba said.

"Why does it matter to you?!" Lanky asked, his body turning sandy. Sand dripped out of his body and a vortex of sand surged out of his hand, ready to shoot at his command.

"Those Dark Beasts are attacking my home," Kiba replied, his voice cold. "And you think it shouldn't matter?"

"!" Carrie's pupils constricted while Tuffnut and Larry's faces turned ashen.

Home?!

He lives nearby?!

Not much was known about Kiba despite his infamy and reputation that preceded him. No one knew where he lived or what he did when he wasn't doing things which gave him the reputation he carried.

As Carrie tried to make sense of the information she learned, a beeping sound interrupted her thoughts. She looked at the digital watch on her right wrist and her throat turned dry.

The watch was also a tracking device, just like the tablet. Earlier, it showed dots signifying the location of Dark Beasts, but now, all dots disappeared.

"All five of them are dead?!"

Carrie uttered, her voice strained. She had great confidence in the beasts' ability to live... She lifted her head and focused on Kiba.

"How can they die when you are here?!"

Carrie asked.

"Claudia doesn't like uninvited guests," Kiba answered with a faint smile. "Especially the ones who break her property."

As he answered, power burst out of him. Rock, stone and wooden splinters rose up in the air, levitating high in the sky, far from the eyesight of everyone.

"I answered your question, now your turn," Kiba said, his voice turning cold.

Carrie turned silent, and her two companions didn't utter a single word.

"If that's how it has to be, then sure."

The moment his voice ringed, high in the sky, the fragments of rock, stone, and splinters plummet down. As they whistled down, they were like meteors, enveloped in flames, emitting a dreadful force.

Carrie raised her head as she felt the force. Her face lost color as she saw hundreds of meteor-like fragments crashing downwards. It was literally a meteor shower but targetted at her and her companions.

BANG

The fragments slammed on the earth, making the ground sink. The presence of Aversion Field made Carrie and others avoid the fragments, unaffected by the devastating shockwaves.

"Cough!" Carrie threw out a mouthful of blood, her face turning pale. She could avoid the damage from the attack, but stronger the attack, the more strength she had to use to avoid it.

"He wants to make me exhausted!"

Carrie said, her voice pained.

Larry also realized it. His face fell and he snapped by shooting out a vortex of sand. It cut through everything in its path.

At the same time, Tuffnut punched on the ground with both his fists. With explosive force, malevolent energy burst through the ground, rushing forward like an avalanche.

Both Larry and Tuffnut then faded, charging at Kiba from another direction as the field protected them for the time being.

"I also have a few spatial abilities... let me check if they work!" Kiba said as spatial power emanated out of him.

Larry and Tuffnut's pupils dilated to the size of a needle. Much to their horror, the world turned upside down, or at least, from their perspective, it was upside down. The nature of gravitational pull changed and so did their sense of direction, making them confused.

Furthermore, to their terror, the attacks they earlier launched rushed into their direction... it was like not only was the world changed upside down, even the directions changed.

They tried to stop the attacks, but with sudden changes, their bodies were in a bewildered state. When Larry released power to summon a sand shield, it did appear, but behind him. Similarly, for Tuffnut, when he tried to punch in front, he inadvertently moved his arms back as if to elbow someone.

By then, it was too late. The attacks were on them.

"Damn!"

Carrie cursed in her heart and used her field ability to keep them safe from their own attacks. Blood drained of her face and she coughed again.

"Idiots!"

Earlier, she has only managed her ability to ignore Kiba's attacks, never knowing she would have to save her companions from their own attacks.

"Just what on Earth is he?!"

Carrie glanced at Kiba and wondered. His spatial ability didn't affect her as she was at the center of her field, but on the rest of the field, it superimposed. Since his ability wasn't truly an attack, her field didn't resist it. Maybe if she was stronger, she could have, but not now.

"It is stupid to waste your energy for their survival," Kiba said while raising a hand to the sky. "Regardless, let's see how many attacks your field could avoid."

In the sky, multiple glowing portals opened, out of which, energy spikes descended.

RUMBLE~!

The spikes were more like potent beams, ready to tear through space as they shot down with explosive force.

BOOM

The ground further sank and crumbled, making earth fragments rise up.

"Damn! I can't handle a battle of attrition!"

She knew it was inevitable so she decided to cut her losses.

"What?!"

Tuffnut and Larry felt the reach of spatial field retracing from them.

"No!"

They both cried in unison as they realized the terrifying implication. They both tried to back away, but with the spatial energy used by Kiba, the world was still upside down for them.

Their confused body states made them helpless as energy spikes shot out of the ground and cut through them, pinning their bodies to the sky... at least from their perspective before they closed their eyes for the final time.

Their final thoughts were of resentment at gods for making their enemy far too overpowered...

THUD~!

Their corpses collapsed on the ground, dyeing the ground with blood.

"Wow~ Carrie, you are cold!" Kiba said, his voice filled with amazement.

Carrie didn't reply. She could feel her energy rapidly depleting as he continued to bombard with multiple attacks.

"We have no enmity!" Carrie shouted.

"I agree," Kiba said while stepping towards her. "Tell me what I want to know, and you can avoid their fates."

By now, the field was on the brink of explosion. She knew if the field shattered due to outer attacks, it would lead to a heavy backlash.

She snapped her teeth and made her field disappear.

~step~

Kiba continued to walk towards her. Afraid, she took a few steps back and stopping as she arrived before a broken tree.

"Well?" Kiba pinned her against the broken tree, his face close to hers.

Carrie trembled, her blood cold. She no longer dared to not disclose what she knew.

"The leader of Sky Fiend Group... Joshua... he sent us to BSE79 to find some mystic item that carried something called Power Cosmic. The Dark Beasts in my team were supposed to help us with that... but they turned berserk and disappeared... you know where. We have to track them down and offer them support..."

Kiba nodded. He has guessed this much, and the explanation made sense to him with the behavior of the beasts when he began transforming.

"They could somehow sense the moment I transform between two forms... it would make sense as for only a brief moment, I make direct contact with Cosmic Spark to erupt its power."

Kiba thought.

"I usually transform at the villa... so there should be some energy traces only they could sense. Still, not even my lab detectors could sense Cosmic Spark even when I transform but the beasts could... they are most likely enhanced for this task."

His eyes flickered as he realized what it implied.

"Is there an alien being guiding you?" Kiba asked.

Shock erupted over Carrie's face.

"How did you know?" Carrie asked.

Kiba stared at her, and she swallowed. Knowing she misspoke, she answered, "Yes, there is an alien being though I don't know anything else... I have only heard rumors of a giant being locked underground or something like that."

Kiba nodded. Information on an alien being would be top secret, something that wouldn't be disclosed to more people than necessary.

"Why attack multiple places in the city?" Kiba further asked.

Based on the report he has seen, the attack of the beasts wouldn't be powerful enough to obliterate the factions.

"I don't know," Carrie replied.

Kiba's eyes narrowed and she squealed. Not taking any chances, she shared her theories, "Maybe Joshua wants to set fear in the powerful few of the city, or perhaps he wants to attract the attention of powerful mutants from the world government and other organizations."

Kiba thought for a moment before nodding. The second theory made more sense, but then again, it was possible there might be another reason.

"You promised you will let me live!" Carrie reminded as he didn't ask anything further. "Please, I will leave the city and never disclose anything."

"Relax, you held your part of the deal so there is no reason to back on my words," Kiba traced a finger down her face, and said, "Besides, I wouldn't want a gorgeous woman to die."

She relaxed and her face brightened.

"You can leave after a minute," Kiba said, his voice filled with warmth as he leaned his face close to hers, looking into her eyes. "And don't worry, you can do as you please after you leave... even report to Sky Fiend Group."

Carrie was startled and her expression turned into that of bewilderment.

"Y-you don't care about Sky Fiend Group learning of this?!" Carrie asked.

"Learn what?" Kiba put his lips on hers for a tight kiss.

Carrie was dumbstruck. Not by the kiss, but by what happened. Strands of psychic energy erupted from his lips, and coursed through hers, sending a chill down her spine. She felt sleep overpowering her and she collapsed in his arms.

Kiba placed her down. After doing that, he wiped specific traces of battle that could lead to him and implanted other evidence.

Completing the task, he teleported back to his home...

Exactly a minute later, Carrie awakened with a slight headache. She looked around to see craters and destruction. She shut her eyes and tried to recall details.

"Kami and others were with me, tracking the beasts. Then multiple enemies attacked and I lost consciousness in the ensuring fight..."

Carrie remembered the details.

"Hmm?"

She placed a finger on her lips and felt a lingering warmth.

"Why do I feel I was kissed?"

***

Dream Rise House.

Kiba teleported inside a bedroom on the second floor. Rays of golden light enveloped him and he started transforming into Zed.

He didn't kill Carrie not because she was a woman. Nor because he gave her words.

Rather, he let her because her survival would help him fool the Sky Fiend Group, even if it was by little.

"I would have liked to taste more than just her lips... but I couldn't bring myself to do that."

He knew he was just too much of a good guy to take advantage of a desperate woman...