With Royer nearly dead, his vision blurred, he desperately tried to pull the beast's arm from his stomach.
His hands, usually so strong, felt weak, trembling against the relentless force. Panic set in as the beast smirked, its eyes glowing with malice. But then, Royer's heartbeats, which had been fading, suddenly grew stronger, more pronounced. Each beat resonated like a drum, slow and deliberate, and with each beat, Royer began to feel something a creeping coldness spreading from deep within him.
The beast noticed it too. His predatory grin faltered as he looked down at his arm impaled in Royer's body. It was freezing over, the skin turning an unnatural shade of white as ice rapidly spread from the wound outward. He tried to pull back, to break the ice, but it was useless. The frost spread too quickly, consuming his arm entirely.
"Those will be the last words you ever say to anyone.
Are you okay with that?" Royer's voice, though raspy, carried a chilling finality.
"Bastard!" The beast spat, rage overtaking fear as he swung his left arm, aiming to impale Royer's neck.
But Royer, fuelled by the resurgence of strength and a deepening rage, ducked low, letting the attack sail over his head. With a surge of power, he drove his right fist into the beast's cheek, sending his head crashing into the nearby tank. The impact was thunderous, the metal of the tank groaning under the force as the beast's head bounced off it.
As the beast staggered back, Royer didn't relent. He slapped the monster's freezing arm at the bicep, shattering it like brittle glass. The beast howled in pain, but even as he did, he swung his left arm in a desperate attempt to crush Royer's skull. Royer sidestepped, moving with an agility that defied the injuries he had sustained. He ducked under the beast's armpit, driving his knee into its abdomen as he passed behind it, forcing the creature to double over in pain.
In one fluid motion, Royer spun around, delivering a devastating right hook to the beast's left cheek, sending it sprawling to its knees. The beast attempted to retaliate with a kick from its powerful locust legs, but Royer was faster.
He grabbed the beast's leg mid-kick and, with a primal roar, hurled it away from the tank. The beast twisted in mid-air, landing on its feet with a snarl, but Royer was already upon him, charging forward with unrelenting fury.
The beast, though severely wounded, was still dangerous. It repelled Royer with a powerful double-legged kick to the chest, propelling him high into the air. The creature prepared for the kill, anticipating Royer's helplessness as he fell. But up in the sky, Royer's mind was sharp, his instincts honed. He saw the beast below, poised to strike, and in that moment, something within him shifted.
He yanked the frozen arm from his stomach and hurled it toward the beast with incredible force. The beast, recognizing the imminent danger, dodged to the side as the arm embedded itself in the ground where it had just stood. The move had been intentional, forcing the beast to abandon its killing strike.
Royer landed, crouched low with one hand on the ground to steady himself. The impact of his fall bent his knees, but as he rose, something about him had changed. His skin, once warm, was now as white as snow, and his eyes burned a deep, scarlet red. The air around him grew colder, the ground beneath him frosted over as if the very earth was reacting to the power surging through him. "No way... the rumors were true. He really is a vampire," Steve whispered in disbelief from the helicopter above. "I can't believe this, he's one of them," the pilot muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene below. "No... he's one of us," Julia said with quiet determination, her gaze locked on Royer.
Royer moved like a specter, spinning backward with his right foot aimed high at the beast's head. The beast barely managed to duck, but Royer was relentless, following up with a left leg strike that the beast dodged low. The creature attempted to counter with a back kick, but Royer was prepared. Using the frozen arm as leverage, he lifted his body off the ground, avoiding the blow and retaliating with two rapid kicks to the beast's head, sending it stumbling back.
The beast tried to regain its footing, but Royer was already in motion. He spun low, slicing through the beast's left legs with the frozen arm, causing it to collapse. Yet, even as it fell, the beast fought back, striking at Royer with its remaining left arm. Royer countered with blinding speed, severing the arm and the creature's head in one swift motion. The beast's body tensed, its head remaining upright for a moment before finally toppling to the ground.
Royer stood over the fallen monster, dropping the frozen arm with a clang. He was silent, staring at the spot where the beast had first appeared, his breath heavy but controlled. The battlefield was eerily quiet, save for the hum of the helicopter blades above. "Do you think it's over?" Steve's voice crackled over the radio, filled with a mix of hope and fear.
Royer didn't respond, his eyes still scanning the horizon. The others watched anxiously, but then the air seemed to shift. The ground trembled slightly, a low rumble growing steadily louder. From the invisible, five figures emerged, moving with terrifying speed and precision. These weren't ordinary enemies; they were generals, each one more powerful than the last.
Their aura alone was enough to instil dread, and they were all focused on Royer. "Oh my God," the pilot gasped, his voice shaking as he observed from above. The generals weren't alone hundreds of lower-ranked creatures followed them, their numbers seemingly endless.
The situation looked grim, but Royer stood his ground, refusing to back down. The generals closed in, their monstrous forms looming closer, ready to strike. Just as they were about to reach him, a torrent of bullets rained down from the sky, forcing the enemy to retreat. The aircraft overhead unleashed their full arsenal, decimating the lower ranks and halting the advance of the generals, if only for a moment.
Royer fell to his knees, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. His breath was ragged, his body battered, but he was still alive. The tide had turned, if only for now. The air was filled with the echoes of battle, and the ground was littered with the bodies of the fallen.
Above, the sky was darkened by the shadow of fifty military aircraft, their presence a testament to the might of the military's air force. "Is it over?" Steve asked again, but Royer remained silent, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The battle was far from over. The true war had just begun, and it would take everything they had to survive.