Chapter 17: The Beast Unchained
Pod's body felt heavy, pinned by the weight of failure as he lay on the broken pavement. His muscles screamed in pain, but it was nothing compared to the dread knotting in his chest. Ryan had become something far beyond anything they had imagined. The raw, untethered power coursing through his best friend was now a terrifying force of nature, threatening to annihilate everything in its path.
Ryan stood over him, chest heaving with a low, animalistic growl. His blindfold, still glowing with that sickening dark energy, pulsed faster with each breath. The street around them was a wasteland of wreckage—collapsed buildings, overturned cars, and craters where the ground had simply caved in under the strain of Ryan's rage. Pod's heart sank further when he spotted civilians hiding behind debris, trembling as the chaos raged on.
The sound of a child's cry broke through the haze of destruction. Pod's eyes darted toward the sound, his breath catching in his throat. A young girl, no older than ten, stood frozen in the middle of the street, her eyes wide with terror as the world around her crumbled. She had been separated from her mother, who was trapped beneath a fallen beam several yards away, screaming for her daughter to move.
Ryan turned toward the sound, his monstrous figure casting a long shadow over the trembling child.
"No…" Pod muttered under his breath, his panic rising. He struggled to stand, every inch of his body rebelling against him. "Ryan, stop!"
But Ryan didn't stop. His blindfold pulsed with a malevolent energy, and his body tensed, preparing to strike.
"RYAN!" Pod screamed, forcing himself to his feet, but it was too late.
Ryan teleported forward in a blur of movement, reappearing in front of the child with a raised fist. The air crackled with energy, the ground beneath him trembling from the sheer force of his power. The girl's eyes widened, tears streaming down her face as she stared up at the towering figure, paralyzed by fear.
Without thinking, Pod lunged forward, his body moving on pure instinct. He crossed the distance in a blur, grabbing the girl and throwing himself into a roll just as Ryan's fist came crashing down. The impact shattered the ground where they had just stood, sending cracks racing through the street.
Pod shielded the girl with his body as they tumbled across the pavement, debris raining down around them. Pain shot through him, but he didn't care. His only thought was protecting her—protecting all of them—from the monster Ryan had become.
He set the girl down, his breath ragged. "Run," he gasped, pointing toward a narrow alley. "Go find your mom!"
The girl hesitated, her eyes wide with fear, but Pod pushed her gently toward the alley, his voice softer this time. "Go."
She nodded and sprinted away, her small form disappearing into the shadows. Relief washed over Pod for a moment, but it was short-lived. A terrifying roar echoed through the air, and Pod turned just in time to see Ryan charging toward him, fists raised, eyes blazing with fury.
Pod barely had time to react. He threw himself sideways, dodging the first punch by a hair's breadth. The ground exploded where Ryan's fist struck, sending another shockwave through the city. Pod rolled to his feet, his heart racing as Ryan came at him again, faster and more furious than before.
There was no reasoning with him now. Whatever small shred of Ryan that had flickered in his eyes earlier was gone, swallowed by the unrelenting force of the Choujin power coursing through his veins. Pod knew he had no choice—he had to fight back. Not just to survive, but to protect the people caught in the crossfire.
Pod's senses flared as he dodged Ryan's next attack, feeling the surge of energy in the air before each strike landed. He was faster now, more in tune with his power, but even with his enhanced abilities, Ryan's strength was overwhelming.
"Come on, Ryan, think!" Pod shouted as he blocked another hit, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his arms. "This isn't you! You have to fight it!"
Ryan snarled, his blindfold pulsing brighter, feeding his rage. He lunged forward, fists swinging with brutal force. Pod ducked under one punch, then sidestepped another, his mind racing for a solution. He needed to end this quickly, or more people would die.
Ryan disappeared again, teleporting faster than Pod could track, and reappeared behind him, his arm already swinging for a killing blow. Pod's instincts screamed at him to move, and he dropped to the ground, rolling away just as Ryan's fist tore through the air above him.
The attacks were coming faster now, more frenzied, as if Ryan's power was reaching a fever pitch. Each punch sent shockwaves rippling through the streets, each step leaving craters in the pavement. Pod could barely keep up, his body aching with exhaustion.
And then, in a split second, everything changed.
Ryan roared, his blindfold glowing with an intensity Pod had never seen before. His body swelled, muscles rippling as dark energy poured out of him, enveloping him in a swirling black aura. His roar echoed through the city, louder and more primal than anything Pod had heard before. It was as if the beast inside him had fully broken free, and now there was nothing left of the Ryan he once knew.
Pod's eyes widened in horror as the dark aura around Ryan expanded, crackling with raw, destructive power. Buildings shook, the ground split open, and the very air around them felt charged with an unbearable weight. Civilians screamed in the distance as the destruction spread, entire streets collapsing under the force of Ryan's unleashed fury.
"No…" Pod whispered, his heart pounding. Ryan wasn't just out of control—he was tearing the city apart.
And then Pod saw it: a mother clutching her child in the distance, trapped beneath a collapsing building. Ryan was heading straight for them, his body engulfed in the black aura, his fists ready to strike.
Pod's heart raced. He couldn't let this happen. He wouldn't.
Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, Pod sprinted forward, dodging falling debris and cracks in the ground. His senses sharpened, time slowing as his body moved faster than ever before. He closed the distance between them in a blur, his mind focused on one thing: stopping Ryan.
With a burst of speed, Pod leapt into the air, his fist glowing with the energy he had absorbed from Ryan's chaos. He aimed for the blindfold, the source of the madness, hoping—praying—that it was enough to break the hold it had over his friend.
Pod's fist connected with the blindfold, and for a brief moment, everything went still.
Ryan froze, his body trembling as the black aura flickered and pulsed. His blindfold cracked, dark energy leaking out in violent bursts. For a split second, Pod saw something behind the blindfold—Ryan's eyes. His real eyes. Confused, scared, but still there.
"Ryan," Pod whispered, his voice trembling. "Come back."
But the moment was fleeting. The blindfold pulsed one last time, brighter and more powerful than before, and then shattered, unleashing a torrent of dark energy that sent Pod flying backward. He hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of him as the world spun around him.
When Pod looked up, he saw Ryan standing in the middle of the street, his body engulfed in a swirling vortex of power. His muscles bulged grotesquely, his skin stretched tight over his frame as the last remnants of humanity slipped away.
Ryan was gone.
And in his place stood a monster.