Chapter 26: A Sudden Encounter
The night air was thick with tension as Morgan and Ryan descended from the rooftop, making their way through the shattered streets. They walked in silence, both haunted by the ghosts of their conversation. The city around them was a graveyard of steel and stone, with the occasional flicker of movement—survivors creeping out of hiding, desperate to make sense of the chaos.
Ryan kept glancing at Morgan, something nagging at the edge of his awareness. There was a subtle shift in the man's movements, as if every step Morgan took was too precise, too deliberate. He walked without a hint of exhaustion, despite everything that had happened. It was unsettling.
Morgan gave nothing away, his face a mask of calm, but Ryan couldn't shake the strange feeling gnawing at him. Something about Morgan was... off.
Ryan's muscles still ached from his transformation, and his mind felt raw, like a nerve exposed to the cold. He couldn't stop thinking about what Morgan had said—about surviving the beast. But how did Morgan carry that burden so effortlessly? How had he never lost control?
Before Ryan could voice the question, Morgan tensed. His eyes flicked toward the street ahead, sharp and focused.
"Get ready," Morgan muttered, his voice low.
Ryan followed his gaze, and his heart dropped. Three figures stood at the edge of the street, blocking their path. All of them reeked of Choujin energy—dark, potent, and dangerous.
Morgan sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Looks like the churches sent some hunters after you."
Ryan clenched his fists, his body still buzzing with residual power. "What do they want?"
Morgan gave him a sidelong glance. "Same thing they always want—control. They either drag you back in chains, or they make sure you don't live long enough to become a problem."
The lead figure stepped forward, his body lean and coiled like a serpent. His eyes glowed a dull gold, and black markings snaked up his arms, pulsing with energy.
"You've caused quite a stir, kid," the man said, his voice smooth and condescending. "The Midnight Sun doesn't like loose ends."
Morgan smirked, his expression calm, almost bored. "I was wondering when you'd crawl out of the woodwork, Levin."
Levin sneered, cracking his knuckles. "You've been living on borrowed time, Morgan. And now? Time's up."
Ryan felt the air change—dense with hostility and the promise of violence. Levin's two companions spread out, surrounding them like wolves closing in on prey.
Morgan gave Ryan a quick glance. "Stick close to me."
Ryan's heart pounded as the three hunters lunged forward, their movements a blur. Levin's shadowed form twisted unnaturally, closing the distance in a blink. The other two flanked them, one wielding jagged, bone-like spikes, the other radiating energy that shimmered like heatwaves.
Ryan braced himself, ready to fight—but before he could react, Morgan was already in motion.
Morgan moved with an eerie fluidity, his body a blur of calculated precision. He dodged Levin's strike with ease, twisting his body at just the right angle. In a split second, he was behind the hunter, driving his elbow into the base of Levin's neck with bone-shattering force. Levin hit the ground hard, gasping for air.
Ryan's eyes widened. Morgan wasn't just strong—he was impossibly fast.
The second hunter lashed out with his bone spikes, but Morgan was faster. He sidestepped the attack and grabbed the man's arm mid-swing, twisting it with brutal efficiency. The sickening crunch of bone echoed through the street as the hunter screamed, his arm twisted beyond recognition.
Morgan tossed him aside like a rag doll, his movements disturbingly calm.
Ryan barely had time to react when the third hunter unleashed a wave of searing heat. The air shimmered as the blast surged toward them, but Morgan didn't flinch.
With a single step, he was in front of the hunter, closing the gap faster than Ryan's eyes could follow. Morgan grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him into the ground with a force that cracked the pavement.
Ryan stood frozen, stunned by the sheer speed and precision of Morgan's attacks. It wasn't just skill—it was as if time itself bent around him, slowing everything down except Morgan.
Morgan straightened, brushing dust off his sleeves as if the fight had been nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
Ryan stared at him, struggling to find the words. "How... how did you do that?"
Morgan shot him a glance, his expression unreadable. "Years of practice."
But Ryan wasn't buying it. There was something else—something Morgan wasn't telling him.
Before he could press further, Levin groaned, dragging himself to his feet. His eyes blazed with fury, but there was fear in them now, too.
"This isn't over," Levin snarled, clutching his injured side. "The churches won't let you run forever."
Morgan's gaze hardened. "Let them come."
Levin spat blood onto the ground and gave Ryan a lingering, hateful look before teleporting away with his companions, leaving only the scent of burnt ozone in the air.
The street fell silent again, the tension lingering like smoke after a fire.
Ryan exhaled slowly, his heart still racing. "What the hell was that?"
Morgan gave him a tired look, as if the fight had drained something invisible from him. "That," he said, "was just the warm-up."
Ryan shook his head, still grappling with what he had witnessed. "You... you're not normal, are you?"
Morgan smirked, though there was little humor in it. "Kid, none of us are normal."
But Ryan wasn't satisfied with that answer. There was something else—a nagging feeling, deep in his gut. During the fight, he had felt something strange around Morgan—like the fabric of time itself had rippled for just a moment.
Morgan turned away, his posture relaxed but his movements still too smooth, too precise. "Come on," he said. "We've got a long night ahead."
As Morgan walked ahead, Ryan's gaze lingered on him. There was a secret here, buried deep, and Ryan intended to find it. Whatever Morgan was hiding, it was dangerous—and it had saved both their lives tonight.
Ryan clenched his fists, the strange sensation still prickling at the edge of his awareness. He didn't know what Morgan had done during the fight, but one thing was clear: Morgan wasn't just a fighter. He was playing by a different set of rules.
And Ryan intended to find out what those rules were.