The venom-filled cavern quaked beneath the sheer weight of Dera's surging, twisted Aura. Tendrils of dark purple energy coiled around him like a living, malevolent force—wild, uncontrollable... hungry.
The Lycan took an instinctive step back, its confident smirk fading into a wary grimace.
"What... what is that Aura...?" it growled, tightening its grip on the spiked bat.
Dera slowly rose from the shattered remnants of the throne, shoulders squared, head slightly tilted as if assessing the Lycan like a predator sizing up prey.
"Venomic Recovery" he muttered.
WHOOSH!
The ragged edges of his cloak fluttered violently as the purple Aura thickened, enveloping him in a pulsating shroud. Within moments, every injury on his body began to knit itself back together. Jagged cuts sealed, bruises vanished, and broken bones realigned as if they never existed.
The Lycan watched in stunned silence, its jaws slightly parted.
"Impossible!..."
BZZZZZT!
The strange magic hum that radiated from Dera's body resonated through the entire cavern, sharp and piercing, like the sinister toll of a war bell.
"Weak...?"
His voice was calm... too calm.
"I've been asleep for hundreds of years, and the first thing I hear upon my awake is some lowly, one-finned wretch, Daring to brand me weak," Dera said. His unsettling composure sent shivers down the lycan's spine.
The Lycan snarled, forcing itself to suppress the creeping unease in its gut.
"Tch... You think some Aura trick will save you?!" it spat, charging forward with terrifying speed.
BOOM!
The ground split beneath its monstrous charge, its spiked bat hurtling down with brutal force—aiming to crush Dera into oblivion.
But this time...
Dera didn't move.
He didn't flinch.
He watched.
WHAM!
The spiked bat slammed into the ground, obliterating the spot where Dera had stood—except... he wasn't there.
The Lycan blinked, momentarily confused.
"Looking for me?"
Its eyes snapped upward just in time to see Dera materialize from thin air, descending like a reaper from the abyss.
His fist—sheathed in blinding purple Aura—collided with the Lycan's face.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact created a thunderous shockwave that shattered the cavern walls, sending chunks of rock flying like deadly shrapnel. The Lycan was launched backward, crashing through several stone pillars before skidding to a halt, leaving a deep trench in the ground.
It groaned, staggering to its feet as dark, corrupted blood dripped from its shattered jaw.
"Im-impossible...!" the beast spat, trembling with rage and disbelief.
"How...how did you dodge my attack? I didn't even see you… move…"
The lycan's voice wavered, disbelief etched into every word.
Dera smirked with a cold and calculating glint in his eyes.
"Dodge.....? Pathetic."
His voice was calm, almost casual, yet it carried a weight that pressed down on the air. His piercing gaze gleamed, unwavering.
"I just saw it… before you even swung."
'Impossible'... The lycan staggered back, its mind racing. It wasn't just in its head; the aura surrounding Dera was unmistakable.
'That aura… that's a Venomic Aura,' the creature thought, its instincts screaming in terror. But beneath the fear was something even more unsettling, gnawing at its sanity.
'And worst of all… why… just why am I sensing that person in him?'
A shiver ran down its spine, uncontrollable, as its body betrayed the fear it so desperately wanted to hide.
"What's this? You scared?" Dera taunted, tilting his head in mocking curiosity. The movement was slow, deliberate, as if savoring the moment. A predatory grin twisted his lips.
"What was it you said earlier..." he mused, taking another step forward.
"Ah yes… 'I'll Make You Understand The Smell Of Fear.'"
Each syllable rolled off his tongue with deadly intent, like a promise he fully intended to keep.
WHOOSH!
In a blur, Dera vanished again—this time appearing right behind the Lycan.
Its eyes widened in shock, instincts screaming danger. It spun around—
CRACK!
Too slow.
Dera's knee slammed into its ribcage, shattering bones with brutal precision. The Lycan howled in agony, spewing blood as it crumpled to the ground.
The Lycan struggled to rise, blood dripping from its mangled body as it glared up at Dera with seething hatred.
"You... monster...!"
Dera tilted his head, almost amused.
"Monster...?"
His voice was cold, devoid of emotion.
"You don't understand..."
The purple Aura around him thickened, spiraling into an unholy vortex, distorting the cavern into a nightmarish haze. Shadows danced on the walls, stretching and writhing like malevolent spirits.
"I'm far worse..."
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath Dera's feet as he lunged, vanishing into the shadows like a wraith of vengeance.
The Lycan barely had time to react—
BAM! BAM! BAM!
A storm of devastating punches and bone-crushing kicks rained down with surgical precision, each strike carrying the weight of a sledgehammer backed by lethal intent.
The Lycan couldn't keep up—its regenerative ability failing against the relentless onslaught.
CRACK!
Its spiked bat shattered into splinters, leaving it defenseless as Dera's final, Aura-charged punch collided with its chest.
BOOOOOOM!
The Lycan was blasted backward, impaled against the jagged cavern wall, its mangled body barely recognizable. Blood poured from its open wounds, forming a gruesome pool beneath it.
Breathing heavily, Dera stood over its broken form, his corrupted Aura still flickering wildly.
"Are you done?" he asked, his tone dripping with mockery.
The lycan struggled to lift its head, its body trembling as it met Dera's gaze.
"Y-You… Who are you?" it managed to rasp, fear thick in its voice.
A cold smirk tugged at Dera's lips.
"Oh, I think you already know who I am," he replied, his voice laced with unsettling amusement.
The Lycan's eyes widened further, raw terror spilling from its very soul.
"Im-impossible..." it choked.
"It can't be you... You're supposed to be dead!"
The Lycan was right.
Ever since the dark purple Aura consumed Dera, his consciousness had been suppressed. Something else—something ancient and unspeakably evil—was now in control.
"Say… My… Name," the entity controlling Dera commanded, its voice layered with a chilling, otherworldly resonance. The smirk on its face was nothing short of predatory.
The lycan's breath hitched as it stammered it's final words,
"Y-You… you are… Shadrach, The Duke Of Evil."
Dera—or rather, the entity—grinned wickedly.
"Shadow, At Your Service," He said, stretching its hand toward the terrified Lycan kneeling before him.
The cavern quaked as an overwhelming surge of Aura enveloped them both.
....
"Predator."