Beast Evolution Forge - Chapter 119

Chapter 119: Lab 2
“Can you speak?” Vell asked, still supporting the figure who was now sitting up against one of the lab’s metal walls.

The person – Vell could now see it was a young woman – opened and closed her mouth a few times before managing a raspy “Yes.”

“Well, that’s a start,” Yenna said, keeping her distance but watching curiously. “Got a name?”

The woman’s black eyes seemed unfocused as she thought about it. “I… Subject 23? No, that’s not… I had another name. Before.”

“Before they put you in that tank?” He asked gently.

She nodded slowly. “They said… said I was special. That my body could handle pure corruption better than the others.” A shudder ran through her. “There were so many others…”

[Scanning subject’s neural patterns]

[Memory fragmentation detected]

[Warning: Emotional instability likely]

“Take it easy,” he said, noticing how the corruption under her skin pulsed faster with her distress. “You’re safe now.”

The woman let out a bitter laugh. “Safe? With this stuff inside me?” She held up her hands, watching the black veins that ran beneath her pale skin. “I can feel it… moving. Changing me.”

“Yeah, corruption tends to do that,” Yenna commented dryly. “But trust me, you got lucky. Your new friend here?” She nodded toward Vell. “He’s probably the only person who could have stabilized you.”

The woman’s dark eyes focused on Vell with new interest. “You… you’re like me?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “But close enough to help. Now, about that name – we can’t keep calling you Subject 23.”

She was quiet for a moment, then: “Ada. I think… I think that was my name. Before all this.”

“Ada it is then.” He stood up, offering her his hand. “Think you can walk? We should get out of here before—”

[Alert: Multiple signatures approaching]

[Armed response team detected]

[Estimated time to contact: 2 minutes]

“—before that happens,” he finished with a sigh. “Looks like they don’t want to let their experiment go so easily.”

Ada tried to stand but stumbled. Yenna caught her other arm. “I got her. You deal with our uninvited guests.”

He nodded, turning toward the lab entrance. The corruption in his system was still eager for release, and he could hear boots thundering down the hallway.

“Stay behind me,” he said, darkness beginning to seep from his skin. “And Ada? You might want to look away. This could get messy.”

She didn’t look away though. Instead, she watched with those impossibly dark eyes as Vell’s power rolled forward to meet the incoming threat. And despite her weakness, despite everything they’d done to her, she smiled.

“Show them,” she whispered. “Show them what their precious corruption can really do.”

Vell grinned, letting the darkness flow freely now. “Oh, I intend to.”

The first soldiers burst through the door, weapons raised.

They never stood a chance.

[Combat protocols engaged]

[Corruption levels: Optimal]

[Recommendation: Try not to enjoy this too much, Master]

“No promises,” he muttered, and stepped into the fray.

The first soldier didn’t even have time to scream.

His darkness wrapped around him like a hungry beast, crushing armor and flesh with equal ease. Blood sprayed across the sterile lab walls as he literally tore the man in half.

“Next?” His voice had that dangerous edge again, the one that made even Yenna nervous. But Ada… Ada was watching with growing fascination.

The remaining soldiers opened fire, their enhanced bullets designed to pierce supernatural defenses. But Vell just laughed, a sound that sent chills down everyone’s spine. The corrupted mana surged, turning his form into a writhing mass of shadows and teeth.

“Is this the best they sent?” He moved, one with darkness, flowing between the bullets. His hand plunged into one soldier’s chest, emerging with something red and still beating. “I’m almost insulted.”

[Warning: Corruption influencing behavior patterns]

[Recommendation: Exercise restraint]

[Master is enjoying this way too much… again.]

But he wasn’t listening… again.

He was lost in the pure joy of violence, of finally letting loose. His darkness formed razor-sharp tendrils that impaled three soldiers at once, lifting them into the air as they screamed.

“Beautiful…” Ada whispered, her black eyes wide with wonder. She could feel her own corruption resonating with his power, singing in her veins. Every brutal act, every spray of blood, made the connection stronger.

Yenna kept her grip on Ada but watched with growing concern as Vell toyed with the remaining soldiers. He wasn’t just killing them – he was taking them apart, piece by piece, with an artist’s attention to detail.

“Look how fragile they are,” he called out, his voice distorted by power. His darkness had formed a massive claw that was slowly crushing a soldier’s skull. “All their enhancements, all their training, and they break so easily!”

The last soldier tried to run. Vell’s laughter echoed through the lab as shadows wrapped around the man’s legs, slowly dragging him back.

“Please,” the soldier begged. “We were just following ord—”

His plea cut off as Vell’s darkness filled his mouth, his throat, his lungs. The man’s body convulsed as he was devoured from the inside out.

“Orders?” His smile was all teeth. “Like the orders that put Ada in that tank? That tortured her with corrupted mana until it became part of her?” His eyes blazed with dark fire. “Let me show you what those orders got you.”

What happened next made even Yenna look away. But Ada… she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Every scream, every snap of bone, every splash of red against white – it was like watching a dream come true. This was what corrupted mana could do in the right hands.

This was true power.

When it was finally over, Vell stood in the center of the carnage, his darkness slowly retreating back under his skin. The lab floor was slick with blood, and pieces of the soldiers decorated every surface.

‘Interesting power.’

[Combat concluded]

[Analyzing aftermath…]

[Note: That was… excessive]

“Feel better?” Yenna asked dryly, still supporting Ada.

He took a deep breath, his form becoming fully human again. “Much.” He turned to Ada, who was staring at him with something close to worship. “Sorry about the mess. I got a bit carried away.”

“Don’t apologize,” she said, her voice stronger now. The mana under her skin was pulsing in time with his, creating patterns of dark light. “That was… you were…” She struggled to find the words. “I didn’t know it could be like that. So beautiful. So perfect.”

He raised an eyebrow, but he could feel it too – the way their mana sang together, resonating on some primal level. She hadn’t just watched his violence; she had felt it, shared in it.

“Well,” he said, stepping carefully over what was left of the soldiers, “I guess we have more in common than I thought.”

Ada’s smile was small but fierce. “Teach me,” she whispered. “Teach me to use it like you do. Please.”

[She seems unstable, you sure about this, i advice you to kill her right now.]

‘Haha, I know but I can’t, she reminds me of my kids, I can’t just throw her away after all she went through.’

“First, let’s get you somewhere safe,” he said, though part of him – the part still burning with corrupt power – liked the idea of having a student. Someone who understood the beauty in destruction. “Then we can talk about training.”

Ada nodded eagerly, but as she tried to take a step forward, her legs gave out. Without hesitation, he moved to catch her, letting her corruption-marked skin press against his.

The contact sent electricity through them both, their shared power recognizing itself, wanting to merge, to dance, to destroy together.

“Oh,” she breathed, looking up at him with those endless black eyes. “We’re going to have so much fun.”