Beast Evolution Forge - Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Evolve
‘A month has passed since all the crazy shit happened. We have not faced any more threats since then but I can tell, there is still a large wound in the group that has yet to heal. As for me-‘

“Regina, we need some help!”

“coming!” She stood up and picked up her sword in a flash. ‘I have been forced to travel along with them. I still don’t know why he didn’t kill me but I am thankful.’

—

“Phew, these monster attacks are becoming more and more frequent.” Wren said, wiping the sweat from her face. Regina sat at a tree, drinking some water. Wren gave her a look before sighing. “You could have run away by now, why are you still here?”

“And go where exactly? The secret of imperial city is out, I am no longer welcomed there.” She stood up, not wanting to continue the talk any further. ‘Why am I still here? Obviously because I am scared he will hunt me down and kill me.’

Wren looked at a tall building with no windows or doors. ‘master, when are you coming out? We are ready to move.’ She turned and returned back to town.

Inside, Vell sat at the top, his body surrounded by corrupted mana and that dark energy. They were working together to heal him. His pathways were fully done, mana cores full, systems, back online. His body was back to peak performance and yet, he refused to leave, as if he was not ready.

“Why won’t you come out?” he asked himself softly. “Everything’s fixed now. The pathways, the cores, all of it.”

But he knew why. In here, he could pretend things were different. He could hide from the truth – that his family was gone, that he’d failed to protect them. The dark room matched how he felt inside.

A sound made him look up. Regina stood at the back of the room, her sword at her side. She didn’t draw it, though. They both knew that was pointless now.

“The others are worried,” she said simply.

He didn’t respond at first. He watched the corrupted mana dance around his fingers. “Why are you still here? You could have left weeks ago.”

She laughed, but there was no joy in it. “And go where? The Imperial City wants me dead. The Organization would kill me for failing their little experiments. At least here…” She paused. “At least here I know what to expect.”

“Do you?” His eyes met hers. “Because I don’t even know what to expect from myself anymore.” His eyes glowed a deep red, “Maybe I should just kill you, after all, you are half responsible for this.” He appeared in front of her in an instant, picking her up by her throat. “if you never experiment on them, ruined their bodies, they could have at least fought back until I arrived.”

She struggled to breathe as his grip tightened around her throat. His eyes burned with that dangerous red glow, and the dark energy around him made the air feel heavy.

“I-I know,” she choked out. “That’s why… that’s why I’m still here.” Her hands didn’t try to break free from his grip. “If you want to kill me… go ahead. I deserve it.”

He stared at her for a long moment. The rage inside him wanted to crush her throat, to make her pay for what she’d done to his family. But something held him back.

“Master!” Wren’s voice came from outside. “More monsters are coming!”

He let go of her, and she fell to her knees, coughing. “We’re not done with this conversation,” he said coldly.

She rubbed her throat, watching him approach the wall. “You know why you can’t kill me,” she said quietly. “The same reason you keep sitting in this dark room. You’re afraid.”

He stopped. “Afraid?”

“Of becoming like them. The ones who took everything from you.” She stood up slowly. “The moment you kill me out of pure revenge, you’ll be no different from the Organization.”

The dark energy around him pulsed angrily, but he didn’t turn around. Deep down, he knew she was right. His hatred had already changed him so much. How much more before he became exactly what he was fighting against?

Another shout came from outside, followed by the sounds of fighting. Wren and the others were holding off the monsters, but they needed help.

“Fine,” he said finally. “Do as you wish.” He phased through the wall, letting sunlight hit his face for the first time in weeks. “But you’ll help us hunt down every last person who was involved in the attack. Every scientist, every guard, every person who knew and did nothing.”

She picked up her sword, a bitter smile on her face. “As if I have a choice.” She followed him out into the light.

He jumped down from the building, dark energy trailing behind him like a shadow. The monsters turned toward him, sensing a new threat. But before they could move, his power exploded outward, and the real fight began.

Regina watched from above, her hand still on her throat. ‘He could have killed me,’ she thought. ‘Maybe should have. But he didn’t.’ She gripped her sword tighter. ‘I’ll help him hunt them down. It’s the least I can do after what I helped them do to his family….what is happening to me.’

“Hey there kiddo.” He said to Wren with a smile.

“Hi dad, what took you so long?”

“Sorry about that, was going over some stuff. Let’s clean up this mess shall we.”

The B-rank monsters charged forward – massive beasts with scales and razor-sharp claws that could tear through steel. A month ago, they might have been a serious threat. Now they were barely a warmup.

Vell moved first, his restored mana pathways humming with power. Dark energy mixed with corrupted mana in perfect harmony as he phased through the first monster’s attack. His blade materialized in his hand, cutting through the creature’s scales like they were paper. “Wren, left flank!”

“Got it!” She was already moving, her new abilities letting her keep perfect pace with him. Where once she might have hesitated, now she flowed like water between the monsters’ attacks. Her own power – a mix of what she’d always had and something new gained near death – made quick work of two more beasts.

Regina flanked right without being told, her sword work precise and lethal. She might have been their enemy once, but now she fought alongside them with practiced efficiency. Her blade found the weak points in the monsters’ armor, each strike calculated and devastating.

‘I still don’t understand why I’m helping them,’ she thought as she dispatched another beast. ‘But it feels… not too bad, i never had people like this around me. could I have turned out differently?’

From the rooftops, Jolly’s arrows found their marks with uncanny accuracy. Each shot was enhanced with her newly strengthened abilities, piercing through multiple targets before dissipating.

“Area’s almost clear!” she called out, already nocking another arrow. The guilt of not being there when their family was attacked had driven her to train relentlessly, and it showed in every perfect shot.

Ada moved through the battlefield like a shadow, her mastery of corrupted mana second only to Vell’s. Where his power mixed with that strange dark energy, hers was pure corruption, eating away at the monsters’ defenses like acid through metal.

Each strike left trails of corrupted mana that continued to devour whatever they touched, making even a glancing blow potentially fatal.

“Feels good to be back in action!” She said, spinning in the air happily.

“Don’t play around, we need to finish this quick, master is finally ready to move.” Jia said, her beast instincts alerted her to more monsters coming from the forest. She crouched low, ready to fight. “More of them heading our way. Looks like a whole pack.”

“Good,” Vell said, his dark energy swirling around him. “We could use the practice.” He turned to the group with determination in his eyes. “After we clean up here, we start heading to the tower. We have delayed it long enough.”

A howl echoed from the forest as more monsters emerged – massive wolf-like creatures. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural purple light, and corruption leaked from their jaws like toxic drool.

“Perfect timing,” he said, a cold smile playing across his face. “Let me show you what I’ve been working on.”

He raised both hands, dark energy swirling in his left while corrupted mana gathered in his right. Instead of keeping them separate, he brought his hands together, letting the two powers intermingle. The result was beautiful and terrifying – spinning discs of corrupted mana outlined in dark energy, hovering around him like deadly halos.

“Master, that’s-” Wren started, but her words were cut short as he launched into action.

The discs shot forward, each one spinning at impossible speeds. Where they struck, they didn’t just cut – they devoured. The corrupted mana ate through flesh and bone while the dark energy prevented any regeneration. The first wave of wolf-beasts fell apart, their bodies dissolving into nothing.

But he wasn’t done. He phased through a lunging monster, leaving behind a trail of those deadly discs. They spun in place, creating a cyclone of destructive energy. Any monster that touched it was shredded instantly, their remains consumed by the dual powers.

“Formation Delta!” he called out, and the girls moved without hesitation.

Wren and Regina herded the remaining monsters into a tight group while Jolly’s arrows forced them to dodge in predictable patterns. Ada and Jia flanked the sides, making sure none escaped.

Vell raised his hands again, but this time the discs were different. Dark energy formed the core while corrupted mana spun around the edges. He launched them in a complex pattern, each disc leaving trails of energy that connected to form a massive pentagram.

The pentagram erupted with power. Discs of dark energy and corrupted mana spun through the trapped monsters like a lethal light show, each one moving in perfect synchronization. The beasts howled as they were torn apart, their very essence devoured by the combined powers.

When the energy faded, nothing remained of the monsters – not even ash.

“Impressive,” Regina said, trying to hide her unease at the display of power. “You’ve managed to perfectly blend two opposing forces.”

He flexed his hand, watching as dark energy and corrupted mana danced between his fingers. “They’re not really opposing anymore. The darkness… it hungers for everything, even corruption. And the corruption is happy to be consumed, as long as it gets to devour something in return.”

Wren approached carefully, fascinated by the swirling energies. “But how do you control them both at once? Wouldn’t they try to destroy each other?”

“That’s the key,” he replied, creating another disc that spun lazily above his palm. “I don’t try to control them. I just… direct their hunger.” The disc split into two, one dark and one corrupted, then merged back together. “They want to destroy everything. I just show them what to destroy first.”

“Like a dance,” Jolly mused, watching the display. “Two predators hunting together instead of fighting each other.”

Ada studied the remnants of energy with professional interest. “The applications for this could be endless. The corruption weakens physical defenses while the darkness prevents energy manipulation…”

“And together,” he finished, dismissing the disc, “they make sure nothing comes back once it’s destroyed.” His eyes darkened slightly. “Which will be very useful when we find the rest of the Organization.”

Jia’s enhanced senses suddenly picked up movement from deeper in the forest. “More coming. Bigger ones this time.”

“Good.” His hands filled with swirling power once again, dark energy and corrupted mana mixing into deadly new forms. “I have a few more combinations I’ve been wanting to test.”

The others readied their weapons, but they couldn’t help stealing glances at their master. His power had always been impressive, but this was something else entirely. The way he wielded both dark energy and corrupted mana together, creating new techniques that shouldn’t have been possible…

It was beautiful, terrifying, and a clear warning to their enemies: he wasn’t just recovering. He was evolving.