Beyond Human: The Experiment Who Became a Monster

CHAPTER 9: Caught Between Beasts

Just as he was running as fast as his legs could carry him, he couldn't help but notice that the temperature around him had suddenly begun to rise.

SCREEEECH!

An ear-piercing screech suddenly echoed through the sky, prompting him to look up.

Several meters away, a massive bird-like beast could be seen soaring through the air. With every powerful flap of its wings, it drew closer, its enormous figure growing increasingly clear. Azrael's expression changed the moment he caught sight of it.

He now understood why the temperature had suddenly risen as the beast was completely wreathed in blazing flames.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Azrael muttered under his breath.

He was already struggling to escape the terrifying creature pursuing him from behind. Now, another equally terrifying beast had appeared, leaving him caught between the two.

Azrael was still lamenting his terrible luck when the flaming bird-like beast suddenly opened its massive beak. A gigantic ball of flames erupted from within, tearing through the air at terrifying speed and leaving a blazing trail in its wake.

Azrael had just begun to resign himself to his fate when the fireball flew right over his head, continuing towards the forest ahead.

BOOOOM!

A massive explosion erupted in the distance behind him. Flames, rocks, and debris were sent flying in all directions as the surrounding area was engulfed in a sea of fire.

Azrael was caught in the resulting shockwave that swept through the forest, sending him flying through the air. He crashed onto the ground several meters away, tumbling across the forest floor before finally coming to a stop.

After a while, Azrael finally managed to get back on his feet. He turned towards the site of the explosion, only to find the bird-like beast locked in a fierce confrontation with a massive brown-furred ape that stood nearly ten meters tall.

Taking a closer look at the ape, Azrael soon realized that it was most likely the very beast that had been pursuing him. It also appeared to be the reason the flaming bird-like beast had suddenly appeared and launched an attack.

The most likely explanation was that the ape had crossed into the bird's territory, provoking its hostility. It probably had nothing to do with Azrael being spotted. To the bird, he was most likely nothing more than another potential prey, and having one more creature in its territory was hardly worth interrupting its attention over.

This realization left Azrael wondering why the ape had been pursuing him in the first place, even going as far as to chase him into another magical beast's territory.

"Could it be...?"

A thought suddenly crossed his mind as he recalled the brief transformation his body had undergone after swallowing the wolf's beast core, along with the mysterious violet aura that had emanated from him.

Although he couldn't be certain, he couldn't dismiss the possibility either. After all, he was far too small and insignificant to be worth pursuing by such a terrifying beast, especially considering how persistently it had chased him.

ROOOAAARRR!

A deafening roar of pain echoed through the forest, jolting Azrael out of his thoughts and drawing his attention back to the battle.

By now, the fight between the two beasts had reached a fever pitch. Numerous burn marks and injuries covered the ape's body, its once brown fur now charred black in several places. The flaming bird-like beast wasn't unscathed either. Several bruises marred its body, and one of its wings appeared to have sustained considerable damage.

At first glance, the two beasts seemed evenly matched. However, the longer Azrael watched their battle, the more he realized that the brown-furred ape was at a severe disadvantage.

As an earth-attributed beast, the ape was naturally more suited to fighting on the ground. Its opponent, on the other hand, possessed the advantage of flight and could unleash powerful long-range attacks with its flames, making it difficult for the ape to land a decisive blow.

Although the ape possessed exceptional defensive capabilities, there was only so much punishment its body could withstand before eventually reaching its limit.

Just as Azrael was analysing the battle, the flaming bird-like beast suddenly soared higher into the sky before giving its wings a powerful flap. In an instant, hundreds of flaming feathers shot out from its wings, raining down towards the brown-furred ape like a barrage of fiery arrows.

Faced with the incoming attacks, the ape immediately raised both arms, causing a thick wall of earth to rise from the ground in front of it.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One flaming feather after another slammed into the earthen wall, sending cracks spreading across its surface. The intense heat from the flames rapidly melted the earth, weakening its structure with every impact.

Before long, the wall could no longer withstand the barrage and crumbled apart. The remaining flaming feathers continued forward, striking the ape across several parts of its body. Rather than simply burning its fur, the flaming feathers clung to it and burned through its thick coat, inflicting further damage.

The ape staggered backwards from the impact before eventually collapsing to the ground.

GROOOARR!

It let out a series of pained growls as it struggled to get back on its feet.

Seeing its opponent in such a weakened state, the flaming bird-like beast immediately unleashed another attack, seemingly intent on giving the ape no chance to recover.

A massive mass of flames erupted from its beak, shooting towards the ape with terrifying speed.

Still reeling from the previous attack, the ape failed to react in time. Before it could raise another defensive barrier, the fiery mass crashed into its body, engulfing it in flames and sending it crashing back to the ground.