The beast lunged forward, sweeping its razor-sharp claws in a lethal arc. Hayato and Shisui instinctually ducked, diving in opposite directions as the wall behind them crumbled into powder.
The mutant wolf snapped its head toward Shisui, lunging again. But before its claws could make contact, Hayato grabbed the creature's tail, planted his boots into the dirt, and violently slammed the massive beast through the walls of a nearby house.
"Haha! Shisui, you were like a scared cat—"
Before Hayato could finish, the wolf burst from the debris, tackling Hayato directly through the structure next door.
"Hayato!" Shisui shouted.
The wolf spun back around, its glowing red eyes locking onto Shisui.
It charged, but Shisui vaulted over its head, pivoting mid-air to land a devastating kick across the creature's jaw. The wolf barely recoiled, lunging with ferocious speed. Shisui ducked and slipped past its frantic claw strikes with practiced grace.
This animal... it's a bio-engineered monstrosity, Shisui calculated.
Striking with lightning precision, Shisui drove a heavy straight right into the wolf's snout, followed by a crushing strike to its throat, and finished with a spinning heel kick. The force launched the beast flying backward through the ruined timber of a second house.
The creature let out an agonizing, guttural roar. Suddenly, its dark fur bulged, and its elongated claws expanded into thick, bone-like scythes.
"Damn it," Shisui muttered, dropping into a lower stance.
The wolf retaliated instantly. It moved with terrifying new speed and raw destructive power, obliterating everything in its path as Shisui narrowly dodged every lethal swipe.
Its velocity and output just increased... its body is mutating in real-time! Shisui thought.
Timing his window, Shisui stepped inside the creature's guard, delivering a localized strike directly to the wolf's elbow joint.
CRACK.
The limb snapped unnaturally. The wolf howled in agony, but Shisui gave it no quarter. Moving in a blur of strikes, he shattered its remaining legs in rapid succession before driving a final, thunderous punch into its chest, pinning the creature flat against the earth.
He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. I need to go pull Hayato out of that rubble—
A sickening crunch echoed behind him.
Shisui turned around, his eyes widening. The wolf was forcing itself up on shattered limbs as a grotesque, curved bone horn burst through the flesh of its forehead.
"How in the world is wrong with this thing...?!" Shisui growled.
The mutated beast moved faster than before. Before Shisui could react, a bone-blade claw slashed across his forearm, drawing a deep spray of blood. The wolf immediately followed up by driving its horned head forward, slamming Shisui straight through the thick stone wall behind him. Shisui dodged the horns but not the head.
Shisui hit the ground, coughing slightly as he pulled himself up. "I really should have brought my gear..." he grumbled under his breath.
The wolf's fangs elongated, extending outward like crimson-stained daggers. It sprinted toward him with predatory frenzy.
Shisui swerved out of the way, but the tip of a claw grazed his left cheek, leaving a stinging line of red. Reaching down, Shisui grabbed a heavy timber support beam, swinging it with full body rotation. The massive log struck the wolf flush in the chest, hurling it across the courtyard.
Shisui closed the distance instantly, raining heavy blows down onto the beast's head with the timber. But the wolf surged upward, severing the log cleanly in pieces with a single swipe of its claws. Shisui backflipped away, landing on the broken cobble.
The creature pounced, bringing both bone-scythes down to end him—
SWOOSH.
A blinding silver flash cut through the dark.
The wolf's right arm cleanly detached from its shoulder, spurting dark blood as it slammed onto the dirt. The creature screamed, stumbling backward in agony.
Shisui blinked, caught off guard. What hit it...?
Hayato stepped out from the shadows, casually resting a heavy, calcified bone-blade over his shoulder. It was the severed blade-arm from the mutated human skeleton they had found earlier.
Hayato grinned. "Man... separating this thing from that skeleton was a absolute pain."
The wolf snarled in a frenzy, lunging at Hayato with its remaining limb.
In a single fluid motion, Hayato blitzed past the beast. A thin line appeared down the center of the creature's body before it cleanly split in half, collapsing onto the earth motionless.
Hayato swung the bone-blade through the air, inspecting it. "This bone... is insane. It's way tougher than natural human skeletal tissue—must be fused with some kind of synthetic alloy."
He turned to Shisui with a wide smirk. "I'm definitely keeping this."
Shisui offered a quiet thumbs-up. "Nice cut. Let's move."
Hayato shook his head, holding the blade ready. "No need to worry anymore. Now that I've got this big man, nothing around here stands a chance."
Shisui looked at him seriously. "Hayato, we have no idea what else is lurking down there."
Hayato paused, his usual lighthearted expression fading into an uncharacteristic, dead-serious stare. "Shisui... if you want to turn back, go ahead. But I can't just walk away and let them experiment on that kid."
Shisui's eyes widened slightly.
"When they dragged him off, I saw a woman holding a syringe and a guy carrying a briefcase," Hayato continued, his tone dark. "Think about it. If we don't pull him out...think about his loved ones?"
Shisui stared at his friend for a moment, a faint smirk returning to his lips. He stepped forward, clapping a hand on Hayato's shoulder. "Then let's go rescue the kid. It really doesn't suit you to act all heroic, you know."
Hayato grinned. "Fair enough."
"My, my... what a delightful display," a smooth, sharp female voice chimed from above.
Both men snapped their heads toward the roof of a ruined chapel. Sitting atop the crumbling ledge, twirling a high-tech syringe between her dark-gloved fingers, was Eliza.
Hayato's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You... you evil..."
Eliza smiled down at him, her red lipstick gleaming in the moonlight. "Is that really any way to greet an old acquaintance, Hayato Yamamoto?"
Shisui glanced sideways at Hayato.
Hayato composed himself, letting out a dry chuckle. "Ah... I thought that presence felt familiar. Look who it is—Mad Scientist 2.0."
"It has been a long time, Hayato," Eliza purred.
"Indeed," Hayato replied, raising an eyebrow. "How's that psychotic scientist father of yours doing these days?"
The smile vanished from Eliza's face, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. "You've grown quite bold."
Hayato smirked, adjusting his grip on his newly acquired bone-blade. "Back home, the women call me the 'Ragebait Final Boss'."
Hayato and Eliza looked at each other, Shisui could see death in both pair of eyes.
Eliza tapped the syringe against her knee, evaluating them both. "Why are you here?"
"Oh, you know... just out for a casual night stroll," Hayato offered smoothly. "Unfortunate luck that we bumped into you."
"My orders were to eliminate any trespassers," Eliza said, her seductive tone returning. "But since I've run into an old friend... I might be willing to hear you out."
"We can just leave," Shisui cut in smoothly, testing her response.
"Nah, we love sightseeing," Hayato countered instantly. "We decided to take a full tour of the facility."
Eliza stared at Hayato for a long second before letting out a melodic, dark laugh. "...A tour. How fascinating."
Shisui leaned toward Hayato, whispering under his breath, "She is completely out of her mind. Just like you."
"Hey! What the hell, man? I am nothing like her!" Hayato hissed back.
Eliza slid off the roof, landing soundlessly on her feet in front of them. "I will grant you your tour. However... what you witness inside, you will never be allowed to speak of to the outside world."
Hayato gave her a casual thumbs-up.
Eliza turned on her heel, her red dress trailing over the dirt. "Follow me."
Hayato stepped forward without hesitation, and Shisui followed close behind, his hand resting near his concealed holster.
Why is she letting us in so easily...? Shisui thought, his guard fully raised. She was ordered to kill... and what's her history with Hayato... and what is she plotting?