"What's the plan now, sir?"
A barely audible voice broke through the heavy silence beneath the crimson sky. Two Roar agents crouched behind a jagged mound of rocks, bruised and bloodied bearly alive.
"We wait... We wait for for backup," the older man grunted through clenched teeth, one arm limp and bleeding in a Roar Enforcer's uniform.
"Wait… F-Flein, just hang in there. I've already called for help they'll be here soon, okay? Just... wait," the man said, trying to calm the younger agent as blood gushed from a gaping wound in the boy's abdomen.
"Hope they get here in time…" he muttered.
Elsewhere...
"Drive faster!"
Gruger's voice roared from inside a roaring Metabus, glaring at the agent behind the wheel. Several other Metabuses followed closely behind, engines humming like beasts preparing for slaughter.
"Where are we heading, boss?" asked a scarred man wielding a massive hammer.
Gruger looked over his shoulder at him and said simply,
"We're going to take back what belongs to Roar."
Those words echoed in the vehicle. The Roar agents inside looked confused some even alarmed. What exactly did Gruger mean?
They had all assumed this was a retaliatory strike, the start of a gang war perhaps targeting a rival settlement. The tension in the vehicle thickened.
"What do you mean by that?" asked an older agent, his voice cautious and laced with a Sense of distain. "those the head know about this?"
Infact Gruger wasn't the true Vice-Head of Roar. He had earned the title after an internal power struggle not by rank or vote, but by cruelty. The Head favored his brutality and how cruel Gruger was and Gruger had plenty of it. Many in Roar still resented the appointment but none couldn't go against the will of the head.
"Enough," a new voice cut through the air firm, sharp.
It was the blue haired now one-eyed Miss Kenny.
"You're all wrong. This isn't some petty raid. We received a distress signal from one of our units sent to obtain something from one of our settlements. The unit where attacked by a hugely pack of corrupted wolves. And form the message we received it's seems that they where been lead by two wolves not just any pair of wolves but two corrupted variants were spotted among the pack."
After those words dropped from her mouth the atmosphere in the metabus changed.
Even the more hardened, silent elites in the Metabus sat upright at the mention of variants. Everyone understood the value of a corrupted variant's Essence Core.
In this world, Essence Cores found in beasts like Wirens were stores of pure mana. The stronger the beast, the purer the core. And corrupted variants? And for some Their cores where priceless. They could be used to power and create mana machines, cultivate plants, forge weapons, but what makes them truly valuable is that they can enhance one's own mana.
"So, two variant Lycans?" the hammer-wielding man grinned, excitement rising.
Gruger ignored the chatter. He knew these elites didn't respect him, and it gnawed at him. But killing them wasn't an option. Not yet. First, he had to prove his worth.
"We're almost at the location," the driver said.
The elites stood up, checking their weapons, eyes burning with hunger. They weren't just following orders they saw this as an opportunity. In this world, only the strong had a say. And if they could kill a variant…
The Metabus came to a stop.
And then chaos.
As the doors swung open, a wave of corrupted wolves descended from the surrounding cliffs they were waiting, like they had predicted this very arrival. They swarmed, tearing into the enforcers from the trailing Metabuses.
Screams. Blood. Carnage.
Gruger and the elites stepped out, watching in cold silence as the weaker agents were ripped to shreds.
"You three, handle this mess," Gruger commanded, pointing at the wolf-swarmed chaos.
Then he turned to the older man and a trembling agent.
"You two follow me."
Without waiting for protests, Gruger, Miss Kenny, and the two followed a separate path into the woods presumably toward the variants.
The three elites left behind just stood there… watching.
"Aren't we gonna do something?" asked a black-haired girl with a cigarette in her mouth.
"What do you mean, Toga?" .
"What i mean Ronal... are we really just gonna stand here and watch them die?"
"What do you want us to do? Save Gruger's men?" said another agent, twirling two daggers and wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
"Well… when you put it like that…"
"They're all Stage One Classless so Killing them wouldn't even be worth the effort," Ronal sighed.
Toga squinted. "True they don't posess essence core..... Wait Why aren't they attacking us?"
"Low-level beasts only strike what's closest," Ronal answered. "Stupid beast."
"Why aren't you going after the variants then?" Ronal asked, facing the dagger-wielder.
"yeah that it's Not like you to take orders—especially from Gruger."
He spun the dagger in his hand, then shrugged.
"Is it a problem if I choose to follow orders?"
"It's just... not like you," Ronal muttered.
"And it's not like Gruger to ever tell us the whole truth."
"You think he's lying?" Toga asked.
"Could be. He could also be telling the truth," the dagger-wielder replied, rising slowly. "But one thing's for sure.Gruger can't be trusted. He's after something else."
"…But what?" Ronal murmured.
Suddenly BOOM.
A blinding flash erupted as the man hurled his mana-infused dagger toward the corrupted wolves. A chain of explosions followed, rippling across the field. Fire surged outward like a tidal wave, consuming the wolves and the Metabuses they'd come in.
"Whoa..." Toga whispered in awe, watching the inferno light up the battlefield.
' He caused that... with a single dagger? He really is the Great Assassin John Beecroft,' Ronal thought. Staring at the chain of explosions in amazement.
"Impressive. I knew you were good, but not this..." Ronal turned to speak only to find John gone. As if he'd vanished into thin air.
"Whoa... he's mysterious," Toga said, wide-eyed.
But the moment of awe didn't last long.
As the flames began to fade, charred silhouettes started to rise. Still-burning wolves, corrupted and rabid, staggered back to their feet. Their hollow eyes locked onto Ronal and Toga, drool dripping from their jaws.
They lunged forward in a frenzy but they weren't ready for what came next.
Ronal's spear spun through the air, slicing through the beasts mid-charge. Blood sprayed as they were ripped apart, their limbs scattering across the ash-coated ground. Yet still, some rose again groaning, shaking off the pain.
"Relentless bastards..." Ronal growled.
A shadow passed overhead.
Toga.
She dropped down, her full arm glowing with charged mana. With a wild grin, she punched the ground.
BOOM. Another shockwave. Another explosion.
Wolves flew backward like ragdolls, but more came. They leapt toward her, only for her to spin and tear them apart with raw power.
Her punches crushed skulls. Her kicks shattered rib cages. Each move was brutal, efficient, savage.
"Weak bastards!" she cackled, laughing madly as she slaughtered them one by one.
"That crazy bitch..." Ronal muttered, watching the now blood-soaked Toga tear into the monsters with disturbing glee.
He turned back toward his fallen spear, walking cautiously. But then he stopped.
Something was coming.
He could feel it. Like pressure. Heavy and suffocating.
That wasn't a wolf... No ordinary wolf could emit that kind of presence. It must be them the Variants.
He smiled.
Just imagine the look on John's face and Gruger's when I bring down one of the Variants.
"Where are you going? Come at me!"
The blood-soaked Toga taunted, arms wide as she stepped forward. The corrupted wolves snarled, then strangely began to back away.
She grinned. "Oh? You scared? Hey, Ronal they're scared of me!"
But to her dismay, Ronal wasn't even looking at her.
He was staring straight past her eyes locked on the spot the wolves were retreating from.
Toga's smile faltered.
The corrupted wolves weren't known for fear. In fact, they didn't feel fear or pain. They were mindless beasts driven by a single instinct: to consume. They would devour anything even their own kind or cubs if it meant sating their endless hunger.
The only time they ever submitted was under the rule of one thing: a Pack Leader. A beast strong enough to dominate the others, rising through sheer force and violence to command the pack.
And in this case… it was a Variant.
Toga turned slowly. And her breath caught.
Towering above the wreckage of the Metabus the very vehicle they'd used to get here stood a massive lycan. Its black fur shimmered with an oily sheen, muscles rippling like coiled steel beneath the skin. Its eyes burned like two smoldering embers, and in its claws dangled the mangled door of the bus, torn free like paper.
Blood dripped from the huge beast open wound as it growls at the presence of the two humans
Toga's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Whoa… it's massive."
Despite the huge claw mark dripping blood at the torsal of the beast, she stared in awe, a vulgar grin creeping back onto her face. "Damn..." she muttered, in complete admiration.
Meanwhile, Ronal's mind raced This wasn't just a lycan This was something worse an injured beast
'That's the Variant. Corrupted dangerous and injured. But this pressure... it's stronger than any I've ever faced.'
He twirled his spear, mana thrumming through the shaft like a war drum. A smirk tugged at his lips.
Then, the Lycan roared.
A guttural, deafening "RRAWWWRRR!" ripped through the battlefield like thunder, shaking dust from the broken earth.
Ronal grinned wider.
'Oh yeah... this is gonna be worth it.'