Engulfed in flames, Yuutenji Nyamu fiercely broke through the retreating beast horde! The modified long-handled knife drew a cold, straight line through the scorching air, carrying all her anger and defiance, thrusting it violently towards Fudou Hayabusa's heart!
"Pfft!"
The muffled sound of the blade tearing through flesh and piercing bone clearly resounded!
However—
"Ugh!" Fudou Hayabusa let out a pained grunt, his body trembling violently.
The anticipated fatal sensation of his heart being pierced did not arrive. Just as the knife tip was about to touch his chest, a violent, terrifying tremor from beneath his feet suddenly struck.
The entire repair shop seemed to be violently shaken by an invisible giant hand; parts piled on the shelves rained down, and the ground violently bucked.
Nyamu lost her footing, and that single thrust, which had concentrated all her strength and was meant to be decisive, inevitably shifted during the tremor, piercing below his left shoulder blade.
"Damn it!" Nyamu immediately tried to twist the knife handle to widen the wound, but Fudou Hayabusa reacted even faster! Stimulated by the intense pain, his hand gripped the knife shaft, which was embedded in his body, like an iron vice, and the immense strength prevented Nyamu from pulling out the knife for a moment.
The source of the tremor was the colossal object beneath their feet—the dormant Nightingale fighter jet!
A hint of madness and determination flashed in Fudou Hayabusa's eyes.
In the life-or-death moment when Nyamu broke through the fire net and the blade was upon him, he unhesitatingly mobilized the Stand energy within his body, frantically injecting it into the biological remains he had long buried within the Nightingale's fuselage, those used to modify the fighter jet!
"Awaken, Nightingale!"
The dormant steel beast was injected with a violent soul; the Nightingale's massive body suddenly shook, and the dust and oil covering it rustled off. The previously silent dashboard instantly lit up with a dazzling red glow, and the two engines let out a deafening, wild roar.
The furious engine roar instantly drowned out all other sounds, and powerful thrust erupted from the tail!
The surrounding beasts immediately scattered like birds, but most of them began to disintegrate after leaving the workshop, reverting to their original relic state.
A large number of orange cat ears began to converge towards the fighter jet, continuously merging into its steel body.
Crack! Bang!
The heavy grounding cables connected to the landing gear snapped and flew off like fragile hemp ropes. The tire chocks fixing the front wheel twisted and shattered like paper under the immense thrust!
The heavy Nightingale was given "life," and began to tremble violently and roar on the ground, gradually accelerating and taxiing towards the wide-open door of the repair shop!
"Ugh!"
The girl and Fudou Hayabusa both staggered simultaneously from this violent thrust; Nyamu clung tightly to the knife shaft so as not to be thrown off, and the modified knife, stuck in Fudou Hayabusa's shoulder, became the cruelest link between the two.
The gray Nightingale smashed through the lingering thick smoke and rushed towards the taxiway.
The strong wind, carrying the smell of fuel and dust, lashed at her face. Nyamu, who struggled to open her eyes, felt her heart sink, because she clearly saw that the wound on Fudou Hayabusa's shoulder, pierced by her modified knife, was healing at a visible speed.
Crimson muscle fibers intertwined and grew like living things, damaged blood vessels rapidly reconnected, and skin quickly closed and healed, leaving only a rapidly fading pink scar.
He is absorbing the life energy of this "activated" fighter jet. The immense vitality, a mixture of steel and remains, is rapidly repairing his injuries and replenishing his strength!
At this moment, the Nightingale and Fudou Hayabusa formed a tight and efficient cycle: Fudou Hayabusa provided Stand energy to activate the biological remains within the fighter jet, and after the remains were activated, they, in turn, provided vitality to Fudou Hayabusa to heal his injuries, and with sufficient vitality, the recovery of Stand energy also accelerated.
This matter is also recorded in the energy circulation theory of the ecosystem!
The fluctuations in Fudou Hayabusa's eyes caused by the intense pain quickly subsided, replaced by an even deeper, icy focus.
'The biological remains embedded in the fighter jet were all carefully selected by me; they are enough to support the Nightingale in touring the entire country within half a day, maximizing the spread of Japari Park's influence, and should not be used lightly!'
'According to the meteorite fragment's prediction, my future self was supposed to carry out the plan by taking a civilian aircraft, but...'
'But then two meddling aircraft maintenance workers discovered the remains embedded in the wings and engines, causing the plan to fall through!'
'At that time, I desperately climbed out of the cabin, clinging to the wing to scatter the backup remains, but I accidentally fell from an altitude of 8,000 meters...'
'Now that the troublesome aircraft maintenance workers have been dealt with, as long as I don't fall from the wing, the future will change!'
'That's right, as long as I deal with the current threat and keep flying high on the Nightingale... I, who possesses the meteor core, will definitely be able to change this future!'
'True happiness will come!'
Fudou Hayabusa reached for the broken ring always kept at his chest; it was the treasure he had desperately stolen from the Organization—the meteor core, formed by 24 meteorite fragments.
'It is said that by successfully fusing 36 meteorite fragments, one can completely break the shackles of the predetermined future.'
'But this incomplete meteor core in my hand has already significantly altered the future! The entire Ikebukuro has become a paradise for "friends"!'
'It's enough! I have already grasped the future in my hands!'
Fudou Hayabusa glanced down at his feet again—it was a grayish-white leg bone of a serval cat, which had fallen off when Nyamu tore off the flesh from his nape earlier and had now rolled to his feet during the fighter jet's turbulence.
This was the only remaining biological sample he had that had not been destroyed by high temperatures.
'It's enough!'
"Roar—!"
Fudou Hayabusa suddenly let out an inhuman roar, and the hand gripping the knife shaft erupted with terrifying strength, actually forcibly flinging the long-handled modified knife, which had pierced his shoulder, along with Nyamu, who was tightly gripping the handle, to the side.
Nyamu felt an irresistible immense force, and her entire body was thrown like a broken kite, crashing heavily against the plane's vertical stabilizer. The intense pain made her vision blur, and her throat felt sweet with blood.
And just as she struggled to get up, Fudou Hayabusa, with fingers stained with his own blood, carefully picked up the small serval cat leg bone from the ground.
His eyes became incredibly devout, as if he were holding not a bone, but the key to the ultimate paradise.
"Japari Park," he chanted in a low voice, like a final prayer.
An extreme burst of orange-yellow light erupted from his body, and a pair of agile cat ears sprang from behind him, merging into the leg bone!
"Click... hiss..."
A teeth-grating sound arose, and Fudou Hayabusa's body underwent a drastic change:
His figure still maintained human height, but his body curves became slender and streamlined. His cheeks, neck, arms, and even his chest were quickly covered with a short, dense coat of fur, dotted with conspicuous black circular spots. His finger bones elongated, and his nails mutated into sharp claws. A long orange tail covered with black rings flexibly extended from his tailbone, swishing behind him.
His eyes transformed into a deep amber base, and his pupils contracted into two vertical slits filled with pure wildness.
He retained his human form, but donned the fur, claws, and predatory instincts of a feline!
"Meow—ow!" He bared his mouth, revealing non-human fangs, and let out a hiss mixed with menace and excitement.
His amber vertical pupils instantly locked onto Nyamu, who was struggling to get up, her breath unsteady.
No hesitation, no wasted words, only the most direct pounce!
He suddenly pushed off the ground with his hind legs!
"Whoosh—!"
A golden-black streak tore through the air; the half-beast Fudou Hayabusa, with an explosive speed far exceeding human limits, and with claw-winds that tore at the eardrums, pounced on the heavily scarred girl.
The final struggle unfolded on the roaring, taxiing steel fuselage!
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