Hunger

Its hand had shaped into a blade, and it aimed straight for my chest.

My right hand regenerated in time, and I caught the blade just before it could impale me.

"Hmm...?"

It looked shocked.

My other hand grew back, and I delivered a powerful punch to its face, knocking it backward and freeing myself from its grasp. As it stumbled, my legs regenerated, and I regained my footing.

"You, where is it?"

It demanded, all the tentacles on its back rising up and morphing into sharp blades. The tentacles shot towards me. I ducked, dodging three of them, but the fourth pierced through my leg.

It kicked forward, swinging its hand-blade at my face. I barely dodged by tilting my head to the side and countered with a punch to its gut.

It staggered back but kept its tentacles embedded in my body. From within, I could feel it spreading like roots, gripping me from the inside.

Now that it had a firm hold on me, it retracted the tentacles and yanked me forward, driving its hand-blade into my chest once again.

All throughout our fight, it had been aiming for the same spot.

I gritted my teeth and wrenched the blade from its body, pulling it out of my chest. I swung the blade toward its face, but it quickly dissolved upon contact with its skin. I leaped back, taking a breath as my body healed itself.

"B, do you have any idea why it keeps aiming for my chest?" I asked.

"It's looking for my core."

"Your core?"

"Yes, only by destroying the core can you kill my kind. Look at its chest."

I glanced at its large chest, where a glowing light emitted—an intricate blend of red and yellow, forming a brilliant orange hue.

"...That's where its core is located."

"That's bad. I have to protect my chest then," I said, realization dawning.

"Relax," B reassured. "If my core were truly there, we would have been dead a long time ago. Surprisingly, you're quite bad at combat. Given your physical build, I expected more."

"Fuck you, B! But if your core isn't in my chest, where is it?"

"It's you."

"Huh?"

"You are my core, as I am your heart. If I stop functioning, we'll die. If you die, I die as well."

"That's... strange."

"In this form, you're practically invincible, but don't be too careless. There are other ways to destroy my kind without even touching the core."

"Don't worry. I won't."

A sudden surge of confidence, mixed with burning rage, filled me. I picked up a rod from the ground and spun it in my hand.

"Here I come, monster!" I shouted.

I dashed toward the Nephilim, fully aware of where to strike. I knew my goal: if I could get this rod to its chest and tear out the core, I would win. Simple as that.

The four tentacles came at me again. I swung the rod, deflecting them all and pressing forward in my charge.

It swung its fist at me, but I used the rod to deflect the blow and stopped its arm with my other hand. With the rod raised, I aimed for its chest, but before I could strike, its tail lashed out, impaling my side and lifting me into the air.

"Arrgghhh!"

The pain was unbearable.

I dropped the rod, my only weapon. Yet, the fury within me was overwhelming. I didn't care. I grabbed onto its tail and squeezed until I ripped it off, freeing myself.

I stared at the severed tail in my bloodied hands, and a primal hunger surged within me. Without thinking, I devoured the tail. It tasted... good. Too good.

I wanted more.

"You... cannib—"

Before it could finish, I charged at it, grabbing its face. I forced my hand into its mouth and ripped its jaw apart, gnawing on its skull.

It screamed in agony.

Its tentacles shot out and struck me, but I didn't flinch. I kept tearing into it, consuming more and more. With each bite, my hunger only grew.

Finally, I plunged my hand into its chest and pulled out an orange orb the size of a soccer ball, glowing brightly. My mouth opened wide, revealing blade-like teeth, and with one swift motion, I swallowed the core whole.

Instantly, my hunger vanished, along with the rage and searing heat. My body began to shrink, and the tough scales that had covered me faded away. I reverted to my original form.

Exhaustion hit me like a wave, and I collapsed onto the bloodied ground, lying beside the remains of the Nephilim.

"B, what's happening?" I asked, gasping for breath.

"We won."

"Not that… I mean, what's happen—"

Before I could finish, I passed out.

***

My eyelids fluttered open, and the morning sun greeted me. I blinked, adjusting to the light. As I looked around, I realized I was in the same barren wasteland as always.

My back ached terribly. I could feel the stones I had been resting on. I tried to recall what had happened, but only fragments of memory surfaced. I sat up, rubbing my face with my hand, only to notice that my right arm had stretched all the way back to a collapsed building.

"What... what the hell?"

"B! What's happening to my hand?"

"Oh, hey, bro. What's good?"

"B, is that you?"

My hand casually walked back to me, using its index and middle fingers. Eyes and a mouth had formed on the back of my hand, and it held a comic book in its pinky.

"You're awake, bro?"

"What the hell? What happened to me? What happened to you? Why are you talking like that?"

"That's a lot of questions, coming from you, bro."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"While you were asleep, I buried myself in some comics, so I picked up the speech. Took less than a minute to perfect it."

"Oh..." I nodded slowly. "That kind of makes sense. But why is my hand like this?"

"Beats me. I'm guessing it's a side effect of eating my kind."

"What?!"

"I'm just speculating. I'm not sure. Remember, it had the same features, but on its back. Yours seems different."

I tilted my head, trying to wrap my mind around it. What B said was partly true. The Nephilim had tentacles on its back, but my hand wasn't a tentacle—it was stretching, like rubber.

Wait a minute... Something like this had happened before. I was sure of it. If I remembered correctly, the year I gained my sight, B had consumed one of his kind, a slimy one, and afterward, he took on the same appearance. That time, he had turned purple.

If my suspicions were right, then...

"B! Make my hand take your form!"

"You can do that on your ow—"

"Just do it!"

My left arm shifted into the Nephilim form. I stared at it, focusing hard.

Minutes passed, but nothing happened. B, engrossed in his comics and I kept concentrating, sweat dripping down my face. Finally, my middle finger flattened, turning into a blade.

"Awesome!" I exclaimed.

My suspicions were correct. I could absorb the powers of any Nephilim I ate.

[NEXT: NEXT MOVE, CITY WITHIN THE IRON WALLS]

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Pic of Ryuma X B-three V2