I just stared down at the creature. My health bar was sitting at 15 out of 75. One good hit, and I was done. No, I already knew—I wasn't winning this fight.

  The beast began to circle me. I mirrored its movements, both of us locked in a deadly rhythm.

  Fenrir, growing tired of this cat-and-mouse game, lunged in with a vicious swipe. I barely dodged it. My tank top shredded, and I hissed in pain as its cws grazed across my chest—sharp, fast, burning.

  I leapt back to create distance, but I wasn't quick enough.

  In a fsh, Fenrir was in front of me.

  Its massive jaws swung open, aiming to rip a chunk out of me. I didn't have time to think.

  "Shit!" I shouted, throwing up both hands to hold its mouth open.

  The stench hit me instantly—like rot and decay, as if death itself lived in its breath.

  My arms trembled under the pressure as its teeth snapped closer, closer—seconds from crushing my skull like gss.

  "AAAAARRaaaaaGHAAAAAAA!" I screamed, pushing every ounce of strength I had left into my arms.

  With sheer willpower, I cmped down on the beast's snout, muscles straining, my fingers digging in like iron cws.

  Then I exploded.

  A brutal onsught followed—sshes, punches, kicks—every strike fueled by pain, fury, and survival. I struck its face with my mutated arm, hammered its jaw with a fist, then twisted my body into a spinning kick that connected hard with its neck.

  The beast snarled and reeled, but I kept going.

  Left. Right. Elbow. Knee.

  I didn't stop until my vision blurred and my body screamed in protest. With brutal, desperate steps, I lunged forward—my Sembnce-infused arm glowing faintly—and drove it straight into the wolf's eye in a savage stabbing motion.

  The beast howled, a horrible, bone-rattling screech that echoed through the forest. It thrashed violently, each cry more twisted and broken than the st, but I didn't let go.

  I opened my hand inside its eye socket. The sound was sickening—wet, raw, and cruel.

  Then I ripped it out.

  The Grimm colpsed to the ground in agony, twitching and writhing, its remaining eye wide with shock and hatred as thick, bck fluid poured from its ruined face.

  A wicked grin appeared on my face. "Not so tough now, huh!?" I chuckled, taunting the creature in front of me.

  A wicked grin spread across my face."Not so tough now, huh?!" I barked, my voice ragged with exhaustion and bloodlust.

  I chuckled darkly, dragging my foot back like a predator about to pounce, taunting the writhing beast in front of me.

  The Grimm gurgled a twisted snarl, still trying to stand despite the thick sludge of its own ichor dripping from the ruined socket.

  "You were real cocky a minute ago..." I muttered, cracking my knuckles. "What happened?"

  The beast snarled, and that bck-red aura fred up around it again, like it was pissed off about the eye I ripped out. I tried to step back, but everything in my body screamed in protest. My chest felt like it had a hole through it, my legs were jelly, and my head was spinning. But I didn't have time to think.

  Before I could even blink, the damn thing was on me.

  **BAM!**

  Its cws raked across my chest so fast I didn't even see it coming. I flew back, crashing into a tree like I was a ragdoll. The air was knocked out of me, and I couldn't breathe for a second. I tried to move, to get back up, but my body wouldn't cooperate. My arm felt like dead weight, and I could barely even feel my leg.

  **Health bar? 5/75.**

  I was done.

  The creature didn't wait. It was on me again, faster than I could react. **CRACK!** Its teeth dug into my shoulder, pulling me up like I was nothing. The pain was so sharp I couldn't even scream—just grunted. It threw me around like a toy, smming me into the ground over and over, each hit making my vision blur a little more.

  Bones cracked. My body felt like it was breaking. Everything hurt so bad that I couldn't even feel my own screams anymore.

  I was losing.

  And it wasn't even trying its hardest yet.

  Between its damn jaws—it started to cmp down, slow and steady like it wanted to savor every second of tearing me in half.

  "AAAAAArAAAHAahaHAAHahahhAGAHAHAHAHAHAH!" I screamed my lungs out, ughing and crying all at once. My body was breaking, and the pain was hell. But the beast? Man, the beast was loving it. Like it was feeding off my suffering.

  I could feel the bones in my ribs starting to shift, my spine screaming like it was about to snap. But I wasn't done. Not yet.

  With the st drop of strength, I forced my metallic cws back into its missing eye socket—deep. I twisted, then ripped its eyelid open, exposing the raw, grotesque wound beneath.

  The thing threw its head back, howling like a demon, its mouth wide as it shook me like a ragdoll.

  Then—WHAM! It smacked me clean off with one savage jerk.

  I flew.

  I hit the side of the cliff, tumbled, smmed through branch after branch—each one snapping, cracking, or straight-up destroying me on impact. Felt like I was getting jumped by a whole forest.

  Then?

  Darkness.

  I could feel it—the sunlight, warm and annoying, poking at my eyelids. Something soft was under me. Not like a bed, more like a couch or a cot that had seen better days. It smelled like rubbing alcohol and cold air. Sterile... but chill. Hospital vibes.

  My whole body ached. Everything felt sore and stiff, like I got run over by a truck, then dragged a few miles for fun.

  I forced my eyes open—and damn near forgot how to breathe.

  Hovering over me was a girl. Blonde. Sunny blonde. Her hair swayed gently, almost glowing in the light pouring through the window behind her. Her eyes were a deep amethyst—straight-up otherworldly. She was just looking at me, like I was some weird science experiment or something.

  But then my gaze dropped a little.

  ...Her chest.

  Big. Like, distractingly big.

  I blinked a few times, trying to figure out if I was still hallucinating from blood loss or if I'd actually died and leveled up into some twisted version of heaven.

  I couldn't help it. It just slipped out.

  "Huge," I said out loud without thinking.

  My eyes widened. "Shit!" I spped a hand over my mouth.Why the hell did I say that!?

  I already knew what was coming—she was definitely gonna think I was some kind of perv. And to make it worse, I realized I was still staring... dead at her chest.

  The blonde tilted her head slightly, her amethyst eyes gleaming with that same smug mischief that screamed trouble. Her golden hair swayed with every little movement she made, wild and free, just like her. That smirk of hers? Dangerous. It was like she knew exactly what was running through my head—and hell, maybe she liked it.

  She leaned in even closer—way too close. I could feel the heat from her body now, scenting the air with that sweet cherry-like fragrance, mixed with something smooth like vanil. Too damn close. I was trying to focus, but I was getting lost in it.

  She was wearing a school uniform, but not your average kind. This was pure Kagayura-style chaos—loose, rebellious, and oh-so-teasing. Her white shirt was tied just under her chest, showing off her ft stomach and tight waist. The bra? Still on—barely. Just enough to tease, not enough to keep things hidden. Her skirt rode high, hugging her hips with barely any fabric to spare. And those loose socks were halfway down her legs, like she couldn't be bothered to finish the look. Everything about her was perfect and wrong in all the best ways.

  Then she crossed her arms—big mistake. Or maybe it was a trap. Either way, it only made things worse. Her chest bounced, jiggled, and pressed together. It was like being trapped in some slow-motion anime moment, and I couldn't escape. I tried to look away, but damn, it was hard.

  She licked her lips, slow and deliberate. I could feel my heart rate speeding up, and my mind just short-circuited.

  "Do you like what you see?" she asked, voice dropping low, full of teasing confidence. "Because I know what I like seeing."

  Her gaze slid down to my chest. My abs. Sweat glistening on my skin, and I had no idea how I hadn't noticed just how good I looked. I followed her eyes down, my breath hitching.

  Holy shit... I'm ripped, I thought, momentarily distracted from everything else.

  She took another step closer, her finger just hovering above my chest now. It was like the entire room was closing in on us, but all I could focus on was her.

  Then, with that damn smirk still pstered on her face, she pced her finger on my chest slowly moving down to my abs. Her touch caused a surge a tug to my nerves.

  "So, do you gotta name handsome," said the blond who being to draw circles around my chest with her fingers

  Before I can open my mouth heard the door open. And heard a new voice, it was a girl.

  "YANG, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" a new voice snapped, cutting through the tension.

  By the door stood three people.

  Two of them were grown men, probably in their forties, and both carried themselves like they'd seen way too much in their time—battle-hardened, world-weary, that kind of vibe. But it was the girl that really caught my eye.

  She was dressed in the same school uniform as Yang—now officially the name of the blonde bombshell who nearly gave me a heart attack—but the way she wore it was way different. Modest. Sharp. Like she actually respected the dress code... while still managing to look absolutely stunning.

  She was shorter than Yang, yeah—but she still had curves for days. Her chest wasn't quite on Yang's level of chaotic, but it was still enough to make me double take. Her hips had a soft, subtle fre to them, and the way the skirt hugged her figure was doing all kinds of things to my heart rate.

  Absolutely—here's that next part with some extra finesse, keeping your voice and adding just a bit more fir while tightening the flow:

  And then there was her hair—bck with deep red highlights, like a crimson fme hidden in a midnight sky. It framed her face just right, and those serious eyes of hers cut through the air like she'd stepped out of a dream and wasn't here to py games.

  Gorgeous didn't even cover it. She had that quiet power to her—like the kind of girl you might underestimate once, and only once, because she'd make sure you never forgot the mistake.

  Then my attention shifted to the two older guys.

  The first had wild blond hair and was clearly in the middle of fussing at Yang—his voice sharp, dad-mode fully activated. Considering how much they looked alike—the hair, the eyes, the same stubborn energy—I didn't even need a blood test to figure that one out.

  The other guy, though... the one with raven-bck hair and a more brooding look? He didn't say anything. Just stood there with his arms crossed, shaking his head slowly like he was tired of seeing this whole circus unfold. Same disappointed vibe as the red-streaked girl. No yelling. Just that heavy, "I expected better," type of energy.

  And me? Lying there on the floor, shirtless, probably still sweating and looking all kinds of dumb?

  All I could think was one thing:

  Who the hell are these people...?