Rowan moved as fast as his suit would allow, sprinting through the swamp with everything he had. His nanites surged outward, forming his exoskeleton, enhancing his strength and speed beyond human limits. Every step sent water and mud splashing as he tore back toward the battlefield. He had warned the other teams—told them to evacuate—but something inside him wouldn’t let him leave.

  Dev was still back there.

  He should’ve stopped him. Should’ve dragged him away instead of letting the kid run off alone. But he hadn’t been thinking straight, and Dev… Dev had.

  Now Rowan was going to fix that mistake.

  The battlefield came into view, and his HUD immediately locked onto a massive heat signature—one that was standing over Dev’s crumpled form. A towering figure, its blade raised high, ready to bring it down and end him.

  Rowan didn’t hesitate. His arm cannon snapped into place, charging in less than a second before unleashing a searing blast of energy. The air itself wavered from the heat as the beam struck its target dead-on. The sheer force sent the bastard flying, smashing through tree after tree before finally skidding to a stop in the muck.

  For a moment, there was silence.

  That should’ve put him down for good.

  Rowan could still feel the residual heat from the blast, steam rising from the scorched impact zone. His visor flickered, scanning the wreckage. Readings came back—charred flesh, shattered bones. The man should’ve been dead.

  And yet, according to his HUD, he was still breathing.

  “I guess that a Cat-4 for you at least he won’t be getting up soon”

  Rowan’s cannon folded back into his hand as he rushed toward Dev. His voice came out heavily modulated. “You good?”

  Dev barely reacted. His gaze flicked downward, and Rowan followed it—straight to his ankle. The damn thing was bent at an angle no human joint was ever meant to go. His boot looked like it was about to burst from the swelling.

  Rowan let out a sharp curse. “Damn, that’s bad. Dislocated, Hairline fracture, full ligament tear. You’re not walking anywhere anytime soon.”

  Dev didn’t seem to hear him. His breathing was shallow, his eyes glassy. Then, just as the last bit of strength left his body, he muttered something barely above a whisper.

  “Xyros…”

  Rowan froze.

  His head snapped toward Dev so fast it was a miracle he didn’t break something.

  “Hey—hey, hey!” He gave Dev a rough shake, then slapped his face for good measure. “Say that again. What did you just say?” His voice dropped into a harsh whisper, urgency threading every word.

  No response. Dev was already out cold.

  Internally, Rowan reached out. You hear that?

  The response came instantly. You’re the only human who knows I even exist. Xy’rosh’s voice was unusually tense. I have no idea how this rando knows my name.

  Shit. Rowan exhaled sharply. If he knows, others might too.

  Or, Xy’rosh countered, he’s the only one, and we’re panicking for no reason. Either way, we need answers. He’s coming with us.

  Rowan didn’t argue. He crouched down, scooping Dev up with ease, already scanning for a place to stash him.

  Then his sensors flared.

  Aether fluctuations. Large ones.

  Not random, either—all of it was converging on a single point.

  The spot where that guy had landed.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Rowan muttered, dragging Dev behind a thick root cluster. He activated a mini force-field generator, sealing him inside.

  Xy’rosh immediately protested. Careful! That last blast drained a decent chunk of my aether reserves.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Rowan muttered, waving him off. “We’ll keep it small, close combat. No fireworks.”

  Then Xy’rosh’s voice turned wary. Uh… Rowan? You’re gonna wanna see this.

  Rowan turned—and cursed under his breath.

  The bastard still had some fight left.

  There was a massive, molten hole burned through his side, his arm had a chunk missing, the flesh charred black. Yet he barely reacted.

  No. He wasn’t just standing. He was changing.

  Rowan’s visor flared, running an immediate scan. His already-imposing frame stretched, bones snapping as his height shot past seven feet. Thick, matted fur erupted across his body. His muscles bulged unnaturally, his limbs elongating with a sickening crack. His mouth twisted into a sharp snout, jagged fangs pushing past his lips. His ears sharpened and twitched—like an wolf locking onto prey.

  Rowan instinctively took a step back, his body tensing.

  “Oh. That’s not good.”

  ….

  Pain.

  A lesser man might’ve passed out from it.

  A hole burned straight through his shoulder, charred flesh and exposed muscle barely holding his arm together. Every breath rattled in his chest, every twitch sent fresh agony knifing through his nerves. His knees threatened to give, but he refused to fall, one hand bracing against a tree, claws digging into the bark.

  What the hell was that?

  His mind replayed the moment—one second, he was about to crush that little bastard into the swamp mud. The next, a searing energy beam slammed into him like a freight train, sending him flying.

  And then him.

  That stranger.

  He looked like something straight out of a sci-fi flick—sleek black armor, glowing circuitry running across its frame, a visor obscuring his face. But it wasn’t just his appearance that sent alarm bells ringing in his head. It was the way he moved. Mechanically. As if his movements were being corrected on the fly. People didn’t move like that.

  But that wasn’t the worst part.

  Beneath the metal, Boris could smell the man inside. That alone should’ve put him at ease, but something was wrong. The person in the suit had no mana—not a damn drop. The armor, however, was overflowing with it, pulsing with mana that shouldn’t even be possible. The world hadn’t come close to independently imbuing objects with mana. Hunters had to channel it manually through their weapons—yet somehow, this man’s suit was doing it on its own.

  His grip on the tree tightened, claws splintering wood. His vision blurred with fury.

  He refused to go down like this.

  Not here. Not now.

  A primal instinct surged from deep within, responding to his will. He fully flexed his innate ability—[Lycan’s Descent]—and instantly, his body snapped.

  Pain erupted through him, searing hotter than the energy blast that had torn through his shoulder. His muscles convulsed, bones shifting, reshaping. His nerves burned as his body forced itself to heal while changing all at once. His flesh stretched and tore only to be replaced by something stronger, something more.

  The transformation was agony, fire and lightning tearing through his veins—but when it was over, when he finally lifted his head, his ragged breath came out in a deep, guttural growl.

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  He barely felt the pain anymore.

  Only rage.

  His predatory eyes locked onto the armored stranger.

  His lips curled into a wicked snarl, his new voice a guttural growl.

  “Let’s see what you bleed, tin man.”

  ….

  Rowan stood frozen, staring up at the seven-and-a-half-foot-tall wolfman who had just asked him what he bled while smiling.

  It was days like these that made a man rethink his life choices. Unfortunately, now was not the time or place for introspection. Not when his brain had completely short-circuited in terror.

  Lucky for him, Xy’rosh didn’t suffer from that fear.

  Activate manual override.

  Rowan’s body moved before he could process what was happening. A massive, clawed hand, crackling with raw aether, swung down at his head like a guillotine. His body reacted instantly, legs bending as he flipped backward just as the claws slammed into the swampy ground.

  The impact was massive.

  The earth beneath them split apart, deep cracks spiderwebbing through the mud as the force of the blow sent a shockwave rippling outward. Rowan landed several meters away, boots skidding against the unstable terrain.

  "Hooman. HOOMAN! ROWAN!" Xy’rosh screamed in his head. "GET. A. GRIP!"

  Rowan blinked, his brain snapping back into focus. He looked at the wolfman—the thing that had just nearly crushed him—standing tall, muscles coiled, ready to tear him apart.

  “Thanks, Xy’rosh,” he muttered, exhaling sharply.

  "You want me to take this one?" Xy’rosh asked. "We both know I fight better when it’s just me."

  Rowan clenched his fists, flexing his fingers to keep them steady. The fear was still there, but he pushed it down. If he let Xy’rosh take full control, sure, they’d win—but it wouldn’t be him winning.

  “No,” Rowan said firmly. “This is my body. I need to learn how to use it. Just activate combat algorithms—I’m running the show.”

  "Understood. Guidance mode activated."

  Rowan felt the shift immediately. His perception sharpened, muscles loosening just enough to keep him fluid. The calculations began feeding into his neural pathways, optimizing his movements in real time.

  "One more thing, hooman." Xy’rosh’s voice held a hint of amusement. "You might wanna activate Frame-Jacking. This guy’s moving way too damn fast for your baseline reflexes."

  Rowan let out a slow breath. "Do it."

  "Roger that, hooman."

  A surge of energy pulsed through his suit as Frame-Jacking activated, boosting his reaction time to superhuman levels.

  The wolfman growled, crouching slightly, eyes gleaming with predatory intent.

  Rowan smirked beneath his helmet.

  “Alright, big guy,” he muttered, rolling his shoulders. “Let’s dance.”

  The wolfman lunged.

  Rowan barely had time to register the movement before his enhanced reflexes kicked in. One second, the beast was standing a few meters away—the next, it was on him, claws tearing through the air with enough force to carve through solid steel.

  He dodged. His body twisted, Frame-Jacking pushing his reaction speed to its limit. A claw swiped inches past his visor, the sheer wind pressure alone sending a shockwave against his suit.

  Holy shit, this thing is fast.

  The beast didn’t stop. It pressed forward, its movements fueled by instinct and unrelenting aggression. Another slash came for his torso. Rowan bent backward in a gravity-defying motion, the claws missing him by a hair. He planted his hands into the mud and pushed off, flipping backward three times before landing in a crouch.

  "Rowan, you need to counterattack. You can’t dodge forever." Xy’rosh warned.

  Rowan didn’t respond—he was already moving.

  He shot forward, activating a short-range burst designed for quick, explosive dashes. Electricity crackled through his legs as he propelled himself toward the wolfman, twisting his body mid-air. He threw a punch straight for the beast’s ribs.

  Direct hit.

  The impact was solid—but it felt like punching a goddamn boulder. The wolfman barely flinched, though Rowan could see the force ripple through its muscles.

  Rowan’s combat algorithms instantly calculated his mistake. He needed more force. The wolfman had insane durability. Even with his enhanced strength, he wasn't hitting hard enough.

  Then, a blur of fur and fangs.

  Rowan’s danger sense flared, but even with Frame-Jacking, he couldn’t avoid it entirely. A massive elbow slammed into his side, and for a moment, his entire world spun. His HUD flickered red as he was launched sideways, crashing through the mangrove roots and skidding through the mud.

  Pain flared through his ribs. His internal display was already running damage diagnostics. Cracked plating. No internal damage. Minor system strain.

  Could be worse.

  Rowan groaned, pushing himself up just in time to see the wolfman already on top of him.

  No time to react.

  The beast grabbed him by the arm and—

  SLAM.

  Rowan’s armored body was hurled into the swampy ground, the impact sending mud and water flying.

  SLAM.

  The wolfman lifted him again and threw him into a nearby tree. The thick trunk exploded into splinters as Rowan crashed through it, tumbling onto the ground with a harsh grunt.

  "Rowan, your vitals—"

  “I KNOW,” he groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood inside his helmet. His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself back onto his feet. His suit was holding, but not by much.

  The wolfman wasn’t even breathing hard.

  Rowan wiped his visor. “Alright… fine. I was gonna hold back, but screw that.”

  He flexed his fingers, and his suit began to hum as blue lines of energy pulsed through it.

  "Xy’rosh," he exhaled. "Unlock Aether Gauntlets. Let’s hit this bastard where it hurts."

  "Better finish it quick then" Xy’rosh cackled. "Deploying Aether Gauntlets. Don’t die, hooman."

  The circuits on Rowan’s arms flared to life, shifting and rearranging as his forearms expanded, forming sleek, glowing gauntlets brimming with stored aether.

  He cracked his knuckles, feeling the raw power surge through his limbs.

  The wolfman charged.

  Rowan met him halfway.

  Rowan ducked under another wild swing, twisting his body as his gauntlet-covered fist slammed into the wolfman’s ribs. This time, there was a reaction—a visible ripple through the beast’s body as the energy discharged on impact. The force sent tremors through the wolfman’s frame, its body momentarily recoiling from the shock.

  Rowan didn’t let up. He planted his foot and drove another punch into the beast’s gut, the crackling energy from his Aether Gauntlets discharging like a thunderclap. The wolfman coughed, saliva and blood spraying from its maw, but it powered through the blow, its claws already swinging for Rowan’s head.

  Reacting on instinct, Rowan tilted his body just enough for the strike to graze his shoulder plate. The force still sent him sliding back, boots carving deep furrows in the mud. Before he could recover, the beast lunged again, this time sweeping low, aiming to take out his legs.

  Rowan saw it coming a split-second early. He jumped, tucking his knees to his chest and flipping over the strike. Midair, he twisted his body and extended his leg, aiming a precise axe kick toward the wolfman’s skull. The beast reacted fast, jerking its head to the side, but Rowan’s foot still grazed its shoulder, sending another energy discharge through its body.

  The moment his feet touched the ground, he surged forward again. This time, he feinted a right hook before pivoting into a spinning backfist with his left. The wolfman flinched, expecting the first strike, and the second caught it clean across the jaw. Its head snapped sideways, spittle flying.

  Rowan pressed his advantage. He hooked his arm around the beast’s, wrenching it forward while driving a reinforced knee straight into its ribs. There was a sharp, sickening crack. The wolfman snarled in pain, but before Rowan could land another hit, it lashed out with its free hand.

  Rowan barely managed to raise his forearm to block, but the sheer power behind the strike sent him staggering. The wolfman didn’t hesitate. It lunged, tackling Rowan with the force of a runaway freight train, both of them crashing through the twisted roots of a mangrove tree.

  Rowan groaned, his back slamming into the gnarled bark. The wolfman wasted no time—it reared back and swung downward with both hands, claws glowing faintly with mana.

  Rowan reacted on instinct, raising both gauntlets and crossing them over his head. The impact was brutal, the ground beneath him cracking from the force. His arms buckled, but he gritted his teeth and twisted to the side, forcing the wolfman’s weight off balance.

  He used the opening to retaliate. His gauntlets pulsed as he drove an elbow into the beast’s side, followed by an uppercut that sent it stumbling backward.

  Rowan didn’t give it a chance to recover. He launched forward, spinning into a roundhouse kick that connected hard with the wolfman’s temple. The beast reeled, staggering sideways. Rowan capitalized on the moment, launching a rapid barrage of jabs, each one discharging bursts of energy into the creature’s midsection.

  The wolfman snarled, but now it was slower. Rowan could see it—his blows were finally taking a toll.

  Then, without warning, the beast roared and retaliated, its speed returning in full force. A clawed hand shot forward, aiming for Rowan’s neck. He twisted, barely avoiding a fatal slash, but the beast pivoted and raked its other set of claws across his torso. Sparks flew as they scraped against his armor, and even with its reinforced plating, his HUD flared with warning signs.

  Rowan grimaced, gritting his teeth as he jumped back, creating distance. The wolfman stood there, panting, bruises now marring its fur. It wiped blood from its mouth with the back of its clawed hand, then rolled its shoulders with an almost casual ease.

  “That tickles, tin man” the wolfman rumbled.

  A smirk pulled at the edges of its muzzle, sharp fangs glinting under the faint light.

  "I'm going to rip your head off with my teeth for that."

  Okayyyyy... the gauntlets are hitting, but they’re not keeping him down

  Rowan’s HUD flickered, scanning the wolfman as he weaved through the next set of attacks. Something was off. He could see the damage—bruises forming under the thick fur, the beast’s breathing growing heavier—but his strikes weren’t landing as hard as they should have been.

  “Xy’rosh, what’s going on?” Rowan gritted his teeth, dodging another claw swipe before landing an uppercut that forced the beast’s head back.

  "You’re hitting him clean, but your attacks aren’t doing as much damage as they should." Xy’rosh replied.

  “No shit.”

  Rowan flipped backward, creating some distance. His visor locked onto the wolfman, his Aether Sensors analyzing the flow of energy around the beast.

  Then he saw it.

  A thick layer of aether clung to the wolfman’s body, almost invisible to the naked eye but clear as day through his sensors. The energy rippled on impact, absorbing and dispersing a significant portion of the force from his blows. It wasn’t just natural durability keeping the wolfman in the fight—it was a built-in defense system.

  “He’s layering aether over his body like a damn shock absorber,” Rowan muttered.

  "Bingo. That’s why he’s tanking your hits. It’s automatically dispersing the force before it can really dig into him."

  “Great. Suggestions?” Rowan asked, rolling his shoulders as the wolfman snarled, wiping blood from its mouth.

  "Couple of options." Xy’rosh’s voice came through his head, quick and methodical. "One, you can overload his barrier. Just keep hitting until his aether reserves burn out—risky, though. Could take too long, and you’ll wear yourself out first."

  “Pass. What else?”

  "Two, we disrupt it. His aether frequency is steady—it’s tuned to absorb kinetic force. If we throw off that frequency, the barrier stops working."

  “And how do we do that?”

  "We oscillate the gauntlets aether at an opposing frequency. Think of it like noise-canceling—except instead of sound, we’re canceling his defenses. Once the barrier’s down, you can land real damage."

  Rowan smirked under his helmet. “Now we’re talking.”

  "Give me a minute to recalibrate—just keep him busy."

  The wolfman roared, sensing the shift in Rowan’s stance. It rushed forward, aiming to crush him with its overwhelming size and strength.

  “Come on, then,” Rowan muttered, bracing himself.

  He just needed to last one more minute.