The downpour intensified, rain striking the earth like heavy drums, mirroring the furious beating of eight hearts preparing for war against a being who is in a league of his own.
Kevin stood alone, his grin unwavering, his posture loose—but every muscle in his body honed like a blade, ready to carve through the opposition.
Then—they moved.
As one.
Eight figures, shifting into motion like a unit, their synchronization as fluid as if they'd trained for years.
The leader, enhanced with gorilla and spider monkey traits, took command without words—his subtle movements directing them like a battlefield conductor.
Kevin exhaled.
"Good. Show me something worth remembering."
And then—they attacked together.
The horse-enhanced scientist surged forward first—explosive speed, hooves striking the mud with brutal force.
The wolf flanked him, fangs gleaming, eyes locked, moving to cut off Kevin's escape routes.
The leopard came next—a blur, dashing toward him with a precision that rivaled the storm itself.
Kevin tilted his head, watching their advance.
Then—he moved.
A single step sideways—just enough.
The horse's kick whistled past his ribs, missing by a hair's breadth.
Kevin's arm shot out, fingers curving like claws, gripping the wolf's throat before his fangs could close in.
His grip tightened around the wolf's neck, trying to crack it first.
The fox let out a snarl, engaged in a struggle, and then launched its attack.
The fox-enhanced scientist, lurking in the back, had observed everything.
Saw the exact moment Kevin turned, the angle of his stance, and the subtle shift in weight.
He anticipated Kevin's reaction before it happened.
So when Kevin grabbed the wolf, the fox was already moving—his hands twisting mid-motion, throwing projectiles, small blades coated with a lethal toxin extracted from his modified DNA.
A poison lethal enough to melt bone within minutes.
Kevin's eyes flicked to the side.
Saw the blades coming.
His grip loosened on the wolf—just long enough to twist his own body.
The blades sliced through empty air—missing by a breath.
Kevin smirked, catching one mid-spin, holding it between his fingers like a toy.
"That was smart," he commented like a teacher evaluating his student.
The fox growled in response.
"Take it back."
Then—he threw all blades back except one.
Faster than it had come.
The fox barely ducked in time—the blade grazed his shoulder, cutting deep, but he still stood his ground.
The last remaining blade in Kevin's hand finds itself embedded in the wolf's head.
The wolf suppressed cries of pain and suffocation that persisted for a moment before his body went limp.
Kevin turned back to the others.
"Next—"
Kevin did not get to finish his words because Chameleon had already made a move.
The chameleon-enhanced scientist had vanished—his body blending into the surrounding shadows.
Kevin knew from his instincts that he was somewhere close to him.
He just didn't care.
Instead, he faced the bear.
Massive. Unrelenting.
The ground shook beneath his weight, his muscles pulsing with superhuman density, built for endurance, built for overpowering anything.
He swung his claws at Kevin.
Its force is like a hammer, aiming straight for Kevin's ribs.
The impact—devastating.
Kevin didn't dodge.
He took it head-on.
His skin failed to resist; blood began to flow from his chest.
CRACK
A sound of bones cracking resounded from within him, but Kevin's body held firm, his frame barely shifting no more than half a step, despite the force.
Kevin looked straight in Bear's eyes; the dark green thunder in his eyes started flickering furiously, and his veins around the eyes began to burn.
Suddenly, several dark green veins with thunder similar to his eyes began to slither all around his body.
His regeneration kicked in, much stronger and faster than ever.
Blood stopped flowing instantly, skin regenerated, and even bones reconstructed, making Kevin's body unscratched.
The bear's eyes widened in confusion.
"Like what you just saw?"
Kevin grinned—then countered.
A twisting motion—an elbow cutting through the air like a blade.
The bear's body suffered for being inflexible.
Attack straight to the bear's jaw.
His head snapped backward—teeth shattering, blood spraying into the rain.
He staggered, legs buckling before he fell down, lifeless.
Because the chameleon had struck.
The moment Kevin was engaged with the bear, the chameleon-enhanced scientist reappeared—inches away, blade in hand, aiming straight for Kevin's spine.
Kevin felt it.
Not through sight.
Through instinct.
Through experience.
At the last second—he shifted.
The blade pierced his right shoulder instead of his heart.
But Kevin didn't flinch.
He grabbed the chameleon's wrist—twisting.
A sickening snap—bones breaking in a single motion.
The chameleon screamed, stumbling away.
Kevin laughed, rolling his shoulder, blood dripping.
"Nice try."
Kevin complimented Chameleon but then frowned.
He looked at his shoulder.
"Poison," He muttered.
Kevin tried to burn the poison in his blood vessel through thunder, but the poison remained stubborn.
"Tsk."
Looking at his shoulder condition, he made a decision within a fraction of a second.
"This will definitely increase the madness."
Kevin muttered under his breath before, under the astonished gaze of the remaining scientists, he tore down his own right hand along with his shoulder and then waved it toward the others with his left hand.
"Still not coming?" He taunted.
The amount of dark green veins around his body increased exponentially, forcing his whole right hand to regenerate.
"A chance," Every scientist thought collectively.
Then—the snake struck.
The snake-enhanced scientist was waiting for this moment.
Fangs extended.
Venom searing through his teeth.
He lunged—fast, brutal, direct, aiming for Kevin's exposed wound.
A perfect kill shot.
Kevin let him come.
The moment Snake entered his range, Kevin swung his teared right hand by his left hand like a weapon.
hitting the snake's jaw mid-strike.
But he did not stop there; instead, he let his right hand go and then caught the snake's jaw before he could recover.
Fingers curled around the snake's throat, squeezing until the venom dripped uselessly from his lips.
His grip tightened.
Others tried to intervene, but Kevin kept dodging like a fish in water.
The snake struggled, writhed, and kicked—body convulsing as it fought against the inevitable. But the struggle didn't last. The life drained from its eyes, and its limbs finally stilled.
Kevin exhaled, rolling his shoulders as he let the lifeless body slip from his grasp, hitting the soaked ground with a dull thud.
"You almost had me there."
His words dripped with amusement, a wild grin curling his lips as he rotated his half-grown right hand, testing its mobility. Smoke curled from his flesh, evaporating raindrops before they could touch his skin—the heat radiating from his body a direct consequence of the forced regeneration driven by the slithering dark thunder pulsing within him.
Kevin knew his time in this body was running out. The cracks were forming, the limits creeping closer.
But that fact hardly concerned him.
Because now—only three remained.
The final fighters.
"Now, let me get serious too."
The words were casual, but the grin on his face sent chills through the bodies of the last three scientists. Instinctively, their muscles tensed, breaths growing heavier, eyes searching for an opening—any weakness they could exploit.
"Yeah, and we were playing house till now," they told themselves, forcing internal defiance, gripping onto arrogance as a lifeline.
They refused—no, could not accept—that Kevin had been toying with them the entire time.
The leopard moved first. A blur of spotted fury, claws extending, slicing through the air—aimed straight for Kevin's chest.
Impact. Flesh torn open, blood sprayed.
A wound meant to cripple—meant to stagger.
But Kevin didn't stop. Didn't slow.
Because the damage healed in the blink of an eye.
The fox—calculating, studying—reacted instantly, throwing blades with practiced precision. This time, he aimed directly for Kevin's eyes. A fatal shot, if it landed.
But Kevin saw them, felt them—his hand snapping up midair, fingers closing around the deadly projectiles. A soft crunch echoed as he crushed them effortlessly between his fingers, metal crumbling like dust.
And then—the leader moved.
The gorilla-enhanced scientist. The strongest among them. The last pillar.
Their final hope.
The only one with enough raw power to turn the tide.
For a brief moment—Kevin actually looked impressed.
But admiration was fleeting.
Then—it ended.
The leopard fell first—Kevin's fist caving in his ribs, shattering bone like brittle glass.
The fox barely had time to scream before Kevin's knee smashed into his jaw—bone snapping, teeth scattering through the storm.
And the gorilla?
Kevin dodged the final desperate swing—his body moving like a specter, untouched by the force meant to crush him.
Then, with a single, merciless twist—he snapped his spine.
A sickening crack echoed through the battlefield.
Blood pooled beneath the rain, staining the earth, washing away in rivulets.
Kevin rolled his shoulders, stretching his arms, inhaling the damp air as though savoring the aftermath.
"That was fun."
The storm raged on—but now, it carried only silence.
Because everyone else was dead.
Only one remained.
Kevin turned, his gaze locking onto the direction where Isla had just fled.
"Let's make sure to play with our last player before my time runs out."
And then, he shot forward.