Near the throne room entrance, Rynath turned to Loryn with curiosity evident in her serpentine features.

"You said you've seen him use that transformation before. When?"

Loryn's skeletal fingers tapped against his chains, his hollow eyes looked in the distance. "Shortly after he..."

His voice trailed off, the memory pulling him back to that moment in the tunnels beneath the surface.

---

The experiment crashed through the wall with force that sent chunks of ice and stone flying in every direction.

Demons in the pits scattered, screaming, trampling each other in their desperation to escape as the twelve-foot demon emerged from the breach.

Four sets of eyes glowed with different colors, each one tracking movement independently. Its body was a nightmare of flesh and metal fused together.

And it moved fast.

As quick as a high-speed bullet train, crossing the distance between itself and Jack in seconds.

Its reaction time was inhuman, point-fifteen seconds to respond to any movement.

Jack stood in the pit, Oscar gripped tight, blue lightning still crackling across his form from Thunder Mantle.

Blood Frenzy kept his enhanced state active, the ring on his finger pulsing with each demon death that occurred elsewhere in the fortress.

But Infernal Conversion was on cooldown.

[System Alert: Infernal Conversion Cooldown: 60 seconds remaining]

The experiment launched itself at Jack with speed that made normal Disaster-class demons look sluggish.

Its multiple limbs reached forward, with its claws extended.

It was programmed to do one simple thing.

KILL.

Jack activated Abyssal Steps, teleporting fifteen feet to the left.

The experiment's claws struck empty air where he'd been standing, tearing gouges in the frozen floor.

But it adjusted instantly, shifting its weight and charging forward.

Point-fifteen seconds to react. It had the reaction speed of a death adder.

By the time you blinked, it would be too late.

Jack brought Oscar up defensively, the spear meeting the experiment's strike with a clash that sent shockwaves through the pit.

The force drove him back three steps, his boots scraping across ice as he struggled to hold position.

'Sixty seconds. I just need to survive sixty seconds.'

Through the breach in the wall, a figure slipped into the tunnel.

Loryn.

The general pressed himself against the tunnel wall, shadow magic wrapping around his form to conceal his presence.

His eyes tracked the fight, watching as the Soul Warden struggled against the experiment he'd personally been requested to create from Pho.

'My creature will kill him. I just need to wait. Then I will claim credit for the Soul Warden's death. Pho will reward me greatly.'

The experiment's tail whipped around, catching Jack across the ribs despite his attempt to dodge.

His armor absorbed most of the impact, but the force still sent him sliding backward, blue lightning sparking where the strike connected.

[HP: 2,891/3,375]

Jack recovered quickly, using the momentum to create distance. He clapped his hands together.

Thunder Clap!

Blue electricity exploded outward in a sphere, washing over the experiment with a crackling discharge.

The demon's body absorbed the damage, scorch marks appearing across its flesh-metal hybrid surface, but it barely slowed down.

[-2,142 HP]

[Experiment HP: 262,858/265,000]

'Wait, did I just control the output?'

[Yes, that was about 61.39% of your total output]

'Haha…. This is great. I didn't think I'd be able to do that. The mana consumption is the same, but I can control my strength and determine how much damage I do.'

[System Alert: Infernal Conversion Cooldown: 30 seconds remaining]

'Thirty seconds. I need to keep moving and focus.'

The experiment charged again, not caring about anything, but Jack.

Jack activated Abyssal Steps twice in rapid succession, teleporting away from its path, leading it into the tunnel where the narrow space would limit its movement.

Jack thrust forward with Oscar, aiming for one of the glowing eyes. The spear's four-bladed tip connected, blue lightning discharging directly into the construct's face.

[-8,547 HP]

[-2,650 HP]

[Experiment HP: 251,661/265,000]

The experiment's hand shot out faster than Jack could fully react, catching his shoulder and slamming him into the wall.

The stone cracked from the impact.

His armor dented and pain exploding through his body.

[HP: 2,374/3,375]

Jack rolled away as the experiment's claws tore into the wall where his head had just been.

He came up in a crouch, Oscar spinning defensively, buying precious seconds.

Loryn watched from his hidden position, a smile forming on his skeletal features.

The Soul Warden was taking damage, his armor cracking in multiple places, and blood was visible through the gaps.

'Just a matter of time now.'

Jack stomped his foot.

"Thunder Stomp!"

Blue electricity surged through the tunnel floor, racing toward the experiment in a crackling wave. The energy gathered beneath the construct and exploded upward in a massive thunderbolt.

[-6,978 HP]

[Experiment HP: 244,683/265,000]

The thunderbolt lifted the experiment off the ground for a moment, its body suspended by electrical force.

Jack used the opening, closing distance in two quick steps.

But the demon recovered almost instantly, landing and immediately launching a counterattack.

Multiple limbs struck Jack simultaneously, all targeting him with overwhelming volume.

Jack blocked what he could, dodged what he couldn't, and took hits when neither option worked.

His armor cracked further, blood flowing from multiple wounds, his movements becoming more desperate.

[HP: 1,847/3,375]

[System Alert: Infernal Conversion Cooldown: 5 seconds remaining]

'Almost there. Just need to…'

The experiment's tail caught him across the chest, the impact driving all air from his lungs.

He crashed into the tunnel wall again, sliding down to one knee, Oscar barely keeping him upright.

[HP: 1,328/3,375]

The expirement qas doing enough damage that his green didn't even matter at this point.

The construct advanced, its sets of eyes tracking his weakened state.

Multiple limbs raised, preparing for a finishing strike that would tear him apart.

[4 seconds]

Jack's grip tightened on Oscar.

[3 seconds]

The experiment launched forward, moving with that same terrifying speed.

[2 seconds]

Claws extended, reaching for Jack's throat.

[1 second]

[Infernal Conversion Available]

Jack's red eyes blazed brighter.

'Now.'

Scales erupted across Jack's body, black demonic scales spreading from his chest outward in a wave of transformation.

His frame expanded, his muscles swelled and his height increased.

The experiment's claws, which had been reaching for his throat, struck his scaled chest instead and bounced off harmlessly.

The construct's eyes widened in what might have been surprise or confusion.

Jack's hand shot out, faster than the experiment could react, and caught the construct's wrist mid-strike.

His scaled fingers closed around flesh-metal hybrid material and squeezed.

The experiment pulled, trying to free itself, but it couldn't.

Jack's other hand came up, grabbing the construct by the throat. His clawed fingers sank into the hybrid material, drawing black blood that steamed in the cold air.

"My turn."

He yanked the experiment forward and drove his knee into its midsection. The impact sent shockwaves through the tunnel, cracks spreading across the walls. The construct's body bent around the strike, black blood spraying from its mouth.

[Critical Hit!]

[-13,672]

[Experiment HP: 231,010/265,000]

Jack released his grip and thrust forward with Oscar.

The four-bladed tip, wreathed in blue lightning, drove into the experiment's chest and punched completely through.

Blue electricity discharged directly into the wound, spreading through the construct's body in visible arcs.

Piercing Strike!

[-21,876 HP]

[-2,650 HP]

[Experiment HP: 206,484/265,000]

Jack yanked Oscar free, black blood coating the spear's length.

The experiment staggered backward.

Its eyes went wide as it processed a new feeling, pain.

Spear Barrage!

Jack's enhanced speed made him nearly invisible to Loryn.

Three thrusting attacks in rapid succession, each one targeting a different vital point.

The first struck the experiment's shoulder, punching through and almost severing the limb completely.

The second hit its side, cracking through the armor to reach internal organs.

The third drove into its leg, shattering the joint.

[-36,096 HP]

[-7,950 HP]

[Experiment HP: 162,438/265,000]

The construct collapsed to one knee, its programming struggling to process what was happening.

'KILL TARGET.'

But the target was stronger.

'KILL TARGET.'

Its tail whipped around, faster than before, driven by desperation.

Jack saw it coming, reached out with his scaled hand, and caught the tail mid-swing.

The experiment's eyes tracked the movement.

It watched as Jack's clawed fingers closed around the appendage.

It understood that it was too late.

It could do nothing for what was about to happen.

Jack smiled as he ripped his hand away.

The tail tore free from the experiment's body with a sound like rending metal and tearing flesh.

Black blood sprayed across the tunnel walls, the severed appendage thrashing in Jack's grip for a moment before going still.

The construct screamed.

Not a roar of rage or challenge, but the sound of fear when something weaker than you know its going to die.

The sound echoed through the tunnels, a mechanical shriek that hurt to hear.

Jack dropped the tail, letting it fall to the ground with a wet thud as it landed in its own blood.

The experiment's programming was fractured.

'SURVIVE.'

For the first time since its creation, the experiment felt something its programming hadn't accounted for.

Fear.

It backed away from Jack, its remaining limbs trembling.

The confidence of an apex predator evaporated, replaced by the terror of prey facing a superior predator.

The construct cowered, pressing itself against the tunnel wall like a child waiting to be beaten.

It hoped daddy wasn't going to grab his belt.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.