Previous chapter excerpt:
She observed Luna's face closely, catching the slight flicker in her expression. Vinnie was certain her words had stirred memories from the past—memories that were far from pleasant. Was Luna planning to repeat history, this time with the daughter of Xevana's second-generation owner?
"So, Aunt Luna? You don't mind if I take over your little lab rat for the week, do you?"
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Vinnie found herself inside an unfamiliar research facility—one that neither existed in her current life nor in the fragments of her past. It was likely a place designated for humans who had undergone complete transmigration: individuals who, in essence, had become monsters devoid of conscience, capable of killing their own kind without hesitation. This did not include those who still retained awareness of their sion—a remnant of their former selves. Jack was one such entity who had entirely severed that boundary, executing his targets without remorse. He was not a psychopath; rather, his behavior was consistent with that of a wild, instinct-driven beast.
Kav, by contrast, was considered a failed perfect subject. Although the researchers had succeeded in preserving his human form and he had passed a series of rigorous tests with a near-perfect final score of 99.9%, he was ultimately deemed inadequate. His inability to relinquish his sion and his lingering human emotions rendered him incapable of fulfilling the objective: to kill without question.
What the scientists often overlooked—or chose to ignore—was the fact that Kav could kill. But only when manipulated. Whether through neural signals implanted in his brain or through chemical injections that triggered uncontrollable aggression, his actions were not truly his own.
This manipulation left deep psychological scars. His memories, fragmented and distorted, fed an overwhelming sense of guilt. His mental and physical states deteriorated as he was haunted by the lives he had taken while in a state of induced unconsciousness. He had never intended to kill. It was never his will.
And now, those same scientists had the audacity to deem him a failure—despite having molded and controlled him from the very beginning.
"Hey, can you still communicate normally? Or do I need to start learning animal language?" said Vinnie to Jack without a hint of fear.
Jack looked at her lazily—were the senior scientists really confident enough to hand him over to a young scientist who looked this stupid? Well, this was his first time meeting Vinnie after years of only hearing her name from the mouths of monsters and the lab's cleaning staff. To him, this girl was nothing more than a fake doctor claiming to cure all diseases. How could someone as young as Vinnie already be a Level Three scientist?
"Just get it over with. Aren't I supposed to fight your pet dog?" Jack replied, sounding completely uninterested.
"Wow... what a disrespectful mouth you have. Didn't the senior scientists teach their pets some manners?" mocked Hannah, who was Vinnie's assistant.
Jack stared sharply at Hannah, hissing like a wild animal ready to attack at any moment. Vinnie and Hannah exchanged glances and chuckled softly, shaking their heads. Turns out, each subject behaved differently depending on which scientist was in charge of their research. No wonder subject meetings were rare—clearly, the seniors already knew that chaos could break out if they felt superior to one another.
In his normal condition, Jack appeared indistinguishable from an ordinary human. Particularly when clothed, the spikes on his back were not easily visible, and the horns on his head remained concealed beneath his hair. However, once his monster mode was activated, his appearance became utterly terrifying. The spikes and horns would grow significantly in size, and long hair would begin to cover the entirety of his body.
Based on the analysis Vinnie had successfully conducted, it was highly probable that Jack was one of the monsters created through a fusion of multiple wild animal traits. This explained his ability to effortlessly discard his sion boundary and achieve a perfect score of 100 percent. The greater the number of wild instincts governing his motor functions, the more likely it was for the host of the body to lose control over themselves entirely.
"Vin, have you seen the news?" asked Hannah while handing over a syringe.
"About the missing persons?" Vinnie responded.
Hannah shook her head and retrieved a phone from her pocket. "There is a country planning to officially inaugurate research on the fusion of animals and humans. I suspect our laboratory may soon be made public."
Vinnie fell silent as she read the article attentively. She still found it difficult to believe that such a brutal field of research would soon receive legal recognition. She suspected her father had played a role in this development, for Vinnie knew he would go to any lengths to preserve the stability of his laboratory.
It is uncertain how many laboratories exist that are similar to Xevana, but Vinnie believed that every country had its own hidden research facility. No one knew where Xevana was located; even the workers were brought in secretly so they couldn't escape or leak its location via GPS tracking. And even if its location were somehow traced, no one had ever successfully discovered Xevana's exact whereabouts.
"Hey, you. Put this on and come with us to the proof chamber," said Hannah as she handed Jack a set of clothes.
Beside Jack stood Kav, who had already put on the outfit. Yes, it was the clothing they wore for combat. The suit was specially designed to help control the subjects when they were on the verge of losing control over themselves. This was meant to minimize the chance of fatal accidents, as subjects usually couldn't distinguish between friend and foe when they were unconscious.
"Hah... I thought you'd be terrifying enough that all the senior researchers would be scrambling to get their hands on you," Jack scoffed dismissively.
"I'm not interested in talking to a giant chameleon. Can someone get him out of here?" Kav replied with a cold, disdainful glare.
Hannah and two junior researchers quickly held Jack back as he tried to stand up, while Vinnie pinched Kav's arm and glared at him. "Enough already, save your bickering for later!" Hannah said in a panic.
Vinnie led Kav first, which made her assistants breathe a sigh of relief. Their fight almost happened in the analysis room; it could have caused everyone there to die in vain. Indeed, subjects who have passed stage one or whose success rate has reached 50 percent are not put together because they would attack each other.
Therefore, subjects who have passed stage one are given their own rooms and observed by different research teams. From stage two onward, researchers ranked three to five are responsible, while lower-ranked researchers supervise and secure their seniors. Meanwhile, senior researchers create and combine organisms.
"Bagas, I leave the rest to you," said Vinnie, patting his shoulder.
Bagas nodded, then took Kav to the left side of the room, where every corner was covered by transparent glass. On the right side, they placed Jack.
The proof room—or more precisely, the arena for subjects to fight to prove their strength—was specially made so that chaos would not spread outside the room. Its walls were all made of thick glass that was probably resistant to impacts or strikes.
The subjects would be declared the winner only if one of them died, or could no longer stand. Well, that was the rule for every fight.
"Is this fair? Kav only has sharp claws and fangs," said Vinnie.
"This match was planned from the beginning. I'm sure they deliberately set Kav up to fight Jack," Hannah replied.
"Hannah. If Kav dies today, we proceed with the final mission. Do you understand?" Vinnie said in a low voice.
Hannah nodded, as if fully understanding what Vinnie meant. If Kav died, then Vinnie's only weapon to destroy the Laboratory would be gone. That's why she would immediately sabotage this place if Kav really ended up dead.
'Ting!'
A bell rang, marking the start of the battle between the two monsters. There would be no referee, and no one supervising inside. The fight would only end when one of them was dead.
Kav and Jack stepped into the center of the arena, staring at each other as if they had been waiting for this battle for a long time. And in the next second, the atmosphere grew even more intense.
Jack attacked Kav first, his body slowly transforming into a monster as he launched his assault. His large, sharp hands gripped Kav's neck tightly before throwing the werewolf into the air, slamming him hard against the ceiling. The researchers were convinced that every bone in Kav's body had been broken.
There was no resistance from Kav, as if he had intentionally taken the hit to lose on purpose. However, just before falling, Kav's eyes began to glow red — a sign that he had just awakened and was about to transform into his monster form as well.
Kav's arms and fingers swelled, his nails grew longer, and his fangs slowly began to emerge. He spun mid-air like a gymnast and landed perfectly, as if he had planned it all along.
He turned to Jack, who was now brimming with rage. The werewolf gave him a mocking smile. Not wanting to be hit again, Kav now made the first move — charging straight at Jack with the red eyes.
Jack, seemingly aware of the type of attack Kav was about to launch, immediately positioned himself in preparation. However, just three steps away from reaching his opponent, Kav leapt into the air with a speed and height far beyond the perception of the human eye. He struck Jack from above with a powerful kick, sending the man crashing down onto the floor of the arena.
Without allowing a moment of respite, Kav drove his sharp claws into the side of Jack's spine-covered body. The transparent glass barrier surrounding the room showed severe cracking, likely caused by Jack's agonized scream.
Yet it did not end there. Kav lifted Jack's body as though he were nothing more than a pile of worthless styrofoam. Once again, he drove his claws into the front of Jack's torso, and the fractures in the glass barrier deepened further.
Blood poured from Jack's now-weakened body. Refusing to let the fight conclude so easily, Kav hurled Jack toward the barrier, creating a powerful impact and exacerbating the existing cracks.
Determined not to be defeated, Jack forced himself to rise. He growled and directed a savage glare toward Kav. Jack charged at full speed toward him—while from the opposite side, Kav did exactly the same.
As the two drew close, Jack jumped as if attempting to kick Kav in the head. However, Kav did something unexpected—he aimed to sweep Jack's legs instead.
Neither of them actually landed a blow, almost as if they were avoiding each other. Kav quickly turned around, but Jack was already behind him, ready to strike.
Without time to brace himself, Kav shielded his body with his sharp claws, successfully forcing Jack to retreat as he was wounded in the process.
"Hey! Stop the fight right now!" Luna shouted from just ahead of where Vinnie stood.
Just as both were about to land their finishing attacks, Bagas had no choice but to activate the emergency signal embedded in the suits both subjects were wearing. Even though they hadn't attacked any scientists or lab staff, the senior researchers had deemed the battle too dangerous to continue.
Both subjects collapsed in the middle of the arena, weakened by the electric pulses emitted through the signal—designed to instantly disable monsters in their unconscious state.
"Are you afraid your weapon might die?" Vinnie shouted boldly, her expression one of open defiance.
Luna glared at Vinnie with irritation. She stepped into the arena and instructed her assistants to take Jack away immediately.
"Even if Mr. Vred is your father, he will act justly." With that, Luna turned and walked off, her assistants following behind her.
Vinnie let out a soft laugh, then turned her gaze toward her father, who remained frozen in place. She smiled at him, then carried the unconscious Kav to her lab.
"Perhaps it's true… that child is a disaster waiting to happen."