Chapter 49: New character Unlocked

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: New character Unlocked

When Zhou saw the claws descending on him, he wished for nothing more than to turn into a bug and fly away. He squeezed his eyes shut in desperation.

Then came a sudden glitch.

When he opened his eyes again, everything looked enormous. The Unclean’s claws hung over him like massive blades. The whole world had swollen in an instant... or maybe he had shrunk.

"Ahhhh! I’m a bug!!" Zhou screamed, his oversized insect eyes wide with horror.

Morgan, fighting in the middle of the Unclean swarm, saw the entire transformation. He finally understood Zhou’s Calamity power.

"It’s Shape-shifting Calamity!" Morgan shouted. He swung his scythe and cut down an Unclean blocking his view of the tiny flying Zhou. "Zhou, listen to me! Don’t panic!"

Everything felt overwhelming. In a single day Zhou had lived through the scariest events of his life. He pressed his little bug hands against his tiny head and began muttering,

"This is just a dream... I’ll wake up and everything will be normal... this is just a dream..."

But Morgan’s voice cut through the panic.

"Zhou, you’re a Shape-shifting Calamity. You can turn into any animal you want."

"But how?" Zhou asked, slowly lowering his hands.

"Just think of yourself as... as—"

An Unclean slammed its hand into Morgan’s face, trying to rip it off.

"—a Dire Wolf or something that can actually help you in this situaTION!" Morgan roared the last word as he sliced the monster apart. Black blood sprayed across his face.

Zhou saw the sense in it. He closed his eyes again and kept whispering,

"Dire Wolf... Dire Wolf... Dire Wolf... Dire Wolf..."

An Unclean lunged at the tiny flying bug, ready to slap him out of the air. In a desperate attempt to save himself, Zhou swung his little bug hand—

And it suddenly became the massive black paw of a Dire Wolf.

Dark, menacing fangs and claws appeared. Zhou didn’t even feel the change. His claws simply sliced through the incoming Unclean’s arm, then cleaved its body in a clean second swing. Black blood sprayed like rain.

When Zhou opened his eyes and saw his own Dire Wolf hand, delight and terror flooded him at the same time.

"Yes!!"

"Now," Morgan’s voice came from inside a cage of Unclean bodies that had closed around him, "force your entire body to become the Dire Wolf!"

He was right. Only Zhou’s left arm had changed. The rest of him was still a flying bug.

"Oh... you’re right!"

Zhou then focused hard. His right arm stretched. Frightening claws grew from it. His legs elongated until they touched the ground. His body grew much larger—

But his head stayed a bug’s head.

[DIREWOLF TRANSFORMATION INCOMPLETE]

[ACHIEVED TRANSFORMATION RATE: 80%]

"What?!" Zhou stared down at himself. His body was huge, yet his head remained tiny and insect-like. Even Morgan looked weirded out.

"Why? I thought I willed the whole thing!"

[INSUFFICIENT MANA POINTS]

[TRANSFORMED STATE WILL LAST FOR 5 MINUTES. COUNTDOWN BEGINS NOW]

"Morgan, I can’t stay like this for long... I don’t have enough mana!"

"I know, but it’s still useful. Kill as many as you can. Your mana will grow, and when it does—" A claw stabbed into Morgan’s back. He spun and beheaded the Unclean in one smooth motion.

Zhou’s new size drew every Unclean’s attention. They all charged him, claws stretched and ready to tear him apart.

Zhou swung back. His claws not only blocked their attacks—they sliced through arms and entire bodies. With every kill his confidence rose.

Soon he was massacring them. He grabbed two Unclean by the faces and crushed their heads like soft tomatoes. Black blood rained down on his black fur while his tiny bug head smirked.

Morgan, covered in wounds, had finally had enough.

He spun his scythe, cutting down five Unclean surrounding him.

"Calamity Fifth Wave."

that green hair instantly turned pure white. His skin grew paler. The air around him warped with power. Energy surged through his scythe, When he opened his eyes, they glowed blood-red like a vampire’s.

"Ultimate Prime Form."

Morgan knew The name was lame—he hadn’t thought of a better one yet.

The Unclean felt the sudden power spike and threw themselves at him in desperation. Morgan didn’t flinch. Time seemed to slow down for him. He lowered his stance, smiled, then twisted and swung.

In a single blink every Unclean around him lost arms, heads, and bodies. Black blood exploded outward.

Zhou, who thought he had been leading the slaughter, stood with his mouth hanging open. The sudden change was terrifying.Then Beare used her own trump card.

"Calamity Fourth Wave: Chained Resonance!"

A molten red chain covered in spikes and humming with energy shot from her body. At the first wave her power could only restrict weaker opponents. At the second it grew stronger. At the fourth wave it became lethal. The chains no longer just bound—they plunged into flesh and crushed victims completely.

Beare weaved between lunging Unclean while her chains tightened around others until they burst like balloons.

Watching her, Zhou felt his blood boil. He threw himself back into the fight with renewed fury.

The Holy Wendigo frowned, thick drool hanging from its mouth. It hated how these humans had suddenly grown stronger. It wanted to roar, to tell the uncleans to stand down when Red chains suddenly twisted around its body and sank into its skin.

ROAR!!!

The beast tore the chains away with claws that made Zhou’s look small.

Morgan seized the opening. He spun and hurled his scythe. The Wendigo saw it coming and prepared to block—but the scythe flew past it. Morgan had never aimed for a frontal hit. The Wendigo turned in surprise—

THUNK!

The scythe, spinning like a boomerang, buried itself in the beast’s long, hairy neck.

The Wendigo staggered. Then it realized the prey he was holding was gone gone. Jade had been stolen from its grasp by the strange Dire Wolf with the bug head.

ROARRRRRRRR!!!!!

"Run! Run, run, run!!" Morgan shouted.

Beare was already sprinting. Zhou, carrying Jade on his back, raced after her. But to there dispair, A solid wall of Unclean blocked their path.

[INSUFFICIENT MANA POINTS]

The notification flashed in front of Beare’s eyes. She intended to crash through them with her chained Resonance

"What?! After all that killing?" She turned to Zhou. "Lizard boy, cut us a way out!"

"We don’t have time!!" Morgan yelled from behind. The Holy Wendigo followed at a walk—each of its steps equaled ten of Morgan’s.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!!" Beare cursed, facing the wall of monsters.

Then a sudden powerful scream tore through the air.

The sound was so intense it sent visible waves outward. Morgan thought it came from behind him, but when he turned he saw the Holy Wendigo also clutching its ears in pain.

The volume rose higher. Morgan dropped to one knee. Beare fell beside him, hands clamped over her ears. The Unclean forming the wall began to burst, heads exploding one after another like popped balloons.

"What the fuck is happening?!" Beare shouted, but Zhou, right next to her, couldn’t even hear a word.

When the wall finally cleared, a familiar figure walked through the pool of black blood. Her heels clicked. Her eyes were completely clear of the black corruption.

It was Venezuela.

"Come on. We don’t have time to waste!"

Beare’s eardrums were still numb, but Zhou understood. In a flash he sprinted forward. Beare followed, then Morgan.

"Let’s get out of here," Morgan said.

Their escape only enraged the Holy Wendigo further. It opened its mouth and began gathering a terrifying amount of purple energy.

Morgan felt it instantly. He spun around.

"Incoming!!" He shouted.

Beare and Zhou turned. Their faces instantly went pale when they felt the strength of the attack.

"OH NO!" Beare screamed.

The Wendigo locked onto them. According to its judgment, Morgan would die first.