Chapter 59 - Who's Tougher
It wasn't just R&D support he relied on.
The half-day of rest.
Jin had endured the pain alone—
And now.
A man wreathed in violet lightning charged forward.
His tightly clenched fist drove into Taha's abdomen.
Centered around the point of impact, Taha's massive body curled and lifted off the ground.
A figure over 100kg defying gravity—it looked like a scene straight out of a scripted wrestling match.
Boom!
Taha's body, which seemed like it would be sent flying, suddenly came to a halt midair.
It was thanks to his right arm gripping the hammer's handle.
The massive weapon, nearly weighing hundreds of kilograms, acted as an anchor.
In the next moment, he swung his leg up.
Jin blocked the knee strike aimed at his chin with his elbow.
Immediately, he stepped in closer and slammed his other fist into Taha's face, producing a resounding crack.
This time, Taha couldn't withstand the force.
His right hand slipped from the handle, and his body was thrown backward.
Jin chased after him.
Using his momentum, he kicked Taha's falling body.
Taha crossed his arms in an 'X' to block the incoming shin strike, but the sheer force behind it sent him skidding backward on his back.
Jin pursued relentlessly.
As Taha tried to slow himself by digging his claws into the ground, Jin mounted him and brought his fists crashing down.
Fists wreathed in lightning rained down on Taha like a storm.
His unnaturally tough body shuddered under the repeated impacts until, finally, blood splattered.
A thick, dark red liquid—his abnormal blood—spattered in all directions, evaporating the moment it touched the lightninig magic surrounding Jin. The now-blackened, dried blood scattered like dust.
At this moment, Jin was the storm, raining down destruction like a thunderclap.
A storm with will, intent on pulverizing his foe.
A raging tempest of violence.
The mana he had saved until now erupted with explosive force.
His roar echoed like rolling thunder.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
Taha's body began to sink into the fractured concrete.
Jin didn't stop.
As if he intended to turn Taha into a pulp, his fists continued their relentless barrage.
Evaporating blood, endless impact noises—
And then, something burst through the onslaught and struck Jin's chest with a heavy thud.
The trajectory was small, but the power contained within was immense, making Jin's body waver.
At the same time, his thighs were forced apart.
The body he had been holding down had begun to expand.
In the next moment, a blinding white pillar struck Jin's chin.
A bone-rattling impact.
His skull shook violently, his brain rattling back and forth, momentarily short-circuiting.
Jin's pupils rolled back for an instant before snapping back into focus.
His recovery was extraordinary, overcoming a concussion almost instantly—but in that brief moment, the follow-up strike was already aimed at his face.
Slash!
The sharp sound tore through the air as Jin lifted his head from five meters away.
"Ah, shit…"
Blood poured from his lower jaw in heavy drops.
The amount was so great that it not only stained his chest red but also left a crimson splatter on the ground.
And then, Taha rose to his feet.
"..."
Jin's gaze naturally drifted upward.
The eye level had shifted.
By more than a hand's span.
A massive, bare upper body, covered in stark white fur.
And above it—a head crowned with a flowing mane.
A white lion's face.
Taha had fully transformed.
A beastkin who had undergone shedding.
The white beast that had plunged Mute Town into chaos had finally revealed his true form.
Jin furrowed his brows deeply.
He had wanted to finish this before Taha transformed.
But things hadn't gone as planned.
He had hoped for an easy win.
Damn.
A sigh almost slipped out.
"What's your relationship with the Resistance?"
The sudden question made Jin tilt his head.
He expected Taha to charge in instead of talking.
Still pressing down on his torn chin to stop the bleeding, Jin used the moment to his advantage and replied,
"No special relationship."
"But you came all the way here?"
"What, am I not allowed to?"
Taha slowly shook his head.
"No, actually, this works out."
His blue eyes gleamed.
"Join us. You have the qualifications."
"...Huh?"
Jin narrowed his eyes at the sudden recruitment offer.
"You want me to join TB? Just like that?"
"Yes."
"I'm not a beastkin."
"That doesn't matter. Someone like you can withstand the beast serum."
Ah, so that's what this is about?
Jin's expression twisted in disbelief.
And then—
A small translucent window appeared in the corner of his vision, floating like a scrolling notification.
[Branching path! A new choice has been added.]
[You can betray the Resistance and side with Taha.]
[You have been given a chance to become a beastkin.]
[Your decision may alter the world.]
[Do you accept?]
The messages faded gradually.
Jin's eyebrow twitched.
Before he even realized it, he muttered—
"Are you insane? Beastkin, my ass."
A remark aimed at both the status window and Taha.
Becoming a beastkin?
He was human.
A person.
He didn't even tolerate implanting tiny chipsets, so the thought of his head turning into an animal's?
Not in a million years.
Besides, the kind of beastkin one became seemed to vary from person to person.
What if he got stuck with some ridiculous animal?
An ostrich beastkin, a donkey beastkin, a hippo beastkin, a camel beastkin—
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
And worse, what if he ended up as an orangutan or a chimpanzee?
"This is like willingly devolving. I mean, isn't the king of primates supposed to be humans, huh?"
Jin's shoulders trembled.
If he ever saw himself in the mirror with a beast's head,
wouldn't he lose the will to live instantly?
Probably not.
But still, didn't beastkin sometimes succumb to bouts of madness?
Life was already hard enough—was he insane to make it worse?
"Rejected!"
At Jin's firm declaration, Taha curled his lips back.
"…Are you refusing to become a descendant of a great ancient race?"
"You used to be human too, so what are you even saying? Don't you feel guilty toward your parents? Just because you've become a beastkin doesn't mean you should forget your roots, you punk."
Jin withdrew his hand from his chin as he spoke.
Now that the bleeding had stopped, he naturally pointed a finger at Taha, adding in an icy voice,
"And I don't dine with little dictators-in-the-making like you."
Taha slowly opened his mouth in response to Jin's pointed remark.
"If your wish is to die in inferiority, I suppose I should grant it."
Jin said nothing.
What was the point of conversing with a lunatic obsessed with beastkin supremacy?
All that mattered was that his bleeding had stopped.
With his resolve steeled, he steadied his stance once more.
Crackle—!!
Once again, lightning surged around his body.
With the output increasing, the amplified bioelectricity pushed his physical response speed to the limit.
A power infused with Zahad's longing—to stretch a single moment into eternity.
And within Jin's gradually slowing perception of time…
The white lion, the only thing maintaining its original speed, took bold strides forward and let out a thunderous roar—
"Ku-he-he-heng—!!"
Jin pushed off the ground with all his might, as if he'd been waiting for this moment.
The next instant.
Lightning crashing to the earth and the beast of war clashed in a furious storm.
***
"Al…bus…! …Get…up!"
A humming noise drilled into his ears.
As he struggled to open his eyes, the ground swayed from side to side.
His vision rocked violently, as if an earthquake was tearing through reality.
"Ugh…"
Overwhelmed by dizziness, Albus squeezed his eyes shut.
Fragmented voices continued to pierce his ringing ears.
"Stand… up! …Quickly!"
Then, a strong grip seized his arm.
His body, half-buried in the ground, was yanked upward, his legs barely finding purchase on the floor.
Half-dragged to his feet, Albus strained to lift his eyelids.
What he saw was a bearded man with half his face drenched in blood.
"…Den?"
"Move! Now!"
The moment Den's shout broke through the fog in his ears—Thunk—, clatter.
A grenade, its safety pin removed, rolled right to their feet.
At the same time, Albus's body was hurled sideways.
Not by his own will.
Den had violently kicked him in the chest—
Tumbling chaotically, Albus instinctively clamped his hands over his ears and nose.
Of course, he also shut his eyes and mouth.
After all, what had just rolled to their feet was a high-explosive grenade designed to kill with its sheer blast force.
The next moment, an explosion erupted, launching Albus backward.
"…Kuh!"
The shock felt like it had vaporized all the air from his lungs, forcing a strangled cry from his lips.
As he collapsed face-down, writhing in pain, the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears.
"He's down!"
"Target neutralized!"
"Confirm the kill!"
Albus, trembling, slammed his left chest plate with his palm.
A battle stimulant was injected into his bloodstream through his unseen suit, causing his pupils to dilate instantly.
His body, moments ago on the verge of breaking apart, suddenly ignored the pain.
Click.
Without changing position, Albus spun his body and squeezed the trigger of his SMG.
Ratatat!
TB mercenaries dropped like dominoes.
Caught completely off guard by the retaliatory fire, they collapsed face-first onto the ground without even managing a scream.
Of course, Albus hadn't escaped unscathed either.
Bullets meant to finish him off struck his faceguard, his bulletproof vest, and even his ankle.
But instead of pain, urgency filled his mind as he forced himself upright.
Limping toward Den, he found the bearded man motionless on the floor.
Blood trickled steadily from his ears and nose.
He had been fully exposed to the blast.
"Den? Den!"
Albus shook him, calling his name, but there was no response.
Slamming his left chest plate once more, he hauled Den into the nearest room and shut the door.
For now, this was all he could do.
With the help of his exoskeleton, Albus started moving again.
Clutching the railing, he staggered up the stairs, when suddenly, a thought surfaced in his mind.
How did he even get here?
Was it because of his duty to the resistance?
To overthrow the emerging warlords who treated human lives like trash?
For the comrades who had died before him?
He didn't know.
And honestly, it didn't seem to matter anymore.
Albus pushed aside the useless thoughts.
Instead, he moved—mechanically, step after step.
Just like his fallen comrades once had.
12F.
Rounding the landing, he reached the next floor—where a brutal battle was unfolding.
A group was pressing down on a lone warrior.
Of course, the lone figure was Fenrir.
Blocking the path to the 13th floor, he swung his massive sword, the ground at his feet littered with dismembered corpses.
Among them, no fewer than three had beast-like heads.
Just how many enemies had he faced alone?
They must have kept pouring in, over and over again.
Albus didn't hesitate to assess the situation—he simply raised the Kill Beast.
Charging the sights.
Wooong—
10, 20, 30, 40...
The small display beneath the reticle began counting up.
80, 90...
And then, 100.
His index finger clenched the trigger.
Bang—!!
With the gun's recoil kicking up, the penetrating round blasted forward, tearing through the right temple of the beastman who had just sunk his claws into Fenrir's side.
The bullet exited cleanly out the other end.
"What?!"
One of the officers, who had been pressing Fenrir hard, flinched at the sudden death of his comrade and instinctively turned his head.
That was his last mistake.
Slice!
The price of diverting his attention mid-battle—his head was severed cleanly from his body.
Blood spurted from the gaping wound as he crumpled to his knees.
His severed deer head tumbled onto the ground, rocking like a weighted doll.
"Rrraaaah!!"
The last remaining bear beastman, now alone, charged at Fenrir with his massive frame.
Seeing this, Albus staggered but quickly raised his gun again.
"Faust! Get it!"
Fenrir, now locked in melee combat, let out a rough, broken roar.
At that, Albus spotted the heavy weapon that had fallen to the floor.
Reacting instantly, he sprinted toward it and scooped up the rocket launcher.
The sheer weight of it nearly sent him off balance, but thanks to his exoskeleton, he barely managed to steady himself.
Dodging the fierce battle between the two beastmen, Albus started moving toward the final floor.
A warm dampness spread across his lower abdomen—his stomach wound had reopened.
But he ignored it.
With adrenaline surging through his veins and combat stimulants pushing his body past its limits—
Before he knew it, he had reached the 13th floor.
"...Ah."
Albus's jaw slackened.
He had fought through hell to get here, but what lay before his eyes surpassed every battle he'd endured.
Lightning crackled.
A massive steel hammer cleaved through the air.
Fists collided, sending shockwaves that shattered every window.
Then, the two figures disengaged, stepping back.
Seeing Taha drenched in blood, Albus clenched his fists.
But just as quickly, his gaze wavered.
Jin.
His right arm was bent at an unnatural angle.
Jin, panting heavily, turned his head—his gaze met Albus's.
For a brief moment.
But that was enough for Albus to read his lips.
Shoot there.
Jin's outstretched finger pointed beyond the shattered window.
There was no hesitation in Albus's mind.
He trusted Jin.
Hoisting the Faustα onto his shoulder—
With a bullet lodged in his right leg, he had no choice but to drop to one knee.
At that very moment, Jin gritted his teeth and wrenched his broken arm back into place with a sickening crack.
Then, with explosive force, he dashed forward, breaking through the floor beneath his feet.
The hammer's massive head came soaring toward him, but he twisted at the last second, barely dodging before slamming into Taha, grabbing hold of him in an iron grip.
Then—flash!
They vanished.
Boom!!!
Albus fired the warhead.
Though no signal had been exchanged, the timing was flawless.
Whoosh!!
The projectile shot through the shattered glass.
And right then—
At the designated spot, Jin and Taha reappeared.
"...Bastard!"
Taha struggled desperately, but Jin, veins bulging, held on tight.
"Let's see who's tougher, you bastard!"
Then, a massive explosion erupted.