The council meeting dissolved into argument before Kael could finish outlining his plan.
"You want to take our two System users into enemy territory based on information extracted from a monster's brain?" Kren's voice cut through the tent like a blade. "That's not strategy, that's suicide with extra steps."
"It's intelligence," Kael countered, keeping his voice level despite the System flagging Kren's elevated aggression markers. "The hybrid gave us exact coordinates. If we wait—"
"If we wait, Lord Sareth might respond to our proposal with actual soldiers and resources," Kren interrupted. He stepped closer, and Kael saw something new in the older man's eyes: fear, yes, but also resentment. "Or are you so drunk on System power that you've forgotten how real military operations work?"
[SOCIAL TENSION DETECTED]
[KREN STRESS MARKERS: Extreme]
[UNDERLYING CONCERN: Loss of agency, fear of System user authority superseding military experience]
[RECOMMENDATION: De-escalate through validation]
"Kren has a point," Mika said quietly. "Three days isn't much time to prepare for an assault on an unknown facility. And if this 'Father' has been creating hybrids, he's not going to be undefended."
Durren shifted uncomfortably. "My System agrees. Mission success probability is only forty-three percent with current resources."
"Then we get better," Kael said. "We use the time to—"
"To what? Evolve more?" Sera's voice was sharp, and Kael felt the words like a physical blow. She stood near the tent entrance, arms crossed. "Kael, you unlocked a new skill yesterday. Your humanity dropped another point. How much more 'preparation' before you're not you anymore?"
The tent fell silent. Everyone was looking at him now—not with trust, but with calculation. Measuring how much monster lurked behind his eyes.
[HUMANITY INDEX: 80.8%]
[SOCIAL COHESION: Declining]
[ASSESSMENT: Leadership authority is being questioned]
[WARNING: Loss of group trust will compromise mission effectiveness]
"I'm still here," Kael said quietly, fighting to keep the frustration from his voice. "Still making choices. Still—"
The hybrid's howl cut through the night.
Not from the pit. From the forest.
[ALERT: AUDIO SIGNATURE MATCH]
[MULTIPLE CONTACTS DETECTED]
[DISTANCE: 400 METERS AND CLOSING]
[PATTERN ANALYSIS: Coordinated pack behavior]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: CRITICAL]
[HOSTILES: 7-9 HYBRID ENTITIES]
[ESTIMATED ARRIVAL: 90 SECONDS]
Kael's enhanced hearing picked up what the others couldn't yet—the synchronized movement through underbrush, the calculated spacing of predators who knew how to hunt together. The System overlaid their positions in his vision, red markers converging on the camp from three directions.
"They're here," he said, already moving. "Multiple hybrids, pack formation, ninety seconds out. Torvin, get everyone to the center. Kren, defensive positions, now."
"How many?" Torvin demanded, but he was already shouting orders.
"At least seven." Kael burst from the tent into chaos. The camp was scrambling, people grabbing weapons and children, the organized defense they'd planned dissolving into panic. "Durren, south perimeter with Kren's fighters. I'll take north and east."
"That's two vectors for you alone," Durren protested.
"I'm faster." Kael was already running, his enhanced muscles eating up ground. "Sera, stay with the non-combatants. If anything gets through—"
A hybrid exploded from the treeline ahead of him.
[CONTACT: HYBRID ENTITY ALPHA]
[CLASSIFICATION: Combat-optimized variant]
[THREAT LEVEL: Severe]
[VELOCITY: 52 KM/H]
[ATTACK PATTERN: Overwhelming aggression, minimal defense]
[TACTICAL ASSESSMENT: Designed to break formation through shock and speed]
This one was different from the scout. Bulkier, with armored plates along its spine and forelimbs modified into blade-like structures. It came in low and fast, covering twenty meters in under two seconds.
Kael didn't think. The System had already calculated optimal response.
[ENGAGING NEURAL DISRUPTION]
[TARGETING...]
[PROBABILITY OF CLEAN HIT: 67%]
He sidestepped the hybrid's charge, his hand snapping out to catch its neck—but the creature twisted mid-lunge with inhuman flexibility, and Kael's fingers found only armored plating. The blade-limb carved a line across his ribs.
[DAMAGE SUSTAINED: Moderate]
[BLEEDING: Minimal (accelerated clotting active)]
[RECALCULATING...]
[WARNING: This variant has adapted to counter Neural Disruption]
[ARMOR PLACEMENT: Specifically protects nerve clusters]
"Of course it has," Kael snarled.
The hybrid spun for another pass. Behind it, two more emerged from the forest. The System tagged them instantly—BETA and GAMMA, flanking pattern, attack probability in 3.7 seconds.
[TACTICAL SITUATION: Deteriorating]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 61%]
[AVAILABLE BIOMASS: 62 units]
[EMERGENCY EVOLUTION OPTIONS: Available]
[QUERY: Do you want to see them?]
"No." Kael's mind raced. "Show me their weak points. All of them."
[ACKNOWLEDGED]
[ANALYZING HYBRID PHYSIOLOGY...]
[PATTERN RECOGNITION: Active]
[IDENTIFYING VULNERABILITIES...]
His vision exploded with data. The System highlighted joints, sensory organs, arterial pathways—every biological weak point mapped in crystalline detail. But these creatures had been designed with redundancy. Taking out one weak point wouldn't stop them.
He needed something better than precision.
He needed overwhelming force.
The three hybrids attacked in concert. ALPHA from the front, BETA sweeping wide left, GAMMA cutting right—a classic envelopment that would have shredded any normal fighter.
Kael moved.
Not away. Through.
[SKILL ACTIVATION: Enhanced Strength]
[SKILL ACTIVATION: Tactical Perception]
[SKILL ACTIVATION: Combat Prediction]
[SYNERGY DETECTED: Skills combining for enhanced effect]
[NEW PROTOCOL UNLOCKED: PRECISION OVERDRIVE – RANK C]
[EFFECT: Perfect synchronization of strength, speed, and tactical awareness]
[DURATION: 30 seconds]
[COST: 15 Biomass]
Time didn't slow—Kael's perception accelerated. The world sharpened into hyper-clarity, every movement telegraphed before it happened. He saw ALPHA's blade-limb rising, calculated the exact angle and force, and intercepted it with his forearm—not blocking, redirecting.
The hybrid's own momentum carried its strike past Kael's shoulder. He grabbed its limb, twisted, and used the creature's weight as a fulcrum to slam it into BETA's incoming charge.
Both hybrids crashed together with bone-breaking force.
GAMMA was already airborne, claws extended for a killing strike at his unprotected back.
Kael spun, his enhanced speed making the motion blur. His fist connected with GAMMA's chest mid-leap—a perfectly placed strike that the System had identified as the nexus of three critical organ systems. The hybrid's armored plating cracked. It hit the ground and didn't get up.
[HOSTILE NEUTRALIZED: 1/3]
[PRECISION OVERDRIVE: 23 seconds remaining]
[WARNING: Additional hostiles incoming from east vector]
ALPHA and BETA untangled themselves, more wary now. They circled, looking for an opening. Behind them, Kael heard screams from the camp—the other hybrids had engaged Durren's position.
No time for caution.
Kael charged ALPHA, every step calculated for maximum efficiency. The hybrid raised its blade-limbs in defense, but Kael wasn't aiming for it. He leaped at the last second, using ALPHA's own shoulder as a launching point to vault over it toward BETA.
The second hybrid tried to dodge, but Kael's aerial trajectory had been plotted three moves ahead. He caught BETA's neck, activated Neural Disruption with perfect precision against its unarmored throat, and the creature went rigid.
He hit the ground in a controlled roll, came up behind the paralyzed BETA, and used its body as a shield as ALPHA charged.
ALPHA's blade-limbs punched through its packmate's armored hide. Lethal force, zero hesitation—these things had been programmed to complete their mission regardless of casualties.
[PRECISION OVERDRIVE: 7 seconds remaining]
[HOSTILE STATUS: ALPHA - mobile, BETA - neutralized, GAMMA - deceased]
[TACTICAL RECOMMENDATION: Finish this]
Kael shoved BETA's corpse at ALPHA, then followed it in. His enhanced strength let him push the dead weight hard enough that ALPHA had to brace. In that half-second of distraction, Kael struck.
Not at armor. Not at weak points.
At the joint where ALPHA's blade-limb connected to its shoulder—the one spot where articulation required flexibility over protection.
His fingers found the gap. Bone shattered. The limb went limp.
ALPHA shrieked and tried to retreat, but Kael was faster. A strike to its rear leg joint dropped it to three limbs. Another to its spine anchoring point sent it crashing prone.
[PRECISION OVERDRIVE: Expired]
[HOSTILES NEUTRALIZED: 3/3]
[BIOMASS GAINED: +12]
[COMBAT EFFICIENCY: 94%]
[NEW SKILL EVOLUTION AVAILABLE]
Kael stood over ALPHA's twitching form, breathing hard but controlled. His enhanced metabolism had already cleared the adrenaline spike. His wounds were closing, blood clotting in seconds.
He looked up to find half the camp staring at him.
They'd come running when the fight started. Now they stood frozen—Torvin, Mika, Sera, a dozen refugees—watching him with expressions ranging from awe to horror.
He'd taken down three combat-optimized hybrids in under thirty seconds. Alone. Without evolution. Just pure skill and System-enhanced combat capability.
"East perimeter," he said calmly, as if he hadn't just demonstrated what post-human efficiency looked like. "Durren needs support."
No one moved. They just stared.
Kael's enhanced hearing picked up whispered fragments: "—not human—" "—did you see—" "—faster than—"
[SOCIAL ANALYSIS: Fear response detected in 73% of observers]
[RESPECT MARKERS: Elevated in 89%]
[TRUST INDICATORS: Mixed]
[ASSESSMENT: You have proven your capability]
[WARNING: At the cost of appearing more alien]
Sera pushed through the crowd. Her face was pale, eyes searching his for something she was afraid she wouldn't find.
"Kael," she said softly. "Your eyes are glowing brighter."
He touched his face reflexively. The bioluminescent streaks had intensified—visible even in the firelight, casting faint azure patterns across his skin.
[HUMANITY INDEX: 80.1%]
[NOTE: Combat-induced stress accelerates visible evolutionary markers]
[ASSESSMENT: Temporary effect, should normalize]
[SECONDARY ASSESSMENT: Or become permanent with repeated activation]
"I'm still me," Kael said, but the words sounded hollow even to him.
An explosion of sound from the east—Durren's sector. More hybrid howls, human screams.
Kael didn't wait for permission. He ran.
But as he moved through the camp with impossible speed, he caught his reflection in a water barrel.
For just a moment, he saw what they saw: something that moved too fast, hit too hard, calculated too perfectly. Something that wore human features like a mask over something far more dangerous.
[OBSERVATION: Self-awareness remains intact]
[HUMANITY INDEX: Holding at 80.1%]
[CONCLUSION: You're still you]
[QUESTION: For how much longer?]
Kael pushed the thought away and focused on the fight ahead.
The hybrids had come for System users.
They were going to learn what happened when System users fought back.