# Chapter 9 - Blood and Vines
"Chief."
The bulky adventurer's voice echoed in Derek's mind through the telepathic link.
"What?" Derek didn't take his eyes off the battlefield.
"Shouldn't we step in?"
"No." Derek's mental tone was sharp. "We don't know who these people are or what started this."
The bulky man scratched his head sheepishly. "I just thought... maybe we could stop them? Help them settle things?"
Before Derek could respond, the female adventurer cut in. "That leader got launched into the distance with one hit. You think that was a misunderstanding?"
Derek stroked his beard, his eyes tracking Apolo's movements. "The kid's got raw talent—speed, strength, even terrain advantage. But he's completely untrained. No technique, no experience. He's fighting on pure instinct."
"But he took out their leader," the bulky adventurer pointed out.
The female adventurer snorted, arms crossed. "Because they underestimated him. You think that'll work—"
KABOOOOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the mountainside, disrupting the telepathic link entirely.
---
A charred figure flew out of the blast, clutching a spear.
Apolo hit the ground hard, coughing up blood. His heart hammered against his ribs, and his spine felt like ice.
"They... trapped it," he realized, the memory replaying. He'd reached for the spear—easy, too easy. The moment his fingers touched the shaft, a fireball erupted in his face. He'd barely managed to swing the spear through it before the explosion sent him flying.
Now, burnt and battered, he used the spear to push himself upright. From the corner of his eye, he caught movement—the bear hybrid charging on all fours, claws tearing through dirt.
Pain screamed through his arms. His back refused to straighten. But his fury was burning hotter than the pain.
"They want me dead for a misunderstanding," Apolo thought, his jaw clenched. "Fine."
His eyes began to glow—blood red, stark against the moonlight. Heat surged through his veins. His speed doubled. Wounds that had been bleeding moments ago started to close.
Apolo vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of the bear hybrid. The beast's eyes widened in shock, its massive frame faltering mid-charge. Apolo thrust the spear forward with everything he had.
The bear tried to block with its claws, but to Apolo, the movement looked sluggish—almost frozen. He adjusted his aim at the last second, driving the spear through the hybrid's stomach instead of its heart.
The spear pierced clean through, and the momentum sent the bear flying into the distance, out of sight.
The remaining hybrids froze, stunned. Not just because Apolo had taken another fighter down—but because his speed had doubled.
Before, they'd struggled to keep up. Now, they could barely see him.
---
Apolo exhaled sharply. "Finally... that annoying bear is—"
The ground erupted.
Vines—dozens, then hundreds—burst from the earth like serpents. They coiled and writhed, twisting together into thick ropes that spread across the battlefield.
Apolo's eyes widened. The forest had been dense with trees before the fight began. Now most of them were gone—shattered, uprooted, scattered. But their roots remained, and the plant-user was weaponizing every last one.
To his right, the remaining hybrids shifted into formation. He was at the center.
Apolo dashed forward—
His right leg snapped backward, yanked by a bundle of vines that coiled tight around his ankle.
He stomped down hard, trying to crush them, but before his left foot even left the ground—
BAAAANG!
A metal fist slammed into his face. The impact felt like being hit by a speeding truck. His body lifted off the ground and flew backward—but when he reached the edge of the formation, hundreds of vines erupted and wrapped around him like chains.
They slammed him into the ground.
The earth cracked beneath him. Dust exploded outward. Apolo groaned, struggled to stand—
A boulder the size of a basin fell toward his head.
He threw himself aside, dodging by a hair—only to find a massive fireball waiting for him, two meters wide and roaring with heat.
The boulder was right behind him. If he twisted even slightly, it would crush him.
Apolo gritted his teeth. No choice.
He clenched his fist and punched straight into the fireball.
For a split second, the flames flickered—dimmed slightly—and then exploded.
BOOOOOM!
The shockwave tore through the forest, stripping leaves and bark, hurling Apolo backward so fast even the vines couldn't catch him. He flew out of the formation entirely, tumbling through the air like a broken doll.
The hybrids gave chase.
---
A half-gorilla, half-chimpanzee hybrid stepped forward, fists gleaming like polished steel. He canceled his transformation, reverting to a tall, handsome young man in his early twenties—Sheng, the same warrior who'd questioned the village chief's decision days ago.
He pointed at Apolo's crumpled form and snarled. "You're nothing but a beast. We'll kill you like one."
Before he could finish—
Apolo blinked away.
Sheng's eyes widened. "Where—"
A scream tore through the forest.
They spun around to see Apolo standing behind them, his entire arm buried in the chest of the fire-fox hybrid—the one who'd nearly incinerated him moments ago.
Green-tinted blood dripped from Apolo's fingers. He yanked his arm free and tossed the corpse aside like trash.
He moved to attack the vine-user next, but a gust of wind slammed into him, followed by Sheng's metallic fist.
Apolo met it with his own punch.
BAAAANG!
The collision sent shockwaves through the clearing. Apolo staggered back a step. Sheng flew backward—but vines erupted from the ground, catching him before he hit a tree.
While they were distracted, Apolo darted toward a mouse hybrid and drove his fist into its skull.
CRAAAACK!
The sound of bone breaking echoed across the battlefield. The mouse hybrid's head caved in, and its body was driven several feet into the ground. Blood pooled around the crater.
Hundreds of vines surged toward Apolo again, but with his speed, dodging them was almost effortless.
Then the wind-user struck.
Invisible blades of compressed air sliced through Apolo's body, reopening wounds that had barely begun to heal. Fresh blood sprayed. Pain overwhelmed his senses.
"ARRGH!"
The vines seized the opening. They wrapped around his arms, his legs, his torso—binding him completely.
Sheng appeared in front of him, fury blazing in his eyes. He unleashed a flurry of punches, each one aimed at Apolo's chest, trying to replicate the killing blow Apolo had used on the fire-fox.
But with every punch, Sheng destroyed more vines. The plant fibers absorbed over half the damage, weakening the blows.
By the time Sheng realized his mistake, it was too late.
The vines fell away.
Apolo vanished—and reappeared in front of the tree-hybrid.
It was a strange creature. Unlike most hybrids who retained a humanoid shape, this one looked like an ancient, gnarled tree trunk—barely distinguishable from the forest itself.
Apolo drove his fist toward its chest—
His knuckles hit something harder than stone. The impact jarred his arm, but the force still sent the creature flying, green blood splattering across Apolo's face.
The others rushed toward him.
Apolo pretended not to notice, chasing after the tree-hybrid—then at the last second, he changed direction.
Sheng barely had time to react before Apolo appeared in front of him, fist raised like a hammer.
He brought it down.
Sheng's chest caved in. Blood sprayed from his mouth like a fountain. Apolo caught his body mid-flight and hurled it at the dog-hybrid beside him, smashing them both into the dirt.
Something dark stirred inside Apolo. His blood boiled. His hands shook—not from fear, but from an overwhelming urge to kill.
He moved faster. Stronger.
He reappeared in front of another hybrid and drove his fist clean through its chest, feeling ribs snap and organs burst. The hybrid's eyes went wide with shock—then empty. Its body began reverting to human form.
Apolo's heart was heavy, but the urge to kill those hunting him burned hotter.
He turned toward the tree-hybrid again. Vines were already moving, preparing another attack.
Like a phantom, he appeared before it, arm outstretched to grab its throat—
Something caught his attention.
Not just his—Derek and his group looked toward the source as well.
BOOOOM!
A sonic boom split the air.
A massive tree trunk—two meters long, three meters thick, and metallic in texture—flew through the clearing at impossible speed. Even Apolo couldn't track it properly.
It slammed into his chest.
The impact lifted him off his feet and sent him hurtling backward for tens of meters before he crashed into the ground, skidding through dirt and debris.
Silence.
Then, a cold laugh echoed through the forest.
A deep voice followed, smooth and confident:
"Friends hiding in the shadows... how about we join hands to eradicate this possessed hybrid? I promise we'll share the rewards equally."