The Psychopathic Beast Emperor

Bahamut was practising as usual near the stream, going through different hybrid combinations to get the hang of it before adding more. It had been four days now, and he had gotten a very good hang of it. It wasn’t perfect, and he knew that it was very far from perfection, but at least he could change faster than before.

The sound of the stream in the background was like soothing music as he practised his hybrid combinations. He could also feel that he was getting stronger and stronger, and his circles had begun their final rotation. After that rotation, he will be officially Tier 2, but there was a catch. The circle for most rotated only once because of their element. But he had six, which meant that his circle had six rotations to complete before he would become a Tier 2 and start forming his elemental core.

The air trembled faintly with each punch Bahamut threw. His fists blurred as they cut through the air, sharp and precise, each strike carrying a layered force behind it.

His body gleamed faintly under the sunlight, streaks of crimson fur running along his arms and legs, while a long, metallic tail swayed behind him with a life of its own. It reacted, shifting subtly with every movement, reinforcing his stance.

"Faster..."

His feet shifted, becoming light.

BOOM!

He suddenly burst forward, vanishing from his previous spot, and reappearing a few meters ahead as his fist shot forward again, compressing the air.

He then exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as his form flickered, his fox ears twitching before briefly fading, then returning again as he stabilized the hybrid.

Four days of forcing his body to accept contradiction, and now, it was beginning to listen.

"It’s still clunky, but better," he muttered as his tail lashed out.

SHINK!

It struck a nearby rock, slicing into it like a blade before retracting smoothly. The stream flowed quietly behind him, and the wind brushed gently through the grass. Then he sensed a shift, subtle, but it was there. His ears twitched, and his eyes narrowed, glowing with a piercing light.

"Hm."

The grass to his left moved a little. It could’ve been the wind or a very tiny animal, but Bahamut didn’t stop moving. His senses were very strong, and he could identify almost everything with them. Technically, he was still blind, but his senses had made up for it, coupled with his evolution as a chimera, that blindness was null and void, nonexistent because his current vision was much better than what others had. He had the senses and vision of all the beasts in him, coupled with their individual strengths. He was a monster among monsters.

"If you’re hiding..." his fingers flexed. "Then you are doing a shit job." Silence answered him, but he could sense the tension and suspense in the air as he waited for the inevitable.

WHOOSH!

Six shadows burst from the grass.

"Now-!"

They came from all directions, fast and coordinated. Three humans, one fox beast-kin, one elf, and a lizard beast-kin, all armed and aiming to kill. Bahamut’s eyes sharpened instantly, and he clicked his tongue.

"Tch!"

He twisted his body mid-motion...

CLANG!

A blade struck his metallic tail, sparks flying as the impact echoed sharply. Another came from the side, fast and swift.

SWISH!

He ducked, feeling the wind of a spear graze past his head. A third attacker was already behind him.

"Got you!"

BOOM!

Bahamut’s foot slammed backward without looking, catching the guy square in the chest and sending him flying into the stream. There was no hesitation in his attacks. He was fighting solely on instinct.

"You picked the wrong day," Bahamut muttered coldly. The fox beast-kin lunged next, fast and agile, his claws aimed for his throat. Bahamut grinned.

"Let’s see whose fox is better," he said as his body shifted.

CRACK!

His movements sharpened, becoming erratic and unpredictable. The two clashed, claw against claw.

SHIK! SHIK! SHIK!

They went into a rapid exchange, their bodies moving too fast for normal eyes. Then...

BAM!

Bahamut headbutted the fox beast-kin, making him stagger, only for Bahamut’s tail to whip around and send him crashing into the ground. The elf who seemed to be the mastermind behind the attack raised his hand.

"Bind!"

Vines shot from the ground, but Bahamut stomped hard. The ground shattered, and the vines broke before reaching him.

"Too slow."

The lizard beast-kin charged next, his scales glinting as his fist came down with brute force. Bahamut didn’t dodge... he met the attack head-on.

BOOOM!

Their fists met, and the impact sent shockwaves through the ground. The lizard’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

Bahamut’s grin widened.

"Power type, huh?"

His arm bulged, golden fur rippling as the strength of the lion surged through him.

CRACK!

He overpowered the lizard instantly, twisting his arm and slamming him into the ground. Two more humans rushed in together with perfect coordination; one low, one high.

But Bahamut was unimpressed. His presence suddenly changed, gaining the aura of a commander. His partially unlocked past memories were in play now.

"Good teamwork."

Bahamut spun. His tail intercepted the low strike, his arm blocked the high, then he twisted sharply and released two brutal hits, one to the stomach and one to the jaw. Both dropped instantly, leaving only the elf standing.

He stared at Bahamut with wide eyes.

"Monster!" he exclaimed with shaking legs. He took in Bahamut’s current appearance, a mix of a metalsaurus and a lion, and that was when he realized that they’d been fighting a monster, not the human they all thought they’d meet. The adrenaline from rushing had disappeared and was being replaced with fear, and that became more potent when he saw Bahamut’s weird eyes.

"Who are you and why did you attack me, senior?" Bahamut asked in a dark tone. He noticed that they were his seniors, so their attacking him out of the blue and also at this place was very suspicious. Only Exildra knew that he always came to this place to train alone, meaning that she’d either snitched on him or they’d been stalking him.

"Exildra can never be yours! She’s mine!" the elf exclaimed with a last surge of confidence, but his legs were still shaking, making Bahamut smirk in disdain.

"You can’t even stand well in front of me, and you want Exildra to be yours? Pathetic."

His tone made the elf shiver from fear.

"I will let everyone know what you are! Monster!" the elf exclaimed as he made to turn and run. Bahamut was just about to run after him when a sudden pain hit him in the stomach. It was like his stomach was eating his body from the inside. It felt like something inside him was chewing through his insides, slow... deliberate... merciless.

"No! No... not this again..." He gritted his teeth as he recalled the hunger that had him some months ago when he shared a body with Ren. That hunger, coupled with his brutality, which was starting to manifest on his own, was a dangerous combo. His body trembled violently. His hybrid form flickered, as every trait he donned receded, leaving behind something far worse.

"Ghhk!"

His fingers twitched and stretched. His bones cracked. His fingers elongated unnaturally, turning a deep, raw crimson, as if dipped in fresh blood. His nails sharpened, curved, and predatory. His hair began to float, not from the wind, but from something... within.

A pressure.

A presence.

His breathing slowed. His lips parted, showing rows of sharp, jagged fangs pushed through, glinting under the sunlight. The fleeing elf slowed slightly, a chill crawling up his spine. Something was wrong.

Behind him, Bahamut’s head tilted slowly. Then, he smiled widely.

"Hehehe..."

The sound that left him wasn’t right. It was layered and distorted, like multiple voices trying to speak through one mouth. His eyes locked onto the elf, and in them, there was no restraint.

Only hunger.

"Let’s play..."

The words slipped out like a whisper and a command at the same time.

BOOM!!!

The ground beneath him shattered as he launched forward instantaneously. He vanished. The elf’s eyes widened.

"Wha?!"

A gust of wind slammed into his back... Bahamut was already behind him. A claw shot forward.

SHIK!

It grazed the elf’s shoulder, tearing his flesh like paper.

"AAARGH!!"

The elf screamed, stumbling forward in panic.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"

He tried to accelerate, tried to escape, but Bahamut appeared again... In front of him.

"Too slow..."

His voice was mocking. His head tilted again.

"Run more. I like it when my food runs."

The elf’s face drained of all color.

"MONSTER!!"

He turned, desperate and terrified, and ran. Behind him, Bahamut didn’t rush immediately. He walked slowly and relaxed, each step deliberate. The hunger twisted inside him again, sharper now. Demanding. His tongue slid across his fangs.

"So loud."

Another step.

"So scared."

BOOM!!!

He burst forward again, even faster than before, a red blur tearing through the landscape. The distance between them was gone. The elf could feel it, that presence, that thing behind him, closing in rapidly.

The day had become a horror for the elf.