Chapter 78: Revenge
Rudy Lunged.
His spine snapped and stretched, fur ripping through skin like flame through cloth. Muscle bulged grotesquely beneath his now golden, mottled flesh.
His hands twisted into claws, long, jagged things meant to rip bodies apart. His jaw jutted, fangs glinting. A lion's face now sat twisted atop a human torso, and his eyes, feral and blood-red, locked on Dune with murderous hunger.
But Dune didn't move.
He watched. Silent. Calm. Almost bored.
His sword came up in a flash, a diagonal slash meant to maim, not kill. It grazed Rudy's chest, leaving a red-hot line across his ribs.
Rudy roared in pain, but Dune had already stepped around him, carving another shallow cut across the beast-man's back.
The lion-form charged again, faster this time. Rudy leapt, claws aiming for Dune's throat.
But Dune ducked low.
Steel hissed and blood followed.
Rudy screamed as Dune's blade tore across his thigh, nearly taking the leg with it. He stumbled, rage boiling.