Kill to evolve: A system that demands blood
Chapter 60: Battle(II)

Chapter 60: Battle(II)

Chapter 60

A kick caught him mid-sentence.

The shirtless one, faster than before.

Aldric flew back, tumbling mid-air.

But Ronan caught him.

Literally snatched him mid-fall, rotated in the air, and tossed him onto his feet.

"Get your head back in."

"I never lost it," Aldric growled, straightening up. "But thanks."

Ezren stood a few meters back, fingers twitching again.

"I’ve isolated one’s mind loop," he muttered. "But something’s wrong..."

The bald man was standing again. Smiling. Blood dripping down his chin, but his eyes didn’t blink.

"We’re built to kill monsters," he said.

He cracked his neck again.

"You three? You’re monsters too. Guess we’ll enjoy this."

The scarred one launched forward.

But this time, Ronan met him halfway.

Not dodging.

Not countering.

Just charging.

Ronan’s system activated multiple protocols at once.

Blood Rush. Kinetic Ghost. Gravity Suppression.

His feet didn’t touch the ground—he skimmed it like a missile. He hadn’t gone all out like this ever, but this fight...the feeling, the trill he felt was unlike anything before. Fuck, he didn’t even want it to end.

They collided mid-air.

The sound echoed like a thunderclap.

Ronan’s daggers were gone. He didn’t need them.

His fists did the talking.

He slammed his elbow into the scarred man’s jaw, spun, and landed a hook so vicious it dislocated the man’s neck. His body flew, but Ronan grabbed him mid-air and dragged him back down.

He wasn’t done.

He lifted him by the collar, and headbutted him four times in a row.

Blood and teeth sprayed across the dirt.

The man’s body started healing mid-beating, but Ronan didn’t give him a chance to regenerate.

He raised one palm.

Spacial Displacement: Piercing Shock.

A pulse fired point-blank through the man’s chest, creating a hole the size of a melon.

But the man was still grinning.

Still trying to punch.

"Stay down," Ronan growled and stomped his foot through the man’s knee, forcing the leg backward.

Elsewhere, Ezren’s voice rose cold and low.

"I said... lock."

The shirtless enemy jerked mid-run.

His eyes widened.

He couldn’t feel his hands. Couldn’t hear. Couldn’t move.

Ezren stepped forward.

"Let me show you what happens when the mind rebels."

He tapped his temple.

The man screamed.

It wasn’t just sensory lock now, it was mental overload. His brain was stuck on the pain. The memory. The fear. All flooding back at once.

He collapsed, frothing at the mouth.

Ezren turned away without blinking.

Aldric, meanwhile, held both arms out now.

His reality field pulsed again.

"You want a fight without tricks? Fine."

The laws in his sphere normalized, no weird gravity, no altered rules. Just him.

He moved like a ghost.

He dropped low, dodging a swing from the bald man, and punched the air, his fist stopping inches from the man’s chest.

But the air rippled.

Reality Fold.

The punch landed anyway.

An invisible force bypassed space itself, crushing into the man’s ribs from the inside.

Aldric didn’t stop.

He grabbed his opponent by the face and drove him into a wall, stone and steel exploding behind them.

The battlefield now looked like a war zone.

Ezren had shut one down mentally.

Aldric had beaten the second into a wall.

And Ronan...

He stood atop the scarred one’s crushed body, blood dripping from his fists, eyes glowing deep crimson.

But then...

All three bodies began to twitch.

Heal.

Faster than before.

"Again?" Ronan muttered, voice low.

Ezren frowned. "It’s not just healing anymore. Their bodies are adapting."

Aldric narrowed his eyes. "Then we kill them before they can finish."

Ronan flexed his fingers. His system whispered in his mind:

Threshold reached. Evolving...

New trait acquired: Predator’s Apex.

Your damage output increases the more your enemy regenerates.

Ronan cracked his neck.

"Good," he muttered. "They can heal all they want."

He turned to the others, expression stone cold.

"I’m not done spilling blood."

The battlefield reeked of blood, stone dust, and something worse, flesh trying too hard to heal.

The three enemies rose again.

Bones snapping back into place.

Wounds closing.

Eyes dead and unblinking.

Scarred One wiped his mouth. His lips torn, half of his jaw still dangling from Ronan’s assault.

"You’re strong," he rasped.

"But strength’s not rare here. I wonder how come we never heard of you....you might even be stronger than your captain."

He took one step forward, and vanished.

No sound. No motion trail. Just gone.

Ronan barely tilted his head—

CRACK!

—And caught the punch, but the force behind it was triple what it was before.

Ronan slid backward, heels carving trenches in the ground.

The air thundered.

Then Baldy joined in from above, aiming a heel kick to Ronan’s skull.

Aldric was there first.

No time for tricks. He met the attack with both arms crossed overhead.

The impact shook the earth.

Aldric’s feet buried into the ground.

He spat blood, but smiled.

"Finally... hitting harder."

He shoved Baldy back, spun mid-air, and launched a flying elbow into the man’s throat.

Ezren raised a single hand and locked all three of the enemies’ pain receptors simultaneously.

"Let’s see how far you go without knowing what hurts."

Scar-Guy twitched but didn’t stop.

That was the problem.

They didn’t need to feel pain.

Their bodies moved like they were puppets on pure instinct.

Ezren’s eyes narrowed. "That’s new..."

One of them snapped a glance at him—and vanished again.

Behind you.

Ezren ducked—

Too late.

A boot slammed into his side, sending him crashing into a pile of rubble.

Ronan blinked—he saw it.

Their speed had doubled.

No—tripled.

Aldric shouted, "THEY’RE EVOLVING!"

Ronan’s system flared.

System Alert: Kill Threshold Rising.

Do you wish to engage Overkill Mode?

Ronan didn’t hesitate.

Yes.

His aura exploded.

Not just energy, intent.

Bloodlust turned physical, coating him like armor.

His muscles coiled.

Eyes burned red.

Time slowed.

Scar-Guy came at him again, full speed.

But this time, Ronan didn’t block.

He leaned in.

BAM!

He traded hit for hit.

And his punch caved the man’s skull inward.

The body flipped mid-air. Scar-Guy bounced once, twice—then was back up.

Ronan walked forward, arms loose, daggers forming in both hands.

"These tricks won’t save you."