Elion had no idea how he got himself into this situation.

  One minute, he was running for his life and the next? He was baiting a monstrous ape-man while Jordan tried to smack it with a glowing metal rod.

  And, let’s be real—he was not doing a great job at it.

  Elion danced backward, hands up like he was trying to talk his way out of a parking ticket. “Hey, buddy. Over here. Come on, focus on me—”

  The ape-man swiped at him.

  Elion yelped and ducked, nearly tripping over his own feet. “NOT THAT MUCH FOCUS!”

  Jordan lunged forward and swung the metal pipe at the beast’s side.

  WHAM.

  The impact sent out a dull shockwave, but the ape-man barely stumbled.

  Jordan grimaced. “Okay, so maybe we need to hit harder—”

  The ape-man turned on him with a snarl. Jordan quickly backpedaled. “—or maybe we should rethink our entire strategy.”

  Meanwhile, Ronan was somehow taking on two ape-men at once, barely looking fazed. If anything, he looked bored.

  And while dodging and shooting at them, he was teaching them like this was some casual training exercise.

  “Rule One—” Ronan fired a shot that ricocheted off one of the ape-men’s thick skulls, making it stumble back. “Don’t let them touch you. Poison claws. Bad.”

  Elion, still frantically avoiding his own ape-man, froze mid-step. “I’M SORRY, WHAT?!”

  Jordan blinked. “Poison? Oh. Cool. Love that.”

  “Keep moving,” Ronan continued, spinning his revolver as if this was just another Tuesday.

  “Rule Two—” He ducked low as an ape-man swiped at his head, then retaliated with a brutal kick to its chest, sending it flying into a tree. “—their reflexes are insane. Swing too early, you miss. Swing too late, you die.”

  Elion, dodging wildly, did not like the sound of that. “Can you maybe tell us these things before we fight them?!”

  Ronan ignored him. “Rule Three—”

  BANG.

  A perfectly placed shot clipped the second ape-man in the shoulder, causing it to howl in rage.

  “If all else fails—” Ronan smirked, reloading his gun in one smooth motion.

  “—pray.”

  Elion had just enough time to process how deeply unhelpful that rule was before his own ape-man swung at him with the force of a wrecking ball.

  He barely managed to duck. Barely.

  The beast’s massive arm whooshed past his face, and for one terrifying second, Elion felt the wind of death rushing by his ear.

  His brain helpfully supplied a single thought, 'Well, that’s not ideal.'

  He hit the ground, rolling out of the way as the ape-man’s fist slammed into the dirt, sending up a cloud of dust.

  “Elion, move!” Jordan yelled, rushing in for another swing.

  Elion scrambled back, heartbeat hammering in his ears. “Oh yeah, no problem! Let me just casually not die for a second!”

  Ronan, still calmly dodging attacks from his own opponents, glanced at them. “Less talking, more fighting.”

  Elion shot him a glare. “Oh, sorry, let me just ignore the fact that I was almost turned into a smear on the ground.”

  Jordan, meanwhile, finally landed a proper hit. The metal pipe connected with the ape-man’s knee, making it stagger with a loud snarl.

  Jordan grinned. “Oh-ho! That actually worked!”

  Elion, seeing an opening, immediately went for the next step of their so-called plan.

  Which was, of course—to distract the beast before it could recover.

  With absolutely zero grace or dignity, he picked up a rock and chucked it at the ape-man’s head.

  THUNK.

  The ape-man slowly turned to face him. Its glowing yellow eyes locked onto Elion.

  Elion immediately regretted everything. “Oh. That was a mistake.”

  Jordan sighed. “Dude, did you just throw a rock at a monster? Have you learned nothing from horror movies?”

  “I PANICKED, OKAY?!”

  The ape-man roared its fury, now entirely focused on Elion.

  Ronan sighed like a disappointed teacher. “See? This is why you’re the bait.”

  Elion groaned, bracing himself for impact.

  Yeah. This training session was going great.

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  Ronan watched as Elion and Jordan stumbled through their fight, dodging and swinging in a chaotic, barely-organized mess of survival instincts and desperation.

  “See?” Ronan said, almost lazily, as he sidestepped a swipe from one of the ape-men he was handling. “They’re not so scary anymore, are they?”

  Elion, panting, barely dodged another clawed strike. “You say that because you’re not the one being actively mauled!”

  Jordan, swinging his metal rod again, actually managed to land another solid hit on their opponent. “Okay, but kinda getting used to it now.”

  Ronan smirked. “Told you.”

  Before he could say more, one of the ape-men fighting him let out a guttural snarl and lunged past him—straight for Elion.

  Ronan’s smirk vanished.

  With a heavy sigh, he muttered, “Why do they always go for the weakest one?”

  Then, in one smooth motion, he activated his ring. A pulse of energy rippled through the air, followed by a deep, earth-shaking hum.

  Elion barely had time to process it before he saw Ronan’s arm shift. He was pretty lucky to catch all of this because Jordan was going head-to-head with the ape-man all by himself.

  Jordan was totally in the zone.

  Ronan's already strong, lean muscles expanded, dark fur rippling over them. His fingers lengthened, his knuckles hardened, and his entire arm transformed—massive, dense, and powerful.

  Like a gorilla.

  Elion’s mind raced. 'Again? Is his Beast Ring based on a gorilla?''

  It made sense. It looked like a gorilla’s arm. But he still had no idea how the rings actually worked.

  Not that it mattered—because Ronan moved.

  And when he moved? The air cracked. His massive new arm swung forward, and before the ape-man even realized its mistake—

  BOOM.

  The impact sent the creature flying. It crashed through the trees, snapping branches like twigs before slamming against the ground with a thunderous thud.

  A heavy silence followed.

  Jordan let out a low whistle. “Whew. That was disrespectful.”

  Elion swallowed. “I’d say overkill, but I’m pretty sure it deserved that.”

  The second ape-man, still standing before Ronan, snarled at the cowboy—realizing that it was now alone.

  Ronan cracked his neck and flexed his transformed arm. The fur shimmered, the muscles coiling with unbelievable strength.

  “Come on,” he said, smirking. “Let’s finish this.”

  The ape-man roared and charged. It moved fast—far faster than anything that big should be able to.

  Ronan, completely unfazed, planted his foot and swung.

  The ape-man dodged. It dropped low, suddenly skidding on all fours, then sprang up, aiming straight for Ronan’s chest.

  Elion barely processed how smooth that movement was—how the creature had adapted instantly to Ronan’s raw power.

  Jordan tensed. “Uh. That’s new.”

  Elion’s stomach twisted. “Ronan—”

  Too late.

  The ape-man’s clawed fist shot forward and met an open palm.

  Ronan caught the punch effortlessly.

  The beast snarled and tried to pull back. Ronan’s grip tightened.

  The air tensed.

  Elion barely had time to register the shift in Ronan’s expression—how his usual smirk had hardened, how his eyes darkened—before Ronan yanked the ape-man forward and slammed his forehead into its skull.

  CRACK.

  The impact was brutal.

  The ape-man staggered, its massive form swaying like a toppled statue.

  Before it could recover, Ronan spun his entire body, bringing up his transformed arm—and delivered a full-powered back fist.

  BOOM.

  The ape-man soared through the air like a ragdoll. It crashed into the earth so hard that the ground trembled.

  Dust rose. Silence followed.

  Then—nothing.

  It didn’t get back up.

  Elion and Jordan stood completely frozen.

  Jordan was the first to break the silence. “… Okay,” he breathed. “Yeah. No. That was definitely overkill.”

  Elion nodded very slowly. “Yep. That was—yeah. That was insane.”

  Ronan, finally relaxed, rolled his shoulders. The gorilla-like transformation faded, his arm returning to normal.

  Then, like he hadn’t just murdered two giant monsters with his bare hands, he glanced at Elion and Jordan.

  “Alright. Your turn.”

  Elion groaned. Of course.

  Elion had no doubts about what Ronan had muttered earlier—he was the weakest among them.

  No contest. He only had his speed and wisdom, but he was still too far off to be of any help.

  Jordan had raw strength and a fighter’s instinct. Ronan was a monster in human form. But Elion? He had… sarcasm.

  And the ability to run away really fast. It's not exactly the most useful skill set when fighting actual monsters.

  They were lucky tonight. Lucky that Ronan had recovered just enough to handle all three ape-men alone without breaking a sweat. But something gnawed at Elion.

  If a thousand beast-men came at them, how long would Ronan last? Could he fight them all off?

  Could anyone?

  That thought was still sinking in when Jordan screamed.

  Elion’s head snapped toward him just in time to see the ape-man’s clawed hand swipe across Jordan’s shoulder.

  Jordan staggered back, hissing through his teeth. The slash wasn’t deep, but Elion immediately noticed the worst part.

  The wound was smoking.

  The claws were poisoned.

  "Damn it!" Jordan cursed, stumbling as he tried to move back, but the ape-man pressed forward. Its massive form loomed over him, ready to finish the job.

  "Ronan!" Elion shouted, but Ronan did nothing.

  That's when Elion jumped into action before he even had a chance to think. He couldn’t let any more trouble come Jordan's way.

  One second, he was standing still. The next—he jumped. Way higher than he should’ve been able to.

  His body felt light, his muscles coiled with new strength, and he soared through the air. Higher. Faster.

  His mind flashed back to soccer. Back to every volley shot he had ever taken, every goal he had ever sent rocketing into the net.

  And now?

  The ape-man’s head was the ball.

  'What is this feeling?' Elion wondered as he twisted midair, his body moving perfectly on instinct—

  CRACK!

  His foot slammed into the side of the beast’s skull. The force was enough to make it falter. Its body swayed, momentarily dazed.

  Jordan, despite the poison burning through his veins, gritted his teeth and swung the metal pipe. "Die!"

  WHAM.

  The impact sent the ape-man crashing into the dirt.

  Elion barely had time to process what he had just done—what he was even capable of—when Ronan sighed.

  The cowboy’s right arm transformed again.

  More fur. More muscle. More power.

  The third and final ape-man barely had time to react as Ronan stepped forward and punched.

  The force behind it was monstrous. This could not be considered a fight anymore.

  It was a beatdown.

  The impact sent the creature flying across the forest, slamming into a tree with a sickening crunch.

  The fight was over.

  But Elion wasn’t paying attention anymore. He was already rushing toward Jordan. “Hey! Are you—”

  “DON’T TOUCH HIM!” Ronan’s sharp bark froze Elion mid-step.

  Elion looked up, startled. "What—"

  "No! Listen to me!" Ronan was already moving. His expression was serious.

  No smirk. No sarcasm. Just urgency.

  “Don’t touch his blood. Don’t touch the wound.”

  Elion swallowed hard and stepped back. He recalled Ronan's warning, but he was really worried about Jordan, who was already sitting on the ground. He was propping himself up with a metal pipe.

  Jordan’s face had gone pale. Too pale. His body was trembling, his breath shallow. The poison was already spreading.

  Ronan ignored them for a moment. Instead, he crouched beside the fallen ape-men and retrieved their rings.

  Three kills. Three rings.

  Elion barely saw how he did it. One second, the rings were on the beast-men’s fingers. The next, they were inside a sack that appeared out of nowhere.

  Then, just as fast, the sack vanished.

  Elion had no clue how that worked, but right now, he didn’t care. Because Jordan was getting worse.

  Ronan reached into his dimensional storage and pulled out a tiny vial. The liquid inside was pure white, glowing faintly.

  Elion didn’t know what it was, but Jordan’s condition was bad—his veins had started turning dark.

  “Drink,” Ronan said, kneeling beside him.

  Jordan, barely able to hold himself up, gritted his teeth and tilted his head back.

  Ronan poured the liquid into his mouth. And then, something magical happened.

  Seeing that, Elion could only hold his breath.