Outside the Broken Gorge cave, Vi stared at the entrance in anxious torment. Beside her stood a silent Jinx.
A figure came running out of the cave—it was Singed. He covered the wound on his face, glancing back toward the cave every so often.
"Where's Logan?" Vi asked immediately when she saw Singed.
Jinx looked at Singed too.
"He's talking with Vander," Singed said after thinking for a moment.
"Talking?" Vi raked her fingers through her hair, completely baffled. "Is he out of his mind? With Vander in that state, how's he supposed to talk to him?"
"With his fists?" Vi genuinely didn't understand.
Singed looked at Vi. "Yeah. You guessed it."
His tone was sincere, his expression natural—but somehow he still looked ridiculously punchable.
"Huh?" Vi froze.
Then a colossal roar erupted from inside the cave, so loud everyone outside reflexively covered their ears.
Vi instantly tried to charge in, but Ekko lunged from behind and locked his arms around her.
And Jinx was even faster than Vi—she scrambled on hands and knees straight for the cave.
But Sevika grabbed her instantly, hooking an arm under Jinx's chin and clamping her tight against her body.
No joke—Sevika knew Jinx too well.
Right?
Going back on her word was the local maniac's favorite hobby.
Don't let the pinky promise fool you—if Logan was in trouble, there was no universe where she'd obediently stay put.
That wouldn't be Jinx.
Sevika really did hate Jinx… but she also really did understand her.
Silco stepped forward—and the roaring got even louder.
"ROAR!"
The beast's howl echoed through Broken Gorge.
Then, in the next instant, came a deafening crash.
"BOOM!"
A heavy object slammed into the wall. The impact was so violent the entire cave shook, and stones began raining down from the ceiling.
A screech of tearing metal followed, harsh enough that many people clapped their hands over their ears. Silco's ears hurt too, but he didn't cover them—he just stared into the cave.
"Whoosh—"
A chunk of rock the size of a human head shot out, slicing past Silco's cheek. He narrowed his eyes as a gash opened on his gaunt face, blood spilling down, while the horrific noise continued from within.
"Boss, don't stand there!" One of Silco's people saw it and rushed over to pull him back.
Silco didn't resist. He let himself be dragged away from the cave mouth.
Turning, he ordered, "Everyone, spread out. Stop crowding the entrance."
"Sevika, keep Jinx under control."
"Yes," Sevika hissed through her teeth, because Jinx had already sunk her teeth into Sevika's arm. Tears shone in her eyes as she bit down with everything she had.
Jinx's small white teeth ground against the leather on Sevika's sleeve, making it creak.
"Quit it, Jinx," Sevika said tightly. "If you rush in now, you'll just make things worse for him."
"Go to hell!" Jinx screamed, kicking at her. "Let me go! Let me go! If you don't, I'll kill you—I'm not joking, Sevika, I really will! I will!"
Sevika planted her feet wider, then clamped down hard, trapping Jinx's legs between her own.
"Save your strength. Even if you bite so hard your teeth snap off, I'm not letting go. This is Logan's order."
"I know you care about him. I know you're worried. But shouldn't you… trust him?"
"Trust my ass!" Jinx's eyes were bloodshot now, and the look she gave Sevika grew sharper and sharper.
Even Sevika started to panic under that stare, because when Jinx truly lost it, she wouldn't care who was protecting Sevika—she'd still find a way to kill her.
Thinking of that, Sevika's tone weakened a notch. "This is what Logan wants, Jinx. Don't make this harder for me."
"Go to hell!"
Singed's "laboratory" was ruined beyond recognition.
The worktables were either smashed to pieces or flipped over. The "collections" in Singed's jars had spilled all over the cave floor—though thanks to the chemicals they'd been soaking in, there wasn't much of a rotten stench.
"BOOM!"
A figure was suddenly hurled through the air, slamming hard into the rock wall. Then a massive shadow dropped low and charged, a pair of claws glowing red as they swiped viciously for the smaller figure.
"BANG!"
Logan raised his leg and drove a brutal kick into Vander's stomach, his thigh tensing as he exploded with force—sending Vander flying.
Logan wiped his face with the back of his hand. His face was covered in blood, his hair soaked through and stuck to his cheeks, but his pitch-black eyes were eerily calm—because the blood was all Vander's.
If we're talking injuries, Logan's bare upper body had several claw marks. The worst one had torn his skin open, the flesh split and mangled.
But Logan was already satisfied.
When Vander had grabbed those metal tables, his claws had sliced through them like a knife through soft tofu—yet when those same claws hit Logan, this was all the damage they'd managed.
"Again!"
Logan charged.
Vander roared, and Logan jumped straight in. His arms snapped out and he yanked hard on Vander's huge ears, then he drove his knee up, black light flashing like a blade as it speared toward Vander's throat.
"THUD!"
That knee punched straight through Vander's lower jaw. Blood erupted—yet the horrifying wound sealed itself almost instantly.
Logan didn't hold back at all, because under Singed's experiments, Vander had become a real monster.
Vander was already freakishly strong, and then came shimmer, and then came whatever grotesque "fusion" Singed had done.
Singed had truly created a monster.
If Logan hadn't stayed cautious and had Ahri boost his soul strength before coming out, then with only his original 10 points of soul strength… he could still have won, sure—but it would've been mutual destruction. Logan would've ended up on the verge of death, not like this, where he was completely suppressing Vander from start to finish.
What was this?
Beating the hell out of your girlfriend's dad?
"ROAR!"
Vander healed in an instant and lunged again, smashing a claw down onto Logan's head.
Logan's head snapped to the side and he staggered back—but in the next beat, he powered up from his core, forced himself upright, lifted a blood-smeared forehead, and slapped Vander across the face with a savage crack.
Vander stumbled back three steps and stared at Logan. In his feral, murderous eyes, there was—somehow—a flicker of confusion.
Wait, what?
"Scared?" Logan laughed, watching Vander's head pull back slightly.
That "beast instinct" came from Singed grafting some unknown wolf-like corpse and heart into Vander. So now Vander's body held two souls.
One was the wolf.
The other was Vander himself.
But even if it was a wolf—if it was a beast—fear still existed.
Logan rushed in with a vicious grin, seized Vander's arm, and slammed him down hard, hurling him away.
No need to hold back.
Vander would heal. Vander wouldn't die.
Which made him the best punching bag Logan had ever had.
Logan pressed forward, and Vander crashed into him.
Blood. Howls. Impacts. Explosions—so violent that the small mountain around Broken Gorge trembled like an earthquake.
The chaos from inside the cave never weakened—
Until Logan finally straddled Vander's chest, his head thrown back as he gasped for breath, one hand crushing down on Vander's throat.
Logan lowered his head, stared at Vander's massive face, and laughed.
Vander had passed out. And the injuries across his body stopped repairing.
In Ahri's words—his beast side had lost. It was suppressed.
Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny red gemstone. He extended the hand holding it toward Vander, muttering to himself:
"Holy shit… that was exhausting."
"It's time you came back, old man."
———
The noise inside the cave vanished.
Sevika loosened her hold on Jinx, and Ekko released Vi.
The sisters were about to sprint inside when a tall, massive shadow appeared.
Jinx and Vi stopped dead, terrified as they stared at the huge figure stepping out of the cave.
"N-no… no… it can't be." Jinx's lips trembled, because all she could see was that enormous silhouette.
But Singed, off to the side, had his eyes wide open.
Vander was his creation. If the only one who survived inside was Vander, then he shouldn't be walking out upright.
He should be—crawling out to slaughter everyone here.
So Singed sucked in a sharp breath, unable to believe it.
He really won?
The shadow kept moving toward the cave mouth. Then the crowd noticed another figure walking beside it—hidden by that huge body.
That figure wasn't short either—around six feet tall—but next to the monster, he looked small.
Sunlight spilled into the cave entrance, and Jinx's eyes instantly lit up.
Logan was shirtless, covered in blood, laughing as he patted the "monster's" back, muttering something under his breath.
And the monster—embarrassed—lowered his head. One massive claw went up to scratch at his own head, and on his face was a smile Jinx knew by heart.
Then the monster saw Jinx.
He froze in place.
In the next moment, a name tumbled out of his mouth—
"Pow—Powder?"
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