Asoka was back on the battlefield, this time standing on the coast of the Philippines, facing a monstrous shark beast that had leveled half the city.

This shark-beast stood upright on two legs, with a humanoid body and a shark’s face. It had no claws, but its bite was even more terrifying than that of a regular shark.

"Those teeth are deadly," Asoka muttered, clutching his injured left arm.

Earlier, he had made a mistake, letting the beast’s razor-sharp teeth graze his arm. Fortunately, his hand was still attached, though it was bleeding profusely and becoming difficult to use.

The shark-beast charged again, its mouth wide open as if to swallow Asoka whole. Unfazed, Asoka roared back, his gaze fierce as he ignored his bleeding hand. They rushed at each other, Asoka aiming to claw the beast, while it tried to bite and slap him with its powerful tail.

Both were taking hits, but Asoka was worse off. Cuts covered his arms and shoulders, deep wounds from the shark’s relentless bites. His left hand was nearly useless, and bruises marred his face and neck from the creature's blows.

The shark beast wasn’t unharmed either. Its body was scratched, with claw marks and bruises scattered across it, and one of its eyes was barely open from a gash. Still, the creature seemed to realize it had the advantage.

The shark moved in carefully, inching closer, its mouth drooling as it prepared to finish Asoka by biting his head off.

With a roar of defiance, Asoka charged again, his one good hand ready. His eyes were blazing with fury, showing no signs of pain or hesitation. He was fully in his rage mode now.

They clashed brutally, both monsters attacking relentlessly. Asoka used not just his claws but his kicks and tail to land blows, while the shark continued its vicious attempts to bite him.

As their battle wore on, Asoka's attacks started taking their toll on the shark. Its movements grew sluggish, weighed down by accumulating bruises.

Finally, the shark beast seemed to reach its limit and turned to flee toward the sea. Without a second thought, Asoka gave chase, his steps heavy, but his mind singularly focused on one thing—killing the monster.

The shark reached the water first, but Asoka pounced just as it slipped into the waves. Missing his target by inches, he plunged into the sea after it. In its natural element, the shark-beast moved faster, circling Asoka as he struggled to orient himself underwater.

Luckily, Asoka had gills on his neck, allowing him to breathe, but his movement was clumsy compared to the agile shark. Suddenly, the beast slammed into him from behind, knocking the air out of his lungs and disorienting him further.

The shark circled Asoka, studying him before darting forward again, this time aiming to bite off his leg. At the last moment, Asoka twisted away, barely dodging, though his thigh took a deep gash.

Frustrated, Asoka let out a gurgling roar and tried to strike, but the shark was too fast in the water.

Circling for another attack, the shark lunged from the front, a smug glint in its eyes as if it had already claimed victory. But Asoka wasn’t one to surrender easily.

With his one good hand, Asoka managed to land a powerful chop on the shark, slicing across its face as it swam away in shock. Not wanting to be a sitting duck, Asoka immediately tried to swim after the stunned creature.

Despite his efforts, swimming was not his strong suit, and his speed underwater left a lot to be desired. This gave the shark time to recover from its surprise and regain its composure.

Desperation kicked in, and Asoka swung his healthy arm forward in a stabbing motion, his mind singularly focused on getting to the shark’s face. As if something had clicked inside him, his body seemed to respond in an almost magical way.

Suddenly, in a flash, he found himself right in front of the shark. Both of them froze in surprise, but Asoka recovered first and lunged forward. His hand pierced through the shark’s skull effortlessly, reaching its brain, where he clenched his fist and crushed it, killing the shark instantly.

Asoka held his position for a moment, calming down as his full awareness returned. When he realized he was gripping a dead shark, a grin spread across his face.

"Finally! Food has come to me," he thought, pleased.

He started swimming toward the surface, dragging the shark’s body along with his injured arm. Slowly, he climbed onto the shore, pulling the shark's corpse onto dry land.

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Once he was far enough from the water, Asoka took a deep breath, then dug in, devouring the shark bit by bit.

Ten minutes passed in a flash as he feasted, leaving behind only a few tiny bones and scraps too small to interest him. Satisfied with his meal, Asoka slowly walked toward the flattened city. He found an empty spot and lay down, drifting off into sleep almost immediately. A minute later, a slime-like substance enveloped his body, and, as if by magic, Asoka disappeared from the city.

*****

Professor Sato’s Secret Laboratory

Professor Sato had successfully brought Asoka back to his lab. He activated his computer and began analyzing Asoka’s recent food intake.

“A humanoid shark monster, huh? Its composition might be useful for Asoka,” Professor Sato murmured to himself.

As the computer processed the data and displayed results, Professor Sato’s smile grew wider and wider until he couldn’t hold back his manic laughter.

“Ultra-sharp teeth? What a blessing!

Enhanced muscles? Oh boy!

Webbed hands and feet? Good!

Tail reshaped? Nice addition.

Brain enhancements? Not right now.

Backfin? Not needed.

Skeletal repositioning? Nah, Asoka’s perfect the way he is.

Then, the remaining resources should go toward Asoka’s body growth.”

Professor Sato quickly confirmed his choices, and soon Asoka’s body began to twitch. The changes started slowly but steadily. His teeth grew sharper, his muscles became more refined and robust, and membranes appeared between his fingers—like those of a duck or frog. At the same time, Asoka’s body grew bigger and taller, making him look even more menacing and dangerous.

With the transformation in progress, Professor Sato left Asoka to grow and exited the laboratory, heading to his living space. On the way, he noticed a self-made television playing an interview with a young man who claimed to be a genius scientist on par with Professor Laurel.

“Can you share any details about the new government plan? We’ve heard you’re going to be the lead scientist on this project. Can you clarify?” asked the reporter.

“Unfortunately, I can’t reveal the details of the new plan, but I can tell you that plans are in progress. You’ll all see it when it happens, and no one will miss it!” the young man responded confidently. He continued, “And no, I won’t be leading the plan. Someone else will lead it, but they’re using my idea! So at least I’ll be one of the most important people in the project.”

The reporter pressed on, hoping to trick the young man into revealing more, but the scientist remained silent, staring at the reporter until they grew uneasy and backed off.

Just before the cameraman turned off the camera, the young scientist grabbed the recorder and said something that left everyone confused.

“A message for Professor Sato, out there somewhere. I know you’re watching this. I’ll show you that your brilliant idea will soon be useless compared to mine.”

After delivering this cryptic message, the young scientist quickly left the scene and hopped into a car, which drove off just a minute later.

Meanwhile, Professor Sato dismissed the news, brushing the message aside as he returned his focus to other matters.

“If that young man is really as good as he claims, then his idea is useless,” Professor Sato muttered to himself as he changed the channel to an entertainment program.

*****

Laurel and Clarisa stood with their mouths wide open.

They had just received orders to continue their project—and were even encouraged to send the monster into battle as often as possible.

"Are they serious right now?" Laurel asked in disbelief.

"Apparently, they are," Clarisa replied tersely.

They’d barely managed to solve the issue with Sota's consciousness by using a mind repressor, which suppressed its active personality enough to let the pilot control him. But this method relied heavily on the repressor device, and if it broke in battle, the pilot could lose control, allowing Sota to break free.

"Will you mention the control issue we have with Sota?" asked Clarisa.

"And risk everything we've built so far? No, thank you," Laurel replied emotionally.

BEEP! BEEP!

Suddenly, alarms blared throughout the facility. Laurel and Clarisa rushed to the monitoring room, where they saw live footage of their monster, Sota, and its pilot flying out from the base toward a location where another monster had been detected.

"Remember to avoid head damage, Pilot," Laurel instructed as they gained altitude.

"Yes, Professor," the pilot responded briefly.

Laurel, Clarisa, and the crew waited tensely for ten long minutes until their target appeared: a two-headed snake monster. The head on the left had scales patterned like flames, while the right head's scales resembled icicles.

"Dive in to start, Pilot. Then proceed with close combat," the team leader in the monitoring room commanded.

Under the pilot’s control, Sota launched into a controlled dive toward the snake's fire-patterned head. Wings spread wide, Sota swooped down at full speed and swiped its claws as it deftly changed direction mid-flight.

Slash!

The snake narrowly dodged the swipe, ending up with just a few peeled scales instead of a severed head. It hissed menacingly at Sota, who had managed to land safely.

The two monsters then engaged in a roaring contest, which Sota won almost too easily, causing the snake to slide back slightly.

But just when things seemed to be going perfectly, trouble struck.

"Pilot to base! I lost control of Sota! I repeat I lost control of Sota!"

On the screen, Sota, who had just won the roaring contest, suddenly charged at its opponent with an aggressive gait. It dodged the snake's lightning-fast bite, using the tip of its wing to redirect the snake’s head, and then swiped its claws with lightning precision, severing the head effortlessly.

Sota let out a low growl as if saying, "That's how you do it, idiot," before going silent.

"Pilot to base! I've regained control over Sota! Please provide further instructions."

The team leader issued the next set of orders, and before long, Sota had killed and devoured the snake monster. Meanwhile, Laurel and Clarisa were sweating profusely.

"Laurel… do you want to resign now?" Clarisa asked.

"And do what? Hide until Sota finds us?" Laurel replied.

"Either that, or we try to find the real Sota to protect us. No matter how slim the chance of him doing that is."