The echoes of the last battle still lingered in the air, but Kairo had no time to rest. Word had come from the frontlines: another Titan was approaching, and this one was unlike anything they had seen before. The ground trembled beneath its monstrous weight as it closed in on the city.

Kairo, still reeling from the Colossal Titan fight, stood at the city’s gates, staring into the distance. His body ached from the wounds he had taken, and the edges of his mind felt frayed, as if the Behemoth Form had left its mark on more than just his flesh.

“Another one already?” Lia asked, her voice betraying her worry as she approached Kairo’s side.

Kairo gritted his teeth. “We don’t have a choice. I need to face it.”

Lia stepped in front of him, her hand gripping his arm. “You can’t keep pushing yourself like this, Kairo. The Behemoth… every time you use it, you’re slipping further away.”

Kairo glanced at her, his eyes hard. “What choice do I have, Lia? The Titans are still out there, and this one’s bigger than any we’ve seen. I can’t sit back and let them destroy everything.”

Before Lia could respond, a deep roar echoed across the battlefield. A massive figure emerged from the smoke, towering over the crumbling ruins of the outer defenses. This Titan was larger than any Kairo had faced since the Colossal — its body a patchwork of writhing, corrupted flesh and jagged bone spikes. Its eyes glowed an unnatural crimson, filled with a malevolent intelligence.

This one is different, Kairo thought, feeling a chill run down his spine. It’s more than just a mindless beast.

With grim determination, Kairo clenched his fists and prepared to activate his Behemoth Form once more. The pain of the transformation was becoming all too familiar, but it was the price he paid for power.

“Stay back,” Kairo growled to Lia as his body began to change, bones cracking and muscles swelling. The light surrounding him grew blinding as his transformation took hold.

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The Behemoth roared, and Kairo surged forward to meet the new Titan head-on.

The battle was unlike anything Kairo had experienced before. The Titan was fast — unnaturally so — dodging his attacks with an agility that defied its size. Its strikes were calculated, not just brute force, and Kairo soon found himself on the defensive, barely managing to parry its blows.

Suddenly, the Titan lashed out with its bone-covered arm, knocking Kairo off his feet. The Behemoth hit the ground with a thunderous crash, but before Kairo could recover, the Titan was on top of him, slamming him down again and again.

Kairo’s vision blurred as pain ripped through his body. I can’t… lose. Not now.

Just as the Titan reared back for a finishing blow, Kairo felt it — that familiar, dangerous pull from deep inside. The Behemoth’s wrath.

Give in. Let me take over.

For a moment, Kairo hesitated. He could feel the rage growing, threatening to consume him once again. But he couldn’t afford to hold back. Not this time.

With a roar, Kairo let the Behemoth’s fury take over. His eyes glowed red, and his body expanded further, muscles ripping through the armor as his claws grew longer and sharper. He grabbed the Titan’s arm mid-strike and tore it clean off, tossing it aside like a broken toy.

The Behemoth was unleashed.

But Kairo wasn’t thinking anymore. His mind was a haze of rage, his only instinct to destroy. He pounded the Titan into the ground, tearing into its flesh with wild abandon. The battlefield shook under his onslaught.

Yet as the Titan fell, Kairo didn’t stop. He kept attacking, kept ripping apart the lifeless body, oblivious to the cries of his comrades and the destruction around him. His rage was uncontrollable.

“Kairo!” Lia’s voice cut through the haze, distant at first, then louder. “Kairo, stop!”

Through the fog of fury, Kairo heard her. He blinked, and for a moment, the red glow faded from his eyes. He saw the carnage he had caused, the ruined battlefield, and the terrified faces of those around him.

What have I done?

Breathing heavily, Kairo fell to his knees as the Behemoth Form receded. He was left shaking, bloodied, and horrified by his own actions. The Titan was dead, but so too were some of his fellow warriors, caught in the crossfire of his uncontrollable rage.

Lia knelt beside him, her voice soft but firm. “You can’t keep doing this, Kairo. One day, you won’t be able to pull yourself back.”

Kairo’s heart pounded in his chest. She was right. The Behemoth’s power was a double-edged sword, and every time he used it, he came closer to losing himself completely.

But in the distance, through the smoke and debris, Kairo spotted something that made his blood run cold: a figure, cloaked in shadow, standing on the ridge, watching the battle. And then, just as quickly, the figure vanished.