Outside, Serfet engaged the Fulgurjaw in a vicious one-on-one exchange. He knew deep down that if anyone else got involved, they would die. But now something else gnawed at his thoughts—the violent surge of non-Abyssal Kyyr. Was it that red guy from before? He contemplated as he expertly weaved in and out of the lightning-infused slams of the Fulgurjaw.

As it became increasingly agitated, the Fulgurjaw shifted its focus to the handful of rangers trailing behind. But just as it lunged toward them, Calli and Morotov ignited it with a burst of flames, searing its hide. The Fulgurjaw let out a furious, guttural roar, thrashing wildly, but the opening allowed Serfet to slash deep into its flesh, further enraging the lightning clad beast.

Simultaneously, on the northern front, Siegwick was exchanging blows with an increasingly amped-up Anomaly. To his shock, the entity was excelling at combat, moving with unnerving speed and precision. Its long, lanky body was oddly nimble as it spun around, slashing at everything. It’s vile tongues spewing out the strange gas as they reached out from the darkness.

Siegwick expertly dodged in and out of the swirling miasma. With each ice-bound strike, his ice-cold Kyyr frostbit the Anomaly's body, causing cold tears on its body as the temperature dropped more and more. The abyssal condensation around them began to freeze, turning into a storm of icy needles that pierced the Anomaly's flesh. Yet, despite the frozen onslaught, the Anomaly seemed to slowly adapt, matching Siegwick's tempo with increasing precision.

Its slashes grew more precise and heavy as even Siegwick's armor began to crack under the pressure of its strikes. Tendrils spewed from the edges of its claws, violently tearing at his ice armor, causing him to further ignite his Kyyr as he smashed the Anomaly’s hand with a crushing blow.

Siegwick felt his strength waning, the exhaustion of his depleting Kyyr settling in. But the realization only fueled his rage, as he began to strike the abomination with his raw strength. The Anomaly seemed regale in the fight as it grew stronger with every passing second, feeding off the chaos.

Inside the medical wing, Denver and the others worked tirelessly to stabilize Lucas, their efforts becoming increasingly desperate. Denver even went as far as transfusing his own blood, thankful they were a match.

Gira had finally stopped bleeding so profusely, dragging his hand beneath himself before shifting his weight to his side. He scraped his hands against the shattered floor, pushing himself up, and shifted his body back onto his knees. His voice was gone, but his conviction wasn’t. Staggering to his feet, looking like a zombie, his eye flashing teal as he slowly approached Lena from behind.

Lena, too focused on her brother, didn’t notice Gira reaching for her belt and pulling a Kyyr booster free. When she realized what was happening, panic flickered in her eyes, but Gira, blood-soaked and weak, gave her a faint, smile before stabbing the booster into himself.

His muscles rippled painfully, but the surge of hunger and the right chemicals flooded his brain, dulling the burning pain of his body. His eye went wild as he rushed out the room in an animalistic sprint.

“What the hell?” She muttered in shock, staring in disbelief as she watched the bloodied Gira disappear into the hallway.

Gira, consumed by the uncontrollable thirst for blood, began to sweat and salivate, crashing into the walls of the hallway as his vision blurred. He stumbled forward until he came across Saul’s half-eaten body, the corpse seeping with Kyyr. Gira’s eyes widened, filling with tears as his Coarseblood fangs emerged. Unable to resist, he tore into the flesh, driven by the horrid craving for Kyyr-rich blood. With each, his jaws and claws grew grotesquely, extending with each bite.

In a daze, he moved away from Saul’s corpse, painting the white walls with streaks of blood as he meandered down the hallway. His nose caught another foul scent, sending a maddening shiver down his spine and guiding him to the Rak’da’s wiggling body, crucified against the wall. With zero hesitation, he dug into it, ravenously eating away at anything that moved.

With each bite, his form grew larger and more powerful. The sound of clapping and eerie laughter filled the air as Gira’s Coarseblood form blossomed again, feeding hungrily off the twisted power of the Rak’da’s flesh.

Outside, the group on the southern front felt trapped, caught between the thunderous clash of the Fulgurjaw and Serfet, the freezing, ominous cold radiating from Siegwick’s battle with the Anomaly, and now the unsettling, violent Kyyr matched with the forlorn sound of clapping and laughing of something within the facility.

“Where do we even take the wounded?” Sey asked, as she tended to Will.

“Not in there!” Will hissed, wincing as he pointed toward the source of violent Kyyr. “I’ve got a feeling the new Kyyr is coming from the creepy, crimson-faced bastard.”

“Crimson-faced bastard?” Zoya asked as she used her Kyyr to form small walls of dirt around them.

“The thing that attacked the Fulgurjaw right before it was about to turn you into a red puddle?” Will replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Oh, sorry,” Zoya said awkwardly before twisting her tone into sarcasm. “I was a little preoccupied with the bright blue glowing monster that was trying to turn me into a red puddle,” she finished with a distant, spite filled smile.

Carmela looked at the building concerned. “Other than disrobing Will, it hasn’t attacked anyone else so far. Let’s just keep an eye out for it.”

“Right…” Will sighed, glancing around. "Actually, now that we’re all here, where the hell is Shan?”

They looked around in confusion—Shan wasn’t with them. Will quickly checked the vitals on the small screen on his wrist. She was still alive, but her heart rate was spiking violently.

Inside Trant station, Shan sat frozen, her back pressed tightly against the wall as she watched in horror. Gira was devouring the Rak’da’s writhing corpse, his body growing larger with each bite. His form glinted ominous as he began to once again transform, blooming into the fearsome, monstrous shape of a Coarseblood.

Shan’s eyes welled with tears, her legs buckled beneath her, paralyzed by fear. She tried desperately not to make a sound as the snapping of bones echoed through the station. Gira ripped large chunks of Rak’da innards with every bite, seemingly savoring the grotesque feast. His long, bladed tongue coiling around the remains, his saliva hissing as it melted the flesh.

Shan watched in silence as Gira finished his meal. Now standing nearly two meters and a half tall, he had once again become a menacing monstrosity. His body cracked and snapped as he turned to face down the hallway. Spotting the terrified Shan. He lumbered over to her and tried his best to give her a comforting smile, but instead, a warm puddle formed beneath her as tears cascaded down her mortified face.

Am I that scary? Gira shouted in his mind.

“I mean, you saw me in your reflection earlier, right?” Savagrios mockingly cackled, his voice echoing through Gira’s thoughts.

Shan shook and mumbled incoherently as Gira cracked his neck, his senses locking onto the presences of the Anomaly, Fulgurjaw, and something else. He snapped his body in the direction of the Fulgurjaw. Disregarding the walls between him and his target, he forcefully crashed through the interior of the station, tearing through the walls and furniture that were in his path.

His crimson body erupted from the side of the building as he collided with the Fulgurjaw, sending the massive beast hurtling into the southwest tower.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The rangers all started in shock as the crimson-clad Gira emerged from the cloud of debris. His roar echoed through the battlefield, a deafening sound that sent shivers down their spines. His monstrous presence was overwhelming as he locked onto the Fulgurjaw that was crawling out from the hole it had left behind.

Gira stood under the shattered sky bathed in crimson, his movements exuding a feral intensity as he charged the confused Fulgurjaw.

“By the Symbols what is that?” Morotov shouted in excitement. His energy not matching the shock of his fellow rangers.

The Fulgurjaw reacted by igniting itself in Draconic Kyyr, its body discharging a thrashing blue electric energy, but it did nothing to deter Gira, who powered through the electric surge as he bore down with unrelenting force. With a savage snarl, Gira sank his jaws deep into the Fulgurjaw, tearing away a messy chunk of flesh.

The Fulgurjaw panicked, thrashing wildly as it struck at Gira over and over to no avail. Gira, consumed by his crazed hunger, was too fixated on devouring the beast to notice his armor chipping away under the relentless slashes. The Fulgurjaw, desperate and struggling, clawed at him frantically, but Gira’s singular focus on feeding rendered him oblivious to the damage.

Amidst the struggle, a blind strike from the Fulgurjaw smacked Gira across the face, interrupting his savage feast. Enraged, Gira plunged his claws deep into the beast’s body, tearing through flesh as he searched for the source of its frantic flailing. With a brutal yank, he violently ripped the Fulgurjaw’s spine from its body.

The creature howled in agony, its body collapsing in a twitching heap as Gira continued his grisly feast. Splinters of bone flew in every direction as he gorged himself on the blood and flesh, lost in the violent hunger that consumed him.

Will watched in disgust, his eyes glued to the unnerving carnage unfolding before him. The beatdown was so one-sided that even he felt pity for the Fulgurjaw. But from the corner of his eye, something moved in shadow. “What in the world is that?” he muttered.

From the roof of Trant and Station, Shredder’s mangled snout emerged, revealing the battered but regenerated Pelamüs. Its hide was now cracked, revealing glowing marks that lined its body like veins. Its claws were also wrapped in a similar spiraling pattern, their bladed tips surging with abyssal Kyyr glowing a vibrant purple.In a swift, predatory motion, it lunged toward Gira, closing the distance in an instant. With a powerful strike to the side of Gira’s head, Shredder sent the Coarseblood flying into the southeast tower with a thunderous crash.

Gira snarled from the shadow of the tower as Shredder loomed over the fallen Fulgurjaw. The Rak’da weakly screeched, its tendrils reaching out from its massacred snout in a desperate plea for aid. Tilting its head, the Pelamüs seemed to grin before viciously stomping down, crushing the Fulgurjaw’s head with a sickening crack. Shredder's own spiraling tendrils licked its face in twisted delight.

“What is that, friends?” Morotov asked, but no one answered.

Only Calli seemed to recognize the creature. It was Luca’s pet—the very one Siegwick had warned them about.

The Pelamüs ignored the rangers, its enmity focused solely on Gira. It howled into the night, its throat shaking as abyssal Kyyr surged through its body.

From the shadows of the tower, a crimson blade surfed across the ground, forcing the Pelamüs to dodge, only to be met with another that sent it retreating diagonally. Crimson tendrils followed, lashing out viciously at the beast.

The flurry of ranged attacks was followed by the Coarseblood emerging in a red flash as he rushed the Pelamüs head-on. Their claws clashed violently, as they both slammed their heads into each other before a swift exchange of heavy blows caused resounding waves of Kyyr. The Pelamüs’s resentful filled ire was met with an overbearing violence as crimson blades were now emerging more and more often.

The blades slashed deep into the Pelamüs’s hide, but they shattered just as easy, as they cut. Shards were sent flying everywhere as the two monsters clashed in a battle of power.

Zoya noticed the shards of shrapnel flying toward them and quickly used her Kyyr ability to mold the ground upward, creating a protective wall. The rangers ducked behind it for cover, but Serfet was caught out in the open. Blades of shrapnel dug into his arms and sides as he tried to shield himself, grunting loudly in pain. Falling to his knees, he struggled to protect his vitals, gritting his teeth through the onslaught.

Gira’s felyne-like ear probes twitched at the sound of Serfet’s pained grunt, prompting him to scan his surroundings. Sensing the wounded man, he abruptly halted the flurry of blades and shifted to more controlled, straightforward strikes at the Pelamüs, focusing his aggression with precision.

Seizing the new window of opportunity, Shredder shifted its strategy, retreating swiftly into the dark nothingness. Gira, driven by instinct, pursued it into the darkness, vanishing from sight and leaving the scene of carnage behind. The rangers collectively exhaled, relief washing over them as the immediate threat passed.

“Wh-what was that thing?” Calli asked, her voice trembling.

“I’m not sure, but it was a lot more humanoid earlier.” Will replied.

“It was a friend!” Morotov interjected confidently. “It felled the lightning beast, no?”

“It did—that thing might be…no,” Carmela replied, shaking her head. “All I can say is that it was probably human.” She added, unsure.

“Hu-human?” Calli mumbled, trying to process the revelation.

Will removed his helmet, exhaling. “ The top half of its face was human, but the lower half…a crimson jaw. I sent the bastard flying, but it managed to steal my Kyyr booster in the scuffle. I’m guessing the Kyyr booster let him fully transform in that thing.”

“Did he hurt you?” Carmela asked, concerned.

“No—just ran at me and caused this little incident,” Will said, pointing to his ripped belt and pants.

“So that’s why you sent him flying.” Carmela narrowed her eyes as she judged Will.

“I’ll admit that thing is probably on our side.” Will said, pausing briefly. “It saved Zoya’s life earlier, and it’s been targeting the abyssal aberrations so far.” He pulled his lightbrown hair back and turned to face the rest of the rangers. “My question is, Who is it?”

Serfet jumped into the middle of the group, taking off his helmet. Revealing his dark blue-green hair that contrasted against his crimson-red eyes. He slumped down slightly, clearly exhausted. “Ugh…” he groaned.

“S-serfet!” Calli exclaimed, rushing over to help him stand.

“Thanks…” he muttered, wincing slightly.

Deep gashesmarred his armor, some blood dripping lightly from his dark uniform.

“Are you alright?!” Zoya asked as she hurried over to help Calli hold him up.

“Just a little tired.” Serfet answered, offering his fellow rangers a weak smile. His expression then relaxed into a more somber look. “We’ve lost some good people tonight. But we’re not done yet… Fate has granted us some hope, though. It seems we’ve been blessed by Calamity.”

“Calamity?” Morotov asked, puzzled.

“I’m not exactly sure where he came from, but I’m pretty sure that crimson creature is a Coarseblood.” Serfet explained.

“Are you sure?” Carmela shouted, eyes wide. Serfet nodded. “He must be the kid Bern mentioned to me.” Carmela added, thoughtfully.

"Wait, you knew about it?” Will asked, shocked.

“Well—Bern mentioned Lucas Russo found a strange kid in the forest tod—I mean yesterday.” Carmela replied.

“W-wait, that’s G-Gira??” Calli stammered, her voice trembling.

“You know it!?” Will interjected, clearly unhappy.

“I met him earlier in the lobby... He arrived with Lucas. He was the sleeping guy t-that Saul carried to the counseling room.” Calli answered awkwardly. “We chatted for a bit before all this happened,” she explained, her voice uneasy.

“Can it be trusted?” Will shouted.

“I believe so…” Serfet replied calmly. “While he was exchanging blows with the other creature, I noticed he stopped his attack when his Kyyr splashed against me. Coarsebloods don’t see like we do; they use Kyyr. When he noticed me within the range of the fight, he stopped attacking with his Kyyr constructs. I’m inclined to believe he did it out of empathy for his fellow man.”

“You’re inclined? How can you be sure he stopped for your sake?” Will asked, his tone accusatory.

“My gut says so,” Serfet answered with a smile.

“Ugh…” Will muttered, ruffling his hair in frustration.

“Regardless of our opinions, he’s fighting the anomalies for us,” Carmela interrupted. “Let’s head into the station to regroup with any survivors.”

The rangers all nodded in agreement.

Will exhaled in frustration, glancing toward Siegwick’s battle. “What about the old man? That Gira thing and the Pelamüs are heading his way.”

Serfet looked wishfully towards the northern front, cold wind splashing his face, “Master Siegwick will be alright, he’s well aware of Coarsebloods so he’ll be quick on figuring things out.”

“I hope so…” Will murmured, concern lingering in his voice.

“Friend, being gloomy doesn’t attract the ladies.” Morotov teased with a hearty laugh as he slid over to help the wounded Will walk.

Will clicked his tongue, blushing as he glanced at Calli. “I get. I get. But laughing in a situation like this is inappropriate!” he snapped.

“That’s just how I cope, friend!” Morotov replied with a chuckle, unfazed.