I watch in amusement as the large rakorn, who I can only assume to be the Warband leader, casts his gaze around and inspects his troops while tentatively approaching with as much bravado as it can muster.

The shocked, almost depressed face the rakorn makes as he realises the state that his followers are in creates a strange, warm, comforting feeling deep in my chest and I almost feel at peace. The sensation is vaguely weird as it contrasts significantly with my violent actions and what remains of my humanity rebels against the notion.

Unfortunately, at least for me, the key phrase there was almost at peace.

Inside, I feel both alive as the adrenaline pumps through my veins and, at least figuratively, dead.

The warm, encouraging sensation builds a small amount as I take note of the shaking rakorn warriors and mages, their fearful, reptilian pupils almost human-like in shape as they begin to falter.

I am pretty sure that it wasn't supposedly against their honour, which from my recent experiences, was something that they subjectively follow, most of them would have fled by now.

The Warband leader's stance straightens as he comes to some sort of decision, sucking in a lungful of air before lifting his head, locking eyes with me, and releasing a rumbling roar.

Impressive for what I deem to be an overgrown lizard.

I maintain eye contact as I reach out and grasp the neck of the nearest warrior and, with a flick of my wrist, break its neck wishing that my mask could reflect my smile.

His shrinking pupils and tooth-filled snarl cause my blood to boil in anticipation yet I can't focus on the feeling as the rakorn around him roar creating a ripple-like effect, like a stone falling into a pond, and they stop shaking in fear. Hisses, howls, growls and snarls greet me as they enter something I can only describe as a berserker-like state and, as one, charge forward.

Very impressive but, all the same, foolish.

I feel my dry lips crack as a smile spreads across my face as I explode forward to meet them. If they kept their distance, stayed separate and bombarded me with ranged attacks, I would have been in trouble.

Twisting my arm and elbow, almost reversing it so that I can utilise the blade-like protrusion, I spin and nearly decapitate one rakorn before destroying the eyes and bridge of the nose of another with my claws. My skin crawls, alerting me to danger, and I quickly drop low and flip over to dodge a barrage of stone spikes as they hiss through the air.

I want to sigh, but my breathing is already rapid from the strain. No matter how many I kill, more rakorn replace them almost immediately.

Since the purge, I had gained complete control over my body and, now that I am at the end of my evolution, coupled with a better understanding of what I desired to be as a human, I finally had a good idea of what I have become and my capabilities.

I hide that knowledge from Eve, along with my thoughts, and let her believe that I am too distracted or that the purge damaged me somehow while I continue to weave forward and close the gap between me and the seven lightning throwers.

They are the most substantial threat here and are in the way.

-"Al, we need to pace ourselves. We are using too much energy."

-"Yes."

It surprises me that Eve is so distracted, that she hasn't realised I have partitioned most of my mind and emotions from her or that I can read her thoughts and feelings now, even the ones she wants to keep from me.

I know what she is planning, I know how she feels. I have many theories on what will happen to use when it happens, at least to my own body.

My chest tightens as I feel emotional pain, quickly followed by physical pain as I fail to dodge a few light attacks and am forced to push the thoughts into the depths.

While I am hurt, now that I can sense her emotions and see her inner thoughts, not only do I understand her motives, I somewhat agree with Eve. The pain of this realisation is so much that, at the moment, I can't say anything more than yes or no without revealing that I knew.

The same fears and paranoia that had made it so difficult for us to form a relationship at the start now made her indispensable. She stabilised me, gave me a sense of security and someone to depend on. I believe she could never leave me, that we were stuck together until death and pain for one would be agony for the other.

I was right, yet at the same time, wrong.

Two could never become one. If we did, then one of us would cease to exist.

Focusing on the rakorn in front of me, I pushed forward using the golem-like wrecks and the rakorn themselves as cover from their ranged forces.

I had a mission to complete. Reach the fortress, kill the rakorn kidnappers, instil fear and respect from the humans and ensure Hope and her mother would be safe.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

When Eve started formulating her plan, straight after I had purged the memories and she had seen my plan, her resolve hardened and I had almost broken.

Even now, as I was venting on the rakorn and trying to focus on a mission I had set myself, I felt dead inside. What was best for Eve and our new 'species' wasn't what, at least to my logic and feelings, best for me. I didn't care about starting a species, in fact, I was against it.

The fact that she was trying to convince herself to go through with it, and knowing that she wouldn't be able to, made it worse. She was about to go against her very nature and what seemed to be her dreams for me.

Of course, she didn't know she wouldn't yet, but the one thing I have learnt since arriving in this shithole of a world was that you couldn't fight who you were.

Eve loved me, and I loved her. We weren't 'in love' or anything so fleeting. We generally wanted what was best for each other.

Even out of breath, I still managed to sigh. -"If you love them, you let them go."

-"What? Did you say something?"

I let the silence, at least inside, return as the air around me hums and I slam my right foot into the floor, propelling my body left and through a rakorn, the speed and impact of my exoskeleton tearing the flesh from its bones.

I momentarily lose myself in the carnage, blue blood and limbs filling my vision as the warm sensation grows as strength flows through me when I chew, then swallow a rakorn's throat.

I fall back and allow my instincts to take over, realising that I am already reverting to my old, overthinking ways and this wouldn't be the time to confront Eve.

Not only were we in a life and death battle, but it didn't take a genius to know that things wouldn't go well.

I can't let go entirely as my instincts scream at me to abandon the mission, to hunt, kill and devour all but I manage to override them. Before the purge, I had come up with a ruleset to live my life.

The previous me, with the extra knowledge that I couldn't keep, knowing that what he was about to do could create the very thing he despised an hated and put, well, thought of some safeguards to put in place.

It was a pretty simple philosophy to live by.

Always keep my word, protect those that are worthy and kill anything that threatens me or the first two rules.

Though it had been Eve that had told the humans that I was going to intervene and hunt the rakorn kidnapers she falls, at least for now, into the first two categories.

My chest tightens, and once again it's not from the multiple arrows, some seemingly enchanted with weird markings, that bounce of my amour or digs into the joints painfully, but from the thought of what is to come.

Unlike before where I was entirely in control, the feelings turn into a raging storm that needs to be released, and I rise to my full height as I suck in air.

Just as I am about to vocalise my emotions, I hear a shout and, due to not needing to move my head to change my focus, I look at the Warband leader who is charging forward with a substantial bone-like axe.

"Don't let it use its ability. DEATH AND HONOUR."

"DEATH AND HONOUR." The other rakorn quickly join him as the archers, a type of Rakorn I had not encountered before breaking through their lines, and mages seemed to prepare their most potent attacks.

-"Ability?"

-"We inspire fear in them. Maybe he believes we have an ability similar to that roar he used?"

Eve's voice is as comforting as it is painful to hear.

-"Maybe."

Eve returned to her musings as she continued to provide my mind with extra information regarding my surroundings and warning me of any incoming threats that I had missed.

Believing I had enough time, and because I was slightly irritated that the rakorn thought he could stop me from doing something I wanted to do, I lifted my head. I totally wasn't lashing out at something childishly.

I opened my jaws, only to throw myself to the ground as bolts of lightning and stone passed through where my body had been moments before. Rolling as I deflected a sword bone aimed at my wrist, I punch my clawed hand through a female rakorn's chest as she was about to hit me point blank with some kind of glowing, blue mist that had formed on her body.

The mist evaporated as she dropped to her knees, her face locked in an expression of disbelief.

I growled as the intensity of the charging rakorn reduced me to doing and counter-attacking. All of their intelligence seemed to have vanished as they rushed towards me, sacrificing their lives for the smallest chance of inflicting damage.

It was a costly strategy, but it was working. I was suffering more damage than ever before, and while it wasn't crippling, combined with my dwindling energy, I was approaching the point where the injuries inflicted would soon outpace my regenerative abilities.

The image of the Devourer's, swamped by the numerous other creatures floated to the surface of my mind, I knew I had made a colossal mistake.

With my abilities, at least in theory, it was almost impossible to kill me outright, however, like a stone in a river, I could be whittled away until I had become nothing but sand.

Releasing a hiss of irritation, which caused those nearest to me, a group of four coming in from each side, to hesitate even in their beserker-like state, I twisted my body in ways that should have been impossible and dodged the incoming barrage of weapons, projectiles and even a few claws.

With a flick of my tail, I moved to the most abundant group approaching me and let myself go. As I passed through their ranks, I would rip off or cripple a limb if I couldn't strike a vital point.

However, I did so at a much slower, more conservative rate and couldn't help but laugh as they attempted to swarm me.

I was back in my element. The rakorn's own bodies acting as my shield as I swam through the living mass delivering death and destruction. As long as they kept sending fodder that I could dodge and kill quickly, I was safe.

Unlike earlier, this time I kept my feet on the ground and focused on avoiding attacks and counterattacking where appropriate as anything of substance that I could grab while moving entered my mouth and was rapidly consumed.

My previous strategy was too aggressive and, even though I was still confident of surviving unless it was absolutely necessary, I would never enter a direct confrontation like this again.

Eve was right. I could feel my frail human body inside withering away as my armour and wounds continuously healed and the multiple strange organs around my body absorbing energy at an outstanding rate.

I had entered this battle as an enraged human would, not a predatory animal. My strategy had been too aggressive and straightforward and I had not utilised any of the advantages I had.

The moment my blitz had been bogged down, it had failed.

To survive, one must use what is at their disposal and adapt to the changes life would undoubtedly throw at them. I had let my bodies strength and abilities go to my head. It was strange but, when I had been playing with my foes, testing my limits and honing my skills, I had been far more effective.

My body halted for a moment, the strangeness of the action taking my foe by surprise so much that they didn't take advantage of it.

-"So, that's what it is. I am fighting my nature."

A grin appeared on my face, which was hard to do as I was chewing the remains of whatever I had just shovelled into my mouth.

Just like I had always said, I wasn't just going to survive, I was going to thrive.

It was time to play.