Beast Evolution Forge

Chapter 100 Guardians 7

The guardian's expression darkened, her playful demeanor vanishing. "You dare..." The wind around her intensified, whipping into a frenzy. "Then I'll just have to break that spirit of yours."

She thrust both hands forward, and multiple wind blades materialized, slicing through the air toward Wren. Wren darted between them, her enhanced reflexes letting her weave through the deadly assault. One blade caught her shoulder, drawing blood, but she didn't slow down.

'Master taught me better than to let someone like you intimidate me,' she thought, channeling more mana into her claws. They grew longer, sharper, glowing with intense energy.

The guardian's attacks grew more aggressive, but they were becoming predictable in her anger. Wren spotted the pattern – three quick strikes, then a pause to gather power. During one such pause, she struck.

She feinted left, then spun right, her claws raking across the guardian's side. First blood. The guardian's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed with fury.

"Insolent beast!" She summoned her wings again, the massive feathered appendages spreading wide. The air pressure in the clearing doubled, making it hard to breathe.

Wren dropped to one knee, fighting against the crushing force. But she wasn't done yet. She focused her mana into her core, just as her master had taught her. 'The stronger the opponent, the calmer you must be.'

The guardian descended, her wings creating a tempest around them. "I'll teach you the price of defiance!"

But in her rage, she'd made a crucial mistake – she'd gotten too close. Wren's eyes snapped open, and she surged upward, her claws slashing in a precise arc.

The guardian barely managed to dodge, but her wing wasn't so lucky. Wren's claws tore through the feathers, disrupting the mana flow that kept them manifested. The wing flickered and vanished, throwing the guardian off balance.

"You..." the guardian snarled, stumbling back. "How dare you!"

Wren stood tall, her claws still glowing. "My master didn't tame me," she said firmly. "He took me into his family. There's a difference." She shifted into a fighting stance. "Want me to show you more of what I've learned?"

'I can feel master's power flowing into me, even when he is not around, he is always looking out for me. I can't let him down, i will defeat my opponent and prove I am worthy of his power and love.'

The guardian's remaining wing dissolved as she landed, her face twisted with cold fury. "Family? Don't make me laugh. You're nothing but a beast playing at being human."

Wren remained steady, her stance unwavering. The mana flowing through her felt warm, familiar – like her master's encouraging hand on her shoulder during training. "You're wrong. Let me prove it you."

She dashed forward, her movements precise and calculated. The guardian summoned another barrage of wind blades, but Wren was ready. She weaved between them, using the techniques her master had drilled into her countless times.

"Your attacks are getting sloppy," she said, ducking under a wild slash. "Anger makes you predictable."

The guardian snarled, gathering a massive amount of mana. The air around them began to howl, forming into a swirling vortex. "I'll show you predictable!"

But Wren saw it coming. She drove her claws into the ground, anchoring herself as the tornado tried to pull her in. 'Master always said to use an opponent's strength against them, guess he was not wrong.'

As the guardian poured more power into the vortex, Wren carefully timed her move. The moment the guardian's concentration wavered, she pulled her claws free and let the wind carry her – not toward the guardian, but over her.

"What?" The guardian's eyes widened as Wren flipped above her head.

"Never let your opponent control where you land," Wren quoted her master's words, twisting in mid-air. Her claws struck true, raking across the guardian's back.

The guardian stumbled forward, her vortex dissipating. She spun around, face contorted with rage and disbelief. "How... how are you this strong?"

Wren landed softly, her claws still glowing with steady, controlled mana. "Because I'm not fighting alone. Every technique, every movement – they're lessons learned with my family. Unlike you, my master helped me grow."

The guardian's eyes narrowed, reassessing her opponent with newfound wariness. This wasn't the easily dominated beast she'd expected to find. This was someone who had been trained, nurtured, and believed in.

"Then show me," the guardian challenged, though her voice had lost its earlier mockery. "Show me what this 'family' of yours has taught you."

The guardian's voice was low, her tone no longer laced with condescension but with a simmering intensity focusing entirely on Wren. The air around her stilled, a strange calm before the storm. Her eyes glowed with a piercing light, and the ground beneath her feet began to crack as her power surged.

"You've proven yourself more than a mere beast," the guardian admitted, her voice cold but respectful. "But don't mistake my acknowledgment for mercy. If you wish to prove your worth, then I will meet you with everything I have."

She raised her hands, and the atmosphere shifted. The wind, once chaotic and wild, now moved with a calculated precision. It coiled around her like a serpent, dense with mana that shimmered like liquid light. The pressure in the clearing intensified, not just physically but spiritually, as if the guardian's very presence was asserting dominance over the space.

Wren felt the weight of it, her breath catching in her chest. But she didn't falter. She could feel her master's teachings echoing in her mind, his voice steady and reassuring. 'The stronger the opponent, the calmer you must be. Fear is natural, but it's how you channel it that defines you, never forget that.'

The guardian's voice cut through the silence. "Let's see if your family's lessons can withstand the storm."

With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed her power. The wind solidified into a barrage of razor-sharp projectiles, each one humming with deadly precision. They came from all directions, leaving no room for evasion. Wren's eyes narrowed as she focused, her claws glowing brighter as she channeled her mana into a defensive barrier. The projectiles struck, shattering against her shield in bursts of light and sound.

But the guardian wasn't done. She stepped forward, her movements fluid and deliberate. The ground beneath her feet cracked and splintered as she gathered more mana, her hands weaving intricate patterns in the air. The wind responded, forming into a massive, swirling vortex that towered above them. It roared like a living thing, its power palpable even from a distance.

Wren's heart raced, but she forced herself to stay calm.

The guardian thrust her hands forward, and the attack surged toward Wren, its force threatening to tear her apart. She braced herself, her claws digging into the ground as she focused her mana into her legs. At the last moment, she leaped, using the vortex's own force to propel herself upward. She flipped over the guardian's attack, landing behind her with a graceful spin.

The guardian turned, her expression one of mild surprise. "Impressive," she said, her voice tinged with a hint of admiration. "But I wonder how long you think that move will save you."

She clapped her hands together, and the vortex split into multiple smaller whirlwinds, each one homing in on Wren.

The mini-tornadoes slammed into her like freight trains. She crashed through two trees before hitting the ground, her ribs cracking on impact.

"Pathetic." The guardian flicked her wrist, and a vacuum sphere formed around Wren's head. "No air for you."

Wren clawed at her throat, panic setting in. Her lungs burned. In desperation, she bit down on her own arm, the pain shocking her system. Her mana burst out wildly, shattering the vacuum.

But the guardian was already moving. A blade of compressed air sliced through Wren's leg, spraying blood across the grass. She screamed, collapsing.

"All that talk about family." The guardian created a spear of solid wind. "Should we test if they will miss you?"

The spear shot forward. Wren rolled, but it pierced straight through her shoulder, pinning her to the ground. Fresh blood soaked her clothes.

'Sorry, master... I...' Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

"ENOUGH!" Wren's eyes blazed red. Something snapped inside her – not her master's training, but something older. Primal, a hunger she had forgotten.

Her claws extended, darker now, dripping with black energy. Her wounds smoked as savage power coursed through her veins.

The guardian stepped back. "What... what are you?"

Wren answered with a roar that shook the trees. She ripped the wind spear from her shoulder and lunged, moving like a wild dog. Her attack was pure instinct – no technique, just raw killing intent.

The guardian's shield shattered like glass. Wren's claws raked across her chest, leaving deep gashes. Before the guardian could scream, Wren headbutted her with enough force to crack her skull.

"Monster!" The guardian stumbled back, blood running down her face. "This is what you really are!"

Wren stalked forward on all fours, her humanity slipping away with each step. The ground blackened beneath her claws. Her master's voice seemed so far away now...this is her true self... a hunter.

The guardian launched everything she had – blades, spears, explosions of wind. Wren charged straight through them. The attacks tore her flesh, but she didn't even feel it anymore. There was only the hunt. The kill.

She pounced, fangs bared. The guardian hit her point-blank with a concentrated blast of wind that would have cut a normal person in half. Wren's skin split open, but she didn't stop. Her claws found the guardian's throat.

"Wait—" The guardian choked.

"prrrr."

The guardian's eyes widened in terror as Wren's claws ripped through flesh and bone. Blood sprayed across Wren's face as she tore out the guardian's throat.

But she didn't stop there. Her instincts took over completely. Her claws kept slashing, ripping, tearing. The guardian's screams gurgled into silence.

When it was finally over, she stood in a pool of blood, pieces of the guardian scattered around her. Her red eyes slowly faded back to normal as the rage subsided.

She looked down at her blood-soaked claws and smiled. Let them call her beast. Let them fear her. She was done pretending to be something she wasn't.

"Master..." she fell to her knees and passed out.

[Evolution complete.]