Ethan was subconsciously using something similar to Elara’s Physical Augmentation as he fought the masked woman. He had so much mana while assimilated with Spark that, to keep up with his unusual opponent in close combat, he had begun using the excess energy to strengthen his body.
While it wasn’t nearly as efficient or powerful as Elara’s ability, it was enough to keep him in the fight against a woman who had yet to reveal the full extent of her own abilities. More importantly, Ethan was beginning to understand her fighting style.
’She’s not trying to keep her distance.’
That was important.
Her hypnosis didn’t work on him, so the logical decision for her would have been to retreat and find another way to control the fight from a distance. If her greatest advantage was manipulating the minds of her opponents, continuing to fight someone immune to that ability made little sense.
Yet she wasn’t retreating.
Instead, she was deliberately fighting him up close, unusually so.
That told Ethan three things.
First, this gate and warehouse were very important to her, and she was willing to do anything to protect them. Second, she was still confident that she could beat him without relying on hypnosis.
’And she’s also pissed I killed someone from their cult.’
That much was clear from her sudden outburst and her relentless attacks, as she swung at Ethan’s face again. The strike was strangely slow, and he caught it in his flaming hand without much difficulty.
The woman’s lips curled into a smile.
Then her other hand shot towards his throat.
Ethan twisted away just in time, feeling her fingers graze the side of his neck before he responded with a knee. She blocked the attack, then her eyes suddenly flashed, and she pulled down her mask.
’Whoa, she’s hot.’
The rest of her face definitely didn’t disappoint, and she looked like an Arabian princess straight out of a movie. But she hadn’t revealed her face to flaunt her beauty. Her mouth opened, and two sharp fangs emerged from beneath her lips.
Ethan’s expression changed instantly.
"What the fuck?!"
The woman lunged straight for his neck.
Ethan’s eyes widened slightly.
He tried to move, but this time he couldn’t dodge in time.
Her fangs were already closing in on his throat when Ethan reacted instinctively. Instead of trying to evade her, he unleashed a violent burst of flames from his entire body.
Boom!
Fire erupted outward in every direction, engulfing the space between them and forcing the woman to immediately abandon her attack. She recoiled from the sudden explosion of heat. Her body flipped backwards through the air as she pushed off the ground, twisting gracefully before landing several metres away.
Ethan remained where he was, flames still swirling around his body like a living mantle.
He narrowed his eyes.
’That was too fucking close.’
The woman slowly straightened herself, her slitted eyes fixed on the flames surrounding him.
Then her tongue passed over her fangs.
Ethan stared at her.
For several seconds, he simply looked at the woman while his mind rapidly pieced together everything he had witnessed since the beginning of their fight.
His eyes narrowed.
"You’re not a snake..."
The woman’s slitted eyes narrowed in response.
Ethan’s expression shifted from confusion to sudden realisation.
"You’re a vampire!"
He pointed towards her face.
"You’ve got the eyes, the speed, and the whole creepy thing."
His finger then moved towards her mouth.
"And those are definitely fangs."
The woman smiled.
Ethan’s expression slowly shifted from confusion to disbelief.
’No wonder she kept going after my neck.’
He then added aloud, "You’re like a literal Blood Demon."
"No, that thing is very different."
Ethan immediately caught the implication.
’She knows about the demon within Elara...’
His expression hardened.
"What do you know about her?"
The woman didn’t answer.
Instead, she attacked again, even faster than before, almost as if she no longer had a reason to hold back. Ethan’s body moved instinctively, and as he narrowly avoided her strike, he realised that Spark’s abilities alone weren’t going to be enough.
’I guess I should also take this a little more seriously.’
She seemed to have the power of a B Rank, and was revealing more and more abilities as time went on.
’Partial Assimilation: Wolfy.’
The flames dancing around him faded as dark fur spread across his arms and the sides of his face. His muscles expanded, his fingers lengthened into claws, and his body hunched unnaturally. His jaw shifted slightly as sharp fangs pushed past his lips, while his eyes turned into a predatory red.
Within only a few seconds, the flaming man standing before her had become something far more monstrous.
A werewolf-like beast.
The woman stopped, her eyes widening in surprise.
Then she smiled, not afraid in the slightest; instead, she was fascinated by her opponent.
"So that’s it."
Ethan flexed his claws.
"What?"
She slowly began circling him, her eyes travelling across his transformed body.
"You’re slowly becoming more like them."
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
"Like what?"
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she lunged, but this time Ethan met her head-on.
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
The resulting shockwave rippled through the warehouse, sending dust and debris flying through the air.
Ethan grinned.
’Much better.’
Wolfy’s physical traits allowed him to keep up with her close-range movements far more effectively. His senses had sharpened, his reactions had become more instinctive, and his body felt lighter and more natural.
He wasn’t simply reacting to her anymore.
He was anticipating her.
The woman seemed to notice the difference immediately.
But her attacks sped up further, as a technical exchange of rapid attacks began.
She swung.
He ducked beneath the blow.
She kicked.
He raised his arm and blocked it.
He clawed towards her.
She twisted away.
She lunged for his throat.
Ethan caught her wrist, and for a moment, the two of them were locked together.
The woman’s eyes stared directly into his.
Her pupils narrowed.
Ethan felt another attempt at hypnosis, but once again, nothing happened.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Compared to that butterfly, you ain’t shit."
She didn’t exactly know what that meant, but his resistance only fascinated her further.
Ethan pulled her closer.
"So does garlic, silver, and a stake to the heart actually affect you?"
They were so close it was almost intimate as they locked eyes, but it was also the perfect range for her to attack again. Her fangs flashed once again as she went in for another bite, but holding her wrist, Ethan flung her away.
"I thought we were having a moment there," he joked. "And you really like biting people, don’t you? If I knew you were this hungry, I’d have brought you some snacks from old man Cho."
His casual comments and relaxed attitude were frustrating, but also quite amusing.
’He’s better than I thought he’d be.’
But that didn’t change the fact that he was a massive thorn in her side...
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