No POV:
Drex exhaled. Mist escaping his mouth as he did so.
His body had bulked. His lips now completely failed to cover his jagged teeth. It now looked like his teeth were growing from his lips.
Horns protruded from his forehead slightly parting his hair.
His body eminated a cyan glow—the air around him seemed distorted...
He moved to attack Nightmare—a sharp onyx blade growing out of his forearm.
*CHING*
Before he could hit, Yuri intercepted before kicking him away.
Drex stood up and growled, his cyan eyes narrowing.
Yuri however, just scoffed. "I can never see you as my equal. Someone who has no control over his power has no right to stand on the same footing with me."
He took a step forward and spoke again. "Humans are afraid of what they cannot control. So what makes you think I'll loose to someone like you? Someone who doesn't even possess full ownership of his power?"
He started intently at him.
He could see it.
A shadow loomed over Drex. Hunched directly over him as if he was it's creation...
Yuri wasn't certain others could see it but for him, one thing was certain.
It was terrifying...
It was fully capable of making him go mad if he didn't know better.
He let out a breath.
"Mhmm?" Drex raised an eyebrow.
Was that a shudder..?
Was Yuri actually feeling fear right now?
Yuri however kept talking. "Be prepared to di—"
However, before he could finish, something flew fast him with terrifying speed.
**WHOOSH**
When he looked up, half of his face was gone.
"You talk too much." Drex spoke, his voice carrying a dark demonic undertone. On his clawed hands, the half of Yuri's face was dangling like a loose glove before he waved it aside. ..
Yuri chuckled. His face already regenerating.
"Give me a good one yeah?" Drex grinned. His mouth stretching unnaturally.
Yuri struck first.
A tendril snapped forward—fast enough to whistle through the air. Drex shifted aside, but not cleanly this time. It slammed into his shoulder and forced him back two steps, his boots grinding against the stone.
Before he could recover, a second tendril came low.
He blocked it with his forearm, the impact sending a jolt up his arm. His expression tightened but the grin never left his face.
"Alright… not bad," he muttered.
Yuri's tendrils spread above him then surged together—three, then four, striking in staggered rhythm instead of all at once.
Drex adjusted quickly.
He slipped past one, knocked another off course, but the third caught him across the ribs and drove the air from his lungs. He staggered, just for a moment.
"That's it... That's what I'm talking about!"
A tendril wrapped around his wrist and yanked.
Drex was pulled forward—but instead of resisting, he leaned into it. He used the pull, stepped in, and closed the gap before the others could fully react.
His fist drove toward Yuri and landed squarely across his chest.
The hit forced Yuri back, their footing shifting as loose stone cracked under them. The tendrils recoiled briefly. Not gone, just resetting.
Drex didn't give space.
He pressed forward, throwing another strike. Yuri raised a tendril to intercept, but the impact pushed it aside. A second tendril lashed in from the side, catching Drex across the back and forcing him to turn with it.
They separated again.
Both paused—just a second.
Drex's breathing was heavier now, his grin remained; shoulders tense. Yuri's tendrils moved slower, more deliberate, coiling and uncoiling like they were measuring him.
Then...
They clashed again.
Tendrils lashed in tighter patterns, aiming to trap rather than overwhelm. Drex met them head-on, blocking where he could, taking hits where he couldn't, forcing his way through the openings.
One wrapped briefly around his leg, he tore free.
Another struck his side, he pushed through it.
"Haha!!"
He got close again, close enough to swing . But Yuri shifted just enough to avoid the worst of it, but still got driven back a step.
Stone cracked under both of them.
No clear advantage. No clean hits.
Just constant pressure.
The fight settled into a rhythm: strike, counter, adjust.
Neither slowing down.
Both relishing the moment...
~~~~~
Hayley ignored the fights around her. She was seemingly paralyzed, standing in place.
It wasn't worry.
It wasn't her thinking of a back up plan.
It was fear...
Her breath was shaky. She was facing two monsters in a dangerous deadlock of blows.
She was very cautious of Drex's oppressive aura. She felt that if she stared too long, she'd loose her mind.
"Ghk—" Struggling to catch her breath, she realized she forgot to breathe...
When Nightmare noticed this, he muttered: "Another failure huh...?"
He flash stepped, seemingly disappearing from the scene
"Fuck! Where'd he go..." Jax turned his head, preparing for a supposed surprised attack but when he didn't receive any, he raised an eyebrow.
"Huh..?"
Then he turned to where Drex fought. His eyes widened at what he saw.
Nightmare held Yuri, pulling him back. Yuri was wounded but tried to free himself.
"We're falling back." Nightmare said sternly.
"What?! No! I'd never loose!! Not like this." Yuri protested.
"Take a look at what's in front of you... Do you think you could beat that without proper preparation...?"
Yuri started at Drex who was breathing heavily in front of him. He was completely overwhelmed and his death was certain if he continued.
"But still—"
"Aren't you the one that said that you weren't going to die for my sake?"
Yuri was silent... Those were indeed his words.
"Tch..." He gritted his teeth.
Nightmare—not willing to listen to any protests, turned to the hunters.
Then at Drex.
"I'll be back for you..."
With that he just.... Vanished.
He must have just moved faster than any one of them could perceive but still, he was gone.
"Ah.... What a shame.... It's all a waste... This power of mine."
Drex stared at his hand, admiring his blade.
Then he turned to them
"Unless one of you are willing to take his place..." He smiled.
Hayley's eyes widened.
She knew it. This wasn't Drex. Not anymore...
He dashed forward and clashed with Vax.
Hayley tried to move but she was kicked aside as well.
"Rise!" Without hesitation, she summoned her army again
"We need to immobilize him! Go! go! go!" Her army rushed towards him.
Drex gave an excited grin then rushed directly towards them.
Hayley's eyes widened in terror.
A few moments later, Drex was sitting on mountain of corpses...
Her corpses...
One of the claws of the soilders still clung to him arm so Drex opened his mouth...
And bit the flesh off.
The blood and drool pooled from his mouth... He stared at Hayley...
"Your soilders taste horrible..."
Then he dashed towards her, aiming to cut her open..
"Let's see how you taste!!"
"Tch..." She tried to move but he was already too close.
Then...
**BANG**
A moment later, a gaping whole found its way on his stomach. Not wide enough to kill him, but just enough to stun him.
Pain flooded his senses ... He had failed to register that Jax was present. The shotgun still smoking from the nuzzle. Seeing as he was more of a long ranged fighter, it was easier for him to move almost unnoticed.
**THUD**
Blood pooled from his body to the ground birthing a crimson pool.
His consciousness faded as he fell to the ground....