That hard stare.

  Like...deep, soul-piercing eye contact kind of hard. The kind that makes you question your entire life and whether you left the stove on.

  “Silent type, huh?” I muttered.

  “Figures.”

  No attacks came.

  That was my cue—I inhaled sharply, braced myself, fists tightening like a sprung trap. My jaw clenched. My heartbeat drummed thunder in my ears.

  Then—BOOM!

  I rocketed forward, fast enough to leave an afterimage looking as confused as I felt. My left fist cocked back, primed like a shotgun slug full of bad intentions. I aimed straight for its arrogant, glowy horse-face.

  And landed the punch.

  BANG!

  The world cracked. Sound warped.

  Blood sprayed across the foul, reeking ground.

  Only... it wasn’t its blood.

  Fist met fist.

  And mine lost.

  My arm—a whole arm—had exploded like cheap scaffolding in a demolition. Bones crunched, splintered, and pierced through skin. My left limb now hung like a puppet with cut strings.

  The unicorn?

  Didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.

  Didn’t even blink-blink.

  “…Sh*t.”

  "Our stats weren’t even that far off. I just—what? Forgot it was a literal divine beast? Underestimated it like a rookie scrub trying to punch a constellation?"

  Fine. Lesson learned.

  I clenched my jaw again, more out of sheer embarrassment than pain, and let the [Void Cloak] ripple. The shadows warped and lashed, taking the form of two abyssal arms—jet-black, coiling with eldritch energy. More fists. More pain to deliver.

  My stats multiplied twofold.

  But then...

  Its horn began to shimmer—no, radiate—a golden hue so bright it burned my retinas. Its eyes blazed an ethereal blue, pupils practically radiating the Aurora Borealis, and its once-pristine white coat now shimmered with actual cosmic golden dust.

  The kind that whispers forbidden secrets and smells faintly like ozone and mother nature.

  Then it screamed.

  No, proclaimed.

  Like some divine trumpet from the heavens was blowing right through its throat.

  [Skill Activated: Enchanted Horn]

  Using the mythical properties of a Unicorn, the user channels the power of nature itself, shattering mortal constraints.

  Added Effects:

  +100% to all primary stats

  30 minutes duration

  45 minutes cooldown

  [Ting!]

  [Enemy Stats Updated]

  [Divinus Singularis Unicornus – Lvl 25] [Buffed]

  Bishop rank Aberrant (Special)

  →HP: 800 (+600) | MP: 420 (+220)

  →STR: 38 (+38) | INT: 22 (+22)

  →AGI: 40 (+40) | VIT: 60 (+60)

  →DEF: 350 (+350) | MOR: -10

  My jaw hit the floor, along with any last remnants of hope.

  “So that’s what ‘Special’ means...” I mumbled, as a singular bead of sweat traced a suicidal path down my temple. “They come with cheat codes too!”

  The gap had closed.

  No... it flipped.

  Now he was the one with the higher stats.

  And me?

  I was just the idiot who tried to punch a divine horse in the face.

  Its defense just skyrocketed—no doubt now, even cracking that pristine, sparkly body would be like punching a marble statue carved by cosmic sadists.

  And then, it spoke. Through its shimmering, dignified muzzle came a voice I never expected to hear from a horse’s mouth.

  "You’ve always been a sore loser, Jin."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  My breath hitched.

  "You… know me?" I managed, eyes narrowing, feeling something—something ancient and familiar—click into place in the hollow of my chest.

  The creature only let out a low, almost sorrowful groan in reply.

  BOOM!

  A blast of sound ruptured the air like a cannon going off inside a chapel. I barely had time to react as a celestial fist came screaming toward my skull—dense with radiant power and vengeance, a mirror image of the punch I’d thrown just seconds earlier.

  BANG!

  Smoke and golden sparks exploded on impact.

  My arms, clad in Hunter’s morphing void-iron, crossed instinctively, absorbing the blow. The sheer force skidded me across the ground, feet gouging twin trenches through the grime-coated stone. My limbs trembled. My gauntlet hissed, vents glowing like overworked furnace grates.

  Even with perception dialed up to god-tier, it was all I could do to avoid my head exploding like a melon under a press.

  “[Hunter, any brilliant ideas before we become glittery hamburger?]”

  “[My Lord, if we sever the horn, his power may drop. That, or we activate it—our final card.]”

  Ah yes. Our suicide pact disguised as a plan.

  [Alpha Metamorphosis]

  A last-ditch stat steroid—50% boost to everything... at the cost of my sanity turning into spaghetti.

  I didn't have the luxury of hesitation.

  Then came his voice again, this time raspier, like wind dragging broken glass through a throat.

  “Still haven’t remembered who I am?”

  “Can’t say I’ve met a talking unicorn before,” I said, raising a brow. “You’re not from that one My Little Something show, are you?”

  He chuckled—a ragged, joyless sound that sent cold crawling down my spine.

  “Haha… I haven’t laughed since your other self trapped me in this celestial dumpster fire. I was about ready to lose myself to madness… until I saw you.”

  The way he spoke. That voice. That cadence.

  Wait.

  My heart thudded like a war drum.

  “Alex?”

  Time stopped.

  Alex Grey.

  My best friend. My other childhood comrade. The golden boy with lion’s hair, sharp wit, and fists made of justice. He was muscle, I was brain. He beat down gangsters with righteous fury while I ran interference with school reports and schematics for potato cannons. He was "The Savage Ogre"—our town’s worst nightmare for anyone who messed with the innocent.

  And now...

  Now he stood before me as a unicorn dipped in stars and wrath.

  “Why… why you? Why here?”

  He gave me a tired smile through bloodlust-glazed eyes. “So the Alex from your world is still your friend. Lucky bastard.”

  He paused, then added, “The one I knew—he became evil. Pure, cold, world-breaking evil. I tried to stop him... and I lost. Spectacularly.”

  My stomach dropped.

  “So this is why you’re stuck here? In this grotesque unholy zoo?”

  “I was imprisoned. Until you came.” He gave a sad, almost fond look before his eyes ignited with killing intent again. “But listen, Jin. If you don’t kill me here... you’ll never reach him. And the voice—his voice—is getting louder. I can’t stop myself much longer.”

  “[My Lord, his energy is building again!]” Hunter snapped.

  Alex’s next words cut through my chest like a blade of guilt.

  “I don’t want to kill you. But the urge... it’s maddening.”

  He lowered his head slightly.

  “So let’s end this... as brothers.”

  Resolved at last, my trembling mind hardened into iron. I couldn’t hesitate anymore. No more doubt.

  I had to see this through—even if it meant shattering myself in the process.

  Pluck.

  A single drop of blood hit the cracked ground like a war drum’s first beat, shattering the suffocating silence.

  In an instant, the world exploded into motion.

  Two figures blurred, ripping through the air with earth-splitting force. Cracks spiderwebbed beneath our feet; shockwaves boomed outward, shaking the very walls of this cursed place.

  His fist—wreathed in bluish dread—came for my head like the scythe of a reaper.

  I ducked.

  A heartbeat too late, a breath too fast—his knuckles scraped my cheek, carving a burning line across my skin.

  Everything slowed.

  Time stretched like melting glass. Every microsecond crystallized in my vision—each particle of dust, each flicker of aura, every twitch of his savage form. I saw it—

  The horn.

  It gleamed like a dagger thrust from his forehead, pulsing with unstable energy.

  Close enough. Close enough to reach.

  "YAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHH!"

  I roared from the pit of my soul, pushing beyond my limits.

  BAM!

  [You received 100 HP damage]

  His counterpunch struck my gut with merciless precision. I coughed blood instantly, my organs feeling like they’d been whipped in a blender. Even Hunter barely absorbed a fraction of that monstrous impact.

  But I held on.

  "[Spiderkin]!"

  I spat the command, and black webs burst from my gauntlets, latching onto his hooves before he could crush me under them. The bindings strained and snapped like rubber bands against his strength—but it was enough.

  Enough for an opening.

  My void arms slithered through the chaos, bypassing his flailing defense like twin vipers.

  "Gooooooo!"

  I screamed, locking down his arms with everything I had—and pulled with Hunter's power surging through me.

  CRACK!

  A screeching crack split the air as the horn snapped in half.

  For a moment, the world turned white.

  A powerful backlash detonated from the broken horn, blasting outward in a shockwave that tore through the cavern. The monstrous unicorn stumbled, its body spasming violently as its strength drained like water from a shattered jar.

  It fell to one knee, gasping for breath—weak, vulnerable.

  "[Now, my Lord!]"

  Hunter's voice echoed inside my mind like a thunderclap.

  Without hesitation—

  [Taboo Skill Activated: Alpha Metamorphosis]

  Light burst from my cores—an overwhelming surge, too bright to look at directly.

  Hunter and I became one.

  Our souls twisted together like twin stars colliding. My mind, my body, my essence merged with him, forging a new existence, neither fully human nor weapon.

  My body morphed in an instant.

  Dark metallic flesh unfurled like blooming flowers across both arms, encasing them up to the shoulders. Red veins of molten power pulsed beneath the armor. A wolfish mask of dark steel clamped over my face, three blood-red slits burning where my eyes should be.

  Thick black fur sprouted across my lower body, melding with the armor seamlessly. My legs snapped and reshaped—more lupine, built for devastating speed and power. A long, furry tail unfurled from my back, whipping through the air like a living weapon.

  I now stood as a monstrous knight—half-man, half-wolf, fully death incarnate.

  The ground seemed weightless beneath me. Every heartbeat was a song of perfect clarity. My senses sharpened into a razor’s edge—sight, hearing, touch... even smell.

  And what I smelled, stronger than the metallic stink of blood or the ionized air—

  Was fear.

  Rich, primal fear, leaking off the trembling figure before me like a rotting fog.

  I smiled beneath the wolf's mask.

  Time to end this.

  Chug!

  With a flick of my sharp claws, I seized the unicorn’s throat like a vice. His body spasmed in shock, but I was already moving.

  In a single, savage motion, I drove my hand deep into his chest.

  The thick hide parted like paper.

  No blood sprayed—only a sickening squelch echoed as I wrenched free his still-beating heart, the organ pulsing weakly in my palm.

  For a moment, time froze.

  His savage fury—the feral madness that had consumed him—flickered and died in an instant. The burning hatred in his eyes gave way to something painfully human: fear... then sorrow.

  His body slumped forward.

  I caught him gently, lowering his falling form to the ground. His monstrous features rippled and dissolved, the animalistic figure peeling away to reveal the battered, worn face of a man.

  I let out a slow, trembling breath, releasing my transformation as well. My monstrous armor retracted into Hunter, returning me to my human shape.

  "...Jin," Alex rasped, bloodless lips barely moving, "You have to promise me... Kill him. He's the one... who turned us... twisted us into these monsters..."

  His voice cracked—raw, desperate, fading.

  "Don't worry," I whispered back, my throat tightening, "That's already the plan."

  "Hunter! Heal him, now!" I barked.

  Hunter surged forward, its gloop of healing mist unfurling from his form—but Alex raised a trembling hand to stop him.

  "...No... It's too late," he coughed, a pitiful wheeze escaping him. "You have to... Take my Soul Core... Make use of it... Grow stronger... You... need to..."

  His words dissolved into incoherent murmurs.

  The light vanished from his eyes, snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane.

  "[My Lord...]"

  Hunter’s voice quivered with something close to terror.

  I stood there, the world spinning.

  A primal, monstrous hatred howled inside my chest, drowning every rational thought, every sliver of sanity.

  I was going to rip the bastard responsible for this apart.

  "[Please, my Lord,]" Hunter whispered, "[Don't let his sacrifice be wasted.]"

  Those simple words hit me harder than any blow.

  I staggered, a gasp tearing free from my lips—like cold water splashed across a burning mind.

  "...I know," I muttered, fighting to keep my hands from shaking. "But when the time comes... we're gonna beat the living shit out of him. And I mean it."

  My voice cracked with barely restrained fury. My eyes, glimmering with grief, hardened into steel.

  Carefully, reverently, I peeled open Alex’s throbbing heart.

  Nestled within it was a radiant, pulsing core—still warm, still humming with latent power.

  [Soul Core (Divinus Singularis Unicornus)]

  Special Quality

  Qty: 1

  Description:

  By consuming this item, you will gain 50,000 experience and 1,500 skill points. It also restores 10,000 HP. Alternatively, it can serve as a vital component in Crafting and Void Animancy. The embedded memory shell remains intact and can only be accessed when used as a core material.

  "Another memory shell..." I murmured bitterly, fingers closing around the core. It pulsed gently, as if acknowledging me.

  "Void Animancy, eh?"

  I turned to Hunter. "Preserve his body, inside you."

  Without a word, Hunter extended its body like a mantle, wrapping Alex’s remains with eerie gentleness. In a single, fluid motion, Hunter devoured the body—preserving it within our shared existence, safeguarding the last remnants of my friend.

  Then—

  A sharp sting behind my eyes.

  A surge of data, raw and burning, flooded my mind.

  [Truthseeker]—the trait that had carried me through so much darkness—evolved.

  [God's Eye]

  (Truthseeker - Evolution I)

  (1430 pts out of 20,000 pts)

  Using the eyes of Doom, you can now see the souls of other entities across vast distances. Reveals name, rank, level, primary and secondary stats, skills, and traits.

  Added Effects:

  HP: +200 | MP: +200

  STR: +20 | INT: +20

  AGI: +20 | VIT: +20

  DEF: +100 | MOR: 0

  I opened my new eyes to the world.

  The cavern blazed with unseen energies—rivers of cosmic fabrics, echoes of memories, distant whispers riding the currents of the void.

  And somewhere far away—

  I could already feel him.

  The one who did this.

  Waiting.

  Unaware of the fury that was now coming for him.

  At long last, the finale was here.

  The final portal yawned open before me, belching out a wave of malicious aura sharp enough to scratch my skin like invisible razor blades.

  This was it.

  Outer Celestials,

  Follow and add this novel to your Favorites.

  [Ting!]

  [A Review and Rating would be helpful too.]