Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 282: Partial Acquisition
"Yes," Jayden replied without hesitation, and the system got to work immediately.
[Energy Acquisition commencing...]
A pulse of heat surged through Jayden’s chest. Golden light... pure energy—flowed from the dead Flare’s core, spiraling into his body like a river of liquid fire.
[Beast Energy Acquisition in progress]
[Beast type: Sabertooth Flare (C-Rank)]
[Beast Gene Absorption: 1%]
[Beast Ability Assimilation: 50%]
Jayden’s muscles tensed involuntarily as the ancient beast’s essence integrated with his own. All of it pouring in, layer by layer.
After a few seconds, the process neared its completion:
[Beast Gene Absorption: 1%]
[Beast Ability Assimilation: 97%]
But something was wrong... the gene absorption meter still hadn’t moved.
Jayden frowned. He was about to ask Luna why this was happening, when the system suddenly chimed.
[Alert! Host is unable to absorb the Genes of an Ancient Beast at his current Level]
Jayden scowled. "You have to be kidding me."
But the system wasn’t done yet.
[Beast Gene Absorption: Failed]
[Beast Ability Assimilation: 100%]
(Assimilation Complete)
[Beast Energy Acquisition was Partially Successful]
[You have acquired the Ability: Pyrokinesis]
Jayden exhaled slowly. He rose, swaying slightly from exhaustion, every joint aching despite the rapid healing. The moon still hung high, lending him strength, but even doubled stats had limits after a fight like that.
He was about to store the beast corpse and leave the forest when...
Crunch. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Someone stepped into view.
Jayden’s head snapped up instantly, his expression turning serious.
It was Fred
He emerged from behind a fallen tree, limping forward, his hands visible and empty. He had witnessed it all... the transformation, the fight, the aftermath, everything.
Jayden’s body tensed, muscles coiling despite the exhaustion dragging at his limbs. His expression didn’t change. His eyes remained cold and calculating. If Fred made a wrong move, either toward a communicator or a weapon, Jayden was prepared to silence him permanently.
And Fred knew this. He recognized the body language. The boy was ready to fight. To flee. To do whatever was necessary to protect himself.
"Easy, kid," Fred said, raising his hands higher in a gesture of peace. "I’m not here to fight you."
Jayden didn’t relax. If anything, he grew more alert. "But you saw... you saw everything," he muttered, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"I did," Fred admitted, taking a careful step forward. "But you saved my life. And I’m not stupid enough to—"
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of multiple footsteps approaching from the direction of the forest entrance cut Fred off mid-sentence. They were still distant but getting closer... at least a dozen people from the sound of it.
Fred’s head snapped around instinctively toward the noise, his hand moving to his weapon out of trained reflex. And when he turned back, the clearing was empty.
Jayden was gone. Without a trace.
Only the cooling corpse and faint footprints in the ash remained. Not even a rustle of leaves betrayed which way he had gone.
Fred blinked. "What the...?"
"Captain!"
A voice suddenly pulled Fred’s attention back to the approaching group.
Fred turned to see Martinez and Chen emerging from the tree line, their faces lighting up when they saw him standing. Behind them came at least fifteen more agents, all fully armed and armored.
Martinez broke into a jog. "Sir! You’re alive—thank God." He reached Fred, gripping his shoulder, eyes scanning the burns that were already mostly healed.
Chen flanked him, face pale but he looked genuinely happy. "We thought we lost you, Captain," he said.
"I’m fine," Fred grunted, waving them off. "Just banged up a bit."
The Commander, a tall man with a scar running through his eyebrow, stepped past them. He surveyed the devastation of the clearing—the melted earth, the shattered trees, the cratered ground. And most importantly, the dead beast.
"Captain Walker," he began, his voice clipped and military-precise. "How did you manage to kill a creature capable of this level of destruction on your own?"
Fred took a breath, choosing his words carefully. "I didn’t kill it," he muttered.
That got everyone’s attention. They all exchanged confused glances.
"I engaged the beast to buy Martinez and Chen time to escape and call for reinforcements," Fred continued. "But my ability wasn’t enough. The beast nearly killed me. And it would have, if it wasn’t for..." he paused, as if struggling to remember through pain and trauma, "... for the other beast that showed up."
"Another beast?" The commander’s eyes sharpened. "Explain."
"I don’t know much, sir. My vision was disorientated at the time from the fight." Fred gestured vaguely to his head. "But something big attacked the Flare and engaged it in combat. The two of them fought, and when it was over, the Flare was dead and the other beast was gone."
The commander frowned. "You’re saying there’s something in this forest capable of killing an B-Rank Flare?" His expression darkened. "What kind of beast is that? What did it look like?"
Fred shook his head slowly. "Like I said, my vision was compromised. But from what I could make out... it was wolf-like, and massive. Possibly a Howler. But whatever it was, it was extremely powerful."
Silence fell over the group as they processed this information.
"But, wouldn’t a Howler that can kill a B-rank Flare itself be B-rank?" one of the agents muttered nervously.
"Or maybe even close to A-rank." another agent added, his hand tightening on his weapon.
The commander’s jaw clenched. He turned to address his team.
"Listen up! It seems we have a much bigger problem than we thought," he began. "Fan out. Search pattern Alpha-7. I want every meter of this forest swept. If there’s a beast matching Captain Walker’s description, I want it found. Use thermal scanners, energy detectors, everything we have. A beast that powerful can’t hide its signature completely."
"Yes, Sir!" the agents shouted in unison and immediately began moving, forming into tactical units and spreading out into the forest.
"Martinez, Chen," the commander continued, "escort Captain Walker back to headquarters. Get him to medical immediately. I want a full examination and debriefing once he’s stable."
"Yes, sir!" both agents responded.
Martinez moved to Fred’s side, offering support. "Come on, Captain. Let’s get you out of here."
As they began to move Fred out of the clearing, the captain cast one last look over his shoulder at the dark canopy of the trees. He didn’t know why he covered for the kid. Maybe it was gratitude. Maybe it was fear. Or maybe he just wanted to see what Jayden Starrk would do next.
Meanwhile....
High in the branches of an ancient oak, about forty meters from the clearing, Jayden crouched in perfect stillness.
His body screamed at him to rest, to find somewhere safe to collapse and let his healing factor work efficiently. But he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until he knew how much danger he was in.
He’d moved the instant Fred’s attention shifted, using the last reserves of his strength to leap into the trees and hide his presence. It had cost him—he could feel fresh blood trickling from his reopened wounds—but it had worked.
Now he watched and listened as the EVA agents spread out through the forest, their voices carrying in the quiet night.
[Looks like he didn’t rat you out] Luna’s voice echoed in his mind, sounding surprised.
Jayden’s expression remained neutral. He watched as Martinez and Chen helped Fred disappear into the treeline.
"He kept his mouth shut for now," he spoke in his mind. "But that doesn’t mean he would stay quiet forever."
Luna hummed. [Does that mean you don’t trust him?]
Jayden stood up on the branch, balancing effortlessly. "People change their minds under pressure, Luna. And Fred is a variable I can’t control," he said, his tone dropping an octave, becoming dark and menacing. "I need to keep an eye on him, and make sure he doesn’t slip up... even if it means silencing him for good."
With that chilling promise hanging in the air, Jayden turned away without making a sound. He simply stepped off the branch, catching the next one, moving through the canopy like a ghost.
Five minutes later, he reached the edge of the forest and summoned his bike beyond the tree line, mounting it and riding back to Emerald city.
