The two zombie dogs were already gravely injured, but for some odd reason, they still moved like normal. Erratically, they darted here and there while trying to take advantage of their numbers.

There were two of them and just one of Arisu, and simple math would equate to Arisu losing since the zombie dogs were much better than her in terms of raw power.

Nevertheless, the zombie dogs didn’t have any brains so in a sense, Arisu still had an advantage. They relentlessly attacked Arisu despite their beaten-up bodies. It’s as if they were possessed by an entirely different being.

"Arisu!" Kazuichi screamed his lungs out, but to his relief, Arisu didn’t need any help.

Seizing his chance, Takahara cowled and grabbed Kazuichi by the waist, slamming him on the ground before pinning him with his arms and legs. He was like a constricting snake, closing in on its prey while squeezing the life out of him... or rather, he was determined to bite the life out of Kazuichi.

With a grunt, Kazuichi hit the ground with a thud, but he easily pushed Takahara out of the way before swiping at his face with his claw-like nails. His attack was all too sudden that it totally caught Takahara off-guard.

It was a clean hit on one of Takahara’s eyes, and he winced in pain as he staggered backward. His right eye was severely injured, while the slits of his left eye were scratched. Fortunately, he could still see, but his injured right eye might affect the way he’d gauge distances.

This was the opening Kazuichi was waiting for. Without a shred of hesitation, Kazuichi utilized every ounce of energy and power he could to give him the maximum acceleration speed in a split second.

With this, there was no way Takahara would be able to catch up to him, even his speedy nature should be no match for him.

Fwip~!

It was akin to a sound of a whip when Kazuichi accelerated to Takahara faster than a blink of an eye. Usually, that sudden acceleration would sound like a thud or a hammering pound, but it was so fast that it felt like someone whipped the ground and split the air.

In that split of a second, Kazuichi underwent a transformation that no one expected. Well, no one actually saw it, but Kazuichi felt the changes in his body. He had gotten heavier in that split second, and not only that, he also had more power compared to what he normally felt

For the second time, Kazuichi swiped his hand in an axing motion as if he was felling a tree. It was the cleanest swipe (and the speediest) he’d ever done as a Hybrid. His hand felt like it had swollen as well, but he didn’t take it to heart.

The moment he took the swipe, he felt every part of Takahara’s core pass through his arms as if they were melted butter. His hand cleanly cut through his skin, his fat, his internal organs, as well as his spine.

"What the—’ Kazuichi exclaimed as he stopped short. He didn’t even realize what had happened and by then, he was already a moment too late.

By the time he came back to his senses, and by the time everyone else had seen what had transpired, Takahara was already on the ground, with his entire midsection blown to smithereens.

There were bits and pieces of muscle, meat, and bones on the ground as if a bomb just went off. Even Takahara, who’s got his entire midsection blown to bits, lies on the ground. Only his neck and his and his arms were what remained of his body.

As for his legs, it was a couple of meters away from him due to the explosive attack that Kazuichi delivered.

"What’s going on?" Kazuichi asked. While he was expecting to successfully attack Takahara due to his forward momentum, he wasn’t expecting him to blow up. It was certainly a disturbing sight that would forever be etched in his mind. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Did you blow yourself up?" Kazuichi had the nerve to ask Takahara as he kneeled forward and looked him straight in the eyes... to which Takahara responded by steadying himself with both of his arms and charging at Kazuichi.

It was a poor attempt at biting Kazuichi and it didn’t end well for Takahara at all. Out of impulse, Kazuichi punched Takahara’s face without reservations.

And just like his midsection, his entire face was blown to bits as if a grenade squarely landed on it.

"What the—" Kazuichi exclaimed a second time. At this point, he still didn’t notice the drastic changes that occurred in his body. He was too focused on Takahara’s entire body blowing up that it didn’t even occur to him that he was at fault.

The first one to notice it was Tris, then Amaya.

Kazuichi’s arms and legs and swollen to exponential proportions. They were almost as thick as his body and had thick veins running all over them. Spikes and some sort of white fluid also flowed out of his appendages, almost as if they were gigantic sea urchins rather than arms and legs.

"Kazuichi... what happened to your arms?" Tris concernedly asked, wondering if something was wrong with Kazuichi. Initially, she thought that Kazuichi was turning into a mindless infected but after seeing his colorful expressions, she put the thought at the back of his mind.

"And your legs... they’re swollen, big brother." Amaya trailed off. This was the first time she saw something like this so she didn’t know what to say. She was neither grossed out nor impressed though, which was a good thing.

"What the—" For the third time, Kazuichi exclaimed at himself, but his surprise didn’t last long since his arms and legs slowly returned to normal.

And as if on cue, Arisu also happened to pin down one of the Zombie Dogs, cut it in half, and then tear the other Zombie Dog apart like the feral hound she was. She also noticed Kazuichi’s transformation mid-fight, but she didn’t react at all since she knew exactly what it was.

After all, she could do it herself, just like him.