My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 212

Rushing to Ray’s side, Kai and Felix immediately crashed to their knees beside the evolving Tribrid.

Intense worry was etched onto their faces as they stared at Ray, who was currently bleeding, spasming, and screaming at jagged intervals.

”Wh-What happened to him?” Kai asked, his voice trembling as he took in the scene.

He was paralyzed by indecision; he didn’t even know what he could do to help.

He hesitated to touch the boy, fearing that any physical contact might inadvertently worsen the situation, so he simply stared in horror.

Looking back at Van, he searched the boy’s face as if silently demanding an explanation.

”I-I also don’t know. Those beasts just attacked us and he dealt with them. The next moment, he collapsed on the ground screaming,” Van explained, his expression clouded with a mixture of concern and hidden knowledge.

Chloe walked forward tentatively, her own worry clear, but instead of kneeling like the others, she stood over them while nervously rubbing her arm.

She was at a complete loss for words or actions.

Meanwhile, Trish and Caster didn’t move an inch from their original positions, watching the unfolding panic with a detached, analytical silence.

Felix, on the other hand, remained relatively composed.

Though he was certainly concerned, he didn’t share the same exaggerated confusion as the others.

That was because he had a much better idea of what was truly happening to the boy.

’Is he? Is he evolving? To—to what? A full werewolf? Earlier, he could pass for someone significantly stronger than a Runt.

He was a hybrid between a human and werewolf, so is he currently ascending into a full-fledged lycan? But if so, at what rank?’

Meanwhile, Ray continued to scream as a violent upheaval raged within his mind space.

∆∆∆

The previously calm and gloomy mind space had delved into absolute chaos.

The entire mental landscape was shaking and shuddering with every agonizing cry that left the boy’s lips.

He remained seated on the throne-like chair, but even in that position, he looked as though he was on the verge of losing consciousness.

He gripped the armrests with a white-knuckled intensity while his shouts echoed through the void.

It seemed like a localized earthquake was raging inwardly to such an extent that Bruce, lurking in his dark corner, was forced to rise to his feet.

Even the powerful werewolf found himself staggering due to the violent rumbling of the mental plane.

Elyon was already beside the boy on the chair, watching over him as he navigated this turbulent phase.

”Damn. Not again,” Bruce spat angrily as he wobbled forward.

At one point, a jagged fragment of unknown origin fell from the high ceiling, nearly striking the werewolf on the head.

With uncanny agility, he dodged the debris and safely reached the chair.

”This was how we were woken up earlier. This same rumbling,” Elyon uttered softly as he watched Ray spasming and twitching in the seat.

Bruce snarled as he reached out to touch the boy’s shoulder, allowing him to share the Aspirant’s perception of the physical world outside.

Since Ray’s eyes were currently squeezed shut in pain, Bruce couldn’t see anything directly, so he chose instead to sense the surrounding environment through Ray’s heightened instincts.

He could feel that Ray’s allies were gathered around him.

Luckily, no hostile aura or immediate danger could be detected in the cavern.

”Good,” he muttered, pulling his hand away from the boy’s shoulder.

”Worried?” Elyon asked, a cheeky, knowing smile playing on his face.

Bruce didn’t offer a reply at first, instead turning to walk back toward the shadows.

”Don’t get the wrong idea here. I’m not here to assist him whatsoever.

Earlier, I could have easily finished him and taken control, but with what he is undergoing now, he could emerge stronger—yet still naive enough to fall by my hand. And I will still be the one to kill him.”

”Why?” Elyon asked quietly, his eyes fixed on Bruce’s retreating back. ”Why don’t you just finish him now while he is incapacitated?”

Bruce stopped for a moment, pausing his retreat before turning around to look at the celestial for a brief second.

”You know why,” He snarled, his voice dripping with ancient malice, and then he continued on his way.

The celestial scratched his hair for a moment, seemingly perplexed by the werewolf’s stubbornness, before asking another question.

”But why can’t you just let him be? Why don’t you just cohabit with him? I see no reason to kill the innocent boy.”

Unfortunately, his query was not answered as the werewolf managed to reach his secluded dark corner, moving steadily even under the turbulent shaking of the mind space.

∆∆∆

Outside in the physical world, the squad stood staring at the convulsing Ray for several long seconds, completely unable to come up with an idea for what he was currently enduring.

At some point, Kai reached out, intending to grab the boy and stabilize him, until he was abruptly stopped by Felix.

”No. Let him be. He will be fine,” Felix stated firmly.

Kai glared at the other youth, his frustration boiling over.

”What do you mean by he will be fine? We can see exactly how much pain he is in at the moment, and you have the nerve to say he will be fine?”

Felix finally lifted his head to stare in Kai’s direction for a few seconds.

His eyes gleamed with a distinct yellow hue for a fraction of a second, a primal light that silenced the air between them.

”He will be fine,” he repeated, his tone leaving no room for further argument.

Seeing that subtle change in his eyes, Van finally realized what was happening behind the scenes.

’Is it a werewolf type of thing? Is that why Felix seems so calm while the rest of us are panicking?’

Finally, Van could breathe a small sigh of relief for a moment.

He looked in the direction of the dead beasts and then suddenly recalled Ray’s deadly warning from moments ago.

With a tired sigh, the boy rushed toward the fallen predators, ready to extract their beast cores before Ray could follow through on his threat to bury him six feet under.

As he worked on the grim task, Caster scanned the cavern with cautious, calculating eyes.

He wasn’t particularly close with any of the people present, which was why he stayed so far away, positioned almost entirely behind Trish while observing the unfolding drama.

’Hm? Four dead Advanced beasts and yet he doesn’t look like he sustained much injury except for whatever is happening to him now? Something doesn’t add up here. Is he truly that strong?’

The boy sighed deeply before scratching his hair in frustration.

’... I can’t tell for certain because he isn’t wearing the Corps’ watch, which would normally display his exact grade.’

Meanwhile, Trish just stared at the scene with a stoic expression on her face, without so much as an ounce of worry appearing on her ivory features.

For a moment, the slightest of moments, her eyes flashed with a deadly, predatory gleam.

’Should I kill him now? He is down and won’t be able to defend himself. Because for some reason, I can’t seem to trust him. Who knows, he could become another threat like the Aberrants.’