CHAPTER 73: HE WANTED MORE

Theo narrowed his eyes at the four UMS and continued, "Or wait until you mutate? Killing humans gives me nothing. Like that guard outside. Maybe I should wait for you..." He pointed lazily at each of the four, "You, you, and you... to turn into Meteorborn first."

They froze, exchanging glances, confused and unnerved.

"What... the hell are you mumbling about?" one of them rasped, his voice uncertain.

Theo didn’t answer. Shadows began curling subtly around his boots, thin tendrils licking at the ground. His fingers twitched near his side.

The fifth UMS, still conscious and armed with a bloodstained combat knife, didn’t hesitate. His instincts screamed danger. He bolted forward with UMS-level speed.

"No loose ends!" he shouted, going straight for Theo’s throat.

Theo’s smile vanished. In a blink, shadows exploded around him.

He sidestepped with inhuman precision. In the same breath, his hand snapped out, catching the attacker by the throat mid-lunge.

Slam.

The man’s body collided with a rusted metal crate hard enough to dent it. He crumpled in a heap, unmoving.

Theo didn’t even spare him a glance.

Instead, he turned slowly to face the rest, his golden eye faintly aglow again, a small, unsettling smile pulling at his lips.

"Looks like the game just changed."

He cracked his neck once, lifted his hand... and the warehouse’s flickering lights cast

shadows that began to stretch, creeping toward the others like hunting hounds loosed from a leash.

And right then...

A wet, choking sound broke the silence.

One of the badly wounded UMS, slumped against a toppled shelf, began to convulse violently. Blood bubbled from his lips, his eyes rolling back as his limbs jerked uncontrollably.

Theo’s glowing eye twitched slightly in amusement. "Ah," he murmured, voice calm, almost expectant. "There it is."

Bones cracked audibly. Flesh tore. The man’s scream warped into a garbled roar as his body twisted into something monstrous, his skin hardened with jagged, stone-like growths, and his arms stretched into elongated, clawed limbs.

[Ding! Mutation Detected - Meteorborn Transformation in Progress]

In just seconds, the man was gone. What remained was a creature with raw muscle, pulsing veins, and a twitching jaw filled with mismatched teeth. A fresh Meteorborn, hungry, unstable, and violently aggressive.

The others recoiled in horror.

Theo?

He smirked wider.

"Perfect timing," he said, almost cheerfully. "Now that’s a target worth killing."

The new Meteorborn snarled and locked onto Theo but Theo didn’t even flinch. His stance shifted, relaxed, ready.

The newly mutated man, now a twisted, writhing creature, let out a wet, garbled hiss.

[Mutation Complete: Meteorborn Wriggler (MWriggler)]

Classification: Low to Moderate Threat Level

Description: Latches onto victims and rapidly drains stamina through parasitic tendrils. Slippery, hard to grab, but physically weak.

The UMS that attacked Theo got back to his feet fast, eyes wide with panic. He turned to the other who was still relatively uninjured.

"Let’s just escape and leave them! Take the bags!" he shouted, grabbing for a duffel stuffed with money.

Theo clicked his tongue, clearly unimpressed. "Those idiots..."

The moment they moved, the MWriggler sprang like a rubbery whip, launching itself onto the fleeing UMS and wrapping around his torso. Its tendrils pierced through armor gaps and sank into flesh. The man screamed, dropping the bag as his legs buckled.

Before anyone could react, another of the UMS, this one lying in a pool of blood, began to spasm violently. His eyes turned glassy white as veins darkened across his skin.

[Mutation Detected - Meteorborn Crawler (MCrawler)]

Theo skipped orientation on this one since he killed an MWalker before. He simply watched the transformation unfold with a frown.

"Tch... not a single one of them has an active meteorite core," he muttered, clearly disappointed. "What a waste of time."

Still, his gaze sharpened as the MCrawler finished forming, now twitching across the wall behind him with jerky, insect-like movements.

The MWriggler let out a screeching hiss, still latched onto the writhing UMS, its tendrils pulsing as it drained the man dry. Another UMS turned on his heel and ran, panic overtaking reason.

Wrong move.

The MCrawler, now perched unnaturally along the wall, moved in a blur. With a guttural shriek, it launched itself down, bladed limbs slicing through the runner’s back. Blood splattered. The man’s scream was cut short.

Theo’s eyes glinted gold beneath the flickering lights. He raised a hand, fire curling at his fingertips.

"Alright, roaches," he said with a grin, "Time to purge."

In a flash, Theo activated Predator Rush, his body vanishing in a blur of speed. Flames trailed behind him as Ember Step overlapped the dash, creating a double burst of momentum. He closed the gap to the MWriggler in less than a heartbeat.

The MWriggler hissed and tried to slither away, but it was too late. Theo’s fist, wrapped in slicing wind and flame, Gale Fangs fused with Pyre Burst, smashed into its center. The explosion of fire and slicing gusts tore through the parasite’s soft body, sending pieces of it scattering like ash and slime.

[Ding! MWriggler eliminated]

[Ding! +1,000 EXP, +100 Gold Coins, +Rare Shard, +Basic Loot Crate]

He didn’t pause. As the fire still burned around the shattered body, he turned to the MCrawler now clinging upside down from a rusted beam above.

The beast shrieked and leapt.

Theo grinned.

He waited until the last second then his form vanished again with Shadow Step, reappearing behind the creature mid-air. Silent Strike enhanced his speed, and the moment his blade sliced into the MCrawler’s exposed back, he triggered Cryo Spike Field beneath it.

Ice erupted from the ground as the MCrawler fell, impaled by ice, then ignited by overlapping fire from Pyre Burst. The creature howled and twisted before finally falling still.

[Ding! MCrawler eliminated]

[Ding! +500 EXP, +50 Gold Coins, +Common Shard, +Basic Loot Crate]

Theo exhaled slowly, rolling his neck. Blood Tempo ticked in his veins, each kill feeding his rhythm, increasing his speed and lethality. Three stacks. He wanted more.

He turned his gaze to the four remaining UMS, now groaning and writhing on the floor. Blood pooled around them. One had begun shaking violently - veins darkening, jaw clenched.

Another vomited blood, his limbs twitching unnaturally.