CHAPTER 329: RAMPAGE

At first, Penny stared at the body confused. What happened? Why was this man laying there like that.

Then the reality sank in. Leo had killed someone in cold blood.

However, before she could say anything, Leo was on the move again, lunging towards the crowd

with a fierce speed, his claws extended and eyes blazing.

The mob roared in shock and fear before scattering like mice before prey.

But Leo did not stop.

His body began to shift, muscles rippling and expanding beneath his skin. His hands lengthened into sharp, deadly claws. His jaw stretched, teeth sharpening into lethal fangs. Golden fur sprouted along his arms and neck.

With a feral roar, he slammed into the nearest attacker, ripping through flesh and bone with savage ease.

Rachel stumbled backward, horror washing over her face.

Penny’s usual bravado vanished. She stared, frozen and wide-eyed.

Leo moved faster, more beast than man now. His tail lashed behind him, knocking several attackers to the ground.

He tore through the mob with brutal efficiency.

One man fell as Leo crushed his windpipe between clawed fingers.

Another tried to flee, but Leo pounced, sinking fangs into his shoulder, tearing deep before tossing him aside like a ragdoll.

Blood stained the pavement, and the air filled with screams of pain and terror.

Penny swallowed hard, whispering, "What is happening to him?!"

Rachel shook her head at a loss. "I....I don’t know."

Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched Leo seemingly become a raging beast. His emerald eyes had turned crimson and gleamed with a fierce hunger, unrecognizable from the man she knew.

Penny took a step back, her voice barely above a whisper. "We have to stop him before there’s nothing left."

But Rachel knew it wasn’t that simple. Leo was beyond reason now, driven by something dark and wild.

The remaining mob tried to regroup, fear making their movements desperate and erratic. Leo’s claws slashed through the air, faster than any eye could follow.

One man lunged, but Leo caught him mid-air, twisting his body and snapping the man’s spine like a twig.

Another woman screamed as Leo slammed her against a wall, crushing ribs beneath his powerful hands.

Blood spilled everywhere, painting the street in a gruesome scene of carnage.

Rachel’s hands trembled. She wanted to reach out, to call Leo back, but fear kept her frozen.

Penny bit her lip, eyes locked on the killing beast before them. "This isn’t the Leo we know. He’s something else now."

A low growl rumbled from Leo’s throat as he turned his gaze toward them, the wildness burning in his eyes.

Rachel swallowed hard. "We have to find a way to bring him back. Before it’s too late."

Penny shook her head, stepping in front of Rachel. "And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" She pointed at Leo with a trembling hand. "Look at him. He’s a killing machine right now."

Leo lunged at another man, claws tearing straight through a hoodie and into the soft flesh underneath. Blood splashed across the concrete as the man crumpled, eyes wide and unseeing.

"We don’t even know if he can hear us," Penny said, her voice rising with panic.

Rachel didn’t look away. "We still have to try."

Before either of them could say more, a sharp tone pierced their thoughts. Not a sound through the air, but something internal. A pressure behind the eyes. A system notification blinked to life in front of them.

[XXXXXX has been detected to be out of Balance.]

[XX Protocol shall be engaged once Subject has been restrained.]

[Please Subdue or Restrain XXXXXXX in order to activate XX Protocol]

Rachel blinked at the message. The words shimmered, refusing to hold still, like the system itself was unsure how to handle what Leo had become.

"What does that mean?" Penny asked, reading over her shoulder. "Protocol? Subdue him? Are we supposed to fight him?"

Rachel’s eyes stayed on Leo. "I think... it wants us to stop him before something worse happens."

Penny scoffed. "Stop him with what? Harsh language?"

Leo roared, a deep, guttural sound that echoed off the buildings. He tore into another fleeing figure, the body folding around his claws like wet paper. What remained of his clothes were now soaked in red. His chest heaved with each breath.

Penny clenched her fists. "If we don’t stop him, he’ll kill everyone. Including us."

Rachel didn’t answer. She couldn’t. The truth was too heavy.

Another figure tried to run past Leo. Without even turning his head, Leo backhanded them with enough force to send them flying into a lamppost. The crack of bone echoed in the sudden silence that followed.

Then Leo turned again. Slowly. His head tilted to the side, nostrils flaring. He was sniffing the air.

He was hunting.

Rachel grabbed Penny’s wrist. "We can’t wait. If we hesitate again, we may be next next."

Penny’s voice was shaky. "What can we even do? I don’t have anything that can hurt him."

"You don’t have to." Rachel’s eyes locked on Leo. "You just need to keep him still long enough."

Penny looked down at her trembling hands. She had barriers. Shields. Tools to slow things down. Maybe that would be enough.

The system message still hovered before them, unreadable in tone but clear in demand.

[Please Subdue or Restrain XXXXXXX in order to activate XX Protocol.]

Leo crouched low, tail flicking, his muscles taut with anticipation.

Rachel channeled the power of the shadows into her hand, tendrils of smoky darkness wafting around her as she readied herself.

Penny closed her eyes for just a second, reaching inward to the place where her new skill stirred. The power she had barely begun to understand. Bloodcraft.

There was plenty of blood.

Too much.

The air was thick with it, the streets slick and red. She could feel it now, pulsing in the puddles, soaking the cracked pavement, still warm from the bodies that had fallen.

Penny opened her eyes.

Her irises had darkened, crimson threads creeping through the whites of her eyes like veins.

She raised one hand and whispered, "Bind."

The blood on the street trembled. Then it rose.

It slithered toward Leo in thick ribbons, snaking along the ground and coiling like serpents. At her command, the ribbons snapped upward, hardening mid-air and twisting into long, jagged chains.

They launched at Leo’s limbs.

The first wrapped around his ankle, yanking him back just as he began to move.

The second and third coiled around his arms, trying to force them down.

Leo roared and thrashed.

His muscles bulged as he strained against the restraints, and the chains groaned in protest. Penny focused harder, sweat dripping down her brow.

Rachel darted to the side, her hands already glowing with shadowy power.

"Just hold him!"

"I’m trying!" Penny snapped, her voice cracking. "He’s too strong!"

Leo let out another furious bellow, veins bulging under his golden fur. The blood chains tightened, anchoring him to the ground. The pavement cracked beneath his feet as he fought, refusing to be still.

His claws dug into the street, dragging himself forward inch by inch even as the blood worked to hold him down.

Penny dropped to one knee, fingers trembling from the strain. "I can’t... I can’t keep this up forever..."

They both knew they couldn’t hold him down for long. But they could only pray that they could buy enough time before it became too late. For all of them.