Jayden’s eyes widened behind his mask. How did he know exactly where to catch? Is it instinct, or can his aura sense the displacement?

But there was no time to think. Tazer’s grip was like a vice of solid steel. Jayden had to break away before the Pioneer delivered a lethal shock. He tried to force his body into an intangible state to slip through the grip, but he was a fraction of a second too late.

"Burn," Tazer whispered. Then, his hand crackled with electricity and thousands of volts of raw lightning surged directly into Jayden’s arm.

Jayden’s camouflage flickered and shattered instantly. He let out a suppressed grunt, gritting his teeth in absolute agony as the electricity ravaged his nervous system. His tactical suit absorbed a massive percentage of the blast, but the sheer voltage was still overwhelming. Smoke curled from his armor, and his muscles locked up.

But Jayden was a predator. Even paralyzed by pain, his mind sought the kill. He would at least deliver a fatal blow of his own.

With his free hand, he unsheathed his Knuckle Claws. And with a desperate, violent twist of his torso, he swiped the blades brutally across Tazer’s thigh, sinking the steel deep into the flesh.

Tazer yelped, his iron grip faltering for just a second. Jayden took advantage of that, quickly using size manipulation to expand the muscle mass in his captured arm, shattering Tazer’s grip. He wrenched himself free and vaulted backward, landing heavily thirty feet away, his chest heaving as he fought off the lingering paralysis of the shock.

Tazer groaned, looking down at his bleeding thigh. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Jayden watched closely from a distance. Dark, sickly veins were already beginning to fester around the deep lacerations, spreading rapidly up Tazer’s leg. He had laced his claws with poison at the last second.

Tazer tutted, his expression more annoyed than afraid. He looked up at Jayden. "Coating your blades in poison. Clever. But cowardly."

Then his eyes suddenly flared with a brilliant, blinding blue light. His entire body erupted in a dense aura of electricity. He channeled the raw lightning internally, hyper-stimulating his own cells.

Jayden watched as the dark, poisonous veins physically halted in their tracks. Under the sheer heat and cellular overdrive of the electricity, the poison burned out of his bloodstream, fading into nothingness. Simultaneously, his thigh healed, closing up rapidly. And the advanced nanites in Tazer’s high-tech suit activated, knitting the torn fabric of his suit back together.

Within seconds, the S-Rank Pioneer was entirely healed.

Tazer scoffed, brushing a speck of dust off his shoulder. "Did you really think a little venom was going to put down a Level 65 Pioneer? I’ve survived chemical warfare, kid."

Jayden wasn’t surprised. He had known the dose might not be lethal enough; it was a desperate slash, not a deep, sustained injection. He forced himself to stand completely upright, suppressing the tremor in his muscles. He was battered, but he was far from broken.

Tazer raised an eyebrow, genuinely impressed. "I’m surprised you’re even standing. That voltage would have stopped the heart of anyone under Level 50. You’re a hell of a fighter. It’s almost a shame." He took a slow, confident step forward. "How about this... I’ll give you one chance. Surrender right now. Drop the mask and come with me. The syndicate respects power. They might just pardon you and put you on the payroll. It would be a waste for someone with your potential to die so soon."

Jayden didn’t offer a single word in response. He simply shifted his weight, raising his claws, and dropped into a flawless, lethal fighting stance.

Tazer sighed, shaking his head. "You’ve made your decision, then. I admire your resilience, kid. I really do.," he muttered. "But there is no reward for blind loyalty. Only betrayal and death."

Electricity began to roar around Tazer, whipping his spiky black hair wildly. The air pressure in the room dropped significantly as he prepared his ultimate attack. "Say your last prayers. You die here. Tonight."

Jayden narrowed his eyes, his blood boiling. He prepared to drop the masquerade. If he was going to survive this, he had to partially transform into his Lupine form and rely on raw, monstrous physical superiority to overwhelm the Pioneer.

Tazer’s muscles tensed to launch, ready to strike.

But before he could move, a streak of brilliant, blinding blue light flashed across the atrium. It moved so incredibly fast that it didn’t even register as physical movement. It was just a blur of sapphire energy that ripped through the space between them, brushing dangerously close to Tazer’s right side before vanishing into the shadows.

Jayden furrowed his brows, his senses spiking. What the hell was that?

His thoughts were abruptly violently interrupted by a wet, bubbling gasp.

He snapped his attention back to Tazer. The S-Rank Pioneer was standing perfectly still. The roaring electricity surrounding him flickered, then died out completely.

Tazer’s blue eyes were blown wide in absolute shock. A precise, deep slash had opened his throat from ear to ear. He reached a trembling hand up to his neck, his fingers slick with his own blood. He tried to draw a breath, but only a wet gurgle escaped. His knees buckled, and the legendary super-mercenary collapsed face-first onto the marble floor.

He was dead.

Just like that.

Jayden stood frozen, completely stunned. An enemy that had pushed him to the absolute brink—a Level 65 Pioneer—had been executed in the single, imperceptible fraction of a second.

He instantly threw his arms up, his Knuckle Claws fully extended, adrenaline flooding his system. Whatever that blue light was, it was terrifyingly powerful, and it was still in the room.

From the shadows near the escalators, the sapphire light appeared again, moving much slower this time. It trotted out into the ambient light of the atrium, stopping just a few meters away from Jayden’s defensive stance.

Jayden’s eyes narrowed as he got a better view of what was really in the light.

It was a beast.

It possessed the sleek, aerodynamic build of a cheetah, but its fur was a brilliant, snowy white, adorned with glowing, sapphire-blue spots that pulsed with raw kinetic energy.

Jayden’s breath caught in his throat. He slowly lowered his claws.

It was the Sapphire Sonic.

In the blink of an eye, the beast crossed the distance, appearing directly at Jayden’s feet. It didn’t attack. Instead, it began to circle him, emitting a deep, rumbling purr that vibrated through the floorboards.

A massive smile broke out beneath Jayden’s mask. He crouched down, tapping the edge of his mask and letting it peel away. The legendary beast immediately leaned in, affectionately rubbing its soft, static-charged fur against his chest and face, nuzzling him exactly like a house cat greeting its owner after a long vacation.

Jayden laughed softly, reaching out to stroke the thick white fur behind her ears. The static electricity tickled his palm pleasantly. He glanced over at Tazer’s lifeless body, then back to the beast, an overwhelming wave of relief washing over him. He was glad this incredibly powerful beast was on his side.

He had been fully prepared to risk exposure by using his Lycan form, but she had arrived right on time.

"Thank you," Jayden murmured to the beast.

The Sapphire Sonic suddenly stopped purring, she was looking at his chest, moving toward it, her nose pressing forward with the specific attention of someone searching for something.

Jayden chuckled. He already knew what she wanted. He opened his System inventory and materialized five beast crystals into his palm. He held them out. The Sonic happily crunched them down one by one, her blue spots glowing brighter with each consumed core.

As she ate, Jayden could feel the sheer density of her aura. "You’ve gotten a lot stronger," he said in awe. "Just how many crystals have you had since I last saw you?"

The beast simply let out a satisfied purr. She swallowed the fifth crystal and looked up at Jayden, her large, gentle eyes blinking expectantly.

"That’s it. I’m not giving you any more," Jayden said, showing her his empty hands.

As if perfectly understanding his words, the Sonic flattened her ears in a mock pout. Then, with a playful chirp, she pounced forward, planting her massive paws on his chest and knocking him flat onto his back on the marble floor.

Jayden laughed loudly, wrestling playfully with the heavy beast. "Okay, okay, you win! Let me get some more..."

But as he reached back into his inventory, the system’s screen suddenly popped up with a series of notifications.

[Alert! Beast Companionship is now available]

[Soul Bonding Unlocked]

[Alert! The Sapphire Sonic wishes to form a soul bonding pact with you. Do you accept?]

[Yes / No]