Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord-Chapter 278: Helping Hand

The silence in the clearing was heavy, broken only by the crackling of wood turning to charcoal. The Ancient Sabertooth Flare took a deliberate step forward, the ground hissing and bubbling beneath its paw. The air shimmered with heat, and the remaining agents instinctively backed away, their weapons raised but trembling in their grips.

Fred’s mind raced through their options. But they had none. Anderson was dead. The cannon was destroyed. And the beast had just demonstrated abilities they hadn’t even known existed. But the worst part was... they couldn’t even call for backup.

Fred had tried reaching out to base earlier, but he couldn’t get through. The beast had somehow fried all their communicators. Which meant they had no way to call for help.

But Fred didn’t panic. He was still the captain, still responsible for his team. And he had to make sure no one else dies... even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

"Martinez! Chen!" his voice cut through the oppressive silence, sharp with command despite the tremor of fear underneath. "Fall back. Now."

"Sir?" Martinez’s head snapped toward him, confusion and disbelief warring on his face. "But we can’t just leave you and—"

"That’s an order!" Fred barked, red energy already beginning to gather around his hands. He didn’t look at them, keeping his eyes locked on the beast. "Get out of the forest. Find a way to call for backup. Tell them what we’re facing."

"Captain, we’re not leaving you here!" Chen protested, his weapon raised but useless. "You’ll die!"

"I’m buying you time." Fred’s jaw clenched, his fists igniting with crimson light. "Someone needs to make sure this thing doesn’t reach the city. And that someone is me. Now GO!"

The beast took another step forward, and the ground beneath its paw turned molten.

Martinez shook his head. "But sir—"

"THAT’S A DIRECT ORDER, AGENTS!" Fred roared, and this time his voice carried the full weight of his authority. "You will evacuate immediately and report to command. Do you understand?"

Martinez and Chen exchanged anguished looks. They knew what this meant. They knew what Fred was doing.

"...Yes sir," Martinez finally whispered, his voice breaking.

"We’ll come back for you, sir," Chen added desperately. "I promise..."

"Just go. And if I don’t make it out of here alive..." Fred’s voice softened for just a moment. "Tell Jenny it was an honor working with her."

The two agents hesitated one more heartbeat, then turned and ran, disappearing into the trees. Their footsteps faded quickly, swallowed by the forest.

Fred stood alone in the clearing, facing the Ancient Flare. His heart hammered in his chest, but his hands were steady. He’d made his choice. Now he just had to hold out long enough. Or die trying.

The beast watched the fleeing agents with lazy interest, as if considering whether to chase them down. Its tail swished lazily, setting nearby brush ablaze.

Fred wouldn’t let it.

He released his ability fully, abandoning the limitations he usually imposed on himself. Red energy erupted from his body, wreathing him in a crimson aura that pushed back against the oppressive heat. His eyes began to glow the same color.

The beast’s attention snapped back to him, sensing the surge of power.

"That’s right," Fred growled, his voice distorted by the energy coursing through him. "I’m your problem now."

He thrust his hand forward without touching anything, his mind focusing on a tree behind the beast. The bark exploded outward in a spray of splinters and fire. The beast flinched, spinning to face the explosion.

Fred didn’t waste the opening. He focused on another tree, then another, causing them to detonate in rapid succession. The clearing became a war zone of explosions, each one erupting from his will alone.

Boom! Boom! BOOM!

The beast roared in frustration, flames flaring around its body as it tried to track the attacks. But Fred wasn’t done. He pushed harder, ignoring the searing pain building behind his eyes, the way his nose began to bleed from the strain.

This was the true extent of his ability—igniting anything within his line of sight, causing explosions through pure mental command. No need to touch. No need to make contact.

But the cost was brutal. Each detonation tore through his stamina, pulled at his consciousness, made his brain feel like it was being squeezed in a vice.

He didn’t care. He had to give Martinez and Chen time.

A boulder erupted in flames. The ground beneath the beast’s feet exploded upward. The very air seemed to catch fire as Fred pushed his power beyond safe limits.

The Ancient Flare snarled, realizing it was being toyed with. It charged, a streak of white-hot fury aimed directly at Fred.

Fred gritted his teeth and focused on the beast itself. His power activated, attempting to ignite the creature’s body from within.

The beast stumbled, a small explosion blossoming from its shoulder. But the flames around its body flared brighter, hotter, burning away Fred’s attack before it could do real damage.

"Shit," Fred gasped, blood now running freely from his nose. His vision was starting to blur. The mental strain was too much.

But he couldn’t stop.

The beast was on him in seconds, its claws raised high. Fred rolled to the side, feeling the scorching heat pass inches from his face. The ground where he’d been standing liquefied into glass.

He scrambled to his feet and thrust both hands forward, focusing on the beast’s chest. Multiple explosions erupted across its torso—boom-boom-boom!—each one staggering the creature backward.

Fred’s legs nearly gave out. His entire body was shaking now, blood running from his ears as well as his nose. The world tilted sickeningly.

But the beast was still standing. Still advancing.

Fred breathed heavily, his consciousness starting to fragment from the strain. He knew this wasn’t a fight he could win. He was just a level 46 evolved human... going against an ancient beast. And it was only a matter of time before he perished... either from the beast’s attack, or exhaustion.

The Flare’s claws came down again. And this time Fred was too slow. Too exhausted.

The strike caught him across the chest, tearing through his suit and the flesh beneath. Fred screamed as the beast’s flames ignited his uniform, burning into his skin.

He was thrown backward, slamming into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk. He slumped to the ground, his left side completely charred, skin blackened and blistered. His left arm hung useless, the muscles and nerves destroyed.

Fred coughed, and blood sprayed from his lips. His vision was going dark at the edges. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t respond. The pain was distant now, muted by shock and blood loss.

The Ancient Flare approached slowly, savoring its victory. Its eyes gleamed with cruel intelligence as it raised one massive paw, claws extended for the killing blow.

"I’m sorry," Fred thought, his mind drifting to his wife, to Martinez and Chen. "I failed..."

The beast’s had claws began their descent to Fred’s head, when suddenly...

WHAM!

A massive fist—easily twice the size of the beast’s head—materialized from nowhere and slammed into the Flare’s face with devastating force. The sound was like a thunderclap. The Ancient beast was launched sideways, tumbling through the air before crashing through three trees in succession, finally slamming to a stop thirty meters away.

Fred blinked, certain he was hallucinating. His blurred vision tried to focus on what had just happened.

Then, a figure stepped into the moonlight, walking calmly into the center of the clearing. They wore a dark jacket with the hood up, but silver hair peeked out from beneath it. Their right arm was still huge—grotesquely oversized compared to their body—but as Fred watched in disbelief, it began to shrink back to normal human proportions.

Fred blinked in surprise. He was sure about it; this was the teenager from earlier. The one he had told to leave the forest.

The boy’s hand returned to its regular size just as he came to a stop, standing between Fred and the recovering beast.

For just a second, he turned his head, giving Fred a glimpse of his features. And that was when Fred got a clear view of the boy’s face. Young, indifferent, and oddly familiar.

And as the boy returned his attention to the Flare, Fred’s mind finally clicked.

Silver hair. Size manipulation ability. And that emotionless expression. It was him.

Jayden Starrk.

The kid who dominated the school tournament a few weeks back. The same one the EVA had flagged for investigation.

"What the hell is he doing here?"