Part IV — The Legacy of an Alpha The colony trembled.
Two Bonefang Ravagers charged together.
One was a king who had ruled these ruins for years.
The other was a frightened young man wearing the body of a beast.
Between them stood an ancient calamity.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant.
It neither roared nor challenged them.
Instead, it tilted its massive skull ever so slightly, as though amused that prey had chosen to fight.
The clicking echoed once again.
Click…
Click…
Click…
The sound crawled beneath Drake’s skin.
The relic reacted immediately.
Rot Domain intensity increasing.
Host cellular degradation…
8%.
Pain spread through Drake’s transformed body.
His muscles felt heavier.
His breathing became uneven.
Even his pale armor seemed slightly darker where the black mist touched it.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant wasn’t simply attacking.
It was poisoning the battlefield itself.
— The Alpha reached it first.
Its wounded body exploded forward with terrifying speed.
Despite the blood pouring from its wounds, every movement remained precise.
Every claw strike.
Every bite.
Every leap.
There was no wasted motion.
Drake watched in awe.
The Alpha no longer fought like an animal.
It fought like a warrior.
Its claws carved across the Tyrant’s chest, sending splinters of bark-like flesh flying through the air.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant barely reacted.
Its elongated arm swung downward.
The Alpha twisted beneath the strike.
Its jaws clamped around the creature’s wrist.
CRACK!
The sound echoed through the cavern.
For the first time…
The Hollow Antler Tyrant staggered.
Drake’s instincts reacted instantly.
Opening.
Without thinking, he launched himself forward.
His body moved exactly as the Bonefang instincts commanded.
He circled wide instead of charging directly.
The Alpha occupied the creature’s attention.
Drake became the shadow.
He darted behind the Tyrant and sank his claws into the tendons of its left leg.
Dark blood burst across the stone.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant finally reacted.
Its skull turned unnaturally.
Farther than any living creature should have been capable of.
Until it stared directly at Drake.
The clicking stopped.
The empty sockets narrowed.
It had acknowledged him.
Not as prey.
As a nuisance.
Its arm lashed backward.
Drake barely managed to leap away before the claws carved through the ground where he had stood.
The impact split the ancient stone apart.
A shockwave hurled Drake across the colony.
He crashed through a ruined den before rolling to a stop.
His vision blurred.
Everything hurt.
The relic spoke.
Fractures detected.
Internal bleeding…
Before it could finish— Warmth flooded Drake’s body.
The Alpha.
It had slammed into the Tyrant again, drawing its attention away before the follow-up attack could kill him.
Drake slowly pushed himself onto one knee.
“…You…” The Alpha never looked back.
It simply continued fighting.
Protecting.
Always protecting.
— The battle became a blur.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant was stronger.
Far stronger.
Every exchange left new wounds across the Alpha’s body.
Its once-pristine armor had shattered almost completely.
Blood covered the colony floor.
Its breathing became ragged.
Yet every time the Tyrant attempted to move toward the nursery…
The Alpha intercepted it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Drake understood then.
The Alpha wasn’t trying to win.
It was buying time.
— A terrible realization struck him.
“The cubs…” He spun toward the nursery.
The eldest cub stood at the entrance.
Its younger siblings huddled behind it.
Their eyes remained fixed upon their father.
Waiting.
Trusting.
Drake clenched his fists.
“They’re not running.” The relic answered.
They are waiting for the Alpha’s command.
His heart sank.
They would stay.
Even if the colony collapsed.
Even if death stood before them.
Because that was what they had been taught.
To trust their Alpha.
To the very end.
— The Hollow Antler Tyrant suddenly changed.
Until now…
It had treated the battle almost lazily.
Now…
It became serious.
The black mist surrounding its body erupted outward.
The entire colony vanished beneath Rot Domain.
Ancient stone cracked.
The mana crystals dimmed almost completely.
The remaining vines shriveled into ash.
The Alpha roared.
Its pale mana surged one final time.
The two forces collided.
For several heartbeats…
The colony stood suspended between life and decay.
Then— CRACK.
The Alpha’s front leg gave way.
Its exhausted body dropped to one knee.
The pale mana barrier shattered.
The black mist rushed forward.
The Tyrant moved.
Not toward the Alpha.
Toward the nursery.
“No!” Drake didn’t think.
He ran.
Every muscle screamed.
Every instinct told him he would die.
He didn’t care.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant raised one enormous claw.
The cubs froze.
The eldest stepped forward.
Tiny.
Fragile.
Hopeless.
Yet it still bared its fangs.
Drake leaped.
So did the Alpha.
Time seemed to stop.
The Alpha reached the nursery first.
It threw its entire body between the Tyrant’s claw…
And its children.
BOOOOOOM!!
The impact shook the entire mountain.
Stone exploded.
The nursery collapsed.
Dust swallowed everything.
Drake struck the ground hard several meters away.
For a few terrifying seconds…
He couldn’t hear.
Couldn’t see.
Couldn’t breathe.
— When the dust slowly settled…
The colony had changed.
Half of it no longer existed.
The nursery entrance had collapsed completely.
Massive boulders sealed the tunnel.
The cubs…
Were alive.
The Alpha had protected them.
But…
The Alpha itself remained lying in the center of the battlefield.
Motionless.
Its chest rose only slightly.
Blood pooled beneath its body.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant slowly withdrew its claws.
Even it seemed surprised.
The Alpha should have died instantly.
Yet…
It still breathed.
The great beast slowly lifted its head.
Not toward the Tyrant.
Toward Drake.
Its crimson eyes no longer burned with dominance.
Only exhaustion.
Drake ran to its side.
He dropped onto his knees.
“…Don’t.” The Alpha’s breathing grew weaker.
It looked past Drake.
Toward the collapsed nursery.
A faint rumble escaped its throat.
Satisfied.
Its children were safe.
Only then…
Did it finally look directly into Drake’s eyes.
The relic suddenly erupted with activity.
Compatible Alpha bloodline detected.
Voluntary inheritance recognized.
Drake frowned.
“What…?” The Alpha slowly lifted one trembling foreleg.
With the last of its strength…
It gently pressed its blood-covered paw against Drake’s right hand.
The crimson mark blazed.
The colony shook.
The relic spoke louder than ever before.
Primary Alpha has acknowledged the host.
Successorship accepted.
Drake’s eyes widened.
“No…
wait…” The Alpha gave one final look toward the sealed nursery.
Then back toward Drake.
For just a heartbeat…
The terrifying king of the Bonefang Ravagers looked…
Peaceful.
As if it had finally found someone it could trust.
Its paw slipped from Drake’s hand.
The light faded from its crimson eyes.
Silence.
The guardian of the colony…
Was gone.
— The Hollow Antler Tyrant released another clicking sound.
This time…
Not amused.
Irritated.
It had failed.
The cubs still lived.
Its empty sockets turned toward Drake.
The relic exploded inside his mind.
Evolution conditions fulfilled.
Alpha inheritance accepted.
Commencing Bloodline Evolution…
Pain unlike anything Drake had ever known tore through his body.
The Hollow Antler Tyrant took one step forward.
Then another.
It intended to finish everything.
But before it could— A pulse of crimson mana erupted from Drake.
The force blasted across the colony.
Even the Hollow Antler Tyrant stopped.
For the first time…
The ancient monster took a single step backward.
Not out of fear.
Out of caution.
It stared at the crimson light surrounding Drake for several long moments.
Then…
It clicked softly.
Turned.
And disappeared into the darkness from which it had come.
It had not been defeated.
Only interrupted.
The battle was over.
But the war…
Had just begun.
Drake collapsed beside the Alpha’s body as crimson light consumed him completely.
His screams echoed through the Dead Ruins while the relic carried out its ancient work.
Evolution…
initiated.
End of Chapter 8.