One after the other, the gang members were starting to get more and more self-conscious about their chances against the Howlers. Olivia was making use of this opportunity to settle her score with Tony and his Lock Gang. In the past, the Lady Boss had had no other choice but to endure his ceaseless attempts to woo her, but now she was giving him a taste of his own medicine, teaching him an entirely different meaning of ‘no, doesn’t always mean no’.
Suffice to say, her whip wasn’t idle, and while his two goons had long since passed out, the gang leader didn’t get to enjoy the same privilege. Olivia made sure to hit him hard enough to hurt, but not enough for him to lose consciousness. Were it not for everyone being busy with their own fights, the loud screams would be very distracting.
As for the person responsible for this entire meeting, Ben Clove, he had removed his large suit to reveal his large belly. One look at it was enough to convince anyone that the man was definitely no fighter. He didn’t look like a gang member either, but he didn’t need to. Seeing him transform, made it clear why the chubby man had remained so stoic in the face of the ambush.
The shirt around the mayor’s forearms started to rip open as muscles started to bulge, revealing sharp long fins on both of his arms sticking through. His face started to elongate and a hole was ripped through his trousers, from a tail that emerged. The colour of his skin was changing to a greyish blue, while his teeth sharpened and his eyes slanted a bit.
Depending on their Altered form, it was hard to tell what beast they came from since they were based on animals that didn’t exist today. However, in Ben’s case, it was safe to wager that he was based on a sea creature, more specifically one in some kind of relation to today’s sharks, predators of the sea. According to research most beasts were predatory anyway, at least back in the day.
Still, there was a clear distinction between beast and animals, the two of them were different. Their DNA, make up, their blood, and a number of other things that scientists had discovered. Nevertheless, comparing both types of fossils, they did find some relation. Through evolution the animals of the past used to take on some forms of the beast around them.
In nature, the predator animals tended to take on the forms of the most dangerous of beasts. Since the mayor knew there was some relation to a shark, he was certain that NIRV had given him a powerful Altered, even if it paled in comparison to Xin’s.
‘It’s shameful to envy my children for their Altered, but that NIRV employee promised me that this was one of the best out there, and for a Tier-3 town like ours no one will get in my way.’ Ben thought as he smiled, baring his razor sharp teeth at Austin.
The mayor had grown larger and his form looked dangerous, however at the same time, Austin had a trick up his sleeve as well, his own transformed state. However, Ben might have been a pencil pusher for most of his life, yet he understood that it would be idiotic to allow his opponent to finish his transformation by doing nothing. He spun his body and went out leading with its tail. This particular Shark Altered had huge muscles in its tail that could knock over a ton of blocks.
“You guys are done for!” Ben shouted as he put all his strength into his tail. When he had tested it against cars, it had been enough to fully destroy the mettalic vehicles, so no human would be able to survive that impact.
When the tail whacked into Austin a loud bang was heard that echoed throughout the whole room. It sounded like a gun had gone off right there and then. Everyone stopped their own fights for a moment and turned their heads, just in time to see Austin had caught the tail, though not without being shifted back by a foot.
“Now I'm a bit confused?” Innu let out as he started at Austin’s Altered form. This was the first time he saw his fellow gang member in this form, since the big guy had been practising on using his Altered self on his own, or with Kai.
The reason for the confusion was because right now, Austin's whole body had grown larger and more muscular, the uniform stretched to accommodate his new form but was tight fitting showing his large shoulders and muscles.
As for his legs, there were now two hooves on the ground, then there was his head. It had grown larger, and he had two horns sticking out from the top. Finally there were his large nostrils as well.
“I thought, we didn't get the Bull Altered type serum, and how has he learnt to partially transform so fast?” Innu asked out loud. Kai just smirked at that. As much as he would like to take the credit for it, he had just helped out in that regard.
He too had been surprised when Austin had asked him for some help. For a while the two of them had been trying to figure out what he was. When looking at reference videos and photos Austin had been unable to find anything that matched his own form.
At the same time what was confusing was the transformations. Usually, there was partial transformation, allowing one to just change one part of their body. This was the easiest and at the same time hardest to control state wise. For many it was the first step into figuring out how to use their Altered forms, and at the same time, an expert could control minor details such as just their fingernails to transform.
Then there was what was known as the Hybrid form, this was usually the preferred form that users fought in, and it was what every new altered focused on obtaining. How long it would take for one to obtain such a form was different for everyone, and then there was a full transformation, turning completely into a beast.
This was advantageous depending on the situation, and at times some found it easier to go straight to this form rather than the hybrid form when practising. What the two had realised was that this was Austin's real form.
“You think you're strong? Just because you're an Altered?” Austin gripped tightly onto the tail. “You're nothing compared to me!!”
Exerting both arms, he lifted Ben into the air, and then swung his tail and his entire body over his shoulder slamming his head first into the ground, breaking the floor bored underneath partilley. Letting out a big breath, it looked as if steam was coming out.
‘We might have lost out on the Bull Altered, but this mystery solution was worth every penny. I have no idea where they got it from but a mythical beast is far stronger. With this Minotaur Altered, we seriously hit the jackpot!’ Kai inwardly laughed to himself.
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New chapter of MWS webtoon out tomorrow! Check it out on the Bili Bili Comics app! Let’s get that Anime!