Boom!
The explosion in the naval dormitory sent a storm of debris crashing through the corridor. Pieces of shattered walls and wreckage mixed with fallen bodies littered the floor.
The massive two-meter-high door was blasted into a gaping three-meter-wide hole, and thick smoke filled the room, turning it into a ruinous wasteland.
Meanwhile, Commander Haude, head of CP4, was reviewing documents in his office.
The sudden violent tremor caused the pen in his hand to snap and fall to the table.
Since Haude took command, CP4's underwater base had never experienced such chaos.
A cold sense of foreboding gripped him. He quickly grabbed the phone and called the monitoring room.
"Report immediately! What's going on near the dormitory?"
The soldier on duty, abruptly woken by the urgent call, wiped the sleep from his eyes and scrambled to check the security feeds.
"Sir! Someone has broken into Area F... Looks like a boy, about sixteen or seventeen."
The screen showed a thick plume of smoke billowing from Dormitory No. 5, where the explosion had occurred. Amid the haze, a dark figure emerged — a teenager casually walking out of the wreckage, seemingly unscathed.
How was this possible? The room exploded, yet he survived. Was he some kind of monster?
"Hmph... naïve," the boy muttered as he stepped forward.
The teen, Iggy, tore off the remaining burnt fabric from his shirt, revealing his bare upper body. The dark aura that once cloaked him gradually faded, replaced by a faint blue smoke curling from his charred skin.
"CP4 is a secretive organization. Everyone here keeps their lips sealed," he murmured thoughtfully, already forming a plan.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the corridor. Iggy turned toward the sound and calmly faced the corner.
As dozens of soldiers approached, their footsteps abruptly stopped. The corridor fell eerily silent.
"Cowards like rats," Iggy sneered, casually rounding the corner.
At the T-junction, his eyes widened as he was met by a line of armed soldiers raising their guns simultaneously.
"Ready to fire!"
Commanders on both sides shouted orders. Guns clicked as bolts were pulled back.
In an instant, Iggy's pupils shrank, his hair stirred with unseen energy, and a nearly invisible force barrier expanded across the entire base.
Time seemed to freeze. Hundreds of soldiers stood frozen, even their breathing halted.
Then, suddenly, they all collapsed to the floor, their weapons clattering away. Their eyes glazed over, froth at their mouths, and several recruits lost control of their bladders.
Seeing them incapacitated, Iggy unleashed his full aura and swiftly searched for his target.
Back in his office, Commander Haude paced anxiously, his brow furrowed.
"Could it be... that boy?"
The soldier's report describing the intruder's features sent a chill down his spine.
For years, Haude had executed every order flawlessly, never missing a mission — especially the purge of the Holy Land. His ruthless efficiency kept him in power.
But the boy he let escape six years ago had become his haunting nightmare.
At just ten, the boy could wield a dual aura — an extraordinary power. If he managed to break into CP4's heavily guarded base now, it meant he had grown far stronger.
Haude had killed many without hesitation, but this one always stirred a flicker of fear in him.
Just then, the office door suddenly groaned under pressure — steel creaked and bent.
A hole was punched in the heavy door, metal flaring outward. Through it, a bloodied face pressed in, features obscured but eyes wild with fury locked onto Haude.
Then with a loud crash, a black fist smashed through the door, sending jagged iron fragments scattering at Haude's feet.
The entire steel door collapsed in a cloud of dust.
Haude quickly dodged aside as the smoke cleared to reveal Iggy standing in the doorway, half cloaked in his dark aura.
"Oh, it really is you... Long time no see, Iggy," Haude said, composed yet wary, recognizing the piercing gaze that hadn't changed in six years.
"You think your men can keep secrets? I have my ways to find you," Iggy said confidently, eyes gleaming with predatory excitement.
"How did you find me? This place is sealed tighter than a fortress," Haude asked, curious despite himself.
"I know your cautious nature. After the explosion, you'd split your forces — some to hunt me, some to protect you."
Iggy gestured to the corridor behind him, littered with fallen soldiers.
"Your guards were easy to spot. That led me right to your den."
Without hesitation, Iggy crouched, ready to strike.
Haude's calm shattered. His body trembled and thick hair sprouted over his skin, quickly covering him in brownish fur.
Dropping to all fours, Haude transformed into a massive, four-meter-tall feral beast — a giant hunting dog.
"Interesting... an animal transformation ability," Iggy mused, excited by the challenge.
Haude's beastly muzzle dripped saliva as he growled ferociously.
"Wild dogs are nothing but prey to true hunters!"
____
10 powerstones for 2 Bonus Chapters